Cantina Vallarta — Restaurant in Salmon Arm

Wow! I can’t stop thinking about this place and I already just want to drive back from Alberta to come visit again! This place was definitely the highlight of our trip!

First and foremost I want to thank this restaurant for their hospitality. We were a family group of 10 that were meeting up from various places all out of town and we called 3hrs before arrival to see if they could accommodate us, and no problem we got lucky and they said see you at 6! Phew

Upon arrival is a quaint restaurant, that transports you right back to Mexico with the decorations. We were welcomed and seated and waters brought right away without asking , was nice during this heatwave. Service was great, even with a bigger table with mixed ages from child to seniors and everything in between, we really thought they did an excellent job hosting us.

The FOOD! Sooooo good! First and foremost I just want to start by saying that I have always wanted to enjoy real Mexican food and have tried several different places all over Alberta and even a couple in Mexico during our travels and just never really enjoyed it, so I wasn’t super excited about our last dinner on our last day of vacation, however I was intrigued as our nephew who is a local kept suggesting this place since our arrival a few days prior and his face lit up like a Christmas tree when we confirmed Dinner was indeed going to be here!

I wish I got more pics but just got pics of our two dishes which were the chicken enchiladas special and the Chimichangas ordered from the menu and both were EXCELLENT! I even devoured the beans which I usually don’t even like at all , but these beans, they just did something ( like have a party in my mouth) that just perfectly complimented and rounded out every bite. Some other dishes that looked absolutely stellar coming to the table were the stuffed jalapeño peppers appetizer. I can’t stop dreaming of those, that’s what is tempting me to jump in my car from Calgary to come back for…

now this is the real compliment, my husband and I both have smaller appetites which leaves us both with lots of left overs and leftovers, especially Mexican don’t seem to travel that well unless you are going to eat them sooner then later. The next morning we were hitting the highway back to Calgary and still had our leftovers, what the heck they are coming with us! Food was just too good to leave behind. So glad we did, husband ate his cold in the car on the way home and I devoured mine as soon as I got home and warmed it up in the microwave and yes it was still so good! woke up this morning and saw my empty bowl and got instantly sad lol …. Never ever have I ever enjoyed a Mexican Dinner this much! This is actually one of the best meals I have ever had period in my life experiences and definitely can’t wait to go back. Salmon Arm is lucky to have this gem, my only regret is not listening to our nephew on day 1 of our trip as we would have been there every day and not just on our last evening.

It’s rare to get 10 family members to even agree on a place to eat and it’s even more rare to not hear one complaint, so hats off to this place you absolutely nailed...

Wow. I have worked in a ACTUAL authentic Mexican restaurant. This WAS NOT anything comparable eventhou the owners state that it is. Was very excited to eat here on our way passing thru to Alberta. Wow who ever the chef is please take this review with humility. First off,, my husband's strawberry margarita was soo NOT flavorful. Could only barely taste the strawberry. For 10$ honestly put some fresh strawberrys in it. 2nd,, was looking forward to the mole enchiladas. OMG the mole sauce tasted like WATER!!. No flavour, bland bland bland..where is the depth of flovour the layering of spices ??????. it WAS NOT authentic mole sauce. Not even in the least. Even the sour cream was watery and feta cheese was sparce . Honestly do you want the customers of Salmon Arm thinking this is how a true mole sauce tastes??? The enchiladas came luke warm at best. The chicken you could tell was dry and had probably been cooked days before. Or maybe it was brought in already cooked like what you get at a fast food place. Nice touch for the free chips ans Pico but once again. Chips were cold. The Pico had no flavor what so ever. Needed more lime more salt more cilantro more jalapeno. Because I KNOW authentic handmade Mexican I would hate for other patrons to think this is the way it should be made. I don't know if this restaurant is failing and have to stretch the dollar but PLEASE stop serving this garbage with a front being that it's even good. Sorry not sorry. Guacamole? Huh?? needed so much love it was sad. Rice? ?? Cold and knew it was from days and days old. I know mexican food / ingredients are relatively cheap.. Step up man!! The food you are serving is so UNFLAVORED. There is no love going into your dishes. I will say the only saving grace was our sweet sweet waitres. She was so sorry and i hope she goes to a much better restaurant cause she...

I'm so disappointed. We wanted to love it here. We stopped in due to the positive reviews but we don't understand how people could enjoy it here.

Food: We ordered fish tacos and enchiladas. They initially served us the wrong dish, realized they'd given the fish tacos to another table (which they took away after the customer had eaten a few bites). Within a few minutes they'd brought us the tacos (cold) and they were soggy and covered in hot sauce. It felt like they just replated the tacos they took from the other table. The enchilada chicken tasted like it had expired. It did not taste fresh at all. The whole plate was cold and dry.

Service: Like the reviews said, the servers are constantly bumping into one another and then giving each other dirty looks. They didn't do anything or offer a discount for the dishes mixup which seems standard. They were friendly, but nothing that made our experience amazing.

Atmosphere: The front of the house tells me anything I need to know about the back of house. The decor is ripped and hanging around like no one cares about it. The water cups had crusties on them which is also not food safe. The chef came out from the back and was hanging around weirdly. They had their receipts and bills taking up one of the tables.

Overall either we just happen to get a randomly bad service and every other table had the time of their lives, or it's just not great and I really wish it were cause I love...