We were visiting from out of town, looked for a Mexican restaurant and came across El Mexicali Cafe. Glad we did! Service and hospitality was great! Food was deeeeelish! Drinks were STRONG and tasty as well! Ambiance was nice, music in the background was nice too.Table seating was well spread out, meaning we can enjoy our company together without having to hear other conversations going on around you. I highly recommend and will return! Thank you El Mexicali Cafe for making us feel welcome! read more

I came here for lunch specifically for their Chiles Gueritos Rellenos de Camarón! They were absolutely delicious and my favorite place to get them. They come with a limey-Mayo and soy sauce is already on the table. Service was amazing as usual and the place is kept very clean including the restrooms. read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Chiles Gueritos Rellenos de Camarón - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

We went at around 11:45 on Sunday but the restaurant got more packed as the afternoon went on. The chips and salsa were good but chips would have been better if they were a little heated up. Our food took about 30-35 minutes to arrive after ordering. The food overall was good, nothing too special but not bad. The service was great and the waitstaff were friendly. read more

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Chiles Gueritos Rellenos De Camaron (6) yellow peppers stuffed with shrimp are to die for. Every time we go to Indio we have to eat there. Everything we've ate there has been spot on. read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Chiles Gueritos Rellenos De Camaron $23.00 The original! Our famous six (6) yellow peppers stuffed with shrimp. - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

We have lived here for 11 yrs, retired, gone to the "usual" Mexican restaurants... well this one is NOT one of them. Thanks to multiple comments on Neighbors we decided to go ourselves.... It was awesome. From the greeters at the front to the servers food runners and of course Crystal our bartender it was a wonderful evening... it's lively well decorated and seems to be well maintained and managed .... We had the signature fajitas with their special sauce and I will say probably the best I've had... and the margaritas aren't bad either lol...we now have a new favorite with a large menus plenty of seating and great work staff... kudos El Mexicali cafe II read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

The best Mexican food I've ever had. The guacamole was outstanding! The rice and beans are the best!! I can't say enough good things about this place. Do not miss it! read more

Great food and Margaritas. Everyone is kind and courteous. Best restaurant in Indio. Summer time is best because it's not as crowded. read more

A very busy place on Friday around noon. Only a couple parking spots in the back. The floors are immaculate. The campechana is unique with octopus and abalone in addition to the shrimp. Excellent portion in the large format for two to split. Nice sauce that needed a little extra oomph from the salsa. The #3 combo rounded out the meal. It was good but not spectacular, with the relleno showing some smoke notes. The 32-ounce draft beer is an excellent deal at $12 (these days). Excellent service was provided by Fabiola, who had a great backup service crew. read more

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Food is good , lots of good flavor . Service is on spot ans very polite . It's very clean ans nice bright colors decorate this family restaurant. My only complaint is the bartender she never greeted me or really made eye contact. she seemed preoccupied looking somewhere else . read more

Went here with some friends for lunch and it was fantastic!! The atmosphere is lovely and so was our server. I decided to try the spicy Margarita and was shocked at the size of it and how spicy it was! My friends were kind enough to help me drink it otherwise I would not have been able to finish it. We loved their food and I look forward to going back to try other items on the menu. I had a small quesadilla with chicken and then I had a Shrimp stuffed pepper. It was amazing!! Next time I will get more than one. I don't remember what my friends got but I do know they cleaned their plates! What a lovely find and it is close to where I live when I am in the desert. read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Shrimp stuffed pepper - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

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I've always thought Mexicali on Monroe has the best Mexican Food in the entire Coachella Valley. Along with that goes the Service and Ambiance. I have always had good service. I have not one complaint about this Restaurant . My favorites are tacos dorados and nopalitos con costillas en chile colorado. Please keep up the delicious food and service.. May that never change. read more

We love coming for happy hour I usually get the carne asada taco plate which isn't on the happy hour menu but I love having the margaritas or the chavales/micheladas! The chips & salsa are very good. The chile güeritos are the best always soo tasty! the happy hour menu does have some delicious plates which I've eaten before. The server was super friendly & attentive. I like the ambience & the music from old school rancheras to rock en español! I recommend stopping by & checking this place out! read more

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After reading reviews we thought we would try this restaurant this week. We were not disappointed! The service, the food, our margaritas...were soooo good! Highly recommend coming here, pretty sure you'll be just as impressed as we were! Our new "go to" for Delicious Mexican cuisine & service! read more

Delicious lunch! Service was great too. We sat at the bar and were checked on multiple times throughout our lunch. I ordered their signature fajitas, hubby ordered ala carte chili rellano and a chili Colorado wet burrito. All was fantastic. The place was filled with Mexicans, who obviously know what Mexican food should taste like. read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Chili Colorado wet burrito and chili rellano - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

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Excellent service, pretty good food, and I love the paintings on the restaurant's wall. I will be back the next time I'm in the area!! :) ! read more

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I ordered the shrimp fajitas. Not prepared the way I expected so I a disappointed. The rice and beans were okay. The chips were thick and I prefer thin. The salsa was okay, but different. The atmosphere was lively. The service was great. The parking is a little tight nut doable. To be fair, I would have to go again and order something different to see if I like it better. read more

Excellent food and service in a family style setting Location is safe and secure in convenient location read more

AMAZING!! Once again great food and exceptional service!! Had the chili relleno and enchilada as I usually do and it was fantastic again! Jessica was a great server and very pleasant!! Will definitely be back and maybe I'll try something new.... But why change a good thing! Come eat here if you haven't! You won't regret it!! read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Chili Relleno and enchilada. (Sorry, I already took a bite before pic) it was AMAZING!! - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

We cannot recommend this place enough. The food and margaritas were delicious! Definitely try their chiles gueritos as recommended with the mayo and soy sauce - it sounded kind of odd but was INCREDIBLE. Our server, Oliva, was lovely - she was so wonderful with our group and sons. She was so sweet and really made our meal and birthday celebration so special! read more

Whenever I'm on my way to Arizona, I have to make a stop here for their carne asada burritos (always no rice for me). They never disappoint -- juicy, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned every single time. It's become my little road-trip tradition! The staff is friendly, the food comes out fast, and the flavors always hit the spot. Totally worth the detour if you're passing through! read more

This place was amazing. Hubby and I were on a road trip and were looking for a quick breakfast spot. That's how we found this spot. We were immediately sat. It was nice, clean and music was great. The services was fast and attentive. I didn't take pictures because we were too hungry but everything looked and tasted great. The only improvement I would make would be the coffee. I was hoping for a Mexican blend coffee. It tasted like Folgers. Folgers isn't bad but a Mexican blend would have made all the flavors pop even more. I would return and would recommended anyone to pop in and enjoy the food here. read more

Great food and friendly staff. The shrimp stuffed peppers are amazing. The serving size is good.

Well, I found out about this place from a newspaper review. We love it! We try to come once a week. Last night Oliva served us, so sweet and delightful to talk with! She told us about live music on Friday nights. We are here year around and will dine in the summer too! Everything we have tried is delicious! Glad we finally found out about this place! read more

We ordered everything they said they were *known* for and were blown away by all of it!

Great food and great service! Everything was fresh and flavorful. A special shoutout to Oliva, who was an amazing waitress. She was very attentive, extremely friendly, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout our meal. We'll definitely be back! read more

I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed this location before. Ambience is nice & restaurant is spacious. Service is good. Chiles Gueritos are always good as are chips & salsa. The hard shell tacos are good. I had a chicken sope & beans tonight, both tasty. My peach margarita was the featured drink of the day & it wasn't good. I drank it but I wouldn't order that again. My husband ordered his lime margarita on the rocks & they brought a blended. He drank it anyway because they were busy. In my opinion, they need the bartender to stay behind the bar so he can focus on that & not also be a host & a food runner. read more

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We had a delicious lunch today! Hubby had Carne asada burrito and I had their special combination fajitas. Both were excellent.! The service was exceptional. We will return. Quiet and cozy atmosphere read more

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Hands down some of the best Mexican food in the Coachella Valley! Try the Tamarindo Chavela. It's the only place I know of that serves them.

Me my wife, sister in law and niece had lunch here food was good, service was not bad at all, either .... Ambience. Was nothing out of the world but not bad at all they have an out door area where you can enjoy your lunch or dinner outside they also have a bar not a bad place at all and most important it looked clean to me that's #1 thing for me food can be great but if it ain't clean to the eye it's a no no but this place passed with flying colors do you recommend? read more

Amazing food! Service was great and the ambiance was wonderful. I would suggest anyone visiting the desert to go there during their stay!

Food is delicious & servers are always friendly & accommodating. They have reasonable prices. Been there several times & it's consistent

I came in with high hopes, but didn't care for the food or the music. Still looking for a favorite Mexican restaurant in the area.

Our second visit here, this time for lunch. Service was outstanding, great ambiance, and the food - flavor, quantity, portion size - were perfect. My Chile Verde was possibly the best I've ever had. The meat was tender and well seasoned, and the sauce was delicious, not greasy as it can sometimes be elsewhere. My hubby had the taco/chile relleno combo and loved it. Great food at a great price. Definitely a new favorite. read more

We had to try this place after reading a USA Today article placing El Mexicali II in the Top 40 restaurants in the US. We arrived at 11:00 for lunch to an already bustling environment, lots of patrons already seated but were still able to be seated immediately. Super friendly service was so on top of their game, immediately bringing us chips and salsa, which we were pleased with, and had a bit of a kick. They were equally quick on drink orders and while waiting for our meals offered a free sampling of soup - a verde pork, beans and rice - which was excellent! I ordered a #5 combo, the tostada with beef was yummy. I like my beans a tad less runny with a more robust flavor, but they were still good. The chicken taco was a bit on the dry side but we loved the pork burrito. Husband enjoyed his meal too, specifically mentioning the rice. We didn't have to request more chips and salsa - they automatically delivered it to our table without our asking. Delicious and efficient! read more

El Mexicali Cafe II - Cadillac margarita - Mexican Near Me - Indio, California

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Food was good like always and our server Vicente was attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed.

El Mexicali Cafe is not my go- to for Mexican food, but i do go often with family and friends. It's usually pretty good, both the food and drinks. The service has also been great. However, the last 2 times I've gone, both times to celebrate birthdays, it's been mediocre, both the food and service. Our last visit, orders included overly cooked shrimp and steak dishes. Staff never checked for refills, we had to get out of our seat to find a waiter/waitress more than once. Additionally, our check included a large party tip, we were a group of 5. I did question what was considered a large party, since I've only seen in groups large than 8, occasionally 6. The waitress (not the one who was serving us), apologized and removed it. We would have double tipped on service that was probably not worth the tips we left. Usually, I can overlook because maybe cook/waiter having an off day, but now the second instance will make me think twice before going back. read more

Homestyle food was great, the yellow chilis stuffed with shrimp delicious, and waiter Nathan provided us with EXCELLENT service. We took the grandkids who LOVED to see the trains passing! read more

OVERRATED!! First time, last time. Food and service were average at best! I ordered a $14.99 Patron margarita (I asked the price ahead of time) and received a bill for $20.49. for premium Patron Silver ?!?, I got Gringo'd. For a $120.00 bill we can go to Fresh Agave or Armando's on El Paseo, get better food and better service! spoke with the manager, what a joke! read more

Have come for breakfast more than once. Staff very nice and helpful. Food is just amazing. Shrimp FRESH! All food authentic and we would recommend: appetizers, ceviche, breakfast - LARGE menu if you do not want eggs, you can also get lunch. Guacamole is also fresh. Burritos amazing. Meat also fresh like the shellfish. Have also come for small plates. Even with smaller orders, staff helpful and want to make sure we have a good experience. read more

Always great! Food was plentiful and delicious! My favorite Mexican restaurant in town! We are always greeted with a warm smile and made to feel like family! read more