"Kalaveras is a fairly large, family owned/operated “chain” of restaurants throughout SoCal; you’ve probably seen one or two in your travels. It’s a “modern Mexican” restaurant in design and food offerings. The food at Kalaveras isn’t bad in fact, my girlfriend said their Albondigas Soup might be the best she’s ever had. However, it feels like Kalaveras tries too hard to be “fancy” and somewhat froo froo with their offerings, much in the same way as the Javier’s chain. In our opinion, Mexican food just needs to be freakin’ good it doesn’t need to get lost in fancy presentation. And that’s kind of the downside to Kalaveras. We ordered the soup, several Asada Tacos, and Taquitos Dorados (some chicken, some potato). The taquitos were okay but the dye colored tortilla wraps are off putting, and my girlfriend says it messes with the taste, which I agree with. My asada tacos were good and the presentation was great (dunno why the photo I took of that isn’t showing up in my images for this review when selecting which to upload weird), but the marinade used kinda dulled the taste for me. Kalaveras is an upscale, “hip” and “fancy” place and the prices reflect that, unfortunately. This is kinda a one and done situation unless there aren’t any other options nearby and you’re craving Mexican food. Like I said, it’s not BAD it’s just too fancy for its own good and the higher prices detract from what could be an amazing go to for Mexican cuisine. Restaurants often trip over themselves when trying to be something they’re not or shouldn’t be. A great Mexican place should be warm and welcoming, nicely decorated, and the flavor explosion of the food should be the focus, even if it’s a burrito lying on a plate with hot refried beans and rice swamping together into melted goodness. Food over fancy, in our opinion. Kalaveras is trying too hard to be fancy."
