Mexico Cantina

Great service. Luis was so attentive and incredibly friendly. Good food. Horchata is a must.

I love, love, love the ambiance at Mexico Cantina. The décor may actually be a bit overkill but all of the decorations from the Corona flags, to the bull-​fighting pictures and huge chandelier in the dining area just give the restaurant that authentic Mexican look and feel to it. As you walk in, they have beautifully crafted leather goods for sale like women’s handbags, key chains and wallets. The restaurant also has a full bar and a patio area with couches and misting devices to spritz you with water.
Now if you live in Hawaii, you’ll know-​good Mexican food doesn’t come that easy. I wouldn’t exactly call the food at Mexico Cantina spectacular. In fact, overall, I think their food is A-​OK but what I will rave about however, is their Guacamole Ranchero. It’s fresh and made right at your table with a huge mortar and pestle. Before they leave your table, they have you sample your guac to make sure you’re satisfied and it tastes just right for you. I love their fresh guacamole and would probably make a trip to the restaurant just for that reason alone.
Lunch specials are priced just right. You can get a huge burrito w/​rice and beans for just under $ 8 and also enchiladas w/​rice and also a few other items in that price range. So far I’ve had the enchiladas and crispy tacos which were both alright. Their rice and beans were pretty standard. If you love cheese, I recommend trying their queso skillet for starters and you can even add chorizo to it.
The customer service at Mexico Cantina is always great and the service is pretty quick. Overall, it’s not a bad spot for some drinks, Mexican food and phenomenal guacamole. If you’re unsure about what to order, just go for the guac!

Delicious food and awesome service ! Thanks Red for providing awesome customer service. We enjoyed the everything about this restaurant!
We had the chimichanga, lunch special burrito and boy did these items not disappoint ! I definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who is looking for yummy Mexican food with reasonable prices !
My brother enjoyed the horchata and he said hands down the best one he has ever had !!
Thanks again Red for being awesome !

The table-​side made guacamole is amazing! Believe the hype people! Generous portion and you can customize what goes in it since it’s made right in front of you. Feeds 4 people easily.
This was my first experience at Mexico Cantina, celebrating a friend’s birthday. Great place for groups. Festive décor. Surprisingly empty on a Saturday night.
Besides the guac, I ordered the three enchilada plate w/​chicken and beef. The food was fine. A little overpriced. I tried the mango margarita and the original. It’s a decent sized drink for $ 11 and I like that you can have a li hing mui rim. If you plan to drink try the margarita pitcher. Original costed $ 30 and came w/​four shots as well as the pitcher. That was a steal since the pitcher poured at least 5 drinks. For dessert I had the fried ice cream. It came in a large glass, which was mostly whipped cream. The breading/​batter was a little disappointing. It had a bready texture and flavor and was missing the fried crispiness because it was swimming in whipped cream.
Service is on the slower side when it comes to getting your food, but they kept the free chips and salsa coming! Overall, I’d come back for taco tuesday or happy hour because I really liked the atmosphere.

Soo some people know that I don’t eat a lot of Mexican food for various reasons. However there was a Friday night that I was craving a margarita. I didn’t know where to go, but remembered I had a pretty good and LARGE margarita at this place once so I figured I would give it a try.
This place is located in Ward Center between Ryan’s and Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot on the second floor. They have indoor and outdoor seating. I was happy that we were able to walk in on a Friday night and they were able to seat us right away.
Their menu has a variety of margaritas to choose from, I chose a regular blended margarita which came in a huge glass. The margarita was good, but for those of you who like strong drinks, maybe don’t get it blended.
They have a pretty extensive menu and we saw that the portions were pretty substantial from the plates that passed our table so you could definitely do family style. You do get chips and salsa for free.
So you HAVE to and I mean HAVE to get the fresh made guacamole that they make table side. I don’t really like guacamole but this one I like. It was interesting to watch the waitress make the guacamole in about 5 minutes and see all the fresh ingredients that were used. Let me say that there is nothing like fresh guacamole. It wasn’t watery or too thick, and it had great flavor from the ingredients.
We got the steak fajitas which was definitely big enough for us to share. The steak had good flavor and there was a good amount of it on the steaming hot plate. I wish that it came with more sides (lettuce, beans, tomatoes, etc) and more flour tortillas. Overall I thought the food quality was pretty good.
The service was quick and they have a 10% Unilocal check in offer. I think people were disappointed from the reviews I read because they expected authentic Mexican but it’s more Tex-​Mex style.
Overall we were satisfied:
— free and convenient parking
— seated right away on a Friday night
— fast and pleasant service
— margaritas
— huge portions to share
— fresh made guacamole which I didn’t know they even had
They have happy hour and Taco Tuesday. If anything, you definitely have to come for the fresh made guacamole and a margarita! We definitely will be back.

We ordered the shrimp cocktail, crab quesadilla, steak fajitas, chicken enchiladas, and tacos. They all tasted ok, nothing outstanding. The best part of the meal was their lihing mui margarita!
It’s a little pricy for regular Mexican food. The lunch menu seems like a better deal. Or if you want to just eat tacos then it’s probably best to go on a taco Tuesday and Thursday night.

I’ve tried many different Mexican restaurants but have never been here before. Luckily, Mel B. Decided to have a UYE here for the second time, and I was finally able to make it! Although I didn’t stay long, I was able to try their $ 2 tacos and the taquitos. I enjoyed all of it. I was also able to try the fried ice cream, thanks to Mel. And some tequila, thanks to Kathy! Great place, with some great food, with great friends! I will definitely have to be back to spend a little more time here and try more of their food.

This place has never been that great, but lately it has gotten worse. I could at least expect to have some good chips/​salsa and a nice strong margarita. Nope. Everything here is what I call «low effort» food. Open a can, plop the refried beans on the plate, nuke and serve. Yup. Even the salsa now has store bought taste/​quality to it. Husband ordered a Chile Relleno and the inside was cold and cheese not melted. ICK. I ordered tacos with shredded chicken. I’m pretty sure the chicken came out of a can… really lacked flavor.
Add to that the near non-​existent service and we have a FAIL. Won’t be returning.

Ok for a quick fix of some Mexican food, if you order off the lunch menu. Everything else seemed pretty pricy for the quality. (this judged by the tacos I got for lunch.)
Decent portion, just don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed.

Located on the 3^rd floor of ward center, they replaced the previous Mexican restaurant that I liked, however, the quality of food a little downgraded from what I had before:
Shredded beef burrito — 3 stars — for about $ 9 lunch special, came with refried beans and Spanish rice. However, I was disappointed to find that the burrito was ONLY shredded beef inside (which was really soft and tasted a bit processed), no garnishes or sauces. At least it was topped with melted cheese. A 3 stars because it was a fully sized meal for less than $ 10.
As I looked at my friend’s quesedilla, it was only shredded meat in a soft taco shell. Not even cheese inside, so I was glad I didn’t order that.
Service — 4 stars — when we first entered, there was no host until a few minutes later. The host area and the waitress were courteous and nice.
I was a little hesitant in going because I didn’t know how long the wait was with a limited lunch time, but amazingly, our food arrived fast, plus it wasn’t that crowded, so that’s a plus.
At first they were going to sit us at the lanai area, but it was way too sunny, especially at noon, so they offered a large table inside, which I thought was neat because it was a laminated side of a tree.
Parking is at ward center, so there’s a lot, but it’s crowded. We had to park on the 4^th floor.

When deciding where to celebrate my friend’s recent birthday, we needed 1) A Convenient Location with Plentiful Parking, 2) Last-​Minute Reservations, and 3) HUGE MARGARITAS! Mexico Cantina to the rescue!
A Convenient Location with Plentiful Parking:
Located on the 3^rd floor of Ward Centers (Next to Ryan’s Grill), Mexico Cantina has a great central location with plentiful parking nearby. Whether you are stopping by before a movie or after a day of shopping, Mexico Cantina is a convenient spot to enjoy a meal with friends! The parking lot at Ward Centers is notoriously compact and crowded, so my friends recommend parking across the street at the Nordstrom Rack parking lot. (I’m stubborn and parked in a too-​small, cramped parking stall on the 5^th floor of Ward Centers, so you’re better off heeding their warnings than copying me! Do as I say, Not as I do.)
Last-​Minute Reservations:
I was able to secure a reservation for 6 people at 7:00 p.m. on a Friday night through Unilocal’s Reservation system without any problems. I was worried we would have a difficult time finding a reservation for my friend’s birthday celebration when we were planning it last-​minute the night before, but Mexico Cantina’s reservation system was quick and easy! Our reservation time was after their Happy Hour, so I cannot comment on how quick and easy a reservation during that time would be.
(Note: I called to confirm our reservation Friday morning and was informed that there is a $ 25 Cake Cutting Fee for birthdays. This was not included in my online reservation details, so keep that in mind if you plan to bring a cake.)
HUGE MARGARITAS (and HUGE PORTIONS in general):
Come thirsty! The margaritas at Mexico Cantina are HUGE! They come in a variety of fun and fruity flavors, but I stuck to the classic and really enjoyed it! I would not say these are the strongest margaritas in town, but they are certainly are the largest.
And come hungry! The food, although not the best Mexican food Hawaii has to offer, is generously portioned. My friend ordered a burrito that looked like it would eat her before she ate it! There’s more than enough to share (or take home for a second meal later).
All in all, my experience at Mexico Cantina was positive and I would be interested in returning for some more HUGE Margaritas!

This is my go to place for Mexican food at lunch time! The service is always good– today we had Mindy as a server and she rocked. Our glasses never empty, check dropped on time. We both got the lunch special taco salad with shredded beef and it was delicious! Perfect portion for lunchtime. I like sitting on or near their patio, nice views of all Moana beach park and a little sunshine– very nice! Thank you Mindy!

Mindy was a fabulous waitress. She was very attentive, kind, sweet and helpful. Always made sure our water was refilled and ensured food was adequate and that my guest and I were comfortable.
This is definitely a great alternative work-​lunch spot. It’s always quiet, comfortable, and in a great location. Lunch specials are also available.
Mahalo!

I can’t imagine how this place has garnered so many positive reviews. Maybe the margaritas are really good?
My boyfriend had the breakfast burrito, which he liked because anything with eggs is a hit with him. The sausage inside of it was listed on the menu as chorizo, but was in fact Jimmy Johns (or some other mild breakfast sausage variety).
I ordered the shredded beef enchiladas, which was easily the worst Mexican item that I have ever tasted, in Hawaii or elsewhere. The «rojo» sauce was a pale orangey yellow and completely flavorless and watery (I have had better out of a can). The enchiladas themselves (tortillas and filling) were dry and chewy. I ate two bites of my meal, and it was already too many.
My boyfriend and I agreed that the beans were completely flavorless and had zero seasoning. The rice was inexplicably filled with some bizarre Bird’s Eye-​style frozen vegetable mix… Shriveled little pieces of green beans, lima beans, and peas. I love veggies, but why?!
Two stars because the staff was absolutely lovely. The waitress removed my barely-​touched meal from our bill, and the manager apologized and offered to bring me something else (I declined… I just wanted to nope out of there at that point). Their response was definitely solid, and appreciated.
Maybe this place is a good happy hour option for drinks, but I will definitely not be returning for any kind of meal.

Happy Hour Review
Our friend swears these are the best tacos on the island. Lady Li lived on the mainland a number of years so i have to give her the benefit of the doubt she knows what she’s talking about and understands what I’m looking for. I hope.
We’re here on a Tuesday for Taco Tuesday. Tacos are $ 2.00 each. Lady Li sends a pic of her half empty beer glass to spur me to get there faster. It worked and we’re pulling up to her at the bar where she has put one taco down and has 2 more. She explains how it works. Happy Hour is 3−6pm. You order your drinks and number of tacos you want. Pay for everything together. Bring the receipt to the taco cart and order your tacos. While we’re chit chatting away, the bar tender brings over salsa and chips. These were good and tasted like they do in Mexico. A little saltier though I didn’t mind too much. I was surprised. We were offered more but I do have to watch my figure.
Corona $ 4.00
Not the cheapest I had in bar but it’s hot today. Took a quick pic with Lady M. before I twisted the lime and shoved it down. After that, it was going down my hatch. Cool and refreshing at the same time. Love the lime. Not dry, but juicy. It was nice to see the have Pacifico. That’s what I’ll be getting next time.
Al Pastor $ 2.00
Lady Li recommended these. Living in SoCal before these al pastor tacos were my faves because they were very spicy. My mouth is watering now. These, however, were made a little differently. Not spicy but the taste and freshness was there. The salsa was not dry. You could tell these were made authentically with the mortar. Wow.
The service was not quite on top. Lady Li says the regular bar tender was not there this time who is so on top of things. With that said, I’ll be coming back for Taco Tuesday soon. How quaint it also falls on $ 6.00 movie Tuesday.

Ugh. As I write this my stomach is rumbling in the aftermath of my dinner here. We were looking for a late night bargain, and happened on the late night menu for Mexico Cantina. After 9 p.m. specials included $ 4 appetizers and $ 2 off margaritas. A basket of chips and salsa with perfect balance of spice whet or palate for more. The appetizers were chicken Diablo, mini nachos, flautas, taquitos, crispy tacos, or crispy cheese tortilla. They come with your choice of meat such as ground beef, chicken, or shredded beef. We decided to order one of each except the the chicken Diablo. Hey were out of the taquitos.
Lining up the appetizers as they arrived, we had to laugh at how basically, all the dishes were the same, except for the «shell», which varied in how it was fried and what shape it was in. They otherwise all had lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, onion, cilantro, which you can garnish with salsa and sour cream. All the dishes tended to be on the dry side. The best of these dishes, we thought, was the flautas. Don’t get the crispy cheese tortilla. I would pay $ 1 for it next time, much less $ 4.
Our waitress was super friendly and there was a short wait for our table. We appreciated being given a booth, because the restaurant can get very loud with revelers. Our tab came to $ 16 plus tax. Not bad. Other than that, it would not particularly devastate me if I never returned.

Wow. There’s a first time for everything I guess.
Placing a TAKE OUT ORDER here ended with the first time I EVER asked to speak to a manager
Because the manager had me cross check my phone log, I know exact times of calls made.
****AT 6:37 PM, I placed a PHONE order for TAKE OUT for TWO different combo plates and TWO drinks to go (for EACH plate.)
The girl is friendly enough over the phone. Food service industry 101– always read back the order– she failed to do so.
Anyway, she tells me 10 – 15 minutes till foods done.
I have ordered take out from here A LOT. They ALWAYS take longer than 10 – 15 minutes. So I already anticipated 10 mins more (NOT AN HOUR+)
*** At 7:12 PM a call came in as I am patiently waiting in the parking lot, the girl calls to inform me the food is ready.
At the counter, I notice the to-​go bag has half the food of what it should. Come to find, SHE made a mistake, and only punched in ONE of my TWO meals
Then, she asks if I want to wait for the rest. UHH, YEAAA…
She asks if I want to pay for what was already out… UHHH NO?!
WHY would I pay two transactions?
Walking back to my car to wait, she calls to confirm my order, as she should have the first time! Or even before I left the register the second time! At this point, I realize that this must be her first job, and/​or she lacks some serious common sense.
******AT 7:39 PM, she calls me again to come pick up my order for the second time.
She is then ready to ring me up, without a trace of real apology or concern that I was unhappy. I waited and wasted a ridiculous amount of time for a phoned in order, sat in a parking lot, while half of my food was no longer ‘fresh’.
And she ignored all this, as if all was right with the situation. UM NO.
I strongly felt that my dissatisfaction was entirely at the restaurants fault, and it could totally have been handled better.
Mistakes happen, I understand that, but if it’s YOUR plain fault, either the girl, or more obviously the manager, should have tried to redeem themselves, and showed some concern for their mistake!
I asked to see the manager, I was not about to ignore this for a million reasons. I wait but she returns alone, offering me the employee discount (10%.) The manager would not even show his face with such a pathetic, and insincere offer.
I told her AGAIN that she needs to get him and I continue the waiting game. All for an uncaring and bored «manager,» who’d rather brush me off his shoulder than give me the time of day.
He was terrible. If he was a GOOD manager he would have known what was going on before addressing me, I shouldn’t have had to request for him TWICE. He should have followed up and handled the problem as soon as it had happened, not after I am already upset!!! Its not fair I was given all around poor service, when they are the culprits. All I did was phone in.
He questioned if I was really waiting an hour, if I had really ordered both meals at the same time. I had to show him my phone log, and repeat like three times what had happened. Then, as if I’ve wasted enough of HIS time, he says «OK, I’ll take the more expensive one off for you.» The «more expensive one» he so causally pointed out, was the meal that had been sitting out well before the other meal was even known to the chefs in the back! He just walked off after that, making me feel all sorts of bad.
I have never come across management like this. His problem lies in the fact that either he doesn’t care to know what goes on in his restaurant, in terms of customer satisfaction, or he just doesn’t care. Either way, I am not wasting any more time trying to figure it out.
I have NEVER asked for anything to be taken off of my bill before. I don’t think I ever HAD to! My experience tonight left me without an appetite and personally really upset. And THAT will be my FINAL impression of Mexico Cantina at WARD.
NO BUENO.

I’m a firm believer in second chances, and after last weeks way less than stellar visit to taco Tuesday… We decided to give this place another shot. Everyone has a bad night right?
Well I’m very sad to report that tonight’s visit was just as «wonderful» as the first. We had a different waitress who greeted us as soon as we sat down, off to a good start… But sadly that’s where the good service ends. I ordered my White Russian and a glass of water and hubby got a margarita. About 10 mins later the bartender came to the table and tells me that they are out of cream and asks if I would like them to use horchata instead, Telling me it will be delicious. I’ve never had horchata before so I decided to give it a try… BIG MISTAKE! Tasted like a cinnamon bomb went off in my mouth!
We waited with our drinks for about 10 more minutes, minus my glass of water. The waitress finally came over and asked if we ready to order. We each ordered 4 tacos, and one side of rice to share, and my glass of water. About 5 mins later, we were served the side of rice by the food runner. We started on the rice because we were super hungry. We had almost finished eating the entire plate of rice (and it was big) when the waitress came back and asked if we had gotten our slip to go get tacos. We very nicely replied no, and she brought it back several minutes later…
Ok now for the tacos– I’d have to say that they are the only reason that there is more than one star on this review. The tacos are really really good. The meat is juicy, everything tastes fresh, and the man making the tacos is super friendly.
We sat eating our tacos, and watched as several other tables were having to flag down the waitresses to get things. We were half way done when the waitress came over to check on us. «Can I please have my glass of water??» «Oh… Yeah…»
We had been finished eating for right around 25 minutes when she finally brought over the check and a waitress from the other side of the restaurant came and cleared our table…
If the food wasn’t so good I probably would never go here again… Maybe next time I will ask for the manager to wait on us so we MIGHT get better service. It’s very sad when the food is so good but the entire experience is ruined by bad service… 2x in a row now…

The Li Hing Mui Margarita was probably the best part about dinner on this Taco Tuesday. No, I take that back. Listening to Selena, aka Queen of Tejano Music, playing in the background was the highlight of the night. Sadly, the food was just mediocre, especially for the prices they charge.
I ordered the Chile Relleno plate for $ 13.50, which came with rice and refried beans. The description read, «Roasted Anaheim chile stuffed with cheese, fried in a deliciously fluffy batter and smothered with verde sauce and more cheese, and topped with sour cream.» To say it is smothered is an understatement! Oh my. The chile pepper had no chance to breathe, so it basically shriveled up and drowned in the bland pool of a green-​colored watery substance. No Bueno! The rice was overcooked and crunchy. The beans were… just refried beans. Nothing special. You could substitute it for black beans for an additional $ 1.00 though.
Thank goodness for my back-​up plate of tacos. Oops. Spoke too soon! We ordered a couple of tacos for just $ 2.00 each since it was Tuesday. The offerings were Chicken Fajita, Beef brisket, Carnitas, and Al Pastor. We went with chicken and they topped it off with beans. Off to the side, there were 3 salsa options, guacamole sauce, cilantro, and onions. I thought the mini tortillas were overcooked. In fact, our server stopped by and asked if we liked the tacos. I hesitated and finally spoke the truth, «The tortillas are crispy on the bottom.» She said they’re supposed to be like that and offered to bring new tortillas over from the kitchen instead, a nice gesture. IMO, if I asked for tostadas, then these tortillas would be fine. But, I initially expected soft, warm shells from the outdoor grill. The chicken fajita mix was bland. Maybe we should have tried one of the other options.
The restaurant itself offers a really spacious dining area and cantina section. The tables are comfy and service was great overall. But, I just couldn’t help from comparing this restaurant to one of my faves back home — El Torito. I guess I should stick to my gut. If the chips and salsa aren’t right, then finish your drink and bail! They weren’t right and our bill was $ 50 for a party of 2. :(

We came here on a Thursday night for happy hour. It was half off nachos and $ 4 tacos. They had shrimp, fish, or scallop tacos that you could choose from. I didn’t get any because the waitress told me that it was all soft shell and no crispy shell. My companions ordered some and they were huge. They ordered from the waitress and got a voucher. Then, they had to take it the Taco Cart. The cook grilled the protein and they got to load on their own toppings.
Nadine was nice enough to get the nachos and crab chimichangas to share. The beef nachos was huge. It fed the 5 of us. The crab chimichangas was interesting. While I could taste the crab, it was mixed with beans. That was a first for me. It was just meh. They also gave complimentary chips and salsa, which was good. They had a whole pile sitting in the kitchen, not under a heat lamp. I was surprised that it was crispy and not stale.
I got the diablo wings with the hot sauce on the side. I don’t like spicy stuff, but my friends ate it with the nachos. I just dipped the wings in the cool ranch dressing that it came with. The wings were ok, but on the small side. It was also dry.
I’ve never had the horchata drink before. It’s a rice milk with cinnamon. Nadine ordered a pitcher and I tried some of hers. It was pretty good. I ordered the virgin mango margarita and it wasn’t too good. It was tart. I guess all margaritas must be tart, except the lychee. I’d much rather have the horchata the next time.
They offer a 10% discount on the regular priced items if you check in on Unilocal,or if you have the iDcard.