Caramba Cafe

Caramba Café is a Mexican restaurant located at the Pencil Factory Lofts between downtown and Old Fourth Ward. The restaurant has been in Atlanta since 1988 and moved to its current location circa 2011. It’s a small restaurant with a lively atmosphere and friendly service. It’s also conveniently located near the Village Theatre, so it’s perfect for food and drinks before an evening of improv.
The Pencil Factory Lofts are home to several restaurants and retailers. Plenty of free parking is available for these shops in a garage in the back of the development, which can be accessed via either Decatur St. or Grant St.
Caramba has a narrow space highlighted by a long bar that feels like it takes up almost half the restaurant. The bar is outfitted with multiple TVs, so it’s not a bad place to catch a game if seats are available. Reservations are recommended for large groups as there are a limited number of bigger tables. After being open in its current space for several years now, the place still feels relatively new and clean.
This restaurant is similar to typical suburban Mexican restaurants, but of course, this one is deep in the city and it’s not a chain. They have lunch specials, but I’ve only been for dinner. Like other Mexican restaurants, they have combo plates labeled A, B, C, D, etc. that include various combinations of tacos, enchiladas, chiles (poblanos) rellenos, tamales, chalupas, burritos, and rice and beans. They’ve also got fajitas, quesadillas, chimichangas, flautas, sopas, and more. At dinnertime, expect to spend at least $ 10 – 12 per person.
Foods I’ve tried include:
Enchilada Supreme — four enchiladas topped with housemade enchilada sauce, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream
Tacos Al Carbon — steak tacos wrapped in soft flour tortillas served with beans and guacamole salad
Dinner combo items: enchiladas (beef and cheese), tamale, Mexican rice, refried beans
Overall, the food is A-​OK. Chips and salsa, on the house, are fine. Nothing too memorable about either one except the chips are on the thicker, harder side. I prefer the lighter, more delicate tortilla chips, but that’s just a personal preference.
The enchiladas are tasty, whether you order them as part of their «Enchiladas Supreme» or as part of your dinner (or lunch) combo. The enchilada sauce is the best part and it seems like they have their recipe down pat. Both the beef and cheese enchiladas are satisfying and I can’t say I prefer one over the other. If you like enchiladas, you probably won’t be disappointed with these.
If you like tacos, consider the Tacos Al Carbon. «Al carbon» means cooked over charcoal. Three soft-​shelled tacos come with each order. These are different than the hard-​shelled tacos that come with the combo plates. The portions of meat in each taco is generous. The steak is flavorful, though a little chewy and tough. Still enjoyable, however. The sides served with (lettuce, tomato, guac, and diced onion, tomato, pepper) are fresh. It would be nice if there was more guac. This, along with the Enchiladas Supreme, are both filling dishes.
The tamale is good. Nice and starchy and topped with that savory enchilada sauce (at least, I think it’s the same sauce). The Mexican rice and refried beans are quite alright. No complaints.
Service is excellent. You may see George, the owner, walking around, mingling with guests, and taking photos.
Caramba Café is closed on Sundays.

Absolutely consistently delicious every time. Been going for years since the old location and now it is even closer. Family run and always a treat to go in to get great margaritas and tasty enchiladas or Mexican pizza. The service is always quick and friendly. If you are in Grant Park, Ormewood Park or downtown then go and enjoy a great meal with fantastic service!

I LOVE Caramba Café… have been going here for several years, since they were in their Morningside location. The service is consistently very good and the food is excellent. I love their mole sauce! I grew up in Texas and am constantly looking for good Mexican in Atlanta (not authentic necessarily but delicious) and Caramba Café is by far my favorite. If you are looking for great Mexican food, you found it!

There is a great lunch menu here. It is fantastic, freshly cooked food at great prices. They have the best real margaritas in Atlanta — not those concoctions full of mix that many places serve. I’ve been here numerous times and each visit is consistent and delicious.

Okay whenever I’m in this area I always go to Bada Bings up the street but had a hunger for Mexican food and the owner at Bada Bings has told me to visit Carambas.
The food was okay nothing special Agave
Or Mi Barrio much better in my opinion. My enchiladas were boring my margarita was extremely watered down and this character that runs the place MIA uh hmmmm I guess the best way to describe her is to say if you don’t have anything nice to say about a person say nothing at all… I will stick to Bada Bings when visiting this area of O4W

Hmmmmm. The thought of the tacos al carbon instantly make my mouth water. I’ve tried this dish at other restaurants and they never seem to even be on the same level. No comparison.
Family owned and operated, my family has been dining at Caramba Café since the early 90’s, and now with a husband and children of my own, we continue to go!
Although it is a about a 35 Mile drive, we make it once every couple of months just to enjoy the delicious flavors Caramba Café has to order.
Mia is an absolutely riot and her margaritas are like candy! Delicious!
Just writing this review is making me want to get in my car and go have dinner there tonight!
If you are in the area, or in Atlanta and you are wanting Mexican food THIS is the place to go!

«Ay, caramba!» — The Simpsons, «The Art Museum»
Who knew this great little Mexican joint was right here on Decatur Street? I certainly didn’t! With recent plans to go to the Village Theater, a friend suggested we meet here first for dinner, so naturally I popped on Unilocal to read the reviews first. Lo and behold, several of my trusted friends had already reviewed and given it good marks — so I was game to give it a go.
I showed up first and the place was seriously hopping — not sure how much of this was it being Friday night and the limited food options in the neighborhood, all of these folks also going to VT for the show OR it was just that good. I asked for a table for 4 and was seated and then re-​seated (they had a table of 8 coming in and had seated me right in the middle of where they needed to go). This was a win for us as we ended up back in the corner — away from the fray.
My friends showed up and our server was attentive (did not get her name, unfortunately) and brought us drinks and free chips and salsa. She made some menu recommendations and we placed our food order. I opted for the taco and enchilada combo dinner (Dinner A) — luckily one of my friends had already ordered a tamale and said I could try it. Win!
We received a refill of chips and before you knew it, our food came out. I jumped into the beef taco first — crunchy taco. It was good, but nothing to write home about. The beef was under seasoned and it was a typical, Americanized ground beef taco. Meh. Then I dug into the enchiladas — I opted for cheese. Holy wow. Look, a cheese enchilada is usually a dime a dozen, but this was different. Their enchilada sauce was knock-​it-​out-​of-​the-​park-​holy-​Mexico delicious! I wanted to take home a jar of it. I scooped up every last fork-​full of rice to ensure I did not miss a lick of sauce… that good. By the way, the tamale was also amazing — pretty damn authentic — rich and flavorful and packed a punch.
I would come here again — no question. Skip the tacos — get anything with the enchilada sauce (including the tamales). Boom!

I’ve been back to Caramba Café a few times since my first visit, most recently just last Thursday night. I continue to be a fan of their incredibly friendly service, laid-​back vibe, fabulous margaritas and tasty food.

Fantastic flavors. Pulled pork with BBC sauce has a kick! The steak tacos are divine! Love it. Great service best margaritas in town.

The food was very good I had the nachos and I loved them.
The problem with the restaurant is Mia.
I tried the enchiladas and I did not like the «red sauce» at least that’s what they called it, I am a ached and I know what a red sauce taste and looks like. That sauce ruined the enchiladas. When I told Mia I didn’t want the enchiladas she got visually annoyed and had a n attitude and argued with me about it being a red sauce. NEWS FLASH if u made a red sauce and added cinnamon too it, it is no longer an enchilada sauce.
Then to top it off she added $ 2 to the bill because I didn’t like the food and she had to throw it away.
This is not the way to run a successful business u should never treat the customer like a indecisive child if I don’t like the food that your problem not mine

We have enjoyed Caramba Café for the last 20+ years. Great memories of dinners in the Morningside location but enjoy the food, margaritas and family attention just as much at the new location. You can not enjoy a better margarita than that prepared by Mia.
The specials are great, but I love my Chile Relleno with chicken and cheese the enchiladas and the Mexican pizza. Just the very best for an evening of Mexican food with good friends.

We ate at Caramba about a month ago. The food was great and the service was excellent We will definitely go back.

This is my new favorite spot for margaritas and mexican food. The staff make a point to get to know you as soon as you come in. The drink selection is perfect and the food is delicious. Highly recommended!!!

Imagine your local Mexican joint if it was family-​run and if it really cared about cooking the food well while remaining inexpensive. That’s Caramba… a Mexican restaurant that manages to stay close to the «strip-​mall» style while actually being GOOD. It actually feels like a homemade meal.
For your money, try the stuffed peppers, and their awesome enchiladas. Stay a while and hang around the bar sipping margaritas. Talk to Maya, she’s equal parts feisty and awesome.

Great family run restaurant. We’re always greeted with smiles and hugs.
Best enchiladas in town. They make delicious slow cooked Mexican food. It’ll ruin the others for you.

I will try any place with a paleo menu these days. Thankfully, Caramba café serves up delicious food on my paleo diet!
You don’t know how much I’ve been missing mexican on this diet, but not being able to eat cheese, tortillas, chips, beans or rice on this diet, makes eating mexican fairly difficult.
However, now Caramba café has a whole menu just for us paleo eaters, and I love them for it! (Although non paleo eaters will be happy there is a regular menu as well).
Love the Guadalajara, veggies and shrimp (or steak or chicken if you prefer) with green salsa. So fresh and flavorful! They also serve Paleo margaritas, praise the lord (no sugar, no margarita mix). The shrimp salad was also large and super filling.
Service is friendly, and the location is pretty convenient in the Pencil Factory lofts, especially if you live in Cabbagetown or O4W.
Overall Caramba Café is a great place to get some fresh and flavorful food, that you can get as healthy or as unhealthy as you want!

Great margaritas! Nachos and quesadillas are delicious. Chips and queso/​salsa is tasty but it is NOT complimentary.

It was the $ 5 lunch specials that drew me in. Of course, once in, I ended up with a $ 10 lunch instead. All in all, I still felt it was a pretty good deal, as my «super salad» came loaded, not only with its included avocado, onion, cheese, and tomato, but a pile of freshly grilled and well seasoned steak. A generous squeeze of lime was all the dressing this tasty salad needed. Salads are my go-​to lunch food, and I could definitely see myself returning for this one.
Your first basket of chips and salsa (even at lunch, and even when dining alone as I was at first) is complimentary, and your first two soft drink refills are included in the listed price. But, per the menu, they start charging you for both of those items after that, so watch out if you’re minding your pennies.
There’s plenty of parking in the deck behind the storefronts, and there are lots of other exciting businesses opening up in this strip to which Caramba is a strong addition.

Joined Kristin B here today to check out their new digs in the Pencil Factory Lofts: I love this little strip! The restaurant feels a little sterile at the moment but I’m sure they’ll break it in just fine.
They’re promoting a $ 5 lunch special which is pretty impressive, and the menu had a pretty big selection to choose from. Tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas, a lot of typical Mexican fare, all for a steal during daytime hours. Unfortunately I’m dieting at the moment so I chose the super salad which was pretty basic, yet tasty. A ton of iceberg lettuce with avocado, onion, tomato, and cheese mixed in, served with half a lime for dressing. Apart from the cheese, it was quite light and pretty tasty. $ 5 for a meatless version isn’t exactly a steal, and if you want to top it with meat that’s going to cost you $ 4-​$ 6 extra… yikes. I also got a cup of the black bean soup that was okay but definitely needed more spices, and at $ 4.25 for a small cup it wasn’t exactly a deal.
There’s ton of free parking in the back, our service was friendly, and I like the sound of margaritas, but I’m not sure that the prices are quite in line with what they’re putting out. You may be a lot better off if you’re not on any kind of diet restrictions, as the rest of the menu seemed to be more on point.

Being a patron for longer than I can remember, I can recommend the following dishes as my personal favorites:
Mole (3 enchiladas with Mole sauce; chicken, beef, and cheese), Sopa de Pollo (Chicken Soup!), and the newly renamed Speedy Gonzalez (1 Enchilada, 1 Taco, Rice & Beans).
Also when you get some Cheese dip tell Mia to add some ground beef to it, tastes great!
Drink wise, I stick to the White Gold or Texas margaritas, they never fail to get the job done.
In regards to the other reviews, I think some are just straight out unjustified.
Have you ever eaten at a Del Taco? Thats the type of place that deserves a 1 star. If you have any complaints don’t expect anyone at Del Taco to give a rat’s ass.
But if you have an issue or constructive criticism, being that Caramba is family owned and operated for the past 20+ years, they actually listen to their customers. So instead of spewing out the negative comments here on Unilocal,why don’t you say something when you’re ordering, so that way you can actually enjoy the experience and food the way you want.
Any and all comments welcomed towards my review.