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Disgusted by the seating arrangements at Sol after a co-worker swore the food was great a friend and I decided to just go in Las Calandarias.
I loved it!!!!!!!!! I ordered a burrito which was HUGE!!!! w/shrimp, rice, black beans, lettuce, sour cream and guac. To drink I had an orange jarritos. It was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
My bill came up to $11.25 and I was praying to GOD it was good for that price and man was I not let down!!!
Not to mention the chips and salsa was OFF THE HOOK.
I would definitely recommend it and surely go back!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh oh...this is nothing new for me. All Yelpers allegedly have reason(s) why they chose and go to that certain business to hopefully write a review the following evening.
For me, I just don't know.
But many of you, who has been monitoring my reviews, know that I love to go to other cities .i.e. San Rafael to visit and explore the finer taquerias and enjoy eating a burrito.
Why in San Rafael?
How the heck I know!
Located in the Downtown area, this large and somehwhat clean taqueria offers twelve kinds of meats and can be prepared in many ways including a burrito. And to no one's surprise, I chosed the Al Pastor (Marinated Pork) in my $6.50 Super Burrito. Again the super Burrito had the choice of meats, beans, cheese, avocado, rice, onions, sour cream and hot-sauce. The meat was grilled very nicely and the filling including the sour cream were fresh and perfectly balance with the equal amount of scoop. I also got Jarrito Guava drink for $1.50 a bottle.
In the corner, the condiment bar had choices of salsas and dips with a huge and heated tortilla chip bin for "all you can eat" self-service chip bin. The chips were hot and powerfully crunchy. It is definitely a plus.
Not much on entertainment with just a jukebox and a pair of televisions.
My food came out fast and the service were good. The food may not be as good as any of the finer San Francisco's Mission St. Taquerias, but solid for a Marin Taqueria
That is all I can tell you and all you need to know!
I wish someone would open up a Mexican taqueria BUF-IT. With different nibblet choices of meat, tortillas, salsas, jalapeno toppings, rice, beans and agua frescas. It's all about the BUF-IT. It could never be a buffet, because Mexico is nowhere near France.
I went here again the other day, craving two little chicken tacos dosed with onions, cilantro and hot sauce. But, I was also craving fish. The fish craving was overwhelming, though. But, when I got it, the talipia was deep fried in batter and the taco was smothered in sour cream. UGGHHH.. I hate fried foods and I hate sour cream.
The lesson: PREGUNTALE EL PROXIMO VEZ
Hands down, one of the best taquerias in Marin. And, I happen to know it's a family run place, as I… Read more »
Having lived in Mexico and traveled to many of the major cities, I can tell you that this is as close to the genuine article that I've found in not just the Bay Area, but the entire U.S.
I'm a taco freak, and these are bar none my favorite, this side of Mexico City. The shrimp burrito is outstanding as well.
I took my mom here on the last day of her visit with me. It was kind of a whim because truth be told our destination was Sol Food, but we weren't up for the crowds. The portions at Las Calandrias are enormous - my veggie burrito was over a foot long, I swear. My mom had the chicken enchiladas and they came with a pile of beans, rice and salad on an enormous plate. My burrito was wrapped perfectly, had very good flavor and everything was distributed appropriately. I could only eat about 6" of it though!
They have a TV in the seating area that was absolutely blasting Telemundo, which at the time was airing some Latin version of MTVs The Grind, to the delight of the few guys in there. My mom had her back to it but practiced her Spanish when the commercials came on. Not the greatest atmosphere, in other words, but the food is good.
Sick of waiting in line at Sol? Don't be put off by the the no-frills decor - Taqueria Las Calandrias is the real deal. After a year in Marin this is the closest thing I've found to a decent taqueria north of SoCal.
Skip the faux-mariachi type place across the street and go here instead.
Great tacos, simple and cheap. What more could you ask for?
Hands down the best carnitas tacos ever! The meat was tender and juicy yet adequately charred in the outside. Heavenly horchata...Self-serve chips and salsa bar with free chips!!!! And cheap?! And TVs streaming soccer non stop?! And plenty of seating?!
It's like my living room...with better tacos!
We were looking for another place, couldn't find it so decided to try Taqueria Las Calandras.
It's a casual taqueria where you look at the huge big print menu, tell the cashier your order, pay, then wait for someone to bring the food to you.
I got:
Lengua taco $2.50 - many chunks of beef tongue w/ onions, cilantro, red sauce over 2 corn tortilla. The meat was fine, not super tender, but edible. Tortillas were mushy and fell apart while trying to eat them.
Chicken taco $2.50 - chicken was in chunks, cilantro, & red sauce over 2 corn tortillas. Not as good as the lengua taco. Tortillas still were mushy & fell apart while trying to eat them.
My total for 2 tacos was $4.65. I paid in cash.
FREE salsa bar & Fresh tortilla chips made daily (sign said).
One unisex bathroom. You need to look it & check it from the outside before going inside, but the door doesn't feel locked from the inside.
When I went there were no tp, so had to use paper towels & threw them in the waste basket.
I love that this place is open past 9, and that they serve huge portions. I have to say though, that you can get a better burrito at:
Bahia
San Jose
Maria
Still, for a later Marin chow down, this is a good option.
Two words: SUPER QUESADILLA.
Tortas are great here as well. Great prices, free chips and salsa bar, and super sweet horchata. This is the cult classic of San Rafel taqueria's. Preferred over San Jose taqueria and taqueria Maria. The salsa loses out to Taqueria Bahia, who is still my number one choice for clean, fresh Mexican food in San Rafael.
Shortly after sampling the happiness goodness that were the nachos of Las Camelias, we crossed the street to check out the taqueria Las Calandrias. I ordered my "litmus test" carne asada burrito to sample their steak, and the girls ordered an al pastor burrito.
While munching on some chips and salsa, an argument started about who could eat more. I was called out by Ashley and thus began an impromptu eating contest. The battle of wills ultimately sidelined my opponent with a hip injury and left me feeling weak, sweaty and short of breath.
As my opponent resigned to defeat, I had a few moments to reflect on the burritos offered at Las Calandrias. The burrito was very tasty, large and pretty inexpensive, all hallmarks of a fan favorite. However I felt like the carne asada was way too salty, and am told the Pastor was much more balanced.
I will re-adjust my rating to 4 stars if I find an acceptable meat option at Las Calandrias.
My best friend was home visitng from New York recently. And, as all people who grew up in California but live in NY want to do as soon as they get home-we had to get this girl a giant ass burrito and some form of guacamole-stat!
This is her mom's favorite place so we thought we'd give it a spin. She was totally happy with her burrito-however we have to remember this girl hadn't had quality Mexican food for like a year. I, on the other hand, was not about to go handing out any awards.
I got the chicken quesadilla which all in all was pretty tastey and in all fairness was ginormous. I was not, however, bowled over by the freshness of ingredients or salsa-neither really appealed to me. All in all it was a mediocre experience that I will not recreate on my own time unless someone else says its a must.
One bonus was the horchata was HUGE and not too slimey, which can sometimes be a challenge.
I don't know what to say other than: Enough with the accolades for San Francisco burritos, especially the ones in the mission.
How can I say this without sounding bombastic? Well, here it is: Mexicans don't eat burritos. You know you are a gringo when you order a burrito at a taqueria. You should be ordering a taco, but instead you're wondering where to get a good burrito in Marin.
Las Calandrias needs to be loved for what it is: a taqueria. A wonderfully tantilizing taqueria. that offers tasty food via friendly and efficient service. I recommend you try some tacos al pastor. It's a personal favorite because of the countless times that I've enjoyed their preparation of the meat. The marinade is not overpowering which is well-appreciated and thus the pineapple and onions remain the stars.
By the way, don't let my comment about mexicans not eating burritos deter you from enjoying one at Las Calandrias. Their burritos are a big deal really. In terms of length and girth, think about the Jesus candles that you have sprinkled around your home. They're a hair bigger than those!!!
Also, you've got to give a big shoutie to the chips that they serve. There are many different kinds of salsa available, but the salsa verde is my favorite. There is also an extra-hot salsa available made with god knows what, but last time I checked there was a disclaimer right next to it.
God I love Las Calandrias so much; it makes me sad that I don't live two blocks away from it anymore. Just in case you were wondering what "Las Calandrias" means in English: chalk-browed mockingbird. A lady spent five minutes explaining that to me one time and I forgot, so I had to look it up online just now. I feel pretty bad for wasting her time. Go get some Las Calandrias right now and tell them Italiano sent you.
5 stars cause I went through a phase where I went here like 4 times a week...yeah I know a little excessive but its simply because I pretty much drink their salsa. The red salsa is sooooooo great. You really don't understand. I can't describe food well verbally but you should go here just to try it. Please? And their burritos have a nicely toasted tortilla. Yumm....
eh-not the best Taqueria in San Rafael but their nachos are the best I've ever had. . . hence the 3 stars. The Nachos are huge and you need at least 2 people to eat em. They come with the usual toppings- then they slice whole chuncks of avacado over the top. Delish! The rest of the food there is not so great- skip the burrito, it's so not worth it. This place forever smells like cheap pine cleaner but always looks a bit dirty. I suggest you order the super nachos and ask for em' to go!
We dub this place "Ryan's Place."
Sometimes the even have "Happy Bunny" stickers.
Love this place!
Yum Yum Yum. Free all you can eat chips and salsa while you wait! The chips are so good (I'm pretty sure they make them there), I almost fill up on them before my food arrives. Big dishes, reasonably priced. Lots of local Latinos in there (which makes me think I'm getting the good stuff, being a gringo and all), and the ceiling TVs are usually playing Spanish soap operas.
They also carry coke in the glass bottle, which my friend swears tastes better than when it's in plastic.
It's fun, and tasty. Come starving, leave happy. Nice place to just hang out.
This is a lunch staple for me. It is no frills but is clean and has ample and spacious seating if you do dine in. There always seems to be a good selection of Mexican football on the telly.
I'm not a fan of the various and incidental strip mall taquerias I've tried around the north bay. They just don't measure up on too many levels.
Here the burritos here are super tasty & proper!!! and on par with the best burritos in the Mission, SF. And the salsa verde is simply amazing!! I always get several extra containers for "later" haha! Every once in a while, they'll have "melon" drink in the big ole vats next to the cash register, this yummily smooth melon-y goodness is a must!!!
My only beef *ahem* is that they can be a bit slow, so call in your order first.
This place is great. A little dingy on the inside, but seemed to be very authentic since we where the only gringos in the place.
I had two of the super tacos, carne asada, cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, and hot sauce on two small round tortillas. They were $2.50 each and worth every bite. My boyfriend had a quesadilla with the carne asada, a side of sour cream and a side of rice. The food was excellent and to us authentic. We had a Mexican Coke and a regular coke, our total was $14.83... pretty good for the amount of food we got, not to mention the free chips and salsa.
You could very easily not even see this place since it is in such close proximity to Sol, but if you have the chance the food is tasty!
Happy Dining!
order to go.
get the nachos.. with extra jalapenos. a-freakin-mazing.
raid the salsa bar, too. ask for extra chips. they'll give 'em to you.
seriously, tho. order to go.
This place is a poor-man's Mission taqueria in the San Rafael... from the jukebox to prices and decorative style. The portions are huge here... almost too big for lunch. I didn't finish my burrito because I knew I would fall asleep after work if I did. The frescas here are excellent and cheap, but I will probably not bring this into the regular rotation because the burritos are a little too heavy (especially with the cheese) for me. While in Marin, I prefer to eat excellent "Marin-style" burritos over a good "Mission-style" burrito... but if you don't regularly have the chance to go to the Mission, I'd definitely recommend this place.
Calandrias -- some people fear it, others embrace it. It's a no frills restaurant with terrific food. Don't be put off by the intermittently active jukebox blaring Mexican music at 140 decibels. You can always get a hearing aid, but you can't get a better taco north of the Mission.
ok, here's the deal...always smells kinda funny when you walk in, I swear, nothing fancy here, just the real deal. All the food is well prepared, always better eat in than take out, try the dinner plates, enchiladas and tacos are bomb. Their fresh salsa is the highlight for me. Would improve by better lighting and new paint job just for atmosphere but that's just me, all the other patrons there dont seem to mind.
Oh my god! I finally found a yummy burrito/taqueria in Marin that I can go to for lunch! It's already bad enough to commute from SF to San Rafael to work, but it's worse not being able to find a good burrito when you want one. My co-worker brought me here for the first time today and I had the regular steak burrito -- it was tasty! And it was sooo big I ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner -- and still filled me up each time. Prices aren't too bad (cheaper than other places in Marin) but I only gave it 4 stars because I still have to drive 3 miles from my office in Terra Linda to get there and find street parking. But I'll be back! Next time I'm trying their soft tacos. They look really good.
Probably the best burrito I've had outside of San Francisco and arguably more consistent than Cancun. Best Salsa Verde, surprisingly. I used to travel to San Rafael to visit the record store, but this place has become my #1 destination. Although it has since been ripped down, there was a binder-paper sign duct taped to the large menu board that read "NOW SERVING CHICKEN STRIPS AND FRIEDS". Genius.
San Rafael, CA
Category: Mexican
San Rafael, CA
Category: Mexican
San Rafael, CA
Category: Mexican
San Rafael, CA
Category: Mexican
San Rafael, CA
Category: Mexican
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