Have been coming here for lunch many years. Always busy but they squeeze you in and get you out quickly. The chips and salsa are top notch and they keep filling both. Love the Machaca Chimichanga with the guacamole which has a great crispy outer tortilla and tasty but not spicy inside of generous shredded beef. The tacos and tamales are also very authentic and good. I believe this is the original location and family owned. The service is always top notch and friendly. Parking has been expanded and easier to find a space. Will be back m an y more times. read more

Original La Canasta - Machaca Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Great Service and great food. My family likes the steak picado and the chili releno. *Suck D.; sorry, you spell it Sukh... Next time you're in there you might want to pay attention to the big red and white sign behind the counter that clearly says they will not separate checks at all regardless of party size. read more

The tacos had a pre made taco shells, YES PRE MADE TACO SHELL, the chicken that was inside the taco was good I just can't believe that a Mexican restaurant sells fake tacos, I got the cocido de res and it literally tasted like hot water, no flavor AT ALL Please do not offer this fake food to customers, people are going to think this is what Mexican food taste like, it's embarrassing. So sad about this place, great customer service not Mexican food. Please change the name and take Mexican off the sign. You can say "sodium free food" it would be more accurate It's not Mexican food, just because you gave me a tortilla don't make it Mexican Oh the salsa, did you make it with chili powder or enchilada sauce, who owns this place??? Btw I paid 6.99 for a 10-12oz beef and vegetable soup and 6.99 for two tacos with taco shells from a box, if you really want to eat some good caldo de res go to Ranch Market they have a 32oz bowl and it comes with 6 corn tortillas and cilantro and onions to top it off for just 7.99, and the tacos from jack in the box are better, yes they are fake Mexican food but the ones I got at la canasta (fake too) and jack in the box has 2 fake tacos for less than two dlls I could not go though eating that food, threw it away at the restaurant read more

Michael went out of his way to help me place a large order, when I arrived at the restaurant the people were kind and made sure that the order was complete. We had ordered lunch for vendors from out of state and we wanted them to have some authentic Mexican food, La Canasta did not disappoint! The food was great and we had more than enough! Micheal called me later and made sure we were happy with the food and of course we were! Thank you!! read more

Great service to go along with exceptional food! I will 100% be returning to this restaurant! The music during the entire dinner set the mood of the place as well! 5/5 for sure! read more

Do not come to this place! music is extremely loud, food is mediocre at best, and when they gave us the wrong order the guy server called us liars and was extremely rude when we asked for a refund or to replace our item! There are far better places for Mexican food in downtown Phoenix than this place! read more

Love the food! My favorite go-to plate is on the breakfast menu - Nana's Special- I order red chile (you can get green as well), over easy eggs, potatoes and beans and flour tortilla. Omg so yummy. I have been coming here since I was a little girl so 30+ years. However, ever since the pandemic they have changed their serving style. It used to be a normal sit-down restaurant, the waitress comes over and takes your order and then they bring you everything. Now you walk in, pay for your food, go find a seat and get your own drink, utensils...etc. The waitress only comes to bring you your food. It has a fast food vibe...I feel like I am at a Filiberto's now but still paying regular restaurant prices. The waitresses seemed unhappy about the whole new system too (I'm sure they aren't getting their normal tips... because why tip when we as the customer is doing 90% of the work). I feel like other restaurants figured out a system to deal with the pandemic and now they have gone back to normal. Whereas La Canasta created (in my opinion) a weird set up but they saved money by cutting down on the staff (waitresses/busboys). This new system is not enjoyable. Even my dad who has been a long time customer 50+ years is not liking it and doesn't want to go back. Also, the owner/manager, this older Mexican man is sometimes really rude to his employees in front of guests. I feel so bad for them sometimes and it makes the experience uncomfortable. I hope the owners decide to go back to the way used to be. read more

This place gets a 5! My wife and I love the My Nana's chips from the grocery store, and after researching, we found that this place is where the recipe came from. Everything here was amazing! It was 10:30am, so of course I had a margarita. They also bring you the My Nana's chips, salsa, and a chili sauce. The chili sauce was so damn good, I bought some on the way out. On Sundays, they also have a trio that wanders around playing Mexican music and creates an awesome atmosphere/experience. They stopped by our table and performed two songs, making me forget I'm a midwestern white boy for a few minutes. I ordered the taco plate with all rice, no beans. That's my thing that I do. The tacos were perfect from the shells to the beef and melty cheese. The rice was Spanish rice and reminded me of the fried rice you'd get from an Asian restaurant. I loved it! It was very authentic, and now I have a new favorite Mexican restaurant! read more

Original La Canasta - Breakfast! - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Best hot sauce ever! I can make a meal out of chips and their hot sauce!! Great food, great service, awesome staff and owners. Love the history of this local restaurant. read more

Very disappointed. I'm a bit of a Taco Connoisseur, and these by far were the WORST tacos I have EVER eaten! The water was disgusting, and the place could use a good cleaning. We only stopped in for a quick bite right off of our flight. read more

Ordered my food at 4:45 it is 5:25 still no food all I ordered was a burrito red chili combo w all rice and a side green burrito this makes No sense yet they were fulfilling everyone else's ordered that came up to the to go window the guy ask me if I need to order I tell him I already did then he jumped back to the gentleman that walked in after I got here n never got back to me I feel so unappreciated . I've never had this happen at Sylvia La Canasta this is unacceptable . I will NEVER EAT HERE AGAIN ! read more

Can't seem to keep the same cook, Terrible Red Chili I've made better at home. Cheese Crisp tortilla not browned underneath, Salsa SuckedNo Flavor "Pace Picante is Better." Never go back, Too Bad Nothing Remains the Same. read more

This place has good food. That's it. I judge a spot by the flour tortillas and boom. It was good

After my first visit, I was very impressed by the unique, fresh-from-the-kitchen taste of the breakfast here. It's one of those places where you can taste the love in the food. For my second visit, I had the chorizo, potato, egg burrito. It was brought to me as a nondescript, large burrito on a plate, with no garnish besides an orange slice. When I bit into it, it was heavenly! The flavor was rich and spicy, without overwhelming heat. There was a ton of chorizo and not a single drop of the heavy red grease that is in a lot of other chorizo. It was fresh, light, and fluffy. The potatoes were perfectly cooked. The cheese was perfectly melted throughout. My husband had his burrito with chorizo, egg, potato, beans, and bacon. He thanked me for bringing him here ... I think we'll be coming back more often. I was reminded why I loved this restaurant so much. Definitely five stars for the food and price. read more

Original La Canasta - The chorizo is light, fresh, and bursting with flavor. Amazing! - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Their tamales are awesome especially the green. Prices are great too. I definitely recommend this place been going here for years.

Great food- Nana's special, cocido and menudo are delicious! Mariachis are an added bonus!!

The service sucks and so does the food. It's very trashy inside and the food is always cold.

Can't quite figure it out but it taste different and they are more rudder. But it's still good breakfast or lunch read more

The food was very tasty. We just had to wait a long time (~20 minutes, ) for our food to be served. We ordered carnitas, and the steak combination. read more

we came tot his place with our family since a coworker had recommended it I am sorry to say this but this has been the worse nastiest mexican food that I have ever tasted. The presentation is less than a Filiberto's I got the flautas plate rice and beans looked like wet dog food my husband got the menudo the meat was hard the meatballs soup was a cup of water with salt and lot of pepper. Make your self a favor and don't waste your money. I mean you get what you pay for ‍. We only paid $35 for four meals. service was good. read more

Buy a $10 burrito, you don't get salsa, you don't get chips, you have to seat yourself--get your own silverware. This place has reached a new low. Horrible service "we're just vessels here". Good buy, to what was a good place. No more! read more

For decades, this has been my family's go-to place when we craved some outstanding Mexican food. It had probably been a couple of years when we decided last week to hit it up again. First thing we noticed upon walking in the door is that the food ordering process had completely changed. We had always walked in, waited if necessary, and then proceeded to our table. But now there were digital menus posted on the North end of the lobby where you placed your order and then went to sit down. Ok, so it's different but not necessarily problematic. One thing I've noticed in some Mexican food joints is you are now expected to pay for your chips and salsa. Seriously? Look, we all know the cost has always been factored into the cost of the entrees but were/are served without a separate charge. C'mon, leave well enough alone. Anyway, after about 20 minutes of waiting (there were two other couples in the entire restaurant besides our family) our first two meals were delivered. 10 minutes later, the third. After nearly 40 minutes the final meal was brought to the table. One of the meals was incorrect by the way. BUT HERE'S THE KICKER... the food was ATROCIOUS!!! I mean it was downright HORRIBLE!!! I simply could not believe what was happening! For DECADES we had eaten here and it was among the very best Mexican food in the valley and in two years it had gone to hell!!! And this was the case for all of our meals. Now this may seem like exaggeration but I am not stretching the truth one bit. It actually breaks my heart to write this review as La Canasta was one of my most cherished memories growing up here in the valley as a native of Phoenix. I hate to say it but if you're looking for good Mexican food and are thinking of hitting this place up, save your hard-earned dollars and go to Taco Bell. read more

I have been eating at La Canasta on 7th Ave for the last 36 years. They have not gone back to pre- covid business. The staff is HORRIBLE! Being able to sit at a restaurant and a server serve you us gone. I cannot express my disappointment. I loved this place. We would go once a week. I went a few weeks ago and I will not be going back. I hope things go back to the way they were and you feel like family when you walk through the door instead of a bother. read more

Must visit the South Phoenix location! There's a reason for the long wait. They have the best hot sauce.

So, my family has been going to La Canasta since I could remember. I hadn't gone in about 4 years (pre-COVID). I walked in and realized that I had to pay for the food before finding a table. I was kinda upset about it at first but I asked the lady taking my order what was going on. She let me know it was something they're still recovering from COVID. Suddenly, me ordering from a cashier, getting my own drinks/ silverware, and finding my own seat didn't feel bad at all. There was one guy delivering all the food and one guy busing. But, the food was STILL bomb and I'd personally do my damn dishes if they asked because ummm nobody beats La Canasta breakfast! Btw they're hiring and the chips cost $1! read more

Let me start by saying some of the best Mexican food i have had i love this place. I have gone a few times and i always love it. Only down side for me its so far away from were i stay that i only get to go once in a blue moon. Nonetheless i love this place the food is always HOT. The Taste is always amazing and wonderful Service. Keep up the grate work and Always keep it Authentic like it is. -Alaska read more

Terrible place! Stay away. Was looking for Mexican close to downtown. Based on ratings thought this would be a nice place. Building is falling apart and hasnt been taken care of in years. Service is Terrible! Stood at front counter for about 6min...nobody came around. Decided to grab a menu and sit and wait. Waitress kept looking at us but never came around. After another 6min of waiting gave up. Place probably has cockroaches...thats how bad it is. read more

This food is great! Stopped by for lunch while working at the state archives and was so glad I did. The beef tamale was just spicy enough and the masa was so tender and flavorful. The cheese enchilada was perfect! So many enchiladas are dried out or are just a corn tortilla stuffed with something and then warmed up. This one was very flavorful and the green sauce was delicious--the heat did not drown out the flavor. And the staff is so friendly and welcoming! Highly recommend if you are near the state capitol. read more

Excellent customer service the owners are absolutely amazing! The food is great has a lot of flavor and very authentic.

Good Food At A Reasonable Price. I haven't visited La Canasta in some time, so I thought today would be a great day ro revisit. The food at La Canasta is consistently good and reasonably priced, especially the lunch specials. Today, I was motivated to write about my dining expeirence because of the great red beef tamale I had for lunch today. I really enjoy tamales and I think La Canasta makes great tamales. The service at La Canasta is amazing. Not once did I have to ask for a refill on my soft drink or chips. The wait staff and servers are very accommodating without being intrusive. Great food, reasonable prices, and great service. I need to make La Canasta one of my regular stops. read more

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My family and I have been going here collectively for 30 plus years. Chips and salsa are great . My husband loves the bottled salsa. I love the salsa in the bowl. The food is always delicious, served hot and great flavor. Today was a different experience all together. Sadly it was also my last. We arrived at 2:50 and were seated right away. 3:10 still NO drinks and no one had even acknowledged we were sitting there. Meanwhile two more couples showed up. They were both seated and promptly waited on. The couple that arrived just right after us had been served their food long before us. At 3:30 I asked for the manager from the girl manning the call window. I told advised her of the situation and asked for our bill for our drinks. We were leaving. She said the manager was in the back and would be with us shortly. Our server showed up with our food. I told her we didn't want it and would take the bill for the drinks. She disappeared and for the next 10 minutes we sat.........waiting for the manager. After the manager NEVER showed up to the table, I then asked for the manager again. We were told there wouldn't be a charge for the drinks and he (the manager) was in the kitchen. The manager proceeded to speak to me from across the kitchen saying he was packing our food for us to take with us. I told him we don't want it and I asked him why he found it acceptable to not come speak with us after our initial request. He said there was a "mix up" with out check "and it had been misplaced." So I asked why the server or himself didn't come out and communicate that to us. He said he was going to. So let me get this right; you have customers sitting in the dining room for now 45 minutes, and you don't think you need to tell your customers what's going on???? Its ok for them to continue to wait even AFTER they've asked to speak to a manager. Even AFTER they've asked how much longer. He handled the entire situation extremely unprofessionally. No apology. He was extremely agitated and aggressive when he spoke to us. Nothing about this situation makes me feel like a valued customer. Note: My family and I are caucasian. The couples that showed up after us and were served before us were not. The couple that received their food before us were not. I'm very disappointed in the way management handled this whole situation! Good bye to good food. SO LONG to feeling like we arent wanted. read more

these are the contents of a carne asada burrito from here, very small portions and barely any fillings inside. i took 2 bites after curting it in half and this is all i was left with. $15 for the plate and smallest portion ive ever gotten from a "mexican" restraunt. thank you to the busser that apologized over and over but it just made me feel worse knowing she kept having to apologize for the kitchen. read more

Original La Canasta - these are the contents of a carne asada burrito - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I've been here a few times for lunch, and I have not been disappointed once! I went to the restaurant on a Friday afternoon with a few coworkers, and there were lines forming outside the door. The prices are really unbeatable, and portions are generous. The red tamale plate that I had was quite spicy, but I was able to balance it with the restaurant-made chips. For those who are checking out the restaurant for the first time, there is a self-serve area with corn/flour tortilla chips and salsa. Highly recommended! read more

Original La Canasta - taco lunch special #2 - Mexican Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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My sister ordered 60 pounds of masa from La Canasta on 12-12 for our tamales. We paid over $200. My sister tasted two of the batches and they were fine. However, we found that 20 pounds of the masa was stale. This is the second time this has happened to my family. We ordered from there last year and the masa was bad. We gave the restaurant another chance because staff exchanged our product, but it's terrible this happened again. I guess that's why the company has a no refund policy. We are so disappointed. Our family has ordered masa from this location for years and it's really gone downhill. Mi hermana ordenó 60 libras de masa de La Canasta del 12-12 para nuestros tamales. Pagamos más de $200. Mi hermana probó dos de los lotes y estaban bien. Sin embargo, descubrimos que 20 libras de masa estaban rancias. Esta es la segunda vez que esto le pasa a mi familia. Pedimos desde allí el año pasado y la masa era mala. Le dimos al restaurante otra oportunidad porque el personal intercambió nuestro producto, pero es terrible que esto vuelva a ocurrir. Supongo que es por eso que la empresa tiene una política de no reembolso. Estamos muy decepcionados. Nuestra familia ha pedido masa de este lugar durante años y realmente ha ido cuesta abajo. read more

The hospitality and the food was 10/10, highly recommend for any family events or just a quick bite :)

Not very organized younger guy at register was rude so we left to go to another location down the street much better nicer cleaner at the capital canasta me and my extended family will not return to the 7th ave location. Their dirty always over looked it I know time are tuff the food is not how nana used to make it. read more

What a great find. Salsa bar is plentiful, service attentive, food wonderful!

Service was bad asked 3 times for grinded Chile for the menudo .. didn't provide oregano and the menudo was bad! Not sure if they use juanitas can menudo but if you know quality menudo this place is not good for menudo. They need new chefs and cooks. Service is slow too read more

I ordered here from Uber eats and I was very dissatisfied. The tacos were so soggy I had to eat them with a fork and they were cold the chimichanga was soggy not crispy at all the filling tasted just like canned beef stew meat no flavor at all really I do not recommend eating here. read more

I would give this place zero stars if I could. My husband, who has been visiting this place since he was a kid, had a really bad experience today. The owner, who also takes orders, took my husbands order. First, she dismissed the fact that he was next in line and told him (loudly) that she would help the guy behind him first. For no reason! My husband then told her he was next in line and her attitude didn't change, she responds "ok, what do you want then". No apology! My husband likes their food, I never have. But he won't be going back. read more