La Calaca — Restaurant in Mexico City

Came here with my boyfriend one weeknight in January. We were seated, and ordered some beers, only to be informed that we had to order food. It was already late, and we had eaten not long before, so we asked if we could just order some snacks to accompany our beers, which the waiter agreed to. I could have understood being asked to order food if it was a weekend, or the place was busy, but it was half-empty. When we asked for the bill, the waiter brought the card machine, and my boyfriend took his card out, ready to pay. Suddenly, the waiter muttered something about changing the paper roll and went away. Fair enough, it happens, but it caught our attention nonetheless. He returned, and my boyfriend paid. The waiter proceeded to inform us that the payment hadn't gone through. My boyfriend is a local, and used to this kind of thing, so simply showed them the payment confirmation email from his bank. The waiter wouldn't accept this and asked my boyfriend to pay again, telling him that if the payment went through twice, he could come back the next day to get his money?! My boyfriend declined, and called his bank, put the person from the bank on speaker, and simply asked for the last transaction, to which they replied, La Calaca, with the time, amount etc. With this confirmation, there wasn't a great deal the waiter could say, and my boyfriend politely asked for his tip back. He was told that it wasn't possible. By this point, we were surrounded by 7 (you read right) 7 members of staff, and the manager joined them to make 8. This was really intimidating and unnecessary, (there hadn't been as much as a raised voice), we had a balcony to one side, and seemingly all of the restaurant staff to the other. The manager also insisted it wasn't possible to return the tip. Eventually, we got up to leave, and as we did, a waiter stepped in front of my boyfriend blocking his way. Exasperated, my boyfriend looked at them and asked if he needed to call the police, at which point, the manager said to let us go and the waiter reluctantly moved aside. It had clearly been a quiet night for them, and they were looking to top-up their takings in any way possible. I strongly advise you to take your custom elsewhere, so you aren't subjected...

Lunch in CDMX is always exciting with many options for theme and fare. La Calaca is a "Dia de Muerte" (apologies in advance for any inaccuracies - I'm not local) themed restaurant that actually has 2 live trees growing inside and through the roof. It's kind of like the "Jungle Forest" meets "Tim Burton" inside, but all crafted to a very high level. Disney could take lessons from this place. We ordered some beef tacos, "steak tartare - like" dish and a huge, hot stone cauldron, bubbling with a mixed meat, seafood and cactus leaf grill. Lunch was served with fresh corn tortillas and green and red chili sauces (!). Everything was flavorful, fresh and delicious 😋. Great neighborhood and good food served in a uniquely CDMX...

For tourists looking for an easy place, this might be a good fit. But if you are looking for any kind of culinary authenticity you will not find it here. It is clear that La Calaca is trying to cater to tourist palates. Dishes had a distinct lack of chile and spice, and between the lack of flavor in the food and the many TVs showing sports on the walls, you would have a hard time determining if you are actually in Mexico or are in the United States when eating here.

If you are looking to really experience Coyoacan, don't make the same mistake we did and eat here. As my wife so aptly put it, this is like the Applebees of...