De La O Cantina — Restaurant in Jalisco

I am writing this review while on wave of nostalgia and a weird form of "homesickness." We were in Guadalajara a few months ago for a few days. We walked into De La O Cantina on our first night in Guadalajara and also in Mexico after having a bit of challenging time on our first day in the city. Walking into the the Cantina and experiencing the hospitality it offers is an oasis for the overwhelmed and confused travel. Needless to say we visited them 3 times after on our five day trip.

Our first encounter was with Arnoldi who was so warm and kind, ans guided us through our entire experience that night despite a small language barrier. Then came Caesar- affable and very capable chef in their kitchen who made the best food recommendations both in and out of the restaurants. Without his food and his recommendations, I feel like I would have left Mexico without experiencing it's culinary offerings. I also am really thankful to Billy and Miguel who were so warm and welcoming. De La O Cantina made Guadalajara for us. But these gentlemen made De La O Cantina. Their warm hospitality and their talents in the bar and the kitchen is something I will cherish for a long long time. If I had the means, I would be catching the next flight to sit at their bar and have Arnoldi, Billy or Miguel shake something special up while I wait for Caesar to send food our way (chef's choice of course). De La O Cantina could probably be my favourite restaurant in the world. Thank you Arnoldi, Casear, Billy and Miguel. I hope to...

My sister and I went to this spot for the first and last time this past Saturday night and we had a horrible experience. When we first walked in we were fascinated by the unique funky decor, fun cocktail menu, yummy food options and great music playing in the background. We were greeted by a male waiter, who seemed to be the only one waiting tables that night. At first he was attentive and respectful, but as soon as my sister respectfully confronted him about messing up on her order his whole attitude shifted. He gradually became sarcastic, rude and non attentive to our table. A busgirl started attending us instead towards the end of the night. At the end when we got up from our table he darted straight to our table to pick up the money not responding to our thank yous (we wanted to be cordial) and he just walked away. Horrible service!!! I have never treated like this in any place in my life let alone at a cantina. I don’t know how a cool place allows a person who lacks customer service training to work there. I have included a picture of who to avoid if for some reason you still want to visit, just ask for...

Guadalajara Eats 2024 #13, Bar #5: This is one of my favorite bars not only in Guadalajara or Mexico but the entire world. I love the drinks and vibe here. We spent many weekend days here two years ago and were keen to return.

De La O is good everyday of the week, but it's especially good on Sundays when they have their daiquiris/coladas on offer. My partner especially loves the guayaba colada while their banana colada is one of the things that makes life worth living.

After having a couple drinks in the afternoon here, we had lunch before returning for post-dinner drinks. I will say I strongly prefer drinking here during the day/afternoon to the evening. Service is so much better and it's not as crowded or try-hard.

While we usually come here for drinks, the few times we've eaten here were good, too. Other drinks I recommend are: el mai tai de la o (classic with a great mix of rums), el señor bali hai (bitter, coffee-y cocktail), el otoño en guadalajara (complex, bitter), el zombi (drink with caution), and el negroni de la o...