I used to live in CA, and have had a hard time finding really good Mexican until my recent visit to Mexicali which was an excellent experience! From the moment I walked in, I was impressed by how beautiful the atmosphere was! The food was nothing short of amazing. You can really tell that they source their ingredients well because everything tasted incredibly fresh and flavorful. Each dish was a flavorful and balanced, making it clear that a lot of care and attention goes into their preparation. I ordered the shrimp tacos, and they were fantastic! The chimichurri marinated shrimp paired with the corn mango salsa, avocado, and chipotle aioli created an explosion of flavors. I also tried the chips and salsa trio, which was my favorite I've tried in NY so far! It was great and perfectly balanced. To top it off, the watermelon margarita was incredibly refreshing and the perfect complement to the meal. The service was also top-notch. The staff were fast, friendly, and very attentive, which made the dining experience even more enjoyable. I can definitely see myself becoming a regular at Mezcaleria. It's rare to find a place that combines great ambiance, excellent food, and stellar service so seamlessly. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a fantastic dining experience in NYC!

Good and drinks always on point. Great after work spot for drinks or weekend nibbles. Service is quick and friendly. Ambiance is earthy, noice level can get loud at times. The Mecalita is the best drink!

We came here for an early dinner around 5 on a Friday and were able to be seated immediately. The inside has a nice ambiance with the front of the restaurant being open-air. We were able to order off of the happy hour menu which offered some great prices! We tried the chips and salsa and guac, the nachos with steak, and the brisket tacos. The salsas came with three different types, one being fruity (mango I think), a salsa verde, and the dark red one was definitely my favorite!! The brisket tacos were spicy and full of flavor - definitely the best of what we ordered. The nachos were lacking a bit, nothing special, wouldn't order those again. I think overall we really enjoyed our meal here but the portions on the guac could be bigger!

I'm from SoCal & refused to get Mexican food in NY (for obvious reasons). This place was amazing! This guy def brought the flavor & quality from San Diego! Service was great, ambiance was lively. Highly recommended.

The atmosphere was perfect, had a younger crowd, but not too loud. Pretty authentic food. The Barbacoa was amazing, with with a deep rich sauce and perfect portions. My wife had the pork chop, again perfectly seasoned and really good. I did the Mezcal tasting and it was interesting, I am glad I did it. Learned about something new.

Full confession, I came here from another restaurant (Farida, reviewed separately) where I had dinner. It had been down between Farida and Mezcali for dinner; I chose Farida because of the the uniqueness of the food. That being said, I was really after cocktails, and stopping into Mezcali before my movie really hit the spot. Service is perfect. It wasn't too crowded on a Sunday night, so even though I was a party of one only wanting drinks, the server sat me at a regular table, not the bar (I'm 5'2 and bar seating is generally uncomfortable for me). The server gave great suggestions and was very attentive despite me only coming for drinks. I emphasize that again because it means a lot to me. He was unpretentious and kind. I had the margarita to start. Served with cucumber, cilantro, and jalapeño, because the server suggested it that way. Gorgeous, delicious drink. I also had the Santeria, a sexy golden drink made with Lost Explorer Mezcal, pineapple, Chinola, Chipotle, Turmeric, and citrus. Both were amazing. This is a true cocktail/mezcal place. This restaurant focuses on Mexico-California fusion, including quesadillas, tostadas, carnitas, and other tacos/burritos. They also have bowls, barbacoa, mole, and fish dishes. I have a feeling there are better tacos in the city (please keep in mind I haven't had the tacos here and the city consists of five boroughs and 8.5 million people), but probably not in this part of FiDi. And the cocktails here are AMAZING. If looking for some Mexi-fusion and awesome tequila/mezcal drinks while way downtown, this is definitely the place for it.

My coworkers and I headed to Mezcali for lunch the other day, as it was open on Mondays and convenient to where we had planned to get together. The restaurant was large, spacious, and decorated in a modern, yet rustic way. Our table was in the corner, giving us a lot of room to spread out and get comfortable. Our friendly server brought over the menus, and I was thrilled to see that the restaurant served dishes made with ingredients sourced "locally, ethically, and from our home state of California". To me, this signified higher quality menu items. Before digging into our own dishes, we shared chips with guacamole and birria dumplings. The guacamole was mild in flavor, but otherwise enjoyable. The fried tortillas were crispy and well-salted. The dumplings were shaped like little pouches that were filled with slow-braised short rib. They were sprinkled with cotija cheese and sitting on a plate coated with cascabel salsa and dope sauce. These delicate noodle and savory meat bundles were an unexpected option on a Tex-Mex menu, but were a pleasant surprise. I went with the Salmon Grain Bowl for my main dish, as it seemed like a heartier, healthier option. The large bowl of vegetable quinoa was topped with haricot verts and blistered cherry tomatoes. The dressing was supposed to be an unusual blend of cucumber basil vinaigrette, morita pepper, and truffle oil, though I did not really get much spice or truffle flavor. The dish also had a chunky filet of crispy seared salmon, which was cooked to perfection. Mezcali offered a diverse and interesting menu in cool digs. While it was quiet at lunchtime, I would love to check it out at night to see what its dinner and bar scene were like.

First day in New York for a weekend vacation. After dropping our things at the hotel; we took a little break all and ran into Mezcali. If you haven't gathered by my recent reviews, I loveeeeeeee Mezcal Margaritas. So immediately it was a yes to stop by. I entered and although there were three people at the host stand, two talking ti one another "no hello" the third person turned around and greeted us immediately. The ambiance was very beautiful. I can tell this was a spot people dropped by for happy hour. The dimmed lights and mixture of music was perfect. We were sat and our table and our server greeted us immediately. We were informed that it was indeed happy hour. So we tried a few things. There were several serves adding us, which made the experience 10 times better. Each server offered their recommendations and we were satisfied! My wife ordered quesadillas which were so tasty and the ingredients were fresh! For the able we had, salmo tostados (these were light and amazing, such a cool way to incorporate raw salmon) and Elote (my favorite). I had their mezcal margarita, which was my favorite while being here in New York! If you're in New York, stop by. I am unsure about street parking but there is near by public transportation. They also have an amazing happy hour menus!