La Cantera Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Lockhart

I had to make a run to Lockhart and figured we would check this place out. There was a bit sign on the front of the restaurant that said "Homemade Tortillas". That is where the positive part stops. We walk in and were immediately seated. There were probably 3 other folks at tables in the restaurant. The our young server quickly took our drink order and brought us chips and salsa. The salsa was just ok. It was bland and did not have any spice to it at all. I had ordered the Un Poco de todo. The cheese enchilada had a nice gravy to it, but they use American cheese in their taco and enchiladas. That drives me nuts when Mexican restaurants do this and call this "authentic". If you go to Mexico, you do not see "American Cheese" on any of their dishes, even in their "Tex Mex" restaurants. I understand it's a cost thing. To me, it makes the meal bland. I expected the crispy taco meat to have a bit more cumin flavor. There was hardly any seasoning at all. The beans also had zero flavor to them. The Mexican rice was just "meh". We also ordered the Mari's Pollo. It was heavily breaded and had a Ranchero sauce on top. To me, it tasted more like Chicken Parm. Wait, is this an Italian place or a Mexican joint? Once you scraped off the breading, you can see their small piece of chicken. That was ok once you removed it.

I did see they had some sort of bug light in the corner, but we were bombarded with flies. I did had to laugh when our server brought out the little handheld device to take our payment. The minimum option for a tip was 18%. The service was good, but was not worthy of an 18% tip. I could have put my own custom tip on there, but decided to cut my losses and get out.

I am not sure whose family's recipes they are using, but the Abuela needs to come back and show them how it's done. This had to be some of the worst Mexican food I have ever had. The only good thing is the Tortillas were homemade. I did have to laugh because they did not have enough color on them. Thanks, we will not be back. Save yourself some time and skip this place if you are considering checking it out. I am not sure why it even has a 4.6 rating. Apparently some folks do not know what good...

Decided to give them a try for dinner today (2/23/23) after trying their breakfast tacos on Sunday. Ordered a queso appetizer (velveeta cheese really) my bf got a fajita torta, got a bean taco for my daughter & the enchiladas tapatio for myself. Food was alright, deffinetly had better before but my biggest complaint was after eating one cheese enchilada and 2 bites into my green chicken enchilada I bit into something I thought was just a tough chicken nerve from the shredded chicken but to my surprise it was a pretty good size PIECE OF GLASS OR SOME TYPE OF HARD SHARP PLASTIC. We got ahold of our waitress attention but nobody from management ever came to talk to us & they owner or whoever he was at the cashier just offered to discount that one plate. We left paying for food that we no longer felt safe eating & thanking God it wasn’t in my daughters plate and that I didn’t bite into it sharp side up. Very disappointed, breakfast tacos are good but deffinetly won’t...

This place is my favorite spot for breakfast tacos anytime of day! If you haven’t tried the Carne Guisada or Barbacoa, you’re definitely missing out! The Horchata is also great and the homemade flour tortillas are delicious!! For my hot sauce lovers, both the red and green salsa (chilé) is phenomenal! I personally prefer the green! Staff is always welcoming. Depending on the time of day you go, it can be packed. Parking can also vary during peak hours too but there’s ample spots around the downtown area where this gem is located. The last couple of times I’ve tried to place a to-go order, there’s been a mixup of with the phone lines. Not too big a deal, since the to-go orders don’t take long. Keep in mind I’m usually there for tacos so if you order plates, might be a smidge of a time difference. I’ve also had the menudo and its just as good. You will not regret stopping here, no matter what...