Great place to grab a bite. Everything came out perfectly and in a timely manner. Very nice surprise considering our party size of 12. Thanks again to the friendly staff and owner for taking such great care of us. We look forward to our next visit. read more

Service is bad; food is WAY overpriced. This was our first stop for a meal upon arriving in Corolla. We had to ask for utensils, plates and water. Food was not worth the price we paid. Waitress acted like we were a burden rather than paying customers.... would not recommend or go back. read more

I want to start out by saying I very rarely write a negative review and only do so when my experience was horrendous. I advise anyone considering patronizing this restaurant to steer clear! My party of nine was extremely disappointed with the service, and the food was barely mediocre. We went during the COVID pandemic when wearing masks was mandated state-wide, yet none of the staff members were wearing masks. Our waitress was extremely rude and incompetent. She brought our food out individually at random intervals, so we could not all eat at the same time. She was unable to identify the meals she was serving - confusing the different ahi tuna dishes - which resulted in her serving the wrong meals to the wrong patrons even after she asked what they had ordered. She could not answer simple questions about the menu (including "Are the fries seasoned?" and "What's this floating in my drink?") and gave curt responses with a dirty look on her face. When I complained that my burrito was flavorless, she simply took it away without asking if I'd like to get something else. Then, another employee ( I'm guessing the cook) came to our table and began upbraiding me for having the gall to complain about the food. He asked loudly with a scowl on his face, "What kind of flavor do you want?" I told him I wasn't going to argue with him and he stormed back inside (we were seated on the patio), yelling, "It has flavor!" I guess I hit a nerve... I could go on, but you get the idea. If you prefer not to be treated like a nuisance and yelled at while dining out, do NOT go to the Corolla Cantina. I hope this helps others avoid the kind of atrocious experience my family and I had. read more

Amazing food and fast device! We got several mixed drinks/margaritas, all good. Apps we ordered were out within minutes, main entrees came quickly after. Guac and queso was outstanding, as well as the seafood quesadilla! All of our entrees were delicious, would definitely come again!!! read more

Stopped in around 12:30 and sat outside. Our server, Angie S. was great. She suggested items we all loved and refilled our drinks without us asking. I got the shrimp with slaw and wasabi honey sauce. Others got the chicken and ham pineapple sandwich and the quesadillas. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and served hot. Hands down the most relaxing lunch we had during our week on the island. Highly recommend for young couples or families with kids. Portions were just right and the drinks were yummy. I got the Orange Crush. read more

Amazing amazing amazing! Fresh food, great service. You feel relaxed the minute you walk in. Exactly how it should feel on vacation. Food! OMG! It was sooo good! Something for everyone! Local drafts, signature cocktails, you gotta comeback a couple times just to try everything. Hands down, place to come back and back! I'm full, I'm happy.....enough said! One last thing, one of the other great things is the servers actually INTERACT with you, not that typical generic service. Cantina Rocks!! read more

We stopped in today (2 adults, 1 five year old) for lunch. The tables inside were full, but the were plenty of open spaces at the bar. We asked if we could just sit at the bar to eat. The bartender asked the owner or manager who was at the bar, who looked at us and said no, but we could sit outside. Seeing our expressions (it was 90 out today) she scrambled to find an excuse - oh, it's a NC law you can't have kids sit at a bar. We left, found a great place for lunch elsewhere. And, BTW, it is NOT a law that minors can't sit at a bar in NC. Owners can make that their policy, but it is not a state law. I don't abide by liars and I will never go there again, and I hope you don't support that kind of place either. There are so many great places to eat around here that are honest and friendly and have great food. Update: since the owner didn't care to reply to me publicly as she did on previous reviews, I thought the public should have access to her commentary and my response. We didn't have a chance to check reviews before we stopped on the fly, but I wish I had. Service is clearly an issue here. Her message to me: "So as a bar owner and sometimes a patron of other bars, I don't believe that children should sit where adults are there to relax, consume alcohol and maybe sometimes vent a little. It is only a courtesy to our bar customers to not have to worry about being PC and to your children too. Children should not sit at a bar where alcohol and vulgar words might be used. I tell people it's a state law so I don't have to go into this kinda debate every time. I hope this helps you understand where I as an owner and my bar customers are coming from. We do have great food and many choices to sit either inside or out well ventilated outdoor patio. Yes it's hot. I can't control that. Maybe if you could have waited 5 minutes, we could have sat you at a table appropriate for you and your children. I am not a liar. Just a good business owner making people happy. Just not you. But this site is for restaurant reviews about food. You never even gave us a try. Sorry not sorry." My reply: Um, telling people a lie DOES make you a liar. Just be honest and say it's your restaurant policy to not have minors sit at a bar (which is not separated in any measurable way from the tables btw, so if you or your patrons cannot contain language and vulgarity, those at tables are at risk). That's perfectly reasonable if it's your policy, and I might not like it, but I would accept it without comment, but a bald faced lie I can't tolerate. It was clear from the - "you can sit outside" and then absolute silence that you did not want a family with a well behaved child in your establishment at lunch. A welcoming person would have said "I'm sorry, but our bar is for adults only, or you could sit outside or we will likely have an inside table in about x minutes." A welcoming owner would say that ALL patrons are due equal courtesy. The single patron at your bar didn't appear as if they were having to vent or be vulgar at that lunch hour, and unless they were buying ton of top shelf liquor, our three meals plus drinks would have been better for your bottom line, with no difficulties with the other bar patron, whom we could have sat at the other end of the bar in case he suddenly spouted non Pc vulgarity, in which case the folks at tables would have certainly heard it as well. This is a site for reviews about restaurant quality, which includes food and service and your service is clearly lacking. Further, your "sorry not sorry" says it all and anyone who reads my review and your response will obviously see that our experience was honestly true and spot on. if our son wasn't with us, I'm sure we would have had a totally different experience. However, when I choose places to give my money to, I read reviews on food and service quality, and if they treat anyone poorly, particularly if it's the OWNER with this kind of attitude, I know to steer clear. It is my hope that future people looking for a meal in Corolla will not support a business with this kind of attitude towards people. It's shameful. read more

Staff was nice and attentive. Price was right, food was good, not your typical Mexican so be ready for variations which in our case was very enlightening and refreshing. The place is small so plan your times so as to get good seating. This our second visit since two years ago. read more

Hmm read good things about this place and rely on Yelp for user feedback so gave it a go. Firstly the restaurant is small so come early or be prepared to wait. It's a nice intimate place though size of restaurant is a plus for me. Service was great, our server could it have done more for us, she was happy, efficient and patient with the kids. The reason for the 3 stars is the food and value for money. This place seemed expensive for what was very average food and portions. The food is fresh but the taste is pretty uninspiring and quantity of meat/fish is small. Fries were good though lacked seasoning. Overall an OK spot. read more

You would be better served to accept the criticism and make the suggested improvements. It appears many of your patrons share the same thoughts. Your prices are too high for what you're offering. Uncle Ike's Sandbar Grill was MUCH better for about the same price. Your snarky comments and inability to make the changes is going to put you out of business. read more

Went in mid afternoon for a late lunch and were served pretty quickly. We had an order of fish and chips and a Baja burrito. The burrito was ok, as was the rice and beans that came with it but the fish and chips were excellent! Our server, Sara, was very friendly and made us feel welcome - a lot of places treat tourists like an inconvenience. We'd go back for the fish and chips. read more

Best food in Corolla! We ate the crab quesadilla and nachos for the last 3 days!!! The owner and service is amazing!

We have been vacationing in Corolla for years and had always noticed a crowd in the outdoor seating of what appeared to be a local favorite. We finally drove down the beach to try this specific 'hot spot' and were horribly disappointed. After getting ridiculed by a server who half heard my request to the hostess, we were casually seated in a squished table indoors. Our server was the hostess, who seemed quite rushed to get our orders and made an awkward 'Baja - ha - ha - ha!' Comment to two of orders. The food was hurried out and was average at best. We were told we couldn't make modifications to interior of orders, only to additions which led us to believe the food was pre-made and not fresh. When we we received our check we were horrified to see that our dinner cost our family of 4, $150. We recognize that we saw the prices on the menu - but considering the quality of our meals we couldn't believe we were paying 5 star prices for a two star meal at best. At this point we felt ripped off and were simply angry. So sorry Corolla Cantina - we came in with high hopes and were excited to discover your offerings. Unfortunately your poor service and average food left us utterly disappointed and ashamed that we had gotten duped into paying such a ridiculous amount of money for a lackluster experience. Good luck to you! We will not be back. read more

Nice little place with amazing staff. We have visited twice now to have a beer before heading to the drive out beach. We met two bartenders who were very friendly, very funny, and they have an amazing servers. We had a blast. Will be back each day! read more

Food was good but the total value is not worth the price. Drinks were expensive and less than impressive. Worst Margaritas ever. FYI gratuity automatically added for parties of 6 or more. read more

Just don't do it. So many great options here. This is not one of them. Nothing was gross but just so average (to be kind). Salsa and queso each appeared to be something out of a jar. Tuna was suspect to at the least and mahi tacos were edible, best I can say. read more

super yummy!! more of a island food kind of place instead of a "Mexican" place, but so fresh and delicious, drink was the right kind of mix of strong and refreshing, even on the off season here it was great!! read more

Went here for dinner as a group of eight. The seating was a little tight and the service was a little slow but I'm inclined to give them a pass on these points as the place was busy when we arrived. I really enjoyed my fish burrito, the drink selection was solid and the wait staff was friendly so overall it was a nice place for dinner provided your not in a rush. read more

We luckily got a table for 10 outside. Everyone loved their dinners, except my daughter who got the kids nachos . My island rice bowl with grilled chicken was delicious as was my rumchatta colada. It was a little pricey but the food all tasted fresh so we didn't mind paying a little more. Will definitely head back to this spot next summer. read more

The worst lime margarita I have ever had in my life. Do not order!!! We also order the queso and was so watery and had absolutely no flavor. Most quesos I've ordered were thick with peppers and tomatoes this had nothing. Would not recommend this place. read more

If you're in the mood for mexican style food while in OBX, or just fresh food in general, you should check this place out. The patio is really nice. The service was great. The food was amazing. I had the summer salad wrap with chicken and highly recommend it! They also had a variety of items on the kids' menu that should please even the pickiest of kids. I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking to try someplace new while vacationing in Corolla! read more

Avoid this place, because: 1) food is tasteless, queso is terrible; 2) they change tips amount that you write on a check and eventually charge you more.. read more

Ice cold dish of loaded nachos served on a styrofoam plate will cost you $10. The house specialty veggie burger was a frozen Morning Star burger with uncooked veggies. The tacos were OK...nothing to write home about. Quesadilla was nothing better than a homeccooked, thrown together one that I could have done myself, for much less than $10. The waitress insisted that we could not pay part of the bill on a card. It was all mildly frustrating and a waste of $65. If you are on vacation in OBX, you'd be better off making some PB&J sandwiches for a meal than going to Corolla Cantina. read more

Food was ok. But I am accustomed to receiving complimentary chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants and they are not free here. We had to order chips and salsa. We had a table of 7 people. It came with a basket of chips and a small container of salsa that was maybe two tablespoonsful. We asked for more salsa due to the number of people in our party. We were charged $3.00 for chips, $3.00 for salsa and another $4.00 for the extra salsa. What a rip off. We also ordered queso dip (2 tablespoonsful another $4). Other than that two of us got quesadilla with chicken and bacon, two people got veggie quesadilla and a fifth person for a fish burrito. (Two people didn't eat at all). Like I said food was OK, our service was good (waitress was friendly and attentive) but I would not go back. Plus the restaurant doesn't have bathrooms. You have to go outside and to the back side of the building. They were not pretty. read more