Casa Catrina — Restaurant in San Antonio

Casa Catrina in La Villita downtown offers an atmosphere that is truly a vibe. With its dark aesthetic, gorgeous catrinas adorning the walls, and elaborate Day of the Dead decor, the ambiance is both captivating and unique. The dim lighting adds to the mystique, and there are plenty of areas perfect for photo opportunities, making it an ideal spot for both dining and capturing memories.

We started our meal with the guacamole, which is served as a single portion accompanied by tostadas. As expected, the guacamole was delicious, fresh, and flavorful, making for a perfect appetizer.

For my main course, I ordered the RITO ACUÁTICO, a campechana that is a Yucatán seafood cocktail featuring shrimp, scallops, and octopus mixed with tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and avocado. This dish was absolute perfection. The seafood was fresh and tender, and the mixture of tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, and avocado created a symphony of flavors. The sweetness of the tomatoes and the creaminess of the avocado balanced beautifully with the subtle heat from the jalapeños and the crisp bite of the onions. Each bite was a delightful blend of textures and flavors, making it an unforgettable dish. It's important to note that this dish is not served with tostadas, so they need to be ordered upon request. The tostadas at Casa Catrina are homemade and salted to perfection, providing a wonderful crunch that complements the seafood cocktail.

For dessert, I had the tres leches cake, which is a vanilla cake soaked in three milks and topped with whipped cream. Although I’m not typically a sweets person, tres leches cake is my favorite, and I had to try it. I made the right choice. The cake was moist and flavorful, with the three milks providing a rich, creamy texture that was perfectly complemented by the light, fluffy whipped cream on top.

For my drink, I automatically ordered the Amanecer de Calavera because it’s served in a skull glass, and I’m obsessed with skulls. The drink, made with 400 Conejos Mezcal, orange juice, and grenadine, was perfection. The smoky flavor of the mezcal combined with the sweet and tangy notes of orange juice and grenadine created a refreshing and well-balanced cocktail.

Overall, Casa Catrina is an exceptional dining experience, from its stunning atmosphere and decor to its delicious food and drinks. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy an extraordinary meal in a beautifully...

My wife loves anything having to do with dia de los muertos, so I had to take her to Casa Catrina. We wanted to try multiple items to really get the experience so we ordered an appetizer, their CAMPECHANA a Classic Mexican seafood cocktail with shrimp, scallops, octopus, tomato, avocado, cucumber. We love shrimp cocktail and ceviche of any kind but this one stood out. It had everything above plus chopped green olives and pretty sure chopped zucchini. It was delicious, the flavors really stood out, and the portion was big enough that you could make a meal out of it if you wanted. As for our entrees we ordered the BAJA FISH tacos which come with beer battered Mahi Mahi, crema, mango salsa, and chayote slaw. We also ordered the SHRIMP DEL MAR tacos which come with sauteed shrimp, chayote slaw, mango salsa, and crema. We decided we wanted to try their fajitas too so we ordered their daily special CHICKEN FAJITA SKILLET that came with grilled chicken, onion, and red, yellow and green bell peppers, guacamole, and Pico de gallo. All of our entrees came with beans and rice on the side. The BAJA FISH tacos were our favorite of the two types of tacos we tried. The chayote slaw with the mango salsa, and crema was good on both, but the beer battered Mahi Mahi just had a fuller flavor in our opinion. The CHICKEN FAJITAS were really good flavor wise. I was expecting the skillet to be quite a bit hotter, but it was a really busy night so I took that into account. We loved the fact that they had red and yellow bell peppers as we can't eat the green, it's rare to find a place that does this. PLATANOS FOSTER their signature dessert, warm plantains, piloncillo rum butter, vanilla bean ice cream, candied pumpkin seeds, banana chips. My wife took the first bite and her face and eyes lit up. I asked her what she thought and she said,"orgasmic!" I tried it and I have to say she wasn't lying. The flavors of these ingredients come together in a way that makes you wish you could taste this dessert everyday. Our service was really good in spite of it being a packed house, and our food came out in a reasonable amount of time, taking into account the crowd. For two teas, an appetizer, three entrees, and a dessert our ticket before tip was $103.69. I don't think that was bad at all for what we received. So be sure and go try Casa Catrina, and be sure to get the...

The four of us were immediately seated outdoors on the second level of the restaurant. We were quickly handed a certificate for free chips and salsa or chips and queso, of which we chose both. We were excited to try their octopus, but they were out of it. So then we decided to get the al pastor, but they were also out of that. There were also out of the tequila that made their house margarita, which we wanted to try. So, a lot of our order was plan B or plan C. The chips could not have been made in the restaurant, or at least it didn't seem like they were. They tasted like they were out of a bag or something, and some of them were rubbery, chewy, not properly fried. The queso was only warm, not hot. It was only okay. The alleged salsa was not anything but ground up tomatillos maybe with a little bit of who knows what. But, it had no spice at all. It wasn't salsa. Two out of three of the drinks were excellent. However, the frozen margarita was served as if we had ordered pure alcohol, nothing else. Nobody at the table could get near tolerating the overpowering taste, so we sent it back. We ordered another margarita to replace it, but it never showed up. We ended up canceling it near the end of our stay. I ordered red salsa with my meal, but it never showed up. Even after reminding the server, and a manager, still after waiting over 20 minutes, it never showed up. The corn tortillas on the tacos were soggy and tasteless. The grilled shrimp in the tacos was cooked just right. The fish in the tacos was bland. The beans and rice were okay. The flautas were dry and had no flavor. The menu said they came with sour cream and guacamole, but it wasn't served with any guacamole and the amount of sour cream was almost silly, it was so small. It took them quite a while to bring me some guacamole, but they finally did. A manager came over and asked us how things were, so we told him. He adjusted the bill accordingly. Overall, service was decent, and it was a nice atmosphere, seated outside with fans and misters cooling us off after a long walk. This is probably one of the worst Mexican food experiences we have ever had in our entire life! We are sorry we showed up...