Canonita — Restaurant in Paradise

Ate here last night. We had a good experience with the food truck in the past, so we thought we'd try the actual restaurant. Let's start with the bad first to explain the four stars.

The sign: Their sign at the entrance with the QR code doesn't work. You're supposed to use that to make a reservation. We got in with no problem though, so it wasn't a big deal.

Food: We got chicken and beef fajitas. The beef cuts had too many blubbery and membrane parts to it. If I can't chew and break down every piece of food that I put in my mouth, I'm not swallowing it. That's just my preference. The four tortillas were too chewy like they weren't cooked all the way.

Drinks: We ordered a Paloma and a Jalapeño margarita. Husband didn't like that the Paloma was too sour, so he watered it down. We both woke up with headaches the next morning which indicates to us that we probably got cheap tequila. Those were the only drinks we had that night.

The good: We we're seated next to the canal which was really nice. Despite the chewy meat, what I could eat was actually delicious with the onions and peppers. No complaints about the chicken fajitas.

Drinks: The Jalapeño margarita was very good. You could taste the jalapeño and cilantro. Even with the Tajin on the rim, it wasn't too spicy.

Overall, we would probably come back and try different dishes and ask that we get top shelf tequila for our drinks next time. Great atmosphere. Service was great. Lessons learned here....

Cañonita is a nice Mexican joint in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian / Palazzo in Las Vegas, right on the canal! (I mean the fake canal, but hey, you’re in Las Vegas, this is what you’ve come to expect.) They have decent vegetarian options including enchiladas, mushroom and tacos, and their rice and beans are vegetarian.

They also have Mojito and Margarita flights available (and who doesn’t love a flight of anything?!)

I had the Wild Mushroom Enchiladas. This was a great dish served with three enchiladas. This was a bit more creamy than “enchilada saucy” but was very filling. The white rice with peas and corn it was served with was light and delicious…as were the “special” kidney beans that were mixed with corn and were just very good.

They offer chips and salsa for $5. I maintain that if you are at a Mexican restaurant, it is your god-given right to have chips and salsa automatically provided as part of the experience so I balk a bit at having to pay for them separately…and in this case I wish we hadn’t…the chips were a little too thick and were not evenly salted. The salsa they came with was good though.

As I mentioned, it’s right on the canal so the atmosphere was nice (though you have to be a party of 2 to sit at one of the tables next...

I wanted to celebrate my wife’s birthday by having a surprise brunch for her. We had a large group of 18 which made it quite difficult to find a place in the Venetian that could seat us all together. Most venues either charged too high of a food & beverage spend or didn’t have the capacity to seat us together. Luckily, I was able to book a semi-private area right along the canals of Canonita (for a nice view), and the F&B minimum was only $55 per person, which is very reasonable for Vegas standards. My event coordinator Patricia was very responsive in setting up our contract and answering my questions. And on the day-of, I really felt like the Canonita staff treated us like VIPs. The restaurant manager Katherine welcomed us and checked in on us multiple times and she had a big smile on her face every time. We were given 2 waitresses for our table (Thelma & Liliana), and both of them were so attentive to our table. The food itself was incredible and surprised our group at how big the portions were. We also got pitchers of margaritas which tasted very refreshing and unique. Overall, I could not recommend this restaurant enough for a large group event. Everything about it was perfect and I will certainly be back, knowing how well...