Cantina Laredo

Came for brunch and have had one mimosa every hour that I’ve been here. The server has barely checked on our table. This is my first brunch in Austin and I’m very disappointed. Having been a server I usually never complain but this is just too much to ignore.

Mediocre at best. Guacamole was good, salsa not so much. Friend had beef tacos that looked good. My shrimp salad had too much dressing, not enough shrimp (and the shrimp was slightly underdone… yikes). Skip the margaritas. I got the pineapple and was not impressed (pretty sure it had no tequila at All. Fun environment tho… and in the center of everything too

Good food but so slow. It was busy but our server kept telling us that the food would be ready soon and it still wasn’t. We were late getting back to our event because of the slowness. I would probably com back but only when it isn’t busy.

Gross! Roach appeared on the table while we were waiting for our food. Lost my appetite. Never going there again! Food not good either. One star for the lovely waitress.

Good food. No reason to drive downtown for it. Full bar that has lots of tvs. This makes it a distraction for dinner.

Oh, what can I say but that this restaurant brought all that is good and wonderful about Mexican food to Austin, Texas. I ordered enchiladas and they were just as good as my moms, only my mom won’t make the incredible mojito to go along with it that I had to accompany my dinner. Great location, friendly service. Oh, order the avocado and queso. Worth every penny.

First time eating at this place and overall it was very delicious. I ordered a La Bandera margarita and the enchiladas de mole. Mole sauce is sometimes hard to master, but Cantina did it well. The things I wasn’t a fan of were the uncooked rice on my plate and the incorrect second drink I ordered. Other than that, the service was great. I would go back here. Their salsas are yummy too!

updated for good salsa, gauc and chips.
Ate there for lunch and it just isn’t very good food. It was kinda cold, they need to heat it up more.

I got nachos to go. It was the perfect amount of food. It wasn’t a huge, overflowing pile like most nachos I’ve ordered. Very good and will be going back soon.

Nice atmosphere and the food was good. The food was presented well and the place has a great vibe to it. It’s a lil expensive but you are eating in the heart of downtown Austin. I will go back and absolutely try some of the great sounding drinks on the menu.

Cantina Laredo is always on my list when I visit Austin (or, for that matter, any city tht has a Cantina Laredo location) — and, this visit, I went for lunch not once, but twice!
The cocktails are always first-​rate, with my particular favorite being the La Bandera. (From the menu: Sauza silver tequila, cointreau orange liqueur, lemon and lime juices with midori melon liqueur and Hiram Walker pomegranate.) It’s got the right balance, and the juices are freshly squeezed — no mixes used here!
I’ve had a good number of items on the menu over the years, and the kitchen has always been consistent, sending out well-​prepared dishes. They have a great tortilla soup, and the enchiladas are top-​notch. You can easily have an appetizer as your lunch, as the portion sizes are quite generous, and that’s what I did on these two occasions, having the chicken quesadilla on Wednesday and the chicken nachos on Thursday. I particularly like how they do their nachos, assembling them individually rather than throwing everything into a pile — this way, you get a nice bite of all of the flavors every time.
The atmosphere is nice, with a large bar area and a dining area that’s subdivided to provide a bit more of a cozy space (rather than be cavernous). The staff here obviously loves what they do, and that comes across in how the drinks and food are prepared. Every time I’ve taken first-​timers over to Cantina Laredo, they’ve loved it, so make the trip over to Third and Colorado and check ‘em out!

Their happy hour is where it’s at. I ate, had a faux, yet delicious, margarita for $ 10.00. That’s, count it on two hands. .. BAM.
We started off with the chips — fresh and delicious. Their hot sauces tasted fresh as well, I would have liked something with more heat, but you have to cater to the masses. We had guacamole for the table which is made at the table in any fashion that you like. We enjoyed that.
I had the carnitas sliders which were pretty good, particularly for the price. Here were the areas for improvement: The buns were not exactly toasted, but rather charred black on the top, which is a little over done if you ask me. The meat itself was good, the goat cheese wasn’t evenly distributed on the little slider which made some bites better than others. The flavor, when you got the meat, the non-​burnt bread, cheese and fruit together was really good.
My beau had the cheeseburger sliders and liked those. My friend got the Ahi tacos and liked them except for the ginger, because, who knew, she doesn’t like ginger. My man’s sister had the carnitas tacos and said that the sauce on them was delicious. They all liked their real margaritas as well.
My friend ordered the apple pie for us to split, and it really wasn’t big enough for that. It smelled better than it was in my opinion, I liked it well enough, but seeing the presentation at another table had my hopes pretty high.
Our waitress, the British girl, Bella I think, was fantastic. Very polite, and attentive, a really good waitress. I think she really made our experience even better.
If we’re ever strolling back by between 5 and 7 p.m. we’d certainly come back.

The food here is not bad, but it didn’t blow me away. The service, by our charming waiter Jose, and a very cordial hostess, was very pleasant and attentive, and the décor was nice. The bar was hopping and the margarita was good, served in a lovely glass, and I could actually taste the alcohol, not to be sneezed at in a frozen marg in downtown Austin. I didn’t find it HUGE, like another Unilocaler did, where are they drinking anyway? It was a decent size for Ladies night at $ 5, but for $ 8, it’s not that big or amazing.
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, but the prices are somewhat high for the portion sizes and so-​so food — Hey this is Tex-​Mex, guys!
Try it, but don’t expect the portion size to match the price. On the plus side, the Spanish rice ifs very flavorful and has a kick, and the cilantro rice is very yummy, too!
Do save room for the Mexican Brownie, as it’s rich, huge and delish!

I had heard good things about this place but to say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. I realize that every place in downtown Austin is busy on a Friday night, but I just have no patience for servers who ignore tables and are rude. Look, I see you’re busy, but it is your job to wait on people.
The food was mediocre and the prices were high for the quality. There are plenty of other mexican spots within walking distance that are better to spend your money on.

Really impressed with their happy hour. They have a $ 5 house margarita (which is huge) as well as some beer specials.
The chips and salsa were surprisingly delicious, I’d come back for those. We ordered the Top Shelf Guacamole, which is made table side (although not a happy hour special). It’s a little pricey, but good.
We ordered half price Ahi Tuna tacos and Mahi Mahi tacos and both were delicious! Ahi tacos were excellent — generous portion of fresh Ahi tuna and lots of guac. The Mahi was very juicy and perfectly cooked.
Highly recommend stopping by for happy hour. We left completely stuffed for under $ 30.

Choose to go to this bar because of the happy hour and I was very impressed.
My friend and I sat at the bar and the male bartender with an accent was very nice and attentive. He made sure that my friend and I were satisfied.
The décor of the establishment is also nice and romantic. I would recommend this place for a date.

We’ve only been here for Happy Hour, so I can’t speak to the rest of the restaurant… But if you are looking for an inexpensive place for some solid food and margaritas, look no further!
$ 5 House Margaritas and ½ price apps and tacos. Never had anything here that we didn’t like and the service is always friendly. There’s a small outdoor patio and a large bar so finding a spot is easy. They have a normal happy hour 4 – 7 during the week, and then a late night happy hour again from 9 – 11. Saturday’s its an early happy hour from 11 – 5.

Great margies but the food was served lukewarm and the asada was so tough it was hard to cut. The little Cocinas in Austin do a much better job with tex mex.
The waiters were friendly but the food took forever to come out.
I’ll pass the next time I visit Austin.

I’m sure and not sure why this place has such a low rating, and I guess it’s all about what you order, and how you weight the pros and cons.
PROS: Great interiors, big space inside, helpful staff, lots of seating. Veracruz chicken enchiladas are light and fresh and served with veggies instead of beans. They were the real highlight for me – flavorful roasted or poached chicken, spinach, a tiny bit of cheese, and a hot green sauce on top. If you don’t want to be weighed down by your dinner, or need a break from the Chuy’s style cheese-​and-​meat entrees drowning in more cheese and heavy sauces, this is a great pick.
CONS: is pricey, service can be slow, and some of the other dishes are just «eeeh, okay-​ish». My boyfriend had the barbacoa tacos and they were just alright. Same goes for the salsas they serve you with the chips… just alright.
Know what to order, and sit in a big booth, and you’ll do well. If you have high expectations or want real authenticity or huge portion sizes… go elsewhere.

Was waiting around for a little while before seated but I really liked
–light crispy fresh mahi mahi tacos
–chunky ingredients in my lemony caper cevice
–hot salsas, crunchy thin tortilla chips
Bryan was an excellent server. Pleasantly surprised at the happy hour prices! Returning soon!