El Chile Grande

Sadly this restaurant is closed. Went to eat there the other day and now it’s some BBQ joint.
My husband and I were pretty sad, the food here was delicious.

A fantastic restaurant with a refreshingly fresh and authentic take on Mexican fare. The owners are lovely and courteous– Lily’s always willing to recommend something on the menu, and her husband does an amazing job from behind the counter.
All of the food is glorious, but can we talk about these papausas? Because hot DAMN. I’ve tried almost all of the pupusa selections on the menu, and have yet to be disappointed– varied, flavorful, and savory without being greasy. Also pretty much anything with cactus in it is a safe bet– part of it’s just the novelty of eating cactus, but it is really worth going out of your way to get that unexpectedly delicious flavor.
I’m unfortunately living up in Seattle, but I do everything I can to swing by this place whenever I’m in town; I always walk away satisfied and yearning for more. If I’m not already stuffed to the gills.

We found this place through a
coupon and I was pleasantly surprised (…being the only customers on a Saturday afternoon). We got the guacamole, plantains with sour cream appetizers and steak quesadilla and piña colada shrimp for the entrees. All 4 were delicious!!! Definitely the place to go if you want to enjoy food, but not if you’re counting calories.
The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was when the waitress told us that they would not accept another coupon. If you don’t want people using any discounts then you have to stop creating them! I don’t like when vendors put out all these discounts & then get upset when people want to use them. If it wasn’t for this certificate, we’d never know about the place in the first place.

Wow! What a hidden gem! If youre a valley cat, you know that on the corner of Tampa and Ventura, theres not much going on… but thank goodness a big chile sign caught my boyfriend’s eye. In the corner is El Chile Grande, an adorable, colorful, clean and authentic sit –down restaurant. Its latin fusion w a variety on the menu, from the usual «mexican food» classics to authentic El Salvadorian dishes. Theres a huge variety of meats for just about every one of their dishes from chicken, beef, shrimp, chorizo, shrimp, lobster and more!
They start u off w chips (homemade) and fresh homemade, pico de gallo type salsa. I ordered the wedge salad ($ 7 w/​o meat) which was HUGE and fresh, except for the frozen mango pieces — but were such a delicious addition, no points were deducted. I also ordered the chicken tinga and ground beef empanadas ($ 3 a pop). Both delish! Chicken was a tiny bit spicy w onions in shredded chicken, also a bit oily. The ground beef was good, i think there was something sweet added in which made it even better. I also ordered an iced tea, which was clearly brewed there, not out of the dispenser… thank goodness!
My boyfriend got the shrimp paposa (excuse my spelling) basically a thick, tortilla type dish, stuffed w the meat item of ur choice-​also delicious and filling! At $ 4 for one, u cant go wrong! He also got a tamarindo, made fresh and per him-​the best in the valley, 2^nd being the one and only Salsa and Beer.
All in all… a great experience! Empanadas in the south part of the valley is a huge deal. esp since the other option, Johnny Pacifico’s is so central, often too trafficy to care to go there. Next time ure passing that dull intersection, check em out!

I found this place on
. I went there around 3:00pm and the place was empty… just the way I like it. Although it might make some wonder if the food is worth going in, I can assure you, you will be pleasantly surprised.
First of all, the presentation of the food is outstanding. I have never seen such art in south of the border food. They call it «Latin Fusion»…I don’t know what to call it. I have never tasted anything like it in my life. And the price is right. Very affordable.
The Soupa’s are NOT soup. I thought I was ordering Prawn Soup… but three homemade Shrimp Soupas came on a platter. More than we could eat, but surely could take one home for later. I went there for Mole’ Pablano, but they were out of Mole’ sauce, so the Hostess (I think she’s the cooks wife, and they do this together), suggested another chicken dish with Pumpkin sauce. It wasn’t Mole’, but it was quite tasty. My friend ordered the Carne Asada and said it was so tender that it almost melted in his mouth. I also got a chicken taco. Very simple, very tasty.
I can’t wait to go back for the Mole’ Pablano!!! You need to get there too, before this place is found out by everyone.

Have been here three times and must say The food has been consistently excellent. The chef has a way with sauces that makes his Mexican/​Peruvian food some of the best in the valley.
So far the wife and I have tried the pupusas (nopales, and the shrimp also), various tacos, the Semita mole which I had with the pipian sauce (this was so dang good, as it was recommended in the LA Times write up.
The conchinta pibil quesadilla was fantastic. Last night my wife had the shrimp al ajillo which was seductively spicy. I had the El Padre fish. It was served with a herbaceous creamy sauce that was addictive.
The flan is some of the best around and the woman who is the waitress is sweet and personable. Prices range from four to eighteen dollars so you can come here on the cheap for some great food.

+ Homemade horchata
+ shrimp and cheese puposa was delish… reminded me of a pancake like consistency stuffed with cheese and shrimp!

Five star food at a two star price!
Long time Unilocal user, but this is the first time I’ve been inspired enough to write a review.
My wife and just tried this place tonight, and we were blown away by how fantastic the food was. Everything we had hit just the right note, not a single misstep! The price was MORE than fair… I wouldn’t have blinked it if had been double, at a higher end restaurant (from a looks perspective).
The chips were wonderful, very different from the usual fare at SoCal Latin food joints. Hearty, but light… As was the salsa. Very bright and forward favors, and clearly fresh. We tried the homemade horchata and tamarindo drinks… Definitely no plastic drink tubs here! The tamarindo was very nicely flavored, but the horchata was spectacularly good.
I highly recommend the Yuca Frita appetizer… Delicious! And plentiful, almost too much for two, considering how much food we ordered. The Peruvian Ceviche was fantastic, too. We had a queso pupusa that was very yummy… Sadly, not as good as it could have been had we gotten to it while it was still melty, but we were still stuffing ourselves with the Yuca Frita and ceviche. Our main course was the Mole Sampler. The chicken was tender, the frijoles were flavorful, and the mole poblano was excellent. The green mole (tomatillo?) was very good as well. The pumpkin mole was interesting, but I preferred the other two more.
For dessert we had the bananas locas, simply deep fried banana disks with some very nice Vanilla ice cream with caramel drizzled all over, on a plate liberally coated with chocolate dust and powdered sugar. Very pretty, and quite satisfying,
None of the food was too heavy, or two greasy… High praise considering the number of fried dishes we had. Everything was tasty, and I would happily order any of them again… Except there is so much on the menu that I can’t wait to try some other dishes!
It’s a shame they don’t have a liquor license, as a nice cold cervesa would really have topped things off nicely. But the aguas frescas were so good I didn’t miss it until I thought about it in retrospect.
Did I mention the fabulous price, as well? The feast we gorged on was stunningly affordable. Certainly not fast food cheap but I often spend as much or more for far less food that’s nowhere near as interesting. As someone observed, this restaurant is listed as $$ on Unilocal,but honestly there are far more items on the menu that are under $ 10 than over… It would be more accurate to call it $.5 (one point five dollar signs) if there was a way to do it.
We’ll be back. With friends. Visit this restaurant! I want it to stay in business so I can make many happy returns!
HIGHLY recommended.

Eat here and you’ll never want to eat at other Mexican food places again (*coughcoughespeciallyElToritocough*), that’s right – it’s THAT amazing.
The tequilla-​cilantro sauce is my favorite. The veggies are awesome. Food is always fresh and alllllways delish and the price is allllllllways right. In fact, all the sauces are fantastic, just keep that in mind when ordering.
And to top it all off, their coffee is an epic tale of the perfect roast, flavor, and CAFFEINE (srsly, keeps me up past my bedtime every time)!

Good food but sadly not as amazing as I expected. I love the selection of food– not your run of the mill, chain Mexican restaurant. They have horchatas and pupusas and great seafood dishes!
But the pupusas were dry and bland. They tasted like they came out of the freezer. The pork one was very salty and tough.
The pork chop mole dish was overwhelming. Too much mole sauce, which was pretty average at best. The pork was tough. The rice and beans were standard. Would not order this one again. Really not fresh.
Delicious horchata!
My friend thought her white fish dish was okay but nothing to rave about.
I love the fresh salsa and chips, but the chips are waaaaay overfried.
Not a fancy restaurant– it’s in a strip mall after all. I wouldn’t take anyone on a date here! That being said, the server was friendly. The place is fast. And it’s a nice change.
I might try it again but until then I’m not that impressed.

Pretty decent latin food… pupusas were great I think they should stick to making them. The mole sauces were not even close to being authentic, the rice was undercooked and the refritos were most definitiely canned.
Ordered pork tacos… very dry almost jerky like! If you’re willing to try a new experience GO FOR THE PUPUSAS!

After my trip to Italy, I couldn’t wait to come home and have Mexican food. I missed it so much. I happend on this place on my way to a doctor appt and had 3 tacos, some chips and salsa. I wish I could eat more… I need to go back and try their pupusas and enchiladas. Family run, I couldn’t like this place more.
The food was prepared on the spot and it was fresh. The hostess/​waitress was great and I could see the chef cooking at the open grill.
Inexpensive, authentic, friendly… what else do you want?
Forgot to mention, they do dishes from all of Latin America so go try something different!

Let’s see, one word to sum up El Chile Grande: YUMMMMMM.
I’ve been here a few times, but this place is just so darn good that after going again last night, I decided to stop being lazy and get around to writing the review.
I went last night with one of my girlfriends. We walked in and were the only ones there. Walking into an empty restaurant is normally a red flag for me, but because I had been here before, I wasn’t worried.
The location is a bit tough, it’s tucked into the corner of a small strip mall so doesn’t get the drive-​by/​drop-​in traffic that it might in a different location.
They’ve redecorated a bit and the beautiful, fresh flower arrangements on each table were a nice touch!
The waiter was very nice and helpful (and patient!) when I couldn’t asked a bazillion questions because I couldn’t make up my mind. You can’t go wrong with their fish or shrimp, in fact I’ve never tried any of their other chicken or beef entrees b/​c the fish and shrimp dishes are always sooooo good! :)
I got the «a la Veracruzana», or halibut in this tomato/​onion/​pepper/​mushroom type sauce. It was a tiny bit spicy and absolutely AMAAAZING. My friend got the tequila/​cilantro shrimp, and to be honest, even though my fish was unbelievably good, tender and flavorful (and NON-​fishy), after stealing a few bites of her shrimp, I had total food envy. :)
In fact, I got an order of that to go on the pretense of giving it to my husband (which I eventually did, sans a few bites). :)
We had the churros for dessert, which were completely fresh, melt-​in-​your-​mouth, cinnamoney amazingness. I agree with Robyn, the «Spanish cocoa» was a bit bland, but honestly, it didn’t matter either way to me, b/​c the churros were amazing by themselves, they didn’t need anything else.
I agree with the others, I’m SO impressed by this cute little restaurant. It has such amazing food, nice ambiance and great service. I hope that people in this area of the Valley can find it via Unilocal,b/​c it really is a superb addition to the restaurants in the area.

First, this place has 2 dollar signs here, but the food ranges from about 4 dollars to 15, so it’s closer to a one dollar-​sign restaurant than a 2 dollar-​sign restaurant. Don’t avoid the place because you expect it will be too expensive. When we were there, there were items under 10 dollars that were delicious and filling.
This place is new and deserves a LOT more business. We went on both a rainy weeknight and a Friday night, and it was empty, so don’t worry about a wait.
The service is fantastically friendly and helpful. The first night we were there, especially, I had never had such good, intuitive service in my life.
The food they serve is different, tasty, fresh as anything and beautifully plated. Sadly, the place is a little hard to find, snuggled in the corner behind Greco’s. I’m hoping the Unilocal listings will help this new business thrive, I would be pleased beyond words for this place to be a chain all throughout the valley. Go today and get the best bargain in the valley! It’s delicious, very inexpensive, and just overall a great place.

Fantastic! This restaurant far surpassed my expectations.
The steak quesadilla was big enough for two of us to share, and was made with a delicious combination of cheeses. Then three of us shared the black truffle Kaluah cake and the churros with Spanish cocoa. I admit that the cocoa struck me as kind of bland, but the churros were the best I’d ever had.
The service was great. Our waiter was friendly, attentive, and answered any questions we had. I would recommend El Chile Grande to anyone.

The people were very nice but the food not that great flavor Wow went here with the family my husband order ceviche and he said he was disappointed he said that it was very sour and like they used bottled lemon juice… not satisfied I ordered the lomo saltado and was not that pleased at all I tatsted the lomo saltado before from differnt places my son had the enchiladas de pollo and he seemed to like it ok .
…don’t think I will go back again

After reading there reviews I was really expecting a great experience. It was far from that. We stood inside the door waiting to be seated. The cook just stared at us and the server was talking with his girlfriend (i assume) on the sofa next to the register. He finished his conversation before telling us to sit anywhere we wanted. He was nice and cute. We order the food and the middle of the empanada was ice cold. The beans tasted like they were out of a can with some added spices, pupusas were not even authentic. OH, when I told the waiter that the empanada was cold the cook put it in the microwave I told the waiter I didn’t want it after it had been microwaved.
I will not go back there.

Small family owned place.
Great food, great service, overall a 5 out of 5. We had shrimp popusas, chicken enchiladas (red and green sauce), and fried banana & ice cream for desert.
Everything is prepared to order. Its one of those places where if you don’t see something on the menu and you want it, they can go and get it made.

Wow… by the looks of this place (corner of a sub-​par strip mall, so unassuming) you would never know the treasures that await you… it’s like being beamed up into a portal that transports you to all the best restaurants in South America in 1 hour.
Friendly wait-​staff and a cook/​chef who exudes passion for good food. Everything was so fresh and meticulously prepared and the presentation is like that of a booji Latin restaurant on the westside (except Chile Grande tastes 100 times better and is 70% less expensive).
We (party of 6) ordered the lobster quesadilla, guacamole picado, salmon ceviche, pupusas chicharrones and shrimp, carne asada, and shrimp diablo… oh, and horchata. Let me just say: BOMB: so authentic and yummy.
I couldn’t believe our tab totaled less than $ 70 for all that goodness… and we had lots leftover, which they happily packed up for us. The décor is simple/​no frills and the kitchen is completely open so you can really see, hear, smell, touch, and taste all the love that goes into their food.
This is our new go-​to spot for fresh, bomb-​diggity Latin grub. :D

Excelente!!!
Loved this place so much that i decided to have my B-​day party here in couple of weeks.
the owners are very accommodating and go extra mile to please you.
food is super fresh and everything is home made!!! no frozen or canned crap…
they even make their own cheesecake! and its delicious
Highly recommended !!
P. S. they allow to BYOB!!! how cool is that?