Cantina Laredo Report

[Rene]

The best thing about our visit to Cantina Laredo today was that, when we left, there were tons of people on the street who were out and about spending money in Austin… not to mention that we are no longer there.

We did make an error... we ordered the brunch buffet. We did not go the breakfast route, passing by the unmanned omelet station. The rest of the stations appeared to be well stocked with very good selections so we gave it a shot. At $15, it seemed like a good choice. BIG MISTAKE!

The crispy tacos on the kid's section were OK as were the fajitas and the warm salsa served at the table with a small basket of chips. Other than that, I have nothing positive to report so if you aren't in the mood for a downer, move past me.

It was mediocre, at best, but mostly dried out slop - not to be expected at 12:30. Luckily I only put sample sized portions on my plate. The items worth mention were the guiso and the barbacoa. Since they were smothered in sauce, they were not quite so dry. The pork rib was really tender but had an odd seasoning. I do a ton of cooking and I can not place that flavor. The Bloody Mary, which was $1, tasted of nothing more than tomato juice with hot sauce - which I may be happy to pay a buck for if that's what I knew I was getting. Maybe it saw the vodka bottle but I'm not sure if they were even in the same room.

I used to office around the corner from the Cantina Laredo located in Addison and was kind of a regular... that was over 10 years ago... what a difference a decade can make. It was not easy for me to find out that the Austin location is in no way worthy of my time. Kinda hurts. Taco Bell is better.

The only store employee that wasn't a complete jerk was our server. Samantha (she was excellent considering the buffet meal - which won't happen ever again, any where). I must have said excuse me or thank you five or six times to the employees that were carrying trays to the buffet or brought our chips, etc. with absolutely no response. BTW... don't bother smiling at any of them, either; they don't seem to like that.

[nyc_girl13]

I have had a very hood Sunday brunch at Cantina Laredo downtown recently. The buffet had lots of options, including an omelet counter, and everything I tried was tasty and the things I didn't try looked good as well. The service was very efficient, too.

[auspr]

Use to go to Cantina Laredo in Addison before we move to Austin 14 years ago. Their food is not as good as what we use to get at that time. The couple of times we went it was ok but overpriced.

[dc2austin]

Oh my---Cinco de Mayo at Cantina Laredo was a disaster. The only saving grace was our waitress, who kindly comped part of the bill. It took 20 minutes to get one beer and a margarita. All food arrived prior to even getting water (including the tableside guac). To top it off, the place wasn't that busy. It was full--but not slammed. The margarita was a watery mess (for $12) and even the guac wasn't great...too many jalapeno's and not enough citrus. I feel like they've raised the prices? Not sure, but was thinking La Condesa bar would've been a better bet. Don't think we'll be running back anytime soon.

[Carlitosway]

Huh , I live downtown and I have been to their Sunday Brunch. I have always had good luck, great service and amaizing food. I usually go there since a lot of my family members enjoy the atmosphere and the freshnes of their meals.Maybe you just caught them on a bad day.

[amykragan]

Carlito,

Can you give us a counter argument? What did you like/enjoy?

[Carlitosway]

I try to keep it simple. Food good, service good. I don't like to spend to much time in front of a computer. I just remeber it being busy and the they had allot of options and it all tasted good. I had the fajitas, enchiladas, and guiso, fruit and and a watermelon agau fresca I think. I also had 4 or 5 mimosas for a dollar each.