The Cantina

THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE!!! My husband and I were driving around the lake and didn’t want to go to the casinos and saw the Cantina sign and I saw the parking lot full of cars and the patio was open… we turned in and went inside and it was a ghost town as we walked thru to the patio… which was fairly busy we were sat at 1 of 2 tables that didn’t have umbrellas next 2 the fence where the branches and leaves from trees on the other side were hanging over… after sitting there for a few minutes we noticed little green worms dropping off the tree onto our table, then onto my husband and me… I finally got the waitress over and mentioned it to her she stated that they are falling from all of the trees and offered to move us inside even though there was a table with an umbrella open I told her I specifically wanted to be on the patio and she pointed out that the only other option was at the other table without an umbrella under another tree which had the same problem… we stayed where we were bcuz the table with the umbrella for 4 ppl wasn’t available to us… we ordered our food my husband ordered the fresh fish tacos and I ordered the «Special of the day» Shrimp Burrito, guacamole for our chips… this was the WORST MEXICAN FOOD I have ever had… the «fresh guacamole, fresh fish tacos» were anything but fresh the shrimp burrito was absolutely horrible I ate 3 maybe 4 bites and the frozen shrimp were overcooked there was so much guacamole that it was all I could see and taste the beans and rice on both plates were not even remotely appetizing I did eat 2 bites of the beans and they were bland had a weird texture… at about 8:30pm my stomach WAS upset and by 10:30pm I was throwing up everything I had eaten I was sick most of the night with FOOD POISONING… I wanted to let the manager know about the worms and that I had gotten food poisoning and was sick all night… she was very rude had already been told that I complained about the worms and didn’t want to hear about it «SHE WAS AWARE OF THE WORMS AND WE SHOULD’VE MOVED INSIDE» as I tried to tell her that I had gotten food poisoning SHE CUT ME OFF AND TOLD ME TO BRING HER A DR’S NOTE TO PROVE I HAD FOOD POISONING!!! It wasn’t about the $ 32 I spent for dinner… It was trying to make her AWARE so she could correct the problem… as a manager in the food service industry I would NEVER speak to a customer like that…

Have been here before and it seems to be hit or miss. Tonight was a miss. Ordered the blue corn salmon. No blue corn anywhere and Salmon cooked beyond recognition. Vegetables also over cooked and mashed potatoes dry. When asked where was the blue corn the wait staff was informed by the chef (debatable term because of how salmon was cooked along with veggies) the dish was no longer prepared A senior staff member mentioned that it had been prepared with blue corn crust on Tuesday. Today is Thursday same week what’s up? The flavors were also a little less authentic then previous visit a couple of years ago. Sad to see this happen.

Taco Salad with Shredded Chicken is A-​MAZING! Cilantro lime dressing is to die for! Vegetarian options also got rave reviews! We eat here every time we’re in Tahoe! Never had a bad meal!

have been going to the Cantina for years when we visit Tahoe. Unfortunately for the last 2 years everything from the drinks to the food have gone down hill. Food very bland, carne assada enchiladas terrible. Odd part is that the last three times we have been there they have been breaking in new people from bartenders to waiters. Don’t know whats going on but all we know is that the quality of the food and mixed drinks have suffered. We will be looking for another mexican restaurant to frequent the next time up.

My wife and I went to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend with my brother, his wife and our elderly mother. We arrived fairly late on a Friday night and were seated quickly. There were only a few other people at the restaurant.
My wife ordered the French Onion Soup for us to share as an appetizer. It was mediocre at best. I ordered the three item combination plate, which consisted of a beef chimichanga, chicken chimichanga, chicken burrito, rice, and beans. My wife ordered the three item combination plate, which consisted of a cheese enchilada, spinach enchilada, beef chimichanga, rice, and beans. Both meals were big, and tasted very good. (I recommend asking for none of the mushroom gravy over them.)
Our other family members ordered fish tacos platter, and other similar combination plates. We all enjoyed our meals, and three of us brought leftovers home.
We also ordered a pitcher of margaritas for the two couples, and it was very good.
If you are in South Lake Tahoe and looking for a pretty decent Mexican restaurant, I would recommend giving the Cantina a try.

Not very busy tonight so we were able to get food parking spot and food came out quick. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 was that server seemed frazzled and created some anxiety. The food was excellent and we always enjoy our time here. It’s a Tahoe classic with lots of history.

The aroma of homemade Mexican food filled my senses and brought back good memories the minute I walked through the front door.
I cook excellent Mexican dishes… but when in SLT, I can surrender my pots and pans.
Tacos & taquitos… fresh and crispy. Fresh chips, guacamole and assorted salsa. …was fantastico!
Superior service from staff. They clearly are treated well from management and it shows.

Fast and friendly service
Decent parking
But…
Not authentic Mexican food. Lacking flavor, everything very bland. Looks like it maybe was once an Italian place. Had something that was like a chicken taquito but with flour tortillas… no flavor. Also ordered Carne Asada tacos… little flavor. My husband had Carnitas… you guessed it… no flavor.
Everything on the menu says it comes with black beans but you can ask to get refried beans.

Being from the Bay area, my friends and I were so surprised to find a good Mexican restaurant in the South Lake Tahoe area. The chips were served warm and plentiful which even in the Bay area, I have not found any Mexican restaurant do this. We each had combination plates and found it surprisingly better than some of the regular Mexican restaurants in the Bay area. The restaurant itself was eye pleasing. This definitely is a favorite when we return to South Lake Tahoe.

Love this place. Great food, great service! I had the carne Asada tacos. Amazing. Their chips were still hot and super fresh.

We chose this restaurant because it was associated with the Evans Restaurant, where we had an excellent dinning experience, and assumed the food would be of equal quality. That was a mistake. Both of us were terribly disappointed in our dinners. The MARGARITAS were watered down bar sour mix with minimal tequila. The DINNER SALADS were pre-​prepared, refrigerated, limp, and tasteless. My STEAK ENTREE was over-​cooked, and my friend said her CHICKEN POLENTA was not good. The JALAPENO MASHED POTATOES were unappetizing and unappealing. We had hopes for the MUD PIE dessert, but it came swimming in so much chocolate syrup that we asked for another plate so get could transfer the pie. The only positive part of our visit was our waitress who worked hard to address our complaints. That kept her busy!
This is a very mediocre Mexican restaurant, and all-​in-​all was a very disappointing experience after driving 90 mile round trip.

My husband and I came here last July and NEVER ever again. Hands down the worst service and food ever. We should have known when we walked in and the hostess looked at us like we were bothering her. And the fact that it was empty at 6pm! Food was so gross we didn’t even eat it.

Place has really gone down hill, service is terrible! Food is still decent, but you can tell everyone that works front of the house hates their job, and it shows in their lack of service. When your bartender looks at your empty beer and walks away to start a conversation with the hostess. Then after 15 mins of sitting with a finished meal and empty beer (the same empty beer) I ask for my bill at which time he says” oh do you want another beer?” No, I want to take my business somewhere that wants my money. Needless to say we won’t be returning to the cantina anytime soon

The food was good, parking was plentiful and the staff were friendly and accommodating. Being Mexican, i’m very critical of Mexican food and this place made the cut. By no means bad but by no means great either. I will say they are way better than El Torito or other chain offerings. After reading another review about the restaurant… if you think Tex-​Mex is the end all, be all for Mexican food… it’s not. There’s nothing Texas about the restaurant, just Mexican. The portions are big and prices reasonable. Is the place perfect? No, the décor left a lot to be desired… but when it comes down to it, I don’t think you’ll find better Mexican food in South Tahoe.

Decent mexican food and generous portions. Serivce was quite slow though as restaurant was not fully staffed. It was hard to get a refill on drinks. Food was pretty flavoursome.

curb appeal will fool you! The food is almost as bad as the service. This is the food your mother gives you when she hates you. As you throw up you realize it taste better going out than in. This is authentic Mexican torture, I recommend Chapo take Trump here.

California native, 50 years Mexican food in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Jose… This is the BEST 3-​STAR Mexican food I ever had. No, it’s not Tex Mex. No, it’s not some new, pricey, papas rendition. It’s just authentic California Mexican Food, generous portions, good service, colorful ambiance at a reasonable price (because California).
Our 3-​way combination dinner tonight arrived within 10 minutes, looked just like the 3^rd pic. Huge and tasty. My daughter and I split it and still came home with leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Later this week I’ll return to watch some TdF in the cozy bar.

I need to learn not to eat Tex Mex outside of Texas. The place is dated but that’s not uncommon for lots of Mexican restaurants.
There were only a few occupied tables in the restaurant so our service was fairly fast.
The chips were good but the salsa was ok. It was light on flavor. We ordered guacamole with our chips and that too was pretty lack luster. That should have been a sign.
I ordered the sangria and my friends ordered the frozen margaritas. I was not impressed at all by my sangria. It looked good but was completely watered down. My friends weren’t thrilled about their Rita’s either. None of us finished our drinks.
The food was subpar and was just flat. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

The «Mexican» food was decent for all white people running the restaurant– as far as what I saw during my meal. It’s definitely not authentic mexican food anymore (I heard it was back in the day) but it wasn’t terrible. Carne asada tacos were mediocre, at best, though. Lacked in flavor & for the price of two with beans & rice, it needed more spices.
Adequate complimentary chips & salsa. Tried some of the appetizer platter, which was perfect to fill a fried food void.
Customer service was exceptional. The bartender that served us was really attentive & polite, as well as the host.
I feel like a taco truck is a lot more worth it to fulfill a craving of Mexican food but this restaurant isn’t too bad, just more along the lines of a Mexican-​veryAmerican execution.

We just ate here. The chips, salsa and staff get a 5 star. However, the Mexican food was well, to say the least a 2 star. The rice and beans were not good at all. The rice was not homemade. They actually tasted like rice o roni. The beans had no taste. Very bland.
Taco Bell is better than this place. Please save your money if you want good quality Mexican food.