I wish I could say yelp led me to an amazing experience here, but that would be a blatant lie. The only decent thing about my meal was the Horchata and the chips (which I had to pay extra and wait for). The chips & salsa, salsa was actually just pico de gallo that was spread on top nacho style and didn't taste fresh. I was excited to try the industrial sized homemade green and red salsa but they were a total bland disappointment. Emphasis on the bland! My Brother ordered the burrito and had the blandest most guerro friendly burrito of his life. I had 2 tacos one chicken and one crispy fish. On the recommendation of the unenthusiastic cashier I ordered both "crispy" which as it turns out means an oily and semi crispy tortilla wrapped by a regular tortilla. What the hell is this a taco bell gimmick? Then there was the crispy fish taco which I prayed would save my meal, but it didn't. I don't know how this is possible but the fish tasted like fish fillet, yup just like mickyDs. Which was a major turnoff. I will never return and as an actual Mexican I do not condone consumption of this "Mexican Food." For those of you bland Mexican food seeking individuals who still choose to give this place a try be warned it is not on Telegraph Ave it is inside the temescal shopping center (wedge between 51st and Telegraph) and faces a private lot. read more

so i walked in here a few minutes ago to get my favorite item...the breakfast burrito with carne asada and hash browns!!! the place is empty...i walk up to order it as i usually do...but THIS time i get a little bit of attitude...not cool. i order as i want, and the cashier goes "ill have them make it for you THIS TIME ONLY...the breakfast burrito comes with real potatoes, not hash browns...its too much work for them to make it with hash browns." i dont make much of a stink BUT im irritated. ive never complained about how you guys jacked up your costs for your food after you got your name in the papers for "cheap eats"...i never complained about how long it takes for food and how inconsistent the quality was...i never complained that sometimes, even the prices on the same items are different based on who the cashier is... NEVER COMPLAINED, EVER. but cashier person (first time ive seen her before and i asked her if she were the owner...she said "no" but she sure as hell was bossing me around like she was..." i pay you to make food that i want to eat. i will pay you EXTRA if i have a request that is not a "regular" thing. i PAY FOR MY SATISFACTION. the only thing i asked was that you throw in some hash browns in my burrito, instead of home fry potatoes. is that so hard? whats so damn difficult about that. i pay 12 dollars for a burrito. thats almost double that im paying for a normal breakfast burrito. for me to pay this amount, shouldnt you THANK ME for "upgrading" my burrito and making you more money? as a business owner myself, you do what your customers request. as long as its WITHIN REASON...you provide customer service and try to accommodate people to make sure they are satisfied...this lady, whoever you are...you didnt. i will go back very soon and ASK for this "upgrade" again. i will PAY the obscene amount of 12 dollars for a burrito without any hesitation or complaint. i will give you guys a try one more time...EVEN with that b.s. plaque thats hanging right in front of the cashier that says "cheap eat" from a newspaper article that is now CLEARLY outdated...i will give you guys another try... please have your cashiers attitudes adjusted by the time i get there...and make sure they dont talk to me like im a child...i help pay your wages with my stupid expensive burritos...thanks. read more

Excuse my french, but F this place. We got some to-go yesterday for lunch, and shared a shrimp burrito, 1 chicken taco, and 1 fish taco. Right after eating it, we both had stomach aches. My stomach ache ended up going away.. Later on that evening....His stomach was still hurting and he started developing a fever AND felt nauseous. Dun dun dun, FOOD poisoning. I woke up this morning feeling like a pile of doo doo, my stomach is in knots and it blows. F'in food poisoning for some crap food, why couldn't it be some good food, maybe then it would be worth my while. But meh! It's expensive, and crap! read more

We stopped in for lunch one day. I was so excited to try this place as I've heard great things about it. The thing is, this was only a couple of weeks ago and I can't remember exactly what we had. I just remember being sorely disappointed by the food and wishing we had gone to Bakesale Betty's or Genova across the street instead. I do remember things being very bland and when I went back in to ask for more salsa, I got some attitude from the lady behind the counter. And our meal was pricey for what we got. Can I get something off my chest? Environmental issues aside... I am so sick of everyone raving about a place just because they serve "Niman Ranch" meats. C'mon - no matter where they get their meat, if they don't know how to make it taste good, I don't want to pay a premium to eat it. I was so not impressed with the meat in my taco. Give me a cheap cut of meat from a taco truck on International any day. (i.e. Sinaloa) I won't return to this place. read more

I love it when I can find a crispy vegetarian taco! And dang they are good! Calaca Loca has quite a few choices for vegetarians - taco (crispy or soft), burritos, nachos, quesadillas, guacamole (really good) . Not quite as many choices for vegans, and honestly I think the tacos might be a bit boring without cheese since the fillings are pretty simple. The guacamole is wonderful - chunky with tomatos, red onion, cilantro and a touch of serrano. Yum! Next time Im definitely getting some of that corn! UPDATE: Ok, now Ive tried the elote and its pretty good. It would be better if the crema and spice were evenly applied all over the cobb, rather than dousing just one side. The nachos were so so, but the lime margarita was nice and refreshing and the fish taco yummy. read more

YUM! I've been on a total taco binge lately and a friend of mine took me here because she thought I'd like their tacos and I most definitely did!! If you are familiar with Nick's Crispy Tacos, this is sort of like it. They have a taco especial where they put a crisped tortilla in with lots of guac and onions and taco goodness into it. I got a fish taco and a shrimp taco and they were both humongous and definitely delicious. My friend ordered a quesadilla and it was the biggest one i've ever seen. It was filled up like it was a burrito with tons of meat and cheese and it seemed like it was deep friend and sort of chimichanga like. Everything was so good and we were so filled by the end. I would definitely come back. read more

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I love this place. For good Mexican food in the temescal I would start at la calaca loca. Awesome carne asada burritos, and the best pico de gallo in north Oakland. My fiancé and I love walking our chiweenie here and eating on their outdoor patio. read more

La Calaca Loca - All the fixings. - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

LaCaLaCaLoCa! This restaurant wins the Rocco B. award in the category of "most fun sounding name for a taqueria". Though I haven't been there, the Pink Taco in Vegas comes in a close second. I'm a fan of the food at this taqueria. I was really impressed the first time when I got a metric-butt-load of pig on my carnitas burrito. Subsequent times I've been less lucky, but still the amount of meat was nothing to scoff at. My only complaint is that they should give you some free chips--it's common taqueria courtesy! Their Habenero sauce is hot and totally awesome. Ask for it on the side. And if you see the crazy skeleton drinking tequila (la calaca loca), tell him Rocco sent ya! LaCaLaCaLoCa! read more

The food is absolutely amazing. Their salads are massive, fresh and delicious. Definitely one of my favorite places to have fish tacos, and their shrimp tacos shouldn't be passed up either. I normally get one of each so I don't have to decide. read more

La Calaca Loca...my spanish isn't the best, but I think it means the Crazy Skeleton. Definitely a weird name for a mexican restaurant. But I bet you can't say La Calaca Loca 5 times without getting tongue-tied. La Calaca Loca is located in a strip mall and a little difficult to find. But once you find it, it's a little gem in back of a pawn shop. Yes, their carnitas tacos and carne asada tacos are good. But there is only one thing I get from here...their Fish Tacos Especial are the best. Big beer battered fish. One fried corn tortilla wrapped with a soft corn tortilla. Fresh avocado, salsa, and sauce. If you haven't tried them, you need to drop everything and run to La Calaca Loca and get one - NOW! read more

Moved in down the street a couple months ago, and have been here a few times for our burrito fix. The food isn't bad, but also isn't great. Good enough for the options we have around us. This post is really about the woman that always takes our order when we go. She has dark hair, and has always been at the cash register when we've gone. We like to customize our orders, since we don't like to eat meat. She seems to always criticize us, and make it difficult. Our last visit she was simply rude, and tried to make us feel stupid for what we chose to order. Then forgot to give us our drinks (isn't the first time for that) and then tried to say that I didn't order and pt for them, when I did. Since that visit, we have chosen to make a longer commute to go somewhere else because of her. I can't support a local business with such rude customer service =/ read more

Update to my review: Not only did I give this place one star because of their horrible food and service, but I also received hate mail via Yelp from someone who I can only assume is affiliated with this place. Do yourself a favor and save your money for a better tasting place. You'll be extremely disappointed by the rude attitudes of the people who work here, and no, their horrible excuse for food won't make the visit any better. read more

Before this place i have never had a fish burrito. A fish inside a burrito?? This kinda threw me off and didn't sound all that appealing. But some of my friends raved about it and said it actually is very tasty. Walking in, this place has a beautiful decor. The taqueria is filled with pinatas and filled with day of the dead skulls, which i love by the way. Ordered the baja pescado burrito, which is the fish burrito they have. I was expecting it to be like a regular burrito but with fish instead of meat. To my surprise it had nothing that a regular burrito has. The burrito had 2 pieces of battered fish surrounded by some sort of slaw and filled with the "baja" sauce with a hint of lime. The burrito itself was really good. The only problems i had with this place were their sauces. The green sauce was the best one but it still lacked flavor and spices. The tomato/brown sauce was very odd. It had some sort of tangy sweet flavor that threw everything off, i do not recommend using this sauce. The horchata they serve here is also sub par, very watery. Overall this place is really good but i would recommend going to bakesale bettys across the street for that deep fried chicken sandwich. mmmm how i love that place. But when your tired of that place and want some sort of fish tacos or fish burritos this place is awesome. read more

My kids & I tried this place out. This was our experience: There's so much on the menu, it was really hard to decide on what to get. My son & I concentrated on & scanned the menu until he broke the silence and blurted, "I'll try anything, Mom.......`cept for a squirrel's nuts" So since we've never tried fish tacos, we decided on that. Two choices: grilled or deep fried. We went with the Baja (deep fried fish) tacos; 2 each. I ordered one Corona, and two orders of chips. Th chips don't come with, you have to pay extra for it; which is fine-- because they give a lot & it's worth it. It's the "hard" kind; not the el cheapo tasting corn-chip stuff. Do you know what I mean? 4 fish tacos + 2 chips + 1 corona = $23.00. Me likey! As we waited for our order...here's what we noticed: Ambiance: Mellow/chill atmosphere, colorully decorated with "Day of the Dead", Mexican Skeleton Art, a plethora of musica, friendly staff/employees, and a clean el bano (restroom)!! We sat outside & patiently waited, as I sipped on my Corona & ignored my kids as they sat there & fought. Don't be turned off by the pawn shop & check cashing joint across the lot & the "pregnant" pandhandler who was chillin' out front. We waited about 10 minutes for our order; which was relatively timely considering that they were pretty busy. The Fish Tacos: My son & I really liked the deep fried fish tacos, except-- they put a a little too much sauce on it. We tried to figure out the sauce. It had a bite to it, tangy, citrus-y, lime-ony--something. It was good, it was just a bit too much; which made our tacos fall apart. We just dealt with it. Overall we had a great experience & will return very soon. We are going to make it an effort to try everything on the menu... read more

Some of the worst Mexican food I've ever had. I've never been so disappointed by quesadillas. Ordered a cheese and a carne asada quesadilla and couldn't finish either one. I'm really disappointed with this place, especially considering the amount of money I spent. read more

We walked into a vibrantly decorated restaurant that seemed to emphasize the Day of the Dead. You order at the counter and pay for chips (that you can get for free at other places). The drink selection was not very vast. But the place was clean and the visuals were entertaining and the food was good. The price on the other hand was way over what I should pay for the location they were in. It took a while for our mere quesadilla and guacamole to come to our table, good thing we had plenty of things to look at on the walls and ceiling. read more

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The four stars are for the one item I've tried. I lived across the street from this place for about a year and just now realized that they have excellent veggie burritos for $4.95. With beans, guac, salsa, cheese, sour cream (I didn't have this in mine) and even this nice cabbage slaw in a homemade (or homemade tasting) tortilla. I don't think there was any rice in the burrito, which is a-ok by me because a lot of the time veggie burritos have way too much rice. The veggie burrito is really the only thing I can vouch for, but it was just what you're looking for in a veg burrito for a low cost (usually no such thing as free guac if you know what I mean). read more

If liking this place makes me a fool or whatever the heck the angry people are saying about this place, then that's fine by me! Like many perfectly acceptable and highly delicious places, you have to know what to order. Some places do a good job on everything and others do a great job on a few things. La Calaca falls into the latter category. In my humble opinion (because hey, I'm not the queen of the world and have been proven wrong many times) La Calaca makes the meanest fish burrito (or taco) around. If you get the Especial version of the Baja Pescado burrito, make sure you grab the green and red salsa bottles and douse that baby like there's no tomorrow. It's a magical combination. That stuff is the bomb dot com. Oh, no! That must mean I'm white? (checks skin color) Well, crap. I guess I'm an idiot for enjoying the food here. I've tried other items here and the other decent options include the carne asada taco and nachos. Everything else is ok, but not the best or (horrors!) most authentic. Go here if you like fish. Nom nom nom! read more

I've been to La Calaca Loca maybe 5 times and I've always enjoyed the food. At my last visit I had the Chicken Taco Salad. Pretty good. And I always love a big tasty salad.. read more

La Calaca Loca - Chicken taco salad. - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

Wow, i almost gave this place a 3 star, but couldnt do it. Pros: Awesome crispy tacos, absolutely brilliant the way they wrap the crispy in the soft (I know taco bell did it first, but...). Also, the decor is cute and kitschy DOD, which is pleasing considering it is situated in what is practically a mini-stripmall. And a tasty beverage selection. Cons: Bland rice and beans, which basically means burritos are out. Also, customer service, while friendly, is not all one could hope for. Long story. Ohh, and whatever that appetizer thing is with the cheezy chorizo dip whatever the hell it was, was utterly disgusting. We actually havent been back since that... thing.. graced our table. I will only come here if im craving that one particular dish, the crispy taco ala whatever it is. You'll know what Im talking about when you read the menu. read more

Maaaaaaaaaan. This place had so much potential. I mean I had just finished lunch and was driving home when I thought to myself, "Sure... there is always room for another burrito!" So parking was interesting. Too many cars. Too few spots. Narrow lot. Lots of confusion. Get it? LOTS? Ha! So I go in and get into the whole skeleton theme. I'm thinkin', "Alright, cool off to a good start." But even though we were off to a good start, the execution was a little shaky. Get it? Skeleton? Execution? Meh, I don't like that one. So I ask for a veggie burrito, no cheese. It comes to me... rather girthy. A pretty good size and low and behold it is full of cheese. I look at the receipt that says "NO CABBAGE." I don't know... I think I'm usually pretty good with enunciation but I don't care how badly someone mumbles -- cheese will never sound like cabbage, not even remotely. Seriously, try for yourself, I'll wait. And another thing. I've made this mistake before and am surprised a taqueria would too... No rice?? Sometimes I think to myself, "I'll ditch the rice... I LOVE black beans!" No way dude. You get yourself a sloppy, soggy mess. La Calaca Loca -- You kinda suck. read more

Great place in the neighborhood. I usually order the veg burrito (no cheese). Love their salsas. Today I ordered the roasted corn taco salad with a side of rice. So good! read more

Best tortilla soup I've ever tasted!!!!! Giant chunks of chicken, avocado pieces floating around and the broth is heavenly. LOVE it! 04-09-07 ***UPDATE*** Oh my gawd, the corn on the cob with chile, mayo, and cheese is near orgasmic. No doubt, the carnitas taco is AMAZING too. read more

I love pork products. Love them. But the carne asada at La Calaca Loca gets my vote for top meat product here, at least until they see the light and add al pastor to the menu. The beef has an outstanding texture and flavor; the marinade complements the meat without overpowering it. UPDATED 7/30/07 and downgraded to 4 from 4.5 stars. See below. Hits: 1) The meat. See above. The carnitas is (are?) good, too. 2) The ingredients are very fresh, so yes, it really is worth paying $1.25 extra for a copious serving of guac in your burrito. 3) Nice people work here. 4) Burritos are about average-sized with a coherent ingredient mix. They're served hot and with thoroughly melted, plentiful cheese. 5) The whole place is very clean. 6) Location: this is the best (and only) burrito I've had in Temescal. I'll never set foot again in Pico Paco (see my review of these unethical and rude chumps). Misses (all are minor): 1) No black beans available. 2) It's a little pricey -- a burrito w/ guac and cheese runs about $7.50 w/ tax. However, all of the ingredients are top quality, particularly the meat. Did I mention the quality meat? 3) I'd like to see the tortillas grilled instead of steamed; next time I'm there, I'll ask them to make this happen. UPDATE 7/30/07: Walking in to LCL and seeing them heroically grill a tortilla for a quesadilla, I didn't think my powers of persuasion would be tested with a simple request to grill the tortilla for my burrito. Not so. The cashier told me that they're "not supposed to" grill them, and that she's tried asking the grill guy to do this for customers without success, but that if _I_ asked him, he'd do it. In stunned disbelief, I went through this colloquy with her again to make sure I had the facts right. Look, I'm not going to hassle every damn employee to get a grilled tortilla. But if he won't grill it, take the tip jar off the counter. When I sat down and unwrapped the foil, I noted toaster lines on the tortilla. Toasting bests steaming, true, but grilling trumps them both. Weird. read more

I love this place. I love the fish tacos especial, the elote(roasted corn with queso) and the quesidilla. The food is always fresh and delicious. the fish taco especial are wonderful with a pretty large portion of fried white fish laid in a bed of cabbage and salsa, wrapped in a nice fresh made crispy taco shell, wrapped in a nice soft fresh corn tortilla...with a ton of guacamole. just writing about that taco makes me want to chomp one down. The quesadilla are huge. Everytime i roll into Oakland i am tempted to sneak here to grab a quick taco. read more

Wow, what an awful experience. I was greeted by the owner of the place and was quite excited about eating some Mexican food. I tried to order nachos with guacamole and sour cream on the side.... She wouldn't let me, told me that was to many items in the side... Hold on, I can't order the food the way I want it?!? Do you not want my business?!? In this day and age and as slow and empty this poor spot was how can she afford to send customers away?? read more

The last two times I've been to this restaurant the customer service was poor, and my food looked like crap. read more

La Calaca Loca - Horrible - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

I am picky about meat. The chicken here is great. And who can say no to "La Calaca Loca"? Who can say it five times fast? read more

After finding SR24 closed for lunch (we were in the mood for sandwiches), we stopped in here to check it out. Glad we did because we got some of the tastiest breakfast burritos. I ordered mine with bacon and although not cheap, I found I got my money's worth: huge smokey chunks of bacon, tender potatoes, and fluffy eggs combined with a fresh tomato salsa - yummy! The red sauce and salsa verde were very tasty too. Oh and I got a green agua fresca de melon for the first time - they used honeydew! So yummy. Next time, I'll give the fish tacos a try. I haven't had any good ones since my Baja surf trips back in the day! read more

When Bear Naked Burgers closes before you've gotten a chance to try it, you grow very sad. When you see La Calaca Loca and do your research and find out that it once coexisted with Bear Naked Burgers, you lose a little bit of your sadness. When you finally try La Calaca Loca three times over roughly a year-and-a-half, you slump into disappointment. This place could be so much better. I'll start with the food because everything else is so much more important. The food is OK. They use a lot of cabbage in the vegetarian options, which is annoying but which isn't as bad as it sounds or as it could be. The flavors aren't the boldest, but the ingredients seem fresh. I came at off hours each time, so I had my food quickly. The veggie tacos really aren't worth it. Stick with the burritos. The service is friendly. The place is always a mess, but it's not gross, just unloved. The decor? The decor. The inside of this place should bump it up to four stars, if not five. Whoever did the initial interior design was really right on with every decision she made. From the festive colors to the piñatas to the gorgeous Día de los Muertos niches to the weird tabletops to the crowning crazy skeleton fountain, everything was perfect. Unfortunately, "was" is the most important word in that last sentence, because this place's interior has literally fallen apart. The fountain stopped working at some point, and now they've removed all the copper pipes, so it's just a weird basiny-looking thing that contains no water. Many of the decorations are ripped, and instead of actually thinking about how to incorporate necessary features like the salsa bar and drink cooler, they were just wheeled in and left there. I'm all for thrown-together taquerias, but La Calaca Loca didn't start off as a thrown-together taqueria; it was a visual experience. Now, it's just sad. So so sad. The food is OK, but I don't know whether negotiating either entrance to the strange parking lot is worth going out of your way for. On the plus side, it's really close to a freeway onramp, so if you'd like to take your food to go and avoid the shambles the interior has become, that's a viable option. read more

OK-these people are giving Mexican food a bad name. I can say no more--it's too awful to even think about really. Yuck! read more

This review is for the salad only. The chicken was warm in parts and completely cold in others. It is also very watery so you end up with a water salad. Salsa is ok. read more

Everything I have tried here is absolutely amazingly delicious. If you want a full, robust Mexican experience, go here for sure. I crave their food, in an addictive manner. I've turned on quite a few friends and they all crave it now too. We often find ourselves reminiscing of the oh so delicious folded quessadillas, the burritos lightly grilled to perfection, and the amazing chips....yes....the chips are so good that I actually pay extra for them. It's a buck 50 and it comes with salsa. Yes, I know...99.999% of taquerias include chips and salsa gratis....and YES IT PAINS ME to fork over more $ for them, but they are so delicious that I cannot help myself. So, though I will continue to purchase and enjoy these chips, I have deducted one star for the mere fact that I have to pay for them, after a $7 burrito. Albeit, arguably the world's best burrito! read more

Love that they DELIVER. Ordered from here for the first time on a Sunday while recovering from a hangover. Fish taco was so fresh, crispy, and good sized. The quesadilla was small, very small. Not ordering that again. Had a steak burrito, it was delicious and FAT in size. For one quesadilla, one fish taco, and one steak burrito, total was around $30. Regarding the delivery service via the app (I don't remember the app, it's a second party service) they ask for a tip before you get the food or are able to evaluate their services. That seems strange to me. They did deliver within the 45 minute window given! read more

Very clean, fresh Mexican food. Tacos come in two corn tortillas options- crispy or soft. Make it spicy-awesome with their red and green hot sauces/salsas in squeeze bottles for easy application. The chips are ultra-thin and the guacamole is delish. read more

For the first time in years, I ordered the Mexican Breakfast Burrito. It was by far the best breakfast burrito, I've ever had. Not greasy and the ingredients were fresh. Every bite was so delicious. Now, I know this is the only place I will get my breakfast burritos from. Thank you for making a great breakfast burrito for me. I greatly appreciate you all. read more

My favorite casual/to go place for Mexican food in Oakland. The fish tacos are DEVINE!!! They also have a shrimp taco special with mango salsa that is scrumptious!!! They're agua frescas are great but the horchata is better at Cactus. But they beat other neighborhood spots in every other area AND they even have elote! I could eat a beer battered fish taco especial, an elote & a negra modelo from La Calaca, todos los dias. Delicioso! read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! I'd be surprised if they don't know me by name at this point. I think I get a Baja Pescado taco all the time! The restaurant itself is really cute and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I also really like the elote (corn on the cob with hot chili powder and a cream-sort of- sauce), the jicama and grapefruit salad, and the horchata. The parking lot can seem a little sketchy, but I've never had a problem. read more

I love this place. I get the baja style taco, but with grilled fish. It comes with cabbage, onions, cilantro, and the baja sauce, which is what makes it awesome. read more

Bear Naked Burgers was closed, so for dinner we went here which is right next door. The service is friendly but that's as far as my positive thoughts go. All the food I've had here thus far is just "OKAY". I have yet to be really satisfied by any of the items. The enchilada sauce was very similar to ketchup, read: SWEET. So if you like your red sauce sweet, you'll be a fan. I however am not a fan of sweet enchilada sauce (bleh bleh BLEH) and prefer mine spicy and/or meaty. And the quesadillas are very mediocre despite the promise of having pico de gallo included inside. The tortilla is a little too crips and really flimsy/thin. The only thing that made it edible was the red hot sauce that they offer in a bottle. Perhaps I need to try a burrito or taco, but so far I'm not thrilled by this place and will only swing by if I'm low on options. Sorry! read more