Well won't be going back. Sad, my friend & I have been going regularly. Tonight, was just awful. Our waitress was slow, seemed off, tired. Took a long time to get a menu. Then she just ignored us. I wanted more water. She walked by ignored us, helped other customers. We tried asking another server who walked by ignoring us. My friend had to go to the bar to ask for water. Bizarre. Then we couldn't ger our bill. We had to go the bar to pay. And as we are paying a drunk old white guy that had been seated near us, walks to the bar to harass us. Thinks we were talking to him. I told him we were talking to each other, a private conversation. Crazy! This place has seen better days. And honestly the food isn't that great. read more

I place orders to go Staff always friendly and orders ore always accurate One of the best locally owned Mexican restaurants read more

Came here right after 11 am. It was packed with customers waiting to be seated. I came with my grandmother. She had never been here before. We were driving to another Mexican restaurant until she said let's try this place. Not that it matters, but this place was filled with 80% of Caucasian patrons, but not the Rosedale type (LOL!) These were old school uppity east side type, the cool ones. The ones you can talk to without getting judged. Haha. Everyone was very chill and friendly. Anywho, we sat down and there was a daily special for $12.95 it came with a taco, cheese enchilada, soft drink, coffee or tea, and your choice of rice "OR" beans. This was the first time that I have ever seen the option, to pick one or the other. My grandma wanted the lunch special but was upset because she wanted both rice and beans. So I got the same dish hers had rice and mine had beans then I gave her half of mine and I had half of hers. She loved the chips and salsa and the food, but for me, the food was giving me a high-end vibe of Taco Bell tacos and enchiritos. I would go back because the atmosphere and the staff were great. I also had a house tequila margarita that ran $10.00. Cheers! read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Not a bad lunch special. But c'mon.... Rice OR Beans??? lol who ever heard if that? - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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It really amazes me how crazy busy this place can be. The food is OK the atmosphere is really cool with people that have worked here for 30 plus years. It's hard not to like this place even on a night when he service was really slow. Me and a group of 4 old people / my really good friends/family come here on a regular basis before the Guitar Masters concert once a month. We usually sit in the same on booth that will hold our party of 6 and we usually order the same ole thing every time. Me that would be a Ester's Style Chili Relleno and a Beef Taco ale-cart. The chips and salsa are great and they keep them coming. Warning to those that visit make sure there isn't a huge event at Rabo Bank this place will be packed!!! read more

I have always came for the atmosphere, not the food... This time I was extremely disappointed with our service... We came out to celebrate our daughter's 30th. Our waitress, (older red headed lady), acted like she was being put out. It couldn't get a refill and on top of it all my order was wrong. I did not send it back, I'm not that guy. The order and/or the bad service is not my complaint, her attitude is. I understand when a establishment gets busy service suffers, but provide it with a good attitude! read more

This place is the most amazing authentic Mexican food I've had since childhood growing up in Southern CA! The margaritas are epic!

**BE AWARE ** My mom drank Two margaritas here and I had to take her to the ER... currently in the ER right now... Brought her here for her bday dinner. definitely not a good experience. Never coming back. And I REGRET EVEN COMING TO THIS RESTAURANT read more

I have been to Bakersfield several times over several years, and somehow never visited this place before. I visited Mexicali West while it was on California Ave a number of times, but had never been to their 18th street location. I enjoyed my visit and have nothing but great things to say; delicious food, quick service, and decent prices. The atmosphere is nice, albeit a tad dusty looking inside in some places, but overall the experience was great. I will definitely be back and would recommend to anybody looking for good Mexican food in Bakersfield!! read more

Not authentic at all! Watery tomato paste salsa. Soggy chicken tacos. The only thing we could eat was the rice and beans but the rice alone was bland. Really hard to pay for something you know you can make better at home. Waste of money. I guess I understand why the whole restaurant was filled with white people.. they have no idea how unauthentic this food is.. what a shame. read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Soggy taco shell. - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

I went to Mexicali today, for lunch, with a group of friends. It had been decades since I was there. Mexicali is kind of famous in Bakersfield. It has been in business for years and years. A lot of us grew up going there with our parents. It seems now to just be riding on the name, without having the same great food and customer service. First of all, our waitress was fine...no complaint. However, the food was really unrecognizable. The salsa for the chips tasted like canned tomato sauce with a few additions. For the lunch special, you can pick either rice or beans, but not both. Nothing suggests CHEAP more than that.The food is not noteworthy. Not too good, not too bad. Prices were too high, but that seems to be the norm at most places. A simple side order of rice is over $8. If you want to take your drink to go, be prepared to pay an extra dollar. This is not at all the Mexicali I remember. Actually a classless act. No more of the old charm. Sad. read more

Not authentic food! Bad customer service!!!! Not impressed at all needs better service !

We're from out of town and wanted to try a new and good food but we came the service horrible, the sodas are flat and plus all the food was even worst you have to buy all the toppings extra plus the nachos are swimming in tomato sauce will not be coming back read more

We have always loved Mexicali, I have been going there since I was a child. After reading the recent reviews it is obvious clients are not happy and it seems like Mexicali doesn't care. Since going back to just one restaurant we have really noticed a change: 1: No parking, yet you get inside and the restaurant isn't even that full, then I notice an employee leaving last night walking to their car and you guessed it in the parking lot. Yet we had to park around the corner and down the street. 2: Twice now when we have ordered the steak that we love has not been cooked to order. We order it Medium Well and we get Medium Rare. We even repeat when ordering that we want Medium Well. 3: Now when you have more than one family dining there are no more separate checks which is difficult in this day and age because the younger generations don't carry cash. 4: When you have a very large party it would be nice if the wait staff especially when newer had help. We know it's difficult with a large group, and we expect to wait longer, but when you have toddlers and wait over an hour after you place your order and other groups of 8 that came in and ordered after you are served it's unacceptable. We also had to go find our waiter several times for water, drink refills, salsa and chips since we were waiting so long and the toddlers were hungry because it was 7:30 and almost their bed time. Each time finding him in back where the drink machine and chips are eating. I finally went to the front and asked how much longer we would have to wait. Miraculously our food was brought out immediately. Please go back to the awesome customer service you had. We enjoy your food so much, but if this doesn't change we will have to try other places. Sadly Mexicali downtown may follow in the SW footsteps and close if things don't change! read more

A Bakersfield staple that continues to stay true to its culture all while keeping a tradition of quality. Really great traditional Mexican foods and a great bar. You can come for drinks or a meal with the family. read more

Service was slow and felt out of place. The waiter did not care for customer until my cousin spoke poorly to him.

Best Margaritas in town! Great staff and delicious food. Many memories over the years! read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Me and my friend for over 30 years Enjoying some great times at Mexicali West....many wonderful memories here. - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

My favorite Mexican restaurant for 46 years. The nachos, cheese enchiladas and margaritas can't be beat in my opinion. I miss Mexicali West!

I ordered a carne asada burrito and the server asked me if I wanted it ala carte to which I replied "yes, just the burrito" when it arrived it was literally a meat only burrito. There was no rice or beans or cheese or anything inside the burrito, ONLY the carne asada. I have never been to a restaurant where this has ever happened. When he asked if I wanted it ala carte I figured he just meant no sides; no rice and beans. This was quite the let down. I definitely wouldn't come back here. read more

The food is absolutely delicious, my server was very kind and funny. The ambiance of this establishment has a nice warm/welcoming feeling to it. I am also an avid mexicali visitor and i appreciate how hard the bus boys work, in the bar there was this tall boy with curly hair that was just so kind to my family and I. The hard work he was putting in to check on us constantly and make sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed was wonderful!!! We need more places like Mexicali read more

Love the friendly ambience. I love love love the food. But most of all I love Diana the server from the bar

Got here at 5:45 and was told 25 minutes. It's now almost 6:45 and they just told me 7 parties in front of us and it may be a while. They have issues with honesty. Not sure we are going to wait as we have been here an hour but if we do I will update on service and food. So update they just seated a family that came In 10 minutes ago and put their name in. We have been here an hour and they got seated In 10 minutes. Giving preferential treatment in seating is no bueno. After finally being seated the service was good. The food was outstanding. All in all it took 2 hours after arrival to complete dinner. read more

Mexicali has been a staple in our town and my life since 1976. They recently closed Mexicali West which was very sad to a lot of people but they still have their downtown location. I absolutely love this place, bar seating is great but noisier than the dining room. We usually sit in the bar if it's just the 2 of us you can get their full menu in the bar. Their chips & salsa are so yummy warm chips and a nice smooth salsa than most which my hubby and I enjoy. They have a special one you can ask for that is on the hotter side if you like more heat. I always order the cheese enchilada rice & beans it amazing their sauce is so good. My hubby usually gets the Burrito Especial or 2 tacos rice & beans either one is fantastic. Stop in the bar and say hi to Leo he makes the best Margaritas and he's a fantastic guy he's been with Mexicali for 35 yrs read more

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Yelp should make it possible for half star or no star reviews. The service in this place was incredibly lacking, just like their salsa. You would think on a Monday night, not so busy you would get better quality service- instead I was welcomed with just ok food and an INCREDIBLY rude waitress that every time she passed me I could hear her cussing under her breath. She hardly engaged with me and would just drop off my food and take off muttering more nonsense. I wouldn't come again. read more

My husband called in an order for a fiesta tray at 11:30am for pickup at 2pm. They told us it would be ready and when we got there at 1:58pm they hadn't even started it and it sounds like they forgot about it. We walked out empty handed because we had somewhere else to be. No compensation or anything either. Pretty disappointed in them. read more

I swear on everything holy, I wanted to like it here... I really did. The atmosphere was nice; it was like an old hacienda, tastefully decorated, and authentic terra cotta floors. My wife and I got the menu and commented on how expensive the dishes were compared to other Mexican restaurants in the area, but figured that the higher cost would be justified by higher quality food... we were wrong. If you read my reviews, you'll see how I grew up both in TX and NY. The Texan in me was craving chili con queso. I wanted the cheesy, creamy, spicy goodness to complement the chips and salsa. To a Texan, this is what chili con queso SHOULD look like: http://tinyurl.com/3ypm657 This is what we got: http://imgur.com/797OA.jpg There is no excuse for this. It was lumpy, flavorless, oily, sloppy, and completely unappetizing. If you don't know to make a basic roux or fondue, don't offer it on your menu. Chili con queso is more than just a hunk of cheese with peppers melted into it. Main course. My wife and I decided on getting the carne asada ($16) and a chicken taco a la carte ($5). Yes, expensive, I know, but we had hopes of either a large amount of food, or very high quality ingredients. Look at my pictures to see the taco. Does that look like $5? Honestly? Is that a pre-made shell? $5. Man... The carne asada was actually good. The beans were creamy, the rice was cooked nicely, the cheese enchilada was as expected, and the meat was cooked well with nice grilled onions on top. My gripes are that for $16 did not even come with avocado and the portion size was on the small size, something not expected when you pay $16. A fair price would be $12. The highlight of the evening was the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, the decor and ambiance of the restaurant, and the cadillac margarita. We paid only $7 for a cadillac margarita with 1800 tequila instead of cuervo. It came in a short tumber glass. It was stiff as hell and well balanced. Will we come here again? Sure, but only for drinks. Would we eat here again? Yup, if they balanced out the food prices with what you get. If they want to charge $16 for carne asada, make it worth $16 dollars; there's just too much competition out there. read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Does this honestly look appetizing to you? - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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Food was good. Service was slow but polite. I think the prices were too high. I had the beef fajitas and it was $16.95 for what you see in the picture. read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Beef fajitas. - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

I was debating between a 2 or 3 star review. I have been to Mexicali's several times & have never been impressed. Why do I keep coming back, you ask? Well because it's close to work, the ambiance is nice & the service is good. Oh, & the bar is pretty cool. This time I had the lunch special: chicken tostada. I was quite surprised by the size. It was huge. I knew immediately I wasn't going to finish it, & I was right, but not because it was so big, but because it didn't taste good. At all. There was a generous amount of chicken, but it lacked seasoning, was too thick & hard to chew. There was a tiny amount of beans & rice in the very bottom of the bowl. I won't be back any time soon to the restaurant side. Thank your bar, Mexicali. P.S. It may be time for some new furniture. Just a thought. read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Tostada salad lunch special @ Mexicali's - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

My wife thought is was a good idea to take me here for my birthday. We should have walked out after tasting the salsa. It tasted like ketchup. I asked if they had a different style, every good Mexican restaurant has a stash of good authentic Alda if you ask. They did not, the second salsa was a green salsa a was only slightly better. I ordered Chile Colorado. Meet was tough and dry. Beans were eh. Will not return. Building was nice though, probably was really good at one point in time. read more

Really $22.50 for guacamole. Asked for avocado only for granddaughter. When asked the waiter is that was correct. He said everything is more expensive even my house rent has gone up. read more

Wow. The best enchilada sauce in town. You have to try their cheese & onion enchilada. It's a flavor explosion. I ordered fajitas that were exceptional and the a la carte enchilada stole the show. I can't stop raving. I'm going to request a "to go" cup of the sauce by itself. Staff were extremely attentive and generous with their input. All smiles and service was quick. Restroom was spotless and my drink was never empty. Atmosphere was percfect for a date or a business meeting. Very quiet and they play their nortena music at the perfect volume. At first, I thought this was just 4 stars but it really really stood out as a fantastic dining experience. Traditional flavors dialed up to the Max plus great service. It's a genuine 5 star. read more

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Food was delicious! Service was okay, waiter only offered drink refills to my fiancé and not me. Will definitely return, hopefully better service next time! read more

We've been long-time customers of Mexicali. I love the consistency and quality of the food and service. Although some of the host or hostess staff could improve in their hospitality skills, I have no issues with them. We live in the northwest part of town, but when we want to sit down and enjoy a great Mexican meal, without a bar full of yelling sports fans and day-drinkers, that's our go-to place. read more

Always reliable and if you eat in the bar area it's a bit more private, good margaritas traditional Mexican food and if you want something else the steak as well as the fried chicken are very good. The fried chicken takes a bit but if you are wanting it it's worth the wait read more

We visit Bakersfield once a year. We always make this a stop for dinner. Great authentic food and yummy margaritas!! read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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this restaurant service is horrible and I didn't even eat there. i went just to drop off a resume and the lady with no uniform that looked like ursula yelled at me and ripped my resume in front of me. i discourage anyone to eat there much less work there. the ambiance was dark like her personality. she must treat her workers like crap. read more

I've been coming here for over 30 years. The margaritas have always been one of the highlights. On our last visit , they tasted off. Too sweet with a funny flavor. I'm positive they have changed the recipe and not for the better. No bueno. read more

Three of us had to spend the night in Bakersfield to go fossil hunting early the next morning and this restaurant was recommended by the fossil facility. The food was standard Mexican-American fare. Nothing special. However, the house margarita was absolute poison. Undrinkable. How can they even serve something so dreadful? I think they used acetone and vinegar instead of tequila and lime juice. We were stupid not to have returned all of them. You've been warned. read more

I just love their lunch special. Taco, enchilada and rice or beans. Their ice tea is always fresh and perfectly brewed. Chips and salsa are tasty and not too spicy. I also treat myself once in a while to their bean dip, oh wow, or maybe a pizza dilla, yes it is even better. I guess the point is, there are a lot of wonderful options with great service to boot! read more

I was very impressed with the portions provided. The service was excellent and the food delicious. In fact it tops los Molcajetes service and food experience, for good reason! And if you know me, I have always preferred Los Molcajetes when dining. But tonight that's changed. So here's why: The flavor of the beans are deep. There's a cook who just loves his or her job! Cause those beans rocked! Especially the cheeses that enhanced the flavor. The rice was also delicious. Now I'm getting to the chips... Mexacali's chips and salsa are so fresh! That's what I look for in a dining experience. I loved that the atmosphere was t loud. Unlike los Molcajetes, there wasn't loud annoying music playing drowning out the table conversation (which has always been a very irritating factor of frequenting los Molcajetes). The NY steak was amazingly large that 15 people from France sitting at a nearby table saw our steak and ordered it as well. I'm sure the owner will be happy with his sales this evening. There was also a guitar soloist singing to the Frenchmen and women. I totally dug this restaurant. It is my new bakersfield favorite suggestion and personal spot to eat. Bon a petit! read more

Mexicali Restaurants - Mexican Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Got thee at 8:30. Hostess seemed pissed that I showed up. Rushed me to my seat. Waitress never showed up until 8:45. Failed to give menus. Seemed rushed. Turned out lights at 8:56. Food was cold. Horrible attitude from waitress. This is so sad because I remember when this place was THE place to go on a Sat night. A local staple that would never close at 8:45 pm. Too many other places in town to go back here. BTW this was our second bad experience during same time frame around 8:15 on a Sat night. What a shame this local legend place now sucks read more