Insider Pages Reviews for Cantina South Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Lounge

2 Stars: Just OK (by by atarot at Citysearch)

by atarot at Citysearch — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:32:00 GMT

I was excited about going to this place. A friend and I went out for my birthday and we were seated and told our waiter would be with us. After 15 minutes of no waiter, the manager said he would take our drink order and the hold up was that the waiter was make guacamole at the table. We watched the waiter make the guacamole at the table and it seemed like quite a laborious process that may be better left up to the nice folks in the kitchen. The manager ended up taking our orders and while in the end we could all joke about the experience, the manager was never meant to be waiting on tables. I was also irritated that chips and salsa are extra. It seems to be an annoying trend that "higher end" restaurants want to charge for them. We inquired if there was a salsa/guac combo available and was told there was not. To get an order of chips and salsa with the guac it would have been 20+ dollars. Wow. The tacos did not really taste that different from each other even thought they were supposed to be. I don't need to go back to this place.

5 Stars: A step above the rest (by by Terry61gsk at Citysearch)

by Terry61gsk at Citysearch — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 11:08:00 GMT

The pico de gallo served rather than your typical salsa was fresh, chunky and excellent to the taste buds.
The carne asada tacos were fantastic with a generous portion of meat and quality sauce. Cheescake desert was out of this world.

Service was great and mgmt. wanted to know how everything was and wanted to hear our input.

A more upscale Mexican Restaurant was a nice change. My wife is from New Mexico and is a very selective diner, being used to the Southwest style food, she enjoyed our food and experience hear also.

1 Stars: Beautiful decor, not as great food (by by salsalisa at Citysearch)

by salsalisa at Citysearch — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:17:00 GMT

This place is in a great location and decorated beautifully, so we had to give it a try. The food was disappointing. I ordered three different types of tacos, but they all tasted the same. I didn't taste (or see) lobster at all in the lobster taco. The shrimp taco had the exact same flavor. The vegetarian taco also tasted very similar, and I just didn't even want to finish it after having three tacos that all had the same overly-spicy taste. Raleigh isn't the easiest place to find good Mexican food, but there are definitely better places to go than Cantina South, especially considering that entrees are way over-priced at around $18 each.

2 Stars: Working on it (by by pizzaguy2011 at Citysearch)

by pizzaguy2011 at Citysearch — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:29:00 GMT

The food is pretty good but the drinks are weak. If you want a good marg you need to go somewhere else or go to the other restaurant in town with a similar name.

FYI....actually putting tequila in your margaritas will make them better.

We also had to wait about 15 minutes for service but after complaining to the hostess the manager took care of us.

One more thing....don't charge for chips and salsa if you open a Mexican restaurant. This nicest restaurants in town still give out complimentary bread so you should at least give your customers some free salsa and chips.