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    Bigsur Cantina

    3.9 (61 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Order Bigsur Cantina Takeout or Delivery

    Bigsur Cantina Photos

    Business Info

    BIGSUR CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Bigsur Cantina

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    Eric H.

    I've always liked this place, but I ate here yesterday, and the food was amazing. Even the service seemed to stand out. I left wondering why I don't eat here more often. As always, the place was very clean.

    Chicken Nachos
    Marc

    Amazing chicken nachos for lunch! I would definitely recommend this to anyone, nice and fresh, ty!!

    Raymond S.

    Margaritas were ok. The nachos were fire. Got the birria nachos and there was so much meat that we could have made like 2 tacos with the leftovers. Can't wait to come back and try more stuff. Staff was amazing!!

    The bar
    Kathy M.

    Great to see a new non chain restaurant in this area. Driven past and happy we finally got to try it out. Love the California Mexican vibe. The drink towers were intriguing and could picture that being hysterical but it was lunchtime so had to pass. Inside was eclectic in such a fun way. I could picture this being a great after work drink spot. We were here at an off time about 3:00pm. Early early bird time. Order was taken quickly, food arrived quickly. You pay for chips and salsa which is fine it's $2.50 and you can get more. Honestly I don't know how restaurants can still give them for no charge. I ordered the small tacos, the shrimp and mahi mahi. Favored the shrimp and mahi was a tiny fishy but that's mahi for ya. They were plated beautifully and the side of rice and beans was delicious. I do not eat cheese and didn't read but it is sprinkled with a little Mexican cheese so if you do not eat cheese say no cheese. I had that omitted from my tacos. The burritos my family got were humongous I had to keep looking back because I was in dis belief. It reminded me of Jalisco in Milwaukee years ago. Anyways I was rubbing my eyes to try to figure out what the long things were in there as they were eating. French fries. Not the first time I have seen this but was perplexed. I tried a little of the burrito and am happy I went taco route. They are $19 but keep in mind if you like a ridiculous amount of food this will be your happiest day. As for service it was great!

    Chips and salsa
    Allison H.

    The vibe inside was very interesting; I don't know how else to describe it. The service was friendly but extremely absent. We ordered the chips and salsa as an appetizer, which was small but advertised as free refills - but when we asked for a refill, our server only brought out chips, no salsa. Weird, we thought. The food we ordered was good and filling. We got enchiladas, trash can nachos (which felt like a total rip off of Guy Fieri's), and the San José. The drinks were a bit overpriced, imo. There is also a 3 lb burrito challenge, which you can read about on their website. Overall, a solid 3.5 - the service could be improved.

    Drink tower, chips, and a drink!
    Cherise K.

    Solid 3.5 for the drink tower, flavorful cocktails, and happy hours. Minus for sub par elotes, paying for chips, and okay food. I've been twice and the second time the elotes were much better, so maybe it depends on the night, but still holds my rating. This place will be on the list for convenience, if I'm meeting someone for a movie or it's a local Thirsty Thursday kind of week. But overall, not a huge fan. Happy eating.

    Ethan T.

    I took on the BigSur Cantina burrito challenge in Madison, Wisconsin. The restaurant just recently opened in September of 2022. There had been around 11 non-successful attempts at the challenge. Contestants have 12 minutes to finish the burrito. Otherwise, you must pay $30. If you win, you receive the meal for free, a tshirt, & a spot on the wall of fame. I finished in 10:39. The wall of fame is right in the entryway of the restaurant, which I thought was neat. The wall of shame is located right next to the bathroom entrance! The burrito includes fries, queso oaxaca, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, Mexican rice, queso dip, black beans, & marinated carne asada. The burrito was tasty! The staff was fantastic & very supportive during the food challenge. I'd like to come back to try their other menu items!

    Cali burrito
    Sho R.

    I dined in dinner on a Friday evening. I arrived early, so got a seat right away. When I left, I saw people waiting. Cali burrito was good. It was a huge burrito with a ton of stuff like fries, queso, gaucomole etc stuffed in it. It came drenched in queso, which was a nice touch. Roasted gaucomale was my appetizer. It looked picture perfect, but didnt taste good. I also tried 3 tacos - Big sur, birria and hot Cheetos tacos. All 3 were terrible. This is the first time in my life, I see tacos this bad. May be the hot cheetos tacos was the worst of the worst.

    Strawberry Margarita alcohol-free
    MaryDan H.

    Dropped in for lunch on a weekday. The young man that seated us was also our server. He did a great job multitasking. We started with a basket of chips and a side of guacamole. The guac side was small but delicious. The chips were above average and warm. When the server asked if we wanted more chips (yes!) I asked for salsa. He brought one mild and one spicy. Yummy. For lunch I ordered two different tacos: Fisherman (fried cod) and From The Farm (veggie). I expected to like the fish taco more, but the veggie taco impressed me more. The veggie taco has full of mushrooms, corn and plantains in addition to tasty sauces. Mmmm. My husband had two BIGSUR tacos featuring tender grilled steak. He absolutely loved these tacos. The restaurant is wise to make this taco their namesake dish. It's truly delicious! The decor of BIGSUR is awesome! Beachy, surfing and VW buses.....LOVE IT!! I will be back.

    Tacos
    Susan B.

    Decided to give Big Sur a try for dinner one evening and we will definitely return. Had their chips /salsa and street corn for an appetizer. Both were great. We both ordered their three taco meal and had the beans and rice side. Tacos were amazing, as were the beans and rice. I think my favorite taco was the Pastor. Service was super friendly. I highly recommend giving them a try.

    San Jose Burrito

    So glad we found this place!!! Visiting UW Madison and wanted dinner... went in hoping for the best. Was blown away! The food was outstanding- very generous portion sizes, excellent quality great tasting fajitas/burritos... the service was also fantastic! So friendly and attentive. Super cute decor. Will absolutely be back next time we are in town!!

    Farmer Enchiladas

    We especially recommend the Farmer Enchiladas--what a pleasure! Guac, queso, and salsa were equally enjoyable. Staff were friendly and accommodating. We'll be back!

    Marg
    Abigail W.

    Been wanting to try Big Sur since I moved to Madison! It was delicious. Fun decor - they really stick to the color theme even in the food :) our service was good, food was good - I tried Birria (but was missing the sauce to dip) Big Sur and carnitas. Big Sur was my fave. Will be back to try the towers!

    Chips and salsa with big sir margarita

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    1 year ago

    Been here countless times. Everything is great. If you're vegetarian highly recommend the farmers enchiladas or any of the tacos.

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    11 months ago

    The service was okay. The food was fine, nothing exciting. The decor is fun. I probably will not return soon.

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    Ask the Community - Bigsur Cantina

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    Bigsur Cantina - mexican - Updated May 2026

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