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    Jalisco Cantina

    4.2 (236 reviews)
    Closed • 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Jalisco Cantina Reservations

    Jalisco Cantina Photos

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    JALISCO CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Touristy
    Trendy

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    Xochiana S.

    The experience we had was wonderful. The food was delicious and had amazing flavors. They served pretty tasty dishes and had wonderful authentic taste. The ambience was well lit but around 7:30 they dimmed the lights. They have restrooms for customers in the back where there is a whole other seating section and made the restaurant feel even bigger. We had a wonderful server. He was attentive and made sure everything we got was how we wanted. It was not too busy when we went and it seemed that the restaurant had plenty of seating for their customers. The parking is a little tough. There are some spots out front and on the street, but you may have to wander elsewhere if it's busy. One of my friends had the lavender margarita and said it tasted good with a great hint of tequila.

    Birria tacos
    Jessica Z.

    The food and service was really good at Jalisco Cantina. I had the carne asada tacos, my son had the Birria tacos both entrées were absolutely delicious. The carne asada was one of my favorites, so thin cut, fresh and still juicey. They had an amazing spicy habanero sauce that made my tacos 5/5!! Beans and rice were very good too! Sadly they don't have agua Fresca like horchata... ambience was super cute inside!!

    Ceviche, Carne asada salad, luna morada
    Brandon T.

    This place is my girlfriend and I's favorite place to grab a bite and a couple of drinks at when I'm in the Carlsbad Village area. The ceviche is phenomenal with their balsamic infused sauce which they make in house (there's nothing like it), the Luna morada is my go to drink and it's always made perfectly.

    Fish tacos
    Lauren S.

    Excellent experience from start to finish. I came here for some solo dining with my dog and was treated so kindly by the staff. They sat us by the street so we could people watch and brought my dog a bowl of water. Zeek, our server, was excellent. He informed me the drink I wanted wasn't available and helped me choose a backup option that ended up being excellent. He also helped me choose a dish that made my trip to the West Coast totally worth it. I ended up ordering the fish tacos and Zeek asked me if I wanted them fried or grilled. He explained the fried came with a maiz flour coating that made them crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Which is exactly what they were, but what I didn't expect was how great the tortilla was. Normally when I have tacos I fill up on tortilla and the tortilla falls apart. But this one was thin, but sturdy and allowed the taco filling to be the star of the show. I wish all tortillas were like this! I ordered the horchata ice cream for dessert, which was also delicious. When the check came, Zeek let me know they comped the dessert, because they didn't have the first drink I wanted, which was unexpected, but very much appreciated. I would absolutely recommend this place for a lovely dinner on State Street!

    Dinner menu
    Elyse J.

    Fancy, special, definitely a treat. The cocktails are amazing! Try the La Mora or the one with kiwi puree. Tacos, civeche, and tostada de atun is the way to go. Camerones tacos are my favorite. The salsa is a must. You can also ask for the extra bottles of 3 unique flavors. The restaurant is large and kind of divided into 4 sections - outdoor counter seating, a gorgeous and decorative bar, main inside seating, and the back which is bright and sunny (kind of feels like you're sitting outside). The waiters are knowledgeable and happy to take your requests (no onions for example).

    Shrimp tacos
    Salma Z.

    The Flautas were absolutely amazing as a starter. It was crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. Beautifully served. Was so hungry... forgot to take a picture. We also ordered carne asada & shrimp taco plates. Loved the flavor profile... however, I would request some salsa next time. I like it a little spicy The ambiance is pretty chill with mostly American music. It would be nice to get some Latin style music in here. Service was on point. Very friendly. Will come back again!

    Carne Asada Tacos
    Bryan A.

    Food was yummy and they have their own slightly unique twists on their food. Definitely recommend the flautas, it had a crunchy and soft chewy texture at the same time. Server was friendly and quick. Love the laidback yet trendy Valle de Guadelupe vibes. Only downside was the host wasn't at the front and after waiting a few mins I had to go track them down to get seated.

    Sonia R.

    Omg. SO GOOD!! Loved the ambiance and food here. As someone from Jalisco, the food tasted very authentic. I loved this restaurant- genuinely a 10/10. Ben was our server and he was so kind and attentive. Highly recommend

    Carne Asada tacos
    Paul P.

    We set up a reservation through open table to stop by last night, but didn't really need to as it's a big place and not a lot of tables were occupied when we arrived at 6:30. We were promptly greeted and sat by a very nice hostess who asked us our preference of seating. We went towards the back near the fireplace. - 5/5 stars. It's a cool restaurant with nice ambiance and comfortable seating. - 5/5 stars. We started out with the chips and salsa and added guacamole. I didn't realize that when asked that they'd charge $2.50 for salsas as we were asked as soon as we sat down and most other places do chips/salsa for free and obviously to add guacamole it's an up charge. The guacamole was very good, the salsas (both of them) neither my wife nor I liked. They were on the sweet and smoky side, no real spice or flavor profile that either of us liked for our salsa. - 3/5 stars. We ordered drinks when the chips arrived, I had a mojito and my wife had a blood orange drink of some sort. Both drinks were quick getting to us and tasted good. - 4/5 stars. Dinner was delivered very quickly. I had the carne asada tacos and my wife had the chicken enchiladas. Both of us enjoyed our main course meal. Both were very flavorful. 5/5 stars. Overall 4/5 stars, I'd recommend for the service and main courses, drinks aren't anything special from what anyone would be used to elsewhere, and get the salsas only if you like a sweeter flavor profile and know they do charge for them.

    Areli V.

    Food was really good, even tho they got my order wrong. They actually were super nice on fixing it right away. The chair we got it was a bit awkward because there was an other family right next to us. That area should def be saved for a bigger party. But nonetheless it was a good experience. They were playing all the good songs! Will def come back. The drinks were good as well

    Poblano soup- AMAZING!
    Sara S.

    Finally got to stop in here for dinner, and the highlight was definitely the corn poblano soup, so amazing!! After that, shared some tacos with the table, the carnitas were my favorite so far. Their drinks are all amazing, we tried several different ones, but the pear and honey was the favorite. Cilantro margarita was different, and delicious. We were bummed they no longer have the coconut marg, hoping they bring that back. Service was great, our server was super helpful in pointing us in the right direction. The inside and back patio area are super cute and the whole restaurant had a great vibe!

    So pretty!

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    5 months ago

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    21 days ago

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    3 days ago

    Best beans and rice I've ever had. Salmon tacos were incredible. Chips and salsa unbelievable. Can't believe it.

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    11 months ago

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    5 days ago

    The avocado tacos were excellent! Friendly servers and bartenders. My husband loved the chicken tacos.

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    3 months ago

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    7 months ago

    The best. Great food. Great service. Great location, Cocktails fabulous, both new and standard. Cadillac margaritas to die for!

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    4 months ago

    Our first experience here. Excellent services. The tacos are to die for. And the hot sauces are epic!

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    Ask the Community - Jalisco Cantina

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    Frankie’s - The bar is lovely!

    Frankie’s

    4.3(167 reviews)
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    Drinks were spot on, the mezcal/habanero Toxica blew me away...bartenders were down for small talk…read more Felt like a proper bar.

    With so many places to imbibe in Oceanside, I realize how competitive these places have to be to…read morestay in business so I have to admit, my standards are fairly high. My husband and I stopped in to Frankie's on a recent Saturday at 5pm. Our kiddo had a performance down the street at 6pm so we had a little time to kill beforehand. The neighboring spots looked busy so we decided to go with Frankie's, seeing as they were less inundated at the time and we had a time constraint. Another allure was the sandwich board at the front door advertising discounted cocktails - sold!! Inside there were a handful of patrons at the bar, another table with two additional patrons and maybe a couple on the patio so it was fairly quiet and slow, so it looked promising. We headed up to the bar and hung out behind two empty barstools, the single female bartender greeted us and said she'd be right with us, but then continued chatting up the seated patrons, serving them and their friends that had just joined (AFTER we'd arrived). We moved a little further down to the handoff area where she was making drinks to save her having to come back to us again, and stood there for probably 10 minutes while she took orders and made all the drinks. We commented that she looked like she could definitely use a hand, and she said they were still adjusting into summer hours and determining whether more coverage was needed at this time - I figured 5pm on a Saturday should be primetime, so I'm not sure in what universe having a single bartender makes any sense. Finally we placed our cocktail orders, waited while they were made, and then put our card down for the tab. After we'd paid, I noticed the cocktails were more expensive than advertised on the sandwich board out front - I couldn't find a disclaimer anywhere that said only certain cocktails were included, so while it was a bummer I wasn't about to wait another 10-15 minutes to catch her attention and ask for clarification. Just a heads up to beware of whatever is advertised that might summon you in from the sidewalk, and make sure you ask before you make your selection. Drinks were very subpar, nothing special to write home about. While I can appreciate the Gatsby-esque vibe they're trying to uphold at Frankie's, they really should increase their staffing especially during prime weekend and evening hours, and be more transparent about their specials and what's included and what's not. Hindsight is 20/20, and the low volume of patrons when everything else around it was going off was probably a sign, so we'll skip Frankie's our next go around.

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    Ladies Love Outlaws

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    Drinks are solid and served in kitschy mugs or fun appropriate to their name glasses. The…read morebartenders were as good looking as the drinks and knew how to make them, but the ambiance is lacking in a huge way. Cheaply done from the tables to decor and even though we went on a Saturday night the place was slow. Music was also good, but the DJ stopped playing about 20 min after we'd gotten there. That was a bummer. One round and we moved on.

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    Tower39 Rooftop Lounge - Tower39 Rooftop Lounge Firepit Seating

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    The Plot - One of the dishes I just can't remember what it's called!

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    So I just had one bite from the Plot (at the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival) - but it was 100% one of…read morethe best bites I ate there so I wanted to come over and show the chefs some love! They had a gorgeous homemade potato chip with eggplant that was diced so that it looked like ahi. It was a freaking delicious little vegan bite. I really want to go for a whole dinner now at the Plot (NC friends, if you're reading this & want to be my dinner partner at the Plot, LMK - my SO is prejudiced against vegan food LOL - so it will be more fun to go with a partner and taste more things!).

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    4.2(142 reviews)
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    Jalisco Cantina - mexican - Updated October 2026

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