MAMA COCO... Cantina in Calera, Alabama, is an absolute gem! From the moment you step in, you're greeted with warm, inviting ambiance filled with vibrant Disney Coco animation art and a rich cultural atmosphere. It's the perfect family-friendly spot with a strong sense of community, and the service is top-notch. I had the Durango Steak--a ribeye medium cooked to perfection, paired with 5 jumbo shrimp on top of the steak...that were grilled just right. The plating was gorgeous! It came with a side of steamed vegetables smothered in their famous cheese sauce and authentic Spanish rice. To top it off, the steak was served with a savory fajita butter that elevated the whole dish to a whole new level of amazing. My daughter had the most flavorful quesadillas she's ever tasted--super fresh ingredients and the best slow-cooked Mexican beans with bits of tender, slow-roasted pork. My mother enjoyed the Pollo Loco, with sliced juicy chicken chunks grilled with peppers, laid on a bed of that mouth-watering rice and cheese sauce. The service was incredible! Our server was a cool, professional mature boxer who told stories of his fights recent fights in Mexico (cool guy) .... and he was very knowledgeable about the menu, with a great sense of humor and obvious respect for the restaurant and its owner. While it wasn't packed during our visit on a weekday, I've heard weekends are full of energy with karaoke, half-off drinks, and some seriously great music! And the Texas Margarita? Hands down the best margarita in town, top-shelf liquor all the way! Whether you want it on the rocks or frozen, it'll have you dancing in your seat. If you're in the area, don't miss out on this incredible spot. MAMA COCO Cantina is definitely worth a visit for authentic Mexican cuisine, great vibes, and fantastic service. Me and my family Highly recommend it! read more

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Location permanently closed! It is now El Rancho Cantina Grill. Mama Cocos is now closed. The new place is worse!

I've been here a few times, but this is my first time reviewing. It's right next to a laundromat. It doesn't look like much but the interior is beautiful and the food and the drinks are really good. The way they have it decorated. It's like from that movie Coco from Disney. They also have another restaurant in Vestavia that I frequent since it's closer to the movie theater, but they're both equally good. Tonight I had the grilled chicken chimichanga , frozen strawberry margarita, chocolate, martini, and churros Everything was so delicious and our server was so sweet. She said it was her first day serving as she is usually the bartender there. I cannot remember her name, but she had long black hair and she was so cheerful I'll definitely be back sooner than later read more

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The first time I went there the Mexican pizza was spot on. I like it so much I went back again and the Mexican pizza was terrible. The server came back every three minutes asking if you need something which was annoying and plus they forgot to put the jalapeños on the Mexican pizza. I'm going to post two pictures to show you the difference. read more

Mama Coco Cantina - First time Pizza was spot on - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

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Food is good service sucks. No salt or pepper on the table. My burrito was bland so I ask for hot sauce. They brought a saucer of the house hot sauce. Not very flavorful but my main issue was being charged 2.85 for the sauce . We will take our money elsewhere . read more

The staff is awesome. Very inviting and casual. The chips and salsa were very good. We tried the momma dip, it was delicious and you could almost make a meal off it with the amount of meat in it. In fact, I will only say this would be a five star review, were it not for the imitation crab in the otherwise delicious pineapple filled with seafood and grilled veggies. Either put real crab in or take it out because it adds nothing in my opinion. Other than that, really good food! read more

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My new favorite Mexican restaurant! Loved everything about it - the food, the decor, the music. And Daniel, our server was fantastic! I wanted the seafood served in half a pineapple, and when they didn't have any pineapples, he quickly went out and bought one at a nearby supermarket without telling me they were out of pineapples. Now who would have expected that! Everything was wonderful and I definitely will be back! read more

Delicious food and great service from Daniel! We also loved the Mexican music and artwork! read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

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Great place! Food was delicious. The chicken and rice was so good. Chips and salsa were plentiful. We were just passing thru town, but would definitely recommend. read more

7 months ago I was told about Mama Coco friend a friend of mine, and when we went on Saturday. The place is in a small are next to a dollar store so that's convenient I guess? Lol. We were immediately greeted by a hostess with a smile so that's always a plus. The service was excellent and the food was phenomenal and trust me, I'm very picky about cantinas and Tex-Mex. The presentation of food was great and taste even better. The bartender spot on with drinks and food? The Mexican pizza appetizer was amazing, shame on Taco Bell! My grande burrito was packed with meat and flavors. The fried churros and ice cream was just the cherry on top, figuratively and literally. Our waitress made the continuous effort to make sure we were taken care of. I highly recommend this place if you're looking for a good cantina/Tex-Mex restaurant. The prices were more than fair especially with everything going up as it concerns food costs. read more

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My wife and I ate a late lunch at Mama Coco's Cantina yesterday. The food was good. My wife loved the thin chips. The service was fair - a bit of a language challenge between myself and the server. You should not have to repeat "small frozen margarita" three or four times in a Mexican restaurant. Also, I noticed in a previous review (8/14/23) the AC was out. It was still out yesterday (8/20/23) and was 95 degrees outside. But, what really aggravated me was the nonsensical charges on my bill. I simply ordered a "fajita chicken quesadilla, ala-carte". That description seems to work flawlessly in all the other Mexican restaurants we patronize. But not here. When I received my bill, I was charged for a quesadilla ($4.95), add onions ($.95), add tomatoes ($.99), add bell peppers ($.95), and grilled chicken ($2.00)...See attached receipt photo. The total cost of my "fajita chicken quesadilla" was $9.84. Really? It's not even the price as much as all the extra charges that were added on. If you want to charge nearly $10 for an ala-carte quesadilla, then put that on your menu! Then I can make my own decision as to whether I am willing to purchase that item or not. And then to add insult to injury, they charged me a 2.45% card fee! I realize times are hard for small, mom & pop restaurants these days, and they are all watching every cent. But you can absolutely nickel and dime yourself out of business! This whole dining experience was very UNDERWHELMING! There are simply too many really good Mexican restaurants within just a few miles of Mama Coco's to have to put up with this nonsense. It will be a very long time before my wife and I visit this establishment again (if ever). read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Please take note of the added charges for a "fajita chicken quesadilla". - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

I love ordering their Mexican Spaghetti and Mamas Dip. I have ordered several other items but these are my go to items. And they are on Door Dash! read more

Your typical, reliable Mexican place in bum - f*** AL Because why? Everyone needs to work and some people know how to cook, so that's what they do well. We had some burritos and fish tacos. Yummy. My husband noted some IP infringements with using Disney Coco as a motif ‍ read more

Great atmosphere inside, total surprise. Food was great. I had the chilaquiles, my brother had the huevos with chorizo, beans and rice. I wasn't a fan of the flavor of the charro beans I ordered on the side, tasted more like hotdogs than anything to me. But that could be personal taste preference, so I don't discount the rating on that. Presentation, timing, staff, portions, all were great! I'll be back! So much to try on their extensive menu, and look forward to trying drinks next time as well. read more

Very good Mexican food!!!! Great prices nice atmosphere!!!! Lots of options. Great frozen Margaritas!!! We will be back!!! read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

Great Place for drinks. Great and fun atmosphere and great waitstaff. I enjoyed every second of it. read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Shrimp quesadilla w/rice and beans and Watermelon Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

First time trying. We ate from the lunch menu. I had the Fundito Grill, which was very good with nice seasoning. I had a small strawberry margarita which was also very good. Enjoyed the cheese dip and salsa. Service was a little slow but very pleasant. read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Menu cover - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

Not only do they do all of your favorite Mexican fair really well, but it's plated beautifully. If you like seafood, I recommend the Riviera Catch. read more

The food was good but it wasn't anything exceptional. My friend ordered fish tacos, but received shrimp tacos. He is allergic so he had to send them back. Then I had to choose to eat hot food without him, or wait for his fish tacos and eat cold food. They were super nice and apologetic about trading them out. The fish tacos came out relatively quickly. The salsa had a good taste but was pretty salty. They were all wearing masks and brought individual bowls of salsa so we didn't have to dip from the same bowl. They were happy to sub beans for rice on my Pollo Locco. We may give it another try later. read more

Mama Coco Cantina - Pollo Locco - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

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Food was WAY too salty, service pretty slow and fair at best. The chips and cheese dip I ended up eating for dinner because my food was so bad wet okay. Clean but plain, no real feeling of WELCOME glad you are here. read more

From the reviews I was expecting great Mexican food but was sadly disappointed. The Mexican "spaghetti" recommended by our waitress had maybe a fourth of a cup of noodles and there was little to no sauce. The cheese dip came to the table clumping and so thick as to be very unappealing. Their salsa tasted like canned crushed tomato. The dining area was very large and well lit but the air conditioner was not working well. They had two large industrial fans blowing. The service was good but not good enough for me to go back. read more

customer service was good but it's just nasty all above i hate this it's not good it's terrible the food will make you throw up it's so gross the place it also a little dirty read more

Mama Coco Cantina - the meat doesn't even taste like beef - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

The food is really good and the atmosphere is better since they remodeled recently. Overall this is a good place to go and enjoy some food.

What a great experience at this place... Salasa--great. Cheese dip--AWESOME. Mama's Dip--WOW, it was so good!! Our drinks were also equally as good. A hidden gem in the town of Calera... read more

More of a local type place to eat. Saturday early evening required a short wait. By eight o'clock occupancy was fifty percent. Full bar with approximately twelve seats and was filled with the local crowd. All but four of them left within five minutes of each other. Quick service and nice people. Average prices. Enjoyable food prepared their way. The menu has a great selection of combinations. Almost too many. I ordered beef flautas this trip. Ground beef in a flour tortilla took me by surprise. That's a first. I'll get the chicken next time. The lady ordered the chicken fajita quesadilla this time and it was quite good. Good margaritas and not overly acidic. It would be worth a trip just to see the large paintings They give the a delightful homey feeling. Worth a try. read more

Great food and fabulous service. I would recommend you try them out. You will not regret it. read more

Mama Coco Cantina - The Burrito Grande, what can I say but yum. - Mexican Near Me - Calera, Alabama

Great food and good service! Found a new go to spot for Mexican food. The salsa and cheese dip are great.

First time visiting last night and it was awesome! Employees were super friendly and the environment was great. We will definitely be back!

Our first visit for takeout was quite good. Staff was nice and seemed to appreciate our business. This time, Jessica was rude on the phone while taking my order and this is what no vegetables looks like. read more

We stopped on our trip north on I-65. A short drive to town and we were looking for a bbq joint that we did not know was out of business. We stopped a couple of guys in a strip mall that told us bbq was out of business but Mama Cocos in this small strip mall, was excellent! We were not disappointed! Hot, crispy tortillas promptly set on our table w salsa that was thick not runny. We had el pastor street tacos and fajita steak quesidilla. EXCELLENT on both counts, best seasoning on fajita meet ever! Very clean, all servers wore masks. Great service. read more

I went to this restaurant because my son wanted to try it out. I can honestly say I will never be back! The food tasted good, which is the only reason I gave 2 stars. My special order was double the price but half the food as the other 3 at our table. All I ordered was fajita meat and veggies. The server never offered refills. Our food was not correct and no one would acknowledge us when we tried to get assistance. When I placed an order to go, a kids meal with an extra taco, we were charged 2 to go fees, 30¢ each. Las Mesas down the road is so much better! More food and better service! read more

I believe the most appropriate idiom for this establishment is "Don't judge a book by its cover." Although the outside appearance may cause you to be wary, bottle down those feelings of uncertainty and doubt. Once you open those doors, it will feel as if you opened the cabinet doors to witness Narnia. The interior designers had a field trip with this one. You'll know EXACTLY what I'm talking about when you see it. Staff was very eager to assist with with whatever adversities you may face. The burrito I ordered surpassed all of my expectations. I could hardly contain myself as my palate and tongue where jumping to the moon and back for joy. My god. It was incredible. My life has changed and it's for the better. Praise be to you, Mama Coco! read more

hands down one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Queso is the perfect combo of not to thick not to thin. The staff is very fast and extremely polite. Mama cocos is also very clean. All around a great environment and food! read more

I never give reviews but they really do deserve it the food is 10/10 i loved it im Mexican and the food actually has flavor great costumer service we got full with just the chips and salsa and the cheese dip with the beans but its fire read more

This place is so far above the curve in Mexican cuisine that all others will be scrambling for years to catch up. The decor of the restaurant is very subtle and the music is not overwhelming in volume and THEN you sit down and tasty salsa and chips are on the table. This is the 1st clue that the food is sublime. Order the MAMAS DIP and then your journey to Mexican taste heaven is complete. For my entre I got the GRANDE BURRITO and ..... BAM! I was in flavor town USA right there on Hwy 31 in downtown Calera. Do your research folks and see why MAMA COCOS is the best mexican food in all of Shelby County......probably the whole frickin state! read more