El Charro Café
America’s Oldest Mexican Restaurant, Since 1922
If a restaurant’s been going strong since 1922, you know it’s doing something right, and El Charro Café is DEFINITELY doing something right! El Charro was founded in Tucson by the tireless Monica Flin, who in the early days served as hostess, waitress, and chef. Her lineup of traditional Sonoran dishes made her a local legend (she’s even credited with inventing the chimichanga!), and over the years that legend continued to grow.
Today, El Charro Café is run by Monica’s great grandniece, Carlotta Flores, and it’s America’s oldest Mexican restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. El Charro Café offers a wide variety of Northern Mexican and Tucson-style Mexican dishes, from enchiladas to tamales to tacos to burros, and their insanely delicious food has been hailed by everyone from Bon Appetit to the NY Times to Nation’s Restaurant News, which named it one of America’s 50 most iconic restaurants. Mexican food doesn’t get more delicious than this, and now it’s shipping nationwide!
