Quick recap: this place has great food and a cool ambiance. Very modern and a very young crowd. Not the cheapest place but not terrible. Especially considering the area and space. Happy hour is definitely the way to go here. The food here is great. Enchiladas are delicious as are the quesadillas. The margaritas and Paloma's are equally as good. Service is excellent and the ambiance is cool. Only real complaint is the price but as mentioned before, it's not a deal breaker and ok for the area and location of the restaurant. I got enchiladas and a house margarita and my cost was nearly 30 dollars to give you an idea. read more

I love fish taco but feel like it's not so common in NYC. Saw this restaurant on Yelp and decided to come try their Baja Fish Taco!! The ingredients are so fresh and it's cooked perfectly! The beer battered fish is so light and crispy, and mango salsa is so fresh! The Fried Chicken Taco is highly recommended by the waiter, and I mean, fried chicken with bacon and avocado, how could it go wrong? I really like it because it's not greasy at all!! It tasted so clean!! The Chile Cilantro Fries are so well seasoned I can't stop eating them! I will definitely come back and try other things on the menu!! read more

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Welcome to my Sunday Dinner Ritual! Most weekends (especially Sunday's) you'll find me and my friends, family and loved ones hanging out here enjoying fajitas, margaritas, and even chicken rolled tacos! I love the atmosphere, the servers are always friendly and attentive and the food is in a word... YUM . Vegan options and substitutions are no problem! In the summer eating outside is so fun and we can bring our puppy who they welcome and always bring a water bowl out for her! All in all you'll love the food options (I've never had a bad meal) and the chill environment. I recommend the steak fajitas and the margaritas (mango flavor)! read more

Calexico gets the 5 star rating because not only are they an amazing restaurant to dine in at but also my go to for delivery. Everything comes fresh and crispy as opposed to potentially being soggy. Their menu is simple and has all your favorite staples. We mix it up and have tried almost everything on the menu. You can never go wrong with any of the carne asada options. The burritos and quesadillas are huge and filling. The burrito bowl is also nicely portioned and delicious. Our 2 favorite tacos must be the fried chicken and nacho taco. Their margaritas are another thing to highlight. Perfect for any day of the week read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Carne Asada Bowl - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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Mediocre Mexican food. Happy hour was not exciting. All the margaritas were overly sweet.

Got sick several times from their yummy bean burrito but the last episode was so bad that I had to be rushed to the hospital. I finally stopped going there. read more

I used to love the jalapeño poppers and fried chicken taco. Like a lot of chains, the quality has gone down considerably. The meat in my taco is gray. Ugh. read more

Customer service sucks.extremely rude. They sat my party in a table and the. Try to move us to the bar because larger party was waiting for the table. read more

Calexico is okay the food isn't that great to me especially a lot of the ones with meat. Every time I ask if they can remove things like dairy's (cheese, sour cream, etc) it's consistently forgotten, despite being told it's possible. The service isn't that good, but the staff is very nice. I've been their a few times and it's reasonably priced for the ues for sure but I'm not a fan of their food personally and indoors it's very loud, which can be a plus if you like it! read more

SLOW and disorganized. Food is decent but for some reasons they don't believe in customer service. Wait staff is not attentive. In a City if 24000 restaurants, customer service should be your number 1 priority. I guess not for Calexico. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

guac was good and the pork taco was great as well. margarita was a little small - i would recommend the pitcher if you're going with friends. waitress was very nice and it was a nice atmosphere inside. don't love having to pay for chips and salsa but they were worth it read more

One of my favorite Mexican places in the UES! The Steak fajitas and burritos are amazing

It's Rosh Hashanah! What is a jewish family to do for dinner? Why, we order Mexican!!! I have been eyeballing Calexico for quite sometime. It took the space that Mx & Co. used to occupy and for a time I thought it was the same restaurant operating under a different name. It isn't. We ordered: - Bean Burrito - tasty but plain - Steak Burrito - tasty but plain - Hangar Steak Taco - average - Chicken Taco - average - Nachos - tasty but nothing special - Chips and Guacamole - very good I think you see the reoccurring theme here. Good but nothing great or exciting. Would I order from them again? With so many other local options, my thought is not. read more

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Decent mexican cuisine for nyc. The house margaritas are pretty good for the price. I have only been to the park slope and UES locations. Can get a bit crowded on certain nights. read more

Take out: Baja fish bowl with Mexican rice and refried beans (x2). DEFINITELY recommend!!! The fish still stayed crispy as take out even after 30 min and the mango salsa made all the flavors in the dish brighter. *we tried calling in the order during dinnertime and ordering online was actually faster! read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Baja Fish Bowl with Mexican rice and refried beans - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

Good food but service is SO SLOW. We gave this place another try after the experience we had last time but unfortunately nothing has changed. The servers just aren't on it. We waited 15-20 minutes for someone to bring water/take our orders and then another 40ish minutes after we finished eating to get the bill. Then your credit card sits there for another 20 minutes for them to run it. It's really frustrating - would only recommend if you're okay waiting for that long. read more

Beware! I used to be a regular customer. Last week my son and I ordered delivery and got the worst food poisoning. 4 days later and it's still going through our systems. Never ever again. read more

If you are looking for mexican food then this is your spot. Very cool little place to eat at . Tried the carne asada which comes w steak , rice , jalapeño cream and raddish. It was a good 7/10. One thing I love is their salsa ,that comes aside w chips and the burrito . It was so tasty and spicy but just the good amount and also their Arnold Palmer is better than most places! read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Arnold Palmer - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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Amazingly mojitos. The queso was too spicy but the staff was too kind and took it back. The staff was above and beyond. Very kind and happy!!!! read more

I started out with the crispy brussels sprouts, which had a bold acidic flavor that was counter-balanced well by the peanut-chile salsa. I wish the peanut was more assertive as the radish pushed the acidity level one notch more than I would have liked it, but I still enjoyed this app! I had enough leftovers for the next day's lunch. I got the pollo asado and the black bean tacos as I wanted to stay away from anything fried. (The fish taco is beer-battered! Womp womp - hope Calexico can vision a non-fry fish taco menu item sometime in the future). I quite enjoyed the black bean, as you really cannot go wrong with the guacamole and pico de gallo flavor combination. It was coated in chipotle "crack" sauce, which was yummy! My only complaint is that there wasn't more of the sauce to make every bite pop. The pollo asado taco was also solid, but I could barely taste the avocado sauce. But I recognize that I am an avocado fiend, and perhaps most restaurants will find it difficult to satiate my avocado craving. Solid neighborhood taco place, and fantastic service to boot! The staff makes sure to give you plenty of napkins, which seems so rudimentary at a taco place but most places seem to not understand how messy one can get eating a taco. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Black bean taco and pollo asado taco - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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Visited Calexico for the first time around 8:30pm yesterday and my wife and I are glad we did. It was busy-about a 45 minute wait, but we sat in the communal area where the long table is shared. We live close to Calexico and it always seems busy. It doesn't matter what day it is or what the weather is like. The restaurant seems busy all the time, so we had to see why. The verdict: if you like tacos and a good time, you should check out Calexico. I ordered the Cali style burrito. The description states "a San Diego classic." Well, I've been to San Diego before and I've had a burrito there. From what I remember, it wasn't the same. Obviously NYC is not San Diego or even Cali. However, Calexico's version was pretty damn good. Definitely worth checking out. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Cali style burrito - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

Had heard great things about Calexico so we decided to stop in for lunch. Started off with guacamole which was a great portion size, but didn't have much flavor. Would have loved a tomatillo or similar sauce without too much spice to add on, but unfortunately while there were a ton of sauces on the table, all were hot sauces. Was definitely fresh though which was nice! Then I got the elote which was fantastic! Corn with cotija cheese, mayo, chile powder, sour cream, and cilantro. It was pretty heavily topped and so messy but so worth it! Just don't order this one on a date! As my entree I got the rolled quesadilla with chicken, which I thought would be more like a flouta (an actual little roll), but instead was like a grilled wrap). Was a little disappointed...didn't have much flavor and the chicken was kind of slimy. I think part of my disappointment was just that it wasn't what I was picturing. However, I would have LOVED for some of the ingredients from the side salad to come inside the quesadilla! They should offer that as an option. This came with their signature crack sauce on the side that is SPICY. Good thing it didn't come on it! My brother got a burrito bowl I believe which was HUGE and tasty, but extremely spicy. Might be because of the crack sauce that was in there too. Was surprised that the cheese that was listed as an ingredient wasn't sprinkled on top as I expected but was a legitimate layer of cheese...made it a pretty heavy dish! But pretty good either way. Ended up using the chips from the guac in there to help with the spiciness of it! Overall it was pretty good, but I think I'd go for a different entree next time. It seems like the tacos are their stronger dishes and might be more enjoyable. One thing I heard that I do want to point out is that the prices on the menu at this location are more expensive than their Greenpoint location....REALLY disappointed to hear that. I don't think that's acceptable and I for that reason alone I took off a star and to be honest, will probably not be coming back. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Elote - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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I went for dinner mid-week and the place was packed around 7 pm, so I recommend coming early. I had three tacos, and the fish taco hit the spot perfectly. The fish taco was topped with mango sauce, which was not too sweet but a great addition to the flavor. The shrimp taco was good too. Vegggie taco was not as good as I expected but I am excited to try other dishes too. The nachos that the neighbors were eating seemed so good. read more

As an avid Yelp reviewer, it pains me to leave reviews like this but I had such an awful experience here ...it has to be shared. I came in on a Monday night and a waitress tells me to sit at the bar. It's not very busy, mind you, so I expected to be approached by a waiter/waitress in a prompt manner. I was at the bar for a total of 15 minutes and no one approached me -- meanwhile plenty of other patrons were being attended to. I had a bartender walk past me four times! The hostess walked past me at least twice. Nothing. I left before I could try any of the food. Perhaps my Black dollars aren't wanted at this establishment. A beautiful restaurant can't make up for poor service that in my lived experience, felt discriminatory. Do better. I won't be back. read more

This might be one of my favorite tex mex joints of all times. I came here with a friend because he heard they have one of the best happy hours in town, and it definitely lived up to its hype. You can't get a better deal in NYC. 2 for 1 margaritas, drafts, and beers from 4-7pm. Draft beer alone is a cheap $6, so this basically becomes $3 for one and is practically unheard of in the city. We came at 4:30pm and it was already PACKED because everyone was taking advantage of the deal. I would highly recommend making a reservation or go as early as possible. Calixeco has a lovely atmosphere with cute decor, colorful lights inside, and a bright window side to people watch. It's loud and rowdy but makes it more fun. There are also a few tables outside, but we opted inside due to the muggy weather. Moving onto the food. We started with a few beers and a strawberry margarita, which was absolutely refreshing. For apps we ordered elote to split, and for entree various tacos. The elote is a MUST. The cream and spices were a perfect complement. Of the four tacos we tried (priced between $4-$5 per piece), I would have to rank it from best to least as: Chipotle pork Fried chicken Baja fish Gringo All of them were incredible, but the chipotle pork was the real winner hands down. It was so good we had to ordered another one right after. The meat practically melted in my mouth and was full of flavor. Fried chicken was a very close second. I was really excited for the Baja fish and it was solid but couldn't compete with the others. Same with gringo- a good staple but inherently reminded me of Taco Bell because it's main protein is ground beef. Overall, I couldn't be happier with this place and can not wait to visit again. Great attentive service, great vibes, and great food. You can't get any better than that. read more

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Calexico has some of the best tacos in the city. Fried chicken, shrimp and Baja fish are really good. You can't go wrong with the food here. Simple and delicious. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Lunch box special. Fried chicken and shrimp tacos - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

Stopped by Calexico on a weekend afternoon. It is a smaller restaurant and they do not take reservations. We started off with Chips and Salsa. For the prices of their menu I found it really steep that they charge 7.00 for just chips and salsa and if you ask for more salsa they charge and additional 3.00. It's Mexican, just give free chips. Aside from the steep price of the chips everything on the menu is very reasonably priced. The Chicken Quesadilla was excellent. It had a lot of flavor. I would have preferred it be a little bigger. The chipotle crack sauce they serve with it is a must. You also get a salad with the quesadilla which is not listed on on the menu. I ordered a side of Mexican rice to go with my quesadilla and it had absolutely zero flavor and was very soggy, I was disappointed. I would come back here again, they have an excellent happy hour menu as well. read more

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Fast delivery and delicious food! I got the shrimp burrito bowl and while it was tasty, I do wish it was packed with a little more flavor. You do get a lot of shrimp which I feel is rare so that's a plus. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Shrimp bowl - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

Clean, well organised and buzzing. Always a good default when nearby and can't think of anything else. Semi TexMex type vibe, and nice decor. Overall I'm a fan but they could tweak a couple of things, much of the food tastes fairly similar, seems like the same sauce goes in most of the dishes, at the weekend they should open a bit earlier, and the kids menu could do with a couple of additions- although my guys do like colouring the fun pictures on the kids menus. read more

Overall (3.5/5): Come with friends for brunch or an afternoon drink. Food (3/5): Tex-mex style food that has just a little too much gentrification flavor to it. Certainly filling, but not anything special. Atmosphere (5/5): I've had some fond memories with friends here. Cooped up on bar stools in the window area, or outside on the sidewalk, the service is polite and adequate. Uniqueness (3/5): Average, nothing too great. Value (4/5): For a quick, good meal, Calexico will get the job done. read more

Great bar service. Enjoyable place to watch the World Cup game. Would absolutely come back afternoon or evening.

I'm actually a little upset that I've lived here for so long & haven't been to this place. Today I ordered some margaritas, chips, dips. I'm not super close but the food was here in ~15 minutes. Everything was packaged well, tho it's so hard to pour margaritas from those big circular tupperwares they come from. I loved how fresh all the salsas and quesos were, and none of it was overloaded with salt. The margaritas weren't loaded down with sugar. All in all, the best you can do for Mexican in this price category. read more

Delicious food. Casual but nice ambiance. Attentive waiters and a good mezcal menu. Plenty of margaritas on the menu too of course

So we're back with a new review of a restaurant. Remember, our premise is we go into a place we've both never been before and we tell the waitress or waiter that we want them to order for us, the best things they have so we will come back! It's all on the waiter/waitress. So here we go: We arrived on a pretty cranking Wednesday night and was told the wait was 30 min but then about 5 min later - there was an opening at the communal taco table, so we took it and was sandwiched between two different couples on what looked like first dates. Fun . The waitresses name was Fin, and she was terrific and was totally into what we were doing and when we explained - that we would review the restaurant based on what she chose to serve us - she got totally into it. First up - guacamole and chips. Total 9 out of 10. Excellent. Chips were perfect and not greasy at all. Then came the carne fries - which were AWESOME!!! (Think nachos only MUCH better and with fries - Jillian's favorite) and Elote - which was essentially street corn in a bowl ( my favorite ). Then came the fajitas - steak and shrimp - solid 8 out of 10. Next time I'd probably go for the chicken enchiladas but it was solid and helps with my no carb between 7pm and 9:15pm diet. Lol. Our overall scores: Service: 9 Food: 9 The space: 8 Overall Score: 9 Short story: a total winner and we will definitely be back. Too full now to move :-). See u in June for another sidestreetnyc review. Byeeeeee read more

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Solid Mexican for pretty good prices. I'm not the biggest fan of Calexico burritos, but the baja fish tacos and the (off-menu) fried chicken tacos are both outstanding, and worth the trip on their own. The crack sauce is a little different if you're looking for your typical Mexican flavors, but it's really good. This location has seen a lot of places come and go. Hopefully Calexico sticks. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Chips and salsa - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

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This review is for takeout/delivery only. Fantastic upscale Mexican food - highly recommend! Overall: 4.5/5 Food: 4.5/5 Value: 4/5 Portion: 4.5/5 My usual order here has been the shrimp bowl ($13), and I've also tried several of the tacos including carne asada, Baja fish, and shrimp ($6 each), Brussels sprouts ($9), and Esquites corn ($10). The shrimp bowl is so good - a healthy portion of grilled shrimp with a fantastic slaw and refried beans over rice. Portion size is good and filling. The tacos are really good as well but are a bit expensive price wise. The Brussels sprouts were not my favorite since they were quite spicy but it's a matter of taste too. The corn was quite good, but a bit expensive for the price. Overall, the bowls and tacos are super good and worth trying! I recommend ordering directly through their site if possible if in their local range so they don't get charged big fees by delivery partners. read more

This is a restaurant you would go to eat THERE. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT order a delivery. They will not include salsa, they will not give you napkins or utensils even if your order is for a large group. I personally think it's ridiculous. I reached out to a delivery service (UBER EATS) and they said they couldn't help me with anything. So unless you have time to be making all kinds of notes on every item so they would package it right, save yourself a struggle and don't order a delivery. Food itself was alright. Just sooooooo dry. read more

Came here for brunch on a Sunday. The food came out fast but the service otherwise was very slow. We had a range of mediocre Mexican food like burrito bowls, fajitas, guac, and rolled taquitos. If you want authentic Mexican food flavors, don't come here. It was also pretty pricey for what you get. read more

Calexico - Upper East Side - Salad Near Me - New York, New York

The GM, Matt, was excellent in resolving a service issue. He is very responsive and understanding. (BTW, if you order direct from their website, you can avoid the service fees on top of delivery and tip from the delivery service companies.) And, now finally in-person takeout orders are accepted, too. The food has always been consistently tasty and high-quality. Excellent Margaritas. A neighborhood favorite. read more

Came here for late lunch and it's amazing. They have a happy hour 4-7, with two for one margaritas as well as beers and wine. My meal started off with two tacos. I chose the chipotle pork and the fish taco. Both delicious - and I made it a platter by adding black beans and rice. The rice and beans was so tasty - they added plenty of spice and some kind of salsa. Next, I ordered a rolled enchilada. My waiter recommended the carne asada with caramelized onion and suggested I can add mushrooms. Looks and tastes amazing. With a salad on the side of it. Have to come back and sample their margaritas! Best Mexican in my neighborhood. Love the service, too. read more