The bright colors and essence of Mexico come to life in the flavorful food and drinks served lovingly by Chelly's Cafe. Whether you stop by for lunch or dinner, you can expect hearty portions and exemplary service. And with today's Deal, you can get $20 of food and drink for only $10 from this neighborhood gem.
While the restaurant is casual, the cuisine is first-class. Chelly's is known for its chicken and spinach enchiladas, or try the chipotle cream, spinach, chicken, cheese, ground beef, or enchiladas supremas (one chicken, one cheese, and one ground beef enchilada, so you can cover all three bases at once). Quesadillas are grilled flour tortillas filled with melted cheese, red onion, mild green chilies, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream and jicama pineapple coleslaw and your choice of chicken, steak, shrimp and avocado, or fresh roasted vegetables. Chimichangas (featuring chicken, ground beef, pork, or steak and potato) are layered with onions, peppers, cheese, and fresh vegetables, fried in a crispy flour tortilla and topped with salsa, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole.
Choose from soft or crispy tacos with chicken, pork, steak, or Baja chicken with generous side portions of rice and beans, plus a Mexican flag of pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Chelly's fish tacos are unsurpassed: three soft doubled-shell corn tortillas filled with fresh tilapia and dressed with chipotle and avocado cream, also topped with pineapple coleslaw and served with rice.
Chelly's began with a love story. Norma Araceli Cervantes, whose nickname is Chelly, lived in a Mexican village with Ruben Campos, who was friends with her brothers. Ruben moved to Los Angeles when he was 12, but returned to visit his village and friends some 13 years later. He became friends with Chelly through four years of visiting, and grew to love her (though he never said anything to her about it). When she was 19 and about to marry her longtime boyfriend, Ruben could not quash his feelings for her any longer, so he asked her to marry him instead. She discovered that she loved Ruben more, and ran away with him to be married on Valentine's Day in 1994 in Los Angeles.
Some sixteen years later, their relationship is still strong and focused on serving the best of traditional Mexican cuisine to guests, whom they treat as family.
