Is Mexicali Taco & Co. Still Open? Mystery Diners Update (Los Angeles, CA)

Mystery Diners (Food Network) sent undercover investigators into Mexicali Taco & Co., a Baja-style taco restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, after owners Esdras Ochoa and Javier Cabral began hearing that kitchen staff were serving customers dishes that weren't on the printed menu. Wikipedia's article on the series describes Mystery Diners as an operation run by host Charles Stiles that goes undercover at restaurants, at the owners' request, using hidden cameras and staged interactions to document suspected problems. According to Food Network's description of "Mexicali Blues" (aired April 7, 2014), investigators Brenda and Grant posed undercover to observe what the kitchen was actually cooking; the available episode description covers the setup of the investigation but does not detail what Stiles told the owners once the hidden cameras came down or what changes followed on camera.

Wikipedia's article on the series, citing its sources, separately notes that the program carries a disclaimer that certain events were re-enacted for dramatic purposes and describes a television critic's assessment that some of the show's scenarios and outcomes can appear implausible or staged. A check of the restaurant's own website, mexicalitaco.com, on 2026-09-08 found a page carrying an April 17, 2026 server last-modified date, posted weekday and weekend hours, an active online-ordering link, and Chef Esdras Ochoa still listed as running the kitchen at the same North Figueroa Street address featured in 2014. A Google Places listing for the business separately lists its operating status as active.