El Cantinero

This is the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life, bar none. 100% flavor free. And surly ungracious service to boot. Horrible. A tourist trap of the first order. Avoid it at all costs. How in the world can you destroy something as easy as rice and beans? It takes talent and tenacity but these people prove it can be done.
Service? There was none. When they finally showed up and we asked if we could have a half order of the normally six dollar charge for extra sour cream with our order they gave us the classic one syllable answer, «NO!»
Not cheap either. I don’t enjoy writing reviews like this but I really feel like I owe it to the community and hapless visitors like myself to pass on a warning. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Great ambiance! You will not feel or think you are in New York. It has the small Mexican town charm, and the vibe is so vacation-y.We came here for lunch on Friday before the long weekend and this is THE place to start the celebration.
Very happy with the food, in house made salsa, service and drinks here. Have to mention you do get one free drink for lunch!

This spot is a hidden gem. After brunch I came to this spot. As soon as you walk in the music puts you in high spirits. My party sat upstairs there was an outside patio, really cute. I ordered a mango margarita on the rocks. It was made to perfection. We were given chips and salsa. I have to say the guacamole is sooo good. My party enjoyed their food. Great service, excellent atmosphere and good times.

Love their free nachos and salsa. It always makes me want to come back. Seriously, if it wasn’t for the nachos and salsa, I donno if I would find the taste that different from other Mexican places. I do like the interior décor. Makes me feel like I just came to Mexico right off of Manhattan sidewalk. I have been to his place more Han 10 times. The lunch portion is big enough ton share and they’re quite accommodating with that giving extra plate. Our chicken fajita lunch price is $ 15. But it comes with guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, refrained beans, and rice.

I stopped by Friday night to meet some friends for drinks & a bite to eat.
We came in no problems being seated, started with some drinks I tried a Tequila Sunrise, not bad decent amount of alcohol good taste.
Friends had a Long Island iced tea & Jack & diet both good.
We skipped the appetizers & just picked on the Nachos & salsa they give u pretty good.
Main dishes we tried the Flautas & Chimichanga dishes.
To start two of us went with the salads one had the Bean soup.
Salad was pretty good small but good tasting dressing the Bean soup was ok.
I had the Chicken Flautas, comes with rice & beans some salad, guacamole & sour cream.
Flautas were not bad better with the guacamole & sour cream, am not a big fan of refried beans this was ok & so was the rice.
The Chimichanga dish came with the same, tried these in both chicken & beef, chicken was delicious good taste with the fried flour tortilla, beef was good, chicken was better.
As for the restaurant two floors upstairs it’s some sort of lounge seems to get pretty crowded with very loud music playing.
Below the restaurant there’s plenty of seating to go along with the funky Mexican décor.
Service was good, prices are decent.

My boyfriend and I absolutely LOVE Mexican food, so we’re both always on the hunt for a good Mexican restaurant. El Cantinero is your traditional Mexican restaurant, with cheesy decorations, music and dim lighting. You’ll get a small bowl of chips and salsa when you’re seated (does not get refilled unless you ask).
My boyfriend and I both got the Burrito (x2) entrée which is filling enough for one person. These burritos were more like enchiladas– you had to use a fork and knife to eat them. They came with a side of shredded salad, rice and beans topped with melted cheese. We also had two rounds of margaritas. Fair warning: the Cadillac margarita is S-​T-​R-​O-​N-​G!!! Be careful…
We were overall pretty satisfied. The prices run high for what it is, and equate to those at trendier restaurants.

We stopped by on St. Patrick’s Day for dinner about 9pm. There was no wait to be seated. I ordered the black bean soup with the veggie burrito plate and my boyfriend got the Pernil plate, it doesn’t come with rice or beans, why i don’t know! The food had no flavor. He ate it all only because he was hungry. We were very disappointed from the soup to both dishes; we had to add a lot of salt. The salsa was the best thing on the table. I would not return, we didn’t complain, we just wanted to leave.

Came in with friends to have a simple drink while waiting for other friends to arrive for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Went in for about 1.5 minutes before a very large fight broke out. This was 9:00 PM, mind you.

This Mexican restaurant is cute. In addition to the main space on the ground level there are two rooms upstairs on the second floor. One has a bar but not sure about the other. I was there for a holiday party. the drinks were good, I tried their coconut margarita and continued with Sol beer. I had their chimichangas, enchiladas, guacamole, which were all tasty. Their salsa is ok, not the best I’ve had. Music was good too.

I’ve recently been going on a chimichanga rampage and figured I’d try this spot. The prices are not bad at all considering the portions. Most of the dishes are served with the works (rice, beans, guac and lettuce) and include a free drink. I took advantage of this offer by getting a sangria, which wasn’t as watered down as I thought it would be. All in all, the food is solid. If I had one complaint I would say the waiters need to be a little more personable.
PS. I love cheese but I’m not gonna lie the cheese on refried beans thing scared me.

If the entrees at this place were about $ 7 cheaper, then this would be a three-​star review. But as it is, I’m not inclined to return to a place that charges $ 17 for a mediocre (to be generous) chimichanga or a vegetarian burrito that was, at best, monotonous. Also, one would expect that a place that has the gall to charge that price for such uninspired food would also have more than one salad dressing (it’s ranch, if you’re wondering, and there’s plenty to go around).
However, the sangria was pretty dope.

I am writing this review mostly just to warn people that the nachos aren’t what you expect. It isn’t a mound of chicps with melty cheese and toppings. It is maybe 8 tortilla chips in a circular formation around the plate with cheese, (slice of meat of choice) and a jalepeno stuck in it.
I just want you to be aware of what you are ordering.
Margaritas are not cheap; ask if there is a special.
I’d go with fajitas.

Been here a few times and it’s always a mixed experience. The food and desserts are wonderful, but the drinks sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Tonight, for example, I was in the area with a friend and we stopped in for a drink (pina coladas). Seemed like a great time to step in, since the usually crowded bar area was near empty… but when our drinks came, neither I or my friend tasted any alcohol in them. Disappointing.
Final verdict: come for the food, but if you’re just looking for some drinks you might be better off heading elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Food was excellent and the service VIP. Celebrated my wife’s birthday and they went the extra mile to make the day special. Then we partied upstairs at the club and had a great time.

I came on a friday evening and the experience is great. I ate dinner first and my veggies tacos were ok. I had better but their red sangrias was good. Upstairs their is a dancing area where they put the typical salsa, merengue, bachata etc.

Just discovered this place last night with a friend and what a find! The second floor Patio area is a gem and we LOVED that there was a little disco with salsa music next to it. But really, the outdoor patio is charming as f*ck, and my quesadilla was exactly what I hoped it would be.
We’ll be going back again and again and again until we’ve knocked everything off the menu.

My boyfriend and I go here all the time! One: because the food is amazing and two: because of the atmosphere! Usually this place is very quiet and makes it easy to have a nice, intimate date. On the weekends it gets packed and the second floor even more so — with everyone crammed in the bar area dancing!
We would literally go here just for the the free chips and salsa because the salsa is that good!

El restaurant me encanto. Muy buena decoración y muy buena la atención. La comida podría mejorar, pero para festejos tipo cumpleaños es muy recomendable.

The only reason why this is not a five star is because the food was just OKAY in my opinion, also the beer seemed really pricey @$ 8 but can’t really complain because it’s NYC.
Other than that I enjoyed the service, atmosphere, and fried banana ice cream presentation.
Will be back for dessert & drinks!

The décor of this place definitely needs major help. It is honestly a bit on the tacky side. While there for lunch, there seems to be discussion about renovating some ceilings tiles. Hopefully they will do more than that. They can first start off by getting rid of the fake poinsettias. Christmas is over, guys! Despite the décor, this place is popping during lunch. We came in right before the lunch rush. By the time we were done, the whole place was full.
Anyway on to the food. I got the $ 12 tacos. It comes with two tacos, rice, and beans. The entrée also comes with a complimentary glass of sangria. I’m torn with the tacos dish. Although it was good, it just seemed simple like they cooked the ground beef in a pack of taco seasoning and stuffed it in the store bought taco shells. Although it was a tad bit salty for my taste, the rice and beans tasted good with the little bit of lettuce on the side. The glass of sangria is strong and it is a generous glass that they give you.
Service is top notch as well. The waiter and bus boys are attentive and came to make sure if we wanted more chips and to clear our plates.
Good experience overall. I would be back for the rice and beans.

I really like this place, they have my favorite hot sauce El yucateco and the food is delicious! Why the low reviews, I don’t know but I’ve been coming back to eat here. The mole is delicious, guacamole tasty, and the enchiladas a melted cheesy perfection in my mouth, haha.
If you want to drink after and dance, they have a little dance floor upstairs and $ 5 happy hour special.