La Casita Mexicana

Calgarians: do you like the flavour of comida Mexicana auténtica? If sí, don’t go here.
La Casita Mexicana (LCM) suffers from the same plague as many Calgarian Mexican restaurants: lack of food that tastes like it’s from Mexico, or even the U.S.-Mexican border. It’s probably not intentional; the restaurant apparently has a chef from Mexico. He’s just probably been told to not make his food too interesting, lest it upset the gentle palate of Albertans.
I went here two months ago on a coupon, since Wicked Chili is apparently in the grips of a groupon-​clone fever. My eating partner and I both ordered some enchiladas; I the chicken enchiladas with tres salsas (including mole!) and she the enchiladas con queso. We skipped the margaritas because their price was a bit ridiculous.
The three sauces on top of my enchiladas were boring. All three. I try not to be a salsa snob but out of three sauces I’d expect one to have some taste. To test that my mouth was not broken, after dinner we went to Bungalow across the street and I had some tacos. They had more taste than LCM’s enchiladas.
A fusion lounge across the street has better Mexican food than LCM. But, hey, maybe one day the chef will be allowed to actually cook Mexican food here.

Ok, I read what others had to say and I had picked up a voucher on Living Social so I thought I would give it a try. As mentioned it shares a space with Wicked Chili so at the very least I thought it was going to be an eclectic night.
Come if you have time to spare! When we arrived the place was busy and I am sure I did not see the waitress for at least 10 mins. This was not a good start but, unlike some of the people at other tables we decided to stay.
We became a little more demanding, and with that the service managed to become acceptable and that was fine with me. The food came and it was good, nice flavours and good presentation. I was wondering how it would turn out when the dominating odor was the curry from next door!
So dinner was pleasant, when we did get service it was good. I think they are just understaffed and hope that they remedy this soon.
Come with the hope of good food, and you don’t mind working a little to get service, you will not be disappointed.
Come hoping for a dinning experience I would try somewhere else!
Work Less ~ Play More,
Matt

I’m always up for something new, so when one of my friends suggested trying a «new Mexican place» on 17^th, like a newbie poker player sitting on a royal flush, I was all in!
This spot shares a space with Wicked Chili, right down to the payment system and the bathrooms. It’s a bit of an odd combination, half Indian, half Mexican, at the very least it can give you a little choice if you’re not sure where to eat (I wonder if they’d let you order from both menus?).
Our server was this little Mexican woman, seriously, I think she was eye level with us when she was standing next to the table and we were sitting down. She was the only one waiting tables that evening for both restaurants, so every now and again, there were a few longer stints where we didn’t see her. It worked out for the most part because a good chunk of our party was late, on another night, not so much. But until I’m there on a night when my whole party’s at the table with me from the start, I won’t hold this point for or against them.
We ordered a couple of rounds of margaritas to drink, which had some flavour, but weren’t overly strong (granted, the bartender had called in sick). For a starter, we ordered the chorizo con queso. It was alright, though I wish it would’ve come with a couple of more corn tortillas. I chose an enchilada as my entrée. It was this gigantic portion of 3 enchiladas, some re-​fried beans and rice. I’ve got to say, the enchilada was my favourite part of the meal.
All in all, not a bad spot, but they could use a few tweaks. I’ll be interested to try them out in another 6 months or so and see where they’re at.

When I heard about a Mexican buffet here in Calgary, the first thought that came to my mind was «all-​you-​can-​eat Tacotime». Fortunately La Casita was anything but. Whatever it lacked in selection was made up for by the quality of the food. The chicken in chipotle sauce was by far one the tastiest things I have had anywhere and is worth the cost of the buffet itself. Being located in the same space as Wicked Chili gives this place an edge compared to most locations in Calgary — one side of the restaurant is authentic Indian food and the other side is authentic Mexican. For an interesting and tasty dining experience I would highly recommend to anyone.