I'm a little late posting here, we have been to this restaurant many times, most recently on December 30, 2024 with our daughter and grandchildren! The food is ALWAYS amazing, the service super friendly and efficient!! On this last occasion it was incredibly crowded, not surprising given the date and in a resort town. The staff handled the crowd really well, got people in and out as well as possible!! Give this place a try, it is wonderful! read more

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Found this place when I was searching up places for good happy hour and they have a great one! Such friendly staff, food is amazing, all draft beers (not just domestic) are $4, $6 Cadillac margaritas, $3 enchiladas, $3 yummy tacos, plus a bunch of other great items on happy hour. We'll definitely be back. One place you shouldn't go to in town? Fire Rock burgers read more

Amazing happy hour deals!Patio is dog friendly! Servers are attentive . All day happy hour on Tuesday! read more

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Menudo delicioso! Menudo in big bear? What more can you ask for. Nice restaurant and waitresses.

Possibly one of the best chile Rellenos I've ever had!! Rice and beans were on point as well and I don't usually eat much of those. I ordered my taco with shredded beef and it was cooked perfectly. Very cute decor inside. Salsa was yummy, would be nice to have a "spicy" option as well. May need to come back to try the Mole! read more

Sonora Cantina - Create your own Combo...Chile Relleno and taco plate - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Really disappointed. We had been here a few months ago and had an excellent experience, but we went today (4 adults & 2 kids) and left disappointed. We arrived and asked for a table. The waiter asked in or outside so we said out. He rolled his eyes as he walked away, and went to bus a table for us to sit. The waitress was nice and took out drinks order, but it was approx 20 minutes before they started to arrive and came out ...one...at....a....time. The food was a letdown. We ordered the fiesta nachos with shredded chicken. It was sooo bland and dry, there was almost zero beans. Every place has off days but they weren't busy so not sure what was going one. We may not return if that's the quality of the food and service now. read more

All day Happy Hour on Tuesdays! We enjoyed the food, our server was super nice and they don't skimp on the alcohol in the margaritas. I was expecting a small glass ~ whoops! Generous portions! The grande shredded beef & chicken tacos were delicious! The place was crowed but we were seated in a nice big booth right away. read more

I absolutely love this little place. The food is good, the street tacos especially with all of the fixings, and the prices are pretty much unbeatable, especially visiting from LA. Happy Hour is Mon-Fri 3-6PM and all day Tuesday and we took advantage of the Tuesday night deals for sure! One thing to keep in mind is they are only accepting cash at the moment I believe due to a power outage so we did have to run out to an ATM super quickly before we sat down, but no issue for us. We got two 13oz margaritas and a meal for two off of the Happy Hour menu and it was less than $35?! Score! We were celebrating a birthday and wanted to find some good Mexican food and I think we found a little gem. The outdoor patio was really cute and our server was so incredibly kind. She had blue streaks in her hair I believe. She deserves all the flowers in the world. It was my partner's 21st birthday, and this server even gave us a couple of tequila shots ON THE HOUSE with a nice Tajin rim?! It was one of the nicest moments of our trip and we will absolutely never forget her. Certainly made 21 memorable so far. Don't go in expecting a free shot every time haha, but certainly expect nice staff and a good, chill environment, as well as some cheap food! I definitely recommend Happy Hour, as the prices are unreal honestly compared to other places I've seen in the area. I will SO be back next time I'm visiting Big Bear, even just for the yummy margs alone. read more

Sonora Cantina - The tequila shots we were given for the 21st birthday. Super yummy. - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

This place was recommended by a Big Bear local so we were excited to check it out! My first impression from the outside was "this place has to be legit". Easy parking in rear. Upon entering you're immediately in the bar. No host to greet other than the bartender who was engaged in a conversation with one patron. We were ignored for several minutes. Not a good start but the food and service from there made up for it. I ordered a 3 item combination plate to sample a variety of things. All delicious, fresh tasting and richly flavored. I highly recommend for a nice meal although your mileage may vary with the service. read more

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Food and service was excellent. I had the enchiladas and my husband had the green chili burrito, it was great. Flan was great and even my madori margarita was great too! Service was excellent. This will be our go to Mexican restaurant when we're in Big Bear! read more

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Great food good service good specials. Thursday night 1/2 price Fajitas good Margaritas

The 7lb "BIG Juan" burrito challenge featuring shredded beef, chicken, ground beef, shredded pork, beans, rice, cheese, red sauce, green sauce, sour cream and guacamole. Finish it in 45 min and get a T-shirt and eternal bragging rights. Today, in the battle of woman vs. food, food won. I got wrecked by the BIG Juan. It's tender meats, and juicy goodness got the best of me... this round! read more

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I was there this Saturday morning, and I order a decaf coffee and Amy give me regular coffee instead, and I ask her for more coffee creamer she give me only 2 extra creamer, the regular coffee it's not good for me!! read more

This place was really good a lot of options !! The chips and salsa are always so good! A lot of seating inside and outside. Pretty nice environment as well!! read more

Sonora Cantina - Enchilada combo, and mole - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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Our first time eating here during our Big bear stay. Located 2 blocks from The Village on Big bear blvd with plenty of parking. The staff greeted us and told us to sit anywhere. We were given home made chips and salsa with menus. I noticed happy hour is all day Tuesday! Score! I managed to convinced my kids to get whatever they wanted on the happy hour menu and so my son ordered the 6 taco sampler with beef fish, and shredded chicken. My daughter got her favorite chicken enchiladas with a side of rice & beans. I got 1 chicken enchilada because i knew my son could not single handed finish all six maybe 4 max lol. Food came out in 10 mins and I was amazed on the portion size of the tacos & enchiladas. The everything was fresh and flavorful. I highly recommend the enchiladas and carnitas tacos. Now the drum roll!!!! The total with only drinking water came to $30! Best cheap eats that is flavorful and filling. Ill be back again!! read more

Sonora Cantina - Happy Hour 6 taco sampler. 3 chicken enchiladas with a side of rice and beans. - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

First time experience in Big Bear and we chose Sonora for our last meal before heading home. Fantastic choice! Service was exceptional, with a huge shout out to Alonso, who was very attentive to us and provided an excellent experience.....THANK YOU!!! The micheladas were excellent, as were the trio fajitas! We'll definitely be back! read more

Excellent!!!!! Service was amazing and it's just like a home away from home!!! Prices are great!

Yes. It's a cantina. And they sell food. Basic Mexican. So go for it. You will be happy. Nothing special. But happy. Know what I'm saying?

We got the chicken tamale with green sauce which was pretty good and the combo fajita platter which was just okay due to it lacking some flavor. The drinks were really good and huge!!! We got the cucumber spicy margarita. The vibe was cute and I love the way they decorated the walls and seats. Service was prompt and friendly. read more

Sonora Cantina - Chicken tamale, combo fajita platter - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

As a picky Mexican myself I can truly say this is an authentic Mexican restaurant. I recommend the trio fajitas plate and the beef tacos dorados. The chips and salsa were pretty good too. read more

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Plenty of parking, dog, friendly patio, excellent food! Service was friendly atmosphere was fun and who doesn't love big bear?! read more

Sonora Cantina - Great menu choices delicious food! - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Great food!!! Service was great. Shrimp tacos are delish with the special sauce. Shrimp burrito with Diablo sauce is a must IF you love spicy and WE DO!!! It is fantastic!!! Kids love the chicken enchiladas and the bean and cheese burrito (and we do have picky kids)!!! The staff is always so friendly and helpful. If you come on the weekend be patient. They are the greatest staff here but remember you are in the mountains and if they are busy be mindful they are working hard to serve everyone. We have been coming for YEARS and we will continue to choose Sonora Cantina over any other Mexican restaurant in Big Bear! PS...they make the BEST Cadillac margaritas!!! read more

Sonora Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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My friend raved about this place for their margaritas, so we had to make a visit there. She had visited various times with her family so she was confident that we would love this place, and I sure did. When you walk into the restaurant, the server allows you to sit indoors or outdoors. We opted to sit indoors at one of their big booths because it was cold outdoors. We were immediately given menu, and provided chips and salsa as we viewed the menu. I ordered the house margaritas that my recommended, and also got one of those create your own combo meals. Once the order was placed, the first item that came out was the house margarita and holy moly it is huge. I ended drinking the whole thing and being all chirpy from this drink. This is definitely worth getting if you want a drink. The combo meal I got was 2 tamales with rice and beans. This was the perfect amount of food for me because I got soo full that I ended up knocked out on my friend's parent's couch in a food coma. The tamales were absolutely delicious; the masa had a nice smooth and grainy texture. Highly recommend giving this dish a try. read more

Sonora Cantina - Create your own combo: Enchiladas- $16.49 - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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Came in to support Jose Martinez, a local business owner and long time resident who is undergoing cancer treatments and this fine establishment Sonora Cantina offered to do a fundraiser event to help support Jose and his family. We were excited to come have lunch, try a new place and help at the same time. Very cute interior. Deanna, our server was an absolute doll. Me: "How's the Cadillac Margaritas?" Deanna: "Strong." True that! The $1.00 tacos were great, we each ordered one Cadillac, 3 tacos each (street taco size), in Carnitas, shredded beef, and chicken. I was full all day long. We also ordered 9 more to-go for our neighbor who had folks working on his bathroom that day, they included chips and salsa too. Very delicious food. Can't wait to back and enjoy more menu items. Met Gabe, the owner who was charming and more than happy to help out a fellow Big Bearian. Very generous. See you again Sonora Cantina! read more

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Love this place. Been coming for years. Happy hour is great, with generous pours. Shrimp cocktail was delicious with lots of shrimp. Definitely coming back. read more

Wow this place is AMAZING! The food is authentic, the service is great, the server even asked how good the food was. The place looks amazing as well it's just amazing.100% recommended. read more

Every time we come to big Bear, we're obsessed with this restaurant. Shrimp tacos Carne Asada tacos amazing highly recommend getting onions and cilantro on the Carne Asada taco is a must . really amazing drinks the whole family loves this restaurant. Usually when we come up here we do two days in a row because it's trustee and true and the service is always great. read more

Terrible service and mediocre food. Called in a to-go order two hours ahead of pickup. When I arrived nobody was around to greet people. Eventually someone asked if I needed help, but apparently they needed to get someone else to do the to-go orders. While I waited two other people arrived also waiting for to-go orders. When the to-go employee finally showed up we all said we were there for to-go orders, but despite being the one who was waiting the longest, I was the LAST to be helped. After informing the employee of this, there was no apology or anything for helping me last. And somehow, dispite the fact that my order was called in TWO HOURS ahead of time, my order still wasn't ready. No apologies for the extra time waiting on this either. Also looking at my receipt, there are extra charges all over the place! Each item ordered had an extra .50-.95 tacked on as a to-go order fee. Not quite sure how not taking up space at a table warrants the extra charge. Then there was another few dollars charged for a "service fee". I guess poor service costs extra these days. Adding insult to injury the food was extremely lacking in flavor. Much better Mexican food can be found at nearly any other restaurant in Big Bear. I will not be returning and I will definitely advise my guests to avoid them as well. read more

Saturday, December 28, 2024. Wonderful lunch: Trio Fajitas and a two item combo, Chile Relleno and Cheese Enchilada. Welcoming, easy service-with-a-smile. Family friendly. Full bar. Indoor and patio dining. The Fajitas are spectacular! Heavenly spices. Beans and rice were perfect. Relaxing. read more

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First time to try it here I like it but my hubby didn't like the refried beans he said it's too salty ... but my son love the torta and I love my there free chips and salsa which is really good will deffo come a back to try other stuff the outside dining is really al fresco they have alcohols and sodas are non refillable I want to try the fried ice cream next time read more

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Bear best Mexican food in Big Bear!! The beans are so damn good! Family owned business amazing service and highly recommend!!! read more

Sonora Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

I love a club vibe look especially if I'm gonna drink, sat down some kid was running around screaming, didn't care until I saw it was the owner's family member I guess cause she was sitting with them going back and forth in the kitchen. That annoying pitchy scream yeah, consome was delish asked for it in a bowl I guess was not possible said the waitress so she suggested the seafood soup said it would taste the same, it didn't but most annoying part had to be the fact we were the only table still being ignored, food was good, that's what matters right read more

Sonora Cantina - Yes I was there - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Food use to be much better than what we had yesterday. We like the large outdoor patio because they are dog friendly. That along with Free chips and good salsa keeps us coming back. We're going to give them another try soon and update our review one way or the other. read more

Great Mexican food at a reasonable price. They also have a good happy hour. A definite go to stop any time I'm in Big Bear.

Food was ok .. I expected better, good service but short staffing, not surprised now days.. no one is @front greeting the customers so you need to find your way in. Bathroom floors very sticky, means not clean Recommend it? Mmmm maybe read more

We received excellent service on a busy winter weekend. We did have to wait a bit, but it wasn't too bad. From the chips and salsa to the margaritas to the entrees, the food and drinks here easily compete with anything down the mountain. The tacos toreados and fajitas are bomb. The service we received was also excellent. Will definitely be back. read more

Sonora Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

The only Mexican restaurant we eat at! The food is reasonably priced (we usually split the nachos, which are HUGE). Happy hour and Taco Tuesday are the BOMB. The servers are always super nice and friendly even when they're slammed busy. Our go to spot! read more

Great experience at Sonora Cantina. Had a wet carnitas burrito with red sauce and chicken flautas plate. Both were very hot, super tasty, authentic Mexican food. Had a house 22 Oz margarita ($11) and it was huge and very tasty too. The chips and salsa were also great Employees were friendly and the food and drinks came out quickly. Highly recommend! read more

Fajitas are scrumptious, service is kind and prompt. Loved their fundraiser for FR Paul and supplying tacos for 1.50 as they donate their time and ingredients. Grateful for their community involvement. read more

Patio dining available with shade and/heaters. Chips and salsa yummy, hotter salsa really delicious. Margaritas pretty and delicious. Chili verde flavorful and taquitos perfectly crisp. Server very sweet and responds to requests in a timely manner. Decor cute. read more