Chope’s Keeps La Mesa’s New Mexican Table Set

A basket of chips and house salsa is a fine way to begin at Chope’s in La Mesa. The salsa arrives fresh and flavorful, with a noticeable kick that tends to build at the finish rather than announce itself all at once. It sets the tone for a meal built around chile, generous plates and the sturdy pleasures of New Mexican cooking.

Chope’s has roots said to reach back to 1909, and it carries that sense of long local life without turning itself into a museum piece. The building has the lived-in character of a converted home: quaint, slightly idiosyncratic and comfortably old-school. This is a place for settling in over enchiladas, not a polished stop designed to rush diners through.

Enchiladas are central to the menu, and the red and green versions give a table an easy decision to debate. Order Christmas-style enchiladas and you can have both sauces on one plate, a useful choice for anyone who refuses to pick a side.

The cooking is hearty and home-style, with hot, well-seasoned portions that suit an unhurried lunch or dinner. The red and green chile preparations provide different paths through the menu, rather than simply different colors on the same plate.

Chile con carne verde is another green-chile route, described as a lighter-style preparation with substantial pieces of chile. It is a good reminder that the menu has room beyond the familiar enchilada order.

Chile relleno is one of the dishes that regularly earns a place at the center of the table. Its seasoning and flavor stand out, and adding sauce gives it the full chile-rich treatment that many diners come here for.

Combination plates are especially useful at a restaurant with this many staples. A single plate can bring together enchiladas, a chile relleno, tacos, beans and rice, letting a first-time visitor get a broader look at the kitchen without turning the meal into an exercise in ordering too much.

Do not treat the beans as an afterthought. They have their own following and can be one of the more memorable elements alongside the headline dishes. A good combination plate has its workhorse components in order, and Chope’s beans help carry their share.

The tacos follow a New Mexico style, with beef, chicken, red and green varieties among the choices. They fit naturally into a mixed order, especially when one person wants enchiladas and another would rather keep the meal handheld.

Gorditas provide another worthwhile detour from the standard plate. They are the sort of menu item that can keep a return visit from becoming a repeat of the same red-or-green decision.

In the bar area, nachos are hard to ignore when they appear at a nearby table. They make sense with a drink and offer a more casual way to use the restaurant’s chile-forward flavors.

Sopapillas are available for dessert, and they are a fitting finish after a meal of enchiladas, beans and relleno. The menu’s savory side is substantial enough that dessert may require a little planning, but this is one worth leaving space for.

The progression works well: chips and spicy salsa at the start, a plate built around red chile, green chile or both, then sopapillas to close things out. It is straightforward comfort food, but there are enough individual choices to make the meal feel personal.

Chope’s operates as both restaurant and bar, with separate areas of the property giving the visit two distinct moods. The dining side is where to settle into a full meal at an indoor table; the bar offers seating, drinks and a more casual stop-in option.

The bar can carry more noise, with music, televisions and the normal activity of a neighborhood bar. For a quieter meal, the restaurant dining area is the more natural choice. Counter seating and bar seating add options beyond the regular tables, and a private dining room has also been noted.

The service style matches the room: friendly, attentive and efficient, with drinks kept moving and food arriving promptly. The atmosphere remains informal enough for a couple sharing a combination plate or a larger group ordering across the menu.

There is a free parking lot with ample space, a welcome convenience in a destination that can draw diners from beyond the immediate area. Reservations have not necessarily been required, though that should not be read as a standing policy.

When arriving, it helps to note which side of the property you want: the restaurant and bar are distinct spaces rather than one continuous dining room. The split setup is useful if the day calls for a full sit-down meal, a drink with nachos, or a little of both.

Schedules can vary between the restaurant and bar. The restaurant side has been closed on at least one Wednesday while the bar remained open, so current hours are worth confirming before making the drive.