Happy Wednesday everyone ! Two weeks ago my brother and I went to a restaurant that opened a new location where we live (Jacksonville, FL), that restaurant is Cantina Louie, which serves Mexican street food. Everytime we would pass by Cantina their parking lot was always full of cars, so I told my brother that we need to go there when they open which is at 11:00 am. When we got there, there were a few other people but not a lot. Then as we were seated, more people started coming in. I enjoy eating good, authentic Mexican food, so I’ll be sharing my thoughts and experience on dining in at Cantina Louie.
The Atmosphere
So I adored the atmosphere of Cantina Louie. I would describe it as fun, colorful, and Mexican cultured. There’s paintings of men and women in sugar skull face art, paying tribute to the Day Of The Dead. The walls are covered with crosses in different colors, styles, and sizes. The same applied to the mirrors and pictures. One of the walls has paintings of some musicians and actors who passed away: Charlie Daniels, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Chadwick Boseman, and Eddie Van Halen all in sugar skull face art, which looked amazing. The ceiling is covered in string lights and there’s shiny, spikey, star shaped fixtures on the ceilings that reminds you of the star shaped disco balls the mystery gang used in the Scooby Doo movie to kill the demons on Spooky Island lol. The fixtures and the lights go well with the colorful and fun décor of Cantina. The vibes there are upbeat and welcoming.
Service
The service at Cantina was great. We were seated right away after we entered the restaurant. The waitress kept checking in on us and was helpful if we had any questions regarding any items on the menu. She was really nice, as well as other members of the restaurant staff.
Drinks : Sangria and Fro-Jo-Rita
One of my favorite parts of dining in is the drinks. Cantina has daily specials depending on the location (Florida or North Carolina) and they are from Mondays- Sundays. Here’s what I had to drink:
Sangria – $5.99
Red wine, tequila, razzmatazz, triple sec, OJ, raspberry, and a splash of Sprite.
Since we went on Saturday, the special for that day was $5.99 Sangrias. So I first ordered a red wine sangria. It looked all nice and pretty, but when I drank it, it was bitter, a bit too strong with alcohol and I couldn’t finish it. I’ve had sangrias in the past that weren’t that strong, maybe because it was red wine, so I decided to order another drink.
Fro-Jo-Rita – $7.98
Our version of the classic frozen margarita.
The next drink I ordered was a raspberry Fro-Jo-Rita, and omg it was so good. It had the right amount of sweet and alcohol, now that’s my kind of drink. The prices were affordable too.
Chips N Salsa, Tacos and Street Corn
Chips N Salsa – Free appetizer
Okay these were some of the best chips and salsa that I had. The chips were tasty and crunchy, and I could’ve eaten them without any salsa. Speaking of salsa, omg it was so good. The salsa was fresh, and nicely seasoned. And my brother and I were excited when the waitress bought us a second basket of chips and salsa lol.
I was excited to try some authentic street style tacos. And the ones I had from Cantina were really good. I ordered three of them: Taco Fresco, Blackened shrimp taco, and the Americana taco with shredded chicken.
Taco Fresco – $3.99
Skirt steak topped with fresh lime Pico de Gallo and queso fresco. This taco was served on a corn tortilla.
I liked the Taco fresco, the only thing I wasn’t too crazy about was that it was served on a corn tortilla. I never had a corn tortilla before, and it taste a bit dry. It took away from the taste of the whole taco. I did enjoy the skirt steak, Pico de Gallo, and the queso fresco. This taco was my least favorite of the three.
Blackened Shrimp Taco – $3.99
Blackened shrimp topped with slaw, fresh lime Pico de Gallo, and topped with Peruvian sauce.
Now this was my favorite of the three tacos. I love shrimp and these were good, especially since they were blackened. The slaw was crunchy and added a great texture to the taco, the Pico de Gallo added the freshness to it, and the Peruvian sauce was yummy and sweet. This taco was the perfect balance of heat and sweet.
The Americana – $3.49
Ground Beef or shredded chicken topped with lettuce, queso fresco, tomatoes, and sour cream.
I had shredded chicken and it was good and juicy. This taco was my second favorite. The chicken was tender, and the toppings gave the taco a fresh taste, plus I love cilantro.
Mexican Street Corn – $3.99
Corn on the cob topped with mayonnaise, queso fresco, and a blend of Mexican spices.
Okay so I probably shouldn’t have ordered the corn because I maybe took about 3-4 bites of it because I was full from the chips n salsa, and three the tacos I ate lol. But from what I taste the corn was okay, the flavors were interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about the corn after having those few bites. I still say give it a try and maybe next time I’ll eat the corn first lol.
Overall I enjoyed dining at Cantina Louie. The food and drinks are affordable, tasty, and the menu gives you a variety of options. The staff is friendly. The atmosphere and décor is fun, colorful, and inviting. And whether you enjoy Mexican food or not, it is worth trying. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next time.
Click here for Cantina Louie’s menu.
Flamingo Lifestyle 