Minus a half star only for the unfortunate spot they have (more seating would be helpful) and street parking on the square is tough. This is common with anything here, so I won't dock the review. This restaurant is bright and colorful with vibrant music playing, well-staffed. We were here for lunch and while the place was busy we still had immediate seating and an order of Doritos (puffed flavorful wagon wheels) and water along with the menus. We ordered guacamole and chips because guacamole is one of my favorites but I can never eat it all at home before the avocado starts browning. This was a light and smooth flavor, with homemade chips that were excellent. My burrito was a classic, cut in half already to make it easier to eat and you can see by my photos they were stuffed. I can't do very spicy food so I tend to wander towards the milder foods and this had just enough kick to make it tasty but not overbearing. I also loved how the burrito shell was also cooked making it firm (no burrito toppings falling out of the shell!) and easier to eat. Beverages were amazing. I ordered a seasonal margarita which was hibiscus with cucumber and somehow accidentally got another drink which was a virgin. Our waitress cleared it up (I didn't really want to switch drinks as the hibiscus drink I had was so good with a hint of cinnamon) by adding tequila to it and making it a unique cocktail I would look for on the menu! Gracias, Canteen, we will b read more

decent tacos, questionable customer service from the staff. sometimes they'll ignore people when they walk in and sit at the bar, they don't even say hi! yikes. read more

I love love love Canteen. I love the decor, the vibe, and the food! I'd say they are a pretty vegetarian friendly place and have great margaritas. I ordered the Mexican Street Corn, Sweet Potato Dorados, and a Spicy Margarita. The Mexican Street Corn was very well balanced in flavors with the cheese, creamy mayonnaise, spice, and I believe they put a little bit of the Tajin spice. The Sweet Potato Dorados were beautifully served with a sweet and tart red sauce. It also came with a side of Mexican style rice with beans, corn, and a seasoning for flavor on the rice. The Spicy Margarita wasn't really spicy but it was delicious. The rim of the cup was dipped in the Tajin spice that paired very well with the margarita. I recommend this place for a romantic chill date, for people who are visiting from out of town, and/or people who enjoy some good Mexican style food. Service was great as well. read more

See all

This is easily one of my favorite restaurants in Madison. IMPORTANT: They just started taking reservations, and you will definitely need one on weekend nights! Also, the restaurant is relatively small, so it probably can't accommodate parties more than 8(ish) people. The food, ambience, and servers are always wonderful. The chips are delicious and unique; they're light and crispy and not too oily. I love the queso because I think they use a cheese not usually found in quesos, but I also love the salsa because you get three different kinds that have different flavors and different spice levels. The tacos are delicious, as are the burritos and the side of rice. There are plenty of non-meat options, too! As for drinks, their margaritas are delightful. They have a lot of alcohol but I can rarely tell. They also have special seasonal margaritas that are a little more expensive, but completely worth the price. I will always come back and try to take new people with me each time so they can understand how amazing this place is! I just hope they expand their dining area soon! read more

See all

Best service ever ! Allaura was the absolute best and i'm so happy we had the chance to be served by her and Lizzie! food and drinks were amazing. i felt so warm and welcomed by the staff. best vibes ever. I can't wait to come back! read more

You have to go for their happy hour deals, it makes it very affordable. Amazing pork belly taco and also the steak/carne taco.

The food here is pretty mediocre - I ordered four different and the side of street corn. Let's start with the corn, it's over cooked and mushy. I doubt they make it fresh, I think it probably sits in a large container cooking and scooped out when someone orders it. The pork belly tacos are hard. The pork belly is tough and chewy. It lacks any flavoring, and only had notes of the sauce they use. The carne asada Taco is similar, tough and chewy, very little flavor. Probably since they cook all the juices out of it. The fish taco (grilled) is probably their best option since it wasn't over cooked, but nothing to rave about. It's too much tortilla, not enough meat. The carnitas taco is okay as it had some moisture still in the meat, but flavoring is still lacking - I think they also prep this in large batches for reheating purposes. Overall, not sure why people give this place such high reviews? The staff are great, only reason why I gave two stars instead of one. read more

Located up in the Capital Square, I was looking for a New Mexican restaurant for us to go. I had a hankering for a margarita too We ended up sitting at the bar as the people in front of us took the last table. The restaurant is brightly decorated and very lively. It was on the louder side but not too horrible that you had to yell to speak to each other. I ordered the strawberry margarita which turned out to be too strong. It was frozen, and it can from the machine. I could only drink about half of it before getting a headache. Even my boyfriend mentioned how strong it was. I am wondering if the handmade ones are any better. For my dinner, I ordered the enchiladas. The green sauce with the cheese on top has so much good flavor. As long as each bite had the sauce and cheese on top, yum! Service was great and friendly. Since we were sitting at the bar on the side where all the servers were, we had superb service. The only downside was that it started getting a little crowded with people waiting for tables that people started encroaching in our space with their drinks on the table right next to our dishes. I guess that's how the bar is supposed to be, just not what I am used to. Overall, I would be willing to come back and try out some more food. Update: 01/27/18 So I came back and tried their tacos. I wouldn't really recommend them as they lacked flavor. I ordered the Green Chile Chicken and the Carnitas. Service was a little slow as they only had two servers. One of them was also acting as host, clean up crew, and bartender. Not sure if I will be back. read more

Canteen - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

Goodbye nostrano; hello canteen. We've been to canteen twice - really enjoyed it both times. The salsas are excellent and even have a little heat. The guac and durados are solid to start with. Margs are good and affordable at $7. Prices seem fair overall. Tacos have been consistently good and seem a step up from traditional mexican food. The standout is Calabacitas (vegetarian squash) where you don't even miss the meat. read more

This is such a great stop for delicious and slightly upscale Mexican food near the Capital. I came with a small group around dinner time on a Tuesday, so we were seated immediately inside. The interior is cramped, but cute and colorful. I love that every table gets a bag of free Duritos to start, it's a super charming start. I went with a group of locals that prefers the burritos, but I ordered a couple tacos to sample the variety. The cauliflower taco was crispy, flavorful, and original. It was almost the same texture as fried chicken, but tasted balanced and well-grilled, without being too soft or watery. It rivaled a couple of the meat options that I sampled, and I thought was even better than the standard chicken taco that one of my party had. The carnitas taco was my favorite out of everything I had, albeit a bit oily. Otherwise, it was super tender, flavorful, and came with a generous portion of meat. Margaritas were great, food was unique and good, and service was friendly and quick! Definitely a cute little spot for a quick bite to eat. read more

I came here last Saturday when Art Fair on the square was going on and we have an extremely different experience then last time. The food here was still delicious and so good. Unfortunately though the service did not match the food. We came in were seated and ordered. The food took about 30 minutes, which I by all means understand when you are busy. The thing that wasn't good was that not once during these 30 minutes did someone come over to see if we needed more drinks. One of my friends had to go up to the bar to get another drink. Once the food did arrive it was dropped off fast without a word an no one ever came back to see if we needed anything else or if everything tasted alright. They dropped the check off again without a word almost like we were being inconvenient to them. I do understand it was a very busy weekend on the square and they were swamped. It just very sad to see what was a restaurant with great customer service be so lackluster. read more

Came in on a Wednesday night at around 7PM. We were told it would be a 15-20 minutes wait so we put our names down and waited at the entrance. It took about 15 minutes to get seated. We got one bag of Duritos for free--they're sort of like chips. Puffed and seasoned with some spice and lime- addicting! I got: Gimme that Strawberry Margarita - Super strong tasting at first, and yes... Brain freeze is definitely an ingredient. It was tasty, refreshing and did I mention strong? Grilled Farmer's Cheese Taco - This tasted really fresh. One taco was good enough to fill me up because of the sides to got. Street Corn - Yummmm this was delicious. This does get a bit heavy after awhile but it's so good. I'd suggest sharing it, it was too much for me to finish. I ended up packing half. Beans with Crispy Rice - This was seasoned really well, it had a nice spice to it. I didn't like the really big chunks of rice in it but the smaller pieces spread throughout the dish really added to the beans because of the crunch it gave. I also packed half of this as well, the portion sizes were pretty good. I'm definitely coming back here. It's affordable, tasty and they're open super late on the weekend. read more

See all

I loved Nostrano and was sad to see it close. I was intrigued when I saw that Canteen, a taqueria and tequila bar would be taking over its spot. When we walked by and I saw it was open, we had to stop and try it. The space it not very big, but the decor is festive and bright and you kind of feel like you're at a party. We had to wait about five minutes while they cleared a table, but I think we were lucky to get in that quickly. Our waiter was very enthusiastic about the menu and the restaurant. He was happy to share recommendations. Instead of chips and salsa, they start you with a little bag of duritos. These are little wagon-wheeled shaped puffed pieces. They have a yummy chili and lime seasoning but I don't care for the Cheetos like texture. I love the menu because it was not the run-of-the-mill standard Mexican. Dishes like jicama salad, ceviche, and sweet potato dorados make it stand out. We ordered the enchiladas, griddled burrito, and fried cauliflower tacos. The sauces on the burrito and enchilada were amazing - fresh, pungent, tasty. The flavors in my burrito were delicious. We were all very pleased w/the tastes and textures of our dishes. Fantastic service, great food, fun atmosphere. Canteen makes me just as happy as Nostrano did. We'll definitely return. read more

Me and my coworkers split tacos and had the delicious street corn! It was super busy but besides that the staff was outstanding and friendly, the drinks were great, and it was very affordable! The view is also worth the price of admission alone read more

Yummy. got the Tres Salsas app and the salsas were lovely. Verde you could actually taste the freshness (it wasn't just green salsa) and the Rojo was flavorable spicy, not melt your brain for no reason spicy. Moved onto the pork belly tacos and the barbacoa. Both incredibly tasty. $22 for all. Saved to my favorites. : ) read more

This was our second visit to Canteen, the first was during the Food Fight Foodie Week. I was hooked. I'm kinda surprised we haven't been there a bunch more times. Thursday night, about 7:30pm. We had about a 10 minute wait at the most. The place was packed, for the second time. People were laughing and having a great time all around. Great sign of a good establishment. My love for this restaurant started with this simple little bag of "Duritos". Once you bite into one, you're immediately hooked. I call it the jacked up Funyuns. We ordered a couple margaritas, Canteen for me and the featured frozen margarita for my wife. Canteen makes THEE best margaritas. They are tasty and strong!! The cucumber/melon frozen margarita my wife had was off the hook, it was sooooooo good. Refreshing and full of booze. Perfect. Onto the food, I ordered three tacos and the Mexican street corn. I had the Carnitas, Pork Belly and Brisket tacos. The Mexican street corn is addicting. It's so flavorful and a perfect side to my delicious tacos. My favorite was the Pork Belly. Nice crispy ends with a tender middle. Perfect size tacos. Two corn shells, which I believe is the way to go, with LOTS of filling. So much flavor in these tacos. My wife had three tacos as well along with the loaded Mexican rice. We didn't have dessert this time around, but during Foodie Week, we had the Chocolate tacos. They were a perfect size dessert. They have Flan and Churros for dessert. Next time!! The service was outstanding. We had our meals within 15 to 20 minutes. Our drinks came easily within 5 to 10 minutes. The server was very knowledgeable and friendly (both times we've been there). They came around twice to ask us about our meal and if we needed anything else. Our plates were whisked away by another gentleman that was all smiles and gracious. We will be back!! I will spread the word because I appreciate good quality food, outstanding service and great ambience. Thank you read more

See all

Excellent happy hour. Really great deals for solid tacos and drinks. Friendly staff. Madison is lucky to have you.

Came here on a Sunday afternoon around 4:30. No wait and great service. I had the house and strawberry margarita and I can't decide which one I liked best. The other guests felt the same way. Both were very good. We ordered guacamole to start, which was good but the chips are delicious. I would have to say the best I've had. I realize chips are a personal preference and everyone has their own opinion. The wagon wheels were quite tasty too, but it's a good thing they are free because I don't think any of us would order them otherwise. Chicken enchiladas were the best meal out of the three we ordered. The verde sauce was very good. Griddled burrito was good, but the enchilada was better. Tacos were tasty as well according to my dining partner. The best thing about the whole meal was the Mexican street corn! Wow. I look forward to returning for the street corn alone. read more

See all

Just had EatStreet delivery. We got the pork belly, beer battered fish, and the short rib with flour tortillas. All three are OUTSTANDING! Hard to choose a favorite actually.. They are "street tacos" though, they're small. We had the chips with three salsas, and street corn for our sides. The street corn was actually too spicy for me to eat, and I'm a spice lover (Asian anyway..). The salsas were ok, but again, too spicy for me. Hubbs loved the corn, and the salsas. We will DEFINITELY get the tacos again! read more

Solid tacos here. A pair of tacos is $6-7 depending on what you want. The shrimp was my favorite. The layer of grits in the taco made it interesting and worked really well. The fried fish were some of the better I've had in recent memory. I could pass on the carnitas and not miss it too much. It was more like just braised pork. It was my friend's favorite though. read more

My favorite restaurant in the city. The restaurant is a cute small place that is brightly decorated. My favorite is the elote, cauliflower tacos, and brussel sprout tacos. The horchata is delicious as well. The chocolate and churros are a perfect dessert! read more

Yes I like this place. There margaritas are for real none of this play stuff. It was half price happy hour on them on a Saturday! We also had an early dinner with house made Doritas ,they tasted like porkies with a corn after taste, first one free and each additional one buck! The menu wasn't to large and our waitress Rosalind was very nice with advise on her favorites which made ordering easy! A nice place to return to!! read more

See all

Really enjoyed Canteen the other night. It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday night, the space does seem small though. It's a colorful, narrow dining room with a small bar at the front. The hostess was very nice and we seated within minutes even though we were told it would be 15-20 minutes. They had a wide variety of different tacos, sides, and entrees. Prices seemed very reasonable. I tried the carne asada, pork belly, and brisket tacos. Pork belly was by far my favorite with carne asada being a close second. Brisket had good flavor but was a little dry. The others in our party enjoyed their tacos as well, fried cauliflower was a stand out as well. The waitress also brought out a baggie of chips and some puffs things with lime and chili seasoning on them, they were addictive and we asked for more for $1. The wait for drinks was a little long but our food came out realitively fast. It would have been nice if the drinks came quicker so we could enjoy then more before the food. They had 3 vegetarian taco options and you could make them vegan. We also had a bowl of crispy rice and garbanzo beans, super tasty. The only thing is that everything was pretty spicy. I didn't mind because I enjoy spicy but I was definitely drinking a lot of water. If you aren't some one who likes spicy food you may want to avoid or ask your waiter what is more mild. It seemed like all the sauces and toppings had heat. A person in our group isn't a fan of spice and didn't eat all of the chicken burrito. But I will definitely be back to Canteen to try more of their tacos and drinks. read more

See all

Wanted to try someplace new and this place won. The service was great and everyone was very nice. The drinks were a bit expensive but they were pretty good. I had the chicken burrito and it was alright. A bit dry for my taste and I had to use all of the salsa they gave me on it. It was not bad for the price but it could be better. I tried some of my girlfriends enchiladas and they were pretty good. read more

See all

I have to admit, Canteen was actually something else. First of all, the price is unbeatable. Fried Cauliflower that I have ordered was absolutely fantastic, it had so much flavor and was absolutely delightful. The staff was really what gets this place the fifth star. So impressed, can not wait to go back to Canteen. read more

Ya know the thing about these Food Fight restaurants is that they're always good, not great. They take food trends that have been popular on the coasts 3-5 years ago and feature them locally without taking too many risks or innovating. Consequently, they are able to achieve a certain amount of popularity & success but don't really blow minds. But there is something to be said about having a focused & interesting concept. As I drove a lap around the capitol on a week night, I noticed the food fight restaurants were super busy. Canteen, Taverakaya (formerly FF), & The Coopers Tavern all have a defined concept and looked like they were printing money. Harvest, Field Table & Graft were sparsely populated because frankly, "New American" is boring. New American food is boring. I like my takes and my food spicy. With that being said, Canteen encouraged a lively atmosphere with a solid mezcal margarita. You have to pay for chips & salsas, but the chips were crispy and appropriately heavily salted & greasy, so worth the three bucks. The carnitas could have used some crisp edges and the carne asada in the taco was room temp. The burrito at a nearby table looked pretty good. Pretty good, not pretty great. read more

I have been through the good times and the bad times with Canteen. Recently, it had been mostly bad. Back in the good days (summer 2018), the cubes were always fresh and plentiful, doritos were everywhere, margs on point, and good vibes all around. Tonight summarized my last few trips there: 1. Hardly any cubes. Please refer to picture 2. One bag of Doritos for a table of 10 3. Pretty good queso 4. Confusing technology changes 5. Blasting light in the corner booth (i.e. is this the end?) I dunno if I can do it anymore. I love canteen but I don't think it loves me back. read more

Canteen - 4 cubes - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Gimme that strawberry margarita was good. The guac needs improvement. It tasted like something out of a package. Lacked flavor and freshness and the chips tasted stale. The patio and decor was cute. Service was timely read more

Canteen - Gimme that strawberry margarita - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

I updated my review from 4 stars to 5. They have always had great food and good service, but today they deserve a metal. I met my brother who was in town for business and staying at the JW for coffee at Colectivo before he flew out. Then came "Daddy I have to go pee-pee". Well the new thing down town is no one lets you use their restroom customer or not! No one..... My brother had already checked out of his room. So here I am with a 3 year old and no bathrooms. After trying everyone from Walgreens to Tavernakaya, Canteen was the only one willing to let her use their bathroom, and even refused to take my bribe or let me buy something for the sake of using their bathroom. There is not many good people left in this world, please support them. I will! PS I love their cauliflower tacos, and I'm not even a vegetarian LOL! read more

Place has a nice and vibrant atmosphere about it. Came in and was seated right away. Ordered the chili lime shrimp tacos, Brussels sprouts tacos and carnitas to split with a friend, with both of us ordering Mexican street corn on the side. I enjoyed the Brussels sprouts tacos the most, but the chili lime shrimp tacos were not that great. Neither was the Mexican street corn. But the place was nice and the service was great. Food came pretty quick. read more

Went here for the rock shrimp taco and fell head over heels for the veggie tacos - must order. Open your mind to the possibilities . read more

Canteen - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

So I wish I could give a 3.5 vs. the 4, but I am giving them the benefit of rounding. It is a very nice place and has pluses and minuses. Pluses: - Great service (which gives them that extra half point). A friend and I sat at the bar; all the bartenders were attentive and quick to service or reserve us. -Drinks: we ordered a small pitcher of margaritas (the spicy one) and it was really tasty and recommended. -Atmosphere: we want a place to have a drink and chat about life; this place worked great! Not too loud and the bartenders were not nosey (and trust me...there were things mentioned to raise an eyebrow!). Minuses -Pricey; do not go for a budget meal. There are better options for just getting drunk. -Menu selection: the selection was limited and nothing really jumped out at us. The guacamole was very good. So more pluses vs. minuses...hence the 4. I would definitely go back for a relaxing drink and more conversations. read more

cozy but fun with gorgeous decorations, great happy hours every day! delicious margs perfect strength, best queso I've ever had!!!

Let me start by saying this might be one of my favorite Mexican restaurants I've ever been to. I wish I lived in downtown Madison so I could enjoy this food more often! A friend and I ventured into this place expecting some good Mexican food, as we'd checked out yelp before and seen the positive reviews. What we didn't expect was an adorable , colorful, and quirky restaurant with some of the best margaritas and Mexican food. When we sat down, we were given a small basket of puffed corn chips in the shape of wagon wheels. They had some not-so-spicy Chile lime seasoning on them. I wouldn't say I'd trade these for chips and salsa on the House, but again it set this place apart from other Mexican joints in a unique way. I ordered chips and guac, which I was pleasantly surprised did not have tomatoes in it as I'm not a huge fan of tomatoey guac. I just lucked out on this aspect, but I definitely enjoyed all of my guac and chips. My friend ordered the salsa with chips and she had fun choosing which of the three salsas was her favorite. We both ordered the special mango habanero margarita on the rocks. It wasn't strong, but had a very delicious mango flavor and slight kick of spice from the Chile lime salt rim. Later, we ordered frozen strawberry margaritas which were definitely stronger. They also were already pleasantly slushy, and didn't separate as they melted which was a plus for a frozen margarita. We both ordered a taco each. Both our tacos (carne asada and carnitas) came on corn tortillas which I couldn't prefer more. The tacos were tasty and big, as they were wrapped in two tortillas to help keep the taco filling in tact. I was surprised that my taco was decently spicy, as the menu never indicated. Luckily I enjoy spice, but I could see how this could ruin someone else's meal. Perhaps that's an area for improvement. Overall, we both loved our food and drinks. My biggest gripe with the place was the price. The server told us that the items came a la carte to allow for mixing dishes. However, this did make our tabs add up. Was it worth it? Yes. Most definitely. Was I feeling a little stressed about my tab? Yes. But again, it's good to know if I wanted to go out for a nice Mexican food dinner, this place would be well worth the money. Just be prepared to spend. read more

Amazing keep up the good work ! Ordered at the window ate outside. Will be back ! Friendly staff and great customer service!

We went in when it was not busy, there were several empty tables, but proceeded to stand in the entryway for 5 mintues without being acknowledged. There were tons of staff running around doing seemingly nothing (I did not see them going to tables). A spot at the bar opened I sat down. My friend came back from the bathroom and we sat for another minute but no one helped us . Eventually we just left because we couldn't believe no one would help us. read more

Yum, yum yummy. Great tacos, great chips, good service and a killer margarita. A fun place for lunch or happy hour

Some of the best Mexican food in downtown Madison!! The queso was soooo good, and both burritos are excellent. I got the baja burrito with fish, and my sister got the classic burrito with fried cauliflower. Can't wait to go back! read more

absolutely loved our lunch at canteen. definitely more of a healthy mexican spot, great for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. super fresh. loved the pinwheel chips instead on tortilla chips. i got the taco salad with grilled fish which was seasoned amazingly. the atmosphere is super fun and exciting, very hole in the wall almost. everything came out super fast. read more

Canteen - Duritos - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

I enjoyed this hip "fusion" taqueria + tequila bar! Their dishes are creative, with a menu that is not overwhelming, and filled with options for both meat-lovers and vegetarians. You order "by the taco", so you're able to create a plate of different ones to sample. Love that! Their duritos, which they serve in place of chips and salsa, are little, fried/seasoned wheels of goodness! Unique idea! My favorite taco that I tried was the Grilled Farmers Cheese taco, though the fish taco was fresh and flavorful (but a bit too spicy for me). Their meat tacos weren't my favorite - the Al Pastor was a bit dry. Honorable mention goes out to their street corn - worth a try - super flavorful and unique. Finally, the interior of this place is super hip and colorful - very nice decor. It's overall a nice place to visit with friends for a quick lunch near the Capitol! read more

Canteen - Al Pastor (left), Grilled Farmer's Cheese (middle), Tecate Fish (right) - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin