Calacas Tacos & Beer — Restaurant in South Padre Island

Amazing Birria Tacos, But Be Ready for Chaos If It's Busy 🌮🔥

I had heard from three different people that the birria tacos at Calacas Tacos & Beer were amazing, so I decided to check it out with two friends. Unfortunately, our timing couldn’t have been worse—just before we arrived, about five large families (roughly 10 adults and 25 kids) packed the place, making it extremely loud and hectic.

The restaurant was clearly understaffed for this kind of rush, with only two servers handling everything. Despite that, they remained polite, professional, and hustling the entire time. We got our drinks quickly, but only one of us received food within 25 minutes—while the other two of us waited nearly an hour. Eventually, I spoke with the manager, who seemed genuinely apologetic and asked us to wait just two more minutes. It turned out that our orders had likely been lost or given to the wrong table, so they had to completely redo them.

By the time our food finally arrived, our friend was already finished with his tacos, meaning we all had to eat separately. But let me tell you—those birria tacos were worth the wait. 🌮🔥 Crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful beef on the inside, melted cheese, and served with charro beans. If not for the chaos, I would have been fully immersed in enjoying them!

To Calacas' staff's credit, they did their absolute best despite the circumstances. The biggest downside was that even while they were overwhelmed, they continued seating new customers instead of pausing service to catch up. I personally would have turned people away until things settled.

Also, a note on the families that came in before us—they left the place completely trashed. Spilled drinks, food all over the floor, napkins and plates scattered everywhere—it was honestly disappointing to see. I felt bad for the staff, who had to deal with that mess while trying to keep up.

Overall, five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the food quality and the staff’s politeness. They got hit hard that night, and while service was understandably slow, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. If you're craving incredible birria tacos, I’d still highly recommend Calacas—just maybe go at a time when it's not so busy!

📸 Check out my photos and videos for a closer look! I’ve had over 17 million views on my content—helping people find great spots just...

Had the Choriqueso and one of each street taco. Before you order, they also bring you a small bean dip and chips.

I have no clue how this place is rated as high as it is. Maybe I just went on an off day?

I went to the restaurant at 8:30p for reference, on a night when they close at 11p.

The chips that they brought were ok. Very salty, but I just brushed off some of the extra salt with my finger.

For the Choriqueso, just make sure you know what you are ordering. This is actual melted cheese. This is not the Velveeta style queso. This is thick, stringy cheese. I used the chips they brought out for the queso. Queso was good.

As far as the tacos: The steak in the tacos was cold. Like it had come from a refrigerator cold. It was very tough, and I could not even bite through it without pulling it out of the taco (it pulled the inside of the taco out). Pastor tacos lacked flavor. The only taco I enjoyed was the Cochinita Pibil (Shredded Pork).

Service was not the best. Seemed like they were more concerned with closing duties and talking to each other. I had to track down the server to pay my bill after waiting at the table for 10 minutes. A table finishing when I first arrived had this same problem. May not have been as much of an issue if I had a full beer or food to finish, but I didn't.

Had one Dos XX draft.

Paid about 35 dollars for everything with tip. Was highly overpriced for the experience. Would have been much happier hitting up a food trailer and saving...

The food is great but this company needs a change of staff. The girl who took my order on the phone over charged me because a miscommunication between us, which was no big deal. They insisted to return my funds on my card I used but then I would have been out more money from my account. To which I requested cash back, and thankfully the manager there was nice enough to get me my refund in cash. As I was leaving the establishment the girl who placed my order was being a smart mouth and was trying to justify how I was at fault for placing “the order wrong.” She then started to escalate the situation as I told her that her smart remarks were unnecessary. Lucky enough her manager was there to see her behavior and corrected her before she took it out of hand. If this is how they treat their locals, I can only imagine how they would treat someone not from the area. I’m giving this place a 3/5 star because the food is very good and the other staff there is nice, unlike the hostess. If you get a hostess with two ugly dots tattooed under her...