Midtown's Cantina Alley

I honestly wouldn't have known this place existed without social media. I've heard a lot of good things and seen awesome pictures and videos of the food and drinks they provide. When you're driving by, it's easy to miss. The restaurant is placed in an alleyway and parking can be difficult to find. There's a photo op out front with the colorful Midtown sign. Restrooms are right at the front, but it's awkward to stand there and wait. There's also a bar if you don't want to sit and order.My friend and I came here for National Margarita Day during happy hour, so it was quite busy. Despite that, the wait was only about 10 minutes. I like that they give you the option to receive a text when your table is ready, so you're not standing there in front of everyone. While we were waiting, we sat on one of the benches located on the outside of the restaurant. Once our table was ready, we were seated at a tiny wooden table for 2. All the tables were seated way too close to each other, in my opinion. Everyone was very loud and chatty, but the music was great.It took a very long time to receive our drinks, but the food came out quickly. My friend ordered 2 tacos and absolutely loved them. We also ordered the Margarita Tree, which is a tower of 4 of their most popular margaritas. The drinks were good, but not very strong. I hardly tasted the Patron in any of them. The portion was nice, but the price for the tree was pretty steep.Overall, I think the place is worth visiting, but I hope we can get our money's worth with stronger drinks next time we visit. I'd love to personally try out some of their food.

This is one of those places in Sacramento that I feel like every single human being has been to except myself. I went for the first time recently for a friend's birthday. We had a larger group, so we managed to arrive a little earlier, but still had a bit of a wait for a table. While we waited, we enjoyed some of their delicious margaritas from their bar. I thoroughly enjoyed the watermelon margarita that I tried. Once we were finally seated, we dove into ordering some of their food. I decided to try their taco flight, which allowed me to try four of their most popular street tacos. The presentation of the taco flight was super cool and the tacos themselves were quite tasty. My biggest qualm would be the extremely slow service - it took quite a while to get our waitresses' attention and even longer to get refills on water or more beverages from the bar. It was a Saturday night, we were a large party, and the place was crowded so I am willing to overlook that. But all in all, we ended up spending almost 3 hours there for a friend's birthday dinner... All in all, it's a fun spot with a good bar and the food is decent.

This is my second time eating at Cantina Alley and the customer service was top notch! We were greeted by a nice gentlemen who walked us over to the table. Then our server was very sweet, friendly and a noticeably hard worker. She started us off with drinks and shortly after she took our order. It wasn't long till she came back with our food and checked on us twice while eating to make sure the food was ok. She welcomed us to continue conversing and spending time at the table after we paid but we had finished eating and left. I had ordered an Empanada de Tinga that was filled with shredded chicken and melted cheese, topped with crumbled cheese, lettuce and sour cream. 10/10, super delicious! I also order Pozole verde to go but I wasn't a huge fan of because it had chile en vinagre. I was expecting Pozole but without the chiles and carrots in them. 4/10, there was more onions, chiles and carrots but not enough shredded chicken or hominy. Lastly but definitely not least, I ordered tacos de costillas which were so delicious! Never thought about eating short ribs in a street style taco so this was very unique and flavorful! 10/10, amazing. The environment was really loud as it was packed and the music playing made it hard to hear and converse. Can be a potential reason for someone to not want to visit but trust, the food is so good you won't be disappointed or regret visiting! Date visited: 09/15/24

Fun and lively atmosphere. Food and drinks never disappoint! We ordered their margarita flight- wish I was more of a drinker because they were all delicious! I had a bowl of pazole, surprisingly lean which I appreciate, came with a side of chicharrones...balance! Please bring back your sopes!

Cantina Alley reminds me of Cabo!When I walked through the old-town wooden doors and saw the rustic chairs and bar area, it felt like a familiar place, even though it was my first visit.The vibe here is great, with lots of locals and good energy.I stopped in for a late-night snack and got a fried potato taco and green pozole verde soup to share.The fried potato taco was crispy and delicious, I loved it.The green pozole verde was heartwarming, with chunky roasted chicken breast, hominy, and perfectly seasoned broth. No extra seasoning needed.Overall, it's a cute bar with good food and friendly staff!

My go-to order:Fried fish taco: 3.5/5Fried papa taco: 3/5Al pastor taco: 3/5Asada taco: 2/5

Great ambiance for happy hour drinks and great service! We came to get a margarita and come to find out....it was happy hour! Although there's not too many options on the happy hour menu, each thing is quality. We didn't order food from happy hour but was not disappointed with the quality that the food was.

Ok, I will admit.....places like these are a dime a dozen. Trendy "authentic" Mexican cuisine, drinks, music, and a happy ambiance of people having a good weekend night out. The majority of these are "meh," but I genuinely had a good meal.My "party" thoroughly enjoyed their tacos, as they got the taco "hanging from a piece of wood" type contraption (I didn't follow up on what it is called). My wife and I each got a fish taco.....surprisingly crispy, even with the cabbage and crema covering it. Bravo (not sarcastic). Fish tacos are usually drenched and are just hard to eat. I would recommend the fish taco....so, from me....FISH TACO! (I have an onion allergy, so I can't enjoy the "authentic street tacos" that all of these Mexican restaurants claim to have). I had a Carne Asada quesadilla, which, without the salsa added to it (again, onions!), the cheese was melty, the meat was not dry, and I would order it again. My party enjoyed their alcoholic drinks....I enjoyed my Mexican coke.Our server was very personable, and our drinks were refilled and napkins constantly replenished. This type of restaurant is typically not my "scene" (can't eat onions, hate "Trendy authentic" Mexican cuisine type restaurants, don't drink tequilla, etc), but this is a place that I think most people will genuinely have a good meal

This is a cool vibes bar & restaurant tucked away in an alleyway. The employees were friendly and helpful. Food was excellent. I highly recommend the fish taco.My only complaint is the security guard who walked back and forth in front of my table made me feel nervous.

Drinks were great and anything chicken tinga is delicious! I loved the atmosphere and vibe here!