La Familia cafe — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

2023 Update: I've tried about 5 other Mexican joints in town at this point, and La Familia is still the absolute best. They set the bar sky high!

Original review:

I get pickup or delivery from here way too often. But the food is irresistibly fresh and authentic. It's the best Mexican joint I can find in Kzoo, and trust me I've been searching high and low!

I highly recommend their birria tacos. To be honest they're juicy even without the consume on the side. And get the sour cream - it's authentic Mexican style and you're gonna love it.

If you waltz in during the lunch rush - guess what, you're gonna be waiting a while. I tend to order 15 minutes ahead of my lunch break for pickup, or 30 minutes ahead for delivery.

They're always on time in my experience. The only time it gets rough is, again, if you walk in during a big rush and expect the food to magically materialize in an instant. This is real food, not McDonald's, and it takes time to make.

I will say my only gripe can be the atmosphere. The front door is kinda janky, which hey, I can excuse that. But when it has fingerprints smattered ALL over it, that's another story. My advice to mgmt is to wipe the double door entrance hourly when it's busy. This place is great and deserves to look welcoming. (And if you really want to get it going, update the entire dining room decor and light fixtures to a casual, colorful dinner date vibe and forget it, you'll be raking in the dough. I don't know the logistics about why you're not open for dinner but hopefully that changes over time. This could be a killer dinner spot.)

There's another taco joint in town that rhymes with Snaco Slob's, and honestly I don't know how they're still in business. Mi Familia is authentic, fresh, and it's right there! If you want pretend Mexican food, go to Slob's. If you want the real deal,...

Very poor customer relations. The food was good which is the only reason for returning though yesterday probably was the last time. On the 7 occasions, I have been treated rudly by the 2 gentlemen that work out front 4 times. On 1 occasion I specifically asked for Hot not mild sauce only to leave and find mild...when I called back all I wanted was an apology and the guy said well you dont have to eat it. It seems every time I go they forget something in my order this most recent time I ordered a $1 bottle water but when my order came up the young lady forgot to guve me my water(not unusual sadly) so I said I also ordered a water...she gave it to me no problem. The Manager stopped talkin to somone at a table and went behind the counter looking for my receipt and said oh ok as if I was trying to get away with a free water. What he should have done is talk to the server about not getting order correct instead he needed to make sure I did order the water. The problem is...he wasnt even a part of the process yet interjected himself...

Did an online order for Nachos at 11:46 with pick up ready at 12:01. I work close so I go pretty regularly and we get food catered as well for work functions. Arrived at 12, not ready yet. Continue to wait. Told 3 different workers my name and my order even showing them the order on my phone. Workers kept saying there's a wait cause we have a $100 order we are working on (like the monetary higher amount order took precedence over me and several other peoples $20 orders) . 12:20 I tell them to refund my money and cancel my order and I'm told we are having issues with our computer sending back orders to the kitchen so it was never received in the kitchen. If I want to wait even longer they'll make it now. I said no forget it, I've literally spent my whole lunch break standing here waiting. At any point in that 20 minutes I waited any of the 3 staff should have checked more thoroughly on my order status, but no, they were more concerned with...