Taquería El Califa (Roma) — Restaurant in Mexico City

Had high hopes for this place after several Uber drivers recommended it. It looks and feels like 5 stars. The food however, is maybe a 4star experience for the price?

Granted I had other street tacos experiences in Mexico and many other places that claim to have the best tacos. This place was fine. The Al pastor which is what I typically base my review on tacos on is what pushed it to a 4. The other types of tacos )barbacoa and ribeye where not so pleasant.

The barbacoa taco meat came out in a clay pot and was wrapped in banana leaves? Nice presentation but left an unusual taste. Meat was it was tender but wasn’t cut up. If you had your barbacoa like this and like it then this might be fore you.

The ribeye presentation and taste were I guess for lack of better words lazy? A thin slice of ribeye the size of my hand just laid out on a semi hot tortilla topped with cheese. Nice concept but execution was less appealing.

The Al pastor was exactly what you’d expect with a decent taste and amount (I ordered 7)

I recommend this place if you are slowly exploring out of your comfort zone. Just note there is plenty of other places...

A lesson in how to get ripped off. I ordered three tacos, all of which were priced at $30 each. These were standard sized tacos I had had before. I asked for some cheese on top. I ended up receiving a bill for $275 pesos instead of $90, which is close to $20 cad. I don’t pay that much in Toronto for tacos like that. When I disputed it, I realized they had changed what I ordered to another, far more expensive item, claiming that it was because I ordered it with cheese. When I continued to challenge it, they then claimed that the cheese on my taco is the price of a quesadilla. So basically they tried to charge me for 3 quesadillas on top of the tacos. The cheese was not listed in their menu so both the staff and the manager came up with different creative versions. Finally I offered to pay $150 and they took it, which convinces me even more that they just made up the price and just flew a little too close to the sun there. Depending on your budget and principles, you may want to...

Was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few vegetarian and vegan options here. I ordered the chicharron de queso, guacamole (really good and portion was adequate for two) and the portobello cheese taco. I had Agua de jamaica to drink and was pleased to note it was not very sweet and it had a lovely touch of cinnamon. As I was still hungry I also got the nopal (cactus) salad. My daughter had the soya pastor which she really enjoyed, but the soya taco she ordered was tiny. Service was good and I liked that the waiter kept the dish warm when one of us stepped away from the table before it arrived. The beans with chicharrón etc was ordered by my husband along with his meat tacos. I didn't try their vegan Gaona options because they were grain based. As I was still a little hungry, I went instead for the coconut flan which came with a cajeta topping instead of the caramelized sugar. I found it to be excellent. If prices were more accessible, I would...