El Chico Cafe

In 1940, five of her sons moved Mama’s kitchen to Oak Lawn in Dallas, Texas. They named the restaurant El Chico, and it quickly became a Dallas tradition. It wasn’t long before the brothers built restaurants throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area and eventually, the entire state.

Today, there are close to a hundred El Chico restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and throughout the South. Twenty-seven El Chico Restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees.

Our restaurants reflect nearly ninety years of changing tastes and styles and our guests’ preferences. We have taken care to preserve the heritage while updating the decor and adding exciting new tastes to our menu. The strength of El Chico comes from the simple fact that we have been in this business so long, that we know how to improve traditional favorites and introduce our guests to the next level of great Mexican food with our new items.

The Top Shelf line of products is our signature, which covers everything from enchiladas to quesadillas to margaritas. This is our way of delivering quality food and large portions at a value that is unsurpassed. Our menu items are prepared fresh daily and made by hand. We even feature daily blackboard specials to ensure that we provide our guests with a wide variety of choices for every palate. You can even select from a selection of premium imported tequilas to make your margarita just right.Want to know more? Check some of the other topics on our web site. Better still, come eat with us at El Chico.