Got the pork belly tacos, shrimp diablo tacos, taco salad, and churros. All very tasty, shrimp diablo tacos were the winner followed by the taco salad. read more

I waited for quite awhile just to be sat. It seemed like I was supposed to wait but every server that walked by just kind of smiled and walked away; they weren't busy either. I finally was given a seat and honestly the whole experience was just kind of off. Servers seemed angry and the food was not what I ordered. Queso was great but my taco order was wrong and didn't taste very good. Hoping for a better experience if I come back. read more

Food was pretty good overall. But service could be much better. Keeping it short and to the point. Taco salad drenched in dressing. Fried broccoli taco interesting. Churros surprisingly good especially with the chocolate sauce. Gotta burn off all those calories afterwards though. You've been warned. read more

Highlights and Lowlights 1) great food 2) friendly service 3) excellent location A craft Mexican restaurant in downtown Madison?! FINALLY you are here. This little place, in the old Nostrano spot, is so cute! But, it's little. You are almost guaranteed a wait on the weekend as there are probably only 10 tables inside. We tried last Friday (granted it was Cinco de Mayo) and the wait was a casual 3 hours. Came back on a weeknight and ate at the bar with no waiting! We were served by the bartender who was very friendly and super knowledgeable of the craft cocktails and food. I was impressed as this place had only been open for about 6 days at this point. The craft cocktails and margaritas were excellent. We ordered chips and guacamole. Chips were good and come in cute little bags, guacamole was ok. You get free "duh-ritos" which is a fun spin, but that does mean you are paying for chips and salsa. They have a ton of gluten-sensitive items labeled on the menu (they said they technically can't say gluten free because the fryers are shared). We got the fried fish, farmers cheese, brisket, and chicken tacos on corn tortillas. So so so good! Can't wait to come back! read more

Canteen - "Appy" Hour - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Wonderful fresh tacos, bowls & salads. Yummy drinks. Great service and prices. Indoor and outdoor seating offered but small amount of both.

Ordered delivery from this restaurant from EatStreet. I ordered their Classic Burrito and it was very good. I ordered it "smothered" with queso. Their "smothered" was a side of queso, which worked for me, just was a little different. It might have been because it was for delivery so they didn't want it getting soggy. The tortilla was nice and toasted and helped with the flavor. read more

Canteen - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Strong winds blowing the table, me and the complimentary chips off the curb in the outdoor, Capitol-peeking spot we sat at. Pleasant ambiance with pricey (for the size) tacos and quick friendly service. Good standard beers on tap and tacos come in twos. You need 2 orders per person, for most people. Just order two... Who can live with regrets in these times? You're out and about finally just eat them four tacos. I got the pork belly and the cauliflower tacos (battered and fried). The belly was excellent, the cauli presumptive in assuming that I would not have appreciated it if it wasn't fried to death. But still good. A smidge more freshness, some pico, some tomatillo thingies might take them over the top but overall nice tacos. More heat was not needed but the offer might be appreciated. read more

Before heading to the airport we stopped in on this place on our second attempt (the first time there was a power outage in the area so they closed early). There is street parking, but please read the meters because every other spot is a separate meter up the street? So we did not see that and paid the meter and went to eat. As we came back we had a ticket but the police dept excused it and said "don't let it happen again" WAY AWESOME!! To the real review now. First of all, the WAGON WHEELS, um bag those up and sell them in stores because I couldn't get enough of them! Only I did just eat my 1 free bag and resisted buying another to save room. I dipped them in my buddy's salsa trio he ordered and all delicious. My tacos were good, very fresh tasting. I enjoyed the combination of flavors in each. It was odd I had to pay to change 1 of my 2 tacos you get with an order to something else? Oh well still good! read more

See all

We met there for happy hour Got two for one tacos margaritas and beer for three people with queso and chips. Nathan was the server for our table guy did an outstanding job I highly recommend it read more

I would definitely recommend coming here for Happy Hour! I have come here a handful of times and they are great! Their margaritas are delicious. For their regular price it is kind of expensive so I would suggest coming during Happy Hour if you can. The pork belly and steak tacos are my favorite. Their nachos are huge. I wouldn't recommend coming here with family because it can get kind of busy with college students and quite loud. It is a great place to hang out with friends. They also have late night deals. Make sure to make a reservation since it can get quite busy. read more

See all

Love Canteen, exactly what downtown needs for a taco joint! The decor is cute and colorful while staying trendy. I usually ordered the chicken taco, fish taco (which they can do GF by grilling) and a calabacitas zucchini taco. I love the acidity of the salsas and combination of different toppings. Other great things to share, the Mexican street corn is rich rich rich, black bean have a good texture and spice, and the escabeche is a spicy way to wake up the pallet. The margs are really good, try the spicy. Also have some other great drinks like the tito's paloma thing! The only reason I cannot give 5 stars is because they serve some kind of wheat puffs (not GF) to start. When i go to a taco restaurant I crave tortilla chips, when I subbed the stating I am GF i was uncharged. read more

Canteen - baja fish taco and zucchini taco + spicy margs - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This restaurant was a favorite of mine as an undergrad, so when I came back to visit Madison for a game day had to go. Canteen has the best happy hour in Madison. Love getting the deal on tacos and spicy margarita pitchers. It's a super fun time in here always a great place to start a night out. It's a very small restaurant, so they limit how long you can stay at a table. When we had to leave our table, our wonderful waitresses Amara and Alora offered us churros at the bar. Great evening! read more

Canteen - Churros - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The vibes were great, if you sit outside. The staff was friendly but the burrito I got was a little dry. The tacos and sweet corn seemed to be good for the people at our table. Overall this place would be a good place if you're looking for tacos and a good vibe. read more

I also was there 2 days ago with reservations around 9 PM and was on time. Hostess with pig tails was rude by the bar did not acknowledge us for like 10 minutes. The waiter was overwhelmed and we did not get our drinks till 20 minutes later and then the food came 10 minutes after. I was eating and enjoying my food when the hostess came to our table yelling and pointing at me and my sister saying we only 8 minutes to eat that the next person who has reservations are here and she needs the table . My elote corn was still extremely hot mind you. We did not respond back to her because she was rude and walked away. We rushed out of there and let waiter know we were asked to leave. The young lady needs some service skills, she totally ruined our night. Not worth going there for such bad service. I would avoid this place. read more

My girlfriend and I went here for lunch knowing they had vegetarian options and we were not let down! The staff were very friendly and the food was delicious! I would highly recommend stopping here for bites, and their margarita selection was FANTASTIC. read more

canteen tacos are so amazing and so is the guac but the queso is so bad it tastes like cheese whiz :( I wish they would make a new queso read more

Canteen - Bacon & Egg Tacos - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Wonderful food and great take out. Tons of vegetarian options! We did Brussel sprout tacos, classic burritos (one with chicken and one with carnitas). We also got a Baja burrito with cauliflower. All great! Small tacos and HUGE burritos. Duritos were yummy and churros with dark chocolate sauce were awesome. We did the margs for 2 which was a fun change of pace and easy to do at home. The delivery was vis Green Taxi and was right on time and contactless. Very close to Bar Taco. 10/10 read more

Stopped by this spot yesterday trying to grab lunch before heading back to the CrossFit Games. We hung out for a full 20 minutes without a server stopping by to take an order. This is 2/2 on not so great experiences within Madison. It would be really nice to see opportunities for those of us in a time crunch trying to grab some food during a lunch break or between events. Here's to hoping we have a better experience if we choose to come back one day. read more

Food was okay, but not great. We had the Queso Dip (jack cheese, red bell peppers, green chiles) and Tres Salsas (salsa verde, salsa ranchero, arbol chile) with Chips. Queso dip didn't have particularly interesting flavors or texture, and the salsas were just okay. The Mexican Sweet Corn (chile-lime butter, chile-lime aioli, cotija, tajín spice, grilled scallions, serrano chiles), recommended by the server, was too liquidy. The dish had different flavors but was missing the savory taste that comes from charring over a grill. The Pork Belly taco and Fish taco also didn't have many memorable flavors. They pork belly was dry and bland, missing out on all the delicious fat and flavors that usually comes with pork belly meat. The Fish taco was okay, but it was greasy without much flavor. The restaurant is busy and vibrant with guests. Our waiter was prompt and helpful with our larger group. The atmosphere and service is already there, but the flavors and textures of the different dishes were unfortunately underwhelming and opportunities exist for the preparation of the meat, fish, and other dishes. read more

Canteen - Pork belly taco, fish taco, and Mexican street corn - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Good service, so Canteen is not a bad place to just grab a drink. Sadly the food is sooooo not good. I seriously don't understand why people like this place! I've tried fish tacos, baja grilled fish bowl, and a classic cauliflower burrito. All were bland, over salted and overall just super mid. There's way better food in town, get a margarita to go and call it a day. Honestly the drinks are not even that good, but I want something nice to say :( read more

The cauliflower taco!!! I honestly don't need to say anymore. I would go for this and stay for this. I have had canteen only through door dash and I can say with confidence that the cauliflower taco holds up so well and tasted fantastic. I am planing to go to the place and get it super fresh soon and I cant wait! Also looks like they may have some good margs to match as well! read more

Tried out this place for the first time on a Friday evening -- relatively crowded, so definitely recommend making a reservation. Food and drinks were great! Would recommend coming here for happy hour (2-5PM) or late night (9PM-close) as they have great deals on food and drinks: half off tacos and margs, etc. read more

Canteen - Queso Dip & Chips, 32oz Spicy Margarita, Shrimp Diablo - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Unfortunately the Canteen does not accommodate people either accessibility issues in their outdoor space. This could be solved with a short ram and some table re-arranging. dMI has. produced an excellent video as to how to make outdoor seating accessible. I was unable to eat there last night. I live in the neighborhood. read more

The beer was not very cold, and the queso dip was velveeta (in a state known for its cheese no less!) but we loved the fried fish tacos and the horchata was on point. read more

Canteen - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Dinner for 4 on a Saturday night at 5:30. Made reservations, and glad we did. The restaurant was pretty busy, between indoor seating, outdoor seating, and takeout orders. It seemed pretty disorganized at first and I felt a little anxious that the whole experience was going to be a cluster *you know what*. Once we were finally seated we were given complimentary wagon wheel shaped puffs. They were weird and dryer than a popcorn fart. Not a fan. We immediately ordered chips and guac as well as drinks. They were somehow out of frozen strawberry margaritas. Not really sure how that is possible, but okay. Instead I ordered a cocktail. I can't remember what it was called, but it had mint and rum and it was SO good and really refreshing. The guacamole was amazing too, very flavorful and addictive. I ordered pork belly tacos, my husband got beef tacos and shrimp tacos. The pork belly tacos were fantastic. It was missing a little something-something, but I ordered it without cilantro (I'm a soap taster person). I'm sure those like like cilantro got the intended flavor profile. For me, I just added the sweet/hot sauce provided at the table and that did the trick. My husband said his beef tacos were incredible but that the shrimp tacos were just okay. Overall our first visit to Canteen was awesome!! We had a great meal and wonderful drinks. Will definitely be back. read more

2.5/5 Canteen is best summed up as an uneventful, uninspired take on a unoriginal idea, comparable to your one friend that adopts the latest fashion trend 6 months after it's gone out of style. There's nothing new, noteworthy, or tasty here - your best bet is to walk right past it. That's not to say that Canteen doesn't have a great atmosphere, or "vibe", it does. And that's not to say that Canteen doesn't have a great location, situated in a cool eclectic quadrant of the square, it does. But what it doesn't have is tasty Mexican cuisine, and when you're a restaurant, that's a fatal error. Swooned by the inviting vibe as we passed by, and lacking any solid Friday night dinner plans, my SO and I decided to stop in. We were seated fairly quickly; we ordered our food fairly quickly; we did not receive our food fairly quickly. The wait felt like forever, but in reality it was something closer to 1+ hour. I've waited an hour for food before. I've had occasions where I'd say such a wait was "worth it," "understandable," "bearable." This wasn't one of those occasions. The food when it finally came was so uneventful, so fully devoid of any flavor, any redeeming qualities, as to render the wait completely intolerable. Heck, I wouldn't have waited 10 minutes for this food. The pork belly taco in particular drew my ire. It was completely dry, so dry that to take and fully chew a bite felt like a chore. I don't even think I ate the whole thing. It was the first pork belly taco I had in my life, and I recall thinking wow, if this is what pork belly tacos are like, why do people eat them. Thankfully I've since learned that pork tacos are delicious, flavorful, moist, and amazing - thanks bar taco at hilldale ;) If you want an uninspired take on Mexican cuisine in the heart of "downtown" Madison, go for Belair. If you'd like authentic, flavorful Mexican cuisine, may I suggest that you please visit an authentic Mexican restaurant. You'll have to venture beyond the square, to the east, north, or even west side of town. You'll have to give up most of the "atmosphere," and "vibes," But, in exchange, you'll get authentic cuisine, with taste and flavor to boot. El Sabor de Puebla, El Pastor, Los Gemelos, Gloria's (West side on Junction Rd), and my favorite Enrique's Market (imo BEST tacos in Madison bar none!) are all solid options. read more

The restaurant was taking very good covid precautions. We stopped in twice during our trip. The first time was at dinner, and I called in to find out what the gluten-free options were because the menu was not clear, turns out the wait staff was very confused as well, I had to do some additional research and called back to find out she had given me incorrect information the first time. Believe it or not, their rice is not gluten free. Anyhow, their brussel sprout taco, definitely has a burnt taste, but I enjoyed the Picadillo Beef tacos enough to get them again. Wait at night was over 40 minutes for our food, they might have forgotten us, because we had to check, but it was really fast at lunch. My husband liked his chicken enchiladas but the breakfast burrito was not so inspiring, all textures were soft and mushy inside. Guac tasted fresh and homemade. read more

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

My friend and I took shelter here to escape the torrential downpour. Although we were soaked to the core, we took our time and enjoyed our lunch. What we liked: The atmosphere and decoration. This is a lovely little spot with bright colors and great artwork. Every time I looked up I noticed something new on the walls! We both got the cauliflower taco and LOVED it. It had the perfect crunch and chew, with a flavorful sauce as well. I would so get that again. We also loved the street corn appetizer, great mix of textures and not too spicy. What we weren't so keen about: we ordered chips and guacamole (which happened to be the most expensive thing we ordered), and it was the biggest let down. The chips were drenched in oil, as if they were freshly fried, yet they were cold. The guacamole also seemed like it was a day old and the aftertaste was sharp almost as if it was starting to ferment? Although wasn't to the point where we couldn't eat it, it was disappointing. Overall I really did enjoy my experience here. I'm assuming (and hoping) the chips and guac comment is unique to me, and that it is a result of the fact that we came on a Monday afternoon at 1:30. Would I recommend? Yes. Would I return? Yes. read more

See all

Super dissapointing, especially knowing this place is part of a group with other really good restaurants. Service is ~terrible~ like really bad. Tacos were boring and came out cold. Happy hour sounds great, deals are good, but the service is so bad it's not worth it. Margs are good but it took almost a half hour to get our first drinks. The chips on the table are cute, but nothing special- you can get them at any good Mexican grocer read more

Canteen - Marg - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Canteen had great potential, the location on the square and look of the decor was promising for a great night out. But the food and experience was mediocre. We sat at the bar and the servers were nice. We got a house margarita, it was good and exactly what you would expect. The Mexican street corn app had great flavor, so when the tacos arrived and were very bland, I was disappointed. We got the shrimp and chicken tacos and I was not impressed. The shrimp tacos tasted more like shrimp and mayo. I liked the texture of the grits, but the flavor was lack luster. As any millennial from the south does, I love tacos and I was looking for more pizazz. I would've been happier with more spice and flavor. read more

Had an amazing experience there! Alora and Emily were amazing. Food was great, but experience was even better.

Got seated a little after noon, quickly got water and some weird pinwheels, never saw a server again. Walked out at 12:45 with somewhere to be and an empty stomach. read more

Pork Belly, and Carne Fresca tacos were my fav! also very good green salsa and Mexican street corn. margs were good just wished the salt they used on rim wasn't so huge and course. Definitely will be back. Bartender very nice and attentive read more

Best happy hour in Madison!! The pitchers of Margaritas and tacos never fail to disappoint. Staff is always so friendly, and I've never had bad service here. Highly highly recommend!!!! read more

Doesn't look like much from the outside but once you step through the doors your eyes are filled with color. This is a super unique and fun place for margaritas and nachos to share with friends. Plus they have a happy hour starting at 2:00 pm if you're looking to save some cash. We split a pitcher of the el hefe margarita and nachos. We will be back, I was so excited to eat the food that didn't save my pictures. read more

Canteen is one of our go-to spots downtown. Their foods is always great and so are the margs! Only issues are the food can take a while to come out and I've had a few mistakes in my orders, but I'll keep going because the burritos make it worth it! read more

See all

Horrible integrity! Server did not disclose the bill could not be split and when tried to offer to help split afterwards the management and server were unwilling. Large group with expense. I would not recommend. Too much haste and food was ok at best. read more

This is a must for an afternoon happy hour! Check for the specific times and specials - but yes, you want to go have some incredible tacos and delight in the amazing drink specials. Great staff! I also was really impressed that they don't hurry you along and let you enjoy the company of friends and friends you make at other tables. read more

I had the carnitas, cauliflower and Barbacoa tacos. The carnitas was tender and was very flavorful and the cauliflower was just ok. However I found the barbacoa I bit dry and needing more flavor. I would not recommend the seeds that come on top of the barbacoa. I also got the tortilla chips but I found that they were too greasy. The salsas were delicious though! For drinks I had the pistolero which was delicious! I love that it comes with a slice of pineapple! However the drink was really small for $8. Seemed a bit over priced. read more

Canteen - Tacos Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

best tacos in madison by a LANDSLIDE!!! i live for this place whether it is dine in or take out. highly recommend the house margarita and brussel sprout tacos (not my usual go-to other places, but so so good here!) my only complaint is i wish it was bigger because it fills up so fast! read more