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    Vida Cantina

    3.8 (445 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 8:00 PM
    Updated 1 month ago

    Order Vida Cantina Takeout or Delivery

    Services - Vida Cantina

    Bartending services

    Venue rental

    Vida Cantina Photos

    VIDA CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Casual
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Vida Cantina

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    Lamb birria special
    Krista R.

    So disappointing. Menu looked fantastic yet failed to deliver. Cold blobs of guac and salsa on the tacos, undressed cabbage slaw, oddly sweet tortillas, lackluster and undersalted chips. Everything lacked salt and acid, actually. Salsas were OK but again, lacked salt and acid and heat. Service and drinks were decent, vibes of the place were nice.

    Huevos rancheros
    DA W.

    Sundays still mean Vida's Huevos rancheros--with red AND green sauces. Found some older photos on my phone, too. Funny how each chef's palette is a little different in how they paint these. Sometimes the rice hides underneath, sometimes not! Eggs always poached perfectly. Happy they now serve great coffee from La Mulita in Rye. Longtime waiters here are the best.

    CARNITAS ENCHILADAS

    Super cute place, but the service is sooo slow, we saw people come and leave and while they barely took our food order. We didn't even get offer a water refill. It Took over an hour just to get fountain drinks and chips and salsa. No sazon here, for a Mexican restaurant, the food didn't have the seasoning. It might be just a place for cute drinks. We

    Chocolate tres leches
    Michael R.

    Overall we like Vida Cantina, the food always seems fresh and tasty. Others have commented about poor service, and in that regard we've been lucky I guess. We have not explored the menu too deeply, and usually start with the chips and salsa, which are not complimentary as they are at most Mexican restaurants. The chips are thicker than many places, lightly salted and the salsa is more like chunks of tomato than a sauce. We enjoy it. Cocktails are a nice treat here, and we always enjoy what we order, whether it be a paloma, margarita or something else. Service from the bar tends to be slow and our waitress forgot to bring our drink, until we reminded her what was missing. For entrees, we usually get the tacos, as you can mix and match whatever you like including how many you want. Rice and beans can be added for an additional charge. I always get the carnitas and while good, I just wished the restaurant would be a little more reserved with salt. They were just shy of too salty to eat, something I can't recall on previous orders. The other tacos were properly seasoned. For dessert we had the chocolate tres leches, it had a coconut sauce and peanut clusters so all my favorites. It was tasty, very rich and a generous portion which I could not finish. Overall a good restaurant with a talented chef. Things seemed a little off this time as compared to prior visits, but anybody can have a tough day.

    Tricia B.

    I went here to meet a local friend (around Halloween). This is clearly a hot spot, even with Covid. Every table was full and the waiters were constantly on the move. The chips and trio of dips was a fun appetizer to start off, and the tacos were delicious. It was great to be able to mix and match instead of having to get just one kind. Parking wasn't too bad; they have their own lot and we were able to exit back onto the main road at a light.

    Street sign so ya can find the place!
    Joan H.

    Make this 3 1/2 Stars... This place was featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives so my DS asked DH and I if we wanted to go.. and of coarse we never turn down a dinner invitation! Drove over from York, Maine to Portsmouth, NH just a 10 minute drive to the Vida Cantina a kind of eclectically decorated previously owned howard johnson style building. Walked in and were immediately seated in a booth... :-) We ordered salsa and chips served with guacamole very yummy and further checked out the menu. Had to ask very nice server what some of the entrees were... you guessed it I don't speak spanish. I choose $12 Riverside Farm Sweet Corn ( local farm) Esquites... corn crema, cotija, Oaxacan black mole powder, boom!, peanuts... very very good and DH ordered $17 Carne Asada guajillo braised beef, red & green chili sauce, black beans & spanish rice DH thought this was ordinary 3 stars and I rated mine as 4 stars not ordinary but not exceptional so this averaged out to 3 1/2 stars. I wish yelp included a 1/2 star ;-) so when reading my review add a 1/2 star! All n' all we had a great evening as usual and to cap it off leaving the place a little piece of art outside the door... check out my pics... :-)

    Delicious pork belly taco and barbacoa tacos. The drinks wewe great too.
    Liane D.

    Such a great find! The food, atmosphere, and service were all great! It's a long way from home, but we will journey back. Barbacoa Confit Pork Belly Shrimp Tacos Salsa and Chip

    Chicharones
    Traphouse C.

    Love this place visit here a lot can't wait to be back in going try the whole menu ! Workers are the best and the place looks amazing

    Trio of tacos
    Meghan G.

    If I could make this 3 1/2 stars, I would. The trouble with Vida Cantina is and has always been slow service. Even prior to Covid. The food is truly delicious, which is why we come back. My last visit was to celebrate my dad's birthday. It's hard to tell if the server was in the weeds or forgetful. It took awhile to get water after being seated. Basically each step in service was slow, which affects the overall experience. The ambiance is great and they've done a good job to create more privacy between booths. Come for delicious food, but don't be in a hurry.

    Street Sign
    Charles J.

    This was our first time and it was decent. We are from out of town and figured we would try this place. The staff was very friendly, attentive and kind. The atmosphere was decent. Nothing super great to report but it was clean and roomy. The food was good but not great, definitely not "we are 100 coming back here because it was best ever" vibe. In my opinion it was almost chain type Mexican cuisine level food. The liquor drinks were decent. Again, good but nothing to write home about. Sorry; maybe it was just an off night. The staff was awesome. That's the biggest thing we took away.

    Chicken and tofu taco
    Nicole L.

    Clearly a friendly place in a former life. The decor is cute but you can still tell that it's a friendly. They should upgrade the tables. The prices are high. The chips and salsa was interesting. It was really diced tomatoes with bites of onion. Very bland. The chips were salty. I have the chicken taco which was bland. The tofu taco had a lot of flavor and was very good. The shells were not cooked . The churros were good. Lots of cinnamon and sugar. The waitress dropped one on our table, said oops and left. Never replaced it. Service was timely.

    Enchiladas
    Anel J.

    This place is SO cute!! It is absolutely great for a fun night out for drinks, has a large bar area and lots of seating. The food was decent, I did not find it to be as authentic Mexican food, but it had great presentation and they had a large variety of options. The tacos were a bit pricey, they were $6 each, but they were stuffed with filling. They have interesting options for the tacos, I chose the fish and a fried avocado one, had never tried that before! The albóndigas appetizer was pretty good, it was very spicy as it had a chipotle broth. I didn't actually try any of the drinks this time around, but I will surely be back to try them!

    Barry K.

    Vida has always been my favorite for their pork belly tacos and seared fish tacos. Throughout the years, the salsas were also my go to. Yesterday, I went there with my friends. The bottomless salsa was quite upsetting. Usually it's small chunks of tomatoes, onions, garlic. What we had was flavorless huge chunks of tomatoes. There was also a full sliced of tomato in that bowl. Hopefully they fixed this. I'd love to bring my friends and family here again for Mexican food.

    Chilaquiles (brunch menu)

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    1 month ago

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    10 months ago

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    8 months ago

    Was visiting family & came here for dinner & drinks. They had a good cocktail selection & we all enjoyed the food, better than average.

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    7 months ago

    Unfortunately, the $30.00 beef Risotto special had zero beef in it. Very disappointing

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    7 months ago

    Fish tacos! Great guacamole and 2 excellent hot sauces! Also had a delish Apple cider margarita

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    Thanks Heather. We appreciate your feedback.

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    3 years ago

    Great Margaritas and I love the chicken enchiladas verde. Not the cheapest, but worth it for me.

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    2 years ago

    Solid Mexican food. Nice service. Love the smoke show margaritas. Also the tacos are fantastic.

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    2 years ago

    Better pain killers than we found in the Caribbean! Great food, super nice staff/service and great all over vibes too.

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    Page 1 of 12

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    Vida Cantina - mexican - Updated May 2026

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