Chago’s Cantina

Granted, it was Saturday night and the place was busy, but this place was either severely understaffed or the servers hadn’t been trained. A large group arrived there before us and could be overheard saying they’d been waiting for over an hour… My partner and I waited for 30 minutes for a table despite there being several empty tables just needing to be cleared. Seriously, the table we were finally sat in had been empty for as long as we’d been waiting. Our waitress was nice but overburdened. Food took 40 minutes to come out and was cold. The port belly tacos were good but not filled enough. Quite small. I’m not certain my $ 7 margarita actually had any alcohol in it… Not a great experience.

Chago’s is in our neighborhood, so we thought we’d finally pop in to check it out. i got a veggie taco and a grilled fish taco, and my partner got the chipotle salad. Both were tasty, and portions were not too big which was nice. The grilled fish taco was probably the best thing there as their aioli on top is legit. Service was also super considerate and helpful. It is right across from Belmont so you’ll definitely have your normal college crowd.
Overall, a decent experience but nothing really outstanding. I would go back again during their happy hour because I feel like the vibe might be better then. A good staple if you’re in a bind and looking for a decent tex-​mex place.

Very good for the price! Delicious mojitos. We come here all the time when we visit Nashville.
I recommend this place for food and service but getting in at certain times can be a wait. Belmont is right across the street and it is a favorite with the students too! :)

Probably a 2.5 star joint.
Chips= Stale
Salsa = Good, a roasted flavor
Service = OK. We visited late night, our server was okay.
Ambience = College kids doing shots on fake ids at the next table.
Menu= Some impressive items attempted on this menu, including pupusas (a staple of El Salvador and Nolensville road) and mofongo, a Caribbean dish.
Food = We ordered the carnita stuffed plantain with a side of mofongo. The carnitas were really more like Barbecue, but tasty. The plantain was actually good for a roasted plantain. The beans and rice were okay, though kind of bland.
The mofongo. If you came here looking for mofongo, you’d be disappointed. I’m glad I only ordered it as a side instead of a main dish. The main problem is that the plantains were too maduro. They were not green enough, meaning they were too sweet. Imagine expecting to eat a cracker and taking a bite out of a cookie instead. It was a little odd. It wasn’t necessarily a bad dish, more like mangu than mofongo, but definitely not what I expect when I order mofongo.
Drinks = We order the ½ priced Sunday Sangria. I don’t know if they skimp a bit on Sundays or if the sangria always tastes like this, but I wasn’t a fan. My husband liked his red sangria, although I thought it was overwhelmed by cherry flavoring. My white sangria sat next to my water, and you literally couldn’t tell the two apart by looking at them, except for the teensy orange slice floating in the sangria. You couldn’t really tell much of a difference when drinking them either.
The margarita I ordered was much better, clearly tasted like a margarita even if it was from a mix.
I know I’m tough to impress in the Mexican/​Latin food department, being from Texas. I did get excited to see some different items on the menu, but probably wouldn’t be back.

Very good food & service was great as well! This place is a mix of traditional Mexican food and also items with Latin flair. I had the pork stuffed plantain which was different & very good. My husband had the grilled fish tacos which he enjoyed as well. Came at 9pm on a Thursday and it was not very busy.

Started put not so great but ended up really good! Loved being able to sit on the patio with my dog!

Bottom line: terrible, bad food, lazy kitchen, slacker staff.
This feels like it is a shadow of its former self. There’s ambition and creativity in the menu. But, the execution is terrible and laziness abounds. If someone there is still interested in running a restaurant, wake up and run that place. Call Gordon Ramsey. My son now calls this place Chagas (the disease spread by the kissing bugs).
Dark. Loud. Cool in that cheap undergraduate-​tight-​budget manner that curls the lip of a middle aged gal like me. Grrr… is someone going to try to pass off «authentic» food that might fool a starry eyed, forgiving undergrad, but not grizzly old me?
The patio at blvd next door was full. The line for PM two doors down was very long. Chagos, in contrast, was almost empty.
This was like a horror movie and I would break all the rules like that delicate teenage girl does in a horror movie. She ignores the signs that tell her to NOT go in to that dark room where she hears a strange mewling sound. Nope. She goes right in to the darkness and tragedy ensues.
So I ignored the obvious first sign that the other places were full and this one was not. Tragedy ensued.
The next sign that things might not go well – we asked if we could be seated on one of the patios on this sweet sweet night. One patio was full. The other completely empty. The hostess told us that section was closed. Really? It was 7-​ish on a Saturday night and very few people were in there anyway.
The next sign — too many staff, slacking off in the dining room. But we were committed. We should have just left right then and there.
Chips and salsa gratis. Chips fried in rancid old oil (blech!) but surprisingly crispy and plentiful but that rancid old oil. This is the height of kitchen laziness and unforgivable. I still can’t get that taste out of my mouth. It was a problem with everything fried.
If you’re still interested in reading, it just continues to go down hill from here.
Red Sangria made with a bit of a heavy hand (cheap red wine with heavy vanilla notes – where did that come from?) and unceremoniously dumped into a smallish bar glass.
We ordered queso con chorizo, fajitas in a pineapple, pupusas, mofongo, fish tacos.
The chorizo in the queso had a bit of a sour taste to it. Creeping me out still. Was it going off? (And this from a girl who loves her Lao-​styled pickled pork so I kind of know good sour from bad sour.)
The fajita in pineapple. Spectacular looking, served in a half pineapple, but not spectacular enough to save the rest of the terrible bland food and gross old rancid oil slick all over everything. Beans looked good but they were dry, mealy. Rice had sat too long and was dry.
They advertise hand made corn tortillas but none tonight.
Pupusas – sadly, bad. Buried in sour kraut. Wha? One big bland sour squishy pancake-​like with some mysterious cheese stuffed in it.
The fish tacos were fried in that rancid old grease and my husband didn’t want to touch them. So, were they good? Who knows.
Anything good here? Mofongo not bad. But not good enough to bring us back. Ever.

Great meal. Had three tacos all of different variety: chicken, steak, pork and all were good. The portions seemed a little small but everything was tasty.

My daughter is a regular here. Whenever we visit, this a a definite stop. Food is consistently very good. Tonight was before it got busy, food was brought out very quickly. Even on busy nights service has been very good.
We’ve tried a few different dishes, all have been very good.
Definitely recommend this place!

Warning: false advertising! I ordered an exotic dish titled «pollo,» but when they brought it out it was just chicken. Very disappointed. Queso was good.

We decided to go to Chagos after running errands downtown and wanting some good non-​typical Mexican food. We were there at around three on a Tuesday so it wasn’t too busy.
We started with the cheese dip with chorizo. It was really good but a sweeter chorizo than what I’m use to. Still good nonetheless. I got the chorizo chimichanga with a side of greens. The chimichanga was really delicious and the greens were good, i just expected more from them. The chips and salsa was delicious and my sangria wasn’t too bad either. The portions were great and we ended up with a lot left over.
The food was pretty good but the reason why it’s only getting three stars is because of the service. Honestly, we felt like a bother. The server wasn’t happy when she came to take our order and we weren’t ready yet. And she seemed bothered by our questions. My boyfriend likes to get local beers so he usually asks what beer they have on tap and she even seemed bothered when he asked for that! And when he asked for another beer, she acted put off by it. The more you sale, the bigger tip you get… so I didn’t understand how we were bothering her for asking for more!
I’d like to go to this place again, hopefully with better service!

Pork belly taco,
with mashed plantain on the side.
That’s the stuff right there.

I originally gave this spot 3 stars but after coming here for a while I’m changing my opinion to 5… I guess that proves that Unilocal is not such a great tool for judging places. and I understand how so many businesses dislike it so much.
Each place/​restaurant has its potential, and sometimes when you go for the first time you don’t discover it, or the place you went to has not discovered it for itself yet but does that later down the line… bla bla either way it’s 5 now!

Wife and I stopped here last night to start our «foodie weekend» and we wanted to try something different than all the other places in the area. Though the menu has many interesting combinations with plantains and such, for some reason I wasn’t drawn to any of them and instead ordered the 3 combo plate. It stated $ 15 for 3, with a 1 $ up charge if you added steak or shrimp. I asked for a chorizo taco, a fajita quesadilla and a burrito. Unfortunately their was also an up charge for the fajita quesadilla, and you could only get chicken or ground beef or it was another upcharge. Was slightly confused by this as the menu didn’t say that for each item. I received a chicken taco instead, and though it wasn’t chorizo like I had ordered, it was amazing. The server realized that I got the wrong taco and brought out a chorizo taco extra for me to try. My wife ordered the pork belly tacos and those wee awsome to.
So what’s keeping this from 5 stars? Well I get the up charge thing and that would bring me to a 4.75 but the way the food came was odd and this brings me down to a solid 4. My burrito came but it was rolled the wrong direction, so the first part was all chicken, then it was all Guacamole, then the last part was all pico. I assume that whoever rolled it went sideways by accident. Also sending me out the wrong taco, although fixed by my observant server, is still a mistake that is prevented back in the kitchen.
Would these stop me from recommending this place? No! The food was great, and our server was great. These comments are purely to say that in my opinion this place could get to a 5 in my books and be a destination for foodies with just a little back of house focus.

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was in my first and probably only visit last night.
I ordered the fish taco dinner plate and after waiting an inordinate amount of time (considering other Mexican restaurants) for our food to arrive, everything (except the flour tortilla, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes and lettuce) needed salt, especially the dry, no-​taste beans and rice.
Regarding the fish, I asked the server if the chef recommended grilled or fried, and I’m so disappointed to say that I was served what looked and tasted like bland, soggy grocery store fish sticks, dark spots included. I really was baffled about the whole plate, yet didn’t voice my disapproval because I was on a fun date.
So, I give this establishment a generous two stars merely because the chips and salsa and house Merlot were very good.
Sandwiched between PM and Blvd, I just expected so So SO much more, especially for $$. Can’t imagine why I’d return, even if it is in my neighborhood.

Booooo. Guys, I know that being from Denver might make me a little picky when it comes to Mexican food. I know that Nashville truly struggles when it comes to restaurants that nail this cuisine; but Chagos, I was pretty bummed out when we dined there last Tuesday.
Picture the scene: rainy evening, 8ish PM, looking for some margs and spicy comfort food to get me through the work week. Chips & salsa were fine. The bathtub of thin queso w/​chorizo was meh (more was less, in this case.) The carne asada ($ 13 for meat, rice & beans) was dry, brittle & over-​cooked. The tablespoon of pico de gallo that accompanied my entrée tasted as though it sat, exposed to open, frigid air, for far too long. I’m a bit of a booze hound & I couldn’t even finish my «skinny girl margarita» (lime juice, tequila & ice — definitely missing even a smattering of the agave syrup the menu insisted it contained.) Chagos, I will forgo you for Tacomamacitas, Taqueria Del Sol, Mas Tacos, etc, etc, etc.

Delicious Mexican food without the «dirty hole-​in-​the-​wall» feel.
Their margaritas are delicious, but their La Flaquita (skinny marg) is my fave. Top shelf low-​cal. Can’t beat it!
And their queso. Oh be still my heart. I simply cannot go to Chagos without ordering their delicious queso.
Great atmosphere and quick, excellent service. My favorite place in town :)

Man, I have been to chagos too many times to have not posted: conveniently right across from Belmont, chagos has been the go-​to for lunch/​drinks after class. A year and a half ago, chago’s was on another level. The margaritas went from flavorful/​somewhat strong, to tasting like soap and having absolutely no tequila. The prices have also gone up on EVERYTHING lately.
I love me some Pollo Gringo, but seriously, $ 8 is 2 – 3 too many for what’s going on the plate. I hear people say it all the time on campus that they’d love to get some Mexican, but can’t afford a $ 9 meal of something they could whip up for less than $ 2. It’s absurd.
I love the quesadillas and beans. They have gotten better, actually. But Chagos would do so, so much better if they had (decent) drink specials and not ridiculously over-​priced pollo gringo (A plate of chicken, queso, and rice).
Back to the margs. They used to be awesome. I’d go with a group and get pitchers, but ever since they seriously hiked up the price, (7−8ish?) for ONE glass, it’s quality has gone down too. It tastes like dish soap.
I really hope they go back to being a place to go. It’s really gone downhill over the past year. And whoever is running social media should probably give the job to someone who understands grammar/​is a little less lethargic. They have an awesome staff who wants to serve well, but I think management is running this place into the ground. Would have been ⁴⁄₅ stars about a year ago.

Pros — Nice décor, not crowded, fast service
Cons — Everything else
Parking below average, no baby changing station in bathrooms (men or women), confusing menu.
Now for the food… I should have been suspicious when the front page of the menu contained a mini novel about how great the restaurant is. In my experience good food speaks for itself, but this place really does need any help it can get. Perhaps they ran out of salt, because out of six different dishes in our party, NONE of them had flavor. Even the chips and salsa were bland. The drinks were easily forgettable. The black beans were burnt, the carnitas were one step away from the consistency of my daughter’s baby food (which probably has more flavor than the food at Chago’s).
Another disappointment was the confusing menu. Be prepare to spend a dollar extra for any menu item containing beef because of the special grass fed cows that they use at Chago’s. That’s right, if the advertised price of your steak taco is $ 3.50, then you’ll actually pay $ 4.50 because your steak taco contains grass fed beef… Couldn’t they just advertise the right price from the start?
Save yourself the time, money, and disappointment. Don’t eat here.

It was my brother-in-law’s graduation from Belmont, and my husband and I were helping him move out of this dorm. Of course manual labor leads to a hankering of food (usually carbs), so we went to Chago’s across the street from Belmont.
I was both happy and surprised to see both vegan and vegetarian options! Everywhere else I’ve been in the South, it is very rare to find vegetarian yet along vegan options! How nice :)
We were seated quickly and had quite the spread before us. I opted for a taco salad, and they (the men) opted for quesadillas, some combination dish, and perhaps even tacos. I was surprised at the portion size — since we’re from Texas, we thought, wow, «we may actually finish this in one sitting!» And, since then, I felt drained, I opted for coffee.
Our move out day continued, but we were grateful for an unpretentious place like Chago’s to care for the rumbles in our tummies.