Kalaveras — Restaurant in Covina

Not a place a I would normally visit but was suggested by someone one in our group. We were greeted and seated rather quickly, pretty slow in my opinion for a Saturday post lunch. They have your regular diva tequilas on display, yeah you know the one's , yes those and some classics, yes those too. I was not here for drinks, they might have more mezcal options, I did not go reading for some, as soon as I saw a Leguas 7 bottle I gave them a pass as they at least meet minimum requirements.

Onto the food, looking into the menu the fusion concept starts sticking out. Ordered Dragon Roll and Culichi Roll, from these two the Dragon Roll is for sure the winner and I suspect a favorite for regulars, Culichi roll is good just not as good, one thing to note these rolls are huge might be in the Platitos section, but could be a full meal for some. Tried the Barbacoa Plate, was happily surprised, Barbacoa was super yummy, homemade style I would say, just good all around, the portion is a Platote as advertised. Tried the Lomo Saltado, they have a beef and chicken option, went with beef. It's an interesting fusion, they use sweet potato for the fries, it's saltier that in needed to be, not sure if it's used to balance the sweetness, but would not order again, to many risk not enough reward.

For entertainment I think it's a total miss, a lot of missed opportunities. Music was loud, but not terrible music choice, I think the visuals are a hard miss. Name is Kalaveras, lets play with that, there is tv's everywhere, I assume this could be a great hangout spots for sports, but news? Why am I watching news with a stolen truck in Long Beach? How about the Mexican Dracula film playing with no sound, how about The Mummies of Guanajuato with El Santo, or even yet just wrestling replays with la Parka flying out the ring.

To summarize would I come here again, I would! The food is tasty and I have favorites after one visit, we will all have our favorites after all. It is good to see a Mexican styled restaurant take risk, try something different and enter this competitive space, looking forward to...

Horrible service. Our party of 6 got seated by the hostess, and waited a long time for the waitress (Xiomara) to come by our table to take our drinks order, despite the fact that the restaurant was super slow and not busy whatsoever.

We ordered our drinks and food at once since we were waiting for so long for someone to come by. The food did come out pretty fast, I assume because the place was empty.. so that was good. The food itself was okay - not bad but not the best.

The bus boys picking up our empty plates came by every couple of minutes which was nice - however Xiomara, the waitress, dropped by only once after our food came to check if our food was good and never came back to check in. We needed to flag her down for refills and also had to ask one bus boys and the hostess to help us pay our bill once we were ready to go because Xiomara was no where to be found.

We paid our bill and left a generous tip in cash (though Xiomara didn’t deserve any), only to realize that they had added an 18% tip to our check already without being informed. The auto tip is usually for parties of 8 people or more and we had only 4 adults and 2 kids.

We have had positive experiences at other locations but never going back to this Kalaveras location. Save your money and time and go somewhere...

4 stars for food and cocktails not for atmosphere. I'm sorry, maybe I'm just really old? My husband and I have visited at least 6 times, different locations and obviously at different times so we've really given this place a chance. We are 46 and 48. I recently downloaded a decibel reader while we were there and it ranks at 90 on avg (considered loud music) children and infants exposure is 60-85 MAX or they could incur hearing damage. I understand this place is not promoted as a family establishment nor does it give those vibes. Also, I have no children but I'm torn on whether $1.49 tacos, on a Tuesday (which were delicious and I highly recommend the barbacoa) are worth the constant loud music and lighting changes? Or maybe I just need to be in my 20's? On top of that, they use those clackers, like super loud spokes on a bike from our childhood made of wood. We were sat at the bar and my veteran husband cringed every single time, it's a very triggering loud sound. Btw we spent $96 on 3 rounds of cocktails specifically Cadillac margs and $28 in tacos (7 tacos each) Both were well made, tacos are small but tasty. I just don't want to sacrifice my hearing for a night...