Estrellita Mexican Bistro and Cantina

Very nice place. The waiter was extremely attentive and friendly. The food was great and their salsa has a really nice kick to it. They had a wide variety of food that goes beyond your standard Mexican food fare. I saw dishes being offered that reminded me of my stay in Mexico City. Extremely authentic and a great meal all around. If you are in the area you won’t be disappointed.

Excellent and authentic food! Free wifi and fast and friendly service, family own business.

I just love how homey this place feels. Eveything from the décor to the furniture and little details make it feel authentic. My go to is the enchiladas suizas which are delicious! The rice and beans are also fresh alongside their spicy salsas. Drinks are reasonably priced ($ 6 for sangria — very good). As long as the food remains high quality, I will return!

The service here is wonderful. Everyone we interacted with was extremely friendly and made you feel like family. The restaurant is very cute inside even though I am not a huge fan of skeleton art. Food was great and the service will make us come back for more. Oh and for dessert get the fresh churros!

First time here. My decision was based on trying a new place for Cinco De Mayo. I was really happy with the top shelf margarita as it contained fresh fruit juice mix. Not a fan of the chips and salsa. The shredded chicken quesadilla was tasty and so was the cup of tortilla soup. Parking can be rough in San Antonio so try a find parking in the back closer to the Bevmo and walk over. Our waitress Anna was attentive and friendly.

Pretty disappointed in the service tonight. We ate dinner and placed an order to go at 8:47. Our waiter Carlos disappeared, he is supposedly one of the owners. Asked someone else to check on it, and the order had been sitting at the front, this was at 9:30. So it took 45 minutes to make a bean burrito, with a side of rice and beans. Then when we got back home, the order was incorrect. He came back, didn’t apologize just said the table number was on the tag, he didn’t know why it was placed up front. It’s a bummer, we have been going to Estrelitta’s before it became a bistro, when the owner was David. We have had the restaurant cater for us also. It didn’t seem to matter about customer service, except for bringing chips and salsa.
Food was good as always.

I was greeted with a chipper Buenos Noches! on the phone when I called to ask regarding hours on Easter Sunday. By the time I pulled into the tiny lot outside, the dinner rush had died down, though the three visible staff were still busy with to-​go orders.
The restaurant is super cute and kitschy, but definitely enjoyable. The waiters were super friendly and were very knowledgeable about their offerings. Service was excellent and waters were refilled promptly.
Food wise, we were welcomed with crispy tortilla chips and green and red salsa. My friends ordered the steak fajita, habanero chicken (very subtle spice as this is catered toward an American palate), and I had the Mole Poblano. Everything tasted very fresh and the meats were especially tender without being tough or overcooked. I am tepid about Mole, but I thought this was quite good. We had corn and flour tortillas that came out piping hot.
Pricing was fair for the serving size and area, about $ 20 pp after tax and tip. Its not a destination, but I would return for fresh Mexican food if I’m in the area!

To start with, a disclosure that Mexican cuisine is not my favorite, so it probably wouldn’t be my first choice. But I go sometimes, at the request of others, and so IMHO Estrellita is one of the best in the area. It’s not exactly the same over the years as far as food goes, but the ambience remained cozy and unassumingly comfy. They offer Belgian raspberry fruit bear (bottled) that my half loves, Lindemans
Framboise Lambic (you can get it at Trader Joe’s).
For those who don’t know, this is a family owned place, tacked away on San Antonio road, in the same row headed up by Chef Chu’s and Esther’s German Bakery, between Cassara brothers tuxedo rentals (who were there for the longest time) and what is now a dental office. You gotta give it up to Estrellita’s and appreciate them even more if you ate Mexican food at one of the chains, or at newly popped modern establishments that charge an arm and a leg to justify their investment.

I LOVE Estrellita’s. It is by far my favorite Mexican restaurant around. Amazing guacamole (the shell!) and awesome street taco appetizers (although I usually get them as a standalone meal). The décor inside is beautiful. The little patio in the warmer months is so quaint (the flowers take you away from the street traffic) I love taking my family here when they visit from out of state. Sometimes the service is a little slow — but honestly the staff are the best so it really doesn’t take away from the overall experience. Highly, highly recommend.

Good Vegetarian food. Loved their ambience.
But drinks were just Ok.

Wife’s family have been coming here since she was a little girl and now it’s our family tradition. Authentic atmosphere and cuisine. Love the gourmet burritos. Bring the whole extended family and friends.

A little of our history with Estrellita’s. We first started going to Estrellita’s more than 35 years ago when Beatrice was still with us and then continued when her son and daughter-​in-​law took over. My wife and I would go there about once every 2 weeks and I and a co-​worker would go for lunch 3 out of 10 lunch days (more than once a week). The food was superb and the service prompt and friendly. Very often Beatrice would stop at our table and sit with us until our food arrived. This was when we lived in Sunnyvale and I worked in Palo Alto. Since we moved to Silver Creek area, our visits are usually for special occasions, nostalgia or longing for their «Grand Burritos». Today was one of those nostalgic days so we drove the 29 miles for our Mexican treat.
Very disappointing! The place looked the same but the service was slow and inattentive. The burritos were warm instead of piping hot. The before-​meal salad is no longer being served. The chip-​dipping salsa which used to be served in a small «cup of soup» sized bowl was served in a cup about ¼ the size of the old bowls. When we asked for a larger bowl, the container was ½ the size of the old bowls. After finishing our small basket of chips they asked if we wanted more and we said «Yes please». They never arrived.
My wife ordered her favorite, a «grand burrito, chicken with green chili sauce» while I ordered my favorite «grand burrito, beef with red chili sauce». Her burrito was watery with less chicken and more celery to keep up the size. The first burrito served to me was chicken with red sauce and after one bite the waiter returned and told me that a mistake was made and they were making the beef burrito right away. When finally served, my beef burrito it had a watered down red sauce, less cheese but the beef was fat free as usual. The $ 2.50 iced tea was never refilled.
We eat out a lot and it is hard to disappoint us easily. Today was the exception.
Estrellita’s is not the same place it used to be and we have no earthly reason to drive the 58 mile round trip to be disappointed again.
The two waiters said that Estrellita’s is still owned by the same family and I hope that they see this review and make some changes. It was hard to write this because of our long history but something had to be said.
Charlie from San Jose

The change in management was a great improvement. They updated the inside, cleaned it up, added a legitimate bar with beer taps! I just had the Mixiote with chicken and pork and it was very very tasty.
If there is a sports game on you can always ask them to play it on one of their 2 big screens. Their tequila selection is adequate at best, and the service can be a bit slow at times, but the flavorful food will make up for it. Plus the owner is a really nice guy. He makes rounds every now and then and it always nice to talk to him.

I loved the margaritas here. They have many different kinds (I opted for original). My friend got the mango margarita which was also amazing.
The food was also great, they use fresh ingredients. I ordered chicken tacos and took home leftovers as the portions are generous.
They have plenty of indoor seating, outdoor seating is available too.

My wife and I joined two other couples at Estrellita Mexican Bistro and Cantina on Saturday 17 October for dinner. We had a reservation for 6:15PM and a table was reserved for us. We had to sit outside as there was large group celebration on the inside.
We ordered a pitcher of Margaritas and our dinners at the same time as one couple needed to leave fairly soon. After a reasonable wait we asked where the Margaritas were and were told they would check. After a bit more of a wait, our dinners arrived, sans Margaritas. After we started our dinners, it was a bit chilly sitting outside so the dishes were cooling rapidly, the Margaritas finally arrived. But there were two glasses with salted rims and one without — we had asked for three glasses without salt. Rather risk another waiting period, we agreed to accept the salted rim glasses and drink using the straws.
I ordered the Filete de Pescado A La Veracruzana ($ 18) which was swimming, in addition to covered as stated on the menu, in the Veracruz style sauce. Too much sauce to taste the fish. This was accompanied by a tiny salad and a few tablespoons full of Spanish rice. I asked for flour tortillas and was appreciative of the generous serving of two tortillas.
My wife liked her Carne Asada ($ 17) but we had to remind the waiter to bring the corn tortillas she ordered.
On this night the service was less than adequate. If they had not automatically added a 20% tip for our group of 6, I doubt we would have agreed to that amount.
With so many Mexican restaurants to choose from in this area, I would not bother trying find a rare parking spot at Estrellita Mexican Bistro and Cantina and go elsewhere.

Food was delicious; our server was efficient, knowledgeable and informative. I complimented our food and he told us they make everything on site, including the red and green salsas. We split the Shredded Beef Gourmet Burrito. We will definitely return!
The restaurant is clean and festively decorated in bright primary colors. This place has been in business for 50 years and they’ve got it down!

They don’t seem to be offering brunch anymore and haven’t even been open during their listed hours the last two times I tried to go… Weekends at ¹¹⁄₁₂.

Estrellita’s is one the most underrated restaurants in this area. Everything from the food and service is stellar.
I’ve been here several times and all of the dishes I’ve tried have been very flavorful and unique. Some personal favorites are the mole poblano. It’s smoky, sweet, savory, and just a hint of bitterness from the cocoa. Another is the queso fundido which is in the appetizers but is heavy enough to split with another person as a second entrée.
Service is very friendly, even when they’re close to closing on a Friday night. We didn’t feel rushed at all and we’re even offered dessert half an hour past closing. A very refreshing change from many the restaurants in this area that are adopting pretentious atmospheres and prices without the quality of food to back it up.
Haven’t gotten a chance to try out their margaritas yet but will update once I do!

Decided to try this place based on the high Unilocal reviews. They are completely undeserving of any positive reviews.
Things started off OK — I was seated promptly and given chips and two kinds of salsa. The chips tasted home made and were excellent. The salsa was good and spicy, but I was only given a tiny bit of it.
I ordered the mole poblano chicken with rice and beans and tortilla. It was served quickly, I’d say within 5 minutes.
The chicken was cooked perfectly and very juicy. The mole sauce was disappointing. The menu says it’s made with 20 something spices but all I could taste was sweet. I was hoping for something more savory and not so bland.
The rice and beans were OK but also very bland and had practically no taste.
My waiter never came back once I got my food. I was surprised because the restaurant was 80% empty with only four other parties seated. There were no employees in the dining area the majority of the time.
Did not get any drink refill. It would have been nice to get some more chips and salsa but again, the waiter never came back.
The worst part was that for the entire time I was there, I was being harassed by a group of relentless flies that would not leave me alone. I had to eat my meal with one hand and use the other to fight the flies away from my food.
Eventually I gave up and one of the flies landed in my salsa. It was right then that I decided not to order desert.
No waiter ever came to get my check and I had to go to the front to pay. Complete lack of service. I don’t know if they have too few employees or their employees just don’t know how to manage a restaurant.

This has become our go to place for mexican food. The ambiance is great– feels like you’re away from home. I’m pescetarian and tried the fish entrée last time– so tasty, fish was cooked perfectly. I tried the shrimp enchiladas and chiles de nogadas which were both amazing! Service is slightly also but I suspect it is because they are making it fresh.
(Chips are a bit salty and could use a little less salt)