La Cantina Grill

Excellent mini chimichangas. The server was very nice and willing to modify the meal so I could have veggies and chicken in them. Their sangria was also very good! Strong, but delicious.

Best Chicken flautas in town!!! The service and staff were super sweet and helpful! The pineapple margarita with Tajin on the rim is a must try!!!

Stopped in to La Cantina for the first time on Monday. Very nice rustic atmosphere. The food was good and reasonably priced, as well as the Monday drink special, which was $ 6.50÷7.50 margaritas. I love Mexican food and the place I USED to go to faithfully to satisfy my Mexican needs went to hell, so… I needed a new place to frequent. I think this might be it.

This is the best Mexican food place in Chicago. We are from Houston Texas, where are you can eat lots of great Mexican food. So believe me when I say it’s very tasty and good. The restaurant is very clean and the wait staff is friendly. It is a small place and it does get busy.
Their Charro beans are delicious. I was not impressed with the guacamole however. My daughter got the chimichanga and really enjoyed it. My husband got the chicken fajitas and thought they were great. The best thing about the place is it’s homemade salsa. Warm and spicy.

More vegan-​friendly Mexican food on the southside! Tied with El Faro, honestly. The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 stars is because of the lack of vegan desserts.
I have only ordered on GrubHub, so my review is based on that. The delivery is always as quick as estimated. Because I order delivery, it is obviously pricier than getting food to go, but the portions are huge. I always have leftovers.
They have vegan cheese (daiya) and sour cream as well as soyrizo and other vegan «meats.» Hooray! My favorite dish is vegan chimichangas with the vegan chorizo. I also recommend the tortila soup. The dishes come with rice and refried beans.
My omnivore friends/​family like it too, so it is great for a mixed crowd.
If you want cheap, taqueria food, go with El Faro. But if you want something more filling, go to La Cantina.

One of my favorite restaurants in South Loop. The people there are very nice and I get a family vibe every time I visit. My favorite dishes are the steak tacos with cilantro and onion, and the Steak and shrimp fajitas. Delivery is also always fast.

3 stars for the food.
1 star on the service.
Slow to get to our table, then charged me for a dinner portion because I ordered my meal after 1:30pm… despite having to wait 15 minutes to order and sitting down around 1:10. She even asked how I wanted my 3 enchiladas (lunch)… then brought 4 (dinner).
Never got a second water until after I paid the bill.
Guac was great and the vegans I was with all loved the vegan options. There are other places I can get food just as good with better service and not pay $ 20 for lunch (dinner). My enchiladas were fine.

We live in the South Loop and have been looking for great go-​to restaurants that are walking distance. We have been disappointed so far, but really excited after our first meal here! It’s a 5min walk and really great Mexican food. We like the ambiance and the menu options, though the service has been a little lacking. We have tried the enchiladas and the steak/​shrimp fajitas… Both great! Our only complaint is that there was not very much steak in the fajitas, and the pieces were very small and varied in texture. The pieces that were well cooked, were extremely delicious! Others were very chewy. Overall, we enjoy the margs and the fresh, warm chips, plus the prices are very reasonable. We will back many times! :)

This place is the best ever. I love the ambience and this whole feel of the lol Mexican empire. cocktails perfecto and the food is above and beyond for sure. They won’t stand You wrong at all. The waiters are great. Summer time is the really the best time to be here

Shrimp Diablo is my favorite here. Great drinks and food, you can’t go wrong by choosing to dine here.

Food (4 stars)
Complementary chips and salsa to start the meal were good but nothing to write home about… just your average Mexican Restaurant.
Quesco Fundido — the menu says its served with Chips — it came with flour or corn tortillas. It was really good so we repeatedly got this (and went back specifically for it) until we found…
Flaming Queso Panela — HOLY AMAZING. Literally have gone back multiple times, just for this, despite the sometimes awful service.
Mole — I spent a year in Spain, so I am very picky about my Mole. This was good, but I would not have gotten the chicken enchiladas. I now ask for the steak chimichanga with a side of mole
Drinks (3.5 Stars)
I have gotten the pitcher of regular margaritas (ice) and it was great. Reasonably priced and packed a serious about of booze, without tasting like straight tequila. I would stay away from the flavored Margaritas, we went on a day where the grapefruit margarita was the special and it was so sweet I could not even finish the glass.
Service (2 stars)
I have sat both in the booths, at the bar, and on the patio. The bar is far and away the best service, simply because the bartender is actually present. We had to ask multiple times for both water and drink refills, but it happened quickly because he was right there.
Sitting outside was an awful service experience, as it was getting a touch chilly, so only 3 patrons were on the patio. It seemed as if the servers were not in sections, so whenever we needed anything we would have to ask someone who immediately passed us off to someone else. We literally had to go inside after our drinks had been empty for 10 min and noone had asked about refills.

I love the food here. I don’t love the ambiance.
My first time here was during lunch time and it was very quiet. My second and third times here have been after 5 on a Friday. It was very noisy, tables are very close to each other. In addition, the live «entertainment» is not very good. They have speakers over the tables so this man is blasting over your head as you try to have a conversation, which is pretty much impossible unless you want to shout. Also, the guy performs random songs like the Goo Goo Dolls
I can only speak to the vegan menu, and it is huge! The vegan chimichanga is to die for and I always end up taking half home. I also had a margarita that was topped with a sangria that was good.
If it wasn’t for the overly loud entertainment I would give this place five stars

Wow! The service from the manager Gulio was horrible! I tried to get his attention multiple times, and he repeatedly turned his back to me as I waved to him. When I tried to walk towards him he walked away!
The food was average, not any better than what you can get at another Americanized Mexican restaurant. It’s probably only still open due to the lack of other restaurants in the area.
My queso was HARD. It was advertised as a «dipping cheese» but it broke my chip. Never again will I return. Avoid this place and go a little further west and support a real Mexican restaurant in pilsen.
And again the manager Guilio needs to gain a little professionalism, you are in the service industry sir.

Limited outside seating, only for parties of two — what a bummer. Simple food in good portions but not overwhelming in flavor or presentation. The staff was friendly and accommodating, aside from the outdoor seating.
I did have the BEST shot ever while I was there. My group told our waitress we’d like some rumchata shots, and she suggested we add Café Patron to them. They were SO GOOD. Like coffee ice cream in my mouth. Yum yum.

We placed an order for pickup and arrived earlier than expected, but it was ready at exactly when I said I’d be there, so kudos to them on timing. It was the night before the marathon so the restaurant was packed. I watched as the host took care of everyone making sure they were acknowledged or attended to at the bar, if they had to wait.
Food was great. I got the flautas and they were delicious. Four came with the entrée, so it was a lot of food. Boyfriend got the steak chimichanga and thoroughly enjoyed it. Rice and beans came as sides and the rice was delicious. I also appreciated the guacamole on the side. Life is better with guac!

Vegetarian /​Vegan review:
Location: LOVE that this place is in the south loop. There should be more places like this in that area.
Service is slower than average, but comes with a huge smile and a great attitude. I think the vibe was meant to be relaxed so you can take your time.
Menu: there is an entire vegan menu with fake chicken, beef, chorizo, cheese, sour cream. Vegans, go crazy! Vegetarians, if you love your cheese, they will add real cheese to your fake meat dish if you ask. Oh, and the rice and beans are vegetarian too.
The salsa was awesome! Spicy awesome! I love a place that isn’t afraid to kick it up. Fresh chips, yum. Guacamole, everyone loved it, fresh!
Tortilla soup was a good mix of tortilla strips, avocado and salt. Yes, lots of salt. I took it home and remade it. Maybe it was a bad batch.
Chorizo enchiladas with verde sauce was pretty good. A little dry on the inside bc it was just chorizo. I would probably mix veggies, cheese, and chorizo together. BUT, the flavors were great! And that is really hard to find in this area.
I can’t wait to go back and try different options. Dollars to portions, you definitely get your money’s worth!

I love the whole staff they are awesome people. Came here for the first time after the Bears preseason game. We were just walking down the street heading to a different lounge when we notice this little place. We said why not and went to check it out. We didn’t notice they close at 11pm when we got to the door so we turn to leave. The owner said some in Ladies and let us order drinks. After we left I keep talking up the place to my friends how the drinks are freshly made margaritas.
So I finally came back with another friend and she loved it. We went to celebrate my birthday somewhere else first and I talk her into taking me here for drinks. The staff was amazing once again and the owners father was the best with stories. We had such a great time sitting at the bar we were there for 3 hours how I don’t even know. I will be going back again to try their food.

Every time I stay at the Hyatt McCormick, I make the half mile walk to this neighborhood gem — mostly to get away from bad hotel food. I’ve never had a disappointing meal here. The burritos, tacos and enchiladas are great and authentic.

Food was great, a bit greesy, and I got food poisoning.
Though before I got food poisoning my tamales were great, and I liked the spicy salsa they put down on the table.
Our server was attentive and took great care of us also.

La Cantina is fabulous! Every person I interacted with was kind, prompt, and personable. Less than 3 minutes after we sat down (after no wait) we had chips and salsa, waters, and had placed our drink orders. The music was festive– so much so that our whole table was dancing (before the margaritas).
The food was … AMAZING. I had the spicy green enchiladas and basically licked my plate clean. Steak chimichangas & nachos were also amazing! Great (gigantic) portions and very reasonable prices.
I will absolutely be coming back to La Cantina :)