Framed on one wall is a 1993 column from the newspaper Ovaciones in which the author recounts running into Colosio and states, "[i]t's the most egalitarian eatery in Mexico.

"[5] Other politicians, including Eruviel Ávila, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Humberto Moreira Valdés, and Carlos Salinas de Gortari, were known to be regular customers;[6][7] the restaurant is four blocks and 650 meters (2,130 ft), nine minutes' walk, from the national headquarters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

[11] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Alonso Ruvalcaba listed El Califa de León as a place to go for tacos.

[13] On 15 May 2024, El Califa de León was awarded a Michelin star, indicating "high-quality cooking, worth a stop"—the first time a Mexican taco stand had received such a distinction.

The statuette's design is inspired by the pre-Hispanic sculpture The Young Woman of Amajac, in recognition of the significant contributions of indigenous women to national and international gastronomy.