Chela’s Restaurant & Taqueria

Reviews 11

WI

William G

I read something about this place having the best tacos in Ann Arbor. I have only been in town about a year, but if this is the best in Ann Arbor that makes me sad. I gave Chelas three tries. The first was with a torta and tacos. The tacos were very bland (chicken and steak). The torta was the thinly sliced, breaded milanesa-style chicken type.The bread was dry and uncharacteristic of an authentic torta. Unfortunately it turns out this was the best thing on their menu. The second time I went it was gone. The next two times I tried different tacos, a tamale, and their burrito. Tamales are hard to screw up and were fine, but the tacos and burrito, again, were super bland. And their salsa is unremarkable. Besides, their food should be able to stand up on its own without dumping on extra flavor. I really want this place to be great. Ive spent several months in Mexico, and living in various parts of the country where there have been amazing taquerias. When you walk into Chelas it looks like it should be the real deal. They even have the Mexican coke in a bottle. But the food. The food is so bland. Everything tastes like something store-bought. Its a bummer. The best taqueria I have found in this area is in Lansing, and its actually a permanent food truck called El Oasis. And its more affordable. If you want the real deal and full flavor try that, but Chelas does not come anywhere close. Especially not for the price. I wont return unless I hear they make some major changes.

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Brennan Guernsey

The cashier advertised that they were voted best taco in Michigan by M live. I had read this article and is why I thought I would give Chelas a try. I ordered three steak tacos, my girlfriend got two chicken tacos, and we got an order of chips and guacamole. The guacamole was great and the serving size was worth the high price, but that was the only good thing about our meal. The tacos were sooo dry and bland. My steak was quite flavorless, Luke warm, tough and very dry. My girlfriends chicken was much the same. The tortillas were also stiff, as if all of the ingredients were prepared and hour ago and then assembled and served to me. As a person who loves traditional steak tacos, this place was far from the second best in Michigan. If you happen to be in Jackson, check out Tonitos. That place has always blown me away with amazingly fresh and delicious steak, everything is freshly prepared before going on my plate. Chelas doesnt even compare.

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CH

Chris Sand

Greased black hair counter worker did not pay attention to my order, spending more time trying to flirt with my fiance instead of filling our order properly. He gave me one taco with no beans & rice after I ordered the two taco special, and neglected to give me either of my drinks. When I went back to get my drinks, the cook? came up, I asked him a question of where my drinks were, I received "que" in response, so I switched to Spanish for the conversation, and asked the same question of where my drinks were. I received the same response of "que", I finally received my drinks after 3 times asking where they were. Food quality is OK if you want cheap with bland flavor, we will not be returning, and will be recommending that for authentic flavor from south of the US border to head across the road to Pilars for no attitude, and much better food.

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MI

Miranda Gregory

I had been excited to try this neighborhood Mexican spot ever since I moved into town. My boyfriend tried the chamechana and al pastor tacos, which we both found to be a little dry and lackluster. (But very edible thanks to the variety of salsas and sour cream.) I made him try my torta al pastor, which had a ton of good flavor thanks to guac, jalapenos, and fresh cheese in addition to the meat and other condiments. We agreed it was delicious. No Mexican meal is complete without horchata, in my opinion, and theirs was deliciously sweet and spicy. I look forward to trying the tamales and some brunch items.

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Tim Holmes

I was looking for a place to celebrate #TACOTUESDAY at this week when a Google Maps search pointed me here. Went with a co-worker to check the place out and weve now gone 3 days in a row. Very fast service coupled with very good authentic food. Their tamales are quite possibly the best Ive had in Michigan, and I prefer their authentic Mexican tacos versus what you would find at a Chipotle or Qdoba. So far Ive only had their taco/tamale lunch special, which is a great value for under $6, but I intend to return to try their other menu options. I will - and have - recommend this place to friends.

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Anthony Oliver

I have only been the the south side facility off of Stone School road, but have been multiple times. The food is the closest Ive had to the real thing (been to mexico twice for work a month at a time). The traditional small tacos, double wrapped, with awesome selection of meats like chorizo and pastor. They have a $5 lunch special which includes 2 tacos, rice, black beans and a drink. I highly recommend trying this place out. Please dont expect to be Americanized mexican (a.k.a. covered in sauces with flour tortillas).

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PA

Paul Augustine

sorry, I disagree with the reviews. below average Mexican dishes and overpriced by a couple of dollars. Poor selection. But the people behind the counter were friendly . Pepsi, no coke. I wont return. Im not angry, just disappointed. I guess the good reviews here come from friends or people who havent had good Mexican food. At least they had salsa to moisten the dry tortillas. No chips with the meal. One reviewer stated "best Mexican food in town" , he must be a friend of the owner, his statement is simply not accurate.

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Jeff Jameson

The restaurant was dirty and several chairs were broken. We saw a boy on a wheelchair struggle find a place where he could sit and the table was too high for him. It was 84-degrees inside the restaurant and 75-degrees outside. We tried 8 food selections and the guacamole was the item we enjoyed most. Otherwise, we did not enjoy the tamales, burritos, tacos, or salsa. We frequent Mexican restaurants on almost a weekly basis, and will likely not return to Chelas.

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AN

Anna Brown

I simply cannot recall a restaurant meal that Ive enjoyed so much. In Philadelphia for a brief, last-minute trip, we booked a late dinner at Vetri (last table seated that evening). It was worth staying up for -- every dish was exquisite, especially the famed gnocchi, light as air. And the service was so cheerful, engaged and considerate. Worth every penny and every minute. We may come back to Philly just to eat here again.

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Ivy Jenkins

I like the spot. Small and cozy with a decent little patio - or take your food next door to glasshouse brewery and hang out on an even nicer patio (with a delicious beer!) The tacos are well priced, a little dry but tasty, and a selection of 3 sauces and fresh lime help to liven them up a bit. Tamales, chips and pico are ok, nothing special. Over all, the price is right and food is decent.

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Tasha Konyha

Prices were good for the amount of food, but we just didnt really care for the quality. Chorizo taco was sort of dry, Chipotle chicken was as well. The burrito I had "loaded" and it wasnt mixed well at all. There was no description of what "loaded" was, so I unexpectedly bit into a jalapeño pepper 3/4 of the way in. Definitely better places to get Mexican food around Ann Arbor.

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