Calavera Mexican Kitchen & Agave Bar

Meal was delish as usual.

I have been to Calavera over 30-40 times. It's a go to place for me to share with new friends and/or for special occasions.

Although pleased with the safety protocols out in place for COVId , the service level was almost non -existent . I had to get up to grab my own water refill, ask for help with the menu, and cleared my own table 3 times for the additional rounds of drinks and food.

The food was flavorful as usual, but the tortillas were served cold as were the sides of rice / beans and Oaxaca bean dip .

Should they have come and checked in more often and been polite or demonstrated any interest as us as patrons, I would have ignored the cold food and lackluster service.

One expects so much for when spending $400 on a small dinner.

Calavera was amazing. I've always been a fan of the food, but during this time of COVID, they were the best at making us feel safe. Their no-contact procedures should be implemented by all restaurants who have limited indoor dining.

I was very pleased with the precautionary measures they took with covid in keeping both the guest and staff safe. They throughly clean tables and chairs after every party and tables were nicely spread apart. They had contactless food ordering and before serving the food, they made sure guest had face coverings on.

Drinks were amazing & food was delicious. I highly recommend the mole enchiladas 😋

We had guac and chips, roasted vegetables, and enchiladas en mole. Everything was wonderful, and actually better than on our pervious visits. Perhaps we did not order well the other times...

This was my first visit to Calavera with 25% indoor dining capacity and the experience was good overall. One's order is placed through a QR code, which worked well. The food was great, as always; there are some new items on the menu. My only criticism is that most of the food came out at once; I would have preferred better spacing.

Have been coming here more than other places during COVID for outside dining. The staff are very careful and I feel very safe. [They are starting to open up indoor dining, as per Alameda County regulations, but there's no way I'm dining inside yet.] I am thankful for the excellent coctails and food AND the careful staff while enjoying eating outside.

Sorry I never cancelled the reservation. Thought it automatically did because of covid19

Our group of five had beerf tacos, tingas de pollo, guacamole. Everyhing was delicious.

Highly recommend it!

Some interesting takes in some dishes (in a good way!). Good use of spices. My wife had the chicken mole and the sauce was great but the meat seemed like it was not freshly cooked.

The food was outstanding as were the craft cocktails. Our waiter was funny and really attentive. This is a great place for dinner before a show or bar hopping in Oakland.

We went for Brunch, the food was excellent and the ambiance was very good. Will be back.

We reserved a 10 person bench table outside for a friend’s birthday - it was nice and quieter out there and enclosed with heat-lamps so quite cozy. Started to get a smidge cold at the end of the night closer to the wall so bring a coat just in case! Food and service were solid - we started the night with pitchers of margaritas and chips and guac. Everyone enjoyed their appetizers and dinner. It’s a bit pricey but high quality food and excellent taste and presentation. All in all, we had a good time and I’d highly recommend this place for a group gathering or more fun bromate dining experience.

Great food elegantly served. Good drinks too. Service can be a little on the slow side, but it’s worth the wait.

We were looking for somewhere new to go in Oakland before a show. If you're looking a hipper more gourmet Mexican restaurant, this is it. Not that I don't love taquerias and traditional, but it's not like a Chevy's or major chain where everything is smothered in cheese.

The tortillas that came with the ceviche were awesome as well. I could have eaten way more. Get the spicy margarita too if you're tired of sweet ones.

Great service, very attentive and patient with an indecisive group. Food was tasty, not too many options for vegetarians but everything was wonderfully presented and delicious.

A great place for New Mexican. Great food, very attentive service, we were literally screaming at our friends across the table, it was so loud. Food was on high end of $$, in terms of pricing I thought it was expensive relative to what you get. Definitely quality food, but I found myself wanting more of something relative to the price.

Food was dry. Waitress never checked in with us after our food was served. We never saw her again. We ended up having to put cash on the table and left.

Regular menu items were not present, it was a special menu which didnt live up to the expectation. Over priced and not good

A very nice Valentine’s Day. The spicy Margarita was well worth it.

Decent food. Really good service and drink options. Kinda pricy considering what you get. We had a good time, though would probably opt for another Mexican restaurant that has similar pricing but better value.

Decorations inside the restaurant were great, ambiance was nice. Waitress sat, got order, and fed table next to us even though we had been there 40 minutes already. Still got charged for drinks we returned and did not like. Called manager over and had him take them off. Most likely would not come back.

The food is great and drinks are even better. Try the Mezcalera, it's like liquid sunshine.

So I have been here a few times and it never really seems to fulfill my expectations! Its primarily around the food being pretty average for up market Mexican (not rich or tasty), and the ambiance is loud with a few of the doors always open so it never feels cosy! We had a birthday here for a 46 year old 10 people and of course we over ordered, but we did expect our waiter to mentioned that we probably ordered twice as much as we needed. I bit of guidance would have been nice. The one thing that always hits is the Mexican Donuts for dessert.

Likely won't eat here again.

Cluny

Trending and average food. Good service and nice location

I have really enjoyed this place since day one. Chris outdid himself and the menu is fresh. Had an event close by and got a reservation last minute for in the porch. It was freezing that evening and after a bit of a wait we got a table under the heater due to the attention of one of the hosts. He took massively good care of us. Kudos!!!!
Hen of the Woods mushrooms deep fried with a mole that was sublime, mescal margarita so good as Posole warmed me up, sis of roasted cauliflower with hazelnuts was generous and I took home 1/2 my Posole and cauliflower because the mushrooms were so rich and filling. A bit loud for my ears but it was doable with a foodie friend who loves energy.

Wow top notch food and generous portions too! We came to be near the New Parkway and were very impressed with the food. Try all the tacos! Service was great too. Highly recommended.

Food was ok but cocktails were great. Fun, inviting space and good service.

Fair pricing. Food and drinks are pretty good for the most part. Nice looking place as well.

Their food is more like the best restaurants in Mexico City than like most Mexican restaurants here. No burritos. But plenty of fresh fish and delicious pork dishes. Outstanding mole. We keep coming back.

Service great although everything came super fast. Like a few minutes after the guacamole was out down, the entrees came. The food was ok. Pork was dry and the chicken in mole was tough although the mole flavor was good. Desserts were the best. Strangely enough the coffee was not good at all - very bitter.

Thank you for the experience. Our waiter was Saul and he was excellent.

Great food and ambiance! Not to be missed. We sat outside and enjoyed the day!

Pre concert dinner.

Service is always great. Best Mexican food in the Bay Area.

Short ribs fantastic. Roasted califlower great. Chicken mole, not so good. Donnachurro dessert fantastic.
Coffee not as good as a week ago. Server unattentive, unlike great server the week before. Shrimp ceviche
needs to be scrapped, start over with a tradional recipe. Noise level makes conversation difficult. Hire Brown Sugar Kithcen's sound consultant. Basic margerita, fantastic. Decour great. We will certainly go back and keep working our way through the Menu.

Joe S

Food was good but not excellent. Main dishes were served in small plates like tapas. A bit pricey for the quality.

I was looking to take advantage of Oakland Restaurant week and what a find this was. The food was delicious, the portions were very generous and the drink menu was awesome.

We had a great server and I would absolutely return, even when it's not restaurant week.

I need to give a special shout out to the flautas and incredible churro for dessert. Yum!