Mexicali Cocina Cantina

Ok first the pros: the food is great here! They have the best pico de gallo out of anywhere I have ever been! Nice STRONG margaritas too. I get take-out here a lot too and it is always delicious. I probably eat here about once a week because the food is just so yummy. The con might only be worth reading if looking for a waiting job, as I was a few years ago here. I was interviewed for a job, and sent back to the manager's office for the second part of the interview. Don't know if the same guy is here now...large, kinda flamboyant, and very very into asking me personal questions (what does your boyfriend do? does he live with you? etc etc). I answered his questions politely and professionally only to have him say he thought they were "sufficiently staffed" at the end of the interview. Hello!! You could have saved me an hour of my day by telling me this from the get-go, so then I would not be subject to your nosy, creepy, intrusive, personal questions. Not very professional from the hiring standpoint, in my opinion. However, food is fantastic so though I don't wait tables there, I remain a loyal customer. Pros: terrific food Cons: creepy owner/manager guy asks personal questions during server interviews. more

Been coming here for years now. The food is ok, the margaritas are better and very strong! Great place to go with a group. Good place to watch sports too! But the service is lousy! The waiters seem to be too important to be friendly to their customers. I think they are all wanna-be actors. Last summer, we went almost every weekend and there was one waiter in particular that ALWAYS had our table. He was so unhappy, unfriendly, and practically made us uncomfortable if we needed to order another round of margaritas. By the way, we tip at least 20% if not more every time he served us. At a certain point, we thought he could at least be a nice guy. We stopped coming because the waiters are just not polite or friendly. Is it that hard to smile??? :( Pros: Fun, Watch Sports Cons: Unfriendly waiters more

Been coming here for years now. The food is ok, the margaritas are better and very strong! Great place to go with a group. Good place to watch sports too! But the service is lousy! The waiters seem to be too important to be friendly to their customers. I think they are all wanna-be actors. Last summer, we went almost every weekend and there was one waiter in particular that ALWAYS had our table. He was so unhappy, unfriendly, and practically made us uncomfortable if we needed to order another round of margaritas. By the way, we tip at least 20% if not more every time he served us. At a certain point, we thought he could at least be a nice guy. We stopped coming because the waiters are just not polite or friendly. Is it that hard to smile??? :( Pros: Fun, Watch Sports Cons: Unfriendly waiters more

I have been coming to Mexicali for years and I love this place! This place has all the atributes of a great restaurant. I should know, I eat out every night. The food is freshly prepared in the open kitchen. I love the Ahi Tuna tacos. I was there the other night and I had the new Kobe Beef tacos. Great! I usually wash down my food with the Margatini, Tasty. This place is dark at night, the music is rocking and the crowd is pleasing! (AKA good to look at.) The service has always been friendly and timely. So give it a try, I am sure you will be back for more. Oh and by the way at lunch they give 30% off your check if you work at any of the studios in town, a great deal! Cheers. Pros: Food and drinks, free parking Cons: small patio more

I have been coming to Mexicali for years and I love this place! This place has all the atributes of a great restaurant. I should know, I eat out every night. The food is freshly prepared in the open kitchen. I love the Ahi Tuna tacos. I was there the other night and I had the new Kobe Beef tacos. Great! I usually wash down my food with the Margatini, Tasty. This place is dark at night, the music is rocking and the crowd is pleasing! (AKA good to look at.) The service has always been friendly and timely. So give it a try, I am sure you will be back for more. Oh and by the way at lunch they give 30% off your check if you work at any of the studios in town, a great deal! Cheers. Pros: Food and drinks, free parking Cons: small patio more

So straight up...Mexicali is a place to get MARGARTINIS. Period. They're a good $7 which is super cheap for LA standards..and oh sooooo good! I've had soo many first dates at this place I can't count. But, if your looking for great mexican try another restaurant. This place has good drinks and (shrimp quesadillas)...but the food is average...very vanilla...And I'm latin and don't care for Vanilla...but did I mention the Margartinis???..ohh they make my soul warm..Four stars for the Margartinis and the hot men that serve them..I even dated one of the waiters when I first moved to LA...lol...Yes they can be cute... ( : more

So straight up...Mexicali is a place to get MARGARTINIS. Period. They're a good $7 which is super cheap for LA standards..and oh sooooo good! I've had soo many first dates at this place I can't count. But, if your looking for great mexican try another restaurant. This place has good drinks and (shrimp quesadillas)...but the food is average...very vanilla...And I'm latin and don't care for Vanilla...but did I mention the Margartinis???..ohh they make my soul warm..Four stars for the Margartinis and the hot men that serve them..I even dated one of the waiters when I first moved to LA...lol...Yes they can be cute... ( : more

I am not sure why it always seems like the people who write on these sites all have an ax to grind. have been coming to Mexicali since they have opened and I have always gotten great service, the Margaritas are great and the food is fresh and tasty. Of course, everything always tastes better when their are cute people to watch (working and hanging out) I would recommend this place to everyone as I have for many years. You can save money on Mondays with the 30% off food and their drink prices sre the best in town. Pros: Prices, Bartenders and Servers, Parking Cons: Can be very crowded more

I am not sure why it always seems like the people who write on these sites all have an ax to grind. have been coming to Mexicali since they have opened and I have always gotten great service, the Margaritas are great and the food is fresh and tasty. Of course, everything always tastes better when their are cute people to watch (working and hanging out) I would recommend this place to everyone as I have for many years. You can save money on Mondays with the 30% off food and their drink prices sre the best in town. Pros: Prices, Bartenders and Servers, Parking Cons: Can be very crowded more

Mexicali can get super busy on a Friday/Saturday night. I prefer sitting outside being a smoker and found them to be accomodating. The food is yummy and the male waiters are nice eye candy!!! Pros: Outside sitting, valet or park inthe back more

Mexicali can get super busy on a Friday/Saturday night. I prefer sitting outside being a smoker and found them to be accomodating. The food is yummy and the male waiters are nice eye candy!!! Pros: Outside sitting, valet or park inthe back more

The bartenders here make awesome drinks and I love coming here! I always get a seat at the bar and watch the cuties work and people watch with the eclectic crowd. I'm not such a fan of the food as much as the fun time that I always have... more

The bartenders here make awesome drinks and I love coming here! I always get a seat at the bar and watch the cuties work and people watch with the eclectic crowd. I'm not such a fan of the food as much as the fun time that I always have... more

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to hanging out at Mexicali because of the hot male servers. I took some out-of-town company there last week and we had a great time thanks to our server, Chase. He was professional, prompt and still had a sense of humor. As for the drinks, they're guaranteed to make you see double (I highly recommend that margatini or one of its sister variations). \r \r And then there's the food. It's not bad, mind you, it's just very average. I had the chicken fajitas with pinto beans and grilled vegetables. Some of the chicken was cold and undercooked. The vegetables were horribly bland and the pinto beans were runny. Fortunately I'd had enough to drink that I could have been eating paste and still would have had a great time.\r \r Fun atmosphere, loud music (which I like) and HOT servers. Come for the drinks and eye candy, eat at home beforehand or grab a quick bite at Casa Vega. Pros: Service, price, bar Cons: Food more

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to hanging out at Mexicali because of the hot male servers. I took some out-of-town company there last week and we had a great time thanks to our server, Chase. He was professional, prompt and still had a sense of humor. As for the drinks, they're guaranteed to make you see double (I highly recommend that margatini or one of its sister variations). And then there's the food. It's not bad, mind you, it's just very average. I had the chicken fajitas with pinto beans and grilled vegetables. Some of the chicken was cold and undercooked. The vegetables were horribly bland and the pinto beans were runny. Fortunately I'd had enough to drink that I could have been eating paste and still would have had a great time. Fun atmosphere, loud music (which I like) and HOT servers. Come for the drinks and eye candy, eat at home beforehand or grab a quick bite at Casa Vega. Pros: Service, price, bar Cons: Food more

We go back because the food is fair and the price is usually right, BUT, they have MAJOR issues. The manager happens to also be the owner. He is rude and condescending. This to a customer that faithfully has been coming to his restaurant since they opened (probably over 10 years). A group of us go from our office for lunch as they have a lunch special for $7.90. This special comes with a drink included. In 5 of our recent dining experiences, we have been charged for the drinks in addition to our meal. I am generally the one that scrutinizes the bill, but many others I can guarantee are getting caught in their trap. I have heard many excuses including ""The computer system doesn't allow for the drinks to be automatically deducted"" and ""That server is new"", but in my viewpoint, they are flat out trying to rip the consumer off. \r \r Why should either of there excuses be my problem? It I am ordering something off the menu, I deserve to be charged for what I have ordered. As a consumer, if something happens once, twice or even three times, it is palatable. In this instance, on the 5th time, I became infurious. Just think about this metric, if he is doing this to 30 people a day (the restaurant was full for lunch today), at $2.25 a drink at 5 days a week at 52 weeks a year, that is over $17,500 that he is overcharging fellow consumers. That is also assuming that it only happens with the lunch special. By the way, as I was leaving, I had asked the waiter how long he had worked there in which he replied that he had been working there for over 2 months. I wouldn't hardly call that new. \r \r When I asked to keep a copy of the receipt with the overcharge, I was denied that. That is the time that he began to be a bit ruder. If you read other reviews, this is hardly out of context. He does insistently claim that it only happens to a very small percentage and without having access to audit his records, no one would know for sure. I don't believe him though. Pros: Food OK, Price is Usually Right When They Are Not Trying to Rip You Off Cons: I Feel That They Have The Intent To Defraud. Management is Horrible! more

We go back because the food is fair and the price is usually right, BUT, they have MAJOR issues. The manager happens to also be the owner. He is rude and condescending. This to a customer that faithfully has been coming to his restaurant since they opened (probably over 10 years). A group of us go from our office for lunch as they have a lunch special for $7.90. This special comes with a drink included. In 5 of our recent dining experiences, we have been charged for the drinks in addition to our meal. I am generally the one that scrutinizes the bill, but many others I can guarantee are getting caught in their trap. I have heard many excuses including "The computer system doesn't allow for the drinks to be automatically deducted" and "That server is new", but in my viewpoint, they are flat out trying to rip the consumer off. Why should either of there excuses be my problem? It I am ordering something off the menu, I deserve to be charged for what I have ordered. As a consumer, if something happens once, twice or even three times, it is palatable. In this instance, on the 5th time, I became infurious. Just think about this metric, if he is doing this to 30 people a day (the restaurant was full for lunch today), at $2.25 a drink at 5 days a week at 52 weeks a year, that is over $17,500 that he is overcharging fellow consumers. That is also assuming that it only happens with the lunch special. By the way, as I was leaving, I had asked the waiter how long he had worked there in which he replied that he had been working there for over 2 months. I wouldn't hardly call that new. When I asked to keep a copy of the receipt with the overcharge, I was denied that. That is the time that he began to be a bit ruder. If you read other reviews, this is hardly out of context. He does insistently claim that it only happens to a very small percentage and without having access to audit his records, no one would know for sure. I don't believe him though. Pros: Food OK, Price is Usually Right When They Are Not Trying to Rip You Off Cons: I Feel That They Have The Intent To Defraud. Management is Horrible! more

The best fajitas I've had in a long time, but its very noisy inside. Seafood burito was really good. Great drink menu. Great if you can si... more

Overall,my experience was a negative one at Mexicali, very bad customer service! First of all, the waiter was condecending and arrogant to my friends and I throughout dinner. Whenever I would ask for something he proceeded to correct me! (This happened more than once) After we where done eating the very tasteless and awful food (which included a corn salad with ""raw onions"") he also urged us in a very sarcastic way to leave the table! I think Mexicali should get their priorities straight and choose good service over good looking wait staff! My friends and I are not coming back. more

Overall,my experience was a negative one at Mexicali, very bad customer service! First of all, the waiter was condecending and arrogant to my friends and I throughout dinner. Whenever I would ask for something he proceeded to correct me! (This happened more than once) After we where done eating the very tasteless and awful food (which included a corn salad with "raw onions") he also urged us in a very sarcastic way to leave the table! I think Mexicali should get their priorities straight and choose good service over good looking wait staff! My friends and I are not coming back. more