Mexicali Restaurant - Vancouver

Very friendly welcome in a rather dumpy hole-in-the-wall gave me a misguided expectation I might enjoy the meal. I was wrong.Limp, generic "Mexican" food microwaved within an inch of its life. I mean, the beans were dry around the edges and the whole plate was obviously just out of the microwave. Four lunch specials prominently displayed at the counter and obviously the preferred choice of the owners. I mistakenly ordered a chicken enchilada {$8.99+tax), which comes with rice and refried beans plus "salad" (a small pile of shredded iceberg lettuce with a dollop of bottled salsa on top. Choice of drink included, either "slushy lemonade" or can of soda. I mistakenly chose the lemonade, whiich was way too watered down with a small amount of crushed ice in it. Nothing slushy about it.And nothing authentically Mexican about the food, either. I suspect it all comes out of cans, jars or frozen packets to be nuked and served to people who may not be familiar with the flavourful delights of fresh, authentic Mexican food. I will no doubt sound "racist" to some for this comment, but it's based on the experience of several years living in Hong Kong. There I discovered that what is touted as Mexican or Indian or British food is often an Asian concept of what that food might entail, sometimes based only on photos and uneducated gueses. And often not even remotely like what it is HOPED to be. For instance, the "tomato soup" my friend ordered turned out to be a bowl of sweet and sour sauce. Hey, they're both red, so what's the problem? I could give many more examples, but my point is that the food at the Mexicali reminded me of the bad old days in Hong Kong: An Asian attempt at serving a cuisine with which the purveyors have no direct experience.I should have known better. Mexicali no doubt owes its popularity to the fact you can get a plate of food and a drink for less than $10, but I prefer actually enjoying what I'm eating, no matter what it costs.

Love this place! It's situated in the stuffy Dunbar neighbourhood but don't let that fool you. It's cheap! In fact it might just be the best deal in Vancouver. Great food, large portions, and good service.

I was a bit worried at first as I was the only customer for a while. Service was a bit apathetic. Then the regulars started trickling in. It was clear that this place has a pretty loyal local following with people asking for their "usual" meals. The food was good, fairly authentic as far as I can tell. I would go again.

Terrible hole in the wall not run by anyone remotely familiar with Mexican food. Even as cheap take out it isn't very good. Different meals came out identical - same shredded lettuce covered with processed cheese next to same refried beans covered in cheese. We both had the same rice which was over cooked and then put in the over to melt the cheese on our respective burritos and enchiladas which meant the rice was mushy on the bottom and crunchy on the top. So much processed cheese everywhere. They didn't have several things we asked for on the menu. The guacamole was good but the chips had been heated in a weird way and tasted stale. I couldn't recommend this place. No kids menu.

Not fancy but nice people. Food is average to very good, it looked to be a bit depending on what type it is. E.g. the chicken dishes were not that great on our visit. Inexpensive.