Elite Event @ Calle Tepa

This was a great event! Although the space was very limited and it was a good time. The house margaritas were great and all the tacos that we tried were also pretty tasty! The owner was very personable and I really liked the hospitality. Overall, it was a great event! I would like to try more of the tacos and some more of the salsa that were available (since there were several). It is a classy place!

Yum!
I had the classic margarita. It was awesome. My sister had the jalapeño cilantro margarita and it was good, but I wouldn’t be able to have more than one. I love the idea of the salsa bar and their chips were very delicious and fresh. We got to try so many tasty tacos. My favorite was the veggie one. It was so fresh and tasty.

What a fun evening i had at the Unilocal elite event. The Margaritas are really strong which is a nice change from other places I’ve been. The tacos were all fantastic, but my favorite was the beef. The owners are both charming and they are doing everything they can to assure the success of their restaurant including really creative things like movie night! I am looking forward to then making deliveries and catering.

nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom tacos!
sombreros off to bella, who put together another amazing Unilocal elite event!
the hosts were friendly and kept the delicioso tacos coming. the salsa was pretty amazing. my favorite was the mild (i can’t do spicy).
the tacos were all amazing. my favorite were definitely the carnitas! i’d love to come back and try the rest of their menu soon.
thank you to calle tepa for their wonderful hospitality and having us for the evening. and gracias to bella, too!

I loved this event big time! I will be back here– ALOT! I am a big fan of street style food and their tacos were spot on for me, all of them. I am not sure what’s up with Tucson and their love of cabbage on their tacos, but Calle Tepa serves tacos up proper with onion and cilantro. FINALLY! Calle Tepa is just what the Dr. ordered. I loved that you could serve yourself nice fresh hot chips at will. I loved their salsa bar– the mango habanero, pineapple jalapeño, and roasted were my favs. I also liked their open kitchen concept. I think it is fun watching our food being made, esp. their homemade corn tortillas and the pork rotating on the spicket. The back bar-​which has it’s own entrance is great for happy hour. The bartender has a love of infusions, and so do I! I loved the cucumber, the orange Thai chili, and the jalapeño cilantro. She mentioned that they do 10 dollar flights of their infusions sometimes, and I would be all over that. She is always trying something new. The owner, Jordan, was very nice and welcoming and he gifted us coupons. His family owns Guadalajara Grill, but I prefer this fast casual concept of Calle Tepa. I left full and very happy. I am ready to go back-​now :-)

AHHHHHHHH!!! Another great elite event at another great place! This little Mexican restaurant is hidden in the Broadway plaza across from Park Place Mall. The staff and owners made me feel like I was at home with their awesome smile and great service!
This event was VERY* laid back and relaxing. We got a chance to meet/​network with some great Unilocalers and became first name basis with some of the staff members.
That evening we got to simple 5 of their many tacos and had one of their specialty margaritas. My favorite taco was the Al Pastor and Chicken Adobada (Yummie).
Ahh, the key to my heart is salsa. I LOVE the salsa here. In my opinion if a restaurant can make an awesome batch of salsa then the rest of the food should be as good if not better. It wasn’t runny nor bland but full of favor that makes your mouth wanting more and more.
Let’s just say I would drive across town for it.
Great Service — Friendly Staff — Awesome Food — Great drink special
As always, thank you Bella! You did an awesome job! ^_​^
KCYO ^_​^

This is one of the newbies that we recently added to our list of yummy food, good service, and best of all cheap prices. The combo of all three aspects make this place high on my list of go to places. Last night was a real treat made possible by our wonderful Bella who put it together along with the owner Jordan. I must admit that after sampling the 5 taco specialties (chicken adobado, calabacita mix, chicken asada and my very favorite carnitas) I could not fit the last of the tacos that were offered. One of the best things about Calle Tepa is the salsa bar. A great assortment of 6 different salsas each one boasting a different flavor. It can’t be beat hands down. For a Monday night the event was swarming with guests who sat around with old friends and some new ones. Everyone seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves. We were at a table and 2 lovely young ladies sat down and joined us. One was a Unilocaler and the other her friend. This made for an even more delightful evening. And P. S. I almost forgot the drinks. Included in this event was a Margerita or a Rum Chata. If you like Horchata it’s even better with a shot of rum. Both were great. I’m so glad to be a part of the Unilocal community sharing our views on so many levels.

Let me tell you something about Tequila Infusions. They are awesome.
As a mad Tequila Infusion Scientist myself I am glad to see the spirit of experimentation and adventure being held up here.
There are Jalapeño /​Cilantro, Habanero/​Pinapple, HoneyDew/​Cantalope, an Asian Orange/​i forgot, and a Roasted Chili/​something else. Well my taste buds began to swelter after eating the actual habanero I have to say the drink itself was quite tame. Delicious and bold. Definitely worth a try.
The Al Pastor and the Carnitas were my favorite tacos. The corn tortillas that were made in house were a special treat and something that makes these Mexican tacos stand above competitors who do not use such fresh ingredients.
Happy hour everyday from 3−6pm
I need to come back to try all of their menu, and from what I can see so far I wont be disappointed.

A very fun elite event (as always!)
The tacos were amazing — my favorite were chicken with diced pineapple on top (I believe they were the «chicken adobada»???
Super fresh ingredients, authentic flavors, and very kind and attentive staff!
The owner said that they were also the owners of Guadalajara Grill (my fave Mexican place in Tucson), and they envisioned Calle Tepa to be a more casual, faster version of Guadalajara. The menu prices are also super reasonable — you can get just about anything on their menu for $ 7 or less! Couldn’t recommend it more!

Muy delicioso! Great event! Superb!
This place has a nice casual, friendly atmosphere. The co-​owner (the son of the mom & son duo), Jordan [jor-​DAN], was at our table and many tables throughout the event explaining his tacos and his business and yakking up great conversation. He’s a great guy.
We had five tacos:
* Chicken Adobada
* Barbacoa
* Calabacitas
* Tacos Al Pastor
* Carnitas
The adobada was excellent. Chicken with a smokey kind of flavor with a chili pepper mix.
The barbacoa, a marinated, slow-​cooked beef was moist and tender.
The calabacitas – never in my life would I expect a vegetarian taco to be so delish! (zucchini, corn, cabbage or lettuce, queso fresca)
The al pastor was tasty. Shredded, marinated pork grilled with pineapple. Needed a bit more pineapple chunks in it in my opinion, but it still was very tasty.
The carnitas was shredded roasted pork and had an interesting salty taste.
All excellent! I think the first three were my favorites.
I do not drink alcohol, so I opted for their horchata. It was difficult choosing that over the homemade lemonade, which sounded great. The homemade horchata was creamy and delicious, definitely one of the better ones I’ve tasted in Tucson, if not the best.
They make all their tortillas in house and you can watch them make it at the front of the restaurant. The bar is in the back of the restaurant so you can bring the kids to the family-​friendly front.
The salsa bar is great. I tried the «A Little Hot Today,» mango/​jalepeño, and the pineapple/​habañero. All were great. The pineapple/​habañero sure has a slow burn kick!
Again, I do not drink alcohol, but they apparently have Happy Hour every day and from Jordan’s descriptions, sounds like a great deal on drinks, nachos, tapas, and giant quesadillas. They also have a movie night when they show a movie on the screens and have fun drink and food specials to go along with the movie. Jordan also hopes to have their catering service up and running in a couple of weeks.
This apparently is the 6^th restaurant in this location in 5 years. Yikes! I usually tell people to never start a restaurant where another has failed because the location has proved itself. I sure hope this business thrives and succeeds. It’s a winner in my book.

I work a lot near Calle Tepa, so I am excited to have a place to go for a bite there! That being said, work kept me late and I was late to this event! Urgh!!!
But I did try that House Marg and let me tell you that was one of the best margs I have ever had. I also liked the mason jar glass it came in! I wonder if I would like the jalapeño cilantro marg? I have never heard of a marg like that!
There were five types of tacos to sample. I sampled two of them. Both were heavenly and I think I am going to have to go back soon to sample those same two and the rest of the five.
There was also a salsa bar. My table only had traditional salsa at the table. Flavorful, but not a lot of heat. I am sure there are hotter ones, I just need to go back and try those!
I loved that they reserved the bar area for the event. It felt very intimate, casual, and the beautifully painted walls were a perfect touch.
Another great event by the beautiful Bella!

I never even knew about this place before the event, but I will definitely be back, if only for the salsa bar! I think that was definitely the best part… and not just because we filled up on chips and salsa before the tacos even came!
The restaurant was awesome, with a great patio that would be perfect for happy hour. The staff was SO accommodating and happy to help in any way they could. I’m sorry I didn’t catch our servers name, but she was the best!
Aside from the chips and salsa, the tacos were pretty darn good as well. My favorite were the chicken adobada tacos, which were perfectly put together. Simple enough to be a street taco, yet full of flavorful so you know the chicken was expertly marinated and cooked.
From what I heard, the margaritas were also amazing. I’d definitely be partaking if I wasn’t gestating a baby at the moment. Margs are my favorite, so I’ll have to come back to try the cilantro jalapeño margarita at a later time :)
Thanks, Bella, for another great event!

This was my first Elite Event and dang was it awesome! I love tacos. I can’t even believe the rest of the world kept inventing food after tacos. Good try, world. And Calle Tepa sure didn’t disappoint with theirs! Each and every taco we sampled last night was absolutely divine, but hands down my favorite was the Carnitas. My mouth is watering and my tummy is growling just thinking about it! (Probably doesn’t help I had lunch 3 hours ago).
Moving right along to the salsa-​YUM! My bf was kind enough to deliver salsas to me from the salsa bar (Kind isn’t even the proper word seeing as he had to make SEVERAL trips. He is a Salsa Saint). But with that being said, I didn’t pay too much attention to the names he gave me for these salsas, so I honestly can’t tell you what I had… but like I said, he had to make several refill trips because I was literally slurping them down.
We both had the jalapeño cilantro marg and then ordered another because it was so tasty! Refreshing and not too spicy despite the jalapeño.
We will definitely be coming back, especially since the service and hospitality matched the greatness of the food. Thank you thank you thank you!

Calle Tepa ~ what a cute little restaurant and such hospitality!
This Elite event was super casual and relaxed and so much fun. Unilocalers gathered at the back of the restaurant and took over the bar and tables in the back where we just hung out, talked, laughed, ate and drank.
The staff treated us very well and were on the spot with drinks, clearing tables and bringing out fresh food. My friend Sylvia and I started the evening with jalapeño cilantro margaritas and they were delicious. The drinks were served in mason jars and were topped with a lime and a nice whole fresh jalapeño sliced to sit on the rim. Fun!
Calle Tepa has a great salsa bar with a wide variety of salsas ranging from very mild to a super spicy habenero one. My favorite was a delicious jalapeño mango salsa but the true star was the tacos. We were served chicken adobada, barbacoa, calabacitas, al pastor and carnitas. All were delicious but the standouts for me were the calabacitas and the carnitas. Mmm, tastsy!
I would never have guessed that the owners of Calle Tepa are also the owners of Guadalajara Grill. This place has a completely different feel and taste. Really love the décor at Calle Tepa and the wall mural of a narrow street scene in Tepatitlan, Mexico. I’ll be coming back ‘cuz I see a torta in my future!

Great event. Really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the food was pretty phenomenal.
I am normally not a chicken taco kind of girl, but I think my favorite was the chicken adobada — it had a rich, smoky flavor — delish. Runner up was the barbacoa — super juicy, followed by the carnitas then the calabacitas. I didn’t get a chance to try the fifth — the tacos al pastor. I’d say of all of them except the adobada could have benefitted from a sauce — but I love sauces, so maybe it’s a personal thing.
I put the salsas on my tacos and it helped my need for a sauce. We tried the house salsa, the salsa verde, and one other — a blended red, medium spice — all were very tasty. The salsa bar is a nice touch as is the open kitchen — always love that.
The corn tortillas were a great vessel and I’m looking forward to trying the flour during my next visit. The house margarita was super tasty and super cute in the mason jar.
The décor is fantastic as was the service.
As an east sider, I am SUPER excited to have Calle Tepa so close and plan to become a regular.

I really enjoyed tonight! I am giving 4 stars just because there really wasn’t too many vegetarian options. With today’s creative cooking I wish there were more restaurants here in Tucson that can see beyond The MEAT =(With that being said I really enjoyed the salsa bar, and the one veg taco they did have tonight Everything in it tasted So FRESH and it was delicious! Will go back there and order my usual a Bean Cheese and rice burro. Thanks Bella for a GREAT event! And thank you to Calle Tepa for hosting!

This was the first elite event I’ve attended. I didn’t know what to expect, and now hope to attend many more in the future. I took advantage of our elite gathering by observing the ability of the restaurant to accommodate large parties. I plan to weigh this ability more heavily for my elite event reviews compared to my typical reviews, which have a magnified focus on the food. The waiters took the event seriously and proved they could coordinate multiple orders for large groups, whilst educating the guests about their food and why it’s special.
Upon passing my questions, I could tell the waiter was well informed of the meat preparation process for the multiple tacos; he was also courteous and pleasant to have around the table. The décor was tasteful, well thought out, and helped set the right mood for the food they served. One thing to note is that Calle Tepa may have it’s work cut out, as the area doesn’t have a great reputation of keeping restaurants long term, and it’s also a little hidden.
Now onto the food. We were promptly treated to a good size margarita in a jar that made me want to chug from just looking at it. It was really refreshing, and they were not frugal on the alcohol. The multiple salsas were a fun way to start the meal, particularly because they were so varied and distinct. I really enjoyed the habanero, green, and red chili salsas. They went well with some of the tacos too, not just the chips. I enjoyed all of the tacos, particularly the carnitas version, which had just the right amount of seasoning and crispiness for me. My vegetarian friend enjoyed the calabacitas taco and agreed on the freshness of the ingredients.
All in all, I had a truly satisfying dinner here, and enjoyed the atmosphere of others who also share a passion for food.
Thanks Bella

Again another phenomenal event! When you thought the Elite events could not get any better… they do get better! I don’t know if it’s the comfort ability that grows each time I come to one but it almost feels like a second home to me. There is nothing but great laughs, great company and of course great food/​drinks! The owners, servers, and bartenders were all so friendly. It almost felt like I met them all before! Great Job Bella you always do an amazing job! Until next time, Keep Calm and Unilocal On!

I must admit I arrived late (705 at best) ito a gathering in full swing. So eventually I was able to get a table with my husband. What a great find in Calle Tepa-​Mexican street grill. I was offered a cocktail and asked for the best; a Rum-​Chata is what I got. Alas my picture was fuzzy. It’s a very sweet beverage for those that like their drinks candy sweet (with a cherry on top!). There is a salsa bar, and I tried everything. The habanero pineapple salsa I really liked. It was hot and flavorful; boy did it have a kick. I don’t know if everyone tried it, but the red salsa was also intensely flavorful and had a nice texture. As I was late, the owner provided a plate with one of each street taco offered during the event to my husband and myself: calabacitas, chicken asado, carnitas, barbacoa and al pastor (pork and grilled pineapple with cilantro). Wow I really like each one; the al pastor i’ve never had previously and really enjoyed. After speaking with one of the owners, he confirmed the fish taco is grilled (never fried or breaded) and we purchased both the Mahi and shrimp street tacos. WOW! We live an hour away and would drive back just for those tacos. Absolutely fresh, citrus, tender, perfection.
All and all the Unilocal group was in the back along the bar; a game was playing and so this night I didn’t do much socializing as it was loud. I did see several familiar faces and was so happy to enjoy a new place with food cooked «fresh on the grill.» Thank you Bella for coordinating the festivities.

Yay! So much fun!
I ventured to the east side for this event and I am so glad I did.
I ate way too many chips and salsa, but it was really good salsa! The house salsa is good, but too mild for me. The pineapple jalapeño was definitely my favorite salsa.
We tried five different taco’s tonight, and I will butcher the names so I won’t try. But my two favorites were the calabacita’s (sp?) and the carnita’s. But you can’t go wrong with any of the taco’s.
I stuck to beer as I wasn’t wanting a sugary drink, but the mixed drinks did look delicious.
The owners were super nice and the serving staff did a good job of keeping up with us.
Also, I love the bar area here. It is very cozy, but not too small and not too large. I can’t wait to come back here as it will be a perfect happy hour location. Drinks and taco’s. Doesn’t get better.