Cencalli in Den Haag

Very delicious tacos with excellent chilli sauces. If youre taking them to go, make sure to tell them if you need to eat them now or to eat them at home, since they prep it differently.

Salsa Verde was so good, we bought a bottle to take home. Real Mexican flavors. They import ingredients, and have really perfected the al pastor tacos. Bonus was they had homemade tamales! Everything was great, but do not miss their guacamole, Al pastor tacos, and pie dessert.

We ordered almost everything on the menu and every dish was amazing. The staff is really helpful and they care a lot about the products. This will defenitely become one of my regular places!

As mentioned in another review this place isnt "cheap", but then again you pay for what you "get".What you get may not be a the largest of portions, but instead the best ingredients culminating in stunning dishes.As the German saying goes, this place is:"Klein aber fein"I reccomend coming here & certainly intend on coming back whenever possible.

Tasty food and atmosphere was great!

Very authentic Mexican style tacos and other specialties in a cozy atmosphere. The only thing that keeps me from coming more often are the prices - EUR 6 per taco with a meal being 3-5 of them brings you to about Eur 24 before drinks and guacamole. I appreciate the tacos being made of high quality, imported ingredients, so I understand but it just means it falls more into an expensive dinner out which is hard for me to think of tacos as. That said, the food is great and definitely worth a visit.

Perfect ending to a fantastic birthday.Last week to celebrate my birthday I went into the Hague with my girlfriend. After a long day I was really in the mood for good tacos. What I got were not good tacos... They were the best tacos Ive ever had!While looking at the menu out front, we were greeted by the friendly staff. They werent pushy and trying to drag us into the restaurant, but polite and welcoming. We entered and were asked to wash our hands before being seated. I must say this is the first time Ive been asked to do this in a restaurant, but with the current covid situation (and with tacos being very much hand held foodthis showed that they actually cared about health and safety. Which was comforting to know.The server seated us at a nice booth in the middle of the restaurant. Im not one to often compliment interior design, but Cencalli has been very tastefully decorated. They have managed to capture the feeling of Mexico wonderfully. It was almost like we were sat at an outdoor food cart with fairy lights and all, yet without the usual tacky feel that comes with outdoor lighting placed indoors.The menu itself was concise. Not bulked out with loads of options, but stuck to a few core dishes, each with a good amount of flavour variations. We ordered 2 portions of tacos. Sadly we had missed the Al Pastor, as thats only served from Thu - Sat, but were still left with plenty of great options. We opted for the The Alambre de Pastor and the Tinga de Pollo. Both of which I would definitely recommend. After which we had 2 amazing tamales (Pollo con Mole and Pollo Salsa Verde).Just as we thought that we had finished a fantastic meal and were sat there sipping our tequilas, the server who had greeted us (and seen my birthday badgecame over to our table with a slice of cake with a sparkler for me! This was such a nice surprise and the cake was a delightful lemon sponge.I cant stress how much we enjoyed our experience. There was literally nothing to complain about. The servers were all friendly and happy to help/ offer recommendations, the restaurant looked great and the food was delicious.We will definitely be going back!

The best Taco I’ve ever had, tried seven different ones and each one was tasty. The staff is very nice and the service is great too! 🌮 try the Mexican beer if you’re there!

The food here is very very good, I really enjoyed it. Authentic mexican food and they import a lot. Recomend everyone to go here.(Pro tip, get an agua de horchata)

Great introduction at the entrance. They buy their corn in Mexico and make all the ingredients themselves. Fantastic food, great staff and a memorable experience. Their Old Fashioned cocktail is 👌👌👌 Well be back soon!

very kind and accommodating staff, lovely ambience and most importantly: absolutely amazing Food! The Tacos were an absolute highlight for me, I am looking forward to return for more. Well worth the price for this kind of quality!Decent vegan options are available too.

SHOCKING !!! We ordered 5 tamales for a pick up at 18:30 and when we came home and set at the table to our big shock we figured out that all 5 were frozen. We called them and they said yes sorry there frozen. How can a restaurant sell frozen food as a pick up for diner. Imagine what you get every day in that restaurant. Heated up food from the microwave???? SHAMEFULL AND DISRESPECTFULL.

Amazing Mexican restaurant!! Real Mexican flavor!! And this is coming from a Mexican guy!!!

FABULOUS! Authentic flavors, great service... totally recomend to visit and taste their menu. Everything was great. The Tacos al Pastor took me for moments back 20 years ago to Puerto Vallarta, where I tasted them for the first time.My guests were very impressed and happy with the diner invitation. Cool experience!

Hmm I‘m a bit torn here - the food is delicious but the portion size is laughable - a taco is around 6€ and its 2 bites / you need at least 5 tacos to be reasonably full... do the mathService is super friendly tho and the atmosphere is nice

Great spot for Mexican food, really tasty and authentic.The only downside is that its pricey. 40€ pp is rather normal. But oh so tasty!

The food was okay and the service was good! But it was very expensive and we were still hungry at the end. 6€ for a taco is too much imo. We payed 70€ for two persons (3 Tacos per person).

Food is very tasty and fresh. Friendly service. The ceviche and chicarron tacos are recommended. Tamales was a bit bland.

Made a reservation at Cencalli on July 19, 2020 during COVID measures which hey handled very well. The meal itself was good, ordered margaritas,ceviche, tamales and a number of tacos which were all good. Service in general was good, granted our server forgot an order of tacos but not the end of the world.The issue I have is with the cost and the portion size. For example, the 7.5 euro "tamales" ended up being a single tamale consisting of about 4 bites of food. Same thing can be said about the tacos, costing around 6 euro each and being small enough nearly fit in the palm of your hand. I personally had 4 tacos and shared ceviche, corn chips and the tamale and left both hungry and with a bill for over 100 euro.I have no problem paying for a good meal, and while the food wasnt bad I have an issue charging that much for food that is traditionally cheap to make. The portion sizes should be literally doubled for this to make sense.

This is a nice place, with authentic Mexican food. Why 3 stars? It was not that tasty. Staff was friendly and they welcomed the feedback about the dish being dry and rather minimal for the price. They educated us that this is how its prepared and served in Mexico (without the sour cream etc). Good experience, but would not go again.

AMAZING tacos, honestly the best Ive found after years of searching in the Hague.The staff was incredibly friendly, the food was fantastic, and the ambiance was really cozy and well done.Their salsas are the perfect balance of smoky and sweet, and their tacos are bursting with flavour.I left wishing they would start selling their chips and dips to go!!

The food was, in one word, exceptional. Different but great atmosphere. Weve had a great night!

We had a wonderful meal at Cencalli after having heard about them months ago. Theyre all about authentic Mexican cuisine and they can deliver what they promise. The guacamole was a bit underwhelming for me personally as I like to give it a bite with red onion, but the tacos were really well done. The place gets a bit crowded but its all worth the experience. They could use a wider selection of mezcal, but Id still happily go back.

Tasty food & good cocktails. A bit overpriced and small portions. Overall a nice place, friendly staff (it seems they are not fully operational and a bit chaotic. Took some time to get their attention for anything). Tacos were really nice, the atmosphere was average, seats were uncomfy. We (2 of uskind of ended up being a little bit hungry when leaving. It costs us 80 EUR.

Fantastic complex flavours, very light and subtle. Their gourmet margaritas are also a must try. One star off for the price though, given the portions are relatively small. Lovely evening and very friendly service.

Best Mexican restaurant you can find in the Netherlands.

The best mexican food I have tried in Europe. Not cheap I agree, but the quality is worth it 👍 We felt very welcome, the owner gave us great recommendations, Agua fresca de pepino aka cucumber lemonade was outstanding! We shall return for sure, especially as we now have our fave dishes. Yummy!

Closest experience to Mexican cuisine in the Hague, though perfecting with more contemporary cooking methods, while still keeping classic elements such as Mexican barbacoa. Great mix of modern and traditional. Well done!

I was there this Friday. The tacos are the best I have tasted in the Netherlands. Specially the fish, pastor and alambre de pastor tacos. The gringa de pastor is also tasty. The place is well decorated and the service was great.

These are the BEST tacos I have had outside of México. We tried all of them, they are all tasty and the tortillas are perfect. They also sell Mexican beer which are worth to try, and a few different tequila and mezcal.

The food is delicious! Open kitchen, nice music. Really nice owner, you can tell he is passionate about food. A bit pricey do.1 taco €5, 3 tacos €14, 5 tacos €21.We orderd 10 tacos in total, but different flavors...this way the tacos cost us €50. Apparently the 5 for €21 is only when ordering 5 of the same flavor.

A Mexican gourmet restaurant, interesting idea but the whole enterprise looks somehow amateurish. On arrival the owner started ostentatiously checking his device for reservations when the restaurant was clearly empty, later he was loudly telling off the young, overworked cook.After some decent albeit slightly overpriced food you leave the place with your clothes smelling of food, it makes you think that something is not right about this place. Maybe with time theyll find the right balance, perhaps Ill have to write a different review in a years time.

I wont be saying this is real Mexican food, because I have never been to Mexico and I dont know what real Mexican food is. To be honest I dont even care if its real, I only care for the fact that this is delicious food. I can also say that this is very unique food (at least in Europe), as I have experienced flavors that were absolutely new to me. There are actually other good Mexican restaurants in The Hague (Kua), but I think this one is more special.One of the greatest things are the chile sauces they bring to your table (every time I come there are different ones!). The aromas in those things are mind-blowing and every time I come with excitement for which sauces they will bring.I recommend trying the "al pastor" pork, some sort of marinated pork that is among the greatest pork I have ever tried. They dont make it every day of the week though, so you can only order from Thursday to Saturday.The chile ancho con queso is another of my favorite dishes (sometimes hot, others not so much).If there is something they could improve is the drinks menu. Those Mexican "craft beers" are not all that great. Maybe they could try to import better ones from Mexico, or otherwise serve non-Mexican beers.For dinner this is a 10/10 restaurant, for lunch its a 8/10 (menu is less interesting). And yes, it is expensive... as any other good restaurant in The Hague.

Paid a lot and left hungry. Food was really good, but the portions were too small and service was sub par. Meals were served one at a time, with gaps of ten minutes in between, when I mentioned this the waitress said I should have stated this up front. That is possible, but it would’ve been nice service to either ask when taking the order or to assume all the dishes should be on the table at the same time. Glasses stayed empty after the first round too, because no one bothered to offer more, then our order for the tortillas was messed up which caused them to offer a meal on the house, but we never got it, with the explanation that the order has not been misplaced after all...very confusing and frustrating. I’m afraid I will not be coming here again.

Great food from a real Mexican chef cooking with real Mexican ingredients. Complemented by the excellent service of her Dutch husband, taking time with each table to expertly explain what they have on offer. Only a short walk away from The Hague Central Station.

Really great food and service, cocktails are amazing too!

#Demuertelenta (to die forare the tacos of @Cencalli.Service needs improvement though... The only problem is the service and that when asking for something that is not included in the menu, you will get a rude response. Really a pity, given the high-quality food. We now think twice before coming.What for dinner? We tried 3 different types: barbacoa, tinga, and campechano. The real deal was the #tingadepollo (chicken with chipotle-absolutely DE.Li.CIOUS 😊🌮 the other two I would not recommend.I have tried all the other Mexican restaurants in The Hague and this one is by far the closest to home.To close that night, we tried #flandecoco and #pasteldeelote absolutely A.MA.ZING! Anyone who has been in Central America or Mexico knows that finding real #tortillas in NL is mission impossible. Well, Cencalli makes their very own, on the spot and like its meant to be on a clay stove.Tip: agua de horchata, totopos con guacamole, and a pastel de elote. If you like coffee, their filter coffee smells exactly like it should be -coffee smells like back home, up in the Mesoamerican mountains ❤Highly recommended!NB: a note of caution, the tasty food comes with a comparable price $$$. I guess, high-quality imported ingredients come with a price.

Absolutely amazing and authentic. Yes, it cost more than Mexican food in the U.S. or Mexico, because they import the ingredients, but it’s absolutely worth the price to have fresh, hand made, and authentic Mexican cuisine. This is by far my favorite spot in town.

The food was delicious, the service was chaotic and slow, having said this the people was very nice. The restaurant tries to emulate Mexican street food but it was expensive, of course you need to understand than many of the ingredients are imported and the Mexican tortillas are made in the restaurant.

Great place. Authentic flavors, great to see them making the tortillas at the front of the restaurant. If you like tacos, quesadillas as well as a few specials then this is the place. Nice to see they dont another everything in cheese, unless you ask for it. Friendly and knowledgeable service. Great value for money. If youre looking for real Mexican food rather than a European take on it then this is a great place to go.

Yesterday I, and three colleagues, went to Cencalli to enjoy some Mexican food after a long day of work. Eager to try out this restaurant and sincerely interested in the story behind it, one of my Mexican colleagues asked whether there were Mexicans working in the restaurant after which another colleague asked for a jar of margaritas. We were cheerful, but definitely not disrespectful, rude or loud. When one of my colleagues wanted to use the ladies bathroom since the mens was occupied for a while (by an employee), we were kicked out of the restaurant in an extremely rude manner. According to the owner/manager of the restaurant we were drunk and had bad vibes, humiliating us in the middle of the restaurant. It could have been a combination of the questions and acts described above, but we still have no idea what might have made him this aggressive. All of us were flabbergasted by his behaviour: We came straight out of our jobs and we, obviously, werent drunk at all. I havent eaten at this place, so I cannot comment on the quality of the food. But if you are looking for a Mexican restaurant with positive Mexican vibes and a relaxed atmosphere dont go here. I am capable of critically assessing our behaviour and I can confidently say that it was not, in any way, excessive. Importantly, as a manager you should know how to treat your guests and ALSO how to indicate that youd like to see their behaviour change, if there were to be a reason for that. The latter should be done in an empathic, friendly manner. Instead he judged us based upon no knowledge—we didnt sit there for longer than 2 minutes— embarrassed us and let us leave dumbfounded and with an extremely sour feeling.

OMG I FREAKING LOVE THIS PLACE. I have been in the NL for over 5 months looking for a place that satisfied my craving for authentic mexican food. As soon as I walked in I felt back in Mexico. The staff is very nice and very welcoming. The decoration and ambience is very accurate. The food was reeeeally good. The salsas were incredible and really made me remember back home. Making the tortillas with authentic corn makes a huge difference. It is pricey but understandably so, everything is imported. Would totally recommend if you wan to experience a little corner of Mexico in the NL.

Lovely meal. The Al Pastor tacos were heavenly, and the chips and guacamole are some of the most authentic I’ve ever had, even better than what I’ve had at some of the best Mexican restaurants in East Los Angeles and Mexico. A little on the pricey side, but to be expected for a quality meal in Den Haag.

Such tasty, light corn tortillas Ive not eaten since living these past 4 years in the Netherlands! They were prepared fresh to order for our lunch. The lunch menu included a limited number of items representative of their dinner menu. The ideal time to experience the entire menu plus specialities is either Friday or Saturday dinner. Every meal at every table a selection of 3 of their Oaxacon family-traditional salsas are șerved. The service and attention from the owners and wait staff added a touch of warmth and personality to restaurants ambiance.

Great little Mexican restaurant. The staff is kind and helpful, explaining various meals as needed. The restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere and is in a fairly quiet street. Based on your preference the staff will advise on how many portions would be ideal.

One unforgiving winters day I popped into this sublimely colourful, yet modern approach to Mexican aesthetics. A cobalt blue ceiling gives a unique atmosphere to the place. The food uses traditional methods of preparation, and fresh beautiful ingredients. The corn that makes their basis for most of their dishes is collected from multiple farms in Mexico and brought to their establishment via courtesy of the owners themselves. I’ve since returned multiple times and enjoyed many meals here. As this is a relatively new restaurant there’s some ironing out to do in the service department, food occasionally takes a while to arrive. Nonetheless the end result is utter satisfaction, and the positives greatly outweigh any of the negatives. Thank Cencalli for bringing real Mexican cuisine to The Hague. - Lucas

taste the tacos with pulled chicken - veeery gooood!! very nice people who explain everything, nice colourful athmosphere. its worth to pay more (almost all self-made)...

Everything is home made in this place except the drinks. You should definitely try the Saturday night specialty. Amazing pieces of meat. The guacamole worth a try also with the home made nachos. The Porter and the dessert was a nice combination.

Very fresh. It’s worth the price: unlike most rip-offs nearby, this is delicious and extremely authentic. And the service is a w e s o m e.

Found this place randomly & wow my husband & I were blown away by the amazingly delicious & fresh food & drinks. The flavors are truly authentic & the best part is that they have freshly made corn tortillas (cannot find these anywhere else in the Netherlands). The owners & the staff are super friendly & welcoming. I recommend Mexican food lovers to go here & those who have never had Mexican food this is a must! Having a Mexican background myself I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. We will be going back soon.