The Cantina

Stopped in on a Saturday afternoon for a beer and bite. Loved the patio and enjoyed steak fajitas recommended by our server Salina. Both food and service were good. Will go back for happy hour some time soon.

COUPLES BEWARE!!! Food is not great, neither is the service and the atmosphere is complete chaos with kids literally climbing the walls. The staff agreed. They finally found us a calmer space with other adults but I doubt we return. Boundaries. We had been here before and didn’t recall the craziness. I’m a teacher and I get «family-​friendly» but that shouldn’t mean complete disregard and discomfort of my family of 2. We tried to give this place another try but I wish I would have read the other reviews about this issue before we went again. Hope it saves another couple the trouble.

Hands down the worst Mexican food we have ever had — no contest.
Maybe it’s because we are from Southern California? Not sure. Had a chicken fajita burrito, which was easily 90% rice and beans
Everyone else had tacos, which came in shells that look like they came out of a box from a grocery store.
Sat in the lounge, so we were served by the bartender. Only reason it’s not one star is because the service was good.
Judging by positive reviews, we either had a strangely terrible line cook assemble our food, or Mill Valley is in desperate need of some quality Mexican food.

Here’s the thing: there aren’t many sit-​down restaurants in this immediate area of Mill Valley. And I do respect the fact that The Cantina has been in this location for quite a while. And the idea of sitting outside on the patio on a warm evening, sipping margaritas and eating chips and guac is great! But the food here is mediocre. If you’re going to have a cantina in Marin, your basics at least better be on-​point; sadly this is not the case for The Cantina. The chips could be better, the guac is pretty good actually, but they use sour mix for the margaritas, which is confusing considering what you’re paying. Sure, use this place as a convenient stop if you’re in the area and want to sit outside and have drinks and chips with guacamole on the patio or watch a Warriors game at the bar, but don’t come here for the food. Or bring a big group with kids, since they have the space for it – and the fajita platters sizzle nicely, even if the flavors aren’t at the top of the game and the meat is pretty dry, but be careful to keep the little ones’ hands away from the hot plancha (I’ve seen that go down poorly). Net/​net: there are MANY great alternatives serving the same style of food at a much higher quality all over the bay area.

Our church group meets there for after service brunch from time to time. This past Sunday we had a waitress named Salina who was positively delightful. Great service, sharp and a GREAT attitude. She made out usually great brunch there outstanding!

Selina was our server and she is the best. We were a group of 8, with some separate checks. She was just so full of life and making sure that we were all happy and her service was spot on. We like to go out after church with a group and we love the food at the Cantina. What could anyone ask ~ good food~ good service ~ good parking one nice happy place.

Ate here for the first time and sat in the bar area. There were at least 6 nice sized tv’s in the restaurant (3 in the bar) that were showing sporting events. This was a HUGE plus for me as I wanted to watch one of the games.
We ordered a couple of beers and shared the steak fajitas. The steak was very tender, so we were quite impressed with the food. Chips and salsa were good too.
The ambiance was great. The bar area was a little noisy, but that is to be expected. They had multiple outdoor seating areas which looked very comfortable. The place was busy and the service was very good. The prices seemed fair.
Next we are going to try the Happy Hour! We enjoyed it and are looking forward to coming back soon.

Service is almost average. The couple sitting next to me and my boyfriend who were not given utensils sadly used paper towels from the bathroom to clean their table. Drinks were not that great. Had a watermelon margarita that was supposed to have some heat, but it just taste like tequila. My boyfriend had a michelada which he said taste like flat beer. The chips and salsa were not authentic– they taste like they’re from a bag or a salsa can. I ordered blackened snapper fish tacos that were really dry. My boyfriend had the carne asana plate that was not even carne asada-​it was an overpriced, regular, unseasoned, and dry steak! I think the only thing that was good was that they had outdoor seating which is dog-​friendly.

Maybe weekend afternoons aren’t their strong point, but they seem to have a problem heating the food so that the cheese melts (! happened 2 weeks in a row.) For the chile rellenos, they don’t remove any seeds. At least make an effort to remove some, man. The micheladas taste like watered down flat beer. The service is terrible. Need some salt for your food after you get it? Gonna have to find it yourself because the staff rushing by can’t be bothered.
It does have a great outdoor space, though, with a tv outside for sports watching. That part is awesome. I guess just stick to the slighly stale chips and drink margaritas.

Have been going to Cantina for several years with My husband for Dinner. This is a solid Mexican Restaurant. We always eat in the Bar since the main dining room accomodates families with kids.
However, recently, toddlers have been in the Bar on high top stools eating dinner with a parent!
Sorry, but I don’t believe kids should be in the Bar for dinner. The main dining room is huge and totally the place for kids with parents.
Let’s make the bar for «grown ups» — again.

I’ve gone twice now since moving to mill valley. The fajita platter for two with steak and chicken is amazing. Their whole menu looks pretty impressive. The restaurant is always seem to have customers thats always a good sign. They have happy hour which seems to be popular but when i go with my daughter we can’t sit at the bar.
The servers at this restaurant are very attentive to their tables. I had the same server twice and he did a great job. Atmosphere great, Employees outstanding Food Outstanding!

Unbelievable that I’ve never actually been here before! Went with a group of 32 (!) yesterday and I was very impressed.
First, the atmosphere is really warm and inviting. We had a little side room to ourselves, but the main dining area and the enclosed porch that I saw were lovely. There may be even more areas but I didn’t wander around. I was too focused on drinking and eating.
Next, their ability to handle the crowd and the beer and the orders was stellar. We’re not a quiet group by any stretch of the imagination. But they got our drink and our food orders done correctly and fairly swiftly as well.
Finally, the food that I had was delicious — blackened snapper tacos — and I got to try someone else’s order of ceviche and I will definitely be ordering that next time. The flavors were wonderful.
Why not 5 stars? Two reasons: it’s the first time I’ve been so I rarely give 5 stars on visit #1; and the beer selection did not include any stouts or porters. I’m pretty sure I asked and was told that didn’t have any on tap either — but I could be wrong about that. Please choose something Cantina — you already have Lagunitas (IPA or Ale-can’t remember which) on the menu — why not carry their Imperial Stout? Please? Then I’ll come back, eat your ceviche, drink your Lagunitas, and give you 5 stars!

Service was quite good. No issues as others seems to have had. They promptly got is a shredded beef enchiladas (so good) because we complained about the. Ground beef ones.
The tortilla soup was excellent !

Surprisingly good for a formula «Mexican» restaurant. Pleasant ambiance indoors and out, with heaters outdoors. Generally (but not always) good service. Good food, albeit not terribly special. Plenty of free parking. Reasonable prices. Recommended.

What a perfect day spent in Mill Valley and to end the morning off by having lunch at the Cantina. Could not be any better than this. Just visiting family so I have not tried anything but what I ordered. It was delicious. Ordered the crab enchiladas with rice and beans. Typical, not a all. Coming from Tucson, Az. we have our fill of Mexican restaurants. This dish is not on anything in Tucson and I must say it was one of the best meals I have had. The corn cake which comes with this combo was sublime. I could eat just this and be happy. A fairly priced restaurant as well. Will come back here next time I’m in town.

3.5 if possible. The food isn’t bad — it’s just nothing special. Ordered the chicken taco salad– the fiesta salad with steak and the pork carnitas (VERY) large platter dinner with tortillas –Just average. The salads were under seasoned but the meats which accompanied the dishes were very good in flavor. The carnitas platter was just a gluttony feast which came with rice, beans, veggies, corn cakes, guacamole and a large salad. Our daughter loved it– and it was seriously enough to feed 3 – 4 people. The flavor was good– nothing you crave the next day for leftovers. The service was good and the place is very kid friendly– so be prepared for loud children running all over the place. This place is worth coming back — and we will (neighborhood) some days it’s better than others. Price is right as well.

For a sunny and breezy Sunday at noon in Mill Valley, I was half-​expecting a challenge getting seating last-​minute for a large group of attorneys and other professionals after an amazing hike on Mt. Tam. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when the hostess on the other end of the phone said she could accommodate us. Not only could they take us all, they were able to seat us outside on the patio.
It was the perfect reward for a nice leg workout on the trails.
My friend and I ordered the Mudpie dessert and Mucho Combo appetizer for our entrée (yes, in that order and no, we could not finish it all). It looked like a big party on a platter of all your favorite Mexican munchies.
Some other dishes that were ordered and caught my attention included the steak and shrimp fajitas and huevos rancheros. Both looked delicious, so I’ll have to come back another time to try those!

Great patio area, dog friendly and a Great Happy Hour that runs to 7pm.
This is a great dinner and drink location.
Food was really good.
I recommend this location.

Stopped here for a quick bite on the way to a show at Sweetwater.
The food was very good. The ceviche was the best we’ve had in a while. While the Queso Fundido wasa bit sub par for me. And we shared the fajitas — yum!
Service was great (Bass!) and the margaritas were perfect!

This place was actually better than what I expected. Despite being crowded, we were seated very quickly and received very good service. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere. Our table was next to a fireplace and there was a big fire pit on the patio. It was a bit loud, though.
The food was good. It’s definitely TexMex/​AmericanMexican cuisine, not authentic Mexican. My taco was above average. My enchilada and Chile Relleno were also pretty tasty. The Dos Equis draft is reasonably priced and they offer complimentary chips and salsa. The margaritas are a bit pricey though. Overall, I would recommend it.