Cantina del Centro has really good tacos and the potatoes appetizers were fire!! Customer service was great during the Holiday Season. The tacos on the specialty menu AKA chalkboard Zesty Brisky and El Cluckador were fire!! They are small so you have to order 3-4 per person. The Papas Bravas (potatoes) on the appetizer menu were so perfectly done and taste delicious. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and flavorful so yummy with a good sauce. I was not a fan of the hot cheese dip- I don't recommend that one at all. No flavor just hot cheese. (Others in my group liked it) From the Owner "Tacos Make you Sexy"! read more

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The food is delicious with a twist. We had the chicken enchilada, chips, and guacamole. For dessert a Brule donuts, which was heavenly. Their drinks are also the best. The waitress was on her game and funny. read more

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Everything was ok. Tho there was very little flavour. We were so surprised, the refried bean dip and guacamole were decent but the pico degallo had no taste at all, not even a tiny bit of salt. We had the taco deal 4 for 3, and even they had very little flavour. Tho the pineapple salsa was nice. Like I said it was... ok. Nothing was offensive but it wasn't good either. Then we waited 20+ minutes for churros for dessert. They were far over cooked and nothing like any churros I've ever had. And the combination of overcooked dough with sugar (yet no cinnamon) and dolce de leche was very off putting (just sweet on sweet). It felt like they were an interpretation of a recipe that the cook had never tasted the original. Even my drink was watered down. I feel like all the recipes had all the spices and/or heat cut in half or more. At first I thought maybe I just wasn't tasting right but my husband felt the same. $90+ and so disappointed. read more

Stopped in and ate at the bar. Food and drink were great. The bartender was great. He made recommendations and added a friendly vibe.

Loved it! Great food, excellent service and even better drinks, highly recommend, family friendly too.

I feel like I made this food and I'm not a good cook. Tasted like pulled out of a bag chips and pico de gallo from a can. Street tacos were tiny for $5, maybe 2oz of meat on their tacos. Cold, maybe luke warm. Meh. Would not go to again. Not a picky eater and hate leaving bad reviews but was not pleased with this place. Sorry. Service and host were friendly. Music and ambiance were nice. A $15 mole chocolate drink? Yeah I'll pass. read more

Very authentic Mexican food! The chicken tinga enchiladas with both sauces...recommended

The food was awesome. The drink was awesome. Wish the quesadillas were bigger, but it was still good. read more

Cantina del Centro - Basil smash- with vodka - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

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What a great little restaurant! Drinks were incredibly crafted and not over the top sweet. I ordered a classic margarita that was not over the top sweet, but just right. We also got the trio dip (the bean dip OMG yum!), and the burger of the month which had a fried chicken patty on it! The ambience is quaint and intimate, perfect for a nice little date night :) Jenni Lane was our server and was so sweet and wonderful to us! Highly recommend Cantina del Centro if you are in the Nelson area! read more

So, it is a post COVID world, inflation is red-hot, and Nelson is a quiet town. Cantina del Centro is BUSY, its got a vibe, and there are people wall-to-wall at the bar. So it's safe to think that the drinks are modern, and awesome. We took some to-go, and TBH with you, margarita's to-go probably shouldn't be a thing (at $12 ea.) unless they are going to be large-sized. :) The food was interesting, unique, and well prepared. Wings were good, and street tacos solid! To me, given the current pace of inflation might be fairly priced, but felt....light (portion-wise). Desserts - same - not awesome - for example the 'tres-leches' was more like a soaked deconstructed pound cake, and portions = small. I'm over 45 yrs old, so maybe I've old-fashioned, and wanting to be full after I spend $200 for tacos for 4 + dessert. (shrug - hard to call) Service (for pick-up) was awesome. McKenzie. The room - bad-ass. Go if you want to have fun, seemed like a bustling locale. read more

Least favorite meal in Nelson. Food was just OK, tacos were tiny, and service was lacking. I definitely would have ordered more food and another drink if the server wasn't so frantically busy. The enchiladas were quite boring. The sweet potato fries were very good. read more

Cantina del Centro - Enchiladas- boring - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

While visiting Nelson in early September, we tried this place for dinner. We enjoy Mexican food and were not disappointed with our meal at the Cantina del Centro. The menu offers a variety of Mexican oriented dishes, so there are lots of choices. We ordered tortillas and tacos, and everything was fresh and tasty with just the right amount of spice. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable and did a great job of ensuring all our needs were met. We were seated on the street patio and the overall ambiance was pleasant and relaxed. We highly recommend the warm brownie for dessert, it was absolutely delicious. read more

Holy Margaritas! THIS place is THE place to sample delicious hand crafted margaritas with imaginative combination of surprising and delightful ingredients. Raspberry Mint, Ginger Cardamon, Coconut Habanero. Run don't walk here. Mexican Food remixed on point. read more

Cantina del Centro - Raspberry Mint Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

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This place has the best margarita in town! They have several opts for flavors but I only tried the passion fruit, AMAZING! It was a but speedy but I would go back. You can also order them to go. read more

Cantina del Centro - So dang yummy! Passion Fruit Marg - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

The service was so slow! We were doing a motorcycle ride and wanted to stop for a quick bite. It was not so quick. 2PM on a Monday and it took 1 hour. I had the cucumber jalapeño margarita. It was well balanced and delicious. They even had non alcoholic cocktails. We were glad we ordered chips and guac because the service was so slow. The guac tasted like it was store bought and not special. The tacos are super tiny. I was impressed with the Barbacoa taco. The lamb was braised nicely and went well with the rojo salsa. The camarón tacos went well with the mango habanero salsa. The waitress didn't explain any of the sauces. The food was ok, but not enough to redeem for the bad service. We wouldn't come back again. read more

Cantina del Centro - Cucumber jalapeño margarita - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

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Stopped in on a hoppin Friday night. They were slammed so everything was a little slow. So, although I might have orders another round or two I moved on instead. Tried all 4 (!) Veggie taco options and they were all yummy. Margaritas were tasty. Nothing labeled spicy was,in fact, spicy. Which was a little sad! read more

Cantina del Centro - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

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The service was friendly and fun. Food was delicious. I had the Camaron Quesadilla and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My wife had the mole chicken quesadilla and she enjoyed it. She also had the coconut margarita which she said was delicious. We splurged and also had the churros. I was stuffed at the end and would recommend Cantina del Centro for sure. read more

I think the name is the only Mexican part of the restaurant other than the menu. Micheladas were terrible, not a fan of Margaritas that seems to be the most popular item. Shared guacamole and chips to start, and in our opinion was not very tasty, but still okay. Tacos were meh and 4$ each, with meat kind of dry... Enchilada was also recommended and it was extremely soggy, for 20$... Tried lastly with churros, that took almost 15min to show up and they were partly burned... Don't get it... Service was good, but that was the end of it. It is more like a lounge and drinks place than a restaurant. Ambient, decoration and music prove it read more

This place is legit. Absolute must do if in Nelson. We (a group of 30) came here for a dinner at the end of a 3 day work retreat. It was international tequila day and they started us off with a free round of Cazadores Blanco shots -- ON THE HOUSE. For regular diners you received a free shot with purchase of another drink. We started with the dip trip (guac, white bean, pico de gallo), and another full order of guacamole, both served with crisp tortilla chips. The guac and bean dip did not last long. The tacos had amazing flavours and varieties, some serious layer of flavour here. The enchiladas were good too, but a tad dense (I added some pico de gallo to lighten it up). The drinks were really top notch. The jalapeño margarita was the best margarita that I have ever had, impressively well balanced. Also, the cucumber-mint-lime-gin cocktail was super refreshing. I cannot forget to mention the DJs, they were spinning great stuff all night long and really rounded out the experience. Well done to the front of the house and kitchen staff, extraordinary experience. PS apparently the sister resto Yum-Sum is fantastic as well, but we didn't have time to visit... next time! read more

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This is the best restaurant I have ever been to. The Baja shrimp taco will champ your life. Thank you to all the staff for such great service and delicious food! read more

Really enjoyed our brunch here. The restaurant took care to offer hand sanitizer, the patio was suitably spaced out, and there were digital menus available by scanning a QR code, which took you to their menu on their website. Staff that we saw were wearing masks (many servers in restaurants in the area seemed to be doing this incorrectly or not at all) and stayed physically distanced generally. The brunch menu is substantial, and we enjoyed our huevos rancheros and tacos. Portions were plenty for a light meal, but not huge. Plenty of vegetarian options. read more

This place has a special place in my heart and deserves a 5 outa 5. That being said today today august 21 2022 we had the worst server I have ever experienced in my almost 40 years of life. This is no way a slant at the food or the overall atmosphere of cantina because they are both epic. I understand people have bad days and off days but this was ignorance beyond anything I have ever experienced. If your server is Matty just get up and leave. It took over 20 min for him to come talk to us and when I asked for a menu he got snarky about them being online via a QR code. He walked by us at least 6 times before even addressing we were there and the best part of that was...... there was only 3 tables on the whole patio. End of rant. Still my favourite place in Nelson. I'm just gonna avoid for a while because of Matty. Shame on you Matty. read more

One word: YUM! When we were seated we were told they are known for their tacos and margaritas. Cool. I get the Passion Margarita and it was fantastic. Would recommend. Now, the tacos... I like food. I'm a foodie but I'm not a real out there weird food person. The tacos were sort of out there on the menu. I ordered 3. The pork, the beef and the fish. THEY WERE ALL AMAZING. Not as out there as they sounded and all the flavors went together perfectly. I could have eaten 14 of them. So good! If you're looking for a place with good drinks and good food, this is it! read more

I'm picky when it comes to Mexican food and I was skeptical when I saw some of the tacos are a little unorthodox. I was pleasantly surprised and not so pleasantly stuffed when we left. Not that the tacos are huge, I just kept ordering more. I even finished one of my wife's veggie tacos since she didn't care for the squash and kale as much as I did. There is something for everyone on their extensive drink menu. The only thing I didn't see is horchata, but that didn't matter because there were plenty of other na choices. For a relatively small place I was surprised by how it felt much bigger, with lots of action up at the bar but progressively slower towards the larger tables in back. A kind of club feeling, minus the sweaty people and bouncers. If you want Mexico street tacos but you're two borders too far north, try Cantina. read more

We had a real craving for Mexican and this place was busy and looked good. it was just OK. We ordered the triple dips and chips and although got given a huge amount of chips which was great, the bean dip was ice ice cold which we did not like and the guacamole needed salt and spice as it was incredibly bland and they didn't give us the third dip. The churros were crispy but completely hollow in the centre and way too darkly fried and a teeny tiny tablespoon of caramel dip to dip them all in. The tuna tostadas were tasty but very, very pricey for what they were and we would not order them again. Our enchiladas were bland and not much filling. Would have loved some pico de gallo or Mexican cheese on them. read more

The atmosphere and service here was great. We started with the Ceviche, followed by Tacos (Barbacoa, Argentine, and Pescado) and a shared main salad. The margaritas were fantastic, as was the Mercado salad. I was a bit disappointed in the Ceviche. The seafood component was mostly made up of canned shrimp and I would have preferred more white fish. The marinade was very good however and it still managed to find its way to my tummy ;) We had lots of food and felt the price was an excellent value for the meal. Certainly worth a stop if you're into fresh Mexican food. read more

Cantina del Centro - Check out the Mercado Salad, a must in my humble opinion. - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

Awful experience. Not only were me and my wife sat next to a teenage couple to a table (very nice social distancing , im sure the plexi glass does a ton when we are a foot apart) the service was extremely slow and honestly somewhat rude. Outdoor patio wasn't covered in the blazing sun even after we could hear people complaining about being sunburnt. Food was only ok and EXTREMELY small and the waitress pushed a $4 dollar "house made" iced tea. Skip this one. read more

Come here for the atmosphere, decor, and vibe. Lots of energy and great people watching. We had EXCELLENT table service. The food was not remarkable - the dishes lack a certain pizzazz in the seasonings and spices - but overall we were very happy with our meal and enjoyed ourselves immensely. A DJ took over the music later in the evening. Great for dates or a night out with friends. Half sized margaritas are available for those who wish to take it easy with the booze. read more

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The service was excellent. Drinks were fantastic. Started with a wonderful plate of wings. Food was downhill after that. Portions are small and overpriced. Main entrees surprisingly bland and sub par. read more

Everything was great, honestly. We went tonight for Taco Tuesday, and Sam was the best! The specialty drinks, the margaritas, the eclectic tacos, and of corse Sam, all were top notch. We'll be back! read more

As a southwest natve, lived in Texas,NM and Arizona i can tell you this place would not make it a week anywhere there. Overpriced, bland small portions. Margaritas are outrageously pricey and you're lucky to get a taste of liquor. Just roll up a tortilla at home and save yourself the disappointment. read more

Amazing food, amazing service, overall a must do while in Nelson! Order the Tuna Tostadas, for starters you will flip at the taste and the twist! enchiladas.... yummmi!!! loved it read more

This was great food. Five of us were there--mixture of the dishes, all were great. IT was a few weeks ago, so I don't remember the specifics, but we all left wanting to go back someday. Service was good, noise level tolerable read more

Both the food and staff were fantastic at Carina del Centro. Highly recommend the tacos and the three dips and chips. Albeit, I'd suggest even more, differing to the staffs' recommendations, as we did. read more

Cantina del Centro - Tacos and hot sauce! - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

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Excellent food, patio and location. Courteous, helpful staff. Reasonable prices. We'll go back for sure. Love Nelson!

I have been here every time that I've visited Nelson and it's always worth it! Tacos are great and the price is totally fair. The guacamole is awesome. We had a lovely young girl serving us who had just moved to Nelson from Toronto. Despite the fact that the place was PACKED, she was excellent and gave us great service. Didn't catch her name but whoever hired her, you did a great job and you should give her a high five from us. I'll be back! read more

Don't let the small size and crowdedness turn you off! The food and drinks are amazing and delicious. read more

Cantina del Centro - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

This place does authentic street style tacos that are simply delicious. I was very impressed with their vegetarian options as well. The restaurant is small and quaint with a bit of a hipster vibe. They do some great unique margaritas. Both the drinks and food use fresh ingredients that pop with flavour. Great place to satisfy your Mexican cravings. read more

This place was recommended by other guests at the motel we stayed at. My partner and I decided to check it out. The restaurant layout is very narrow and it feels lets just say "cozy". We seated at a tall table but as busy as it was and as hungry as we were, we gladly took it. Our server was pleasant and our food came relatively fast. I had three different tacos to start but my favourite was the Argentinian with slow cooked beef, kale and squash that I oreded two more. We also had a trio of ceviche that was decent. Definite place to return to! read more

If I could give them minus stars I would have done so!  Got there with gf and was starving from a long drive  There was a waiting list and we put our names down. I could see there was only one name before us, a group of 3 & 4 came after us. Surprisingly enough, both groups were seated before us. We assumed it was because a bigger table was vacant, so we understood that. After waiting patiently, we became a little irritated and that's when they finally offered the bar seats.....big mistake! 1-The food was ok. yes just ok as I was starving so I was happy with anything 2-I ordered red wine the bartender gave me mojito!!! I asked for the red wine I ordered and the bartender gave me attitude! she took a wine glass went under the bar and filled it up with something red looking but it taste nothing like red wine or maybe the wine was very pickled. 3- we ordered our food and half way through our meal we ordered nachos. The bartender that gave us attitude, "forgot" to put in the order. By the end of the meal, we didn't get the nachos so, a rather nice male bartender checked the kitchen. It was going to take another 15 mins, since they hadn't received the order.   This place is quite cramped and we felt anxious to leave. The seating in this place are awful. It's a 12 year old girls dream. It's a busy place but the employees need an over haul. read more