As the old saying goes... "You don't get out much, do you?" That saying applies to my wife and I since Covid. And sadly, we're not getting any younger either lol. I say this because we'd never heard of Cataleya Cantina until about a month ago when my wife typed in "Good Mexican food near me" in her search engine. Well, as it was her birthday, I said why not try Cataleya Cantina tonight? I had assumed it was a new restaurant, because I'd never heard of it. Turns out it's been around for several years. Who knew? Bottom line, it's got great atmosphere, modern and comfortable. Not to mention a really nice bar, and friendly staff. Now for the food. Let's start with the chips and salsa. Warm, fresh, crisp, and the salsa was rich and thick. Typically restaurant salsa is thin, but not here! Really good. My wife got Ceviche that was fresh, shrimp filled goodness (I know because I just finished it twos days later. I had El Zorro Huarache. Excellently prepared, and it's not just put on a plate. It was prepared and presented like a 5 star restaurant. Delicious, to put it mildly. And it's really not pricy either. Bonus! We'll make it our twice a month spot for food, beers and margaritas! It's 5 minute drive from our house, and right off of Kingston Pike. Go there as soon as you've finished reading this review. Did you hear me?? You too will be writing a 5 star review. Promise. read more

Well above average food. Little more $, but better quality and good sized portions Fast, good service read more

I did not like the food here. The salsa tasted jarred and bland. The red sauce on ny dish tasted like Ragu spaghetti sauce from a jar. Super disappointing. read more

Food was authentic Mexican food & absolutely delicious! Owner checked on us & what a small world; she lived in Gulf Breeze before moving to Knoxville. That is where we live. She knew & had worked at Rio Bravo in GB. The margaritas were fantastic! The owner made them special for us with no orange juice. In my opinion, margaritas should not have orange juice. They need lime! read more

Cataleya Cantina - Chocolate flan. Was delicious and we've never had chocolate flan before. - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Truly fantastic! A wide variety of delicious traditional Mexican foods, plus an equally enormous variety of Street tacos, corn or flour. The service was friendly, attentive and very knowledgeable. Cool contemporary environment plus a beautiful bar. And the cocktails are reasonably priced, including $5 Margaritas every day. Me and my group were quite impressed! read more

Cataleya Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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This place is just casually sitting in a plaza on Kingston pike. I can't believe I pass it all the time without noticing it. Plenty of parkings. We got queso to begin with. It was pretty good. The menu got a lot of selections, I can't even finish reading through all of them and try to understand everything. And our service lady stopped by 3 times already. So I quickly selected 3 tacos for dinner, beef tongue is their iconic one and I really loved it. Appreciate that they had to confirm with me that I'm ok with tongue, yes of course. Their in-house fresh-made corn tortillas are really good. Ambience is fine and all I wished was I can take my time reading the menu and finishing my food. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Beef tongue taco, carnitas taco and chorizo taco. All amazing! - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Delicious food. Friendly service. Prices aren't crazy. There is a big list of street tacos and also desserts. The big burrito was very big and yummy. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Patio - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

The food is amazing! Got the Hawaiian tacos and they were delicious! I will def come here again read more

Cataleya Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Cataleya has the look of a trendy restaurant but I wasn't blown away. The chips and salsa were fine and the service was really good but I had a lot of trouble deciding what I wanted, which was not a good thing in this case. Most of the dishes were averaging $15-$20 without rice and beans, which is a tough sell for Mexican food. The entrees were presented very well on the menu and felt unique from usual Mexican faire, but really weren't great in execution from what I saw and tasted. Kudos for good plating across the board though. I ordered the Entomatadas and they looked good (see photo) but didn't have much flavor at all. All it was some shredded chicken wrapped in corn tortillas with red sauce and crema on top. The vegetables were basically only garnishes. The chicken was bland and I didn't enjoy the meal for the $17 price point. For nearly half of what I paid after tip I could have gone next door to Salsarita's and ordered a similar thing but with more food. My friend had the enchiladas which were bland as well. Sorry, but with other Mexican places around the corner, the price point here makes me not want to recommend Cataleya even with their good service and creative menu. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Entomatadas - shredded chicken wrapped in corn tortillas with red sauce on top. It looks like more than it really is. - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

The food is absolutely delicious very refreshing and very fresh. They make their own chips in the morning and their corn tortillas. Guacamole is amazing. I actually had chicken fajitas next time. I think I will try their chicken mole which I absolutely love and I have not had theirs. The service was wonderful. I love my server very efficient very sweet and friendly. The ambience is amazing. Nicole was the one that waited on me and she is amazing. read more

Foo and service as AMAZING, so clean and cute, this is definitely our new spot! Also the drinks are so good

The food was yummy and the restaurant was a classy Mexican establishment. It is a little pricey read more

The food is great, the first time we went the service wasn't awesome but this time they did step it up. The queso is good too. The flowers are pretty garnishes as well. read more

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Totally enjoyed the food and drinks. However, the service was extremely slow and the staff was not welcoming. Could be an awesome place just needs better customer service. Ambiance is as expected. read more

Great food! Came in for a late lunch/early dinner today celebrating our son's birthday. Everything was excellent and they brought us a churro cheesecake to help celebrate. Highly recommend! read more

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We stopped in for lunch and really liked the vibe of the place. It' feels more like an upscale Mexican restaurant. The decor was colorful but unique- artsy. We were seated right away and a girl brought over the chips and salsa. Our server, Juan, came right over and took our drink order. We ordered our meal when he returned. Our meals came out quickly and were fresh and hot. I ordered the lunch Cantachinga with rice, refried beans and guacamole salad. My husband ordered the lunch #6- chicken enchilada and chicken soft taco plus rice and refried beans. The salsa was delicious with just a hint of heat. We both enjoyed our meals a lot. Juan checked on us just the right amount of times and was super nice! He was a great server! There was snow on the ground today but they have a nice patio area when the weather is nice.we will definitely be back!! read more

Cataleya Cantina - Lunch #6- Chicken Enchilada, chicken soft taco, rice and refried beans. - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

I've got to say, that was the most painful seating I've been in a long time. The booth we were in was belly to the table and straight up back at an extremely uncomfortable angle. On a Monday night, not a lot of people there and I couldn't tell if it was just a slow day of the week or no one wanted to visit a chiropractor afterwards. The service was fine and the food was good, but the uncomfortable seating just lingers with you. It was nice having a cocktail menu but how many restaurants this far from COVID still only offer QR code menus? Obviously not those who are focused on customer service. So, whip out the phone and go thru that. My dinner partner joked so that they can more dynamically change prices. Who knows. The Chicken Mole Enchilada was good as was the margarita, but I definitely will not do that to my body again. Ymmv based upon your anatomy. read more

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Tonight's food adventure was unexciting. We had some okay food here on a prior visit but not tonight. The restaurant is clean, the decor appealing, and friendly employees. I ordered a Chicharron taco, a Chorizo taco, a chile relleño and a grapefruit margarita. The tacos were presented beautifully. The Chorizo taco was good, but the chorizo was way too mild. Chicharrones are crunchy pieces of fried pork belly, but in my Chicharron taco, the pork belly was not breaded nor was it crunchy, it was slimy. A chile relleño is traditionally a Poblano pepper stuffed with cheese. This one was stuffed with dry chicken drowned in a tomato sauce. A grapefruit Margarita needs to have a fruit forward grapefruit taste. Not so with this one. The drink was pink and garnished with a grapefruit but the taste of grapefruit and alcohol in the drink was extremely weak. I only had two sips and pushed it to the side. I ate the entrees but did not finish the Margarita. I told our server, he said he was sorry and when the bill came, I was charged for the Margarita I did not drink. I didn't make a scene; I paid the bill, tipped our server 15% and then we left. I don't think we will return. read more

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Terrible. Ordered a few months ago and thought I had found a good place to eat. Birthday dinner with Hawaii Tacos; the meat was so burned and the pineapple too I couldn't tell you what it was supposed to be. And the poblano peppers had no taste at all. no spices and NO red sauce. Never will be back. I would give a negative rating VERY disappointed especially on my birthday read more

Great tamales and chimichangas! Service is awesome too. Ambiance is great!! Highly recommend!!!

The food was awesome. Highly recommend. Service was punctual. Salsa music, beautiful booths, and everything was super! read more

Cataleya Cantina - Outside - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

If you are looking for Mexican food that is not the same as all the other restaurants in town this is your place. The atmosphere is great and the service impeccable. Have been more than once and not one complaint to be had. Go try it!! You will not be disappointed. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Atmosphere - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Not sure why this place would ever get good reviews. The food was bland, which is hard to do with Mexican Food. The salsa seemed like it was from a jar, and I ordered the grilled jalapenos for $4.75, the same price at a restaurant I go to here and it came with only two jalapenos. The place here come with a plate of about 20. I couldn't believe it. I mean jalapenos cost me less than a dime a piece at the International Market I go to read more

Had a great dinner here. This place is not your typical Mexican restaurant. Lots of unique menu items. Friendly and fast... and best of all super tasty! read more

Cute little restaurant with great food. Has the Tex Mex vibes but food tasted authentic Mexican. Will definitely be going back!

Dropped in yesterday afternoon to the bar for a cocktail to celebrate my new granddaughter birthday. Unfortunately, I ordered the monster margarita and a mango margarita for my girlfriend. Mine was nothing but fruit juice and was $19. Hers was straight alcohol and she couldn't drink it. We decided not to order anything else, got the $37 check and left without finishing the drinks. Won't be back. Went straight over to Don Gallo and enjoyed a great dinner with drinks for close to the same price. read more

The restaurant wasn't terribly busy when I went in, but it was within an hour of closing so I understand. The place looks like a Mexican themed bar, which is perfect for what they provide. The food was great. I had the 4 corner quesadilla which was a sizeable portion and some kind of red aqua fresca, possibly pomegranate?, but the staff let me try it before I ordered which was nice. Chips came out warm and crispy and the salsa was on the higher side of passible. A lot of tomato and not a huge amount of spice which is fine for me. Price was also pretty good. Roughly $25ish for everything. read more

Cataleya Cantina - 4 corner quesadilla (I ate half already - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Fantastic authentic Mexican food. Great service. Very clean, comfortable environment.

As always fresh and wonderful accompanied by beautiful presentation! TLAYUDA... A beautiful crispy tortilla topped with beans and cheese and your choice of meats with an array of beautiful fresh vegetables on top! We try Something new every time we come here as it never disappoints! Two of us shared this and we took the other half home!! Everything from the drinks to the appetizers to the food the presentation the service the smiles in the atmosphere has always been a total pleasure. What a blessing to Knoxville and to people who enjoy a little twist in the culinary experience of a cantina with an extra twist! We have always been able to experience the passion and love that is put into the food that is prepared here read more

Cataleya Cantina - Shrimp ceviche and my orchid! - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Disappointed overall, slow service and limited food selection. Chips and salsa were good and inside looks good and trendy. Not your typical look for Mexican restaurant. But service and response is below average. Ordered food and received chips and salsa. Salsa ran out early and waited for more, waited for drink refills, waited on food, waited to get our check. The place was at best only half full, so not slammed at all. Could just be the post Covid, can't get help phase but not sure I will be back anytime soon. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Dinning area - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

We love this place, the Ceviche is my favorite! They make fresh orange juice, and their pineapple juice is amazing. They make their tortillas, the food is amazing. The guy behind the bar Luben is very accommodating and Jenny the waitress! We always feel taken care of here. If you're looking for fresh, fun ambience and wonderful food give this place a try! read more

This is a very nice restaurant. Inside is a nice Black and White decor, and outside is a shaded area with tables. Full bar and some interesting special Margaretas. I had some delicious chimichangas, and my wife had cuddy and shrimp tacos. Delicious all around. Lots more things to try on the menu. Great service too. read more

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I'll start with the good, it's a super cute restaurant. Very clean and well decorated. It's modern and bright. TVs everywhere so if you don't want to miss a sport, this would be a decent spot to watch. Service though, it's not good. They took forever to take our order. I should have timed it, because it got obscene. Well over 30 minutes. There were 3 servers hanging out at the front of the restaurant talking and not helping tables. When we asked them to take our order, they acted very annoyed that we interrupted them. Refills had to be waved down and again, the response was rude. It seemed like they'd rather be watching tv and talking. Drinks - they had no Mexican beer. What? Ok... and it's $10 for a small drink. They tasted good and fresh, but way over priced for how small they are. And we were told we couldn't order any drinks that weren't on their menu. Also, no blended Margaritas just a blended pina colada. Odd. Food wise - one of my friends ended up with the paper top off the sour cream in her food. The street tacos were dry. The fajitas were over cooked. The enchiladas were good. The street corn had WAY too much lime. The rice is bland. Bathroom - clean, but there's a giant mirror on the door across from the toilet. Why? No one needs to see all that! It's going to be awhile until I return, hopefully they can iron out the kinks because I love Mexican food! read more

Cataleya Cantina - Carne Asada street tacos - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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This is Mexican restaurant opened near Gordon Foods and Aldi in Cedar Bluff. The main distinction from other options in town is the atmosphere. They did a great job of making the interior look bright and modern. It seems like a good place to go for a dinner date or meeting. All that said, the food and menu were pretty basic. It lacked a few items you'd see elsewhere. Also, prices seemed a little high for Mexican food and the service was slow/rude/inattentive. For instance, the server didn't refill our drinks or see if we needed anything. To me, the slowness really was a turnoff. No one wants to sit around for Mexican food! I enjoyed the tacos and the chips & salsa were good. But, for tacos, I prefer Pacos Tacos. Overall: I'd probably go elsewhere unless I wanted the nice atmosphere. Otherwise, it's just average. read more

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Loved the food here. Very authentic just like San Diego Mexican food! Delicious carne asada.

What is going on here no alcohol service limited beer on tap. Food is still good but service has really dropped off. Just wondering when they are going to close????? Hate to see this happening our favorite Mexican restaurant in Knoxville read more

Cataleya Cantina - Flatus with barbacoa - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Food was excellent. Ordered "to go" and didn't take too long. Large portions, very fresh. Should have shared one item. Nachos with shredded chicken were amazing. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Food service and ambiance is great. The presentation of the meal is very nice. Prices are extremely fair for the quality

This is my favorite taco spot since I've been in the Knoxville area. The atmosphere is nice and welcoming. The customer service is spot on. The tacos are fire! I feel that I'm getting my money worth every time. They're not skimpy with the protein. My favorite is the carnitas and second place is the chicken tacos. I use the red and green salsa. FYI, the red salsa is spicy! I love it though. Their mixed drinks are delicious. You gotta try a couple off the menu with your meal. I've recommended this place to any and everyone lol. read more

Cataleya Cantina - Two Carne asada tacos, two chicken tacos, one carnitas taco - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

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Tonight, our group of eight needed an easy dining option for our group ranging in ages from kids to senior citizens. The staff was able to quickly move two tables together to accommodate our large group. All the employees were very friendly throughout the evening. This was our first time at Cataleya Cantina and we were impressed with the chic casual ambiance. The bar had lots of seating, music was upbeat. TVs we're located throughout the restaurant showing various sporting events. One wall is lined with booth seating and there is a larger seating area in the back. They have a nice sized outdoor patio with string lighting. Chips and salsa were delivered immediately along with our drink orders. Our server was patient and helpful and prompt. Our food was delivered quickly and very fresh. Everyone enjoyed their meals. I did not get pictures of the kids' meals (chicken tacos with fries and rice and Mac and cheese). Those who ordered tamales started eating before I was able to snap a pic. I ordered the chimichangas (one beef and one chicken) and I really enjoyed my meal. Our crew will definitely be back for a family meal. However, I plan to return for an adult evening because I'd like to enjoy a few drinks on their patio one spring/summer evening. read more

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