Taquería El Califa — Restaurant in Mexico City

CDMX Eats 2024 #66, Taco #28: I have eaten at El Califa many, many times over the years. Most recently, I brought my in-laws here for dinner Sunday evening.

We started with a round of beers: a negra modelo and two craft IPAs from Mexico City.

I ordered a taco de pastor, a gringa pastor, and an arrachera pastor (they ended up bringing me an arrachera gringa) for myself; a bistec taco, rib eye taco, and Gaona c/ queso taco for my MIL; and a rib eye taco, Gaona taco, and sirloin taco for my FIL.

My FIL ended up liking my arrachera the most, so he ordered one of those. We also ended up adding another pastor taco, order of guacamole, and a costilla costra.

I learned this visit that they have a "special" extra hot salsa that is available upon request.

All the food was very, very good as it usually is at El Califa. The service was also impeccable. My only issue with El Califa is the pricing. A Gaona costra, which used to be my go-to order is now $135 or ~$8USD. That's kind of insane when you realize its size. Yes, it's extremely high-quality and El Califa provides an above-average ambiance for sure, but that's very expensive.

I will be back, but I will probably only return Tuesdays or Wednesdays for their promotions: Tuesday BOGO pastor tacos; Wednesday BOGO pastor...

El Califa is a very well managed restaurant with excellent service. The servers and staff definitely deserve five-stars. However, the tacos are rather boring and expensive. You get a slab of meat on an ordinary corn tortilla with some garnish on the side. That being said, the meat is truly fantastic (this is the only reason I didn't give the restaurant 3 stars). If you want cheese, then the price goes up by about 30-40%. You can also order guacamole, onions, or other goodies on the side to add to your taco. There are many other restaurants and street food stands in the area where you can get a truly delicious and interesting taco for half the price with a more interesting local atmosphere. This restaurant feels like...

Is this a chain taco joint? Yes. Are there hundreds of taco stands all around on street corners and elsewhere? Also yes. Does that make what El Califa doing any less delicious? A resounding no. We've been several times and just... from the costras, to the nopales, to my new favorite, the cebollas, the guac... totones... every little thing was so absolutely delicious. And the sleeper hit for me, the chicharron de queso... my goodness, what a treat. Sit on the patio, watch the bicicletas roll by on a Sunday, or pop in at 2am on a Thursday because you missed your flight and didn't get in until nearly 1am. Absolutely loved everything I've tried here, and a great...