Cantina 1838
“I've been living in south Harlem for two years and at last found the truly awesome place that brings joy to my soul.”
“I've been here for brunch before and the service is on point, and currently at here for a late night drink and Jacob is an incredible bartender.”
“My first happy hour experience was amazing thanks to Ricky!”
Cantina 1838
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I love happy hour. The idea of being able to go out after work and hang out, have good food and drinks all while being home before your shows start is just awesome.
I went for Taco Tuesdays, the deals were great, the food was yummy and staff was friendly.
Solid go to if you are uptown.
This is my new favorite brunch spot. The food is very reasonably priced, costing anywhere from $10-$14. And they aren't skimpy with the portions. You'll definitely have leftovers. Sangria, margaritas, and mimosas all range from $4-$6, which is a steal in NYC.
The service could've been better, in my opinion, but I'm cutting the waitress a break since she was the only one serving a large portion of the restaurant.
I recommend giving this place a try. It's not very crowded, and it's just a few blocks from Central Park, which is a great location to lay out in a food coma.
I came here one Friday evening with a friend of mine to catch the happy hour taco specials. She'd been raving about these tacos so I just had to try them. When I arrived I was shocked at how packed the place was. Happy hour seems to be very popular here among the Columbia crowd, so all the tables were packed and the bar was even more packed. My friend already had a table so there wasn't a wait to be seated, but from then on, there would be a lot of waiting to do. Our waitress was clearly overworked because she was one of only two people I saw taking the never-ending taco & drink orders from customers. It was almost impossible to get her attention to place an order.
Once I finally got the waitress' attention, I decided to sample the menu, so I ordered a chili lime chicken, mango jerk chicken, slow roasted brisket, crispy fish, and pulled pork and pineapple tacos. They were all quite delicious but the mango jerk chicken was by FAR my favorite. I ordered another of these, along with another crispy fish taco. After happy hour ended, we split an order of lobster & crab tacos which was also pretty decent. I definitely understand what the hype is about! However, the crowding and the subsequent service should definitely be worked on.
I guess you get what you pay for. The brunch here is cheap (entrees are around $11-12) but the quality of the food is just not great. The cheese they use did not taste fresh and they do not have ketchup at the restaurant. I have been here twice and neither time they carried ketchup which is pretty ridiculous if you are serving eggs and potatoes IMO
The one perk of this place is cheap and strong drinks. I would suggest just coming here for happy hour and not getting the food (except for the tacos- I have not tried those yet but my roomate says they are good).
Just left from Cantina 1838 and I think I am mad this is my first time visiting this fine establishment and I have been living here in Harlem for almost 2 years. My husband stumbled upon this spot about a week ago and has been raving about these crab and shrimp tacos. Today was the day I did not want to make dinner so I asked for his recommendation and it lead us to Cantina.
It is located on the lower level of this space and I must say they made excellent use of the space and so centrally located near the 2, 3, B, and C train. I walked in around 6:30 and it was pack on a Thursday. My husband had ordered me one of the happy hour margs and to my surprise it was not a weak drink at all. For a happy hour margarita to be $4 is first of all insane in Manhattank and with an ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL…..I was surprised. For an extra whopping buck extra you can get a flavored marg. (Side note: Happy hour is 4-7pm , Taco Tuesday Specials, and Wednesday is Ladies Night)
There were three other things that won me over which included the service, food, and overall ambiance. My husband and I had intentions of sitting down at a table for dinner but the bartender Jacob won us over. I asked for a margarita with Mezcal and he made a slightly different drink and IT WAS EVERYTHING. I ordered the shrimp & crab taco and sweet plantains. Can we talk about these tacos real quick?? LIFE CHANGING! The fresh guacamole is to die for as well, and I pretty much ate my husband's guac as well.
The ambiance overall was great but the music was flowing and everyone was enjoying themselves. I am going back for Taco Tuesday SOON!! Thanks for a good time and you got yourself a returning customer.
Beware thé red jalapeño house tequila. It literally changed my night of buzzing to zzzzzz's. It was that strong. Thanks to thé bartender for those two free shots…..Or to my disbelief that tequila can still affect me. Lol.
Anyhow, my happy hour companion and I took advantage of thé nearly empty bar by ordering thé jerk chicken, brisket, pork, and thé fish (not sure if its always salmon but that day it was) tacos. At thé happy hour price of $2 per taco, it just cant be beat.
This place is one of thé BEST stocked bars for tequila I've run across in this area. I could not think of a tequila that I didnt see on thé shelf. So why does this place get à three star review?
Sorry to be crass, but truth be told: our bartender kept scratching her rear nether régions right in front of us, multiple times. That just doesnt sit well with me, especially while she was wearing a dress. Although she didnt handle food –it's not what I want to see anyone serving me do.
Secondly, thé bar isnt equipped with fresh water so anytime water was requested it was poured from some random jug. Maybe It is due to being located in a basement…?
Im hoping that it was an off day because I really would like to find out if that jalapeño tequila was really thé victor in this bout.
I love this place so much that I almost don't want to write a review because I want to keep it to myself! Although a tight space, it's cute and cozy. I went on a Tuesday during happy hour after tweeting the business a few times. Words can't even explain how delicious the crab and shrimp tacos are! They were just so perfect and so life changing. I'm upset at myself for not discovering this place sooner, but all things in due time. I was pleasantly surprised at the margaritas, don't let the fact that it's well tequila during happy hour fool you, they pack quite a punch. They get extra cool points because they use fresh lime juice instead of sugary sour mix.
Safe to say I enjoyed my experience here and will be back soon!
Well, Kelsey the new manager, deserves a lot of credit for trying hard. Hopefully he 'll reach the goals he has set for this place;There is still room to grow with the menu and service (so far the 4 stars). The staff is very friendly, the food tried to be Mexican fusion with a variety of tacos, so there is plenty in the menu to choose from. The atmosphere is pleasant and convivial. The decor is warm and cozy, good selection of drinks and liquors, we had the special with 4 different kind of tacos, and some appetizers, Brussels sprouts need to be a little cooked extra, and some cilantro with radish would be nice with the tacos on the side. The key lime pie was really great. You can sit at the bar, and have food and cocktails. The price is about what one would expect in Harlem, reasonable for two, the check came to $60 minus tips. Mind you it is coming close to downtown restaurants. They have some special, one day of the week Taco Tuesdays you can gulp as many tacos as your stomach can muster for one price, and also happy hours.
Enjoy !!