Did I mention my love for Mexican food here on the blog? I must have already mentioned, but it’s easy to repeat: I love Mexican food! It’s among my favorite cuisines and me and Thiago love to explore Mexican restaurants here. On one of those Saturday nights, we wanted to go out to eat and decided our destination would be Harlem. After a quick search on Foursquare, we decided to go to Cantina Taqueria and Tequila Bar and I can already say that it is already on my list of favorite Mexican restaurants in New York.
Cantina has a very cool atmosphere, common in the Mexican restaurants here. It’s not a very big place, but it’s cozy and the staff is super friendly. The menu is very complete: appetizers such as guacamole, quesadilla and nachos, as well as traditional Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and rice bowls, generous portions with rice, corn, peppers, onions and lettuce, accompanied by meat Of your choice. Prices are also great: burritos starting at $12, bowls at $11 and tacos starting at $9. The drinks menu is also super varied, with margaritas and other cocktails (starting at $10), plus wines and beers (starting at 5) and, of course, tequila shots (starting at $6). You can check the full menu on the website.
One of the things I like most in Mexican restaurants is that the chips are always free. As soon as we arrived, they brought a basket of chips and a red sauce. As we are passionate about guacamole, we ordered a portion to eat with the chips ($8.95). It was delicious, super fresh, with an exceptional seasoning. We also ordered two Pulled Pork tacos and a chorizo burrito. We shared everything – the burrito is huge and super stuffed. I have no words to describe how delicious the food was. From the burrito dough to the chorizo, to the delicious tacos ingredients – we left the place super satisfied and we could not stop talking to each other how tasty the food was. This is the kind of restaurant that I will certainly repeat! We even ordered the Cantina House Marguerita, a margarita with agave, lemon juice and tequila, very strong and very delicious.
On Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am to 3pm, Cantina offers the Bottomless Brunch: U$12,95 + any entree, 60 minutes bottomless from time first drink is served. Sangria, Mimosa, Margarita. From Monday to Friday, they offer a special Happy Hour with tacos at $3, beers at $4 and margaritas at $6.
Address: 1838 7th Avenue / 329 Lenox Avenue (late February).
Laura Peruchi is a Brazilian blogger, author, and entrepreneur. She has lived in Manhattan with her husband since 2014. Since then, she has shared on her blog varied content about the Big Apple. From travel tips, including unusual things to do, shopping tips, etiquette, restaurants, and a lot more, her blog has become a reference in Portuguese (also available in English) for anyone planning a trip to New York City.
