When I heard that the Thomas Keller restaurant empire was expanding to Mexican food, I was really excited. I do love what fine dining chefs bring to the table when it comes to Mexican. Don’t get me wrong, I can do cheap Mexican as well as the next person, but there is just something extra when it is elevated to something you can’t just get from the taqueria down the street. I was hoping for a Frontera-esque experience, but here in California so I don’t have to travel quite as far. On our recent trip to wine country, we needed to stop for lunch somewhere, and Yountville just happened to be about halfway between the places we had arranged to be, so I suggested it on a whim. As it had recently opened, I really had expected it to be jam-packed at 11:30 am when we arrived, but to my surprise, there was plenty seating available, and we were shown right in. They also have a huge outdoor dining area that we opted to sit in because we were finally having some sunny weather after weeks upon weeks of rain!
Of course, we had to start with chips, salsa
Chips, salsa, and guacamole 
Braised beef cheek
When the chips and salsa arrived, we were really excited to dig in and get that depth of flavor that we have come to expect from Mexican food. Sadly, neither of the salsa nor the guacamole really wowed us. The guacamole was quite bland and needed a huge kick of flavor. The red salsa was probably the better of the two as it had some smokiness, but overall was lacking in the flavor department as well. The green salsa (called “hot” by the server), also needed a good kick of heat for me to have called it hot by any measure. It was definitely a disappointing start, and we were hoping that the rest of the food was not going to follow suit.
The beef cheek did look pretty amazing when it arrived, however, and it was served with homemade tortillas. Oddly, they give you three, which seems like a strange amount given we said we were sharing. But they also told us that we could order more, so we definitely did put in an order to get one more. The beef was also incredibly tasty and was cooked perfectly. There was just enough sauce to give it a nice layer of complexity, but not too much to drown out the taste of the beef. This really made us feel better about La
After this, the fish tacos and the enchiladas arrived on the table. The tacos looked very appetizing, and when I bit in, I was in love. The fish was juicy and perfectly cooked, and the batter around the fish was light, crispy and everything I wanted a fish batter to be. The sauce was also a great addition, adding a bit of creamy heat. It was definitely a star dish in my opinion. Finally, I dug into the enchiladas. At first, I was overwhelmed by the amount of chocolate flavor coming through, as I know it’s an ingredient in black mole, but usually, it’s not so prominent. But the more I ate, the more the chile flavor lingered on my palate, and I really liked how it all worked together as a dish.
Fish tacos 
Black mole enchildas
And on a great ending note, the server actually asked us for feedback about the meal. I am not one to shy away from feedback, so our concern about the chips, salsa and guacamole came to the forefront, as it was the only thing we were really disappointed in with the whole meal. He mentioned they have been tweaking the recipes based on feedback, so was really glad to have gotten it. Later in the day, someone at one of the tasting rooms said that when she went, the guacamole was way too hot, so perhaps they took the feedback too far in the other direction. Either way, I’m not sure it will be something we order when we go back, as there were many other things on the menu we were really interested in trying. And back we shall go, as it was one of the more affordable places in Napa Valley.
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Beef cheek and fish tacos!
La Calenda
6518 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
