food: pretty good. i had the monterey burrito. a bit too much rice for me (and that's saying something bc i LOVEE rice). the portion ratio for meat to rice was off. but it was still good. the chips were sooooo good. the seasoning they use is top tier! and the guacamole and pico de gallo were so fresh!! drinks: mediocre. but good to go with the food. environment: we went on cinco de mayo so it was a little loud. but overall a nice party-ish atmosphere. our server Luka was working his tail off! my initial rating was going to be 3 stars. luka bumped it to 4. there was also a bartender with brunette hair and sunglasses in her hair with a bad attitude. that didn't help the experience at all. wouldn't mind coming back soon! read more

Enjoyed this little Mexican spot in a busy college town. The place was packed with students, which is always a good sign. I ordered two street tacos and they were great, but honestly could've gone for a third. Fast service, good flavors, and fun energy overall. read more

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Great top shelf Tequila. Lovely waitresses. Classy environment. Outdoor upstair seating. Aubrey was our lovely bartender and the Margaritas were spot on! read more

Stopped in for a drink with my husband last week while in town. The ambiance was lively (sat at the bar), the bartender was friendly and the service was fast. We didn't have any food, but our drinks were strong and good! read more

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I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant. I must admit--I didn't have high expectations. Like Tuscaloosa needs yet another tex/mex restaurant. But I was downtown and needed dinner and there was no wait. The crunch wrap supreme (which is just an elevated Taco Bell dish of the same name) was one of THE best dishes I've had this year so far. It was perfectly seasoned and grilled. I'd come back just for the wrap. The chips and salsa were actually fresh and not canned, which can be a problem around here. The only caveat was that I think for a college town restaurant, this place is a little expensive. It's prices aren't as competitive as comparable restaurants. read more

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Tried this place for the first time. It was okay. I ordered the fries which were seasoned well and the queso. The queso wasn't my favorite. My friend got the tacos and said they were okay! We mainly came for the drinks and let me tell you they had a nice heavy hand with the margs!! Our bartender was nice along with the rest of the staff read more

Socal Cantina - Queso - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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Fresh ingredients in drinks and food. Average atmosphere, friendly and decent service. We've been several times and overall enjoy it.

Look at second to last girls face. That's exactly how we all feel. We had a reservation for 7 and got seated at 7:20 and then moved to a different table. We just got water after asking three times and it's 8:07. Service is sh*t. Might get up and leave because we can't even get our margs. read more

Socal Cantina - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Good tacos a little expensive for what you get but great flavor. Carne asada fries were very good service was quick even on cinco with waitress being very friendly and accommodating. read more

Socal Cantina - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Happy hour tacos were cold, avocado and chips for $11? food was cold and kitchen was slow Service was fair read more

Love this place! As I travel often Mexican is always a go to, but this place sets itself apart with the flavors of the food! The restaurant is very tastefully done with a great vibe. The food itself is simply wonderful, very bright and vibrant flavors, even the presentation itself is colorful. We had the nachos and several different offerings of tacos and were very impressed. Every visit has always been met with smiles and great service as well. It's a great spot for Tuscaloosa. read more

Socal Cantina - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Fajitas were terrible - no flavor at all. Beef taco was ok but not great. The wait service was good but the kitchen took forever to bring food and it wasn't that crowded. Would not go back. read more

CG is the best bartender ever! She made sure my drinks flowed while I had some wicked San Diego Tacos. Porsha made sure my carnitas were cooked perfect in the back, just like I prefer them. The environment is very cool and the DJ did a great job with the jams. I will definitely be back. read more

SoCal Cantina is more of a Tex-Mex place than a Mexican restaurant. It is also geared to be more akin to an Applebee's or a Friday's with a south of the border flare than a traditional Mexican restaurant. It is more about good times and drinks than authenticity. I don't mean this to be disparaging, just stating a fact. The food is not terrible, but it is also nothing special either. Again, this place is geared more to be a very Americanized version of Mexican food and is just as much about drinks and partying than providing a authentic Mexican meal. Contrary to the name of the business, SoCal Cantina did not start in southern California. Rather, it started in Miami and for whatever reason, SoCal Cantina decided that Tuscaloosa, Alabama would be the city to host their second location. Tacos are the thing they put an emphasis on (well, after drinks), but the food here is a bit high in price. All in all, I will give this place three stars overall. read more

Giving 3 stars because the food just wasn't it. If you're looking for a place with a nice aesthetic & music to grab a drink; this is the place. However, the food was "very vanilla". Ordered a side of rice & beans, but wanted double rice (no beans). I was given a bowl of plain white rice. It was later explained that in California they serve white rice & beans at their Cantinas. I think this should be notated on the menu. We also ordered cheese dip (one with meat & one without). The flavor was there, but both were cold. When asked if it could be heated up, we were given a new bowl of cold cheese dip. After asking a second time about the dip being heated up, it was explained that there is no microwave in the kitchen & that the only way to heat the dip was via a sauce pan. read more

I love the ambiance inside of SoCal. It makes me feel like I've stepped out of Tuscaloosa for a little bit. Our waitress was very nice. The drinks were good and we got the trifecta. It took a while for the food to come out though, which is the only reason Im not giving this 5 stars. The queso is good for Alabama Mexican food read more

Socal Cantina - The Trifecta - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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4/5 stars because the service was slow but it was a busy Saturday night. Great ambiance and attentive servers, just delays in kitchen. read more

Socal Cantina - We shared the Trifecta with guacamole, queso, Esquites and salsa (complimentary). Great appetizer paired with margaritas! Would come again! - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The Awkward Italian drink was so fresh and absolutely delicious! The pairing of it with the spicy food was perfect! I had the Hermosa Beach tacos. The flavors were outstanding. I added their delicious hot sauce. I also purchased a bottle for home! The wait staff was kind and very helpful. Wonderful environment and the music was fun but not intrusive! Definitely on the list of have to's when I'm in Tuscaloosa!! read more

Socal Cantina - Front of restaurant by the main bar - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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they kicked me and my party out at 11 on a Thursday because they claimed they were closed but the website says 12am

Had the dip trio Long Beach tacos Both excellent. The chips are spectacular. Quasi was just spicy enough. Guacamole was perfect. Not too chunky but not processed smooth. Pico was perfectly chunky. Just wish they had sweet tea. read more

Overall it was a mediocre experience. The menu is kind of confusing with the descriptions of the food, because there aren't any photos to help you visualize the food. The tacos are super Duper small so you have to order at least three of them to notice you've eaten anything. The ambience was nice by far, probably the best part of the dining experience. The service wasn't the best because the tacos were super small and on top of that we had to wait as if we were getting full-sized tacos. I will not be returning any time soon. read more

Socal Cantina - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

We enjoyed the tacos and bowls. I recommend the San Diego taco but the others are commendable. The service was good. The restaurant was clean and comfortable. The margaritas were decent. The beer was cold! Give it a shot! Eat local. read more

Only get stars cause the workers are nice, very much school cafeteria food. VERY GREASY (white people Mexican)

Just save some time and go to Moe's or Chipotle. The carne asada was flavorful that's about it. $20 for a SoCal bowl and the rice was hard and clumped together. My friend had a Mexican Passion it tasted like sour mix and tajin. My baby cannon tasted like strawberry lemonade mix with no sugar or alcohol just sour with a hint of strawberry. The service was meh no one was overly friendly or really welcoming. Cute space though we won't be returning not that anyone there cares. They seem to cater to a certain demographic that we didn't fit in to. read more

Socal Cantina - Baby Cannon - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Love this place generally, but if your aren't, or don't look over 25, good luck getting served by the time you finish a drink (event when you wait 15 minutes). Staff "generally" is great, food is good, drinks are good, i just feel like I'm waiting for a new world disaster before I can even get another drink. read more

Excellent food. Great service! Although we just walked up at 7pm on a Friday, the place seems to have an endless amount of seating.

Honestly, probably some of the worst service I've gotten at a restaurant. Overpriced, bland food. Pico had no flavor, just watery diced tomatoes. Corn dip is a joke, it's warm corn in a watery mayonnaise. Don't get the carne asada fries. They came out soggy and also lacked flavor. We got two different tacos. The Long Beach and the Los Angeles. The Los Angeles was very underwhelming, keeping in theme with no flavor. The Long Beach was surprisingly very good. Waitress we had could not have been less attentive. Whole staff just stood at the bar and watched the football game. Probably won't go back here unless the owner reaches out to apologize. I'd say save your time and money and go to a hole in the wall place instead. read more

I am obsessed with this place!! They just opened in downtown Tuscaloosa and I have already gone so many times. Their cocktails are excellent and very obviously made with high quality ingredients. I have also tried several food options and they've all been delicious. I recommend the surf taco or Los Angeles tacos with guac! Also a great, welcoming and fun vibe. Will be back!! read more

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I am so upset to even leave this review - I've been here so, so many times and have had the best experience. The owner of the restaurant lied and manipulated to the point of kicking out 2 people in my group that weren't even drinking. I was told a bartender complained multiple people in my group were "over served". This is a complete lie. 1 person had 1 drink and other doesn't even drink alcohol. I am deeply offended and saddened. The staff is shady and offensive. I am extremely upset about the current situation. read more

So So so so so so so good! No hangovers with these drinks cause the prep is alllllll fresh!!! These bartenders do amazing work and go through a lot of training for beautiful delivery! The food comes out extremely fast too!!! read more

Nope! I've had way better tacos WITH seasoning! The drinks are pretty, but I've had better elsewhere. The queso was just okay, but the pico was TRASH. I'm sure this place won't be here long. Also goodluck trying to find it because their sign is so little & covered by a tree. The only thing good about this place is the atmosphere read more

My wife and I came here to try it out. The tacos were good, but 3/$11 is a little pricey. Dont be confused with TexMex. If you want chips and salsa, it will cost you. Also, they do not have fountain drinks. Coke comes in a small glass bottle for $3.50 each. read more

I wasn't the biggest fan of the food... it didn't wow me. The service was mediocre. The build-up was a bit much for me. I think I thought it was going to be a lot better than it actually was. I got fish tacos, and they were probably about a 3 out of 10. It was definitely overpriced, in my opinion. read more

The location and space are really good but I was really disappointed with the portion and quality of the food. It's really expensive for really mediocre tacos If you don't fix this I don't know if you can sell enough alcohol to offset why people will come back read more

WORST EXPERIENCE WITH MY SERVER. We ran out of water and chips and she did not even CHECK ON US and it took her 20 min to bring more. Messed up all 3 of our orders but we couldn't send them back because she was too busy standing at the bar drinking her margarita and VAPING. Finally she brought our checks and said she would "be right back" and proceeded to go take a sip of her margarita before taking our cards. This just was horrible. read more

We waited so long for the waitress to take our order we just decided to leave. It felt like it was around 40° in there. Prices were too high. Can't imagine going back. read more

The queso is the type of fake cheese you get at a middle school football game. It's orange and in no way queso. The guacamole tasted like what you would expect body odor to taste like. The salsa was just alright. The chips came out cold. The service wasn't great either. We got seated 45 minutes after our reservation. The only reason I gave this place 1 star is because their drinks were good and the vibes were good. Overall, the food sucks and is overpriced, unfortunately. I had high hopes, and was severely let down. You can get better food for way less at any nearby Mexican restaurant, or gas station. Half our table got their food 15 minutes before the other half of the table. By the time everyone got our food, everyone's food was cold because the restaurant was so freaking cold. read more

Socal Cantina - Queso, salsa, and queso - Tacos Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

First: hallelujah for this place serving food late when everyone else is closed! Sat at the bar and the bartender was very friendly even though they were crazy busy. We are from Texas so very snobby when it comes to our Mexican food (ha ha). I would eat here again if we come back into town! Guac was so dang good as were the street tacos. We got the asada and carnitas and devoured all of it. Would def recommend! read more

Great drinks, service was pleasant and quick, food was filling and delicious! The people next to us were raving about their food as well. Will come back for sure! read more

One of my favorite places in town because I enjoy the bowls and the cocktails. Did I mention that I love the cocktails! I am GF, so I get the bowl. Everyone always leaves full and satisfied. The meats are delicious and I love the guacamole. I learned not to go to SoCal when it's crowded or for dinner. When there are crowds, the food is 2 stars. The service is always okay, never great. Ambiance is nice although it's clean early in the day. read more