One of our best Mexican meals. We came with our grandson and we each enjoyed our meal. Service was quick and pleasant. Friendly staff and the atmosphere is great. We will definitely come again if we pass through this area. read more

Honestly? Some of the best Mexican food I've ever had...and I've been to Mexico more than 30 times. I had the carnitas....they were amazing. The other two people with me said their food was some of the best they had ever had also read more

I come into LC probably 2 or 3 times out of the year and I came in today on a Saturday and the staff were extremely helpful kind and the food is incredible I love the margaritas I have diet restrictions and they are very accommodating and very helpful I recommend this place 100% read more

Traveled to Brookings and checked into the Brookings Inn where the La Cantina is located and decided to give it a shot. This is a very good Mexican restaurant not a low quality joint at all. Prices were fair and food and service were top notch. I have the vegetarian taco salad and my granddaughter had the Caesar salad with steak. read more

La Cantina - Cesar salad with steak - Mexican Near Me - Brookings, South Dakota

See all

I wasn't sure what to expect from a Mexican restaurant in South Dakota but found ourselves pleasantly surprised. They have a large variety of dishes and combinations so you will likely find your favorite dish. Pricing was reasonable and the portions are just right. The house margarita wasn't too sweet and was well balanced. I'm sure we will be by again. read more

On the outside it seemed like a decent spot to stop and have a bite, so my crew and I gave it a shot. Place was clean and had a nice vibe, but the food was nothing to brag about. my fajitas came out a bit burnt, but what made it a bad experience was it was hardly seasoned, and had mushrooms and cucumbers in it. salsa might as well have been tomato sauce with how watered down it was. Usually I expect tortilla chips and not rocks. At least the beer wasn't made in house so you get 2 stars read more

OMG! My new favorite restaurant in Brooking! I would drive an hour for the food. Great service, fabulous food, fair price! And don't get me started on the margaritas! read more

I had the Enchilada Potosina and it was the best thing that I have ever had at a Mexican food restaurant!

I caught them putting low price liquor in high price bottles. No kidding. When I told the bartender he smiled and put the bottle on the shelf. Can't support that. read more

Went on a saturday night and ordered some food. Service was quick and the staff was extremely friendly. I would recommend this place for anyone looking for a decent meal at a reasonable price. read more

Service is great, Ambiance is wonderful. Let me talk about the food. I got the #15, it's my first time here and I hail from 20 years in California. I hate that state but miss the food. I was excited to try a new place that seems to be busy most days. I am disappointed in the flavor, better said lack of, in my dish. It tastes like hamburger helper mexican food. The sauce is bland and the meat is plain. However, will I be back? Yes!!! Because my husband's dish was great, tolteca molcajete, it's fantastic. So if you enjoy bland Midwestern mexican food (aka taco johns is your favorite mexican restruant) you'll love this place and their basic menu. However if your looking for something more authentic get off of the "plate" menu and go for something weird. read more

We were pleasantly surprised by La Cantina. We weren't expecting to find good Mexican food in Brookings, but we really enjoyed our meal. I had the Pollo Santa Fe and my husband had Steak Fajitas. I agree with a previous reviewer who recommended avoiding the numbered combination items on the menu. Step away from the items that we Americans think of as Mexican food - burritos, tacos, chimichangas. Instead try some of the dishes you might not be familiar with. Our meals were delicious and we will be back for sure! read more

We went there at noon and ordered from the 'lunch' menu on the back of the menu. It wasn't crowded there and our order came quickly. Food was really good and super filling. And that's saying a lot because I'm a big eater. Staff was super friendly and kept our glasses full. The prices were very good. We paid $44 for 3 people. That's with an extra taco. The place looks great in there. Very clean. It's connected to a hotel (didn't notice who) west of I-29 next to BP gas. Not a tourist trap. We will be dining there often. read more

Sit down at the bar to have the bar staff and a drunk customer talk bad about me in Spanish. Making all kinds of racist comments about me because I asked the borracha to let me sit in peace by myself. The bar staff made rude comments because I was white and I told her I didn't speak Spanish. read more

Bad food bad service wouldn't recommend for anything. Greasy and tasteless. Margaritas were even bad.

This place is awesome! The food is so delicious and they have a wide variety in their menu. Their chips and salsa are bomb! Their spanish rice is to tasty too. I got the Enchilada Suisa and it's great. A little spicy for me though. The horchata is home made. The restaurant is huge and the servers are so nice. read more

See all

Oh my, where to start. We visited following a concert, admittedly close to closing time. However, the restaurant was doing good business and didn't appear to be slowing down. First, we were seated in the very back of the restaurant where no one else was even though there was an open table in the front and in the bar, and open bar stools. Our waiter didn't know what was on the full bar, or at least pretended to be confused when we asked for a particular brand of bourbon, and we ended up with drinks we didn't want, even though the bar stocked our exact order. All we managed to get from the kitchen was a quesadilla. It was tasty, but our waiter didn't bother to bring plates with it, so we had to eat off the serving platter. Wanted a little el yucateco red with my quesadilla, especially since it didn't come with any condiments. Guess what - the bottle was filled with another product! We asked if the kitchen was still open so we could order Main courses and were told no, even though we heard other tables placing orders at the exact same time. I should note, our waiter didn't seem the least bit interested in helping us until we made it clear we were leaving, at which time he suddenly found a new gear and hurriedly wrapped up our service. We complained to another server we saw, who didn't speak English. However, he contacted another employee who heard us out and brought the manager Manuel, who was very attentive, comped our ticket, and took steps to make things right (including offering to have the supposedly closed kitchen make us food 20 minutes after we were told it was closed). Kudos to management, but the experience was already ruined by waitstaff that obviously didn't want to be there and should never have been given another table. Visit at your own risk, and be ready for an unsatisfactory experience without a lot of assertive discussions with management. I will say, it seemed other tables were receiving good service and enjoying themselves. Thus, 2 instead of 1 stars. read more

Drove over to Brookings from Marshall MN on Veterans day. Found this quaint Mexican restaurant on Google. Neither one of us had ever been there. This by far was our best Mexican cuisine ever since I used to live near San Antonio TX, 30 years ago. Everything from the amazingly delicious salsa and warm chips to our $10 per plate of our fatijas for lunch.... the enormous quantity of fatijas they gave us equalled the dinner portion. The waiter was enjoyable and we left full and happy. Well done. read more

Best Mexican food I had in a long time service was great mango and strawberry margarita my favorite don't forget to try there chorizo queso

Excellent service and food. Our group had a great time. Beware the fajitas are huge - bring a big appetite!!

Outstanding food and service. A welcome addition to Brookings. Great authentic food and large portions. We had more than enough for two meals. We will definitely be back. read more

Mi familia y amigos siempre hacen sus cumpleaños en este restaurante... pero este sabado 19 mi amiga hizo su cumpleaños y por alguna razon nos atendieron de Mala gana nunca llegaron a recoger los platos acumulamos vasos y platos sucios...... mi plato habitualmente es el pollo a la parrilla años pidiendo lo mismo.... soy alergica a los lacteos y me le colocaron crema oh queso ensima a todo el plato..... pedi la orden nuevamente y el muchacho molesto llevo la orden y se enojo porque a mi me tomaba tiempo escuchar por la musica alta, en varias ocasiones nos ignoraban..... cuando necesitabamos ordenar algo mas read more

First time at this restaurant. Food was good. Service, not so much. Wait staff looked like they were just going through their paces.

This place rocks....have been there three times.....great food.....great service....great prices. If you leave hungry it is your fault. Well worth a trip to Brookings to try La Cantina.....their menu is huge and it is all done well...really good food. They have the old style Mexican cake in the glass bottle. Highly recommend these guys...!!! read more

I was in town for a wedding. Stayed at the hotel next to this place. Decided to check this place out. Very friendly staff. Waiter was very patient as I couldn't make up my mind. Finally went with the seafood molcaheta. (SPELLING? can't remember.) Anyway, holy cow was it amazing! I certainly wasn't expecting much in this bf town. It was a pleasant surprise. Kudos to the cook. Too bad I don't live here so could keep coming back. read more

Go here! Attentive and fast service. Good food. Good prices. Nice patio. Have the pamorita. Refreshing! This place is a winner.

Late this afternoon my spouse asked if I knew about the new Mexican place in Brookings called La Cantina. That's all it took for me to jump online, find their website, and get our order started. I was impressed with the selection, the number of grilled options, seafood options, and familiar dishes that I already knew would make our big family happy. We carried our food out thanks to a certain virus and brought it home. It was a little on the warm vs. hot side but such is the nature of carry out. Portions sizes were reasonable and food quality was very good. Lots of flavors and lots of care went into the preparation of our order. Plus they added 3 packages of chips and 4 containers of salsa without added cost, which was much appreciated. The regular salsas was just a bit bland and the other one was very H-O-T. I found making a blend provided me the perfect salsa. My main dish was the grilled chicken Burrito California and it was fantastic! It was also way too much for me to eat. I ended up sharing it and still have leftover in the fridge. The only disappointing aspects of the meal were one missing item (part of a multi-part entree) and the food being less than hot temperature wise. But the v-e-r-y reasonable prices, fast service, and overall quality were still enough for me to stay with a 5 full stars review. La Cantina may very well become our new go to Mexican restaurant in Brookings. Next time we will be dining in and I will either update this review or let those 5 happy stars ride. read more

Ground beef was Unseasoned and greasy Red sauce was draped over everything it's only saying that was really good The chorizo street tacos not worth sixty bucks read more

We are discerning foodies who love Mexican food and travel to Baja yearly! We were highly surprised to find this gem in Brookings! We loved it! Fresh guacamole and the tacos, beans and rice very authentic! Real corn tacos and fabulous chips And salsa. We loved it! read more

My boyfriend and I decided to go on a double date with some friends to try out La Cantina for the first time. We all love Mexican food so we decided to give it a shot! At first, I noticed the restaurant was very clean and our waitress was fast at getting our drink orders in. They were pretty busy, but we noticed that our waitress was mainly just standing behind the bar talking with coworkers and we waited about 20 mins before our food came and were asked for drink refills. My boyfriend and I did not receive our food until 15 minutes after our friends. Our order also came with items that we specifically asked to leave out. I understand that it was busy and things happen so I am not even considering this in the rating. After we finally got our food, our waitress was very rude and never came back to refill our drinks once again or ask how the meal was. The queso was very thick and not very good and the tortillas were chewy. We also got the cheese fries and they threw two slices of what looked like Kraft American cheese on the top of the fries and microwaved it for about 15 seconds. I will not be back. read more