El Charro has been in Mesa f-o-r-e-v-e-r. The other reviewer was correct in that it used to be super smoky, but not anymore. Since the place is small, every table was a smoking table. My chain-smoking parents loved that back in the day...ha.
The food is wonderful. The inside is dark, old school, and it's like stepping back in time with the sticky vinyl booths and 70's table tops. They did paint it a dark green on the inside many years back, which was a nice change from the dark red it used to be. It used to be like stepping into a horror flick.
My parents have been going here since the 1970's. We practically ate there every week when I was a child. I missed it dearly when I moved out of state. Don't know if El Charro is necessarily authentic but that doesn't matter to me.
The soft tacos are my personal favorite. The chips are usually always hot. They have two salsas, a hotter one in a squeeze bottle and a milder one in a bowl, both very good. The prices are reasonable, the staff is nice, and your food comes out very quickly. :)