Catalina’s Mexican Restaurant

I have been here a few times now and both the service and food have been great. The environment is very casual and friendly. It is an excellent place to bring a big group because there is plenty of space and seating. Their chips, salsa, and guac are delicious and there were some good vegetarian combos. I had the spinach and shrimp burrito which was really good and they did not skimp on the shrimp! I have also had the chicken mole before and it is amazing. I’ve tried the caldo de camarón (soup with shrimp in it) and it was also delicious. Overall, great experiences and I will keep coming back!

Anything with chicken is a winner. They cook the chicken so that it’s tasty and moist. It reminds me of the James Beard method for cooking chicken. I usually go for the chimichanga and my sweetie gets the tostadas. The rice and beans are really good too. Fresh guacamole and salsa make it complete. Not fancy, just a great family restaurant with excellent prices and service. This is one of our favorite restaurants in Portland. We even go here to watch football or soccer on one of their TVs while enjoying the delicious food and a few Negra Modelo brews. Service is excellent without hovering over you. Love this place. Oh, and try the flan for dessert.

The service was fast and friendly. Didn’t have to wait long for our order to arrive. Food was large portions at reasonable prices and very delicious. Plenty to choose from on the menu. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone. Salsa and chips were very good also.

The best things about this place for the drinks and the margaritas I haven’t tried the food yet I will get another shot and go back but the waitress couldn’t tell me where the food was from if it was organic or even what vendors they got it from and I just don’t do that

Authentic for Portland??? Sorry I’m Thinking this is about as good as it gets. I had carne asado taco & chili relleno with green sauce. My wife had bean and cheese chimi.
Chips and salsa were above average.
Sodas come in a can. Service was outstanding. Place was very clean.

Great family restaurant with good Mexican food. They usually aren’t very busy, which I don’t understand. Both lunch & dinner menus offer many choices, and decent prices. Limited bar, but beer & margaritas are available. Great chips & salsa served while you wait for your order. In warm weather, I love to sit on the patio, sipping a margarita, crunching on chips & salsa and watching the world slip by.

Slow service, bland food and in inviting décor. Chips & salsa were decent but we waited an hour to get any other food. The food we got wasn’t what we ordered, we won’t be back despite the helpful young lady who served us.

we wanted to try catalinas, as it’s close by, and the food was calling our name for lunch last saturday… i began with a pacifico, and my partner had a margarita… chips and salsa came… delicious…i ordered the taco salad and skipped the meat, and she had the Copa de Ceviche. …
Finely diced shrimp or fish with cilantro, onion, tomato, cucumber and avocado with two tostada shell. .the drinks, and food were great… we sat outside at the picnic table and watched the world… the server was friendly, and quick… great place!.. looks festive inside too. thx

Pollo asado: bland, not grilled but cooked on a flat top with no seasoning, served with extremely chewy steamed green onion, runny flavorless beans. The Romain lettuce served with it had more flavor than anything on the plate. Got a long island that can’t be stomached, they forgot the sweet and sour and tasted like terpentine and diet coke.

If you miss authentic Mexican food from the 80’s, this is the place. However, I don’t come here for the enchilada/​refried beans/​cheese on a hot plate fare. The $ 4 margaritas, free chips, and (gluten-​free) homemade tamales hit the spot for me. It’s the sort of place that seems to be a shell of its former self. The restaurant is huge and although I sat here recently for a couple of hours through dinner time on a Thursday, only a few of the tables were filled. The back of the restaurant has the gambling machines and the usual lot of vacant-​eyes zombies wandered in and out.

Food is good. Prices are excellent: 3 entrees, 6 yummy Margaritas on the rocks, 47.50. Service was perfect.

Mexican food has become a common food group in my meals recently. I blame my boyfriend. Our go-​to is normally Olé Frijole, so we decided to change it up. It’s been a while since he’s eaten here (first for me) so we thought we’d see if it was as good as he remembered.
The dining area isn’t exactly welcoming. I honestly think that they could put more tables to fill the large space or put tables on one side and have a stage on the other. We were immediately greeted and seated at a booth. The waitress provided us with menus and complimentary chips and salsa while pondering on what to order.
Surprise, surprise we both ended up ordering the same dish: chicken enchilada. Service was great and we were checked up on a few times, but not a lot to where the waitress was in our faces. The chicken enchiladas were great and came with a side of a teeeeny tiiiiny salad with an even smaller portion of rice and alright amount of beans. Seriously, the rice portion was itty bitty and could’ve been consumed in one spoonful. It’d be great if that was fixed as I am an adult and need my rice fix to be the appropriate size instead of child-​sized.

Best chile Rellinos in town, on the lunch with rice and beans, small salad, chips and salsa for $ 5.95 per person. Great margarita. Would have given them 4 stars but very weak ice tea. We drive about 15 mins to get here, we’ve tried places in our neighborhood, just not as good. A little out of the way but give them a try, you will find it worth the drive.

Great food is a must. Catalina’s has it. A unique authentic atmosphere is wonderful. Catalina’s has that too. A family-​owned ‘foodery’ that includes family members among the staff is awesome. Grandma Catalina runs Catalina’s with the assistance of her extended family and more. This restaurant has been at this location for decades. The type of great food it cooks has been around for centures. Try it out.

Three stars for food, one extra star for service. I’d prefer to give 3.5 stars but such is life on Unilocal.Very solid old school authentic Mexican food. Real lard refried beans topped with some white cheese. Yummy rice. Decent chips and salsa gratis. I had a green chile pork burrito which was tasty. Twice the size of a regular dinner so I took ½ home. Fiancé had a sampler plate with a respectable taco and an eh enchilada. Nothing to jump for joy about but also nothing to knock. It’s the real deal. We will go back for sure. Oh and it’s not hipster pricing here. Two huge dinners, sodas, and chips for $ 20. That’s what I’m talking about!

We loved the food! I had the Shrimp Spinach Burrito, unique & delicious. Hubby had Shrimp & Crab Diablo which he almost licked the plate ;) Not thrilled with Fried Ice Cream though :(I left my cell phn there so had to return next day. Got the Shrimp Cocktail & Chips/​Salsa to take home. Also very good. The quacamole was delicious, we got a 2^nd order Cuz it was yummy!

Good, yah it’s pretty good, I have had much better and I’ve certainly had much worse it seemed genuine as they could be and a homemade feel, so did the margaritas and the people were great, I’m gonna try it again just in case the bland food was a fluke.

This place is legit! All the food is great! Best tacos al pastor ever. Also I love the enchiladas and my wife loves the fajitas! If you’re in the area stop by. If not, it’s worth the drive!

This place has everything I want from a family Mexican restaurant.
The food is good, the drinks are good, the people are super nice, and the prices are really reasonable. Nobody is trying to break new culinary ground here and that’s fine with me. Complimentary chips and salsa, a cheap margarita, and I’m a happy camper.
When I want Mexican food or a margarita I have no reason to go farther away then Catalina’s.
Bonus: sweet jukebox chock full of Mariachi music

Was your food ok? Yep it was «ok.» Adequate. Mediocre.
FYI:
Margaritas have Tequila in them… maybe look up a recipe.
Al Pastor is supposed to be succulent and juicy… mine looked like burnt rabbit pellets.