Mexicali Border Cafe

We placed an order for take-​out over the phone. Right then, that’s when our disappointment started. Joe initially answered their phone, he said «Mexicali, Can you hold?» but before we could even say Yes, we were on hold. After about a minute on hold, we were disconnected. We called them again. Shannon answered, we told her we were on hold but got disconnected. Her response, «I know, I accidentally did it, can I take your order?» Not one shred of, whoops, I’m sorry, my bad, just what do you want.
We placed our order: Mexicali Superior, Ultimate Enchiladas, & Julio’s Create Your Own. The minute we were finished speaking, Shannon said, That will be 15 minutes & she hung up. Feeling very unappreciated, we waited the 15 minutes & picked up our order.
The food is not traditional Mexican, it is what we call American Mexican, but we knew that. Nothing had any flavor. The salsa tasted very fresh, but all the meat in the dishes did not have any seasoning, or grill flavor.
Everything tasted very mediocre, we make much better Mexican food at home. The worst part was the feeling of being totally unappreciated, as if we were bothering them by calling & placing an order. When we went inside, the place we busy but not overwhelmed with customers, & there was no one waiting to be seated. There is NO EXCUSE to treat a customer like that.

1. Food came straight out of the microwave. We ordered and 5 minutes or less out came 2 plates of luke warm food. The chimichanga which is deep fried was not crispy. You could tell it had been previously cooked and then simply heated up again. The rice was not even warm, and the refried beans were less than canned food quality.
2. We received a new plate of rice and based off the consistency they took the old rice and simply microwaved it leaving it inedible.
3. The enchaladas had zero flavor it was merely canned chicken smothered in flavorless sauce. Both chicken and beef left little to be desired.
I will not be returning and if I had it my way I would not have paid.

We went for Margarita Day. The margarita was ok, too sweet, but enjoyable served in a giant glass. I had the chimichanga with refried beans. Food had been sitting too long so was cool. Refried beans were bland and had already developed a «crust» from sitting under heat lights. Chimi was blah. The guacamole was already turning gray! Husband had 3 tacos which he did love the pork one but the other two, meh.
We had been twice before in 2015 and 2014 and enjoyed the food.
We won’t go back. Too many other places to choose from.
Our waiter was attentive.

Good servers. Friendly and efficient. Ordered a plate of enchiladas, re-​fried beans, and rice. The plate was only luke warm and I had server heat it up. Beans were very salty, very watery and flattened out like melted ice cream. House rice was gummy, and the flavor just was not there. Enchiladas not too bad.

The only good thing about Mexicali is the convenient location. Every once and a while my boyfriend and I forget about how awful this place is and remember while we’re tasting our first round of stale complimentary chips. Everything is standard prices, but underwhelming quality.
To begin the meal when we were asked what we would like to drink I ordered a margarita, and pulled out my ID before the server could ask, thinking I would help her save a step. Little did I know their policy is to show all licenses to the manager if they still have «Under 21» on them. Started off by making me kind of uncomfortable to have her leave the table with my license rather than having the manager come and see us.
Margarita’s straight from a lemonade circulating container… judging on the cleanliness of the décor I can’t imagine the last time anything got a good clean. Make sure you read the menu carefully as with your fajitas you must choose between cheese or guacamole. Getting both will cost an extra 1.25 (neither are worth the extra).
When asked if we needed anything else we asked for extra sour cream. Server replied she would be right back with it. A couple of minutes later a different server brought back a ramekin of sour cream, when the majority of the meal was completed. When the check came we noticed we were charged .99 cents extra for the late sour cream. This just seems to be scrounging, literally, for pennies. Never was it mentioned that extra condiments would be extra charge and when we asked about it at the end of the meal the server told us that it had always been their policy and there was nothing she could do about it.
I guess my expectations are high to think that when going out to a restaurant if you need extra of something that already comes with your meal, that you shouldn’t have to assume there would be an extra charge.
In hindsight I wish that we had spoken with a manager, but I don’t imagine that would have made much of a difference. Policies seem to reflect some serious issues in management and customer service.

Well, I have been going here since it opened, so, probably 100 times… I’m a bachelor and hate to cook. So, in all those years, only three disappointments. the $ 3.00 split plate charge, I never liked the enchilada, and the standard burrito is too small. that’s it.
NOW THE GOOD, and it’s 5 stars!!!
I frequently go with my buddies, late. The BEST thing on their menu is a soft beef taco, ala cart. It’s HUGE and is good tasting. The chips are good too. I like the salsa, and they will bring a hot salsa too.
They have a burrito (the big one) is plenty and good tasting. The taco salad is excellent. As in really good.
So, I will go back, and the manager is Joe, he will take care of you.
I’m craving a taco right now!!!
John

Love the atmosphere here. Service is great. Food is wonderful. We stop here every year while we are on vacation. It is a tradition.

Chips and Salsa were really good. The white Queso came out barely warm so it hardened before we could get half way through it. The root beer was fine and the smothered burrito was really good! The waiter was nice but seemed very rushed despite there only being two tables served.

The food is great. We’ve been numerous times. We have 1 complaint. There seems to be something wrong with the soda machine. We have tried multiple sodas & all of them seem to have the after taste of sewer water. It’s unbearable to drink. We always tell our servers to see if there’s something they can do about it, & they always seem so dumbfounded. They say no one ever complains of the soda. I don’t know how no one else tastes it. Please fix the machine! It’s deterring us from wanting to return.

Yeah I won’t be here again… food was bland.

Our favorite restaurant well worth the drive from Sarasota. The food is outstanding and the biggest and best margaritas are served here. Saturday night was so much fun — love the atmosphere, Joe and staff. See you again soon!

This the worst Mexican I have ever tried to eat… $ 9.00 margarita that had no taste of tequilla, warm flat beer, and food that was Luke warm. I don’t usually complain… but this was bad.

We came in on Monday night to eat. There was only one table sat in dining room. This should have been our first warning. Took 5 minutes to get sat and 30 minutes for food to come out. I had chicken fajitas and could not even eat them. The refried beans were not eatable. Do not was your time here. We ended up having to go somewhere else and eat dinner. Now we know why no one was in the restaurant.

The food was barely average, and it took forever to get our food! The waitress was extremely nice, but that didn’t really make up for the other downfalls. I won’t go back if I ever come back to this area.

Food was decent and affordable. They had a good mixture of items on the menu to choose from. Doubtful that I will go back because it simply «so so» food, I’ve made better at home. The service was a little slow and not overly friendly.

This place is right by our house so we were hopeful it would be good. I’d heard negative comments about the food before, but figured it might be worth just one try. I was totally wrong.
This place was the first time I’ve ever sent food back and the first time my husband didn’t bother to keep his generous amount of leftovers. The burrito was seriously something I could have easily made better at home. It was just a bunch of beans that tasted as if they were scooped straight out of the can and rolled up. I felt like it was about to burst open on my plate because of bean power. And my husbands enchiladas tasted like they just rolled up cheap mozzarella cheese and heated it up in the microwave. I don’t think a single thing we ate didn’t come pre-​made from cans and bags. And if they actually are making it themselves, well, then they should probably stop. It’s expensive too considering how incredibly cheap the food tastes.
The only good thing I will say about it is that the waitress was very nice. So go ahead and try it for yourself if you want. But, just be prepared to end the night with less money and more nausea and regret.

1 star is generous for this most miserable of any Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten at.
Service: atrocious. Server was rude, acted inappropriately, insulted our family, had baggy pants down that showed his butt crack… not kidding it was unreal how mismanaged this restaurant is.
Advice to owner: get new manager and menu
Tables and chairs are cheap, dirty, the entire place is tacky and filthy.
Food: I am very confident the beans are from a can, tortillas from a bag, rice also from a bag (worse spanish rice ever tasted)
Had the fajitas, which are really hard to get wrong-​awful.
Would never come back

Came here with high hopes because I love authentic Mexican. Ordered a margarita. Okay. Super salty. Wish I would of known about the 2-​for-​1 sangrias.
Boyfriend got the chicken enchilada soup for an appetizer. Tasted like peppery gravy. It was alright. Not soupy at all. Be better for breakfast on a biscuit.
We ordered the 2-​for-​1 fajitas that they have on Tuesday. They brought us out one tortilla shell. I guess they assumed we’d split it? Huge chunks of onion and peppers.
Would be better if they were cut in slices. Steak was real chewy. The waitress brought out more tortillas but it took a very long time and our food was cold by then.
Good white queso. Should of stuck with that and drinks only.
Won’t be back.

Mexicali is not a true Mexican restaurant. I would describe it as an Americanized version of a Mexican restaurant, or perhaps a sports bar Chili’s with a Mexican theme. Maybe an «Over the Border» with worse food. The server was very nice and attentive. The atmosphere in the bar was inviting. My wife and I had lunch there and didn’t have high expectations other than craving good Mexican food. That was the largest issue. The food lacked flavor and seasoning and it definitely isn’t Mexican.
The waiter brought chips and salsa, which was OK but clearly from a can. We ordered the guacamole, which again was from a can. Nothing really homemade here. The chicken tacos were bland and boring, and quite dry. The chicken enchilada was little more than a piece of chicken wrapped in a tortilla. No finesse in the kitchen, that’s for sure. Bland, bland, bland.
I asked for hot sauce and the kind waiter said, «Tabasco or Cholula?» Not even a homemade hot sauce. Truly not a Mexican Border Cantina as they are going for.
I’m tempted to go 3 stars because the server truly did a good job and the place looked sort of fun, cool atmosphere, but the food really brings it down.

Nice New Mexican restaurant right next to Rice Bowl Asia house. The wife and I ordered the Mexico City Tacos, and strangely enough they seemed authentic.
Great Cilantro flavor with just the right tang on the pork.
Added bonus; the owner is from Chicago and great at customer service. Plenty of food for the not to brave as well. Highly recommend.