Kalaveras — Restaurant in Chula Vista

I visited Calaveras today and had a disappointing experience I feel I need to share. When I arrived alone, the hostess at the entrance asked, “What can I help you with?” which caught me off guard, especially since I was clearly entering the restaurant to dine. With the music playing loudly, I thought maybe I misheard, but then she corrected herself and asked, “Just you?” That phrasing felt unnecessary and a bit uncomfortable.

I was seated, and for a while, no one acknowledged me. I understand they were busy, so I waited patiently. A server eventually passed by and asked if everything was okay — I told them I was ready to order, and that’s when my actual server finally came. I only ordered two tacos, but again, the other server made a point of asking twice if I was dining alone, which I found strange and slightly dismissive.

I sat and watched servers come and go, attending to other tables while my simple order still hadn’t arrived. I get that restaurants can get hectic, but waiting over 30 minutes for two tacos felt excessive — especially since I was trying to grab a quick bite before class. When I got up to let them know I needed to take my order to go because I was running late, they kindly offered to rush it. They even gave me extra chips and reduced the bill, which I appreciated.

However, while those gestures were considerate, they don’t make up for the way I felt during the visit — overlooked, judged, and as if my presence wasn’t valued because I was alone or not spending much. I’ve been dining alone for years and never had an experience quite like this. It takes confidence to eat alone, and what should’ve been a simple, pleasant meal turned into a frustrating and disheartening one. They gave me the food in a bag and as I was leaving I looked inside to find the “tacos” not even anything but tortilla and the filling where on the menu it didn’t say it came like that.

I wasn’t angry, and I expressed that when they offered to call a manager. But I do want to make it clear that I didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I left hungry, disappointed, and with the sense that I didn’t belong — all over two...

Wanted to try this restaurant for the first time. Party of 2. We were quickly seated and given a menu and asked what we wanted to drink. My date wanted a agua de jamaica or lemonade but they only carried soft drinks so she ordered a coke. I wanted a michilada Cubana (which is a michi without clamato). They told me that they couldn't make that as the michilada was already pre mixed. They had a full bar...any astute bartender would know how to make it or simply just Google it and make it to satisfy the customer... good grief it's not freakin rocket science. I ended up just ordering a michilada. They brought us chips and salsa. Chips were warm and lightly salted (two thumbs up on that) however the salsa was flavorless and bland (two thumbs down). Their menu is not very extensive so I assumed that anything off their menu would be fire 🔥. My date ordered the barbacoa tacos which she said were just ok but would probably never order it again if we ever returned here. and I ordered the shrimp aguachile. The shrimp looked like they had been sitting in lime juice for a day or two which in essence made them way over cooked (in lime juice) to even to be considered aguachile. An aguachile should be made fresh to order with raw shrimp....this was not the case here. Disappointing, considering the price. I would certainly never order that again. I had a second michilada. Our bill $80.46. Gave them a 10 dollar tip. Total spent was $90.46. Needless to say, I'll never return. Unless they up their game in the food category (honestly, our local food trucks pack more flavor for your buck $), this place is doomed, to say the least, as it's previous predecessors. Good luck Kalaveras your...

We went today for brunch. Ok so I went last year in May for brunch and wasn't impressed. I gave it another try today and really wasn't impressed. First I got an omelet with veggies. You would think they would cook the veggies but they dont. I said something to the guy and he seemed bothered. So he redid the omelet over when he could have just picked the little bit of vegetables he put in and sauteeing them. So he did it again and barely cooked them. More like doused it in oil and got it luke warm. I asked for a few tacos, the tortilla was cold like he threw it on the plancha just to say he did it and put a little bit of meat. The omelet was horrible. The cheese wasn't melted, the veggies were still cold just oily. I went to the buffet part and everything looked good. The menudo was ok, but lacked a lot flavor. Like we put lots of lime and salt. Grabbed a tamale and that was disgusting. The masa was undercooked, the inside was flavorless. I got some sausage and it was super cold. The enchiladas were flavorless also. Went to get tater tots by the kids section and those were cold. Its like they dont check the temperature of the food. The best thing that we had was the flan.

Im not Mexican. Im Dominican. Im a Dominican chef with a good understanding of flavor and service. If I were Mexican, I'd be very disappointed coming here. There was a table of a Caucasian family there and they said they would not come back. The mimosas are a scam because its more juice than alcohol. They even said the food was tasteless. I dont see what people like about this place. This is horrible food....