La Calaca Comelona

This used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I loved the food and service. I was a regular. I stopped going as often and the last time I went will, sadly, be my last. It was a Friday night and I was there is with my partner and two kids. We were seated pretty quickly. There were only 3 other parties in the main restaurant and a few people in the bar area. One of the groups had finished their meal and were just relaxing. The waiter took our order pretty quickly but the food didn’t come for over 50 minutes and when it came, was barely warm and quite bland. We only ordered tacos and a salad so there is no real reason for it to have taken so long. The chicken tacos had something in them that was the texture of cold mashed potatoes, yuck. We didn’t really have time to send the food back and ask for hot food because by now it was late and kids. My partner had to ask for the bill and then track someone down to take his credit card. We only saw the waiter when he took our order and brought us our food, which is odd when the there are only two other tables in the whole restaurant. Sad. I’m done.

Good Mexican food. A lot of variety in what they offer. The outside it doesn’t look so attractive, but inside is has a good atmosphere. Their happy hour is good. You should go and try it.

I’m not sure whats going on here! I’ve been here before and it was a decent place for a reasonable happy hour. The service was always hug or miss but never terrible. However, my family and I came in for dinner the other night and it was horrible from head to toe. There was barely anyone in the place yet the service was terrible. Our server was rude and very checked out. They don’t even have iced tea! Really? The food was not good and the plating was super sloppy. I will not be back!!!

A little nervous from the mixed reviews but eager to venture out to a place that strives to be authentic Mexican cuisine and armed with a Groupon got us there.
We were seated right away and our order was taken within 5 minutes (the place wasn’t very busy later on a Friday evening). Our server was very helpful in navigating the menu. Showing up hungry we decided to spend $ 3 for chips and salsa. Probably the weakest component of the night, I’d recommend passing on the cold, stale, most likely store bought chips. The home made salsa wasn’t bad– the garlic made it interesting but not really my cup of salsa.
The entrees on the other hand were quite good. I had the blackberry mole chicken. They sliced the grilled chicken very thin and stacked it under a very tasty mole sauce. It was garnished with pear slices and a side of Spanish rice, very tasty and generous portions.
The wife had the mixed grill with beef, mushrooms, bacon, cheese and tomatoes. This plate was full of some very flavorful, tender food, served with enough tortillas to eat it all. (Fortunately the wife was full before it was all gone and I was called to help finish it off).
From the time we ordered until the food was on the table… 16 minutes. Nothing to complain about there. The place was extensively decorated and seemed very authentic. My new bank disbursed $ 50’s and $ 20’s and to my servers credit, she came out after us when I left a $ 50 when I intended to leave a 20. Other staff might have just pocketed the money and thought nothing of a 300% tip. Thank you!
I’ll go back, the website talks about changes to the menu and we are eager for another adventure.

This is in my top 5 favorite restaurants in Portland. I love their happy hour. It’s fun, kitschy and themed Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It’s not for those who like ordinary food, but if you feel like being adventurous and enjoying the cultural experience, go for it. I love their patio in the summer.

The food was disgusting and extremely overpriced. We ordered two chicken mole, and the chicken tasted rubbery. It wasn’t fresh, and for a 16 dollar plate, it should of been fresh. I almost sent it back because it was so bad, but I was so hungry that I didn’t want to try to find something else, after having to wait nearly 45 minutes for this plate. There were about 9 other people in the entire restaurant, so waiting 45 minutes for gross mole and having to pay the ridiculous price tag for it was outrageous to me. Would never recommend, there are far better places in the area.

I loved the vibe and atmosphere to this Portland joint! It is very well decorated with a dia de Los muertos theme, with indoor, outdoor, and bar seating.
Indoor seating is too cute with a dim and romantic setting. While outdoor is fun and full of adventure. We chose to sit outdoor with less to look at but more time to enjoy the beautiful rainless night in Portland.
My friend and I both loved the dishes we chose! I got the green snake drink specialty and it was to die for! I am not a huge fan of cocktails and I especially enjoyed this one. My Frind ordered the enchiladas which was a full plate! In the dark it was a bit difficult to find the enchiladas under all of the décor on top. I ordered the carmanones de Ajo and they were splendid! It was a perfect combo of authentic Mexican flavor and most watering sensation.
The only downfall is the price, however, it was well worth it! Service was super fast and we were all taken car of!

Food pretty much as unmemorable as the name. Tragic margarita, bland tostada, sad fish taco. The server was super sweet, though, and the back deck décor makes you feel like you’re in some Mexican grandmother’s backyard.

BEST beans and rice I have EVER had.
Don’t come here wanting chips and salsa– they don’t serve it! FYI.
Awesome place to eat.

Worst Mexican food I’ve had in portland. The food was bland which is a shame because it has a great location. You also can’t get chips and salsa. We had to special order that. It was too hipster for me and the margaritas were watery. :(

love the vibe here. great patio and atmo, cute bus parked in front makes it all seem real. loved the food got the ricotta taquitos and the green salsa went fast! loved that my date took me here great service excellent time

This part is review of the food:
Very good food for the price and quality. The only thing that is not of good value is the Tacos. You can get much better quality at hundreds of other places. I was an employee there so I will try and be diplomatic as possible. The Enchiladas Morelianas (this dish is piled high) are fantastic, nothing like you get if you order this dish anywhere else. People’s faces are always funny when they see this dish. Camarones are good, but could use a few more. Everyone loved the Chuza Rusa. It was as close as they get to Fajitas. Mariscada is pretty good to. Any of the Tostadas are proper and pretty good choice. It is popular there to order several side/​apps and split between a few people. The smoothies are good and never had a complaint. I have tried all these dishes and give a good recommendation on the food.
If you are in the mood for Tacos, I would suggest somewhere else, they don’t make their tortillas there either. !Burritos?, no they don’t serve burritos (unless its a special). If you are going to go, I would suggest one grill dish, and a few Apps/​sides to split with a few people.
NOW, lets get to the problems. I have read some of the reviews and will give any knowledge I have. They never keep the same staff. The entire front of the house staff is new, constantly. The biggest problem is the manager, the son of the owner. He doesn’t know how to communicate properly with employees and customers. When I say properly, I mean Diplomatically and professional. He does complain about customers and ex-​employees in the open, he simply is ok with starting a argument. He does not handle complaints/​mistakes from customers well at all. I will also say he is great with regular customers, and always greets them kindly.
The reason they will not seat people when the restaurant is half full, or getting over half full is to keep the kitchen from getting backed up from mass tickets. A good manager would know how to handle this issue, however this manager has not learned that skill yet. I will also say that they have not learned proper pay periods for their employees and the laws that pertain to being paid on time.
SO here is the catch, good food VS. Bad mgt. With a little help this place would be a local legend. If we could only get it into this managers head.

I had a Groupon deal for this place and had been wanting to check it out. My boyfriend and I came here on a Thursday night around 8pm. There were a few tables, not packed to the gills. I liked the décor, and the patio looked nice. Most uncomfortable chairs I ever sat in though.
I waited for my boyfriend to get there so I had ample time to look over the menu. The menu items just looked… weird for the most part. I was going to get a chile relleno, but it had pomegranates seeds on top? I like pomegranates, but not on a chile relleno… maybe I’m just not that adventurous…
After my boyfriend got there, it took about 10 – 15 minutes to put in our food orders. Then, it took what seemed like half an hour to get our meals. There looked like only one guy working in the kitchen. I got the Enchiladas Morelianas, which is the weirdest way I’ve ever had enchiladas, but it was decent and I ate my leftovers the next day. The enchiladas are just basic cheese enchiladas that are fried, and then have chicken and cabbage and potatoes piled on top. It also has carrots, but I just thought carrots on enchiladas was way too strange so I asked for no carrots. My boyfriend had the Alhambre plate, which smelled great, and I took a bite of it and it tasted pretty good. He reported that it was yummy, but only gave him 3 tiny tortillas which he had eaten in about 5 minutes. He didn’t want to get charged for more so I just picked up more tortillas from the grocery store on the way home.
I had a 30 dollar Groupon which was easily spent on 2 entrees by themselves. I wouldn’t go back without a Groupon, for how expensive it is. I might go back for Happy Hour, but wouldn’t go back for dinner again. And, we spent an hour and a half in the restaurant, so don’t come in if you’re in a rush.

Their lunch menu is pretty good. You’ll be missing out if you don’t give it a shot. Their tortillas are made by hand and they’re just perfectly made.
The staff are friendly and well versed in their menu. They have a good selection of drinks and stay true to their roots by offering Mexican varieties of sodas and beers through the lunch window.

Can’t believe this place isn’t rated better! They have the freshest most delicious food. Love there grasshoppers, they’re spicy drinks and their tortillas! I go there for special occasion because it is a little pricey for a regular meal for me. Broke college student budget. That said they have a great HH. and I love saying the name.

Worst service I’ve experienced in a very long time. Rude, unsmiling server, inattentive and just a DICK in general. Food is fine, drink was weak, had to add a shot to a Cadillac, cost 12 $ for a decent margarita.
Great décor, but pass it by.

Went for dinner on a Friday night recently, the restaurant was mostly full. We were intending to eat a light, simple dinner but we’re amazed by the options so switched up the game plan. We ordered the Chapulines and shrimp & cactus to start. Small shrimp but everything was tasty. For dinner we ordered the Mole de Pipian and Chile Relleno, both were incredibly tasty and very authentic to the Northern Mexican cuisine (which is distinctly different than the typical American «authentic Mexican»” options.)
I recommend giving this place a whirl for incredible northern Mexican flavors. Also, they have Tecate on draft. Amazing.

Just went with a group of (6) friends last night, to celebrate a birthday, and was excited about trying this place out for the first time (have heard great things!). Unfortunately, they fell short.
The good: The guac was delish (although insanely expensive, $ 6 on the happy hour menu, which really gave each person one to two bites).
Room for improvement: the margaritas are watered down, too sweet and obviously made from a mix. Not sure if they use lower quality for their happy hour margs, but regardless, many people in our group couldn’t even finish them — and thats saying a lot coming from my group of friends!
Not good: The waiter was rude and absent (even though we were one of three tables in the whole place). When we asked for more tortillas to be able to finish the guac he seemed annoyed and said ‘well, how many’…umm, one for each person would be great for starters! It should be mentioned that there are no chips/​salsa or anything on the table, so we were either going to eat the left over guac with our fingers (which, I’m not totally apposed to) or need some vehicle. Tortillas were brought with an extra charge.
In the end, he added the gratuity for a large group (which is to be expected) but when our receipts came out he had overcharged two people.
Disappointing overall, sad to say.

I love this place so much. Fresh ingredients in the drinks mean that there aren’t overly sweet. I drink a couple caipirinhas over the course of the meal. You can get a meal of tacos or a torta for cheap, or spend a little more for a plate of something homey and satisfying.
Yes, the service is slow. That’s not a bad thing, it’s the casual, laid back, and friendly kind of service that we tolerate in Portland. The happy hour is one of the best in Portland and the garden outside is a great place to enjoy your drinks and food.
My three year old loves this place, too. There’s no kids menu, but with tacos and beans a la carte, we can get an appropriately sized meal for her.

First of all, I’d like to say that I think that the Happy Hour was great. However, our waiter, who was the son of the owner was rather rude.
Most of the food seemed pretty good. However, we ordered Enchiladas. There was only a very small portion of enchilada — maybe ¹⁄₅^th the size of a normal enchilada. It was under a mountain of weird tasting shredded lettuce, cheese, and what seemed like potatoes, meat, and an occasional carrot.