The tacos are good, but Chubby's are just as good and considerably cheaper. The margarita that I had was good and strong, but could not make up for the fact that they served INSTANT RICE. It couldn't have been anything but instant, and I was appalled to be paying so much for such a poor quality food. I would expect it at the KW cafeteria, but not at somewhere that has been so well written up. Haven't been there since. Also, I don't understand why a mexican restaurant was covered in tiki masks. read more

I've only been here a handful of times, but I have been pleased with my meal each time. The staff isn't great-not very attentive. BUT the food is great. Their tacos are incredible!! My personal favorite are the shrimp tacos. I've even ordered some tacos to go and they were even great the next day. The cheese dip is also really good! Overall, good restaurant. Even if the service is bad, the food makes up for it. read more

Mediocre, at best. The tuna taco sounded good, but tasted bitter with absolutely no flavor. Tuna was overcooked and rubbery. A tiny portion with a few slivers of cucumber and jicama (like a radish). Short rib nachos were fat-soaked cheap beef with no particular flavor. The black beans tasted bitter as well, the rice was dry and flavorless. Bread pudding was OK, but overpriced. Service was good; people were friendly, but the food was downright disappointing. All four of us agreed we would never go back. There is no reason to do so. You can get a tastier meal at Salsa Fresh. read more

I just ate here with my wife. She had heard great things about this place and we could eat Mexican 7 days a week and not get tired of it so we checked it out. The place seems awesome from the get go and we really wanted to love it. The service was fantastic. The menu was great too with plenty of variety. Here's the problem though. Everything needed some help in the flavor department. It was all very fresh but pretty bland. It has so much potential. The chips were great but the salsa (kind of a bland pico de gallo) was blah. I later added one of the hot sauces to the salsa and it made a world of difference. We asked the server what he recommended and he told us anything with the short ribs was great and he highlighted the tuna tacos with marmalade. We took his advice and went with those selections and got a chicken tinga taco. Everything was good but nothing was great. The tacos came with black beans, rice and slaw. They were all extremely boring. No flavor in the beans, the slaw was not worth eating and the rice tasted like white rice with tomato sauce. The atmosphere was awesome and like I mentioned there is a ton of potential here, they just need to fine tune the details of the food. As much as I would love to support this place I don't think I'll be back. read more

A-ma-zing!! Lived the drinks and the tacos were out of this world. Highly recommend the pineapple jalapeño margaritas if you like spicy. Great service too! read more

My husband and I love Mexican cuisine and this place had the best ground beef tacos I've ever had. The service was fantastic and the staff could not have been nicer. Shout out to Matthew who was our server and the bartender! read more

Best Tex Mex in the area , have not had anything here that I did not like . Everything is local

Great service! The restaurant is very beautiful inside. I had the house margarita which was on special (Mondays), this was very tasty. The guac, queso, and salsa were very delicious! As far as an entree, I went with the taco platter. I had the spicy braised short rib and the crispy sweet chili lime wanchese shrimp. Both were very good, but the crispy sweet chili lime shrimp taco was AMAZING!! Will definitely be getting more of those next time. As far as the side I got refried beans which were just ok, lacking flavor. read more

Went for the second time last night with a large group. Service was really good. A friend ordered a beer off the menu. The waiter came back and told him they were out of that beer and apolgized that he, the waiter, should have known they were out and offered to bet him something else for free. My wife and I split 3 tacos. The chicken with apple, cranberries and goat cheese was amazing. So was the shrimp. The beef was just ok. Dessert was great. read more

Love the shrimp tacos!!! The restaurant is cozy & comfortable, the wait staff is great. The new twist on flavors that are being used makes for an exciting lunch or dinner. read more

Stopped in for a quick dinner on a Tuesday night. Place was busy, but not crowded. I sat at the bar and received prompt, friendly service. I passed on the $3 pint draft special and went for a house margarita. For $5 on Mondays (I paid $7), I could imagine hurting myself a little on the house margarita. I wasn't asked frozen or rocks, as if there were no choice... and there shouldn't be. They gave me a straw to avoid the ice cubes... it's like they know me already. Or maybe the straw is an apology for the tall, thin glass the drink comes in. I didn't mind the glass and the drink was quite good as house margaritas go. Chips and salsa are complimentary. The chips were clearly made in house and fresh, but maybe a bit too salty. The salsa was fresh-style and more like saucy pico de gallo. I liked it, but there was no spicy heat at all. I ordered roasted chicken enchiladas. They were served on a bed of refried beans and rice, which I would rather have on the side, but at least the beans were seasoned well. The chicken was a bit dry inside the real corn tortillas. It was all covered lightly in a tomatillo salsa and then drizzled with crema and what I believe was a cilantro puree-style salsa. I had a dreamy cilantro salsa at Jaleo in D.C. and Cantina 18's seemed nearly the same. I'm excited to see what else they serve it with. Overall, I really enjoyed the meal, the atmosphere, and the staff. Holding out on a 5th star until I find a dish there I really love. read more

After many years of being a faithful patron of 18 Seaboard I had the pleasure of dining at Cantina 18 yesterday. I was so excited to see that Chef Jason was in the restaurant on the same day. My friend and I had stepped in for a quick bite and it hit the spot. We split the queso (with black beans), a chicken quesadilla, and were treated to a lemon panna cotta! If you like spice you'll love the homemade habanero sauce! If you're near Cameron village this is the place to eat! The restaurant is a lovely two story establishment with upstairs and downstairs bar areas. Definitely will stop back by the next time we're in town. read more

Everything but the hostess!!! Food, waitstaff, atmosphere: Fantastic. Hostess, not so much. How about a smile next time?

The food was underwhelming and not seasoned properly. You expect more at this price point. The cocktail was also not so great. These prices are reasonable for Cameron Village, but only if the quality is on point. Service was good and nice location with some outdoor seating. read more

Love this place! Tastes like they have their own garden it's so fresh. Small menu but good selection. Aesthetic vibe, great staff 10/10

I've eaten here a number of times with moderate success but last night was not the best. Service was overwhelmed with our 8 top and things came and went pretty slowly and without flow. Buddy got shrimp quesadillas and they literally had one and a half shrimp on them. Come on now! I'll give it another shot but Chubby's Tacos is so close to the house and a home run every time. read more

Okay, so like I said, this place had been hit or miss. However, the last couple of times I've been there have been great. The servers were amazing and the short rib burrito was fantastic and enough for two meals. I'm back in. read more

I was not overly impressed with this place. The service and prices were decent, but the food wasn't. It's certainly a unique place, but maybe just not my cup of tea? read more

Cantina 18 is probably my favorite restaurant in Raleigh. The food served at Cantina is always delicious and the servers are very friendly and helpful. I usually get the chicken tacos with apples and goat cheese, with beans and the red cabbage slaw on the side. Sort of a yuppy tex-mex place but always excellent! The is also nice outdoor seating...although it leaves you looking out at the Cameron Village parking lot. read more

Got a salad that was ok-salmon was good and cilantro vinaigrette was tasty. Jicama and apple on there were also good. My sons kid taco was a dry mess. It was so bad and therefore pricey at $6. He got a dry taco and some grapes and a couple pieces of pineapple. The worst was our service. We waited forever (45 minutes for lunch!), our server never checked the food allergies we were concerned with (and of course they had to remake the food bc of this) and while the manager compt our meal, he barely apologized. It's hard to put into words what the experience was like, but definitely in my top 2 worst experiences at a restaurant. This place is a nightmare. Will never go back. read more

I have been here twice and have loved it each time. Always like to enjoy the patio dining to people watch in Cameron Village. The food is great, fresh and different than your normal tex-mex. read more

In search of a patio to enjoy the sudden nice weather, we landed at Cantina 18 on a Thursday night. We ordered a familia flight of Herradurra, a pineapple-jalapeno margarita, and a top shelf margarita to start. If you haven't tried Herradurra before, you definitely must. The top shelf was a bit sweet for my taste and the pineapple-jalapeno margarita while lighter tasting and good was missing any flavors we could identify as either. Aside from the slice of jalapeno floating around, I really can't tell why it received that name. We began with queso and chorizo dip and split three tacos. We chose the chorizo, short rib, and feature of the night, fried catfish. The queso was out of this world! Very good. My girlfriend loved the fried catfish taco, while I enjoyed the chorizo taco the most. Sitting on the patio, we didn't expect the promptest of service and they were quite busy. Our server got better throughout the evening as I expect the patronage dwindled. Well above average food, average drinks, and average service. With some attention paid to drinks and service, this place could be perfect. read more

I had the vegetarian tacos, which are braided mushroom tacos, and they are AMAZING. I was also sent a mushroom dipping sauce from the kitchen, and I wound up skipping my guacamole for it. DELICIOUS read more

Just had a great dinner here with the family! I needed gluten free options and my server was gluten free herself so was able to make suggestions! Everything we all ordered was fresh and delicious! The chef even gave us some complimentary spinach queso dip to try. We will definitely be back! read more

This place is amazing ....I had the grilled chicken burrito and it was great but the key lime poundcake....it's like Jimmy Buffet in desert form ..service is wonderful ...all around a great first experience... read more

Everyone, there are MUCH better places to get latin food than this... both for the quality and the price. We went for a Saturday brunch, ordered the white bean dip, huevos rancheros, and a few of the tacos. The ONLY reason this place gets two stars are the margaritas and the bean dip. Go there for chips and a couple drinks - the free salsa also tastes fresh. Neither one of us could eat our meals (I got down maybe 3 bites). My food (huevos rancheros) literally tasted dirty - like the produce hadn't been washed, or the pan it was cooked in was filthy, or both. The minimalist tacos would be good if a. the few ingrediates they deemed worthy went better together or b. the sauces were tastier. They end up being heavy without much flavor... really really disappointing. read more

There are so many things I love about this place. Let me just name a few: - Eating in their outdoor dining space, especially with a pup at my feet - Skinny girl margaritas - Their fresh salsa - Their Chicken taco, their mahi mahi taco - Their nachos - Their GREAT service. read more

Food is overpriced for what is served. The salsa needed some seeeerious salt to make it even remotely tolerable - same with the black beans. There are definitely better Tex-Mex options in town with more flavor (and lower prices). read more

I love their shrimp tacos! The most recent times that I've been there they will bring out this complimentary cream sauce to try with the tortilla chips. It is delicious. The outside seating is really nice, too. read more

I first came here when they opened and it was good but a bit overpriced for fairly standard cantina fare. However, we stopped in yesterday for lunch and it seems they have really added some great options to the menu that differentiate it from the ordinary. The short rib and goat cheese nachos were extremely good and perfect to share between two of us at lunch. The service also was very good, as soon as my wife joined me from shopping they met we with water and took her drink order. read more

This place is great. I sat outside on a beautiful day, enjoyed a delicious taco and glass of sangria. Very kind and attentive staff. Free chips and salsa is never a bad thing read more

If you want tacos , walk a few doors down to Moes. The chicken taco has no flavor outside of the goat cheese. Might as well have had a goat cheese taco, and just skip everything else. The short rib taco was also lack luster, lacking flavor and had way too much goat cheese(and didn't even match the menu). I'd save your money and go else where . read more

My favorite restaurant in the triangle. Great quality food. The chicken taco with cranberries, apples and goat cheese is m favorite. Very nice ambiance. Love the new expansion. read more

I really like to enjoy food when I eat out, especially when charged $11 for a burrito. This was tough. The chips taste like cardboard, the salsa is bland, yet the ambiance is supposed to make up for it? I ordered the short rib burrito which was OK, at best. The southwest slaw was not southwest slaw. It tasted like over-pickled red cabbage. That's not southwest slaw, it's a chime type name thrown on the menu to entice, not fooled. The average clientele here is a combination of young professionals and Oberlin neighborhood moms who have no taste in food. read more

Best food great staff. Love the enchilada my personal favorite. My kids and I both love it

Really really good mexican food. Every dish I've had here has been amazing. I rarely give 5 stars to anybody - but these guys deserve it. We've always had awesome service, and the outdoor seating is great too. This will be my go-to spot for a while... read more

I've been to Cantina 18 twice. I like their selection of margaritas and tequilas! The service has always been fast and friendly. The food is okay, but honestly, the price is too high for what you get. I wouldn't necessarily discourage people from coming here, but there are better deals and better food to be had in Cameron Village. read more

My husband and I had an excellent meal here with outstanding service. The chips and salsa were wonderful, the salsa tasted so fresh! For drinks I had the blackberry sangria and my husband had the house margarita. They were both great and I will be having the sangria again on my next visit. For our meals we both had taco's. I had the mahi-mahi which tasted good but I also got the crispy blackened shrimp and it was outstanding! My husband also got the crispy blackened shrimp and the adobo grilled chicken. The shrimp taco with the chipotle crema was so amazing, I highly recommend it. Also the chicken with apples and goat cheese is a fantastic combination. We will definitely be back for the fresh food and great service! read more

I love Mexican food but this place was not spicy enough for me. Cheese dip was good and chips were good. Blackberry sangria was good but tasted like juice with no alcohol. I ordered veggie enchiladas that they made for me because it was not on the menu, they were really good! read more

Stopped here after work and was so impressed by the mango salsa and the queso! I ordered the ground beef taco and was amazed at how they managed to reinvent a classic and give it a new twist. This restaurant is definitely worth stopping by. Not to mention, the environment is relaxing and fresh. read more