Fancy tacos at taco truck prices; that’s the promise of Cholita Linda, a newly opened Mexican cuisine restaurant in Broadway Plaza, downtown Walnut Creek, California.
Cholita Linda originally had a location in Oakland on Alameda Island. They also have an outpost at the Ferry Building downtown.
Last year, they announced that they were coming to Broadway Plaza, and we were super excited to try them out. Cholita Linda is now open, and the Bay Area Telegraph headed there to sample the tacos!
Bringing the Street Inside
Cholita Linda has a super cool interior. It’s designed to look like you’ve walked into a street in Mexico, mimicking the “street food” concept for the menu.
The restaurant surrounds you with theming in the style of Disneyland’s Main Street.
There are pretend balconies on each side and a big Spanish tile roof over the ordering area. It feels like you’re sitting in a public square when you sit down to have your meal.
Cholita Linda also clearly wants you to feel like you’ve stepped back in time. There are various vintage objects around the restaurant, including an antique typewriter when you first enter the door.
The restaurant uses its high ceilings and limited indoor space to great effect. It looks very different from Boudin next door or any of the other Broadway Plaza restaurants, which mostly have very “Suburban mall” vibes.
Despite the cool interior, Cholita Linda is a counter-service restaurant. That means it’s a fast option for lunch and is generally a cheaper option than many table service places.
The Food
Cholita Linda has tons of Mexican cuisine items on its menu. But the tacos are clearly the star of the show.
Unlike some Bay Area taco restaurants that go for uber-fancy, wildly pricey tacos, Cholita Linda offers the same kinds of basic tacos you’d find in a food truck.
There’s carne asada, Baja fish tacos, carnitas, and more. Each taco is super simple, with meat, salsa, onions, slaw, and not much else. Again, these are more street-style tacos than what you’d find at nearby places like Gott’s.
Here’s a video we made:
The quality, though, is excellent! We tried the carnitas and Baja Fish tacos, and both were fresh, simple, and flavorful.
Also excellent? The prices! Whereas some Bay Area taco places might charge you $12 for a simple taco, Cholita Linda’s tacos are just $4.95. You can make a decent lunch with two tacos for under $10, or a bigger lunch for under $20.
Given the quality of the food, that’s a fantastic deal.
We also tried the chips and guacamole, which were excellent, although not quite as good as they have at places like C Casa in San Ramon.
For kids, you’ll find simple kid’s meals like cheese quesadillas.
The Verdict
Overall, we thought Cholita Linda was great, and we’ll definitely be back. The combo of food truck prices with a convenient, lovely interior–and excellent tacos–is a winning one.
Some places in the Bay Area try to take traditional cuisine and make it super fancy, and often strange. Cholita Linda stays away from that, focusing on value and quality.
If anything, the fanciness and creativity is directed more to the interior of the restaurant and its design than the food. It makes for a unique environment to enjoy something simple and classic.
It also makes the restaurant a welcome break from some of the pricier, more uppity places in the East Bay. You get all the joy of street food, without needing to chase a taco truck around.
Have you been to Cholita Linda? Let us know in the comments below.
Address: 24 Broadway Ln, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
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