Cantina Calafia — Restaurant in Portland

We had a great meal experience at Calafia. We enjoy eating at the bar and had Ryan for our server. He was INCREDIBLE. The dining format is tapas and he was super helpful describing each item on the menu.

We started out with the Mango #5 and the Ron y Tammy drinks. Really great and different from anywhere in town. Highly recommended!!

During the drinks, we went for the “ chips n dip”. While another reviewer was down on the dish due to how the salsa was presented, we loved the Verde sauce but had reservations on the Rojas and Macha sauce. For this dish, we hoped the tortillas were a little thinner.

We then moved on to the mushroom and beans and cheese plate huarache de honto. This is a serious keeper. While gluten free and vegetarian, ANYONE who can appreciate great mushrooms will love this plate.

For our “main course” we chose the Aguachile dishes—both the scallops and the mackerel. If you can only do one, I’d suggest going with the mackerel. But the scallops were tasty as well with a mix of cilantro and cucumbers but watch for the halepeno peppers as they have a kick! ( you can easily move them to the side to avoid eating). Although y wife and I enjoyed these dishes, I’ll admit it just didn’t fit it “flavor profile “ and for scallops, well, I just prefer garlic and butter and pan seared. In both the Agiachile dishes, the fish is raw like sushi but in the flavorful sauce.

We ordered another Mango #5 to share (it was so good!)

Even after lots of discussions with the owner Justin and our server Ryan, we were almost full but couldn’t resist ordering the Flan for dessert. This is NOT TO BE MISSED. It was simply the BEST flan my wife and I had ever tasted. I dare you to say otherwise!

All in all, we really enjoyed chatting with the staff and know it’s going to be a highly successful neighborhood restaurant so you want to arrive earlier than six if you don’t want to have a bit of a wait. We’re hoping Justin and Dominique listen to their patrons and adjust accordingly as they have all the necessary foundations for a knock out but I think they need to expand the flavors in their sauces and I know we’ll be back...

Caesar salad — that’s actually what keeps us going back to Cantina Calafia, and something I definitely didn’t expect from a Mexican-style restaurant.

We’ve been to Cantina Calafia a few times now (always for lunch; we still need to make it there for dinner) and have been really happy with our experience each time. The menu isn’t huge, but it’s the perfect size; a solid mix of salads, tacos, burritos, and other options. Everything we’ve tried has been really good.

For us, the star of the show is that Caesar salad. It’s so good we’ve gone back just for that and a cocktail. The anchovies, the cotija (which they do not skimp on), the lettuce, the dressing… it’s all perfectly balanced. Honestly, it might be my favorite salad in all of Portland. Note to staff: please don’t change the recipe.

Their cocktail menu is also super impressive, mostly mezcal and tequila-forward, but with a few other spirits here and there too. And we love the ambiance inside. The space feels airy, open, and inviting.

Service has always been great. The staff is kind and friendly, and while you could tell there were a few growing pains early on after they opened, they’ve worked those out, and...

I always appreciate tight menus. Easy to choose and not making me overwhelmed. I ordered broiled oyster, full of flavour and bring me back to how restaurant served oyster in my home country.

Pozole rojo even though it’s in appetizer category but it’s actually a dinner size. Delicious and hearty

Also got matcha tress leches. I think this is the first time I ever had it in a corn cake format. Made in house, not sweet and the corn cake give good texture.

As for the drink I ordered pasionada, the combination of tequila and mezcal with passion fruit.

I ordered everything based on the bartenders recommendation. Totally enjoy the dinner...