El Mexicali Cafe II — Restaurant in Indio

Takeaway: Enjoyed an excellent dinner for four in this restaurant that serves excellent Mexican cuisine. Details: First we enjoyed the huge Margaritas, served in nice artisanal glasses. Recommend the Cachanilla Skinny with Patron Silver, Tajin and Chamoy rim, and Saladitos ($13.50). Nachos, salsa, and homemade Guacamole started us off. The guac ($14) was very fresh, but I wish it had some more tang or acid to complement the flavours, perhaps like lemon. I guess everyone has their own recipe. For apps we enjoyed their specialty Chilies Gueritos Rellenos de Camarón (stuffed yellow peppers with shrimp), and mains were Especial del Mexicali - Steak strips and sauteed nopales with whole beans ($19), Costillas de Puerco con Nopales - Pork ribs with cactus in Red Sauce with rice, refried beans and tortillas ($19), and Combinacion Fajitas - grilled beef, chicken and shrimp fajitas served with rice and beans ($22). No dessert was had. The final tally was ~$150 (before tip) for four drinks, shared guacamole and appetizer, and four mains. All-in-all the food tasted excellent. The pork ribs in red sauce were very tender, not too spicy. All the food was fresh.

The restaurant decor was on the ordinary side and nothing special. The service was great, timely, and we did not feel rushed.

I guess the only negatives are the price of the guac, which I thought was a little pricey, and I wish they had included three tortillas with the main courses, rather than just two. Or maybe bring out a container with a stack of tortillas for everyone at the table.

Highly recommended and we would...

I have been a customer twice and ordered through postmates twice. What a horrible experience!! The wait staff was not attentative at all during the two dine in experiences. The waitress kept trying to push for our table to order margaritas when we said no the third time I went up to the waitress explained we had a handful of people in our group that were sober. The waitress gave me a rude look and said "well how was I supposed to know that?" SERIOUSLY?

The second time we ordered large orders for our family through postmates. Each time our order was delivered at least 30-40 minutes later than the app suggested. When I asked our postmates last night, she said the restaurant doesn't allow call-in orders for postmates anymore. So the delivery person has to drive to the restaurant and order inside the restaurant. The app is all about convenience and getting the food in a timely manner. When the delivery person accepted the order- she was driving from one part of town to the restaurant which added more time for us as customers to wait for our food. Overall the management and staff seem less than helpful or kind here and we won't be...

This is a great dinner restaurant with ambient, low-lighting, nicely spaced out tables for private conversations, and really good food. The chicken enchiladas were tasty, but nothing super special. Same with the tacos we ordered. But the Oaxaca Queso Fundido appetizer we ordered is my most recommended dish. I mean wow, it was fantastic. It comes with melted Oaxaca cheese topped with chorizo and flour tortillas on the side to dip in. I would come back to this place solely for that.

Our waitress was very friendly and patient as we perused the extensive menu! Everything on the menu sounded delicious and I plan on going back to try some of their other dishes. On a different note, there are two restrooms in the back and plenty of outside parking shared by nearby establishments, though. Prices were fair for the food and drinks too.

Only four stars because the food wasn’t stellar, but it was good. Overall a nice experience and I may return if I’m...