FINALLY a Taco Spot that has REALLY HOT SALSA! I am one of those crazy folks that love to eat uncomfortably hot stuff. I am usually disappointed by sauces that are either not hot enough or hot but don't taste good. Cantina Taco is not one of those places. Their salsa's are DELICIOUS and the pack a punch. I experienced Very Friendly Staff, and very quick service. I ordered Two Tacos, Black bean and Vegan Chorizo with an order of beans and rice. I got their 4 alarm salsa and their Mango Habanero to go with those and a Large Horchata. Everything was VERY very good. The Mango Habanero almost seemed spicier to me and had SO much flavor. I would go back just to get that. THe 4 alarm salsa was also very good but a totally different flavor profile. The Tacos were very generously portioned. The Tacos themselves were good but with the Salsa's they were great. The Rice and beans were good but the portion was a little small. The Horchata was delicious and helped cool me off from the Hot Salsas. I am already preparing to return so that I can try other items of their menu. read more

Cantina Taco - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Came rushing through the doors (our own fault) with about 30 minutes to spare before seeing Nate Bargatze's show. There was a line about 10 people deep and the place was packed. We got our food and finished it just in time to see the show. Most people don't realize the pace these employees were working to make that happen, not just for us, but everyone in their restaurant. They were hauling! The food was absolutely delicious, and everything coming out of their kitchen looked equally amazing. They did a great job. We ordered a taco each, and split chips and salsa and rice and beans. The place is clean, cheery, and can't be beat! read more

Cantina Taco - Take out menu - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

We came here before an event at the BMO. Very busy but they moved through the line very quickly. I love that a lot of the offerings are customizable. We waited quite a while for food but once we got it - delicious! read more

Cantina Taco - Quesadilla - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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So delicious! HUGE portions. Was very accommodating to my dietary needs. The place is very clean, the staff is very nice. Would come back for sure! read more

Cantina Taco - Nachos! HUGE - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

I ordered the bowl and was very happy with the portion. The chicken was moist along with the rice cooked to perfection. Not sure when I'll be back to Rockford but this is a nice spot to pop in for a quick bite while downtown. read more

Cantina Taco - Cool t-shirts on the wall. - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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First time ordering here, door dashed. Ordered the beef birria and chicken quesadillas. Everything was delicious! Both meals were packaged well. Salsa, green and red were great. Was not a fan of the avocado salsa. read more

We love this spot!! A local gem that we seen all around Rockford at events but also love eating at the physical location as well. All their tacos are amazing, but I especially love their new samurai tacos. Super flavorful-- has equal parts spicy (not too spicy though), sweet, savory and creamy. Amazing. My wife's favorite are the screw city tacos. If you like cheese, you will love them. I'd assume they're the most popular thing on the menu. Love that this is here and already excited to come back! read more

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Food speaks for itself. Very inclusive to a wide range of personal diets. Everything is very fresh and the portions are huge.

Looked up this gem one day while finding some local lunch and it looked amazing. Took wifey and ironically it was taco Tuesday. We got the screw city tacos, which were amazing. (They even gave the option of not frying them for my sad gallbladder). It was still amazing! This place was so good, I even brought the bestie. My go to is always steak tacos with cilantro and onions and I have finally found a place that makes them taste authentic. I love the choices of sauce on the side, however I would love some verde sauce on them. The avacado sauce was a good replacement, but adding pineapple topped it! Will definitely be coming back here! I really wanna try the birria and samari tacos! read more

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Great tacos offering some unique items. Very fresh ingredients, nice staff, and horchata!

Cantina Taco is downtown located in the Stewart Square building. It is one of the few places I'm able to walk to from work for lunch. I usually get their quesadilla when I order from here. I think it is their best menu item. I like that they have shredded beef as a meat option. I did not care for the tacos very much. They just weren't anything special and kind of lacking in my opinion. I felt the same way about the burrito bowl. I think the nachos are pretty good and after I got them one of my out of town coworkers orders them every time she's in the office. I also wish they had Mexican rice. Their only rice options are white or brown. I also don't understand why they don't offer guacamole since they have all the ingredients to make it already. I don't like salsa very much so if there were a side offered that I would enjoy I think I'd like the place more. They do offer delivery for $2 within 2.5 miles or Door Dash for further. I like that option when I don't feel like walking in the cold or don't have time. It is also very convenient to be able to order online. read more

Cantina Taco - Build Your Own Nachos with Meat - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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The four alarm sauce and the vegan chorizo is top tier,I wish they had vegan birrieria's‼

This place is great! I love tacos...so much...and these are fantastic! I appreciate an original taco, so the Screw City taco hits the spot. Of course they have amazing guacamole and Mr. Pibb, so I was sold on that alone. Try this place out...you won't be disappointed! read more

So my GF ordered some Nachos thru Grubhub! She 's veggie and tells them no meat but extra Avocado. They give her No Avacado? WtF? The Birria tacos I had were pretty Good! read more

Went to Cantina Taco for date night before attending Piano Guys at the Coronado down the street. The food was really good. They make their own salsa and queso. The queso was really good. As was the three salsas we tried. We had the screw city taco (my favorite of those we tried), pork taco (my second fav and husbands favorite), and Cajun shrimp taco (all with pico as the salsa on the tacos). The ingredients were fresh and the flavors blended well together. The toppings are similar for all tacos which works well for them as they didn't over complicate the tacos and the fresh flavors worked with all the meat combinations. (I did see vegetarian options too). The family working there (I assume we're the owners) were as nice as can be. Very patient and explained the menu and what they make from scratch. You can tell they love and take pride in their food. They were also connected to the community. While there, we noticed the music playing over the restaurant speakers was the piano guys. She told us she put it on thinking people who stop in before going to the show may like to hear the music. That was a cool added detail. Thanks for making date night a success. We will be returning! read more

First time going. Location was convenient to the court house, and I loved that they had Coke and Pepsi products, staff was friendly and food was fast (we were there at 12:20 on a Tuesday). That is where the positives end. I ordered the bowl with chicken and steak (they say pick up to two), cheese, sour cream, extra cheese light lettuce and half white and half brown rice and added Queso with a medium drink it came to $17.54. No chips no sides, they did have free beans or something Tuesday. I hate beans so that would of been a complete waste. My friend enjoyed her food more, but said not enough chips and ended up not eating all of it. For me the food was blah in flavor as in it really had none, the meat was shredded and was lack luster, the few toppings I ordered were not plentiful - which I always find interesting as I turned down all the other toppings (which they had a lot of). The cheese was unique and had a odd texture, but that is personal preference. This is not some place I would go back to, it was over priced for the size of the bowl and the lack of flavor really made for a boring lunch. I hope my experience was just a truly off day. read more

Checked in at the Embassy Suites around 2pm after a flight to Chicago from San Diego. Hadn't eaten all day and this was the first place I could find. Pleasantly surprised by the birria tacos. Well seasoned meat, good salsa, quick service. That's all I had and it was delicious, rest of the menu looked interesting as well but birria tacos only come in an order of three, no room to explore. read more

Birria Tacos were so good and it's a cute little spot in the Main Street District, downtown Rockford. They're ate so many choices to try and keep coming back; and the staff is accommodating and food prep is quick. read more

Cantina Taco - Birria taco deal. Delicious ! - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Nearly $4 for a taco is a bit steep but trust and believe that the reward city taco is worth EVERY penny. They are filling and the contents are very generous. I crave the screw city tacos at least once a month. My boyfriend has gotten a steak burrito before and he did like it. I also enjoy the queso! I give 4 stars because of the price. But the food is 5 star worthy forsure! read more

Cantina Taco - 2 screw city tacos, side of avocado and queso - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Came here on a Monday after 1pm. Not terribly busy, only a few people sitting indoors. Husband ordered the chicken, pork and Barbacoa tacos. He said the chicken and pork didn't seem seasoned at all. I had the chorizo, Barbacoa and screw city tacos. I would get them all again as they all were very flavorful. Out of the three, the chorizo one was my favorite. We also ordered some chips and mango habanero salsa, whew it was spicy! But again very flavorful. The place also offers bottled and tap beers & sodas. Another plus, they have the "good ice" in their ice machines! Would recommend and come back again. Glad we tried this place out! read more

This hidden gem inside Stewart square has some of the best tacos! I've tried the pork tacos and the indian curry chicken tacos and both are packed with flavor and delicious! They are quite busy especially during lunch time but it is a must try if you are in the downtown area. read more

Cantina Taco - Indian Curry Chicken Taco - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

Excellent Beef Birria Tacos! Order of 3 for $10.99. Comes with dipping sauce. (Kinda like Au ju for Italian Beef). Not necessary in this case, in my opinion. They're great without the dipping sauce! Sour cream and hot sauce on the side are great for these tacos! Tried this place by accident and will definitely go back again and again! By far the best Mexican food in Rockford! Hands down! read more

One and Done!!! These other reviews must be from employees. Very disappointed, Ordered the Birria taco meal $10.99 (3 tacos with the consome) I guess the consome makes it a meal. No rice,no beans? WARNING!! less than an 5 minute drive home and I have nothing but a mess. Corn tortillas weren't fried to a crisp more like dredged through oil. Couldn't hold a taco without it falling apart. I don't like eating tacos with a spoon, So there isn't a need for the consome side (for dipping) unless you want soup. I normally wouldn't write a review due to the pandemic, but it was so bad I'm eating dry toast to settle my stomach.. Rated 1 star because otherwise you can't post (if you're following social distancing and wearing a mask, this isn't the place for you. The cashier kept pulling down her mask every time she would speak). read more

We were in Rockford to attend a function that started at 6:00 PM so we were looking for a place to grab a quick meal. The only requirement was that it had to be whole food, plant-based. After reading a review of Cantina Taco, we decided to try it. What a fantastic experience we had. We had no-meat burritos, which included avocado slices at no extra charge, substituting for meat. You can customize these burritos to your liking. We had never had pineapple on a burrito, and it was so delicious. One of us had the avocado salsa and one the mango habanera salsa. Both were full of flavor and added something great to the overall taste experience. Although they rate the mango habañera as four exclamation points for heat, we did not find it too hot to enjoy. We're already looking forward to our next visit to Cantina Taco. read more

We absolutely love this place! Amazing tacos, fast service and draft beer. The horchata is worth trying.

Tacos to die for. Tortillas were warm, salsa was fresh, and my soyrizo was so tasty. My family loves the meat options but for vegetarians, I highly recommend this place as well. They offer a vegan chorizo and black beans. Also can't forget to mention they offer local beers. read more

Cantina Taco - Tacos Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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Steak tacos were dry and tasteless the nachos were horrible. I would not eat here again.

Cantina taco has amazing food! It was our first time and we loved the food! I especially enjoyed all of the extra toppings that are available for your taco, bowl, nachos, quessadilla, or burrito! I had the screw city tacos (one chicken and one pork) with the fried floor tortilla and queso. I added avocado and chose the mango habanero salsa...definitely recommend! My friend had a bowl and loved it. The service was also fantastic! Try this place...you won't regret it! read more

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Super busy before concert event, but still managed to mess up our order in multiple ways. They did their best to make it right. Food was ok. Decent prices. read more

We've been fans of their tacos getting them at the market as well as through Stewart Square Eatery for years and now we're so excited that Cantina Taco finally has its very own restaurant! I have not had the chance to eat inside yet but I did order delivery to my work one afternoon and was not disappointed. Here's what I ordered: 1. The fish tacos - I'm a seafood fan and I tend to lean towards fish tacos whenever I stop at a taco place but I think these may be my new go-to. I was extremely impressed with how well seasoned and perfectly crisp their fish batter was without overpowering the fish itself and their slightly sweet slaw offered a great balance in the taco. 2. Chorizo brunch taco - chorizo, egg, potato - nicely cooked and delicious! 3. Chips and queso - Whatever is in their queso is creamy and addicting. Be warned, you're probably not going to want to share (though there's more than enough to.) Overall, I was happy as always with their tacos and would definitely recommend it :) read more

Hard to beat this place for tacos, they pretty much have every popular combination. And of course they have Chips and Queso!

The tacos were amazing! It was my first time here so I asked the friendly lady working for recommendations. I went with the chicken screw city, cajun shrimp, and curry chicken with mango habanero sauce. All of the tacos were delicious! I will definitely be back. read more

My favorite fix any time I'm near downtown. Always quick and friendly. I eat the vegan chorizo, but I've heard their meats are really great as well. Burritos are huge. Hot salsas are great. Worth every penny. You'll only dislike this place if your a generally insatiable person. read more

We were going to the Chicago concert and was looking for a place to eat. We found this place and enjoyed the food. I had a shrimp and black bean taco. They were both very good. My husband had the build your own burrito which he really enjoyed. The staff was friendly and place was very clean. Will come back when in the area again. read more

Excellent! Across the board this place is awesome! We tried them out at Rockford Bite Night and fell in love. The tacos are all so good; the BBQ ones are unorthodox but so good! The flavors are genuine and unique. You can get a solid traditional taco or fun flavors like Spicy Thai or Curry chicken. The chips and queso are really exceptional. I'm a sucker for a really good queso and they delivered on that. We have also ordered them on Uber Eats and the quality was consistent. I can't recommend this place enough. Whether they're at city market or you're going in to the restaurant you're sure to be impressed. read more

This place is very unassuming, but I saw its reviews on Yelp and wanted to give it a shot. My buddy and I grabbed three tacos each (I got the shrimp tacos and he got the screw city tacos), and man, this place definitely deserves some love. Classic tacos done right. Best tacos in Rockford. read more

Outstanding! The curry chicken taco, bbq chicken taco and steak taco bowl were amazing. I can't wait to try the rest tomorrow for lunch! Don't waste your money on the big mexican food chain restaurants which are too expensive anyway :) Almost forgot the mango habanero salsa is homemade without artificual coloring very tasty! read more

We tried the for the first time at City Market last week. The tacos were great! I tried the pork and chicken curry and both were delicious.

Ordered the birria tacos and they were outstanding! These were on par with the birria tacos I had at Barrio Queen in Phoenix just days ago. Well done Cantina Taco! read more

I've been here on two occasions now for lunch. They have two vegan options- black bean taco and the veggie chorizo taco (both made vegan by omitting the cheese). I assume these can be made into burrito or other formats they may offer. Very delicious and much better option than Taco Bell. read more