I had not forgotten that my previous visits were so negative. I regret ignoring what I knew. I told me "It's been longer than a year. Maybe it's better now". Nope. And, this time, the service was poor despite very few diners at dinner time. I'll still give it two stars even though the portions are smaller and they still charge for tortillas. You should, not must, not go there." "4/17/2022Updated review I regret that I'd forgotten that my reviews in 2013 and 2016 were so negative." read more

Just an update, I wanted to give them another try and see if they were back to the high standard of food they originally had but haven't had in a while. Gave them a call to ask if they are still charging for chips and salsa. They are, so I won't be going back. If you're the owner or manager reading this how about giving the first basket free and charging for additional baskets or raising the price on all the dishes a buck or two. I'm not cheap and don't mind paying more for good food but I'm not paying for chips & salsa at a Mexican restaurant. Especially ones that are obviously out of a bag. read more

I have never been so ignored by wait staff; not the experience that I remember having here. Very disappointing and I asked for a take home box but they just tossed everything read more

Came here for an impromptu dinner. Sat outside with plenty of tables available. The margaritas, especially in the pitcher, are not great. But the food is good authentic Mexican food so worth it there. The green chicken enchiladas are perfect with a great sauce, the burrito is MASSIVE and the fajitas have tonsss of meat. read more

The Cantina - Green Enchilada Plate - Mexican Near Me - Mill Valley, California

Friendly staff. Family friendly. Slowly weaning my 7yr old son off the burgers and on to more adventurous foods. Solid fajitas. Only wish they had a spicy salsa like a habanero based one. read more

Food was decent but expensive. My child's fave part were the birds who will entertain you trying to earn some free food. read more

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We had dinner here last night. Because we arrived early enough we were seated right away, relatively empty. The fish tacos were delicious. The complaints I have are the food came out before the drinks and we were never served the traditional the chips & salsa. Maybe they figured we needed to watch our weight. We were in and out in 30 minutes. read more

Not as good as it used to be, but still an above average experience. The front outdoor patio is quite pleasant. The food used to be above average, but is now more formula, although reasonably well done. The margaritas are also above average, and there are several good options. read more

Thanks to Jackie for helping us out. We had a group of girls (high school) celebrate our daughter's birthday. She had a good time - thanks Cantina! read more

Wow! What a place great food really good house margaritas. Service was amazing Kaylani was very professional and patient no rushing us. Thanks for a great time we had meeting up with friends after a year of lockdown at your place. Will be coming back soon read more

The Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Mill Valley, California

Yeah Service and food is very good. The service is incredibly fast. Food is actually incredibly fast served. Very authentic in many aspects. There is certain fusion between American and Mexican but overall well done. It is a very popular place to be and the ambience is very comfortable and spacious. I would recommend it for any family members it is family oriented and again very helpful to have a variety of things in the menu for everyone to eat. read more

Awesome service. Everyone was really helpful. Food is amazing and the ambiance is on point. We ordered the chicken Fajitas and it was really good. Highly recommend read more

If you have kids under 10 who are very picky eaters, or if you're 70+ and you can't do spicy anymore, The Cantina is the place for you. Simply, it's the place to go for exceptionally bland food that barely resembles Mexican fare. Given Mill Valley's proximity to San Rafael and San Francisco it's mind boggling how mediocre the "Mexican" food is here. Just got back from dinner. Bland flavorless beans. Overcooked bland Mexican rice. Nearly flavorless chicken enchiladas. I've been coming here on and off for 20+ years and The Cantina never fails to disappoint this Mill Valley local. Was hoping it would be better this time. read more

The service here was TERRIBLE and we got RIPPED OFF!! Our waiter was ARROGANT and LAZY, the hostess was rude to the guests as they arrived looking for our table. I made a reservation here to celebrate my birthday with close friends. The waiter came by quite a few times to see if we wanted to purchase drinks or food. I asked for four baskets of chips and salsa for the table not realizing they charge for them... SERIOUSLY!! I've never been charged for chips and salsa at an expensive, sit down Mexican restaurant, nor did our waiter mention they charge for them. We all ordered our food. Someone else brought the food and no one ever came back to check how everything was or even refill our empty waters. Out of seven food orders he got two of them wrong. We had to flag someone else down to ask for the orders to be fixed, no apologies for messing them up or even any care of the mistakes given. My friend ordered fajitas which were $34. When he asked (after flagging someone else down again) for extra tortillas because he wasn't even given enough for his meal the waiter said he could bring them for $5...WOW!! When it was time to pay the waiter REFUSED to split the check, even though neither him or the lady I made the reservation with told us we would have one bill for the whole table. They added an automatic 20% gratuity and a $9 living wage fee. We all realized this is why he REFUSED to split the check, 20% tip for absolutely no service. I called to tell them about our experience. I was told everywhere in Marin charged a living wage fee..ABSOLUTELY FALSE!! None of us have ever been charged that in Marin. My friend called and asked to speak to the supervisor. Instead of putting the supervisor on the phone they HUNG UP ON HIM. NEVER EATING HERE AGAIN!! read more

I took 3 out of town visitors to dinner here. It's always been my favorite Mexican restaurant. It was better than ever! Drinks and food=superb! There are two employees that were standouts! Jen our server was the most knowledgeable person I have ever dealt with in the restaurant industry. She knew the entire menu and bar choices. She shared very honest, helpful tips. There was a young man (17) who assisted with the outdoor heaters and was just a joy to talk with! Good Job, Cantina! read more

I don't take my time to write reviews, but I took my kids to Cantina for a Sunday night meal and was charged $18.95 per plate for tacos and rice. The plates were luke warm and had chicken and cheese. Their online menu read $12,50 so I have no idea how a plate of two very weak tacos hit $18.95, but had I to do over I would not have gone to Cantina. I get Covid and all and I get inflation, but spending what we did for what we got was a waste. Sorry Cantina. I know you have a big footprint in MV, but hitting up those that are supporting you is not a long-term formula for success. read more

The Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Mill Valley, California

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The setting was very nice: open and breezy. The service was excellent; my server in particular was very experienced. The food was good. I had the BBQ burrito, which was huge and pretty tasty. read more

Went here because of the 4 plus stars touting great food and service. We received neither. Food was bland and not hot. Chips for guacamole app were stale and cold. Fajitas missing all flavor and surf and turf burrito was pretty much tasteless and devoid of the surf and turf. Ended with the fried ice cream as we were excited to see it. It was horrible. It was fried some time before and stored in the freezer. Wow. What a let down. Drinks were never refilled. Server seemed like he was close to the end of the shift and was just barely going thru the motions. Sorry but there are much better options out there "Mexican" food. read more

Service amazing Ambiance amazing Food, even better Pries, reasonable. Speed. Incredible So lucky this is in our neighborhood read more

Happy Hour $1.00 tacos on Monday's. They had a nice crowd. Service was prompt. The patio Decour could use a little update. All and all we had a good time and will definitely go back. read more

Great food, margaritas are wonderful. Friendly staff. Good vibe and atmosphere. The food is always fresh and well prepared.

I'm pretty predictable when I come to the cantina, but tonight I decided to have the Casa Salad and Mexican Calamari. The calamari was good, not over cooked, but for $5.95 in Marin County the Casa Salad was huge! Nothing fancy, just a good house salad, but three times the size you'd expect for 6 bucks. read more

Great Mexican food. Awesome outdoor patio and never super busy. Service is quick Anand friendly service and reasonably priced compared to other restaurants in MV. Check this place out if you haven't already! read more

Enormous buriito loved it. Great ambiance. Plenty of room inside and outside for seating. Friendly staff great

Uber-entitled Family in Mill Valley- Cantina management does nothing.... Tonight, (July 10, 2021) I went to Cantina, in Mill Valley, around 6pm for the first time with my lady and her 5 year old boy. When we sat down, I immediately became aware of some extremely annoying noise that seemed to fill the restaurant. "What the heck is that noise?" I asked. Looking around, I peered over at the table behind my lady-- two moms (who looked to be the type who enjoy yoga, lunching with the girls, too much white wine and who don't let you forget they "practice mindfulness"), a dad (out of shape white guy with a poorly fitting golf shirt, shorts, legs crossed with a smug look of self importance permanently slapped on his face), and what appeared to be a visiting family friend, eating dinner with what appeared to be 5 kids, 6-8 years old. The kids were the source of the noise. The kids were in two groups. Each group was watching high pitched children's shows on iPads, at full volume, in the restaurant. No headphones, just two iPads blasting Barney and Friends or some other kids' shows at full volume through the speakers of the iPads. Never mind the fact that this is some lazy ass parenting--letting your kids be babysat by iPads in a restaurant. Never mind the fact that these ass-hat parents are failing to teach their kids how to behave in a restaurant or even how to entertain themselves without relying on the crutch of sticking an iPhone in front of their face. If your kids are bored, there are coloring books, puzzle books and countless games kids can play at a table to keep themselves occupied if they are not already only able to be entertained with the mind-deadening morphine drip that is an iPad. No... Never mind this lack of effective parenting. There are lame parents everywhere; this is just one relatively mild shade of lame parents. The bigger issue is the absolute entitlement and lack of self awareness from these people not to realize that no one in the restaurant wants to hear the whining cacophony of two iPads blaring in what would otherwise be a relatively quiet restaurant experience. It is obvious these folks couldn't give two craps about anyone but themselves. Can we agree that phones and iPads, full blast in public places, are not something that should be forced on other diners' ears? No one wants to hear your conversation, and certainly, no one wants to hear your kids' television show while they try to enjoy dinner. If you have already done such a crap job with your kids that they can only sit still for the duration of a single meal if their eyes are glued to a screen, at least have the courtesy of giving them earphones. Please people... a little less entitlement and a little more self awareness will go a long way. And restaurants get on this. It affects your customers' enjoyment of your establishment! In hindsight, I should have been more direct to the people and the management to handle the issue. BTW, Food was pretty good even if the service wasn't Like Comment Share 0 Comments read more

Great service from Luis! We enjoyed our time with him and he made our experience great. Definitely coming back for some food and drinks to see Luis! read more

Yikes!!!!!!!! I've heard different stories from many people. Tried it out. So disappointing. We arrived at 7:45pm. Restaurant closes at 8:30pm. Host rushed us to sit @ table. Server was decent- we were quickly informed the kitchen was closing and we'd have to order then and all food would come together. When appetizers (and all other food) came, we did not have any silver wear, napkins or plates. Drinks took forever, it would've been easier to order at the bar and bring drinks to your table. Food was ok. Nothing special. I would recommend Flores in comparison. read more

Pretty standard mexican restaurant fare with a ton of options at The Cantina in Mill Valley. I came in with my sister's family (her, husband, 6 and 8 year olds) on a Sunday a bit after 4pm. We were friendly greeted after walking though the garden of a parking lot and entryway. We decided to sit at a booth within eyeshot of the bar's TVs for the boys to catch basketball. They brought crayons and game papers for the kids.Service was at times slow, especially as things got busy towards 5. I had fajitas, with sizzling chicken, onions and peppers and nothing burned! Sister's steak and shrimp fajitas were also good. Sides of rice, were a bit meh on flavor, black beans were cooked in a good softened style, and the standard lettuce, pico and guac. The tortillas didn't taste homemade, which was a real bummer. Quesadilla a bit greasy for one kid, brother-in-law liked his chimichangas as they disappeared quickly. The Cantina is a good family style mexican restaurant that can fill that hunger spot in a convenient location. read more

MOST MISERABLE RESTURANT EVER. The owner/manager (A old grumpy white guy) literally told me to "shut my baby up" and keep her quiet. for context it was 4:45, the restaurant apart from and equally miserable old lady, was empty and my baby is 7months old, who btw was literally LAUGHING!!!!!. never in my life have i felt more judged. our waiter was AMAZING thank god for him or I might have just left mid dinner with a big F U. read more

Was there today during Happy Hour - had the chicken tacos - probably the worst tacos ever - very dry chicken - just boring as well - I've had other food before & it's very marginal - short on flavor - dull! The bar is cool for drinks - definitely don't recommend the food overall - btw they charge for chips & salsa when you've ordered drinks??!! read more

Yummy Mexican food that never disappoints. Great to watch a game or sit outside with the kiddos. Been going for 20 years. So glad this Marin gem survived the pandemic. read more

I love the cantina! Such a cute place outdoors and inside is so nicee. the ambiance, service and the food is always great!

AMAZING!!!! I've been here twice and both times I loved the food and the experience. Last time we went, we had Leo as our server. He was great!! Super nice and friendly!! We went for my birthday and it was such a good time. :) Not only was the food amazing for my birthday, but having good service takes it up another level. Thank you so much Leo! And thanks Cantina for the good food and drinks! read more

News Flash: Taco Tuesday is SO last year. All the cool kids know that Monday is the new Tuesday. And nowhere is this more evident than at The Cantina. They already have one of the best happy hours in Marin ($5 well drinks + house margaritas, discounted appetizers, free chips & salsa, etc.). But if that wasn't enough, they also offer $1 ground beef or shredded chicken tacos with shredded lettuce, cheese, and salsa every Mondays (3pm - close)! It doesn't get better than that! The tacos are actually quite good. They won't win any awards or anything, but they certainly get the job done. After two or three, you'll be pretty full. My only complaint is that their hard taco shells are pretty fragile. After one bite, the whole thing kind of crumbles in to taco pieces. But let's face it, there are worse things in this world. Yes, they offer $5 house margaritas. But since I'm only spending $3 on food, I figure that I might as well splurge on my cocktail. So I opted for the Miracle Margarita (Milagro Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice and our House-Made Agave Cordial). It's pricier than the other margaritas on the menu, but it's worth the extra few dollars. Be warned, the drink is orange/red. So when it arrives, you might think that your server brought the wrong order. But don't be fooled by its crimson exterior, this is a damn fine margy. All in all, The Cantina continues to offer one of the best happy hours in town. You certainly get plenty of delicioso bang for your buck. Plus, they have outdoor seating with heat lamps, a welcoming fire pit, outdoor TV for watching sports, and their patio is dog-friendly. What's not to like here? read more

The Cantina - Taco Mondays! $1 shredded chicken tacos AND ground beef tacos! - Mexican Near Me - Mill Valley, California

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I went to the Cantina with friends the other night and it was the worst experience I've ever had. They are nickel and diming you for everything. If you want chips and salsa, its $3.00. If you want the firepit turned on, its $5.00. I had a cheese quesadilla, with no cheese in it. The food was not great , neither was the service. I'm very disappointed as it used to be a great place to go for happy hour but I won't go there again. I understand they are trying to recoup from the pandemic but charging for every little thing is not the way to do it. The manager didn't introduce himself, just came to our table and stood there. We had no idea who he was. He was very defensive, and obviously didn't care about the customers. Bad move..... read more

Over price and unflavored Mexican food. Pollo loco is tastier. Service was 1/10 and the ambiance was empty like a funeral home

I wanted so badly for this to be "Our Place" because i heard so many great things about the venue and happy hour. We showed up andb ou t was too chilly to sit outside so the patio was out even though it looked cool. The restaurant was beautiful inside and we were greeted with a smile and seated right away. Chips were greasy but good until we found a long blonde hair in them (my husband and i have dark brown/black hair). I ordered the combination taco & enchilada plate. The crunchy taco shell tasted and looked like one out of a box from the grocery store and wasn't good at all. The black beans had a sour taste to them but the rice was good. My husband said his burrito was very bland and no flavor at all. We may come back for margaritas at happy hour but will not be getting the food again. Restaurant/venue : 5/5 Food quality/ taste: 2/5 Servers/ staff: 4/5 read more

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Been coming for decades at this point. The best of the best. Great drinks, great food. Great all around. Every time we're in the Bay we are at the Cantina! read more

Came here for a Friday night dinner with mom. I had not been here in years, and it was great to be back! This place is a wonderful past time for me, used to come here as a kid quite often with the family. Always poppin' here! Mom and I sat at the bar. Greeted right away by the bartender girl, provided chips and salsa, and waters. Bartender girl took our order for drinks and food. She was friendly, efficient, professional, and overall fantastic. Mom and I ordered the Paloma. They were made strong! Thank you, needed that. We also ordered nachos (no meat) and a side of rice. LOVE love their Mexican rice, brings back similar memories to a home cooked meal. Really hits the soul for me. And for dessert we had the mud pie. Tasted a tad freezer burnt and the ice cream could have tasted a little more coffee-like, but it was fine enough. Can't wait to come back for their HH! read more

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Amazing food and service was great. Food came out very quickly. Was a nice quiet family restaurant.