Cantina 76 — Restaurant in Kiawah Island

Our visit to Cantina 76 at Kiawah Island with our twin boys, who usually enjoy Mexican-inspired food, unfortunately, fell short of our expectations. From start to finish, our dining experience left us feeling quite disappointed.

I had high hopes when I ordered the blackened shrimp taco, but what arrived at our table was far from satisfying. The taco featured three tiny shrimp that were under-seasoned and failed to deliver the promised "blackened" flavor. To make matters worse, the Pico de Gallo accompanying the taco was dominated by an overwhelming amount of white onions, making it unpalatable and off-putting.

To please my indecisive son, I also ordered three enchiladas: one chicken in red sauce, one inVerde, and one beef in red. Unfortunately, these enchiladas were a letdown. The red sauce enchiladas had a burnt cheese topping that resembled a pizza gone wrong, and the meat inside was disappointingly dry, making it difficult to enjoy. The Verde sauce seemed to have been reheated hastily, resulting in an unappetizing, bubbly texture akin to toothpaste. The meat in all three enchiladas suffered the same fate, lacking any juiciness or tenderness. It was a challenge to eat them without a refreshing beverage.

Sadly, after a few initial bites, I abandoned the enchiladas altogether. Even the shrimp taco couldn't salvage the meal, as I found myself merely picking at the tiny shrimp and tortilla. The excessive use of white onions in the Pico de Gallo made it unappetizing and unpalatable.

While our waitress was friendly, it was evident that she and other staff members were swamped and often appeared frantic, which added to the overall experience.

In addition to our disappointments, my wife ordered the BBQ Brisket taco, hoping for a better experience. While she enjoyed the flavorful meat and the tortilla, she also encountered the same disappointment with the Pico de Gallo, which was inedible due to the overpowering white onions.

Furthermore, our one son, who eventually settled on ordering the kids’ chicken tenders, unfortunately, fell violently ill shortly after our meal. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact cause, but it's concerning to think that his illness may have been related to the food.

All in all, our experience at Cantina 76 at Kiawah Island was deeply unsatisfying. The underwhelming quality of the food, the unappetizing Pico de Gallo, and the overwhelming jalapeño in the Fish Taco left a lasting negative impression. Despite our friendly waitress, the overall busyness and occasional frantic atmosphere of the staff further added to our disappointment.

With numerous dining options available, I would suggest exploring alternative venues that offer a more satisfying Mexican culinary experience. Your health and enjoyment should be the top priority when dining out, and unfortunately, Cantina 76 did not meet our expectations in...

Let's just say, their hospitality was horrible. I called in a takeout order, and wanted to know what veggie came on the veggie nachos. She chuckled and said, "beans." I asked, "so, there is no other vegetables on their, just beans?" She responded, "well, they all come with tomatoes. " I said, "ok, may I please have these veggie nachos." Sheer told me it would 25-30 minutes. When I arrived - which was 10 minutes early, so I realized it wasn't going to be ready yet - I paid for my order, and the hostess said let me check on it. She came back and said it should be ready in a few minutes. I wasn't told where to stand, sit, if they would bring out to me, nothing. So, I stood off to the side, trying to get out of the way of people coming in and server running food out. 2 times, what I could assume was management, walked up to the front looked at me and never acknowledged me, just walked away. I could see the kitchen, expo area the whole time. 2 management people, serves coming and going, the bartender, and the hostess walking back occasionally to check on things. I finally received my order and opened it up. It caught me by surprise - because I failed to have acknowledged that the nachos were tostadas style - I said to the hostess, "I ordered nachos." She looked at me and said, "those are our nachos, we make tostadas nachos," (the way she said it was like I should have known, and was stupid to have asked. I responded, " oh, ok. I didn't know." I went back to my car and took a bite... soggy and cold, not crunchy at all! Highly disappointed in the service and food! I've worked in the food and beverage business for 30 years and definitely wouldn't...

Total ripoff! I'm a younger resident of Kiawah and finally decided to try our new Mexican restaurant and I was totally let down. If you want Mexican go to the other mexican restaurant at bohicket marina! The margaritas at cantina 76 are a laughable joke. Half to 1/3rd the size of every other Mexican restaurant yet just as pricey$$$. Here's the best part, a maybe 6 ounce baby cup of salsa for $3.50! Or even better a personal 6 ounce cup of queso for $4.50! Now let's be honest here, salsa is cheap and I mean really cheap to make and I know because Ive made it for a crowd before. There is no excuse whatsoever to charge that for a tiny cup of salsa and then have the nerve to have NO REFILLS. At least if you charge that offer free refills Cantina 76! The food I had was good although portions were trendy and small and there was no combo platter options on the menu.

So here's my take. Cantina 76 will do well with naive tourists here for their weeks vacation with money to blow and little regard for being ripped off. I saw lots of families all enjoying their overpriced, underportioned food that they waited 1hr for with that ridiculous waiting to be seated time. Maybe some other residents enjoy being ripped off so this place might make it in the off season but I'm warning people to steer clear. Gave it two ** stars as the taste of the food was good. The owners need to visit a "Chevys Fresh Mex" or "Don Pablos" in another state and learn why their restaurant pales in comparison to those wonderful corporate chains who give you quality and quantity of delicious food and drinks at a...