Catrina’s Tequila and Taco Bar — Restaurant in Mebane

Affordable, fresh ingredients, and DELICIOUS. 100% recommend!

Lunch review: I have to admit, I was VERY skeptical about a “Tequila and Taco Bar” in small town Mebane. Isn’t that the kind of place that should be located in trendy Carrboro, close to all the college kids? Especially the decor, which leaned heavily on sugar skull ladies and Lucha masks; and the tableware which was super trendy mason jar cups for our non-alcoholic drinks and a vintage metal mini-strainer that held our chips- I was expecting generic Chili’s or Applebee’s style Mexican food in a super trendy environment. My skepticism has been fully alleviated. The food and drinks were so good I had already texted a few friends who lived as far away as Durham to tell them about Catrina’s before we even left the restaurant. This is the kind of place I would recommend driving from Durham or Chapel Hill just based on the quality of the food/tequila and the eccentric experience.

Once I tried two types of margaritas (Lemon-Basil and House) and then tried the food, I was stunned. The taste combinations were incredible. The Lemon-Basil margarita had an almost lemongrass flavor to it. I always add extra sour cream to my Mexican food and add guacamole but I didn’t want to change the flavor profile of my taco at all- a first.

I chatted with the owner/manager and learned that they use FRESH ingredients all year round (even in winter) and that their wide selection of infused tequilas (like pineapple-kiwi tequila) are infused with fresh fruit (pineapple and kiwi) soaking in the tequila, not with a preservative filled artificial flavoring. Since it is a Taco Bar, I of course had to try a taco. I ordered the Tinga (braised chipotle chicken, red onion, cilantro, salsa verde, crema, and queso) for $7. It was two tacos and a large bowl of black beans (there were 5 different sides to choose from, including soup!). Looking at the picture you might think that the portion sizes were small but I was actually stuffed and had some to bring home even though I skipped breakfast before I went to Catrina’s for lunch. My partner had steak fajitas for $8; they looked like typical fajitas but the meat was so tender I was stunned and though I am not certain what it was flavored with, it had a fresh sazon spice taste to it. It came with the typical sides: black beans, yellow rice, fresh peppers/onion, but also romaine lettuce and red cabbage!

Despite the sugar skull ladies and the tequila emphasis, I think that if you go during week nights or lunch time (i.e. not happy hour or Fri/Sat night), this would be a family friendly restaurant. There were two tables with children near us who were excited by all the different things on the adult menu. I don’t think there is a children’s menu, but unless your child is mac-and-cheese/chicken-fingers only picky, I’m certain there is something your child will like. [Edit: they do have a kids menu!] For adults, it is a perfect happy-hour place, ladies night location or a date-night location. Catrina’s had an almost sexy, but not inappropriate, feel to it. The music was RB (from Barry White to Michael Jackson to current R&B) which was unexpected, and because we are still in the South during March Madness, ESPN was on the television behind me.

All in all, although Catrina’s isn’t the normal “Mebane” type of restaurant, I truly hope that it stays open! I will be back!

Edit: After I wrote this, I read the other reviews and saw complaints about the service. Our waiter was very attentive and the owner/manager came out to chat with us since we were very interested in their taste profiles and food choices. We had excellent service, even before we asked to speak with someone about the...

So this review is based on three visits that have resulted in the restaurant getting a three star overall review (personally, I'd rather give it a 3.5, but it only allows for full stars).

The first visit was easily a five star experience. We were waited on by Shaun. He did a fantastic job, made small talk with us, made sure we were enjoying our food and had everything we needed/asked for, and at the very end, offered us a to go menu as well as any last to go orders we may want. He really made that visit over the top which is why it was five stars.

Our next visit was four stars. Our waitress was nice, although I don't remember her introducing herself. She was knowledgeable, made sure we had everything we needed. There just wasn't anything that made it over the top, hence the four stars.

Unfortunately, our last visit yesterday was a two star visit. My husband ordered the pork belly tacos, and I ordered the spare rib tacos. My husband's tacos were flavorful, but half of his meat was actually fat. I understand that pork belly is more fatty than other meats, but to have half your meat fat that is stacked two inches high on the plate is a bit much. My corn tortillas were hard along the edges and my some of my plantains were overcooked. Our waitress, Kayla, did well in the beginning of our visit, but then disappeared before we got our main course and didn't return til we were done. I was out of water and we could have used extra napkins, but she was no where in sight. When we mentioned the fat issue to her about the pork belly, she stated that most guests liked it because it was where all the flavor is. My husband was a little peeved since we understand that is the case, but again, half your meat not actually being meat is a bit much. A little fat we would understand.

So overall, three and a half stars from us. We were really hoping to like this place, but after our last visit, we are unsure if we...

Had really high hopes for this place because of the ratings. My partner and I stopped at this restaurant while on a long roadtrip for dinner. This food was in no way authentic, there was no flavor, and not even seasoned. The waiter we had didn’t even give us 5 minutes to sit down and decide, he kept coming up to us asking if we were ready to order. By the third time, in less than 10 min of being there we decided to quickly order because he kept coming to our table. Since we didn’t know what we wanted yet, he just sat there and stared at us while we were trying to figure out what we wanted. Super impatient service and I’m a server myself, he had no reason to be like that because the restaurant wasn’t even busy…I got the mahi tacos, the taco were so bland and my partner got the beef cheese dip which was also bland and super oily. We spent a total of $39 on our dishes and two drinks then proceeded to pay with $20 cash and the rest on card. When our waiter came he took the card only then left, my partner caught up to him and gave him the $20 letting him now how to split the payment. Instead the waiter took the $20 as a tip and charged the entire dinner on the card. We were not tipping him, his service wasn’t even a standard or serving ettiquete. We didn’t have water the entire time were sat and deciding on food. Obviously we were frustrated, so we had to ask him to refund us and split the bill as requested. If you think it had to do with a language barrier, keep in mind that spanish is my partner’s first language and the waiter spoke spanish perfectly also. So he knew what he was doing because he had a straight up attitude and no remorse when we asked for him to do the payment again and refund what we were charged. Just incredibly rude and no customer service standards whatsoever. My partner is currently waiting on the $60 refund still. Don’t go here for non-authentic mexican food...