El Mexicali Cafe has long been the place for authentic Mexican food in Coachella Valley. Terrific all day menu, food and staff. Only downside is its popularity makes it sometimes a wait during the high season to get seated and during peak hours, it can get a little noisy. One ambiance that comes with dining here is its next to the train tracks, but somehow that adds to the colorful authenticity of this small restaurant. If you love great Mexican food, you'll gladly put up with the occasional train rumbles and slight vibration. Be sure to try the breakfasts (I love the Chili Relleno Omelet). On Friday and Saturday nights they have a wonderful Mexican harpist to entertain the customers. This is one of the two best Mexican cafes in the desert (the other being their newer El Mexicali Café II) read more

Absolutely love this place. Good food, excellent customer service, Maria is my favorite waitress. Highly recommended

Great place if you are craving Mexican and on a sensitive stomach or low sodium. Honestly I don't get the hype. Looked like it was going to be a great hole in the wall but lacking a lot of the flavor you hope for with Mexican food. Restaurant was clean and the wait staff is friendly. Prices are high for what you get. $12-14 for a combo plate (Which is fine for good Mexican food) read more

This really is THE place for Mexican food and we've tried plenty of them. It's the classic "hole in the wall" but boy is the food great. The salsa is made on site and it has just enough bite to it to make it tasty, but not so much as to deaden your taste buds. We had breakfast and the rice is the absolute best along with the beans. Gotta go back for some other food items. Can't say enough about this place. We were there early on a weekday so parking was ample. Restrooms are clean, staff friendly and service was quick. read more

The Chile guerritos, the chavelas and anything else you order here will not disappoint you. Love the staff and the cute little restaurant.

A friend and I went there for breakfast after the Color In Motion Color run this past weekend in Indio. As we do not generally spend time in Indio it was going to be hit or miss...but El Mexicali is definitely a hit. We both had breakfast. My friend had the the Machaca with eggs and I had the chilaquiles with carne asada...they were both delicious. We especially loved the beans as they are made with white beans as well as pinto beans. The salsa is also very good! read more

I absolutely love this place. I've been coming here since I was a child. Great authentic Mexican food and the best service.

We only get by here once or twice a year from out of state, but we always plan a meal on our way towards Los Angeles. We are never disappointed! We always have the chiles gueritos rellonos de camaron, aka shrimp stuffed peppers. Today we made it there about 9am and had the #3 combination, delicious, and the chile relleno omelet with fresh made hot flour tortillas, oh my, was it yummy and impossible to finish! Pair that with a Michelada made with Pacifico.... Well we can't wait to go back! read more

We were so disappointed. This place has been a favorite of ours, but everything at lunch today was completely flavorless! The guacamole tasted like it was out of a box. The chile gueritos that we usually love had no flavor. The chile relleno was almost cold a extremely bland. The waitress was rushing us so that we left after30 minutes from start to finish. I think she was getting off work and wanted to make sure that we paid the bill and her tip before she left. We won't be rushing back anytime soon!! read more

Finally stopped here after many recommendations from our friends. We were not disappointed. The Chiles Gueritos were awesome. Great Chili Relleno. The rice, beans and salsa were all homemade and delicious. The Cevicie looked very good, have to try that next time. Great tortillas. Looking forward to stopping again. read more

Great menu - lots of unique seafood dishes - I'm in love with their Chavela - kind of like a bloody beer. The original location on the edge of town has indoor/outdoor seating. Had spotty service a couple of years ago at the newer location. read more

the best mexican food in the valley, yes even better than rincon n. must start with the shrimp stuffed peppers. the camarones a la diabla will keep you coming back for more. the staff is nice and attentive. remember to hold your beer when you hear the train coming by. read more

Great place to stop off or have a quick/easy dinner. Have only eaten dinner but all 6 people I've been with (2 times) enjoyed the food. Not a ton of options for vegetarians but what they do have is very good. Burritos are very big. Non-Veggies ordered the peppers with shrimp and raved about them. Service is good, food was fresh, and reasonably priced. Definitely not paying for ambience but you could tell there were a ton of locals who like the place. It's not very big so groups are harder to seat. read more

Cool place right next to the railroad tracks feels like you're going back in time on Route 66. Great food. Friendly staff. Local favorite. If you like flashy corporate restaurants you won't like it. read more

Service is OK. Food not so great. The enchilada sauce was not spicy and a little tasteless. Beans and rice were good. The guacamole was not good. read more

I can't count how many times i've come back to this place, and have been satisfied every time. Personally I think they're a little bit on the expensive side, but you definitely get what you pay for. The staff are great, highly recommended. read more

Mexicali born, and very authentic to my hometown, bomb shrimp stuffed peppers gotta try them

I came to this place because it had good reviews but I left disappointed. Our server was not friendly at all, she barely said a word. Very poor customer service. The food was okay. But not authentic. The enchilada sauce was from a can. But honestly what makes me not want to ever come back is the poor service. The worst thing a restaurant can do is make your guests feel unwelcome. read more

Everything about it was delicious! The service was great. I'll definitely go back the next time I'm going through Indio.

The Chili gueros are the bomb. Most of the happy hour menu is really good, however the food/ dinner is ok.

Best Mexican food in town. We are there almost every weekend....my favorite is the combination fajitas. Mmmmm Mmmmm. Great favors.

Came here during happy hour with four of my friends, great service, don't try the campechana shrimp cocktail its like sea water with shrimp, avocado, and cucumbers. The Chile gueros were delicious. Only thing I did not like was that our waiter rushed us with the bill. We were planning on staying for a while and have a few drinks, we only got two drinks in and ge immediately brought us our check and it felt like they wanted us to leave. I guess they didn't want a good tip. I won't be coming back. read more

From outside, you don't think this is a good restaurant. We had heard the name from a friend who had recommended this place. I loved the food and the service. This place was very busy and his was due to the quality of the food, service and moderate prices. read more

This is our "Go to " Mexican restaurant. The gueritos (stuffed peppers) are to die for. In general, the whole menu is excellent and the employees seem to like their job. This translates to good service with a smile. Do not miss this experience. read more

Great food and Margaritas. Small place so I don't recommend for a big group or party. Service is good and friendly. Chips and salsa is fresh. I had the shrimp cocktail and guacamole appetizer and was happy. read more

LOVE This resturant! The food is amazing and so is the staff! The location is interesting with a freight train speeding by behind the building it can get a bit scary if standing outside waiting for the restroom. We go for the food and are never disappointed. Prices are reasonable too. A must stop whenever we are in Palm Desert area worth the drive. read more

I waited over 30 minutes for my families food. My son ordered chicken nuggets!! Are you kidding me! I will Boy come back! It's 11:30 with 2 other tables that are already Served and eating! read more

AMAZING tacos and stuff peppers. We read this was a key place to try and were blown away by the food and margaritas. This is the oldest woman-owned Mexican eatery in the desert - and we got to meet Monica, the owner! She treated us to shrimp stuffed peppers and now we want to go back for more, despite our limited time in Palm Springs. read more

Service was terrible. Not busy at lunch, a couple sat down at a table near me at least 15 minutes after I ordered. They received their food before mine. Five minutes later I let the waiter know that I wanted to leave as I had not received my lunch as yet (again, not very busy), and canceled my order. read more

i read some reviews and dicided to give it a try the only fish that they have for ceviche is talapia, mojara . my son got a tostada and got a big black hair, and the waitress still gave attitude.. if ur looking for real mexican seafood go else where.. read more

Rarely give 5 stars but this place does what it does VERY well. You would automatically not expect too much from a small place. But the Chiles Gueritos area must, and the guacamole was fresh out of the fruit! Hubby ordered camarones a la plancha (to compare with his favorite Mexican joint closer to home)...it was pretty darn good. Frozen strawberry margaritas and magnoneadas rounded out the meal pretty nicely. This place is a gem in Indio CA. If you're in the mood for Mexican and are in the neighborhood, you must check this place out! read more

Visited El Mexicali Cafe during a recent weekend visit from the San Bernardino/Riverside area. We were welcomed by two very nice and professional young ladies. I ordered the chicharones with eggs and beans. The chicharones were cooked in a savory, not too spicy red sauce and the over medium eggs were perfectly cooked. The beans were also very delicious and perfectly salted. My wife had the chorizo and eggs and really enjoyed it. Although our meals were delicious and perfectly prepared, the star of the show was something that caught my eye and really intrigued me. The Chiles Gueritos (I ordered one a la carte not knowing what to expect) were absolutely AMAZING!!! A yellow chile stuffed with shrimp. When the young lady delivered the chile, she asked if I knew how to prepare it, which I replied, "no". She then asked if I liked lime, soy sauce, and mayonnaise and of course I replied " yes". She then squeezed a little lime juice, soy sauce and spread a small amount of mayo on it and told me to enjoy. Boy did I love it!! I've told all my friends about this great eating experience and can't wait to visit again very soon. We may have to sneak in another visit prior to the Tamale Festival in December. Thank you folks!! read more

This is a wonderful little place right next to the railroad tracks that has been here for 30 years - as a matter of fact, the train used to stop here to get food, but not any longer. No, it isn't fancy, but it is clean and the owner and the staff are all super nice and friendly and the food is wonderful. Personally, I think the best item on the menu is their shrimp-stuffed yellow peppers, they are to die for - seriously!!! however, all of their food is awesome. They only serve beer and wine, however, they have the most delicious wine margaritas and pina colada, etc. Since it is right next to the railroad tracks, you will be lucky if you are in the restaurant when one goes by - it just adds to the quaint atmosphere of this place. I would much rather eat here than any other Mexican restaurant around, no kidding!!! read more

Don't be put off by the location. Tiny little place on an industrial road with nothing around it. (At least couldn't see anything at night). Walk in and you can see there are lots of locals here, everyone knows everyone else, so they must come often, so it must be good. It is. Friendly staff (though she didn't tell me that the chiles gueritos are to be eaten with mayo and soy sauce. Just as well. I preferred them straight with a squeeze of the 6 lemon wedges provided. Yum.) Also enjoyed the short ribs and cactus. The roving singing caballero had a pleasant voice, my wife loved his eyes, and he knew not to come too close or stay too long, just provide entertainment. read more

Good food at decent prices. I enjoyed the combo platters. The stuffed shrimp were different, I liked them, though a bit spicy for my taste. The three stars is for the service. The women who waited on us was indifferent to the point of being unfriendly, acted put upon. I had to ask for the check three times. She didn't seem to speak much English, but it doesn't take language skill to smile and be friendly. She wasn't, and it adversely affected our experience. read more

Noisy, broken chairs and badly ripped vinyl seating. Didnt feel clean. Food not good. Overcooked bland low grade chicken and beef in my fajitas. Wont go again read more

We went there last night and had a great experience. The stuffed peppers and guacamole were great as were the fish tacos.

I always wanted to check this restaurant out . We get there and waitress was told us to seat at a table in a rude manner , we just sat in a booth . She came over and threw the silverware on the table I'm like WTF . She asked what we wanted with attitude . Other customers were getting service first and we got there first . We just walked out . The server was a old lady , that's not customer service she was paying more attention to the white people . I never go there again . I see this place going out business with that kind of service . read more

We were on our way home, from Capistrano Beach, CA, to Glendale,AZ when we decided to stop for lunch in Indio,CA. Did a quick search on the iPad and found this place. I directed my husband to the location. We were in luck! It was their 30th anniversary and all that that implied. There was a mariachi band, big tent set up with chips and salsa and the beer was flowing! We got a table within 10 mins. We started with the shrimp stuffed in peppers - out of this world! Our entrees - mine the chile verde - and all others were to die for! Extremely nice wait staff and the owners checked on us often to see if we were ok. Top everything off with a tower of cupcakes to celebrate the anniversary -- and we pulled out swearing to make this stop an annual tradition. Thanks, El Mexicali! read more

Having tried every other Mexican restaurant in the north valley we decided to try Indio. The restaurant is small but the food is big and the service excellent. For starters we ordered the shrimp stuffed chilies and after a lesson from Lupe on the proper way to prep them, we were very impressed. The stuffed shrimp chilies are unique, complex and very flavorful. For lunch we had a satisfying but not bold combo platter with shredded beef taco's and chili relleno's. If we have any complaint it is the chips and salsa. Nonetheless we will come again. read more