Mexicali Chicken and Salad

Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever again.

Me and my friend were seeing the sites in Slab City and stopped in El Centro to eat on the way back. El Centro sucks on Sundays, everyone is closed or close at 2pm. We were trying to figure out where to eat and ended up at this fast food style Mexican joint. We were starving so I ordered a lot.
Ordered 1 folded beef taco, didn’t take a bite because of all the other food. Will eat it for dinner tonight. Ordered 2 orders or beef taquitos, it was very good and hand rolled which was nice. Ordered the 10 piece buffalo wings. Lemme tell you how those chicken wings are on crack, the perfect amount of crunch, not drowned in sauce, perfectly cooked steak fries, and a large side of ranch. Me and my friend polished off the wings, they were that good. Ordered the carne asada fries, doesn’t look like a lot but it is because the steak fries. The carne asada was good, nothing excellent or great, but I’d order this again. Last but not least, ordered the chile relleno burrito for my friend. She absolutely loved it, it was a deconstructed chilled relleno, not an actual chile relleno inside a burrito wrap like you get it San Diego. Me and my friend each took one bite, and that was one super delicious bite, yay for cheesey goodness.
Their salsa bar is really good. Their regular taco shop salsa is pretty bomb, better than some shops out here. The only negative is they are pricier than your average taco shop. There was a restaurant in town we wanted to try, but would definitely eat here again.

Ordered a carne asada burrito. Burrito was decent size but when I opened it I realized it was mostly tortilla. Carne asada was good but burrito was not worth the money. I gave them benefit of the doubt and it happened again with the carnitas burrito. Big tortilla with small amount of food in it. Not going back.

Prices are higher than any taco shop I’ve ever been to, not what I would call great. After this review I was sent an anonymous message and apparently my opinion of this place is offensive. Sorry, just my opinion.

I am so very disappointed in this resturant. This is the second time I’ve had a bad experience with them. Today I went through the drive thru to order a chicken cesar salad. When I got home, instead of cesar dressing in the cup, they gave me salsa. Like SERIOUSLY! Why would I order a chicken cesar salad and want salsa as a dressing? I recall the girl at the window asking if I wanted «ranch» but I said no, i wanted cesar dewssing. After all, I ordered a chicken cesar salad! I called the restaurant when I got home to have the «manager» (I don’t think the girl gave to the phone to the actual manager because this person sounded like they were just another worker) tell me she was sorry, the girl at the drive thru was confussed because I said I didn’t want ranch. Well, that doesn’t make sense since I ordered a chicken CESAR salad! Of course I don’t want ranch dressing! I don’t appreciate this establishments professionalism what’s so ever. They will stop receiving my buisness for their lack of attention to orders. I usually don’t post reviews, but this was ridiculous.

This was the best carne asada burrito in imperial valley. It exceeded my expectations, the meat was tender and super generous proportions. The guacamole danced with the meat on my tastebuds in a duet that sent my mouth into the stratosphere.

This is a great place to eat. I come from Mexico and this is the closest I have been to feeling like I was back there. My personal favorite is the Combination Burrito (and extra salsa)… Definitely recommend this place

The food is good and presented well. We just ate here and had a breakfast burrito and carne asada burrito and they were both delicious.

ordered the macha burrito, before i ordered it i asked how it was prepared, were the vegetables cooked with the meat, yes i was told, i have to say it was pretty darn good lots of meat. hubby ordered carne asada tacos, i tried one, the meat was kind of bland, so I won’t be ordering any thing carne asada in it. also ordered french fries, they were kind of skimpy on the order, but not really they use steak fries, so it just looks like you don’t get much

Great food here! The place needs a little updating, but the taste of the food makes up for it! The salsas on the side are pretty tasty as well.
I had the California Burrito with carne Asada, and added guacamole in it… best one I ever had.
Highly recommended to all!
Will be coming back for sure.

I ordered food for the first time from here tonight. It was decent food but not the best Mexican food in the Valley. I ordered a torta with pollo asado and while the chicken itself was good and had a nice flavor, the torta overall was lacking. For $ 7.99 I was expecting more than two small pieces of soggy bread, a few pieces of chicken, lettuce, and a couple slices of tomatoes. (It normally comes with avocado but I opted out due to an allergy. Must be where the extra cost goes into.) It also came with a small side of fries which had no taste to it. I might come back and try their other options but seeing as I’m a big fan of good tortas this place has already lost a few points from me.

This is the fastest, and most authentic Mexican food restaurant in the valley. Great for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dishes sampled were the breakfast burrito, birria or barbeque, and Menudo.

Excellent Mexican food, but the service is very slow. I got my order first and then about 10 minutes later my husband got his.

I’ve had the chicken burrito and the Chile Verde burrito. Both were excellent. They also have the best Guacamole I’ve ever had. The prices are very reasonable and the staff is friendly. I’ll be back!

From the outside, Mexicali appears to be a fast food chain due to its drive thru. To my suprise, when I walked inside, the food was really good and didn’t give off a fast food environment at all. It seemed like good quality Mexican food. The portion sizes were good and prices as well. I think this place puts up a good completion with el pollo loco. They are both fairly similar. I would come back here again.

I’ve been to Mexicali Chicken and Salad a few times now and everything I have tried has been delicious. Many other reviews mention wait times in the drive thru and that has been the norm for me too. They are a little slower than other drive thrus, but not so terrible as to keep us from coming back.
Last week I came in to pick up a quick dinner and had a carne asada burrito with guacamole, rice, beans and cheese. They used queso fresco, which I wasn’t expecting, and it really made the burrito great. Their carne was tender and juicy, and not cooked to death. I also had a folded taco which was the first time I’ve had them here and I liked it, even if it was a little different. The tacos were super crispy, which I really like, but were just meat and queso fresco inside. I was expecting some lettuce and tomato, but I suppose next time I’ll ask for it to be added. Their breakfast burritos are good, and they have lots of different specials on the menu at any given time. Great food, good sized burritos, and ok prices.

I usually only come here for their salads. My favorites are the grilled chicken salad and the buffalo chicken salad. I’ve tried their burritos and they’re ok but not the best I’ve had either.
I usually only go through the drive thru and it can be pretty slow at times. Other than te wait, I do enjoy this place.

I go here a few times a month, sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner. I haven’t tried much from here, just the burrito special with rice, beans, guacamole & carne asada. I’m pretty big fan, the burrito is a good size for only $ 6. Fills me up every time. I’ve also had the quesadilla ‘s, they are pretty good, the tortillas are thick and tasty. Expensive though.
From a value stand point, this place can get expensive, so keep an eye out for this specials. Both their drive-​thru menu & interior menu don’t have pictures of the food, but I don’t really care much for that. The interior is terrible, they need to do some serious remodeling. As for customer service, it’s a gamble. There is a lady that works there that’s really cool & helpful. But there are also people that work there that give you attitude & dirty looks.
In conclusion, I can’t give this place a solid rating yet, just a 4 star for now for the amazing carne asada burrito special I always get.

I have ordered from this place many times and they can’t get the order right. I frequently order salads from there and three times they have forgotten to give me the chicken or steak that comes with the meal. Of course every time they do this I don’t realize it until I get home. They frequently put the wrong dressings in the bag when you order. It’s great food when they remember to actually serve it. Don’t ever leave the drive through with out making sure they didn’t forget to give you your meal ! Terrible service and staff but good food !