Cantina Laredo

This was my third visit and a it disappointing. The waiter may have been new, as he tried to memorize the 3 drink orders… Various tequilas all done with different garnish, and he messed them all up. But cheerfully tried again. Food was good and what I like best is that their ahi taco appetizer is easily a nice light dinner.

Very good fajitas! I’ve come here plenty of times and they never fail me. They also have really good chips and salsa. Only negative I encountered was with the tuna appetizer, the fish quality was not the best, almost to the point of not really wanting to eat it at all. In general though, pretty good food and service! (:

We came for lunch and were not disappointed. Although the bartender ignored us and we awkwardly stood by the empty host stand for a while, once the server noticed he was very helpful and friendly. The food was good! We all ordered light dishes. I got the beef tacos, my mom got the ahi tuna tacos, and my sister got the tortilla soup, as none of us were very hungry. Portions were small, but the flavors were balanced and tasty, so I have no complaints. It was a perfect stop for a light lunch!

We always enjoy the happy hour here. The food is always good, but we usually brush off the lack of service. However, on our last visit, Ahman provided attentive and genuine service. Glad to see they are working on hiring better staff.

Place has potential but big disappointment from host to server. Food mediocre. Place needs a thorough cleaning!

Thought it was really good Mexican food, the spinach enchiladas were really good (I added chicken which was a good call) loved the queso blanco with spinach and artichoke. Great drinks and happy hour pricing. Would recommend.

Cantina Laredo has the usual ambience of a bustling, upscale/​casual Mexican restaurant. Great service and good drink menu, but after the salsa and guacamole, most of the menu items fall short of expectations.
I’ve been here a couple times with friends and have ordered the enchiladas veracruz, ahi tuna tacos, and the new tacos de pescado (made with mahi mahi). All are pretty underwhelming.
Was especially disappointed by the fish tacos. The chipotle aioli sauce was very mayonnaise-​y with hints of spice, and the fish was overcooked.
The enchiladas were very average and served with beans and rice that could have come out of a Chilis or a 3 Margaritas.
However, the ahi tuna tacos were EXCELLENT. Even as an entrée. Drizzled with a spicy aioli sauce that blends perfectly with the very fresh raw tuna. Even the taco shells are delicious!
Overall Laredo is a slightly overpriced Chilis, but I’m hoping to find more dishes like the ahi tuna tacos that’ll change my opinion.

When they first opened the outdoor patio, drinks and food was really great but then something happened and it is really no better then the typical chain Mexican restaurants, too bad as the location is really good and there is parking which is a big deal in Boulder.

Pretty darn good! My marg was fresh and strong. The tableside guacamole was very good. My avacado and artichoke enchiladas were quite tasty. I’d call this modern mexican, not mexican. Only beef was the waitress was very slow moving, even though there were few people to wait on.

This place is about as Mexican as Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short in the Three Amigos. It feels more like an aspen lodge during apres ski than it does cantina.
As someone who has had an enduring love affair with tacos for decades, I have high expectations. I had even higher expectations when I saw the price for three tacos: nearly $ 15!
Sadly, I’ve had better $ 2 tacos from a hole in the wall than I did at this place.
With prices this high, you would also expect service to be stellar. This was also not the case. Our server was rarely seen and when we had the audacity to ask for flatware (we didn’t have any on our table when we were seated) after our meals came or a lime for my Pacifico, there was a grunt of acknowledgment and then we were given silverware.
We also discovered that you can, in fact, passive aggressively give someone a lime for their beer by bringing them five lime wedges set out on a napkin, when there’s no earthly way you would ever need more than one in your beer.
My steak tacos were flavorless and the meat was not very good quality. It was tough and difficult to pull apart. The beans and rice side items actually tasted better than the tacos.
Don’t ever waste your money by coming here for good tacos or service. Just go to an authentic joint and enjoy a much better meal for half the price.

Three of us had happy hour last night. Our server was Juan Carlos. He was Fabulous! He was quick, friendly, informative, and a pleasure to have serve us. Ask for Juan Carlos!

Had the chicken enchiladas which were very tasty and chock full 9f chicken! Drinks looked good as well and service was attentive!

Favorite place to stop in Boulder. Queso is top notch (being from CA where tex mex doesn’t exist, I never have been a fan of Queso… until here.) Sunday Brunch comes with complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Maria. Check this place out, so good!

This place is super good. I don’t know why it has such low scores. Everything is made from scratch and delicious. The hot salsa actually has heat, which so many places don’t bother with.
Happy hour is excellent. All the taco plates on the happy hour menu are half price and amazing. I recommend the carnitas tacos. Our waiter, JC, was fantastic. First time here, loved it, we’ll be back for sure.

Excellent happy hour, terrific fish tacos. Nice place to stop by before movie in mall.

I have visited Cantina Laredo a few times, never really liked the place (and I’ll explain why), but after a movie on the 29^th Street Mall right now, if you want a drink with your food fairly late, there are not that many options close to the theater.
So, last Friday, after the movie, it was raining hard and we were grateful for Cantina Laredo to be close enough that we had already parked our cars (which can be tricky if you dine on Pearl Street on weekends) and could walk quickly to Cantina Laredo. The place was busy and there was also a group that we were seated right next to. There were pieces of tortillas chips all over the carpet were we had our table, I know there were busy, but still, notvery appetizing. Usually, I don’t really care about that in a Mexican place, unless it is upscale or they want to make you think they are kind of upscale, which I feel is the case with Cantina Laredo (higher prices, more refined atmosphere, table side guac etc.).
Unfortunately, if the prices tend to be on the higher end for a Mexican restaurant ($ 20 for carnitas, between $ 17 and $ 20 for fajitas!)but the food does not follow. Our table side guacamole was totally bland (we had to add salt and pepper to give it some taste), the margaritas not very strong. The entrees I had there in the past are no better than at other cheaper Mexican restaurants.
So, now, whenever I visit Cantina Laredo, it’s after a movie, and I just have a drink and share appetizers with my friends since I don’t think it’s worth the money they ask for an entrée.
It actually works perfectly for us that way.

I visited for happy hour with a group of friends– I was really surprised at how good their tacos were (and half-​off at happy hour!).
I got the fajita chicken, barbacoa, and mahi. The chicken and barbacoa were really flavorful and the tortillas seemed either house-​made or at least artisan (not the cheap, tasteless ones that most ‘mexican’ places give you). I thought the mahi was pretty mediocre, but still good.
My friends got the carnitas sliders, which were awesome… and topped with goat cheese!
The margaritas were really tasty– the full house marg was $ 5, our you could get a smaller one for $ 3.
I haven’t been here for dinner yet, the price point is a little higher, so this seems like a date or special occasion spot.

Like most dedicated Unilocalers, we like to visit a place a few times so that we get a good sense of what the place is all about, and I can say that this Cantina is a bona-​fide crowdpleaser.
Table-​side guacamole… check!
Fresh lime juices without additives for all libations… check!
Requisite naughty queso… check!
Flaming grilled fajitas… check!
Fresh, thin, crispy, warm and slightly salty corn chips… bonus!
The chips here are really excellent. The dips and quesos guacs are a-​ok, too, but I think they spice for the common denominator (read: not enough garlic, cumin, cilantro, onion or jalapeño) but I see the potential!
Their happy hour (4−7p) actually reaches the entire dining room, not just the bar area, so that is a great bonus, too! Included are $ 4 house wines, $ 3 dos equis, $ 5 margs.
For kids… the cheeseburger sliders are a good bet. My child is P-​I-​C-​K-​Y and he thought these were ‘good to very good’ which means that they are awesome-​sauce to any other non-​foodie-​in-​the-​making child!
Portions are LARGE so avoid over-​ordering. Our Queso Laredo was almost large enough to feed 4 for dinner, not that we stopped there… but we did order one fajita dinner to share and had food leftover.
Tableside guacamole was fun to watch, and just shy of $ 10. Overall, apps and dinner for 4 with drinks during happy hour…$ 75 + tip. An awesome deal, and we all left happy and sated.
Enjoy!

Today was my first visit… Ahi tacos — YUM! I will dream about them and I will be back for more!
Service was great, guacamole was superb… LOVE Cantina Laredo! Next time I will have to try one of the many margaritas — the menu is extensive and interesting!

Met a friend for lunch today — we were warmly greeted and seated immediately — it was 11:30 am and there was no wait. We had one server drop off chips and salsa, another drop off water and a third drop off our drink order. Our order was taken — I had the mini ahi tuna tacos and she got the enchiladas de mole — remarking that it is some of the best mole she has tasted.
My mini tacos were the perfect size for a quick bite, had a decent amount of tuna and were resting on top of individual dollops of guacamole. Unfortunately there were too many onions so it overwhelmed the rest of the dish.
The food came out super fast and a few minutes later our server checked in on us and then seemingly disappeared. Our drinks ran out and my friend wanted to order dessert — we figured he must have been busy with other tables in another section. He was nice enough — just slow moving to come back to us. My friend got the mango tres leches and even shared a bite with me — pretty tasty. She got two pieces to go and the total bill was $ 52.00 before tip. There was free parking out front which was nice.