I give this place 5 stars for their serving sizes. Ha! However I will say the food was pretty good. I ordered the veggie nachos and man I had at least three servings worth of food! Big fan of the nacho cheese poblano sauce too! Great place to stop after a long day on the mountain, you'll be sure to get all those calories burned back! read more

Great experience at Chicali Cantina! The food was phenomenal! Our favorite restaurant of our trip. Highly recommend the guacamole! We also got the salsas which were really good and the fish tacos and enchiladas! Overall, the food and service was great! read more

We were so impressed with the service and food! Couldn't have asked for a better experience! I had a cucumber mint margarita that was delicious and for food we had the poblano cheese asada burrito, hard shell taco, and beer battered fish taco. All were excellent and we can't wait to go back! Bonus points for allowing dogs on the patio and offering special menu items just for them! read more

Chicali Cantina - Baja beer battered fish taco - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

See all

Every year we travel to Portland for skiing on Mt Hood. Wait, let me stop lying. We travel here just to eat at Chicali! Skiing is extra! The carne asada tacos are so good! Literally makes our trip every year! Live music, good drinks, and awesome people! read more

Let's start with appetizers and the best guacamole I've ever had! The pitchers of Cadillac margaritas had our party feeling good, and the street tacos, burritos and enchiladas were so tasty. Our server Hannah was incredible making sure all 9 of us were well taken care of. Celebrating our son & daughter's birthdays, they brought out the giant flip flop for a photo op. If I could give 10 stars, I would! read more

Chicali Cantina - Cadillac Margarita Pitcher - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

See all

This place has amazing tortilla chips! This place has amazing tortilla chips! The chips!

Wow! This place is an amazing find out in remote Welches, OR. Food was fantastic, the owners are great hosts. We can't believe it took us this long to visit. We will be back. read more

What a great stop in the way home with two dogs. Fantastic patio with a fire pit and plenty of heaters. Food was excellent and everyone there incredibly nice. Absolutely perfect spot to stop if traveling with pets to ski. Snow was coming down hard but we were super comfortable on the patio! read more

See all

Amazing food! The ambiance was so inviting and really modern. The service was quick and were helpful with answering any questions. The portions were big and worth the money read more

We stopped in while waiting for our Airbnb to be ready. They had excellent drinks. Didn't stay for the food but all the plates that walked by us looked great! All the service was also great, very friendly and welcoming. read more

See all

Food was good! Service was lacking due to no bartender so the bartender was also our server. No mention of happy hour which would have been very nice since it isn't on the menu and the prices are pretty high here. I would have expected free chips and salsa for the prices we paid. We got two spicy drinks and they were way too sweet. I get a spicy drink for the spice not for it to be masked by sweetener. I would definitely go again but this experience was a little lacking due to drinks quality and an overworked staff. read more

Been here about 4 - 5 times now, and have never been disappointed!! Some of these reviews are bashing for not being "real Mexican food"...it's a California Mexican infusion restaurant...their salsa flight is amazing and very flavorful! I'm a sucker for Birria, and their queso Birria tacos will hit the spot! I'm not big on margaritas, but the pineapple jalapeño margarita is to die for! Definitely worth the drive up the mountain! Can't wait to go back! read more

Chicali Cantina - Pineapple Jalapeño Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

My husband and I looooved coming here. There are vegan and vegetarian options available- we had tacos, enchiladas, and the flight of salsa- allllll soooooo amazing! Margaritas were delicious. Plus happy hour 2-5 wed- sun!!? We can't wait to go back. Also they have a small dog menu- we took ours to go and the pups were very happy! Also the ambiance as so cute- inside and outside. Fireplace and heaters outside, lots of seating. Derive was great. ALLEY!! We hope you are there next time we are. read more

Service was great! Food was good! Just one tip...the free range salt scrub sample you have hanging on the bathroom wall is vile. Literally still water just collecting bacteria from every customer who's used the facility. Really, really recommend you figure out a different way for folks to sample your product. Your staff and food are great, though, so please don't think of this as a criticism of them. read more

Some of the best Mexican food in Oregon to be honest. They nailed the birria taco and the margaritas are insanely good! Can't wait to go back! read more

The chicken soup had lots of chicken and came in a nice sized bowl. The accompanying tortillas were homemade flour ones. The chili rellena plate had good portions. Chili was filled with cheese. We also had the happy hour chips and salsa which had 3 kinds. The avocado salsa was my favorite We were here on Wednesday night and there was live music. The outdoor covered patio seating was great. read more

See all

Cute Mexican restaurant in Welches. I got the Morita Spicy Paloma and the crab and shrimp enchiladas. The enchiladas were good but a little too creamy for me. Their salads and tacos looked delicious. The service was good, they were very friendly and fast. read more

Chicali Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

Excellent food. Excellent service. We will be back. I hosted my husbands 50th here with 25 guests. They took such good care of us! Plus YUM!!! read more

Chicali Cantina - Our server took such good care of us!! - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

See all

This was a super fun, great place to go! The vibe is awesome and very deceiving from the front entrance by Thriftway. The owners did a great job with the space, the food was delicious and the spicy pineapple margarita was the best I've had in a long time. We had the salsa flight which was great and the set of 12 street tacos and they were all delicious. Highly recommend! read more

Chicali Cantina - a plate of mexican food - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

Great service plus very tasty food! We stopped for lunch on our way from Bend to Olympia with our two boys. Tori was our server and she went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed. The poblano cheese and chips were super yummy and my husband and I enjoyed the asado burrito and chicken chili verde tacos - Robin's Way! Thx again for a wonderful lunch! Highly recommended. read more

I usually come in for lunch and have a suggestion: How about some lunch-sized portions? I love the entrees, especially mole enchiladas and chile relleno, which absolutely require rice and beans. But these plates are so heavy for lunch and don't travel well to take home. Smaller lunch sizes would be so welcome. Thanks to your wonderful kitchen for all they do! read more

Hidden gem! We LOVE this place so much! They use fresh ingredients and the food was very tasty. We ordered the chips and guacamole with corn (absolutely delicious!), street tacos and a burrito (which was huge). We're in the area for another 2 weeks and we'll be back a few times before we leave. Absolutely the place to stop. read more

Chicali Cantina - Guacamole and chips - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

See all

Excellent food and the burritos are huge! Definitely try their different salsas! All the different sauces on the burrito are different from their 6 different salsas. read more

Chicali Cantina - 4 sauce burrito - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

The good: we both ordered tacos (birria, bean and cheese) and they were excellent! Chips and salsa? Also excellent! The just ok: the house margarita was merely ok. She didn't finish it, but said that it may have been more a function of it not being one of their specialtie margaritas, which would have more interesting ingredients. That is all subjective, of course. Other may rave about the house margarita. She did not find it compelling, but she is also particular about her ingredients. Second in the just ok list was the Chipotle cream chicken enchilada. This would have been superb, except that it had a fishy flavor to it, which was not subjective. That was unexpected, and beyond the fact that they serve fish as well, seemed unexplainable. I didn't find it completely off-putting, but she was more than done after one bite. I saved the rest, figuring I could drown it in enough of the excellent salsa and birria consumme to cover the fishy flavor. We will be back, because the tacos imply a higher rating is not just possible, but probable. I'm just not sure that I am willing to try the enchiladas again. read more

Met with the ownership at ChiCali Cantina, Robin and David Parker. Where do we start? When you 1st walk in, it's obvious this place has a special vibe. Large seating for groups and cozy couch areas for that special person in your life. The menu is spectacular. Drinks are poured well, and the bar seating area again is super cool. If your heading to the Hood, then ChiCali Cantina has to be on your snow adventure calendar. Don't miss out on a chance to eat some of the best Mexican. The Parkers are what we call super hosts... . read more

Chicali Cantina - Taco power couple - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

Great ambiance! Great food! Loved their homemade hot sauce. Excellent fresh chips. Great service! Definitely coming back!

It was just alright. We drove from Gresham after seeing a recommendation on a local FB group. If you love and are looking for authentic Mexican food, this is not it. It was just ok. The hostess was kind of rude. She was annoyed that we asked to sit outside even though there was plenty of seating. Her excuse was that all the tables were in the sun, which wasn't true at all. Girl, I have eyes! The food looked amazing, but tasted just ok. I got the chipotle cream enchiladas, and the enchilada sauce was more like a mushy paste. We also got the salsa flight but had to mix the salsas together to make it more edible. It was a nice drive, but I wouldn't go back. read more

See all

Stopped in yesterday evening on our way back from sight seeing. When we stepped in to the restaurant there wasn't anyone at the hostess stand to the left and looking into the restaurant there were many and i mean many tables that were not serviced with dirty dishes just sitting there. We waited a minute and were stunned by the lack of staff to accommodate the obvious need in the restaurant. We had been looking forward to a good meal but they were grossly understaffed. Unfortunate. We left read more

If I could, I would give a 10 star for atmosphere. It was quiet and clean. A beautiful atmosphere for a couples lunch. And we had excellent service! The waitress was very kind and helpful. The food was very tasty! I would definitely recommend the fish tacos. read more

Great little restaurant in our area. Sadly the wait staff today was not very attentive and slow about checking to see if everything was okay. Chips were cold and not fresh. My friends food was okay. Nothing to write home about. The waitress may have been having a bad day. But this is exactly why people have a hard time going out to eat and spending a bunch of money when the food is mediocre and the waitstaff need an attitude adjustment read more

Great food offerings. Make sure to try the coconut shrimp and the salsa sampler. All the entrees are exceptional as our group tried all of them. Service was spot on with Kendra at the bar and Robyn working with her staff on the floor. Perfect experience. read more

Chicali Cantina - Robyn with one of her many fans, Bug! - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

We came here on a recommendation from a man I met on a ski lift. We didn't know what to expect, as the restaurant is at the end of a small shopping complex with Thriftway. We are very glad that we went. We loved this place! The food was excellent. We started with the Chicali Guacamole, Coconut Prawns and Salsa Flight. The guacamole contained chunks of avocado and queso fresco. Everything about it was fresh. My husband loved the tortilla chips that were served with the guacamole. The coconut shrimp tasted like coconut. We're used to having a hint of coconut flavor in the shrimp, but the flavor in this shrimp was unmistakable. We had our favorites in the Salsa Flight: sweet and smoky morita, verde salsa, and pineapple-Serrano salsa. We were pretty full from eating the starters, so when the One Dozen Street Taco Platter arrived, we gave it our best shot. We liked the carnitas and braised beef tacos. There was a lot of meat in those tacos. Very generous portions. They were difficult to pick up and eat, as the tortillas broke apart. They came with lots of cut radishes and lime wedges. The salsas made perfect toppings. Heaven! Our grandchildren ordered strawberry-stuffed churros and vanilla ice cream. The strawberry filling was perfect with the churro. The vanilla ice cream had a weird, unpleasant taste. It tasted almost like rancid oil, but not quite. It was almost like kerosene. It was unpalatable. We also ordered Tres Leches Pina Colada Rum Cake. It was delicious. What made our experience great was our waitress. I'm sorry that I didn't get her name. She made excellent recommendations, was friendly and fun. Overall, it was a great dinner. We are visitors and we plan to return next year. We will definitely be back to Chicali Cantina. read more

Always very good food and service along with great ambiance. Cadillac margarita is the best along with their fabulous home made chips.

A beautiful dining oasis awaits in the back of a non-descript shopping center in Welches! We were passing through after a day of hiking and decided to stop for a bite before heading back to Portland. I never expected to find a restaurant of this quality in Welches. The locals have a real gem in their back yard! This is a new restaurant and like most other places, they are having a hard time with staffing and are operating limited hours until they can get enough employees. But overall, the experience was top notch. The food was amazing -- I had the Chipotle Cream Blue Corn Crab & Shrimp corn enchiladas. It was incredible!!! My boyfriend enjoyed the Carnitas plate and pretty much hoovered that up. LOL. There are two lovely covered outdoor patios to dine on for those who prefer fresh air. Both have heaters and one has fire pits. The decorating was fun, cheeky and you can see that a lot of thought had been put into the smallest of details. The drinks were absolutely fabulous! We had the Mango Margarita ( and you could really tell fresh fruit was used it was thick and creamy) and a Blackberry Vodka drink with real blackberry puree. I can't imagine how challenging it must be to open a restaurant during the middle of a global pandemic!! A few hiccups are to be expected. But, overall, we both really loved this restaurant and look forward to going back again! To provide some context, we had stopped up at Timberline Lodge for a drink just before. Their staffing was so limited that the main bar was closed; you had to belly up to a side bar in the main restaurant to purchase a beverage. (The restaurant was not open for afternoon food service.) There was no wait staff and our drinks were served in a plastic cup. It's rough all over folks. I know that this beloved location will get back to its normal operation, hopefully sooner, rather than later. read more

Chicali Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Welches, Oregon

See all

The food is AMAZING 95% of the time! Service can be challenging BUT they are a mountain restaurant where staffing can be difficult. The owners are always just as involved as the staff and they take pride in their restaurant and will make the wrong right. The ambiance is great where you can sit up at the bar and have a good drink with some food and watch some tv or sit by the fire out back or bring your family in for one of the large tables. read more

In the area for the holidays rented a house for the family, needed some girl time for the adults. If you're looking for delicious food & an awesome bartender ask for Ally! She is marvelous! Kept on making the margaritas for us & giving us lots of laughs; the food here is to die for especially the nachos. Will be coming back again when in the area. 5 STARS thank you for a great time, the place is beautifully decorated as well. read more

See all

Love this hidden gem! It's always super busy, so be prepared to wait for a table, but I promise it's worth it! read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE. We were visiting government camp and found Chicali Cantina online. We stopped by, not expecting much and were completely blown away. So much so, we went back the next day. The owners were there both times and you can tell they love what they do. The food is spectacular. I'm a Mexican food snob having lived in California and in the southwest for most of my life. Definitely get the salsa flight, the guacamole, and the enchiladas. They even have a small menu for dogs which was fun for our small pup. Edit: I had to come back for this. THE BIRRIA TACOS. Must try. Best I have had absolutely scrumptious. read more

Food was pretty decent but very disappointing that we called and specifically asked if they allowed dogs, of which they replied with "yes, we have a heated outdoor area". We arrived to learn that the outdoor area was not set up yet and once set up, they could not get the heaters to work. One person said she'd get the owner because they knew how to operate the heaters. The other girl said the volcano heaters didn't work and the rest of the heaters were out of propane. I told her what the other server said (that they'd ask the owner), and the girl's response was "I'm the owners' daughter and these have never worked and the rest are out of propane". So.... I went to get my jacket because it was really cold out there. AND, guess what, right when we were about to leave, the owner came out and turned on the volcano heater, stating they only work if the propane is turned on first!!?? And Tha her daughter should have known that... So bluf, don't plan on bringing your dogs in the winter because it may or may not be heated outside. read more

The food is good. The service was not. We waited to be seated and finally seated ourselves. There were no other guests inside, but there was a group outside. There were several servers. They were visiting and laughing. Finally a server brought water and took our order. My side salad arrived first. I waited for my friend's food to arrive. It was a long wait, and it was not what he ordered. He eventually got what he had ordered. His food was good. My taco was delicious until the bite that burned my mouth. After I had recovered, I inspected the taco for the source of the heat. I didn't see any seeds or peppers, and I finished my taco. After we finished eating, we sat a while before we got our check. There were no apologies for the delays or wrong order. Nor did anyone check on us or me as I was coughing and dealing with the burning. By the way, it was Mother's Day. Neither the restaurant nor the servers acknowledged that in any way. But, as we left, a man entering held the door and wished me a happy Mother's Day. Bottom line: Food is good, a little spendy. Service is mediocre at best, terrible that day. We had been there before. We won't be back. There are other options in Welches -- restaurants and food trucks. read more