Casa Calaveras — Restaurant in Middletown Township

Wow I really don’t know where to begin! But for starters, “ I was so excited to finally try out the New MEXICAN RESTAURANT and to know that it finally opened”! It was the beautiful,” days of the dead “display on building that caught my eye! When I think of authentic Mexican food: I think of Vibrant colors, Mexican music, and the joy of seeing many cultures enjoying the fruits of Mexico! Boy was I wrong.. As soon as we walked in, all you saw were Caucasian people! From the hostess,(Michelle/owner) to the bus boys, down to the waitresses and waiters! I Wasn’t sure if I was in the right place..So, I decided to still give it a chance. As I approached the hostess I asked ,”if there were any booths available”? and Michelle said yes! Mind you there were several opened up front, but she sat us way in the back.. when I say back, I mean way back, like by where the wait staff logins customers orders into the computer, as well as where the kitchen staff brings out all the food! But most importantly what caught our eye was what we saw during that walk toward the booth ! Which became super uncomfortable and made this even more bazar! How there were only colored,( Mexican) people working in the back kitchen! I was so confused! I even began questioning myself: Like wait a minute, ..” I thought hey! isn’t this suppose to be a cultural based authentic MEXICAN RESTAURANT”? I honestly thought at this point we were being punked! I was literally waiting for the host from that show” What would you do” was going pop out from the kitchen! But wait it doesn’t end there: Then to top it off they were playing country music! Like I have no problem with country music, but let’s be realistic here! Not once did they respect the Mexican culture, by simply playing one or two Mexican songs… At this point I was hoping to see someone I can talk to, regarding the ownership of the restaurant.. One of the staff members had explained to me that “ MICHELLE” was in charge of the hire and she declined all applicants who didn’t fit her criteria! She only hired Caucasian people! How disappointing and embarrassing for the owners! Hello.. you a running an authentic Mexican Restaurant without the overall cultural experiences! So, we all just decided it was time to leave! Felt so wrong, the entire atmosphere felt so colonized! The food was seriously over priced, and not to mention on our way out, it just seemed to get even worse! Here’s my final thought : The Mexican experience was no where in sight! except on the menu, in the kitchen, on the front building display, and on our plates! If this doesn’t speak volumes then this place is perfect for you! I would have added pictures, but I would rather let you see and decide...

I have no idea how this place is in business:

We went during the week, about an hour before closing. It took a while for us to get served and shown a table -- the woman manning the front looked us right in the eye several times and ignored us. We weren't even greeted by the person manning the bar, either.

Once we finally got a table, the fun continued. We ordered the guacamole and chips as an appetizer and got the most flavorless piece of green play-dough I've ever tasted for $16. I'd rather try my own boogers.

We also got an order of empanadas and they were very okay. They needed a crapton of hot sauce to make them edible.

At this point, my partner wanted to try a drink, though I do not recall what she ordered specifically The drink was $19 and tasted like flavorless piss. I don't drink alcohol and she had me try it. I'm pretty sure my mouthwash at home has a higher alcoholic content compared to the drink she was given. She was so disappointed she sent it back after extracting the salt from her tears to coat the rim of the glass. 😭

For our meal, I initially wanted the enchilada. I was informed they were out of enchiladas. That's absolutely bonkers to me. How are you out of a Mexican staple food? That's crazy to me and made my blood boil (I love enchiladas okay 🥺)

I ended up ordering the birria grilled cheese and my girlfriend ordered the el gringo tacos.

This is the point where I admit, we may have confused the waitress because we switched what we wanted. My girlfriend very clearly explained what tacos she wanted but I guess the menu and the choices were not what we expected.

She asked for two chicken and one beef taco and for some reason, got three orders of (three) tacos each. So 9 tacos total. At this point, I wanted to scream, as it was embarrassing on a personal level to me to hurt her like that.

We asked for clarification from the food runner who brought us our food and there must have been a miscommunication. They thankfully did not charge us for this and comped us.

I wish I remembered our waitress' name. Because when it was time for us to pay and I gave her my card, she lazily threw the card on the table and made what I can only describe as a grunt of satisfaction that she no longer has to deal with our table, or humans for the rest of the evening.

My meal, the grilled cheese was very good, but I cannot fathom it being $22 worth of a grilled cheese with birria.

Would I come back with others and make them suffer here? No. Would I maybe come back for a grilled cheese that makes me feel shame and hope that I don't have to deal with anyone and can just order my food? Maybe. The depression of being reminded of the poor quality of food service is just too...

I don’t usually write reviews but sharing this in hopes it may save some people some of their money and spare them some disappointment…

We went here hoping to love it but left extremely disappointed. We love Mexican food and are big fans of their sister restaurant, Atlantic House, so we had high hopes but the food was honestly pretty bad. The steak on my torta was so tough and gristly that I literally could not tear off a piece with my teeth… I never send food back but this was inedible… aside form that… it was also really bland under so many unseasoned black beans on a dry bun that that’s all I could really taste.

My wife had the gringo tacos and they were cooked better but tasted overwhelmingly like hamburger helper taco mix with two packs of the seasoning instead of one… really unpleasant and we could only finish one between the two of us.

Our chorizo and corn dip app was slightly better but again very one note… just kind of a gooey mess like one of those dips a relative brings to holidays made from microwaving some cream cheese, cheddar, and hormel sausages together… with so much congealing cheese on to that you can’t actually successfully dip a chip without breaking it… I personally always kind of like those but not enough to have more than a few bites. The chips were fine, not great.

My wife very much enjoyed her margarita. Our server was pleasant but aside from being embarrassed and not charging for the inedible torta, didn’t really try to do anything to resolve anything, which meant we paid $55 for a margarita, a Diet Coke, one shared taco and a few bites of chips in cheese sauce.

The decor is pleasant but corporate in like a Disney theme restaurant kind of way

Others have pointed out, there’s no shortage of authentic, good Mexican food nearby. Do yourselves a favor and don’t waste...