Cha! Cha! Cha!

07/14/2008 Posted by luv2d9

My boyfriend and I love this place, its a block away and a weekly favorite. Always packed, the service is prompt and very friendly. When the owner is working he offers to bring us our drinks, silverware and anything else we may need to the table. Silverware is neatly rolled into napkins and sits by the counter if are anxious to get your own, along with ice water and cups if you choose not to order a drink. This is not the type of restaurant that provides table service. The limited staff are busy preparing food and taking orders so that your wait is short. They do not have time to go around to tables getting 2nd drink orders, however if you need a 2nd they can accommodate you at the counter. Last night the line was out the door and every table was taken, my wait was not more than a couple of minutes and my to go order was ready within seconds. The prices are unbelievably cheap and the food is outstanding. I love the big burritos and my boyfriend likes the tamales and tongue tacos....we also love the green and red salsas, the fresh chips and pico de gallo. Try it...you won't be disappointed!!

Pros: Excellent food and service

Cons: not being able to get a table

05/29/2008 Posted by jordeebee

The food here is mediocre, and well priced, but the service is poor It's unclear how to get silverwear, the owner would not look at customers, talk to them, and kept dissapearing while a line went out the door. He also looks a little like james gandolfini. Byways nextdoor has the best service ive had in portland, by far, better food and better atmosphere too

Pros: cheap, basic, plain, greasy

Cons: loud, bad service, messy

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/13/2008 Posted by pdxfoodie1

Huge tasty burritos with quality ingredients for the price of Taco Bell. If you are feeling like a glutton go for the chimichanga which is the size of my head, fried and topped with fresh ingredients. If you are feeling healthy go for the taco salad with salmon and black beans. They have some special marinade for the salmon that makes it out of this world! If you are on a budget the chili relleno burrito is like $4 and will stuff a normal person. Very clean and nice atmosphere compared to most other good taquerias.

Pros: Good quality tasty cheap burritos

Cons: not alot of seating in the pearl annex

04/11/2008 Posted by LocalGirlPDX

I go here a couple of times a month, it's close to my office, and I always get the Relleno Burrito. I find it super tasty and full of flavor, I add some of the red sauce to the inside. Sometimes I want to try something else but I love the Relleno Burrito too much. I love the quick service and the cheapness of the food. The quality isn't A+ but it is very good. The thing I don't like is that I often have to call and call and call because they ignore their phone and I don't like standing around waiting for my burrito. Also I always eat the whole thing and always want to take a nap by about 2:00 because I'm so full of deliciousness. Some of my coworkers just eat half of one but I lack their willpower.

Pros: Cheap, Fast

Cons: Parking, Service, Ambiance

02/17/2008 Posted by tlcfoodie

Mexican food? I think not! This was some of the worst food I've had, dry meats that manage to be tasteless and salty. Little to no flavor in the beans and rice. It may be cheap,but who cares. I think they are doing exactly what another reviewer said and pumping up their reviews becasue I can't believe that this is a winner anyones eyes. The service just added insult to injury. I'll never go back and oh ya I've had good Mexican food from my wonderful Grandmother who would roll over in her grave if she tasted this food and knew it was called Mexican.

Pros: Cheap

Cons: Everything else, service, food, ambience

02/10/2008 Posted by ejones73

My wife and I, looking for something takeout in the Pearl District, decided to try Cha Cha Cha!. We ordered a Steak Asada burritto, a Carnitas burritto, an order of corn chips and guacamole, and an order of flan. Okay... The steak asada was VERY salty - I'm a salt hog, and even I thought it was excesive. Other than salt, there was really no flavor at all - The meat was mushy, the beans had no spice, and everything was lukewarm. The carnitas tasted like a dry pork roast - no seasonings, no spices, no flavor. The corn chips were completely stale and greasy - and considering how crowded the place was - which would mean a high turnover of tables (and chips) they NEVER should have been as stale as they were. The guacamole was not very good either - There was a brown plastic consistency, and chunks of avocado ranged from pea-sized to chunks larger than my fork. Here the trend of oversalted ended, along with any kind of seasonings or ingredients OTHER than avocados. As far as the flan was concerned, I can't tell you because the server forgot to put it into my bag, and after the meal, I didn't particularly think it was worth walking the 4 blocks back to even try it. All in all, I've had better mexican food from Chipotle's in CLEVELAND, OH!

Pros: Cheap

Cons: Awful food

01/29/2008 Posted by PinkHairedGirl

Cha! Cha! Cha! Is a realy fun, yummy restraunt! The chicken chimichangas are amazing! They are so yummy, cheap, and HUGE!!! I love it!

Pros: The chicken chimichangas are to SO yummy!!

Cons: None

10/11/2007 Posted by kayallie

I always have such a good time and good food going to cha cha cha. I just cant get over it! I live right next door, and you still can't get me to walk any further.

Pros: just darn good food

08/14/2007 Posted by vivianmarie

I went to Cha! Cha! Cha! this past Saturday with a group of 7 (2 that were kids) and the first thing I learned immediately is that this place is not ideal for big groups. We managed to wrangle two tables together for our dining party, but only after a little of waiting. Although the place is small, the decor and ambiance are bright and homely. I ordered the hard tacos with chicken at the great price of $4.50/95ish. The meat was a little drier than I would have liked, but otherwise they were tasty. My friend ordered the taco salad and seemed to find it a little lackluster and void of the Spanish rice that she had expected to find in her entree. However, my boyfriend ordered a couple of different soft tacos and said they were all delicious - and he does consider himself to be a lover of Mexican food! I think one of his favorites was the fish taco. I saw other patrons order the burritos and they are ENORMOUS - something to keep in mind for those of you coming to Cha! Cha! Cha! for the sole purpose of food overload. Wasn't too fond of the service though - when I was ordering my food, I asked the cashier if they offered ground meat for tacos, and he glared at me and redirected me to the menu items that included shredded meat ... and he seemed curt in general. All in all, the food seems to be decent, but seems to have an occasional miss. Don't care for the service, but the prices can't be beat especially in the Pearl District.

Pros: Food Variety and Portions, Value

Cons: Not good for groups, service

08/02/2007 Posted by lexu

Cha Cha Cha (in the Pearl) is one my favorite places to eat in Portland. I take everyone who comes to visit me there. Everything is pretty cheap (and you get a lot for your $$), there's lots of things on the menu and everything I've had there has been really good. (I'm partial to the Flautitas.) It's good Mexican food, not greasy; they use nice, fresh ingredients... Note that this is coming from a fairly picky eater! The service is quick to average, depending on how busy they are. As for cons, the service isn't as good as the food, and it's really small and can get very busy (although this is kind of a neighborhood favorite and most people get their food to-go). Not somewhere I would bring kids for an actual sit-down meal.