Mila's Cantina — Restaurant in Denver

Sitting at the bar and there are 4 guests inside at the bar across from me (one who has been over served and is clearly drunk yet continues to order beer)two tables on the patio and two tables inside. Food is run to the patio tables and two minutes later the guest comes inside to ask for silverware and napkins. I order chips and guac it arrives with in 4 minutes but I was also not given cutlery or a napkin. The tamarindo lindo is crisp and delicious. The guac is so so. 4 scoops of 2oz pasteurized smashed avocado with cilantro and onion on a salad plate with chopped tomato on top. The manager/2nd bartender is bouncing in and out of the bar. Her friends over at the kitchen have her attention more than the people eating and drinking in the restaurant. The “fruit purée” used in several of the margaritas is simply Finest Call brand syrup found in a grocery store. The Smokey rio was really good. A bit sweet but the mezcal cut through well and balanced the drink nicely. 9 people are in the restaurant and I have been waiting 15 minutes for 6 tacos. When they arrived they look great. I ordered 1 of every taco except the fajita chicken. The veggie was on the bland side but filled completely with vegetables, the carnitas was dry but the pickled onion was a nice touch. I really enjoyed the pastor. The asada was also tender and the avacado was fresh. It needed a bit of heat or finishing salt as it was typical and expected. A new guest has seated himself at the bar and both the manager and server/bartender are talking at the POS station and are completely ignoring him. The shrimp on the shrimp taco is frozen and deep fried, the rajas was probably the best one. Most people will return to a restaurant with subpar food if the service is great. Milas Cantina sadly has ok food and poor slow service. A combination that sadly does not have a promising future. I was not impressed and will...

After Uno Mas vacated this building I hoped another Mexican restaurant that served truly Mexican food would move into this space. What I mean by truly Mexican food is one that serves a burrito smothered in green chili, not another taco, tequila & whisky bar! The Governor's Park/Alamo Placita 'hood deserved it and Mila's Cantina delivers just that plus other delicious dishes. I've dined here three times now and each dish, carnitas plate, smothered burrito and the crispy chili rellenos (2) were all very good. I requested my carnitas plate smothered in green chili and was it ever good. The carnitas plate came with charro beans which are homemade, awesome and in my opinion should be served with every dish that comes out of the kitchen. I would like to see them served in a small bowl as a "entradas" with a couple of flour tortillas. That would be heaven. Is this the best Mexican food I've ever ate? No, but it sure is good. The "platos" range in price from $14 to $30, the $30 "plato" is the Molcajete plate. I've noticed this is the latest greatest in other Mexican restaurants in the 'hood. Their tacos are sold individually. Beers on tap are around $6. The atmosphere is very laid back. They have a nice outdoor patio, decent size bar to sit at with two TV's for viewing sporting events and additional interior seating. The bathrooms are clean and nicely decorated. The only issue I found is because of the location on the corner of E. 6th Ave & Clarkson St the noise from the traffic is sometimes loud. The service is pretty good. You can tell they're going through some opening pains with the servers, cook staff and bartenders but this is true of all restaurants in Denver, even those that have been open for years. With each visit the service got better. Everyone is very friendly. If you're looking for some good Mexican food to eat, eat here, you won't be...

The food is good, but the service is pretty spotty. The staff doesn't greet you when you walk in, and it's unclear where you're supposed to go. It can take a while before a waiter comes to your table, and even longer for them to return. I got fajitas and had to wait several minutes before the tortillas and toppings were brought out afterwards. They fail to do basic things like clear out dirty/empty plates and offer refills.

It is pretty expensive, I'd say slightly overpriced. The music they play is weird.

The salsa is sometimes too hot, other times it's great. They should try to be more consistent. The guacamole was very lazily done—basically just the avocado with some tomatoes thrown on top, not properly mixed together.

I like the veggie quesadillas, rajas tacos, veggie tacos, and queso dip.

The hours are incorrect; I tried to go there when Google Maps said they were open, and I saw people in there, but the open sign was off, the door was locked, and they didn't answer when I tried to call before showing up.

It's a shame because this is a location and the food is good. Every restaurant that does business here always ends up closing, though, and management of this place appears to be somewhat inept, so I imagine the same will happen to Mila's Cantina. I'll keep visiting and hoping the...