Definitely a versatile location. It's pretty great for happy hour and tacos/snacks earlier in the day. The wait staff is nice and the food is quite good. I want to go back and try the 30 taco challenge, sounds pretty awesome.
At night it is rather different situation since it becomes a club/bar in its entirety. It has great outdoor portion too, which is sometimes expanded for game nights, that has a stage and a live DJ. The drinks are rather expensive (as any other bar) but most drinks get diluted a LOT with ice and the mixer, so they're not worth your money. Service overall is not great when the place is packed (as to be expected) but it takes a long time to get what you want.
My relationship with this place is more love/hate than Kanye West's relationship with everyone on the planet
It's gross: the plumbing is always jacked and it's riddled with neon tank-top wearing Tucker Max wannabes that may or may not vomit on their Sperry's tonight.
There are a few really awesome bartenders, but alot of them think Shocktop is, like, a really awesome beer or they don't know what St Germain is.
HOWEVER their drink specials rock. Seriously, so many productive hours of my life have been wasted daydrinking here. 4-4-1's, 3-4-1's, and 2-4-1's... you don't start paying for singles until 9pm usually. Sunday Funday = happy hour and free tequila shots every hour on the hour. They also serve, beautiful fishbowls of death.
The food is also decent; stick with the queso, guac, and pancho villa bowl
They also have popular block parties during football season, if that debachery is your cup of tea
This place is definitely the go-to spot for game days and Sunday-funday. You can't live in Gainesville and NOT go to Cantina...unless you live under a rock! However, I will say the dinning experience is far different from the nighttime experience.
The food is absolutely unbelievable! Fair prices and great presentation! I definitely give the food an A+...but that's really the only good thing I can say about this place...
At night, the service is not only horrible via bartenders (there are about 3 good ones and the rest act like WE should be serving them!!) but the place is down right disgusting and dirty. I literally feel uncomfortable using the restrooms with their plumbing problems causing fecal matter to over flow on a nightly basis and ordering drinks with how dirty the outside bar is!
I used to work at multiple bars in Tampa, and even the ones that were considered to be the college bars were still more sanitary than this place! I understand that part of the problem are the belligerent college kids that go there and don't tip for their 3-dollar drinks and turn the place upside down! BUT that's no excuse to be rude to customers, especially one like me who knows what it's like working in a bar and therefore, always tip well. Also not an excuse to cut corners with the cleaning because again, a customer like me KNOWS when things have been cleaned properly or are gross due to pure apathy and laziness of the staff and managers.
I'm sorry but when a bartender makes the incorrect drink she shouldn't give me a look like I'M the one who messed it up and then pour my liquor from the same glass back into a shaker and add the correct mix rather than making me a new one! Also, when there is water on my table and I ask someone to wipe it up, I do no appreciate being thrown a dirty wet towel and being told to do it myself!!!
I will say...I'm still going to go to Cantina because let's face it, there is really no place else to go and most of my friends could care less about the cleanliness as long as they are tipsy! But something REALLY needs to be done about this place's cleanliness.
I was here for Cinco de Mayo and had a great time. The drinks were a good deal for their size and strength. The inside was a nice space to hang out with friends, though it was a little loud. I didn't make it to the Tiki bar area outside (it took a long time just to get in the place) but have heard it's a good time. The pros: Good drinks, fast service, nice atmosphere, good location and good crowd. The cons: the long wait to get in, dirty bathrooms and the fact that it took forever to get a taxi when the bar closed, thanks to its prime midtown location.
Review Source:Went around midnight, crowded, no dancing area. The bathrooms are DISGUSTING. For some reason the men's room had a line of guys like 10 long the whole night, but the ladies' room didn't. Inside the ladies' room, there are 2 stalls, one of which doesn't lock, the other looks like someone kicked a hole in the door, which has been filled with toilet paper. Both toilets were apparently not flushing. Gross. We got two double-whisky-gingers, for $14. The bartender gave us back $5 for change. We didn't realize that until after we had tipped her $2, and then they wouldn't give us back the remaining $1. I know it's only $1, but it seems like taking advantage of your customers, especially when 2 drinks ends up costing $17. Geez. This place really wishes Gainesville was Miami, but the execution is pretty terrible.
Review Source:I would definitely recommend Cantina to any mexican food lover. I can't believe I've lived in Gainesville for almost a year and just tried it for the first time. While the wait was a bit long and the music was a little too loud the delicious food made up for it!
At an affordable price, Cantina delivers on quality, and I will for-sure be back there again!
I came in for lunch the other day and had to sit outside because it was so nice out. What's great about Cantina during the day is the large tiki bar and beach-like atmosphere, it's nice to have a little escape from Gainesville every once in a while.
I chose to sit at the bar and order. I started off with a Shocktop on draft and asked my waitress for recommendations. She said she had most of the wraps and burgers so I went in for the Lava Burger with a side of steak fries. It didn't take long for the food to come out. There was a drizzle of sriracha sauce on the plate to add to the burger if I wanted to. The actual burger was so tasty and the cheese made it all melt together in my mouth. Unfortunately the burger only had some sauteed onions so I asked the bartender to get me some lettuce and tomatoes, it definitely helped give it an extra crunch I was looking for. The steak fries were huge! Plump and lightly seasoned, only needed ketchup to dip them into.
The bartender was pretty attentive especially since there weren't many customers to take care of at the time.
There was a Gator game on and the volume was up a bit too high to enjoy conversation with my two friends...but the atmosphere balance it out for a casual lunch.
I love Mexican food and needed to find a good restaurant when I moved to Gainesville. I went to Cantina with my mom and the food was delicious! She also got a margarita which she enjoyed. Our waiter was friendly and we didn't have to wait for a table. But, our food did take awhile to come out. Other then that it is a fun atmosphere and had good quality food and drinks.
Review Source:I was a bit skeptical about eating at 101 Cantina after reading all the reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised when I ate lunch there this past week! Cantina is right across the library so it was super convenient to just walk across the street for some food. I ordered the taco salad and thought it was fairly good, and not overpriced. The one small downfall was that my meal took a little longer than expected, but the food itself was worth it.
Review Source:Why employ sexism to make a point? Â Yes, quite a few young women work here. Â No, their service isn't spectacular all the time, nor is the primarily male management, either. Â It's not indicative of their vagina or penis. Â Denigrating a female bartender/server by labeling her vacuous or prurient because her bra color peaks through is, to me, offensive and irrelevant.
That being said, yeah, the food really does suck. Â The burrito I ordered was particularly flavorless. Â Their guacamole is overpriced and tasteless. Â Sure, it comes in a large, novel mortar and pestle, Â but its too large and heavy to steal in order for me to believe I genuinely got my money's worth. Â Strangely, their wings are good.
Personally, I only go to Cantina for their 3-for-1s.  This is why I gave them 3 stars. No, they are not well-balanced drinks. They are just ice doused with vodka and tonic (at least for me).  It attracts a young, fairly annoying crowd, but it's Gainesville.   Dump three 3-for-1s down your throat and chew on a  Xanax and you'll find they melt away pretty quickly. Â
Warning: They play dirty. Â If you are drinking, watch your tab, as they are notorious for price-switching.
The food is good and the bar tenders are very attractive. Â But for me the buck stops there. Â It's a bar and there is no hiding that. Â I don't want to say the staff is rude but they just seem disinterested or arrogant on the few occasions I have been there. Â I think this place was designed to serve the fraternities and sororities of UF. Â Based on all the underage drinkers (very obvious) wearing neon colored tank tops and khaki shorts I think they succeeded in that venture. Â It's a shame they can't put some focus on bringing in regular folk like UF professors and UF employees. Â You know...people that where jeans, polos, and even sometimes a button up shirt....but like I said the food is good so if you don't mind hanging out at a fraternity social while you eat then this is the place for you.
Review Source:Who doesn't love a tiki bar? Now, surround the tiki bar with teetering/underaged drunk girls, corn syrup margaritas, and sh*tty food.
Voila! You're at cantina.
Drinks
-I'll have the strawberry-banana margarita.
-um, we're out of banana (by banana she means the quarts of liquid that are (insert fruit) flavored)
On to food.
-I'll have the 101quesadillas with cactus and corn.
-We're out of cactus and corn, but I can have the chef put a mixture of veggies in there for you.
What she really meant was, "I'ma get you some Sysco quesadillas with some cheese and pre-chopped red peppers and onions, of which there are three. Then, the chef is gonna open a can of black beans and dump them onto some Minute Rice as a side. While you wait, check out my boobies (could you see my pink bra) and rear end." It's really too bad that Hooter's closed, but a gal's got to make a living somehow, right?
On the bright side, they have a lot of interesting tequilas, and they offer fights for tasting. Something tells me that the general clientele doesn't concern themselves with such nonsense as tastings. But never fear, there are 3-4-1 wells and pitchers of waterbeer on the cheap.
I'll give it 2 because they really know how to melt some cheese and my husband enjoyed his flight (and the Hooters B Team).
A group of us from work came here last Friday for happy hour, mostly due to the coordinator's obsession with this place. I tried to back out of it, partially because of Yelp reviews and partially because my wife and I had planned dinner and a movie, which is like a biannual treat these days. My wife was berated into coming along, so our date night may now be merely annual. Screw you for ruining my marriage Cantina!!! Oh wait, too soon.
101 Cantina was just a bland experience. I knew beforehand that there was a back patio area and it turned out to be a decent setup, maybe even slightly nicer than I expected. This atmosphere, along with the company, were the highlights of the evening. The beer selection slightly favored Mexican beers, which is fine, but the selection still kind of sucked. After seeing our bill and hearing of the cocktail specials(2-for-1? 3-for-1? Whatever it is) I wished I would have gone with a few cocktails. Only one person in our party got food(tacos) and it didn't look appetizing. He confirmed the suckage of the meal, albeit after cleaning his plate.
Screw you for ruining my marriage Cantina!!! Now it feels right.
Since there are two FIVE star and one four star reviews that are obviously fake and written by the owners, I really feel I must downgrade to one star.
How about you improve your crappy service and food instead of writing reviews for yourself 101? And here's a tip; you can start by hiring waitresses for their skill and expereience; not their boobs.
Every time I've been to 101 Cantina, it's been a boring, unimpressive, experience overall. The location is great--I fully give them that--and having an alternative this close to campus to The Swamp is very welcome. There's a lot they could do with this approach, the problem is, the service--especially if you sit out back on the patio--is slow and spotty and the food is weak in quality yet overpriced. You can get far better nachos at any decent Mexican restaurant easily. The drinks are alright and should be, since that's probably their strongest selling point aside from location.
Now, a note on something else: please glance over the five-star reviews for 101 Cantina and then look at the five-star reviews for its sister business, 101 Downtown. Many are written not only by the same people, but these reviewers have only reviewed these two businesses. This includes a reviewer form Tallahassee and one from Sarasota . . . now ask yourself, how likely is it that people who live elsewhere would all sign up for Yelp in the same month and write glowing reviews for two Gainesville businesses related to each other and yet not write a single review for any businesses in the cities where they actually live? I smell a rat, and that coupled with the unimpressive quality here easily earns 101 just one star. It's a shame some of my friends still dig this place just because they can walk to it from Library West.
I cannot prove 101 is writing its own reviews, but having a number of brand-new users who reviewed nothing else give it the highest of marks is so very suspect, I have to wonder about their business ethics. There are valid mechanisms on Yelp for a business owner to promote his/her business, and a business owner should use those means.
Huh. Surprisingly better than last time.
So: Been there once before, and was unimpressed enough to just not go back at all.
A friend's post thesis defense happy hour: Order the special 4$ margaritas (plus the have a 3 for 1 special - whoa - oh, yeah, its midtown...) and start sipping.
Bartendress - wow. Certainly not chosen for her attentiveness... things were looking bleak.
And then.... the epic nachos arrived. Holy crap. Not a plate of nachos, a freaking BUCKET of nachos (figuratively). A mound of nachos. Fresh perfect chips, a mound of guac and fixins' and ground burger meat aplenty. Did I say aplenty? Heaps of ground meat. 9 bucks.
Totally worth it.
The back patio on a day like today is simply sublime. The second bartrendress was far, far better. What began as sketchy and weak turned into a really great time... of course, a lot of that had to do with the weather and great company, but yeah, based on this I'd go back and do dinner and give the place another shot. Saw 3 other plates delivered and they looked very tasty, and the report was that they were.
I want to do 3.5 stars, but I'm gonna round up here and go with 4.
Went back to this place, and they took an hour to make their cantina bowl. No apologies, just bland disgusting food. Portion was ridiculously small at $12. More than that, it was gross.
I think food quality and wait time depends on who's cooking that day. Won't be back here any time soon.
Drinks were not that bad, but the lack of proper management and horrible food that literally took one hour to make is inexcusable 101.
If anything, check if the older guy is in the kitchen. Because that's the only time food is good. Otherwise, consider this a bar. Go to tatu across the street! They have wonderful food that is hearty and cheap and FAST.
I am absolutely certain that I will NEVER be returning here again!
Before, I'd call myself a semi-loyal albeit slightly indifferent customer. Â I started coming here occasionally for lunch last year because you really can't beat the location, and the lunch specials for $5 really are a deal. Â Granted, the food was never that great (the rice, especially, tasted like it was Uncle Ben's Instant Rice or something), but at least it was consistent, fast, and cheap.
However, today was a turning point. Â My boyfriend and I arrived for lunch a little before 1PM. Â Apparently, we were the first customers of the day because the kitchen hadn't been "readied" (stoves and ovens hadn't been turned on, food hadn't been prepped, etc.). Â This was a minor detail our server neglected to tell us. Â Of course, she couldn't have known that I had a class at 1:55PM, but our orders were simple and, like I said, we were the ONLY customers in the restaurant. Â We ordered and then waited, and waited, and waited. Â Meanwhile, our server was standing around, studying school notes and just being generally useless. Â By 1:35PM, my boyfriend went to her and asked if it was going to take much longer, and she promised him the food was almost ready. Â I finally decided I needed to go, so I wouldn't be late for class. Â My boyfriend stuck around to make sure we got a refund (which fortunately we did), but as I was walking out the door at 1:45PM I saw ONE of our dishes being pushed through the window. Â Who knows how long the other one would have taken, but no way were we sticking around to find out. Â
I hate this place. Â The End.
Went here with a group from work today. It's a break week and business is slow and we did call ahead regarding the number of people. However, half of our group received their food, ate it, paid and left about twenty minutes before the last six of us received our plates. Halfway through they ran out if beans and rice. Not once did anyone come to our table and apologize for the lengthy wait. When I've had to wait any less time at other restaurants (we've been here over an hour and half now) I've had an apology or my meal comped.  That said, the chips and salsa were not on the bill, but I don't  know if that's because the waitress forgot or if that's their compensation as nobody said anything to us.
If you're a college student looking for a bar across from campus with some food to go with your drinks, then you'll be ok. If you're looking for good food at a reasonable price with good service, then you should pass. It just seems pricey for a bar with munchies.
I've been here 3 times. Its great for the drinks, the waitresses, and most of the food.
The first time I hated it because I ordered the ceviche which was tiny, way overpriced, and dry.
The second time I went with a group and enjoyed the drink specials, top shelf margaritas, and a very good fajita.
On my third trip it was also lots of alcohol and a nachos.
They excel with their margaritas and service. Fajitas are good as are the nachos but stay the hell away from their ceviche. Also, the place is not cheap, but they have lots of drink specials and are just across the street from UF.
I was there this weekend for my first time. I thought the food was awesome, well priced and quickly served. The waitress was super cute and friendly. Â The margaritas were awesome. We tried the house special which was not too bad and only $4. The coconut margarita was delicious. I had a good time, good atmosphere and definelty worth the price. I highly recommend it and will definelty be going back for happy hour.
Review Source:The prices were a bit outrageous for a Mexican restaurant, especially one right across from campus. But with 35 margaritas on the menu, there was no question I was going. 35??? Are you serious? A must.
First, let's talk about the website and atmosphere. There are NO HOURS on the site! Why have a site if I have to call ahead to make sure you're open??? The only differences in the lunch and dinner menus is not price, it's that the lunch menu has a few sandwiches and wraps. In their place at dinner were 3 entrees. That's not going to work. Lunch is supposed to be a more cost-effective option. The inside is far too small. The first time we were forced to sit outside because the restaurant was full. I wouldn't be surprised if it only seated 30. Â The outside bar took an obscenely long time and there weren't that many people there.
I decided to try the tuna ceviche which was Asian-style. The chunks of tuna were way too large and didn't have enough acid which made it taste flat. When the server asked me about it and I said there wasn't enough acid, she said, "I think the traditional ceviche has more of the acid taste, but because this is more of a non-traditional take on it, that's why." Yeah, no. It's ceviche and should therefore still TASTE like ceviche no matter what other ingredients you put in it. That recipe needs to be fixed. Especially at that $10 price tag. The portion was huge, plenty to share among several people, but probably a tad ambitious for 2.
We had the 101 margarita which was the best one. The key lime margarita tasted almost powdery. Very strange and not appealing. The peach margarita didn't taste very peachy. The sangria margarita was definitely the worst and it didn't taste like sangria. The black raspberry was really delicious, too. Â I am absolutely still willing to make myself available if they would like someone to help them taste the margaritas as they tweak them.
The chicken poblano pasta was good but a bit dry and could have used some heat. It got better when he squeezed some lime juice on it. Â The cactus and corn and chicken fuego chimichanga. Â AWEEEEESOME!! The first time. Â Very good the second time. Â But my waitress, strangely seemed LESS familiar with the restaurant though it'd been open longer.
This place is all glitz with no attention to the food. I ordered their $6 guacamole and received a giant mortar and pestle filled with...already pureed guacamole. The waitress then proceeded to push the pestle into the bowl as if there was real chunks of avocado in it. The guacamole was garbage, definitely purchased premade. I've had better for much cheaper at Burrito Bros or Chipotle. I was also there for happy hour and for $5 got a decent margarita, but really nothing to write home about. Walk over to burrito bros or even better, boca fiesta for a good Marg and tex mex.
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