Oh my god, the ceviche is to die for! Loved this adorable eclectic place, close in, great margaritas, delicious food and attentive wait staff and management. Can't say enough good things. read more

Real, authentic Mexican food in Texas. It's such a treat. The Mole Poblano is one of the best I ever had in any restaurant. Try it with the duck. It's huge serving but every bite is mouth watering. Great selection of wine, beer and first class cocktails are served at the bar. It's in a small, old cottage and has a real intimate family feel. Early spring nights out on the porch are dreamy. We'll keep coming back for more! read more

Great food. I tried the suadero tacos and I enjoyed it. They're very flexible with the reservations, and they text you when your table is available. For a first timer that's a 5star place. read more

I came here for dinner when I was in Austin. First off, this place was super crowded so there was definitely a wait. My friends and I ordered a few spicy margs and sat on the patio for a bit until a table was ready for us. Luckily, the patio was huge so there was plenty of seating outside. The menu was much more authentic which was nice. I ordered the cochinita pibil tlacoyos and it was delicious. The masa was slightly crispy on the outside and definitely soft in the middle. The filling was delicious. The braised pork was tender and so flavorful. The pickled onions, avocado salsa, and cheese definitely lightened up the dish a bit. Overall, this place was good. I'd definitely come back when I'm in town! read more

One of my favorite places in Austin! My boyfriend and I live down the street and come here all the time. Fantastic spicy Palomas. We always order the chorizo queso fundido, the quesadilla tocinada, and carnitas gorditas. All amazing! The ceviche is really good too! Even their salsa they give you at the beginning when you sit down is some of the best I've ever had. Super cute patio and service is exceptional too! They've always done their best to fit us in even when we come at 8pm on a Friday without reservations. One time they got my number wrong when we were on the waitlist and they couldn't get a hold of me on the phone so the manager came looking for us to tell us our table was ready!! She literally found us at the bar at Latchkey and let us know which she obviously didn't have to do at all, but that's the kind of friendly service this place has. Highly recommend this place to everyone! read more

Cool & eclectic restaurant with great food! I've passed by this place numerous times and it always seems busy. I was in the area recently and was able to try it out. I have to say, I can see why this place is so popular. The food was very tasty and was pretty different from traditional Mexican cuisine you're probably used to seeing and eating. I had the Chorizo & Papa Pambazo. If you like gorditas, papas, and chorizo, then you're going to like this dish. I've never had or even heard of. Pambazo before but I took a chance on it and I'm glad I did. I would definitely get this dish again. For those of you looking for Mollejas and Tacos de Lengua....you're in luck! They serve both here. I'm looking forward to trying both for sure! As for the restaurant itself...the inside is cozy and intimate. Kinda feels like eating in a relative's dining room. Good relaxing environment. The outside has a bit of a "fiesta" vibe. Music is turned up a bit, waiters dancing, people slamming down drinks. To me this restaurant has the best of both worlds; cozy inside and party-like outside. Good place for drinks, a bite for lunch, or to grab dinner before bar hopping. read more

I'd give 6 stars if I could. I've been wanting to come here for over a year but it's always so busy (a good sign). Sat outside on the humble but cozy patio, great ambience for a date night. The operations were adapted well for COVID, felt safe going out to eat there. I'm sure all the cocktails are great, but I recommend the Anejo Manhattan. The food though was absolutely delicious and will keep me coming back. One of my fave spots in Austin, and close enough to the East side bars to have a nightcap. read more

We were really excited to try this restaurant, but it's too expensive for what they have to offer! The choriqueso is superb. The pastor is good, but the suadero does nos taste like real Mexican street tacos! read more

This place is absolutely amazing! They have the best jalapeño margarita I have ever had in my entire life! Their Chilaquiles are to die for, and I also would recommend the Queso Fundido! read more

Licha's Cantina is super cute! We were in town for a long weekend and were looking for some Mexican food. We came for happy hour on Thursday evening and ordered the Calabazitas and the Mole Con Pollo. Both were very good. The chicken tinga on the mole dish was excellent and I loved the flavor of the mole. The crema on the Calabazitas was excellent. We also ordered happy hour margaritas that were the perfect sizes and very good. We loved the fresh salsas and chips and the guacamole was great. We will be back for sure! read more

The food and margs here are delicioso, but their happy hour menu prices have increased from $6 to $8 per item. It is a very small amount of food and doesn't feel like a great deal anymore tbh. The lady at the front is also not very friendly or helpful. Once she told me the wait time but then didn't take my name down so when I showed up to check in she said I wasn't on the list and that it'd be another hour to wait. She acts put out and has not been accommodating on several occasions. This has happened too many times for me to return. read more

We loved this place for brunch! The service was excellent our waitress was amazing. Food took a little long but we went for Sunday brunch and showed up at 130. They closed at 3 and they stayed open for lots of people to finish serving and I never felt rushed. The service topped it for me. The food, was bizarre. It's SO good I had the chicken quesadillas with eggs on top and I was in heaven. I'm not big on Mexican brunch food but this combined the cuisine and time of day really well! I posted pics of what my friends got and all was just beautiful and there were zero food complaints. The watermelon margarita basically made my week, although I will say don't have more than 2 read more

See all

Drinks were very weak. When I told the manager, the bartender and manager when off. I do not recommend this place. Many better places here in Austin. read more

Best interior Mexican food in Austin!! Amazing happy hour! Amazing food! Amazing staff! Amazing Drinks! What more can I say. If you haven't tried it you are missing out. read more

Excellent little place. Everybody working there very friendly and very efficient. I'm a California boy, and didn't know what most of the things on the menu were. I picked something that sounded good, and it was delicious. It was a quesadilla gringa. I had a couple of lime Margaritas which were also excellent. Great little place. read more

Lichas is an awesome hidden gem in my opinion! I am new to Austin and I am a sucker for a good chill vibe. I tried the Tinga De Pollo Orange and chipotle braised chicken. A great dish to share! The inside is nice for a date night or you can just kick back in their homey front yard patio atmosphere. Plenty of shade. Candy was very kind and a great waitress. I shall return! #Spicymagarita read more

Best Mexican restaurant in Austin. We've been 3 times since moving and have always had an incredible experience - great atmosphere on Friday and Saturday nights. read more

Anniversary dinner! Found this place on yelp and was eager to try. Great authentic local experience!! Loved the atmosphere -indoor/outdoor options. Although it's very hot. If the heat bothers you go later in the evening when the suns setting. Friendly quick service. Seemed like you couldn't go wrong ordering. I kept watching dishes come out and I wanted to everything. Fresh gauc is a must. My only upset note is since I'm pregnant I was unable to try a margarita!!! I'm a lover of margaritas and they looked amazing. If you give this place a try please let me know how delicious they are. Sigh. They do not take reservations and they are a popular spot so expect a pretty hefty wait time. read more

I came here with 7 other people (bachelor's party, so we were all pretty hungover), and this place was our saving grace. Such a special Tex-Mex place on East 6th! It's an old house that's been re-purposed to serve brilliant food to a bunch of hungry peeps. The servers are all really nice, and the food is delectable. I highly recommend the ceviche and shrimp tacos :) read more

See all

Summary: I travel to Austin frequently for work. In every city that I travel to regularly, I've been trying to establish a go-to taco and tequila joint. This is my Austin go-to. Ease of Entry: I've never had to wait, luckily. That may be because I've only been here by myself and have sat at the bar. Atmosphere: In an authentic Mexican joint, you can't get any better than this. Cute front porch and outdoor seating. Awesome authentic interior with many well-thought touches that you have to take the time to notice and appreciate. Beautiful back patio. Service: I've had the same bartender every time I've been there. I'm not sure what his name is, but he kind of looks like Dax Shepherd...can't be too many of them that work there. Each time, I have been promptly offered complimentary chips and salsa (2 types of salsa mind you). The first time I was there, he offered a drink on the house and most recently he squeezed my last drink in for the happy hour prices, even though it was a few minutes past. It's the little things like these instances that help differentiate between establishments. The way that I was treated each time that I have come to Licha's leaves me with no desire to try any other Mexican place in Austin. Food: The most recent time I ate, I got the Alambre tacos. I was pleasantly surprised by the way you are served these tacos. They are served in a skillet, where you create your own tacos with the tortillas that are kept in a warmer. In other words, they are served fajita-style. I tried the Alambre and it was delicious and filling. Drink: I have tried every tequila and mezcal cocktail on the menu. Everyone of them is delicious. My recomendation is to ask for a Spicy Margarita. I think it's a buck or two more, but well worth it. I also love the fact that they serve "La Mula" which is a mezcal version of the moscow mule - and they come in great cups. This is my favorite drink to make at home, and I've never seen these served in a bar before. They also have an amazing selection of mezcals and tequilas if your a feeling up to trying some things. Value: The $5 drinks at happy hour doesn't get much better anywhere in the country and probably the best value in Austin. read more

Great experience over Labor Fay Weekend! Bottom line is each dish we tried was amazing: Scallops, vegan queso, carnitas tacos, red snapper and chicken mole were all superb. We will be back soon! read more

I really wanted to love this place as it's such a quirky old home with interesting art scattered about, but I was seated in an area that the floor was so soft and old I really thought I would fall through the floor. We started with margaritas which we enjoyed as you could taste the tequila and they were not too sweet. We had the vegetarian queso with mushrooms and served with yummy tortillas. It was wonderful. But the entrees were not good or flavorful. Weird blue mesa stuffed with black beans which was as tough as shoe leather, one with a cactus salad and one with shrimp. The cactus salad was meh and the shrimp while cooked perfectly was on a weird way too sweet mole sauce. Also, service was so so slow. read more

Good for happy hour! 5 dollar margs and with you two sopaetas (sorry on the spelling- they are basically English muffins with meat on top) they were good and filling. Cute outdoor seating. read more

Came here for a bachelorette party last night - of course with the location it was jam packed. However, I'll start with the fact that I showed up for my reservation at 7:30 - and we had to wait 20 more minutes before the table was even set up. The drinks were great - I recommend the Bonita if you're looking for a boozy horchata! The food did not disappoint, but the portions are HUGE. You can split easily! The food and our waiter made up for the chaos and the wait. I recommend stopping in if you're craving some good (and gluten free) Mexican food! read more

I was recommended by a local to visit Licha's Cantina. I ordered the Enchiladas, replaced the pork with chicken, and ordered a side of rice (which was way too much). If you order the Enchilada, stick to just that order, I could have shared with another person. It was absolutely delicious. Highly recommend this place. Love the feel. I felt like I was walking into my long lost Mexican abuela's antique house - the lit velones on my way up the stairs, loves! read more

Licha's Cantina - Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

When a place has a no reservations policy, it's usually really good. Licha's proves this point! The place is super cool, its an old house that's been converted to a restaurant. The drinks were awesome! The food was AMAZING! This was not the basic Mexican place. There were some unexpected dishes that were really good. It has a very cool Austin vibe, that makes it not agonizing to wait for your table. I am coming back here frequently! read more

Very rude! The only thing good about this place was the food, which is sad because as much as I would love to go back I would not want to experience such rude behavior again. I went during happy hour and I was very happy with the prices and the choices available. I ordered the mole con pollo which is this medium sized dish on a corn patty and it was amazing. The table also ordered a margertia pitcher and a bucket of beers, which I though was on the pricey side for happy hour but they where on point! Super tasty and the margarita served up to 6 people( mediumish cups) They have really great music, outside seating with seating in the back and nice lighting. Ok the bad stuff and why I gave them 2 stars. I went with a party of 6 and we arrived at separate times I told the waitress we would wait to order until the party arrived, however I don't know if she was really forgetful or what but she came back every 5 mins asking if we where ready to order what we wanted, etc, etc. And when the party did come she hurried over and did the same thing we all said no! GEEZ CHILL OUT WOMEN! we just wanted to chill and drink and order whenever, but clearly this waitress was on a schedule and wanted us in and out on her time. So after the whole are you ready?are you ready? and are you done? are you done? we finally decided to get the check. I did tell you we came on happy hour right? well apparently this waitress forgot that fact and charged us for regular priced items and when we told her she said no you didn't order that and added well you ate it! I could not believe my day I was having with this rude person and on top of that another waitress had to chime in and add your stretching the truth. REALLY! Not only that she couldn't even split our check! she had us do the math and circle, draw arrows and write names for who's order went with who's card. I could not believe any of this was happening to me. As I left the waitress yelled have a good day, thanks for coming! come back again! I will definitely not be coming back again. read more

Best HH in East Austin!! Great drinks and food for $5, cute patio, and fun atmosphere. Don't miss it!!

This is a really great date spot even if it is a bit close to the highway. Great ambiance. Guac is on point. Every taco I've ever gotten here has been amazing. And their bean sauce is next level. EAT HERE. read more

Awesome spot with great food/drinks/service! Can't wait to go back to have some spicy margaritas!!

Great choice of beer and cocktails. Red AND green salsa are the bomb. Great atmosphere, sit at the bar and watch the bartenders work and the cooks work on that pastor taco. read more

It's been muchos anos since I was blown away by a Mexican restaurant, but Licha's has done it. Every time I've been in has been a great experience. First visit, I had the Cochinita Pibil: A bowl of flavorful, tender pork, with thick little triangles of homemade tortillas on the side. For $15, and not even the full meal version, I could hardly finish it all. Dessert time brought on the divine Tres Leches cake. A different style than the spongy cake I'm accustomed to, it's more...biscuit-y? Denser. Decadent. Delicious. Second time, I brought an out of town guest and she was duly impressed. I had the Al Pastor tacos and my companion had the Ceviche. Both were fantastic. And yes, again I had the Tres Leches, and again I devoured it Homer Simpson style. Third visit I just had the chips and awesome sweet / spicy salsas while drinking, with more out of town guests. (Could this be my new spot to take non-locals to?) Which brings me to the real reason I keep coming back.. The margaritas. BEST MARGARITAS I'VE HAD IN YEARS. I'm totally addicted. Yes, I've tried the other cocktails at Licha's, and while also tasty, I keep going back to the gold standard of Mexican drinks. They only use 3 ingredients, including Espolon tequila. Simple. Sweet & sour perfectly balanced. I have to give mad props to the owner, Daniel Brooks. He is always there, and working just as hard or harder than the staff around him, who are also great. He remembered my name after meeting me once, and his dedication to the success of his restaurant shows. Go there, but not when I'm there, because I don't like waiting for tables. read more

This just in: Papi Tinos is now Licha's Cantina and they've managed to do something that PT's failed to: create intimacy. Our neighbors actually leaned over and asked what we thought because it feels like you're dining with a bunch of friends you don't know yet. Good chips and salsa to start. Total standout. I'm assuming they were a corn/flour blend, with a light crunchy savory flavor. Those salsas were gone before you know it. We rampaged them. Our service was outstanding from Lauren et al. Really appreciate the attention. She was just as charming as can be and was kind enough to honor my request that I get the bill, much to the chagrin of my dining partners. Among our favorites were the lengua, the bacalao and the duck. I'll come again for the paloma and some of the other dishes on the menu. They do use zing zing in their micheladas and I hope that changes because clamato or just fresh lime, valentino or salt is a better representation. Additionally, the tables (necessarily) are quite small. Our table of four found it difficult to manage on the small corona tables. This is a lovely meal and something that should be enjoyed with a measure of leisure. I really appreciate that they've made this space their own. I look forward to bringing a group of people to that big ol' barn door table in the front. read more

We got a marg and a Paloma and both were STRONG. We started with the elite corn and it was pretty good. Then we did the Al pastor and brisket tacos and they were pretty decent. We like the complimentary hot sauces that they provide too. read more

Menu said Nega Modelo was $5 but got charged $7. Appetizers are $15. This place is good example of gentrification gone wild. read more

Licha's Cantina - Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

We discovered this wonderful gem in a funky little east side house after getting ourselves "removed" from Takoba, not for being obnoxious, just for having too many friends gathered at the bar to celebrate a birthday. There were already 20 of us and more to follow, and Takoba (which I love) already had 3 big parties booked (it was Friday, after all), so a couple of us harrumphed around the corner and voila! Licha's had a big, whitewashed picnic table in front, and the amiable hostess said, "Sure, we can accommodate ya! Let us get it set up!" The skies had opened up earlier, and the only caveat was that if it started raining, well, we'd get wet. We didn't care, and it didn't rain, and the table was set birthday-party perfect. What we got was excellent service and amazing food, and there ended up being at least 30 of us. Plenty of room out front, and our server did a great job. I had the deliciously interesting Chile Relleno con Quinoa, and added steak to it just because (this girl gots to have her meat nyuk nyuk). It was fantastic. I'd never experienced quinoa in a relleno. The chile itsownself was perfectly spicy (me likes spicy), stuffed and baked to perfection with a really great mix of chipotle sauce, black beans and the magical quinoa. Getting the food out was also handled very well; it seems the whole staff pitched in and served our big group, all at the same time; no one had to wait for nothin'. Everyone raved about their dishes, and when it came time to pay, our server, Sophia, did her very best to separate tabs just the way everyone wanted (which can be a huge pain in the arse, I know), and no one had to wait too long to pay out. A bonus: the wonderfully divey Rio Rita bar is just next door, so of course one can pop in for a nightcap there. That's another review. All in all, I highly recommend Licha's Cantina, and can't wait to take the hubby there to check it out and try some more offerings. read more

In short, sub-par Mexican food at a higher than average price. They won't split checks. With so many Mexican restaurants in town, do yourself a favor and go elsewhere. Details: This is a great example of a sad austin trend. Restaurants that will not split checks. A customer is willing to pay for your food and services but you won't accommodate them by making it easy for them to pay you? Poor choice by management. ALSO, came in to brunch and ordered the chivo(goat plate) on the menu for $15. Got my check and it was listed for $22! The lady at the host stand said it was because they were changing the prices and she hadn't put new menus in yet. Pretty sure that's false advertising. After two incorrectly revised checks they did fix it. Wouldn't have paid $22 for it anyways. Not sure it was even worth the $15. read more

LICHA's! AWESOME! Mostly everything is gluten free. SAY WHAT? YES. It's amazing. We went for happy hour and got a bunch of apps and drinks. The Jalapeno Watermelon Margarita is DELICIOUS. And so is all of the food. Even if I wasn't gluten free, I'd be here ALL the time. The corn cakes, pizza kind of things and everything in between are absolutely fabulous. The waitress was awesome and friendly, and the manager offered to buy us our next round because they needed our table for a big group coming in. Can't beat that! I will definitely be frequenting here! read more

This place has been on my radar for months now and I finally came for their happy hour with a friend visiting Austin. We sat inside because there was a wait for outside. The atmosphere/decor is ok. The drinks were pretty good. We tried their margarita and el naranjo (mestizo mezcal, combier, kings ginger, orange bitters). Their orange salsa is quite citrusy and was great. The green one had some nice kick to it. Their sopecitos (black bean layered corn cups) were excellent. We tried the lengua one and the conchinita pibil one. Both were really tasty. The lengua was nice and meaty while the conchinita pibil was just as delicious. Aside from the pretty slow (our waiter), semi-disinterested (our host) service , the biggest drawback or disappointment was in their ceviche. For $15 the portion was pretty good, but after the first few bites I felt the quality was pretty sub-par. Without the sauce on top I could taste more of the fish and it tasted a bit fishy. I would definitely come back here, I just wouldn't get the ceviche and sitting outside would be more ideal if they have room or a short wait. The rest of the menu looks real tasty and judging by the sopecitos I bet most of it is pretty good. Their happy hour is great too. read more

Yum yum yum!!! We waited an hour to be seated here (but wandered over to Wright Bros. Brew & Brew to imbibe while we waited), but it was worth it. Toasty chips and two sauces to munch on while we ordered traditional homemade Mexican food. I had a skillet with tangerine chicken and my husband got a steak skillet thing. He asked for bacon on the side, but they did end up putting some of it in his meal. The decor of the restaurant is very cool and the bar was impressive. It's a bit expensive but I would love to try it again! read more