El Charro vs. Dona Rosa

 Vs.

Contenders: 

When it comes to authentic Mexican food in Harrisonburg there are two main places people tend to go, El Charro and Dona Rosa. Both serve authentic style Mexican food so how do you choose? I decided to go to both and get the inside scoop on how they compare. 

Both menus offer a variety of authentic Mexican cuisine with comparable products.  Both are also well known for their Fish Bowl Margaritas, a huge hit with college students out for happy hour.

Taste:

El Charro has good quality meat, delicious rice and refried beans with cheese. They have very good tasting guacamole and crispy chips. Their salsa is milder and a little watery. Their enchiladas, burritos and taco salad are very good.

Dona Rosa has very crispy chips and very good salsa. They bring two types of salsa, one is hot and the other is mild but both are very tasty. Their refried beans are ok, and their rice seems to be green. Their meat is a little tough and their guacamole requires an acquired taste. 

Taste Winner: El Charro 

Price:

El Charro offers the majority of its entrees for around $8.00, with dinner specials that include enchiladas, burritos, or tacos with rice and re fried beans as sides.

Dona Rosa offers most of its entrees for around $10.00 and also has dinner specials, also with rice and refried beans.

Price Winner: El Charro 

Atmosphere:

Dona Rosa is a smaller location, with dim lighting that creates a private, personal setting. It is almost too small, you can hear everything everyone else is saying and if you aren't on a date its too personal. 

El Charro is a bigger building which offers more seating. It is well lit and is usually bustling with activity. 

Atmosphere Winner: El Charro 


Service:

El Charro has a large number of wait staff and within seconds of sitting down the complimentary chips and salsa are brought to the table. The staff is friendly and attentive, frequently checking to be sure water glasses are full.

Dona Rosa has a smaller staff since it is a smaller establishment. The staff is friendly and brings the complimentary chips and salsa out to the table quickly. They are not as attentive with refilling water but they do check on the customer a good amount.  

Service Winer: Tie


Location:

      Dona Rosa has one location:

1.     43 Linda Lane, Harrisonburg, VA 22802

El Charro has three locations:

1. 1570 East Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22802

2. 1580 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22802

3.  Opening soon on Port Republic Rd, right next to Salad Creations.

Location Winner: El Charro

Overall:

Winner is: El Charro

For superior taste, price, atmosphere, wait staff and location El Charro is head and shoulders above the competition. 

-OF