Cantina bar — Restaurant in New York

Its all hype and photo ops ONLY!

I truly did not see what attracts people to Cantina. I was in attendance for brunch to celebrate a good friend back in August.

We were a party of 13 and required to do the prefix menu. The menu included guacamole & dessert to share with a choice of one of 4 main courses.

The main course options were: TACOS DE POLLO TACOS DORADOS TRES LECHES FRENCH TOAST QUESADILLA

Of the 4 main courses all except the Quesadilla was order by someone in our party. It was unanimous that the Guac and the tacos (both chicken and shrimp) were underwhelming and severely lacked both seasoning and flavor. For those who ordered the French Toast, it was just ok.

In conjunction with the less than memorable food the service left much to be desired. Our waiter was simultaneously over zealous and dismissive. Due to the size of our party he kept insisting that we ordered multiple pitchers (approx $65 each). When asked for sometime to discuss, he simply went to the other end of the table and again try to push the pitchers (he was little aggressive about it). When we requested again for a few minutes he disappeared and sent a colleague over. When the colleague could not provide the answers needed he returned with an impatient and dismissive attitude. During the dessert, we asked for him to tell us what we were being served (a list was not provide) he gave the names of a couple and then walked away.

The prefix menu was required @ $35. In total we left spending about $75/$80 each with only 1 drink for those who ordered a cocktail (and covering the cost for the guest of honor of course).

$75/$80 included: Shared Guac 3 small unseasoned tacos 1 cup of Sangria Shared desserts (4/5 mini desserts split 13 ways) & Extremely Poor service (probably bc tip was included)

Needless to say this wasn't for me.

Be prepared to spend $$ and leave hungry with NO clarity on what you spent your $$ on.

Just A Note:

They have a photographer that offers to take your picture and then comes to your table and offers you the option to purchase the pics for $30 each... Yup you read correctly $30 for each one.

(They are in plastic frames and you are not even asked or shown the pics prior to see if you approve of them before they...

My experience here was not good or pleasant. From the very beginning, I could already sense what to expect based on the attitude of the hostess downstairs by the elevator. There was absolutely no customer service, and she was rude to the person who had reserved our table. Once we got to the rooftop, it was extremely crowded, with even more people waiting. The space was very tight, and the bar area was packed. Strangely, there were two kids present at 10 PM, in the middle of what looked like a dance floor full of adults drinking alcohol. I honestly don’t understand how a place allows children to be in that kind of environment so late at night. The worst part of the night was the experience with the rooftop hostess. She was blonde, short, and round large body. She was extremely rude, pushing through the crowd on the dance floor without saying “excuse me” to anyone. I understand the place was busy, but everybody deserves basic respect. We also had an issue with seating. Despite reserving a table in advance and providing the exact number of people, there weren’t enough chairs when we arrived which is why we ended up at the bar in the first place. We asked several staff members multiple times for additional chairs, but no one helped. Eventually, the same rude hostess came over and told us we needed to move because people were “complaining about access.” This made no sense, we were literally at the last table next to the wall, and no one was passing by. It felt like a made-up excuse just to move us out of that area.

To clarify: the reservation was made well in advance, with all guest details provided. But somehow, they were still unprepared and disorganized.

Overall, it was a horrible experience. The music was tacky, the drinks were overpriced, and the overall vibe was chaotic and super packed. The tacos and drinks were okay, but nothing special. Definitely not worth it, there are far better rooftops...

I will have to give props where it’s due. The atmosphere was great, the music created a lovely environment and great energy overall. The drinks were good and the food was good too although it was a bit salty. My boyfriend and I ordered the Picada we highly recommend it! We ordered beers, a pińa colada and Paloma’s.

Everything was fantastic minus a gentleman taking photos of myself and my boyfriend. Awkwardly leaving the pictures behind on the table as we were trying to enjoy our time there. The gentlemen wanted to scam us into purchasing, we appreciate the hustle and were trying to negotiate but the gentlemen declined. So did we.

My boyfriend and I drank a lot and had plenty of fun however when the check came I told the waitress we didn’t order margaritas and we were told of this “auto” gratuity. The waitress didn’t know how to answer any of our questions so I asked for a manager. She was taking what it seemed a life time so I went up to him myself. He was being super sarcastic. I’ve worked in the food industry and sales industry for the majority of my adult life. They were taking advantage. I explained to him that we wouldn’t mind it but due to the principle of it all I refuse to pay a 20% gratuity especially through all the dishonesty. The manager said “when do we tell you when you start sitting down to eat?”, I told him it would make more sense before getting the check to explain that they don’t have a button in their system for Paloma’s and need to put it down as margaritas along with acknowledging to the customer that they charge this 20% “auto” gratuity even though we weren’t a party of 6+ nor at a 5 star dining restaurant.

This really made my experience terrible and ruined the night when it was fun for the most part. That manager either needs training or his slick mouth to get written up....