Restaurant review: Cha Cha's in Downtown Brea

There's a new Mexican restaurant on the block, and it's worth a taste. Cha Cha's Tacos & Tequila calls itself a "fresh California-Latin kitchen."

At the Brea Promenade, the airy restaurant with patio seating, a bar and windows in the dining room is a mix of modern and old-world Mexican. It has big, square, orange lights hanging from the ceiling and a flat-screen TV in the bar, but a traditional tile floor and Latin music. My favorite detail: old, black and white Mexican cowboy movies, volume turned down, projected onto a wall over the kitchen.

I walked in on a Wednesday night. There was no wait and only about 10 tables were populated, but then the place just opened five weeks earlier and a Dodgers playoff game was on.

One of the owners seated me and when I told him I had never been there before and asked for a recommendation, he pointed out about five cocktails he thought I should try. I actually wanted to know what to eat, but maybe I looked like I needed a drink.

I decided to indulge him and ordered the Mango-Habanero ($8.50), a signature drink made with mango puree, habanero infusion, fresh mint and Pueblo Viejo, a 100 percent blue agave tequila. It was tasty but a little sweet for me. Then again, I'm a beer gal. There's a selection of specialty drinks though that look refreshing (including a slushy mojito) and a long list of tequilas.

But onward to the food.

First I must point out that the restaurant charges $3.50 for chips and salsa. I understand that people might reject this on principle, but I have to say, it's some pretty darn good chips and salsa.

The chips were warm and thin, but not greasy, (made with fresh corn masa every 20 minutes, they later told me) with just the right amount of salt. A basket of them arrives with two salsas. One is an addicting roasted tomatillo salsa that is peppery and thicker than your average salsa verde, so you can really get a good scoop with your chip. The other is a fire roasted tomato salsa that's also fresh and flavorful.

If you order the Fresh Guacamole ($7.50), it comes with chips and the salsas, so that might be the better deal. The guacamole was indeed fresh, with tomatoes and Serrano chiles, and heavy on the lime juice.

We ordered the Chicken Flautas ($7.50), four flour tortillas wrapped around chicken, roasted corn, dried gaujillo chiles and Oaxacan cheese and then baked and topped with mango-habanero salsa. They were flaky, warm and satisfying.

Click here for more of Lori Basheda's review of Cha Cha's in Brea.

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