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    Sonora Cantina

    3.6 (616 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Sonora Cantina Photos

    Business Info

    SONORA CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Sonora Cantina

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    Chicken Flautas
    Paul P.

    Food: Two Shrimp Tacos Rice & Beans pretty good could of use more beans Chicken Flautas not bad a little greasy Service: was a little slow maybe because under staff Ambiance: patio seating nice would come again

    Carl W.

    Went for happy hour on a Tuesday. I ordered off the happy hour menu and my family ordered off the regular menu. The food was ok, the service was fine as well. I ordered the happy hour Cadillac margarita which was listed at $5.50 on the happy hour menu the server handed me when we were seated. After two of those, we finished eating and asked for the bill. The price they charged me for the drinks was not $5.50 but $7. I asked the waiter why the different price he didn't know so he called someone else over and they didn't know either. Then they came back and said it was taxes. So you display one price, change it and call it taxes then tax me again on the final bill? I know it's only $3 but if this is a practice every Tuesday during happy hour or in general those $3 add up pretty quickly.

    Wet burrito?
    Courtney M.

    The fajitas were so good! We also ordered the wet pork burrito, and margaritas. Definitely good Mexican food. Our service was great, we appreciated the quick time lapse too of how quickly the food came out and how quickly our drinks came out. This place is definitely chill vibe fun to come in when you get done boarding or before you go up snowboarding. Happy eating!

    3 item
    Jillian N.

    Overall, just okay! We chose outdoor seating on a nice 80° day in Big Bear. Was brought waters and orders taken quickly. Alcoholic beverages are worth the price. $5 for a Dos Equis and $15 for a 22oz fruit margarita that you can definitely taste the alcohol in. Green sauce for enchiladas and chili verde is their winner. Perfectly balanced with spice. But their rice and beans fall short amongst other Mexican restaurants I've had..

    Nachos and Happy Hour 6 street tacos of your choosing. All of it scrumptious!
    Lora W.

    Delicious food nice staff. We come here first every time we visit Big Bear. We absolutely love this place.

    Here's the chili combo plate. I ordered. Fantastic Best chili Riano in town. Hands-down you will not be disappointed.
    J L.

    This is the best Mexican food in big Bear Lake. Their chili Riano is fantastic. Their tacos are great that damn margaritas you ever had. I would get a Cadillac on the rocks. Can't beat it and if you want a real deal go their own taco Tuesday they've got Six tacos for 10 bucks with all the chips and salsa. You can possibly eat. What a deal.

    Andrea M.

    Amazing, huge margaritas, and great food. Service very polite, professional, and helpful. Highly recommend. My favorite place to go when in Big Bear

    Skinny margarita was delicious
    Areli S.

    I love this place! The interior design and the Mexican art is the cherry on top. Great service beautiful ambiance great for any occasion! Food is delicious too. Highly recommend their skinny margaritas.

    Treston P.

    From a local i'm not really sure why this place isn't the hot spot during very touristy weekends. This is hands down the best mexican food on the mountain, and the fish tacos alone are worth any wait they may have.

    Fish tacos
    Rose G.

    best mexican food in Big Bear by far, the fish tacos alone make this place worth visiting. From a local if you are visiting this is the place to go, the service staff is also amazing. Never had a bad experience here.

    Mixed Fajitas for 2 people 10/10 (Can feed 4)
    Denise P.

    From the service to the food I had an awesome experience here. Our server was on it. Very patient with our group. The margaritas are great 10/10 Chips and salsa are delicious here. Salsa was authentic. Me and a friend decided to get the Mixed Fajitas for 2 people. Omg this was a massive portion. This could honestly probably feed up to 4 people. I highly recommend this dish. I know sometimes fajitas can taste bland and dry, but these fajitas were far from that. This dish was well seasoned and juicy. Will return next time in Big Bear.

    Trinny T.

    4/5 The parking was plenty and we were seated immediately upon arriving. There are a lot of options on the menu. The staff served us fast with chips and salsa. The first one is complimentary. The chips look homemade and not purposed in store because I could see the oil. One complain that I had was that I ordered whole beans and flour tortillas but received refried beans and corn tortilla. Everything else was okay. The service was fine. My boyfriend is a 3D artist and likes to make 3D models of food. The staff was patient when he attempted to make a full screen rotation of the food. The food tasted fine, not too extra ordinary with a medium price. I had two meals out of the carne asada fajita that I ordered. Also, that was because I ordered a cup of menudo alongside.

    I've been here 2 times 3 years ago and this weekend and not disappointed at all the servers were great both times! We went last night about 8:10 pm there closing time was 9pm so I asked if they were okay and they young girl and young guy helped us right away welcoming us. There another man who kept checking on us and for a short time before closing the service was great definitely going back again !! The young girl and young guy were also awesome checking in us!!

    Combo fajitas for two (we ate meat out of it before the picture was taken)

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    5 months ago

    Chips Salsa Cold beer tostadas this place is great! Love the atmosphere and location. It's a must stop after snowboarding

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    Food was delicious and server, Mercedes, was super sweet! Loved the vibe as well! Will definitely be back!!

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    9 months ago

    Menudo delicioso! Menudo in big bear? What more can you ask for. Nice restaurant and waitresses.

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    6 months ago

    Great food good service good specials. Thursday night 1/2 price Fajitas good Margaritas

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    Page 1 of 16

    Sonora Cantina Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Sonora Cantina

    Do they have a taco Tuesday special?

    Oh yes! The best ever. All day long. Tacos $3,soft or hard, bean cheese burritos $3, enchiladas $3, margaritas $5, draft pints $4, nachos $4.50. Great service and wonderful owners and staff!

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    El Rincon Restaurant - Enchiladas de Mole. Delicious!

    El Rincon Restaurant

    4.3(221 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    Went to Rincon and it did not disappoint. My wife and I shared the chilaquiles and they were…read moreexcellent with great flavor and a slight kick that made them stand out. Our 3 year old and 1 year old shared the papas con huevo and I will admit I stole a few bites of the potatoes. Hands down some of the best breakfast potatoes I have ever had perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The staff was super friendly and welcoming which made the experience even better. We have tried several other Mexican food spots in Big Bear and honestly left disappointed but this place delivered on every level. Can't wait to come back and try more items on the menu next time. Highly recommend.

    We both love Mexican food so we thought this place would be a no-brainer and fun to try something…read morenew. We came on a very snowy day and there weren't a lot of people in the restaurant so we had our choice of seats. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful in choosing our dishes. We've been to many Mexican restaurants so we are pretty sure what we wanted, but had a few questions as some of the items seemed a little different than expected. She got the enchiladas with bean sauce on top which we're pretty darn good. I got a chicken mole dish that was good, but not quite what I was hoping for. We both came to the conclusion that this restaurant represents a regional area of Mexico that is not necessarily the same as your standard Mexican food lineup. While the food was tasty, we didn't absolutely love it and probably won't choose this place for our next Mexican meal.

    Photos
    El Rincon Restaurant
    El Rincon Restaurant - Bistec Ranchero

    Bistec Ranchero

    El Rincon Restaurant - A gringo and his chilaquiles

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    A gringo and his chilaquiles

    Santana & Mavericks Unique Crafted Foods - My salmon cilantro salad and Josh wine with the lake view. The lake view is really nice

    Santana & Mavericks Unique Crafted Foods

    3.8(898 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    Starting with the negative as to why it's not a 5 star review:…read more The decor on the inside and the theme is very very busy. It kinda seems like an entire hobby lobby was purchased and put into the restaurant. 3/5 design The salad was not anything special. It was good lettuce but just that, some croutons, and dressing of choice. 3/5 salad When we got there, no one came to greet us and we were waiting in the main entrance area for about a good 10 Minutes while I saw what looked like all the staff members on the left side of the restaurant hanging out and joking around. Once I went over to say that I was there, the server was attentive and polite. 3/5 service I felt the price was too high. For 2 meals and water we ended up paying around $50. I would have been more pleased with around 35-40. 3/5 price The good: The portions are really great. I love to have big portions and this place did not disappoint. The food was better tasting than expected: I was nervous with such a giant place and only 2 other parties were there. However, I really enjoyed my chicken Parmesan and my wife's nachos were good with a good amount of cheese. I would come back but not every time I visit big bear on vacation. Maybe like every 3rd visit.

    Food: I ordered the salmon cilantro salad & I really liked it. Salmon was cooked well and the…read morecilantro sauce was bomb. I also got a glass of Josh wine. Service: super slow. There's indoor and outdoor seating. I sat outside for the view. When customers sit outside, servers are supposed to check up on them often. I know because I used to be a server. She only came out twice during the hour I was there. I wanted more napkins and was going to go inside and ask for it but I just patiently kept waiting and then finally when she came out I asked for it. At the end of my meal when I got the check, she still didn't come out, so I just went inside so I can hurry up and pay and leave because the bugs were attacking me outside. For the record, the restaurant was empty too. If it was busy, I'd understand the slow service. But it was pretty empty, like 5 tables filled, and the restaurant is big because there's indoor and outdoor seating. Also there was another older white lady (not my server) who I think might be a manager or owner, who came outside to ask the white couple sitting next to me if everything was good. It was only me and that couple sitting in the outside patio at the time because the sun had set. And after asking them she just went back inside. She never asked me how I was doing or if I needed anything. Because of that I thought she was racist but that's just my assumption. Either way, it was rude. I really did not like the service here as you can tell from this long review. Ambience: I found this place on yelp because I wanted to eat with a lake view. The view is cool. It's not WOWW. But there's not many lake view restaurant surprisingly in Big Bear. It sucked because the sun was setting on the left side, so it was behind the trees. So you couldn't see the sunset. However their lake view to the front and right is nice. I ate at De La Nonna yesterday, which also had a view. And their view is wayyyy better. So overall, view was nice. Not horrible. Not the best. But at least you get a view. Now onto my biggest ick of the night, which was worse than the service, and the reason why I will never return here or recommend this place to anyone.. the BUGS. Oh my GOD!! They were attacking me and even if you shoo them away they don't go away. And it was like 5 different types of bugs. This small little fruit fly looking one, this huge fly/bee size one, this small green mini grasshopper looking one. These bugs kept hitting my face as I was eating I had to keep slapping my face and use the napkins to keep waving them around to keep them away but it didn't work. One landed in my wine, one landed in my water, 2 landed in my salad, a bunch on my face and body. It was insane. I would think they would know this and put some type of outdoor bug zapper for the customers. Or bug traps or repellent. Anything to deter the bugs away. It ruined my experience and I couldn't even enjoy the view because I was too busy slapping and killing these bugs. This place has potential but it's not it. I'm just glad my salad tasted good so at least I had a satisfying meal. If my food sucked I would've been PISSED at the whole experience. I'm giving it a 2 star for the salad and decent view.

    Photos
    Santana & Mavericks Unique Crafted Foods - Reception area

    Reception area

    Santana & Mavericks Unique Crafted Foods - Blooming onion, awfully fried, but quite tasty

    Blooming onion, awfully fried, but quite tasty

    Santana & Mavericks Unique Crafted Foods - Reception area

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    Reception area

    Sonora Cantina - mexican - Updated May 2026

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