BelAir Cantina

Ask for Elizabeth. Our favorite waitress here. The lobster taco on the menu is awesome. Kind of pricey but delicious… My wife and I enjoy the food, service and atmosphere… Elizabeth is awesome and if you go try her out. It’ll upgrade your experience.

Yes I went back. I love the location it’s just that the food and service were lacking before. I ordered the ninja pig. It’s a crispy pork. It could have been great but the meat was so dry I couldn’t finish it. What saved my visit was the urban surfer. It’s a maple glazed steak with pineapple and bacon. Just fantastic. Writing about it makes me want it go back right now.

Food is SPECTACULAR. A little pricey for tacos, but go on a Tuesday or Thursday for some discounts. They also typically have some decent happy hour beer specials to offset the cost.
Chips and Salsa are great, only complaint is that they don’t give you nearly enough. Three SMALL containers of a fire-​roasted, a tomatillo, and (my fave) an arbol-​type smokey orange sauce. Definitely ask for refills/​bigger bowls.
Tacos are creative and delicious. My personal favorites are the fried avocado and bacon, and the Ninja Pig (crispy pork… YUM). Order a 3^rd and get rice and beans included. Still searching for the perfect 3^rd taco, but who am I kidding, I should really just order a 2^nd of the two fantastic tacos named above.
Only knock against this place (and all the BelAir locations), are their refusal to take reservations. I would probably go more if not for this. Expect a hefty wait if going on a Tues, Thurs, or weekend night.

Second time at this location with the same awful server. It was busy this time, but last time it was not and the same issues were present. She missed a taco on our order, got another taco wrong, would disappear for long stretches of time, and took about 15 – 20 minute to refill a margarita. We also had a table of four adults and refilled our chips, but not salsas (this is a minor thing, but still could have at least asked). On our first visit she didn’t even come to out table for probably 10 – 15 minutes and it wasn’t even busy then would disappear for long stretches. I can’t remember her name, but she’s tall and skinny with a lip piercing. A couple of times she came over and gave us extra friendly smiles then would walk off to the server station and slam drawers and throw papers around.
The food is great generally though. Ninja pigs are the best! Nachos are worth a try too. We’ve had better luck at the east side location on Water Street service-​wise.

They’re still rockin’ it at BelAir! The Zihuatanejo Shrimp taco are the bomb. It’s loaded with tender Shrimp, onion, tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, a citrus slaw, & chipotle ancho mayo. This amazing taco is only $ 2 bucks on Tuesdays & Thursdays. The Korean Beef is my second favorite. It’s not discounted on $ 2 taco days, but still a must have. The spicy-​sweet marinated beef melts in your mouth & Sriracha crema adds a nice little kick. I’m sure I’ve consumed over a hundred feet of tacos from this joint & I plan to eat a hundred feet more over the upcoming years.
Glad to see management decided to upgrade the bar stools. The new stools are a vast improvement visually & much more comfortable.
The restaurant is crazy packed from 5pm — 9pm on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Wait time on a table can exceed an hour. Parking can be an issue too. The restaurants lot only holds 10 cars. Street parking is the only other viable option, but open spaces are few or far. I park a couple blocks away & hoof it in. Don’t park within 4′ of a driveway in a Tosa neighborhoods, the residents will call the cops to have violators ticketed.
Be sure to grab a Bel Air sticker depicting a bull, their mascot. They’re available at the reception desk. Stickers change periodically to coincide with holidays.

One of my fav places in Milwaukee. So delicious. I especially appreciate this location cause it’s very family and kid friendly. Thanks for being awesome Bel Air. Oh, I have Celiac Disease and they have an awesome gluten free menu. Always ask your own questions but I’ve never felt unsafe eating here.

Never any complaints about the food. A very loud space though. Concrete floors and garage doors reflect sound from every angle. The service is generally good. Prices are good. Taco Tuesday!!!
They can get really backed up and it can take quite a while to be seated.

The food is great. They have unique taco choices and the prices are very reasonable. The chips and salsa are really good. I like the atmosphere and the waitress was very pleasant.

I’m a big, big fan of Belair Cantina. On arrival, complimentary chips are served with a nice variety of salsas. The street taco selection includes interesting options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. My personal favorite is the Port-​Queso. If you order 3 tacos, beans and rice are on the house. This holds true on those Tues/​Thurs $ 2 taco selections as well! In addition to the taco specials, burritos (and bowls) are on special every Monday. My only reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is spotty service at the bar. My bar tender once completely vanished in the middle of my meal on a slow day leaving me stuck with no beverage and no way to pay on completion. This may have been a one off scenario, but it wouldn’t happen at a 5 star restaurant. Most of the bar tenders are amazing, and the food is fresh enough to compensate overall. Recommended!

Went for their Taco Thursday and had a great time. Who doesn’t like $ 2 tacos?! The free salsas and tortillas are really good. And the tacos are WAY better than what you’d expect out of a $ 2 special. But even the normally priced tacos are reasonably priced and great. I’d go back.

You can’t go wrong with belair’s $ 2 taco tuesdays /​thursdays .
I’ve been here twice now, and their food quality is still good. Definitely, a staple whenever i’m craving tacos.
Personally, I recommend the branch in Tosa, as it’s bigger and more accommodating of bigger parties.

Having been to the BelAir Cantina on Milwaukee’s east side, I was excited to check out the Wauwatosa location. My husband and I met up with some fellow Unilocalers here recently, and we had a great experience.
The food here is delicious. My husband and I both had the Carne Asada tacos, which are steak tacos, onions, and cilantro. The steak was tender and flavorful. The onion added an extra kick to the tacos, which was fine by me. I absolutely recommend coming here for the $ 2 tacos on Tuesdays and Thursdays. With that deal, though, not all of the tacos qualify (the ones that do are marked with a «t» on the menu). Even so, there are still several options to choose from for the special.
If you’re not in the mood for tacos, they also have fajitas, burritos, tortas (a traditional Mexican sandwich), and soup & salad.
BelAir has a full bar that is huge and can probably fit around 30 people, at least. It circles around through the main part of the restaurant. The staff is friendly. My only recommendation would be to have more bartenders scheduled for the busier times, such as the $ 2 taco nights. We will definitely be back, though.

Good food, decent prices, OK service.
This place does not look like anything special from the front– I honestly thought it’d be like a small diner/​fast food-​type place as we walked in, but this was far from the case! The inside is beautiful– exposed brick, large bar, indoor booths and tables, plus TWO patio areas.
Since it was nice out, we got a table outside, with no waiting on a Saturday night– and for 6 people! Did not think that would be the case. All the servers here looked like college kids, and to be honest, our server was a little bit of a «ding-​dong», trying to make strange conversation with us about what perfume one of us was wearing and the like, and also bringing us a pitcher of water (a nice gesture) but then leaving the pitcher on the GROUND (eek), but he was a nice kid overall.
We ordered a pitcher of regular BelAir margarita for our table of 6. The server warned us many times that the pitchers are for up to 4 people. We decided to take our chances and just get one to start and *GASP* had enough for all of us to have a glass! The pitchers are a decent size, but are so loaded with ice that about a glass per person is all we could muster up. The drink itself was good, a little weak, and some thought it was a little too sweet. After that, we got their Juice of Hazard raspberry margarita, which was super fruity, and again really sweet. We all had a glass of this as well without a really shorting anyone. Both good, but did not knock our socks off.
I liked the idea of their tacos. They are priced individually from about $ 3 – 5 each (unless you get the lobster taco which is $ 11), but once you select 3, then it comes with rice and beans too. They had so many choices! I tried a grilled talapia, a chicken, and korean beef. All were pretty good, they looked better then they actually ended up tasting, but I did end up eating almost all of them! They beef/​steak options everyone commented were a little tough to chew. I agreed, but thought the korean beef had the best flavor, so I was still happy with the taco.
There were a little bit of gaps with the service, in getting more drinks or extra chips, but overall the meal was a-​ok.

I loved BelAir Cantina!
I was a little nervous as I was pulling up and reading reviews. There seemed to be a theme of good food, but taking forever. As I had back to back work meetings I was concerned I would miss my second meeting, but that wasn’t the case at all.
The Atmosphere is fun and open, the service was good and FAST. And, the mango fish tacos were to die for. Although they do leave you with some pretty strong garlic breath, they are well worth it.
Your meal starts with chips and a trio of Salsas. All delish!

The sun is shining and the garage doors have opened! Two patios are now open to the already amply spaced dining area and the openness of the layout provides fresh air for all to enjoy. The back patio has a fancy fountain– truly beautiful scenery to enjoy delicious tacos on their updated menu!
Port queso remains my favorite 100% and I also got the spicy mahi mahi which was delicious. But I did finish up a friend’s steaming chicken fajitas and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD. The mix of veggies was TO DIE for and there were even pineapples and large slices of tomatoes. Best. Fajitas. Ever. So refreshing and delicious.

Vast improvement this Friday from my last trip the week prior. I was actually feeling for our server this time. Katie was patient, attentive, and spot on with everyone’s orders. She obliged us even with very late additions to our table. We were seated quickly and were served delicious drinks that consisted of two glasses brimming with Ilegal Joven mescal. Bel Air’s tequila list is like no other. I am glad that I can rely on a local spot to bring the big guns to the tequila show. I am able to try so many varieties and never get bored. I only wish I would’ve started with a check list so I knew which ones I liked best. I know there have been none in the dislike column. You can’t go wrong with whichever you choose.
I knew which tacos to bypass after sampling a few newbies on the menu last time. I still hadn’t tried some, so I stuck to some old favorites and one new: Islander (new-​with grilled mahi mahi, a Serrano fruit salsa, and a spicy mayo); Port-​Queso; Fried Avocado & Bacon. This time, there were three winners. Everyone else at the table enjoyed their food too, but I was digging mine so much, I didn’t notice their response. I am guaranteeing that there were 4-​stars all around; plates were clean and smiles were abundant.
There will always be one teeny-​tiny general wish: a little bit bigger receptacles for the salsas. I have to perfectly angle my chip to get enough on it. Otherwise, I just end up breaking it to make it worth a dip. Just an editorial note. With that said though, the salsas rock! In the words of Oliver Twist, «I want some more.»

This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Milwaukee. It’s not authentic by any means, but it’s quirky and has its own personality.
The tequila selection here is huge. And they typically have about 10 to 14 taps; a mix of national and local craft and macro brews.
On Tuesday and Thursday they have deals on their tacos
Pros: the gringo and black bean tacos; and their patio
Cons: typically a long wait and the service isn’t the best

My friends and I went here for Cinco de Mayo for my first BelAir Taco Tuesday experience. The Mayan/​Aztec sun god must have been pleased with my human sacrifice or something because we had a sublime experience.
Apparently for Taco Tuesday, the place is loco. Parking is supposed to be bad, waits are supposed to be insane, and service is supposed to be slow. Not my first experience at all.
A friend started waiting for us ½ hour before the rest of us arrived and told us we had a 120 minute wait. Fine, whatever. We find a spot close to the place and come in. Before any of us could even order drinks and one person even arrived, we were seated. Service was prompt, especially for such a busy night where multiple workers have iPads to figure out and maximize where to seat and serve people.
Margaritas were delicious. Chips and salsa were great. The different tacos were awesome, with the fish taco being my favorite. The little banana/​plantain on the plate was the best part of all. Also, apparently if you order 3 tacos, you get beans and rice. Those were delicious too.
I’ll be back, but I am not expecting all those stars to align like that again!

BelAir is pretty good, they have interesting tacos and lots of options. They have a pretty cool interior, spanish lessons in the bathroom and good deals on tacos on Tuesday and Thursday.
This location in particular was more busy than I thought it should be on a Friday night, we waited over an hour for a table. That’s a LONG time. I don’t think I’ve ever waited an hour for a table anywhere. Maybe I am going to the wrong places?
But this hour allowed my friend and I to travel on over to Red Dot and get a beer and chat in a quieter environment. Never mind the couple next to us fighting at the bar (but trying to be very quiet about it). The cool part is they use the NoWait app to let you know when your table is ready so you can leave or do whatever instead of awkwardly standing there. You can also «get in line» from your house or anywhere.
I love their 3 salsas with complimentary chips. I think the orange might be my favorite?
Decent food at a decent price. If you don’t want to get the app or don’t have time to wait, might want to avoid going here on Tuesday, Thursday or the weekend nights. All BelAir locations have the $ 2 tacos on Tues. & Thurs. so it gets fairly busy.

I have loved Bel Air from the first bite, so when I moved to Tosa it was a bonus to have our own location here! Of the three, this is actually my favorite one soley based on size. It’s not quite as cozy as its East side sister, but when I get margs and tacos in my face faster I’m happy. The staff is always super friendly here (as they are at all locations — amazing hiring job Bel Air!), food is LIGHTNING fast, and tequila flows freely. When it’s warm out, we live plenty close enough to walk down there and back, which is perfect because parking is a nightmare on busy nights.
Green salsa forever.