La Vida Cantina

First I must say that this restaurant has a very nice set up for people that wants to eat outside. They have two bars outside and one inside. I can definitely hang out here. Also you can seat yourself outside, which i liked and made things easier. We ended up eating inside and then hung out at the outside area.
Now the food was so delicious. French toast is my fav breakfast and they have the best French toast with a blueberry sauce that had me going crazy lol. It was perfect with there potatoes and bacon it was fire. There brunch is really good and had me wanting seconds.
There drinks were delicious and inexpensive, which always makes things that much better. I really love that they have happy hour on the weekends. Not many places have that. The services was A1 and our waiter was super patient and nice. I have a great time and will definitely be back again.

Passed by this location so many times assuming it would be overpriced, mediocre food & service with gimmick location. WRONG! Excellent atmosphere, service and food. Our new Taco Tuesday spot!

I paid full price, but other wise, I would have given them a 4 stars. Its a really nice fun place. Lot of open spaces, and up in the terrace, so its nice to look up the sky! Its across from saddle ranch, which has awful food, so this place by proximity, with its descent food shines as 4 stars on its own. My friend order ceviche coz he was on diet, but honestly, I dont think this is a ceviche kind of place at all. I got the chile relleno, and the plating of the food looked like wanna be Javiers, but for 12 $s, the food wasnt half as bad, and I wouldn’t mind eating. But just not super crazy about it. The drinks werent bad. But honestly if you are in the area, and looking for cheap descent food, check their specials and happy hour and check this place. if you are looking for good mexican food, you shouldnt be in this area anyways, and be heading over to javiers.

I fucking love this place!!! It’s so lively out by the patio area. Their food is pretty on point too. Every time I come here I’m always pretty amazed with the food. Everything has been good!!. From the ceviche, poki, seared ahi tuna, to the tacos on taco Tuesday. Desserts are good too!
And this one time I and some friends ordered the Cadillac margarita pitcher. Holy shit! Bomb and it was so much fun once we finished it, and we’re obviously drunk. Good times, good times!
Their customer service has always been pretty incredible. Not once have I or any friends been disappointment. Honestly I don’t give a sh** about customer service though. I’m here for the food! Yum. Haha :)

Went here last night after out adventure run. I’ve been here several times before for drinks mainly. Came with a few friends for dinner. This place is always busy which I like for the atmosphere. I ordered a chicken quesadilla which was good. The other two dishes that were ordered were not great.
One ordered chili relleno which was below average and the third person ordered ceviche which was not good and we actually had to send it back. The service was mediocre and we had to ask several times for place settings after our food came. Although the drinks were good per usual, the rest of the visit was not great.
I will continue to come for drinks and such but definitely would stick with Javiers for food for sure.

I asked if their chicken taco is chicken breast and they said YES, and no surprise it wasn’t
I left my table to use the restroom and when I came back they had took away anything I ordered (drinks, chips and salsa …) and I had to sit down for another 10 minutes to have my drink
I asked for salsa refill and some napkins, they said in a moment. guess what ! I didn’t get them
they brought my check I put my card and sat down for 30 minutes and no one took the payment (it wan’t a busy night — roughly %40 customers)

This is my favorite taco Tuesday spot ! The crunchy beef tacos are so delicious but even better the drinks are nice and strong ! The place in general is really alive and fun, they have a live band play wonderful music, yesterday they had a live band playing mellow Spanish music.
I really recommend trying this place out, and having Memo serve you, he’s a really fun and knowledgeable with the menu. Thanks Memo for making my friends birthday so awesome ! You rock man !

I have been hearing so much about La vida so I had to try it! We sat down for taco Tuesday and our servers name was Memo! He was so welcoming and let us know about the happy hour menu. I felt like ordering something a little different so I l started off with a blood orange margarita and it came with a Tajin rim :) so delicious I wanted like 5 more! But instead i then moved over to the classic margaritas and the amazing tacos. The crispy tacos were sooo good, I tried the beef ones! There was also a beautiful live band and tons of beautiful people. Will Definitely will be back!

First time coming here and my date and I both loved it. The patio is great and I really liked that they have heat lamps and the little fire pit.
We had the quesadilla del mar (delicious) and the enchiladas del mar (also delicious).
The service was also great. Dierdre was our server and she was very attentive and we loved her sense of humor. I will definitely be back !

This is my go to Mexican spot in OC! You can’t go wrong at La Vida.
First impression, their patio is amazing! It’s huge! I try to always sit outside but I’m not shy of going indoors here.
Their cocktail list has it all and the bartenders don’t hesitate to try something new either. I’m usually hesitant to order a margarita by a bartender I don’t know but everyone here pours them as you would at home, strong!
I love the menu. Whether I’m here with the guys for taco Tuesday, or out at dinner with my fiancé, there is something for everyone. My go to are the carnitas tacos. They’re packed with meat!
We just recently tried their brunch. Can’t beat $ 9 endless mimosas and I mean endless. They refill you before you can even get half of it down! Their brunch menu is solid and has some great food choices.
Shout out to our favorite bartenders here, Ryan and Camille. They always recognize us and remember our orders. Super impressed by them both!
Highly recommend it and have. We will be having our wedding rehearsal dinner here for sure!

The food here is A-​W-​E-​S-​O-​M-​E !
I went for wine Wednesday (Half off a glass of wine) and it was a great experience!
No wait time it was packed and we still didnt wait to be seated, we had the option to sit in or outside. Very spacious, loved the scenery, had alot of heater outside, totally warm.
The customer service was exceptional ! My server Gregg was awesome. He made sure my boyfriend and i had a great first experience there. (which we did) We both feel in love with their carne asade fries it were bomb!!! Also, had their burrito is was so good!
I’m in love with place definitely recommend La vida to anyone!
Great food, great service, and a fun environment what more can you ask for.
Thanks gregg for the service!

First of all, I LOVE brunch. What I love more is brunch places that have unlimited mimosas or bloody Mary’s. But you know what is even better? When you can have unlimited mix and match mimosas, bloody Mary’s, and micheladas (beer and clamato and/​or tomato juice depending on locations).
A few girlfriends and I came here on Saturday to have brunch and watch some reggae. We sat at the bar and everyone who worked there was super nice and attentive. Most places the servers usually try to ignore you after awhile because let’s be real, they aren’t really making too much of a tip/​profit off these unlimited deals because people are cheap.
Any how, we ordered our food and I ordered the chorizo con huevos with flour tortillas. The food was really good quality and delish. The mimosas were made with a decent champagne (way better than other places), the bloody mary was delish, and the michelada a good day cap.
I am excited to come back here so I can continue to taste the other menu options. One of my gfs had a quesadilla that looked delish and another gf had eggs, bacon, and potatoes. They use jalapeño bacon which has great flavor. Oh, and they let us do the unlimited drinks with the brunch and lunch menu. Another amazing perk!

Just went here last night for the first time, and I was blown away by everything.
The atmosphere is awesome! Beautiful lanterns, cool glass firepits, big canopies… you will feel like you’re on vacation somewhere!
After 10 they have late night happy hour, even on Saturday! I tried the house margarita (only $ 5 on happy hour!), and honestly it was the best margarita I’ve ever had! There was a lot of flavor involved, not just lime and tequila. It tasted weak so I was worried, but it’s just a very well mixed drink because it packed a punch!
I also thought the food was exceptional. Their salsa had great flavors and I loved the Chicken Tacos Suaves. Their chicken is well seasoned and tender– just delicious! My boyfriend had the carne asada fries and they were really great as well. The only thing that I thought could use improvement was the guacamole. It was a bit bland.
This is a really cool spot for going out– they play good music, but not so loud that you can’t hear anything. I recommend open seating on the patio or at the bar… I had a really great time there!

Drinks were about $ 6 for happy hour, and the appetizers were okay.
They had Carne Asada fries, which I was ecstatic about. Sadly, they were subpar, but that’s because I always get Carne Asada fries in SD.
The band playing during Cinco de Mayo made it quite hard to hear anything other people at our table was saying, and service was super slow as well. The food and drinks were fine though, and that’s mostly what matters.

Went in here for dinner with a girlfriend… we were able to get a seat on the patio after a short wait, rather than sit inside and be seated by the host staff. Lots of action on the patio, great vibe and energy, good people watching.
Our server was super nice and attentive, everything was great. Food was good, it is not breaking any boundaries. Kind of typical Mexican food, and there’s a lot of that where I live, so I wasn’t super impressed, nor was I unimpressed. It was good, normal.
I’d go back, my sister lives near by and my mom loves Mexican food, so I see some potential for a return trip.

I came here for a Sunday brunch with my friends and I had a good experience! This place is located right next to Sutra and it is easily the best brunch spot I’ve ever been to. The atmosphere is very similar to Vegas day club, without the pool and with some of the sloppiness. There’s loud music, people dancing in the front and its overall a really fun atmosphere.
They have indoor and outdoor seating, however I highly recommend sitting outside if the weather is perfect. Everything about my experience was good except for the service. The place is pretty packed so I get it, but our server would check in on us rarely and it took forever to get our check.
Mimosas (5 out of 5)
This was the best mimosa I ever had. I could have more than one glass easily. I came a little late but I’m told they have bottomless mimosas at a certain time.
Chips and Salsa (4 out of 5)
The salsa wasn’t too watery but it still had tons of spice and flavor. This took forever to come though since our server didn’t check in on us very much.
Enchiladas Suizas (4 out of 5)
This was really good. Tons of flavor in the enchilada and it was a pretty big portion. The rice looked like it was going to have so much flavor but it tasted no different than regular white rice.
Aside from the service I had no complaints. I would definitely come back.

Great service from this staff, awesome ambiance in the patio with lights and heaters.
Food review:
Appetizer beef taquitos were amazing! Yummy. ⁴⁄₅
Chips & Salsa: yummy :) ⁴⁄₅
House marg: I had two they were yummy but your typical marg. ⁴⁄₅
Chicken fajitas: beans & rice are yummy, the fajitas itself had a lot of onions and peppers and I have no problem with onions and peppers but I couldn’t finish that. The chicken was ok but I could’ve just made the same chicken at home, nothing outstanding there. Came with sour cream and guac plus tortillas.
³⁄₅!
So overall I appreciated the staff and had a great vibe there tonight. The food was decent but not spectacular. Would I return? Maybe just for appetizers and drinks!

Filet mignon is tender and perfectly grilled. Still it could be improved with onion caramelized in red wine. Memories from other unique homey cuisine.
Ambient is warm and friendly, fire places everywhere, live band and Spanish décor induce indulgence and slow time. Very busy on Fridays.
4 Stars!!!
Luigius — Thor of Unilocal Energy

Came here for a friend’s birthday get together and was impressed with the outdoor seating, cool fire pits, service and blueberry margarita. My friend had a party of 24 and they arranged this with the staff the week prior and the little details made all the difference. Here’s the breakdown:
MENU: La Vida Cantina created a custom menu for my friend Linda’s birthday and even wrote her name in the header of the menu. We were told that the cost was $ 25 per person which included a house salad for course 1 and a choice of various enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, etc. If you’re planning on having a get together for your birthday it’s definitely worth calling the restaurant and arranging for this set-​up.
SEATING: We had a party of 24 and when I arrived 30 minutes after the party started (fashionably late) about 20 seats were taken and the remaining 4 were like hanging off the edges of the tables. I literally was sitting in a corner pretty much humping the leg of the table and asked, «Is this really a place setting or are we getting another table?» the others agreed that we wouldn’t have space to eat. One of the guests asked Guillermo to fetch us a table and he had to ask the manager and the manager’s best was another table that was lower and didn’t match. We were fine with this, but make sure to let them know in the pre-​party planning phase you want elbow room for all the guests and get the set-​up right the first time.
DRINKS: I asked Guillermo (he was our server all night) for his recommendation on margaritas and he brought out the blueberry basil margarita which was my favorite drink by far. I also tried the pineapple jalapeño margarita which reminded me more of a soup broth than a drink and wasn’t in love with it, but if you’re adventurous and love jalapeño then definitely give it a try.
FOOD: I ordered the enchiladas suizas which no I don’t recommend. I’ve eaten A LOT of enchiladas and these ones weren’t bad, but they weren’t memorable. I’d recommend getting the fajitas (carnitas or birria) instead. I tried the birria and it was SOO good or better than my enchiladas. The house salad was good but after 3 bites I was over it.
DESSERT: At the end, the chef created a churro and flan dessert platter and sent it out with sparklers and decorations to the table for us to sing happy birthday to Linda. The churros were perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. These weren’t your typical Disney churros and tasted gourmet and didn’t look like they came out of a box. The flan was ok, but I think because I ate the churro first it took away from the flan experience.
SERVICE: The staff were all great and kept refilling our drinks, checking if we wanted more alcohol, said pardon my reach, can I take this out of your way please, is everything ok here… etc. We didn’t have to chase anyone down to get service and I only waved my hand up and said «Garçon» or «Amigo!» once. Ok, I didn’t say that, but I only motioned a waiter for a question or drink order once the whole night. Guillermo took great care of us and I couldn’t praise him more. #PraiseGuillermo, #Bless
Definitely recommend this place for a nice get together in Orange County at a reasonable price.

Buenos tragos, me encantó en tacol crispy y por supuesto buena música !!!
Los meseros y bartenders súper atentos!
Vivoen santa Monica y la verdad valió la pena venir hasta acá!!

Came here New Years morning AKA International Hangover Day.
Was here at about 1:45. They have botomless mimosas until 2 PM BUT the service was so damn slow we missed it. Waiter came at about 1:59. The waiting time between drinks and food was reoccuring during our time here.
Thats the real problem with this place, inefficiency in staffing is obviously the cause as I saw a lack of staff for the large amount of people dining. Its a shame because the enviornment is pretty fun/​well executed but is killed by the lack of service to the clientele.
Food was nothing memorable. We had steak and eggs, and veggie egg white scrambles (SO EXCITING I know)
Drinks were stiff which is always good. Would have been 3.5−4 stars if not for the ineffective service and long wait times.