Taquería El Califa

Loved the tacos and was amazed by the costra de bistec. Had the chicharrón de queso, cebollas asadas and jamaica to drink as well. We topped it all off with the tres leches, which was Ah-maxing! It was all super good and our server was very nice and attentive.

The food was decent, though the portions were quite small for the price. We also noticed the waitress strongly recommending additional dishes, which made us feel a bit pressured.

Good tacos, prices are a bit higher than usual but the ingredients are also good quality. It’s more on the touristic side, but still worth going as they have a wide menu. I recommend their pastor, rib eye and chuleta dishes. I also love their sauces

I had a couple costras, a gringa, guac and chips, and a michelada. Everything was great except the chips, they were unsalted and too plain for me. Service was great. Dog friendly outdoor seating. More expensive than other taquerias but much cheaper than the pretentious places that are more typical for this area. $700 MXN with tip. I will be back, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Everything about this place was fantastic. The taco options were endless, and they were all really good. My absolute favorite was the ribeye taco, it was incredibly delicious and satisfying. The staff was friendly, and the restaurant was very clean. I highly recommend it!

Somewhat difficult for foreigners to know what to order as there are no set menus, just individual taco orders. Very tasty food though!

No frills place that serves arguably the best Mexican food without making a big fuss about it. Loved everything about it.

I was surprised to find this place almost empty at lunch time. The outdoor seats are great. The service is perfect with really nice waiters. The tacos and guacamole are delicious, and the coffee is good too. Big menu to choose from. Highly recommended.

Everything is top notch: the tortillas, arrachera, caldos/sopas, prime beef, etc., etc. They serve alcohol, aguas frescas, variety of soft drinks and they have menus in English, if necessary. Nice spot for a late night meal, as they are open until 4 am!!

I had a chance to visit Mexico City recently, and I tried multiple taco destinations --most of them once, but I visited this one three times.. Principal great service and they don't mind foreign language :).. I'm amazingly friendly and helpful... Next food has been great. Buy tacos, especially they are quite amazing. We can try it either with cheese, plain, clusters which is melted cheese crust or gringa even which is with onions and the cilantro.. the Al pastor - w pork (spinning meat) yummmy! Again try all 3 options.. pita was not ideal.. more bread. We were at Condesa twice - I prefer this location. Roma Norte felt a bit more touristic by similar flavors.. Great contemporary setup - relative to most authentic ones. Will be back! I have to fix my habit of not rushing the food so I can take pictures. Sorry not too many photos...

I am confused on what to give this spot because the service and food was quite good, but there was an issue... I was perusing Yelp trying to find a good Tres Leches, through my research I landed on this spot. This is a large restaurant, plus it was after 10pm when we arrived (they close really late), so we were sat and greeted pretty immediately. We ordered a chicken taco, steak taco, al pastor and a couple more, all the tacos we got were quite good and flavorful. The style of tacos was different than what we're used to as it was literally flat pieces of piled up meat on a tortilla with nothing else. The Tres Leches was just okay to me, there was something in it I didn't like, but my brother enjoyed it. Service was great! Very attentive, fast and friendly. Here's the issue...I got food poisoning as a result of something I ate here. With that said, I could not give this spot more than three stars, however like I said the food and service were two thumbs up, but getting sick was equally two thumbs down.

El Califa absolutely delivered from start to finish! We kicked things off with the cactus leaves, which were fresh and perfectly prepared. From there, it was one delicious dish after another -- the pork and chicken pastor costras were packed with flavor, the al pastor tacos were classic and satisfying, and the chicken soup was comforting and hearty. We also tried the gonga crater and a gonga in a lettuce leaf, both unique and incredibly tasty. One of the highlights was their wide variety of salsas, ranging from super spicy to pleasantly mild -- every single one we tried was delicious and paired perfectly with the food. To top it all off, we ended with dessert, and wow -- the tres leches and flan were both amazing and the perfect sweet finish to an already fantastic meal. Great prompt service in a nice open spacious setting meant that we didn't feel crowded even though all the tables were occupied. Highly recommend El Califa if you're looking for authentic, flavorful food with great variety. We'll definitely be back!

We had dinner at Taqueria El Califa, which was highly recommended as an examplar of classic CDMX tacos. We ordered a variety of tacos, including the most expensive Gaona, which is listed on the menu as ribeye, chuleta con queso, al pastor, and sirloin. We rounded that out with guacamole and, for greens, nopales salad. Every table has ramekins of 4 salsas and limes. The guacamole is also a huge portion, enough for 4-5 people, with plenty of tostadas. The salad of avocado, tomato and nopales was dressed simply with lime and it was fine. It was nopales-heavy but it was a good option for vegetables and I appreciated having a salad option at all. Of the tacos, we enjoyed the al pastor and sirloin the most. The al pastor was marinated and flavorful and, of the beef choices, the sirloin was much better than the very dry and thin gaona. A lot of the meats were sliced very thinly and cooked up dry. Overall, the tacos are a bit dry but we enjoyed trying this CMDX staple.

El Califa was close to our Airbnb so we decided to try it out on our first night arriving to Mexico City. A must try are the Costras which is meet with Oaxaca cheese on a flour tortilla. It was sooo good. The guacamole was super fresh too.

This place is a must try when in CDMX! The tacos de pastor were great in every way, from the homemade tortillas to the crisp of the pastor. I suggest you order guacamole to add to your tacos, it's the cherry on top. The flan was the best I have ever had, especially with the cajeta drizzled on top! I do have to say the service wasn't as great. They don't check up on you if you would like desert & when we did order desert they took a while. Asking for the tab took a while & it wasn't a busy day. I would come back for the food.

Chef Mario came to Tucson and treated us to a pop-up! What a treat! Chef Mario was so accommodating and took pictures with us! He came out and thanked everyone for waiting and treated to the softest melt in your mouth carne and pork ever! The red sauce was out of this world, bursting with flavor, and we bought some Michelin star tortillas to take home too! I so appreciated this whole experience!

Great tacos and it's full table service so you sit down and order. I really like the outdoor tables as it's a lovely wide street with leafy trees. I tried the rib eye plate (you can make your own tacos with it) which was delicious. Needed some pickled onion or something. The beef quality was good. The other items look delicious, too. I saw an earlier Yelp recommendation for the Pastel Trés Leches and it was cute and very moist. Excellent service.

Wanted to try this taco place for awhile and was so glad I got to try it out. I was surprised that this place was a full scale fine in restaurants which makes sense because their tacos are slightly more expensive that the average taco out there. We ordered to go and they gave us our order in a cute little bag within 5 minutes which was great. - Taco de Pastor - Honestly this was not what I had expected as I though the meat was going to be shredded rather than carved like a kebab but it was pretty good nonetheless. I was a big fan of the darker colored salsa as well as the pico de Gallo although the pico had a spice that I was not very used to. I also thought it was interesting how the tacos here, the meat is very much the star rather than whatever spices they drench the meat in in the US. - Pastor Pollo - This was probably my least favorite option as the chicken was a bit dry. I do appreciate in general that the tacos had 2 tortillas so that it can grab all the different spices and toppings. - Gaonas - This was definitely the star of the night as the rib eye was extremely tender. I also love that there was a bit charred on the outside. Although this taco was much more expensive than the rest, I would highly recommend ordering it. - Bistec - I was not a big fan of this as the meat was not super tender. Overall, I think the tacos were okay except for the Rib Eye which was exceptional. I do think that this is a good place to go for tacos especially if you're looking for a "calmer" environment to be in. Also, I do really appreciate that they meticulously wrapped each of the tacos individually and hen placed them in a seal that the heat would not evaporate.

It's a large space with very fast service! I had 4 al pastor tacos and an al pastor crater. I had to take the pineapples off just in case, but I enjoyed the smaller size of the tacos; the crater however very much took the show. I loved the crunchy taco in contrast with the stringy Oaxacan cheese. I do think the prices are a bit pricey for Mexico City especially for the quantity, and the al pastor being a bit dry.

When you grow tired of street tacos and want something more gourmet and the ability to sit, Taqueria El Califa is the spot for you! While they don't come cheap - particularly when compared to street tacos, the tacos here are clean, delicious, and served up with the best salsas of any taco spot I visited on my trip to CDMX. Bonus points for calling out that the salsas don't get recycled between tables. The agua frescas are huge and refreshing as well!

This place was highly recommended by our hotel. The service is was great, we were seated immoderately upon arrival. The place gave me "brewery vibes" the Super Bowl was on. The tacos were a little small for the amount of meat they put on them. Overall it was a yummy experience

One of the things I miss the most since moving to a coastal caribbean town is late night food. Yay for tacos at 4am!!! They have a wide variety of tacos and sides. We ordered a bunch of stuff and thoroughly enjoyed it after a late night out.

Another quick, popular taco chain. I enjoyed this one for the many veggie options. From meat and cheese substitutes to poblano peppers, there's something for everyone. My husband loved the meats as well.

Not far from our Air B& B, but service was great. Spoke English and Spanish and helped w/menu. Food came quickly and was delicious.

Amazing tacos recommended by our AirBnb bldg concierge. My group of 6 got seated quickly and everything we had was amazing. The tacos, the rajas con queso, and omg the best pastel de tres leches! GET IT. It was the highlight of the entire meal. GO here for a satisfying and delicious meal.

We went here twice in one weekend--it's that good. The tacos are simple but elevated by the quality of the meat and the attention to detail. I had the Gaonera taco and still dream about it. Service is quick, efficient, and they seem genuinely happy to see you enjoying the food. This location was bustling but never felt chaotic. A quintessential Mexico City stop that lives up to the hype.

This was our first stop in our little taco crawl for dinner on our second night in CDMX. While we stayed in the area of Polanco, we made our way here to eat at all of the highly rated and popular tacos shops. This one by far was my favorite, the tacos were all delicious. We ordered a bunch of different ones and just snacked away. The salsas were delicious. They brought out about 4 different ones with varying levels of spicy ness. Our favorite was the green jalapeño/avocado sauce. We were basically drinking it! The caldo de pollo is a must order! The broth is so clean and clear and just packed with flavor. That soup was a 10/10. They also have a huge selection of drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The service is great here. They basically give you a new plate fire every order that they bring out. The costilla de res was one of my favorites. The pita bread taco was awesome. The ribeye taco was so tender. The beef/res taco that has olive oil on it was another great one It is a nice place inside and out but we choose to sit outside which was very comfortable. I will definitely come back here again next time i am in CDMX. I want to come back and just order like 10 tacos and pig out.

Incredible value for all the taco goodies! Loved the variety, so many options of meats, veggies, cheeses, and more. My tacos with the melted cheese on inside were to die for. Melting in my mouth was an understatement. The servers are sweet and keep the energy up. Highly recommend!

Yum! I came here on the last day of my trip and wanted some tacos before we headed to the airport. We ordered carne en su jugo, chicharron queso (gouda), Al pastor tacos, chicken soup, and fried cheese pollo Al pastor tacos. I was thoroughly impressed with how delicious this place was. It was clean, servers were on point and the food was amazing. The restaurant was a little pricier than grabbing street tacos, but honestly worth it IMO. They're located in the plaza reforma area, so it's conveniently located to all the major hotels!

High quality tacqueria . Friendly service, wide range of tacos. High recommend the pastor.

Really solid affordable tacos! Went several times because it was so convenient to where we were staying, and was very reliable.

We were seated right away. The staff was very friendly. They brought out the salsas. Once we ordered the food came out quickly. The dirty plates were taken away swiftly. We really enjoyed the Al Pastor tacos and the Sirloin Prime Taquitos with fried Jalapeño sauce!!! The pork chop taco and the rib eye taco were good too! We highly recommend this restaurant.

First meal in Mexico city and it was good! My favorite was the ribeye taco, the others were great as well just not as amazing as that one. Very good in price and friendly staff!

Very good tacos. My favorite was the Al pastor tacos. The salsas were a good compliment to the tacos.

Goid service bery good food. Was revimmended by our driver.it's a chain and the Michelin starvwent to obe of their stands

We went here when we were in Mexico City with friends. I was excited about the fact that they had many veggie options. I got the vegetarian pastor pita which is pictured and we got fried queso as an appetizer. The fried queso was really interesting because I had never seen it served like that before. It looks like a crepe but it's all made with cheese! Both items were really good! I liked that the service was nice and they had English menus for us. The restaurant was very clean and had big windows which was also nice. I would consider going here again for a quick bite.

Not sure why this place has decent reviews. I won't go back. Desserts look better than they taste. Better tacos on the street.

The food was good but they charged us for things we didn't even ask for!!! And when we were leaving the guy that brought us our check stopped us and demanded that we leave a 15% tip (even though we tipped on top of being overcharged!) He yelled and made a huge scene so we put more money on the table and left with our kids. This was a TERRIBLE experience.

The food is amazing, the service is a little dicey. Def felt an "anti gringo" vibe by some servers (I went several times). Seems to be the late nite taco place in the area.

El Califa is a great spot in La Condesa for late-night eats-- the al pastor was definitely a standout! I went probably three separate times while in La Condesa and it was consistently good. I really enjoyed the salsas, but always had to order more tostadas to get to really get my fill. Would return here next time I'm in CDMX!

This review will be short and sweet: I tried their tacos al pastor, which come on a corn tortilla with pineapple, onion, and cilantro toppings on the side. They're so flavorful and delicious. We got them delivered and they traveled well. Just keep in mind the tacos are small, so order accordingly.

So I saw this on a YouTube channel and I was wondering around so I happened to go in. I had a costra de Al Pastor and it was bomb! The salsa they offered are good and totally make a difference in flavor for the taco. However, if you are not use to spicy then don't try two of them. The service is the fastest I have ever seen, even compared to New York! Of course I had to have a Michelada (Chelada) and it was good too. Even though the tacos look small they are pretty fulfilling, I had one of arrachera and goera (I think). Plus the area looks safe

This chain taco shop in Mexico City was so mediocre at best. From the salads to the tacos, nothing was awful but nothing was great. Even worse, no margaritas here, just beer. I had tried the Al pastor taco which was tiny and lacking flavor, and also tried the pollo taco which I felt the same about. The street tacos that we had all over CDMX far exceeded the tacos at this spot.

Estuvo excelente Un experiencia muy rica y espero estar de regreso muy pronto , la carne es esquí cita

Flashing back to my time in Mexico City for today's post to one of the best taquerias I've ever been to @elcalifa_mx a chain of taco shops in Mexico City. Interestingly today I'm not planning to talk about tacos but the Gaona Crater one of my favorite dishes I had in all of cdmx. Let's discuss the Crater and why it was so good: 1. The meat: my friends in cdmx describe this as the most tender part of the cow put into small chunks, it was super flavorful and soft 2. The shell: the meat is kept in a shell deep fried to give the dish an awesome bite not to mention the wonderful subtle flavor of a deep fried tortilla 3. The cheese: between the shell and meat is a nice layer of melted cheese and let's be honest with ourselves, are you ever upset with melted cheese? Adding this takes the dish to the next level just creating a perfect combination of flavors and textures If you're in CDMX be sure to check out El Califa one of my fav taco shops in Mexico!!

This was our first meal in CDMX and it was alright. I think the problem with being from California is there's enough excellent mexican food there that it's not a given that every meal you eat in mexico is going to be better than what you get at home. That's sort of what happened here. We got a few of these sirloin tacos and stuff which were all ok. We both agreed that the bean soup was the star of the show though and I'm going to try to figure out how to make something like that at home.

We came here at least twice on our CDMX trip in 2019, I'm also thinking maybe a third time, buuut I could have been inebriated beyond memory. The tacos here have a savory quality unlike anything else I have back at home and I fondly remember getting the pastor and always being in love with it. We tried a ton of different dishes so it is hard to recount, but we always left very happy. Clean restaurant, service was sometimes a little iffy but open til 4 am made it very convenient for the late-night hunger. I believe they have more than one location so it's perfect to finda spot near where you're staying

The queso is amazing! The tacos are awesome and they only speak Spanish but Tejas espanol works just fine

Living in Los Angeles, I eat tacos at least twice a week. This place came through EVERY Mexico City recommendation I asked for. I now know my friends only speak the truth. THIS IS THE BEST TACO I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. Not a hyperbole. I ordered the mushrooms and cheese fOndue, it came with flour and corn tortillas. We also had their Gaona tacos, just perfect and cheez they. We loved the contras (crust) tacos with sirloin. DO NOT SKIP THIS. It has the taste and texture of steak house filet minion. I blacked out during this taco. I was sad that I would not be able to get it again till I come back the next day (update been here everyday) The tres leches with caramel cake is the perfect way to end your glutinous sinful journey. This place is amazing.

Good rib eye tacos. Green salsa very tasty. Beans de olla very good & the Cafe de olla was Amazing. Definately recommend this place. Nice vibes too

If you're in CDXM to try and find the best tacos in town, it's exceptionally likely that you'll be overwhelmed, but one common thread that you might find is that Taqueria El Califa appears on most 'Top Tacos in CDMX' lists across the internet. While I wouldn't say they're the best, there's great variety here and some more unique options that are worth diving into. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? Taqueria El Califa isn't your hole in the wall authentic taco stall tucked away in an alley that Bourdain or Phil would have to work to seek out. It's contemporary, it's branded well, and they accept major credit cards. That's okay, and they have good service to match their atmosphere. Star. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? Even though the atmosphere at Taqueria El Califa is contemporary, they keep their prices reasonable, with pastor tacos coming to only 18 MXP per taco and much larger specialty 'Gaonas' tacos 47 MXP each. Fair. Star. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? For starters, the tortillas at Taqueria El Califa are fine. Nothing special, but fine. From there the meats are well above average, and the Gaonas taco in particular had a buttery smooth steak that was really outstanding. Peripherals are fine with good salsa options. Two Stars. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? Taqueria El Califa is good, but the taco scene in CDMX is so competitive that I wouldn't go so far as to call it great apart from the Gaonas taco. No Star.

I really enjoyed the tacos when we came here! A friend mentioned that she absolutely loved them and we had to go, so we came here on our last night in CDMX. I really loved the Al pastor tacos and they seemed pretty reasonably priced. I didn't really like the Gaona's, personally, but I ended up ordering two additional Al pastor tacos because they were so good!

Struck me as just a neighborhood place, in the good sense. Lots of local folks mixing with the tourists from Condesa in here. They're open late, which is great, and we usually find ourselves at Califa at least once on each visit to the city. It's always reliable, with fantastic service, and a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Good vegetarian options too.

Highly recommend! Best post-bar 1am taco crave in all of Condesa! Pastor galore, steak tacos, quesadillas, and beer. Can't go wrong!

I had heard some nice things about this place from other guests at where we were staying, and I did look on Yelp to see what fellow Yelpers had to say, but I would have to agree with Billy D. The tacos are just meat and cheese, even the pitas are the same way. It would've been nice to have the chopped onions and cilantro available, at least I'd feel like I was doing something a little healthy. I ordered a Modelo especial and the partner ordered a couple glasses of wine. The cheese quesadilla is not what you'd expect if you're from the U.S. But the meat is seasoned well and the salsas offered were really good. I kept using the green one with the onions. I also wanted to try the flan and the tres leches and though the flan was decent, it was the tres leches that was really good! Service was attentive, although when the bill came, the waiter stayed close by to collect. I'm not sure if that's the norm or if they were afraid we were going to dash. I was able to get rid of all my coins which I think annoyed him. I would come back to try some of the other things on the menu, and they do have one in English.

I really wanted to like this place more. My sister had recommended it. I had a crater which is chicken and cheese on top of a low fat tostada and a chicken taco. They were average. I don't remember seeing cilantro and onions for my taco. They do serve a variety of salsas and the tamarindo one is not spicy, yay! They do have plugs for your phone and apparently, none of the leftover salsas are reused, per a sign on the menu. All restaurants should do this but if Califa mentions it, the majority probably don't. The bathroom is on the second floor and was dirty. My experience at different restaurants in Mexico City was seeing bathrooms on second floors of restaurants. I find this inconvenient.

I am an al pastor aficionado, so one of my biggest excitements in visiting Mexico City was to taste the best of the best al pastor tacos, in their birthplace. I searched and searched and all I could find were a bunch of places that weren't chain restaurants claiming to be the original, the best. I ended up here after reading a million reviews about how Califa was the best of the best. The tacos were good...they had a million and one options and the tacos themselves were beautiful, but it felt like a chain fast food restaurant and nothing felt truly original or authentic. Definitely caters to the tourists. In short...it was the ambiance that killed it a little for me. Although also a chain, El Tizoncito seemed a little better, service there was definitely superior. Nonetheless, I took a good picture.