El Charro Café
Best Mexican Restaurant · Tucson, AZ
A century at the family stove.
El Charro Cafe opened in 1922, when Monica Flin began cooking out of her family’s downtown home, the stone house her father built in 1896. More than a century later the Flores family still runs it, making El Charro the oldest Mexican restaurant in the country operated continuously by one family.
Famous for sun-dried carne seca and the chimichanga said to have originated here, El Charro remains a cornerstone of Tucson’s Sonoran food tradition and has been named among America’s most iconic restaurants. Thousands of public reviews stretch across Tripadvisor and Yelp. In 2025 that century-long record cleared our bar: the Centurion Award for Best Mexican Restaurant in Tucson.
The original still serves downtown at 311 N Court Ave, a century on.
The classics
- Carne seca — sun-dried beef, the house signature since the beginning
- Chimichangas — said to have originated right here
- Enchiladas & tamales — Tucson-style Sonoran standards
Downtown at 311 N Court Ave · elcharrocafe.com
Every award, on the record.
Each Centurion Award is its own dated annual record, and staying current means clearing the bar again each new year. Open a year for the full citation and verification details.
2025 Centurion Award
Best Mexican Restaurant Tucson, AZ · Awarded under the 2025 evaluation View the 2025 award →Awards run one calendar year and renew only if the business clears the bar again. Selection is by published criteria, never for sale.
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This page is the standing record for El Charro Café (2025). It was published by The Centurion Awards from the public record; the business did not have to apply for it to appear. It wasn’t voted on or sponsored, and selection is not for sale. Owners can claim the listing or ask us to remove it. For hours, bookings, and live reviews, go straight to the business itself.
This page was published by The Centurion Awards from the public record; the business did not have to apply for it to appear. Own this business? Claim the listing to manage it, or ask us to remove it.
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