Cantina 1

I think I'm repeating what other Yelpers have said...

Service was slow and insincere. For a hungry group of 7, we were hoping for faster turn around on our order.  Our waiter greeted us about 10 minutes (I timed it...) after we were seated, drinks came 3 minutes later and our orders were taken at that time.

The only reason this is above one star is because the food was good.

But after we paid, they were very aggressive about getting us out of there.  Three different people (our waiter, a different waiter, and a table busser) asked us if there was anything else we needed...? Considering there were 7 open booths (to seat 4 - 6 people) and ~10 tables for 4 - 6 people and that the time was 8:35 p.m. on a Friday night... we did not feel that being rushed out was appropriate.

So that was the experience.  Service that was poor to welcome you, slow to serve you, food that was good, and then a sudden push to get you out after you had paid.

I suggest you not eat at Cantina.

Thanks!
CK

Met some friends for a late dinner at the mall after they survived the ropes course. Not a ton open at 930ish and Cantina was available for bar seating.

The bar was busy, but not packed with folks. The booth behind us seemed to be celebrating an impromptu MOA wedding and their people threatened to spill into our booth, or cause a butt to head collision with my friend on the outside.

Our server was attentive with filling up our water and sodas (we wanted dinner and not drinks) and he helped my friends pick between entrees.

The food leaves me kinda indecisive. I got the seafood jambalaya which seemed like an odd choice for a Mexican place, but it had scallops and sausage and a tower of beautiful saffron rice. I'm not kidding; the image of the rice is this tall cone of rice.

Our entrees arrive after we almost finish power eating some chips and queso (a very water, vaguely cheese tasting dip) and my jambalaya is  a smal cup of rice surrounded by shrimp, scallops, and sausage. I'm kinda amused because I saw my friend's plate of beans and rice and thought maybe my rice fell on the way out.

The sausage (I think it was supposed to be andouille?) in the picture was nice hunks of sausage, but again in reality, it's more of a crumble. Kinda like someone pre-chewed it for me (Thanks Alicia). Everything tasted okay. The veggies in the rice maybe a little frozen. But, really, it was just vaguely hilarious how different the entree was in reality to the picture.

I think my friends enjoyed their food and the service was pretty good for a couple of people out for dinner rather than drinks. But, it's pretty spendy and not worth the premiums.

Went for lunch on a Sat after a movie and it wasn't busy.  My bf and I were seated right away. The food was decent, not spectacular...but then again, I ordered the pollo al pastor torta and my bf just got a burger. Haha. I just didn't feel like paying that much for sub par americanized Mexican food. The chicken in my sandwich was moist, the marinade was weak, but the pineapple & avocado were a plus. My sangria was pretty disappointing as it tasted like sour juice. Should have just gotten a $3 beer instead. Plus, we didn't really have a waiter at first and sat there for a while without any service. Then someone who grabbed us a couple of waters told us he'd come serve us if nobody else came...well, no one came.  After reading other reviews, lack of service seems common here.  Go here to hang out during happy hour and for the beer specials.