Charro Steak opened in Downtown Tucson in April 2016. I dined there soon after with Julie, the new marketing director at the venerable Rialto Theater.
Charro Steak is the offspring of El Charro Café, the legendary Mexican restaurant on Court Street made famous by Chef Carlotta Flores. Opening in 1922, El Charro Café is the oldest family operated Mexican restaurant in the country. On Southern Arizona Guide, El Charro Cafe earned a 5-Saguaro rating and is listed on our Top 3 Mexican Restaurants in Tucson. Carlotta’s son, Ray Flores, is now president of the many El Charro enterprises.
For you Gringos who don’t know what “charro” means, a visit to Charro Steak will leave no doubt. On most of the walls are very large rusted metal murals of dashing Mexican horsemen.
Julie ordered the 7 oz. filet ($32.95) and let me have a bite. As fine a filet as I have ever tasted. Could have cut it with a butter knife. I ordered the Chef’s Cut. This is Chef Gary Hickey’s choice that he hand trims. The price will vary with the type and I sorta recall that mine was a New York cut. For an additional $8.95, I ordered 3 jumbo mesquite grilled shrimps. Delightful! As to the steak, the taste of the mesquite smoke from the BBQ was immediately noticeable, and much to my liking.
The steaks come with a side of Frijoles Charro (Beans), but neither Julie nor I thought they were special.
More recently, Ms. Karen and I dined at Charro Steak on a late Sunday afternoon. Drew and Annie were our servers and they took very good care of us. Ms. Karen ordered a Cadillac margarita, which she quickly declared very good. That did not come as a surprise to me. The best margarita I have ever enjoyed was at El Charro Café on Court Street. Of course, my extraordinary Margarita was a custom brew courtesy of an amazing bartender. Just ask. He will fix you up with the margarita of a lifetime.
I had an Oregon Pinot Grigio; a very fine dry white. I did not see any Arizona wines on the menu.
Almost immediately upon being seated, Drew brought fresh chips and salsas to our table. Nice touch! Didn’t even have to ask.
Recalling my side of Frijoles Charro from my previous visit, I asked Drew if they offer a baked potato. He said no, but pointed out they do offer two kinds of potatoes … au gratin with melted cheese and green chili sauce and “hand-cut” fries. Apparently, a baked Idaho spud is not authentic “charro”.
After some hesitation, Ms. Karen finally settled on the 14 oz. boneless Ribeye ($34.95), Drew’s favorite. She usually prefers filet. When we compiled our list of the 10 Best Steakhouses, one of us always ordered a ribeye. When we BBQ at home, we almost always grille ribeyes from Costco. Thus we had something to compare with the restaurant steaks. It was extremely rare that we had a restaurant ribeye anywhere near as good as those from Costco.
I ordered a Charro Burger ($13) with Charro Fries ($3). 100% grass-fed one-half pound beef; Willcox tomatoes; greens; special Charro sauce. Why? I wanted to compare their burger with those we selected for our List of the 10 Best Burgers in Tucson.
Ms. Karen declared her ribeye very good, but oddly could not taste the mesquite smoke that I had described from my earlier visit to Charro Steak. She gave me a bite and I experienced the same and have no idea why. I will, however, ask Chef Gary when we return, which we certainly will.
Interestingly, while I am not a fan of Frijoles Charro, Ms. Karen thought they were very tasty and even noticed that the dish included small chunks of ham. Even more interesting, she could not finish her dinner and we took part of her Ribeye along with side dishes home to enjoy for lunch the next day. The Ribeye made a superb sandwich and the Frijoles Charro were much tastier aged a day or two. Don’t know why.
Is Charro Burger The Best In Tucson?
Now to my burger. When I ordered it, it did not escape my notice that it came with a slice of Willcox tomato. Have you ever been to Willcox and seen the mile after mile of greenhouses where these magnificent tomatoes are grown? I don’t much care for store-bought tomatoes. Just are not particularly tasty. But Willcox tomatoes are in a whole different league.
I took one bite of my burger and thought I had died and gone to heaven. I gave Ms. Karen a bite. Big smile. This was one outstanding burger. The fries were very good too.
About this time, Ms. Karen motioned for Drew and asked him about two side dishes: Esquites con Crema ($6) and Calabacitas ($6). One is a creamed sweet corn and the other a cheesy squash. We both liked the squash, but were blown away by the corn dish. We would both gladly return if only to have more Esquites con Crema.
Charro Steaks come from cattle raised on grass only, with no antibiotics or added hormones. Grass-fed beef tends to be a little chewier than grain-fed. So best not to order your steak or burger cooked more than medium; medium rare is recommended.
For dessert, we shared a Margarita Lime Flan drizzled with a salty caramel sauce. Excellent!
The interior décor is spacious and fairly simple, with the exception of the aforementioned metallic murals. The ceiling is high and open. There are two bars, and a couple of spaces for private dining. The front of this historic old building is mostly very large windows.
The Charro Steak menu is full of interesting and unusual offerings and we will return often to try them all and let you know our recommendations. In the meantime, we will add Charro Steak to our List of the 10 Best Steakhouses and 10 Best Burgers in Tucson.
The new AC Hotel by Marriott has gone up across the street. Charro Steak should be a gold mine for the Flores family. At least we hope so. They deserve it. We give it a 4.5 Saguaros as the noise level can be deafening. Some people like this, I guess.
Charro Steak & Del Rey: From Ranch to Table
188 E. Broadway
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