La Cantina

On the plus side, the food was ok. The fajitas are certainly not the best in Cedar Rapids, as the menu claims, but they are decent. On the downside, two of the four TVs were playing Fox news, the menus were so worn that I had a hard time even reading what was on the menu, the tables throughout the restaurant appeared extremely dirty, and we had to flag our server down for everything.

...and Let's not even talk about how horrible that bathroom was. Seriously. How is that not a health violation.

Sooo... it was cinco de mayo and there was a note on the door to "wait for our seats" so thats what we do. These hostesses /waitresses walk right pass us and grab checks. Then head to the register to catch up on old times. Just telling their life story and what not. Keep in mind there are 3 tables open!! I finally walk up to these ladies, after waiting there for 15mins. Just for them to tell me its going to be a "20min" wait. horrible service!

Like really?!? you could've walked up to us and told us from JUMP. I will never go back. That irritated my soul.
Sooo if you want to go to La Cantina do yourself a favor... DONT! Go to Hacienda Las Glorias instead! just a 3 min drive up.

I have been here for lunch once before and this time for dinner.

The food is good. For Cedar Rapids Mexican good, this was not bad.

I went for the "safe" choice with the fajitas and they did not disappoint. I started out with a Chile rellaño and it was really good.

House margarita was good but nothing to write home about.

Just visited for lunch... cold beer, great service, and good food. I always try the hot sauce, needed a little more heat.

Once again, this is a Cedar Rapids 5. NYC 3.
Service was friendly, but with a Midwest pace. That means it was slow. Let's not pretend you didn't know what I was talking about. Chips and water were always refilled, but the soda was not. She clearly spaced on that one. She took my glass but brought back more water. That's OK. I don't need the soda. I'm being body shamed, anyhow.
Also, I ordered the Chimichangas, one beef one chicken and I got 2 chickens. To be fair, she said, "if there not mixed, let me know." And I didn't let her know. But like, at that point, what am I to do? I already ate half the meal. I don't wanna wait for another OR eat another. That's too much food. The portions were very large and quite tasty. Chips felt home made and the salsa was fantastic. Also, a CARAFE OF SALSA!! It was a dream come true. I was swimming in salsa! (yes, I dream about salsa).

Had the shrimp burrito and a raspberry margarita. The burrito itself was on the smaller side (I'm used to Qdoba), but generously filled with shrimp. Since I'm traveling, the size was perfect enough to be filling but not have leftovers. Price was reasonable for the platter size.

The small margarita that I ordered was a fairly generous size too. Can't complain about that!

We've been in a couple of times and really love the chicken quesadilla for a starter.

We're still trying to find our favorite dishes at the place to knock it out of the park, but nothing has been bad at all. Great flavors and good speed from the kitchen!

The service is good -very attentive and helpful.

For the non-drinker; Grabbed a virgin mango daiquiri there and it was awesome. We also didn't get weird looks for asking about virgin drinks like you do at some places.

Consistently great service, delicious margaritas, awesome daily specials and Happy Hour deals.

The food is good--about as good as Mexican food gets in Cedar Rapids. I appreciate their menu's mix of authentic dishes (tacos al pastor, chile rellenos, enchiladas with corn tortillas) along with more Americanized options. They are very flexible about making substitutions, which makes this a good choice for vegetarians and vegans.

...Also, they offer free dessert and tequila shots on your birthday!

We finally made it down to La Cantina for lunch today. Great downtown location: I love the exposed brick, high ceilings, many windows and especially the outdoor seating - something badly needed in downtown CR. I had the Speedy Gonzales and the wife had the steak fajitas. My rice, taco and enchilada were good although not particularly remarkable. The fajita was just awful. It was VERY salty and the steak was tough. I used to think you could never go wrong with fajitas, but alas, there are ways to screw it up and they found a way. As mentioned by other posters, the menu says they charge for a second basket of chips however our server brought out a second basket without prompting and didn't charge us for it. Our server was attentive and gave good service.

Since I work downtown now, I bought two $15 coupons on Here's the Deal so I could use them for lunch. However our server said they aren't good for lunch. The fine print says they are valid after 5 PM. I wasn't too happy about that especially since I've purchased several online deals and have never come across that restriction. They really should have noted "Not valid for lunch" rather than hiding it in the dates. Just my 2 cents.

Bad experience here. It took 1 hrs 45 mins for the food order then food was cold when they bring it out except the fries. The guy just took off a sauce out of my plate while I'm eating and said "This sauce is not for you". Not even worth it giving 1 star.