Cantina Locale — Restaurant in Augusta

Tried Cantina Locale with some friends last night and I would highly recommend a visit for those who enjoy Tex-Mex with a little flare. I had the ghost pepper nachos with steak and can confirm that the steak is delicious. The steak and seasoning flavors came through and the meat was tender. The queso was flavorful and had a good consistency, the salsa tasted fresh and some of the vegatables tasted like they had been roasted or charred. They also bring nachos out in a full on tin can before dumping the cheese over it so it doesn’t sit around and become soggy. Fun presentation and enjoyable meal. I can also state simply by looking at my friends’ quesadillas that they had a really nice toasted crust and the cheese was melted to a nice consistency. Can’t speak to their tacos, but I definitely expect to get quesadillas and nachos again. I wouldn’t worry too much about spiciness either, I recognize that ghost pepper sounds scary but I found the dish to be more flavorful than hot. As for the drinks, one friend had a draft beer which is always nice and the other ordered a mixed drink. The mixed drink was a vodka based beverage and had a nice flavor that blended the sweet and sour components well. The interior is very attractive and has fun colorful pops. The design is more modern than most restaurants of similar cuisine and has high ceilings and open spaces rather than tight cozy cubbies and segmented rooms. As for the layout, there are seating options inside and outside, and the outside seating is a covered breezeway from the front to the rear of the strip mall. I can’t speak to the weather every night but when I went, it seemed like a perfect outside space to enjoy the weather without being held hostage by it. Cantina Locale is in a strip mall and while it wasn’t glaringly obvious from the road, if you’re looking for it, you should find it without trouble. The staff was pleasant and knowledgeable of the menu items and they came by with healthy consistency to check on our table. While one of our table members drink refills was forgotten, upon mentioning it a short while later, the drink was produced quickly. I found the speed of the kitchen appropriate and don’t see it being a place where you’d find yourself waiting for an extended period of time. I think they’ve chosen the menu well and I think it helps keep the kitchen with a steady pace. The parking situation should never be an issue here as the parking lot is huge. I found the restaurant to be clean throughout. I did not check out the restrooms, that being said I would assume based on the rest of my experience that they would be just fine. The restaurant was well populated, inside and out, and you could hear that it was active but not in an obnoxious way that would cause you to yell across the table. Cantina Locale’s website is easy to find and navigate. They also included some pictures of the interior and prices with all the menu items. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience and will definitely go back in the future. Maybe there’s a taco night coming in the...

This place…where do I start. The food is ok…compared to authentic Mexican food or even Tex mex, the food barely scratches the surface. I’m pretty sure all the guacamole and salsa come out of a bag or can. The chips are super salty (I guess it helps flavor the bland salsa) and the tacos are ok…but what can you expect from a place that has an 85 health score! I personally don’t eat at places lower than 95 so that’s my first mistake. This isn’t my first time there and the score has dropped significantly since my first time (I try places 3 times before X them off the list) The servers were nice. I will give them that. Now for my dining experience: A group of my friends and I were have dinner and discussion about mental health. We recorded some of the moments were we shared our struggles and how we over came them. We started at 7:30p. TWO HOURS LATER, the manager (and for the review I am going to indicate she is of Caucasian descent) comes over to our group (yes we are all of African descent) with a margarita in tow that she is drinking, dressed like she’s going to UGA homecoming and basically demands we stop recording videos. Stating that it’s posted in the restaurant not to record. I check every single wall and I saw no signs anywhere that say that(but that health score, I did find) She even said that they don’t allow FaceTime in the establishment. She also started touching our phones and tripods asking who they belonged and turning them down on the table. She was INCREDIBLY rude! Regardless is there was an issue with our meeting or us speaking too loud (we were outside and trying to speak over music after we were told the music wouldn’t be loud) her approach was so unprofessional. She came to our tables drinking and being very ignorant and not acting in the capacity of a manager at all! After that we all cancelled our orders and left and went to Vallartas down the street were they treated us with respect and kindness. Overall this was an ABSOLUTE horrible experience. I liked the vibe of, at best, this Instagramable place but I will NEVER step foot in here again. I try not to throw that “R” word around but the situation seemed very discriminatory. Y’all please support ACTUAL Mexican restaurants. Not this white washed poor excuse...

Where do I start…. I came here to attend a group gathering where friends & I were catching up, discussing mental health and overcoming different difficulties in life. There was a reservation for our group where a section outside was to be our area. We sat down at the round table in the middle of the outdoor area around 6:30ish and we began our discussions. There was a duo playing but our party was told they wouldn’t be extremely loud, well that was a lie. Between moving from the centered area to the tables where we were going to order food and continue talking until 2 hours later out comes little miss mamas (the owner) rudely demanded that we stop what we were doing. Our group video and audio recorded our conversations and interactions & she informed us that that’s not what that establishment does and we need to stop video recording and we can’t use the mic. It’s so ironic bc I see a group of people recording the duo that was performing outside. We searched around the establishment and couldn’t find one sign that said you’re not allowed to video record but what we did see is the big ol 85 health score plastered on the wall as soon as you walk in. If the owner would be more concerned about the health and wellness of her business instead of pouring her next margarita drink maybe that score would come up. I found her to be very rude and I could tell the intentions behind her delivery were to be very disrespectful although she said she doesn’t want to be disrespectful 🙄 I ordered chips and queso and I swear I could get me some Jimmy dean, Rotel and cheese and make way better dip than that but I’ll leave that there. I felt bad for her staff because they would’ve received extremely great tips and returned visits but you can’t help anyone that’s just ugly on the inside. I’m from the south and I’m really big on how things are said, she may live in the south but there ain’t no good manners in her body. Visit Vallartas instead, way better service and the drinks were AMAZING! To add, but not to downgrade the fast food industry, there’s a Burger King next to my house with a 100...