Taqueria Las Calandrias

Been meaning to try this place for a while, all I heard was good things about it from people who weren’t even from around here. Had the el pastor burrito, and I’m forever getting burritos from here from now on.
the price is right and you get more taste than you expect for the price!

The best taqueria in Marin, hands down. I was convinced that I’d never find anywhere as good as places in SF, but Las Calandrias is the real deal. The service is fast and friendly, the meats are wonderfully done, the burritos are put together just right. I’ve had the Asada and the Al Pastor, both awesome. The first burro I had from here blew me away– and served to me without the surly attitude of El Farolito and Taqueria San Jose.
All my burrito dollars will be invested here from now on. No longer can my friends across bridges rag on Marin for a lack of a great taqueria.
Viva Taqueria Las Calandrias!

Tried their empanadas today. I had the pork empanada and the cheese empanada. Both were just alright. I like that it hade a home-​made quality. The lady said I should watch out for their green salsa as it was supposed to be incredibly spicy… Nope.

Pay with cash unless you want to get ripped off.
I actually really like this place — one of my favorite Mexican places in San Rafael. Good food (I like the Al Pastor marinated pork) good prices and huge portions.
Here is where they went wrong with me. I made the mistake of paying with a credit /​debit card. I found out later that the tip amount had been falsified by an employee. I mentioned to this to a friend, and they said the same thing had happened to them.
So let it be known that these people WILL steal from you and commit fraud. Credit card companies don’t usually get involved in such small disputes. So you will never get your $ 10 or so back, but I do make a point to tell everybody not to use plastic here.
Good place, but not worth being robbed for my money

Excellent burrito selection and they are tasty! Today was my first time making the run to this place but it won’t be my last!
Free chips and salsa!

The power went off at my apartment the other night right before I was about to make dinner. I took it as an opportunity to try something new and headed to 4^th Street. Parking was a pain in the ass this particular evening, so I ended up here by default.
Sometimes, I believe in destiny. This was the best carnitas burrito I’ve had in a while. The price was reasonable and this burrito was massive! For about $ 7.50, I was able to gorge myself and have plenty left over to share. I would highly recommend that people forgo some of the fancier places in the neighborhood and direct themselves to Taqueria Las Calandrias. The atmosphere sucks, but I don’t indulge in burritos for «atmosphere.» I do it because they satisfy the needs of my palate and stomach.

If I were a taqueria menu item, I’d be chica asada.
Because I like things grilled. Including my chicken. Grill that pollo. make it super asado for me. And, Taqueria Las Calendrias does it right every time. Bring it on.
I don’t know why is it so friggin difficult to find grilled chicken at a friggin taqueria but, this place seems to be one of the only places that does it. I don’t want it marinated, or blanched, or oven roasted.
Grill that piece for me.
Now chant:
Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro…
PO-​LLO AS-​ADO!!!
PO-​LLO AS-​ADO!!!
PO-​LLO AS-​ADO!!!
PO-​LLO AS-​ADO!!!

Disgusted by the seating arrangements at Sol after a co-​worker swore the food was great a friend and I decided to just go in Las Calandarias.
I loved it!!! I ordered a burrito which was HUGE!!! w/​shrimp, rice, black beans, lettuce, sour cream and guac. To drink I had an orange jarritos. It was GREAT!!!
My bill came up to $ 11.25 and I was praying to GOD it was good for that price and man was I not let down!!!
Not to mention the chips and salsa was OFF THE HOOK.
I would definitely recommend it and surely go back!!!

Sick of waiting in line at Sol? Don’t be put off by the the no-​frills décor — Taqueria Las Calandrias is the real deal. After a year in Marin this is the closest thing I’ve found to a decent taqueria north of SoCal.
Skip the faux-​mariachi type place across the street and go here instead.
Great tacos, simple and cheap. What more could you ask for?

I took my mom here on the last day of her visit with me. It was kind of a whim because truth be told our destination was Sol Food, but we weren’t up for the crowds. The portions at Las Calandrias are enormous — my veggie burrito was over a foot long, I swear. My mom had the chicken enchiladas and they came with a pile of beans, rice and salad on an enormous plate. My burrito was wrapped perfectly, had very good flavor and everything was distributed appropriately. I could only eat about 6″ of it though!
They have a TV in the seating area that was absolutely blasting Telemundo, which at the time was airing some Latin version of MTVs The Grind, to the delight of the few guys in there. My mom had her back to it but practiced her Spanish when the commercials came on. Not the greatest atmosphere, in other words, but the food is good.

Oh oh… this is nothing new for me. All Unilocalers allegedly have reason (s) why they chose and go to that certain business to hopefully write a review the following evening.
For me, I just don’t know.
But many of you, who has been monitoring my reviews, know that I love to go to other cities .i.e. San Rafael to visit and explore the finer taquerias and enjoy eating a burrito.
Why in San Rafael?
How the heck I know!
Located in the Downtown area, this large and somehwhat clean taqueria offers twelve kinds of meats and can be prepared in many ways including a burrito. And to no one’s surprise, I chosed the Al Pastor (Marinated Pork) in my $ 6.50 Super Burrito. Again the super Burrito had the choice of meats, beans, cheese, avocado, rice, onions, sour cream and hot-​sauce. The meat was grilled very nicely and the filling including the sour cream were fresh and perfectly balance with the equal amount of scoop. I also got Jarrito Guava drink for $ 1.50 a bottle.
In the corner, the condiment bar had choices of salsas and dips with a huge and heated tortilla chip bin for «all you can eat» self-​service chip bin. The chips were hot and powerfully crunchy. It is definitely a plus.
Not much on entertainment with just a jukebox and a pair of televisions.
My food came out fast and the service were good. The food may not be as good as any of the finer San Francisco’s Mission St. Taquerias, but solid for a Marin Taqueria
That is all I can tell you and all you need to know!

eh-​not the best Taqueria in San Rafael but their nachos are the best I’ve ever had.. . hence the 3 stars. The Nachos are huge and you need at least 2 people to eat em. They come with the usual toppings– then they slice whole chuncks of avacado over the top. Delish! The rest of the food there is not so great– skip the burrito, it’s so not worth it. This place forever smells like cheap pine cleaner but always looks a bit dirty. I suggest you order the super nachos and ask for em’ to go!

We were looking for another place, couldn’t find it so decided to try Taqueria Las Calandras.
It’s a casual taqueria where you look at the huge big print menu, tell the cashier your order, pay, then wait for someone to bring the food to you.
I got:
Lengua taco $ 2.50 — many chunks of beef tongue w/​onions, cilantro, red sauce over 2 corn tortilla. The meat was fine, not super tender, but edible. Tortillas were mushy and fell apart while trying to eat them.
Chicken taco $ 2.50 — chicken was in chunks, cilantro, & red sauce over 2 corn tortillas. Not as good as the lengua taco. Tortillas still were mushy & fell apart while trying to eat them.
My total for 2 tacos was $ 4.65. I paid in cash.
FREE salsa bar & Fresh tortilla chips made daily (sign said).
One unisex bathroom. You need to look it & check it from the outside before going inside, but the door doesn’t feel locked from the inside.
When I went there were no tp, so had to use paper towels & threw them in the waste basket.

I love that this place is open past 9, and that they serve huge portions. I have to say though, that you can get a better burrito at:
Bahia
San Jose
Maria
Still, for a later Marin chow down, this is a good option.

Two words: SUPER QUESADILLA.
Tortas are great here as well. Great prices, free chips and salsa bar, and super sweet horchata. This is the cult classic of San Rafel taqueria’s. Preferred over San Jose taqueria and taqueria Maria. The salsa loses out to Taqueria Bahia, who is still my number one choice for clean, fresh Mexican food in San Rafael.

My best friend was home visitng from New York recently. And, as all people who grew up in California but live in NY want to do as soon as they get home-​we had to get this girl a giant ass burrito and some form of guacamole-​stat!
This is her mom’s favorite place so we thought we’d give it a spin. She was totally happy with her burrito-​however we have to remember this girl hadn’t had quality Mexican food for like a year. I, on the other hand, was not about to go handing out any awards.
I got the chicken quesadilla which all in all was pretty tastey and in all fairness was ginormous. I was not, however, bowled over by the freshness of ingredients or salsa-​neither really appealed to me. All in all it was a mediocre experience that I will not recreate on my own time unless someone else says its a must.
One bonus was the horchata was HUGE and not too slimey, which can sometimes be a challenge.

We dub this place «Ryan’s Place.»
Sometimes the even have «Happy Bunny» stickers.
Love this place!

Shortly after sampling the happiness goodness that were the nachos of Las Camelias, we crossed the street to check out the taqueria Las Calandrias. I ordered my «litmus test» carne asada burrito to sample their steak, and the girls ordered an al pastor burrito.
While munching on some chips and salsa, an argument started about who could eat more. I was called out by Ashley and thus began an impromptu eating contest. The battle of wills ultimately sidelined my opponent with a hip injury and left me feeling weak, sweaty and short of breath.
As my opponent resigned to defeat, I had a few moments to reflect on the burritos offered at Las Calandrias. The burrito was very tasty, large and pretty inexpensive, all hallmarks of a fan favorite. However I felt like the carne asada was way too salty, and am told the Pastor was much more balanced.
I will re-​adjust my rating to 4 stars if I find an acceptable meat option at Las Calandrias.

Yum Yum Yum. Free all you can eat chips and salsa while you wait! The chips are so good (I’m pretty sure they make them there), I almost fill up on them before my food arrives. Big dishes, reasonably priced. Lots of local Latinos in there (which makes me think I’m getting the good stuff, being a gringo and all), and the ceiling TVs are usually playing Spanish soap operas.
They also carry coke in the glass bottle, which my friend swears tastes better than when it’s in plastic.
It’s fun, and tasty. Come starving, leave happy. Nice place to just hang out.

I don’t know what to say other than: Enough with the accolades for San Francisco burritos, especially the ones in the mission.
How can I say this without sounding bombastic? Well, here it is: Mexicans don’t eat burritos. You know you are a gringo when you order a burrito at a taqueria. You should be ordering a taco, but instead you’re wondering where to get a good burrito in Marin.
Las Calandrias needs to be loved for what it is: a taqueria. A wonderfully tantilizing taqueria. that offers tasty food via friendly and efficient service. I recommend you try some tacos al pastor. It’s a personal favorite because of the countless times that I’ve enjoyed their preparation of the meat. The marinade is not overpowering which is well-​appreciated and thus the pineapple and onions remain the stars.
By the way, don’t let my comment about mexicans not eating burritos deter you from enjoying one at Las Calandrias. Their burritos are a big deal really. In terms of length and girth, think about the Jesus candles that you have sprinkled around your home. They’re a hair bigger than those!!!
Also, you’ve got to give a big shoutie to the chips that they serve. There are many different kinds of salsa available, but the salsa verde is my favorite. There is also an extra-​hot salsa available made with god knows what, but last time I checked there was a disclaimer right next to it.
God I love Las Calandrias so much; it makes me sad that I don’t live two blocks away from it anymore. Just in case you were wondering what «Las Calandrias» means in English: chalk-​browed mockingbird. A lady spent five minutes explaining that to me one time and I forgot, so I had to look it up online just now. I feel pretty bad for wasting her time. Go get some Las Calandrias right now and tell them Italiano sent you.