When you want Mexican food, you might normally go for Chipotle, Taco Bell, Del Taco, or other common chain restaurants. But here in Isla Vista, you have other options, such as Freebirds and Super Cuca’s. Now, a new Mexican restaurant has opened up in October that has captured my interest. Will it be the next Freebirds?
Checo’s Isla Vista officially opened on October 1st, 2022. The Mexican restaurant is located at 6578 Trigo Road, across the street from IV Bagel Cafe. Parking is limited, but this is nothing new in Isla Vista.
Checo’s has a bright exterior with friendly workers inside. The menu is posted on the wall as well as on a chalkboard half wall that separates the room. On it, you’ll find the protein options, as well as the topping options. However, be aware that some toppings are extra, as indicated on the menu posters on the wall.
In order to write a thorough review, I tried as many menu items as possible. For my first meal, I decided to get my favorite: a carne asada burrito. Each burrito comes with Spanish rice and refried pinto beans, but you can request less of one or the other or none entirely. I watched the worker spoon meat onto my tortilla and it looked like shredded beef, rather than pieces of carne asada. I also asked for queso fresco, onions, pickled onions, and salsa roja. Once wrapped up, the burrito was a bit smaller than the burritos at Chipotle or Freebirds, which is fair as the price is also less than at those chain restaurants. Overall, it was a bit salty, which I think was attributable to the carne asada.
The next time I visited the restaurant I tried their tacos. The tacos came in a variety of holdings: there was the option of corn, flour, or hard shell tortillas. First, I got a short rib taco on a crispy shell tortilla. The short rib itself was a bit flavorless, but adding lime juice helped to add a bit of flavor to the meat. The carne asada tacos were similarly bland, but the carnitas tacos had a savory flavor that left me wanting more. Last, I tried a chicken taco with a flour tortilla; I thought the chicken tasted okay, but it was nothing special. The flour tortilla itself was also fine. Altogether, I preferred the corn tortillas, as they tasted distinctly homemade.
On all the tacos I tried, I got the same toppings as I did on the burrito. The pickled onions had a delightful bitter taste that added a lot of flavor to the tacos. The salsa roja was not very noticeable, so I am not sure if they put enough. The queso fresco was basically flavorless and did not add to the meal in any way.
The final menu item I tried was the chips and guacamole. The guacamole was basically just mashed avocados with some salt—I was expecting onions and tomatoes, but was disappointed. At least the avocados tasted ripe and fresh. The chips it came with were very hard, yet still tasty.
Overall, my experience at Checo’s was decent. Would I go there again? Maybe. I believe the prices were fair, especially on “Taco Tuesday” where tacos—excluding the breakfast tacos—are $2 each. The burritos as well were fairly priced for their size. I would recommend giving them a try, especially the carnitas tacos and the burritos.
Final Rating: 3/5