Restaurante Santa Catrina Cádiz — Restaurant in Cádiz

I know what you're thinking. "Does this place REALLY serve AUTHENTIC Mexican food? After all, this is Spain. Since when has Spain ever really understood Mexico, or appreciated its food?"

No matter where I am in Mexico, California, or anywhere in the Southwest, the first thing I order when I'm checking out a new Mexican restaurant is the horchata. I love horchata, and I'm used to ladies in my neighborhood cooking it at home, taking all day to make thirty gallons of it at a time. They cook the rice a certain way, they have their own ideas about how much cinnamon to add (and when), what sort of sugar to use, everything. And then I get to taste it when it is just hours old, or the following night at the party that needed their horchata.

You can tell a lot about a restaurant just by tasting its horchata.

So when I ordered an horchata during my first visit to Santa Catrina, I almost turned around and left when the server didn't understand what I wanted. And when he did understand ("horchata" is, after all, a Spanish word, and I tried my different Central American accents and an American accent too), he gave me the bad news: "We don't serve horchata here."

Then he gave me the good news: "We serve horchata WATER instead."

This is to distinguish it from "horchata" as it is known here in southern Spain, a milk-like beverage that is made from something called a tiger nut, not rice. I got some from the grocery store. It was tragically disappointing.

So yes, good news: the "horchata water" really did taste like horchata. It was watered down (hence the name, I suppose) but genuine. And it was made into a fancy drink, almost a cocktail, served in a wide margarita glass rimmed with Tajin powder. That was a lovely touch, and made up for the thinness of the drink. (The server tried to explain to me what Tajin powder is... yes, I know, they manufacture it in Jalisco, not too far from where I live)

Thus encouraged, we tried the fajitas, the tacos al pastor (another classic standard by which you can judge a Mexican restaurant), and even the chipotle langostino burrito. All of them passed muster. In fact, they were delicious! So was the margarita I ordered on my second visit, and the Muerte por Chocolate dessert too... although that last one wasn't very "Mexican" tbh.

Still, it was top quality, as was everything else in this authentic Mexican foodie enclave here in the middle of an ancient Spanish/Roman/Phoenician city, Cádiz. We are spending most of our time exploring and enjoying the local Spanish and Gaditano cuisine, but when we are homesick for proper Mexican food, we know where to go.

A special thank you to the owners and employees of Restaurante Santa Catrina. I deeply appreciate the care you have taken to make your restaurant so beautiful, so friendly, so delicious,...

The food here is unbelievably good! Normally I wouldn't bother trying Mexican food in Spain... because, well, this is the place to eat tapas. But the combination of great reviews and pics of the food plus the need for yummy comfort food after 28 hours of travel made me break my own rule. And I'm soooooo glad I did! We ordered the chicken tinga quesadillas (with corn tortilla) the veal tacos and the salad with avocado (can't remember the name) plus frozen passionfruit and mango margaritas. First let me say the salad was incredibly fresh and favorable and the presentation made it even more appealing! I was a bit disappointed when they gave me oil and vinegar as the salad dressing but honestly it didn't need anything more... that's how amazing the salad tasted. Next I tried the chicken quesadilla - ummm I've never had anything like it in my entire life. Do yourself a big favor and order it because it is life changing! The sauce they cook it in plus the Verde sauce they give you just creates all these incredible flavors that compliment one another and I just didn't know what to do with myself. Finally I tried the veal tacos... honestly the first two dishes we so delicious it was going to be hard for this one to measure up. They were actually very good but I'd had those other two dishes first and they were bursting with so much flavor it was hard for me to fully appreciate the simple flavors of the veal taco. And yet - let me say it again - they were very good. All in all the biggest issue I see with this restaurant is that their food is so yummy that a dish I might rate a 9.9 (out of 10) at another restaurant can't measure up to the other dishes that are a perfect 10! This is certainly a good problem to have :). As for the margaritas, they were good for frozen margaritas. I happen to prefer margaritas on the rocks but that wasn't an option. Next time I will add a tequila floater but that's just personal preference. We also ordered dessert - the tequila cake (which seemed to be the most popular dessert that night) and the tres leches. They were solid, just not standouts. Though I will say I preferred the tequila cake because you could actually taste the tequila in it. Again, I have to reiterate how much I truly enjoyed this dining experience. It's a super casual atmosphere and they accept major credit cards so it's a great option when you want a great and satisfying meal at a modest price. It's quite popular so I recommend getting...

We had good food, and proper drinks. Great chemistry and a nice atmosphere with the owner and waiter. The evening was at that point promising and we were having a good time.

Ready to get a second round of food and wanted to order. Then the mood flipped 180 degrees. We suddenly had to leave because there was a reservation. The table was cleaned and the bill was promptly presented. However, when we arrived at the restaurant it was quiet and we were not informed about any reservation and end time. We suddenly felt unwanted while we had drinks to finish.

Zero communication and a complete waste of an evening, turning from fun into frustration. Ultimately we were offered to order more, but obviously by then with a cleaned table the moment is dead. By then the kitchen staff were also looking and smirking at us. Very, very, very strange as it was all very comfortable and nice up to that point.

No idea where that suddenly turned, but you have certainly ruined my evening. And left me feeling angry and frustrated, where I was very happy and content just 10...