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Category: Lounges
Neighborhoods: Nob Hill, Union SquareMon-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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I loved this place when I attended the Yelp Elite event in 2007 and I loved it even more after my recent experience!
We were trying to find a bar to host a friend's birthday and going away party. We called several places and my husband got in touch with the event coordinator at Cantina, Jennifer. Jennifer was fabulous - extremely attentive, friendly and accommodating.
We booked out the entire basement space, which is very spacious with a bar, DJ booth, and lots of seating. We needed only to meet a minimum bar tab, which was easily accomplished with the number of guests we had. Jennifer also took note of our guests who purchased drinks upstairs and made sure to put that towards our tab. We were able to have a cake brought out and served, and to present a slide show. Jennifer also periodically checked on us to make sure everything was going well.
The bartender assigned to us definitely had to put up with some raucous party guests but she was a little unfriendly and seemed irritable. Also, some people from the main bar upstairs did wander into our party but we made sure to display a private party sign clearly.
As a whole, this bar is excellent for a private party and to just grab drinks in the main space. Jennifer was a joy to work with. Our guest of honor, and all of the party attendees, had an awesome time.
Wow. It's been almost two months since our recent San Francisco excursion. Thinking back with all we have left to remind us: memories, credit card receipts, and almost indecipherable napkin notes... I think for sure, we spent some time-- happy times-- here at CANTINA, because beyond anyplace else, this really ended up being our favorite spot, and so it has become synonymous with our trip to the bay area.
It certainly became our little reliable bar, at least, at the end of the night, capping off our evening with an otherwise too-fancy for me cocktail list, such fancy-pants drinks being redeemed by the QUALITY AND INTEGRITY IN MIXOLOGY (in particular, by bartender extraordinaire... PETER? Not so sure this is his name, but he is the one noted here as being the sexiest within this Yelp list.)
This is not a dive bar. This is not a beer bar (they do have beers on tap and bottled, but don't come in and ask for a Coors, which, yes, sadly, we witnessed). This is a bar to order from their "cocktail menu."
Ok, sure. Roll your eyes. Yes, it's another one of "those" kind of bars. But I will be shot in the foot if I don't say right now that these are some of the best cocktails ever had: quality ingredients and perfect mixology. Yes, yes.... yes... (and yes, again), the Laughing Buddha is their signature drink. Is it good? Better than that. And we went down the list each night. Not sure about a drink? Ask. Communicate, folks. This is the kind of place where it takes five or more minutes to make your drink--and it can be made in front of you, with commentary.
We hit up Cantina during the week, so we never encountered a DJ or the downstairs vibe. It was pleasantly devoid of tourists (ah hem, yes, we were visiting, but don't ever call us "tourists.") This was surprising, as it is so close to Union Square. Jeezus, we'd leave our hotel and wade through throngs of tourists, and then end up here... in this heaven. Amazing. It was all about the drinks and the bartender.
So yeah, a drink or five a night, including at least one Laughing Buddha: we made our way down the menu list. Chili peppers and ginger seem to play a big part in their better drinks. And as gushy as we are about their menu, no, not everything worked. But, our wonderful bartender gave us ample warning, so we drank, sucking it up, knowing the next drink would be better.
As mentioned above, we hit up Cantina on their off nights, but still, the place got crowded. Luckily, we planted ourselves at the end of the bar and made like barflies. The narrow bar space, potential basement area excluded, lends to much overhearing, especially as the bartenders seem eager to converse with their patrons.
What doesn't work? That logo out front. Some sort of pirate theme that does not gel at all with the staff, the patrons, or the vibe. That needs to get drowned. What else doesn't work? Impatience. You want to order a Jack and Coke? Go someplace else. Here, you order and wait... make the most of it and chat with your bartender.
Some sort of edibles would be nice. Offer a snack plate with cheese and bread and olives. Offer some nuts, at least. We came after dinner many a time, but still, some munchies would be nice, some option to cleanse the palate between drinks.
Maybe they change their drink menu on occasion, I don't know. But it was fun going along with the game and making our way through. Only top liquors here (I am pretty sure there was no "well" option). I am sure they would be willing to experiment, as they had Hendricks Gin on the shelf but no printed drink with that on the menu. (The bartender allowed me a taste).
Not to fawn, but I wish more places had bartenders like this. Sure, the drink menu might come off as pretentious, but the attention paid to EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT by your mixologist/bartender more than makes up for having to order a drink for your masculine self called The Laughing Buddha.
Go here. Not for a shot of Jaeger. Not for a Jack and Coke. Go here for a good cocktail, with a date, or after any date...
Really, Cantina has all the props for being non-touristy in a touristy area, for being non-pretentious with a really pretentious drink menu, and for what can be agreed upon as one of the best bartenders ever.
Loved it. We will return on our next visit.
Great location just off of Union Square. Very cool that they use fresh fruit juices in every drink, but the drinks are still a bit expensive when compared to similar bars. And while I really liked my drink (off the menu), my friend was not a fan of her mojito, which was heavy on the bitters.
The crowd was surprisingly nonexistent for a Friday night. It just may be that have arrived too late and missed everyone.
We really stopped by to check out Cantina as a possible locale for an upcoming birthday party. There's a private room downstairs which holds ~ 50 people. $150 fee + $1300 bar minimum.
We passed on holding our party here, but still, not a bad place to stop by for a good drink.
Last night, I went to an event at Cantina and had a fantastic time.
Literally, nothing to complain about, and I complain a lot. The drinks were great as always, but the service was superb.
I wish I could up the rating to 5-stars, but one great night doesn't balance out all the awful ones. I was fortunate enough to have Duggan as my bartender, and I am curious to go back on a night he isn't there to see if the others who disappointed have started taking a little more pride in their craft.
Warily, I suggested Cantina for a pre-show drink with friends, remembering how slow they have been… Read more »
Mmm... the Laughing Buddha... it's a must order, must drink once a week, warms my belly with the first sip, sinfully intoxicating ginger elixir. I love Cantina just for making this drink.
I'm sad to say that there's not a whole lot that Cantina has to offer that entices me other than their drinks. Whatever sophistication in decor and ambiance they started out with gets completely drowned by the multitude of party people who have caught wind of Cantina's cocktails. It's too many people in not enough of an accommodating space.
I will say, however, that their cocktails are enough to bring me back. It is an added pleasure to watch the skilled bartenders pour, squeeze, shimmy and shake every flavor out of supremely fresh ingredients. My favorite was the five-spice margarita, perfectly balanced with the added intrigue of white tea and five-spice. This drink alone could lure my back to Cantina.
Great little spot! Fab drink menu and great bartenders who actually know what they're doing. I completely agree with VinDivine R., ask for Anson.
I had their version of a mojito (can't remember the name) which was so good I almost ate the garnish so I didn't have to finish it. My friend had something made with honey and vodka and loved it!
I took a little tour of the downstairs area (it was set up for a private party) and it's definitely a place I would host a party. Great seating, ambiance and private bar. I've heard the crowd gets a tad rougher later in the night, but I didn't see any seedy people during our visit (we left early to make dinner).
I can't wait to go back and get a pitcher (when I'm not the DD and don't have dinner waiting for me).
Barkeep Peter's the warrior, and the jigger's the weapon. His shake is true and his cocktails deadly. The well-crafted drink list and well-edited beer list will pierce any tippler's heart.
I'd visited Cantina a handful of times before witnessing this fellow's magic, before I'd sipped on this raise-your-eyebrows-in-wow hibiscus tequila poured from an art deco vessel that looked like barbers' face splash, before I'd secured myself squarely on a stool and lost myself in the bottles.
Now the ambiance is just moody enough, and the lights are just dim enough. It's a compact space with only a few tables towards the back. If you come early, snag an ever-elusive seat at the circular booth separated by a wall of hanging ropes. As the happy hour crowd sets in, you'll have to chicken wing it through.
Arm yourself with patience and a sense of adventure, and you'll fare swimmingly.
Good beer.
Good cocktails.
Funky space.
Very nice bartenders.
Funny servers.
Err...but no snacks. Isn't it a law that you have to serve something to go with your alcohol?
Just wondering.
Otherwise, a must for everyone who goes to SF - you won't reget it!
The Staff here have quite the sense of humour. The DJ was pretty decent too.
This joint is a safe bet for a good time.
After about a week of Yelp research, I decided to make Cantina the spot to host our End of Season Kickball party. We had a costume themed, open bar party for about 100 people. We rented out the entire downstairs plus private bartender for a $150 nonrefundable deposit. Normally, there is a minimum tab, but our group was so large that the Events Manager waved it.
I worked pretty closely with Jennifer, Cantina's Event Manager. She was AMAZING. I had a lot of needs, including specific cocktail and beer requests, time and date changes, and extra set-up/decorating time. She handled all of my last minute changes with ease and was pleasant to work with. Our group set a maximum tab, and Jennifer checked in personally with me to let me know the status throughout the night.
Our party was a huge success. I polled people in my group throughout the night on the scene, downstairs area, bartender, and drinks and everyone was extremely happy with Cantina. After our set tab ran out, the Cantina bartender continued to serve our guests with discounted specials. All of our well drinks were made with medium shelf alcohol, which I definitely appreciated :)
I highly recommend Cantina for private parties, and I would definitely host another event here!
First, what sick mo-fo came up with that logo? You're hired! Pirates of the Caribbean meets Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. Or something like that.
Anyhoo, we've been to Cantina more than once, but it was just this weekend we put it all together. The laid back spot we dropped in on Saturday afternoon for a shot or three of tequila is one and the same the place we were at several Saturday nights ago, with the downstairs lounge, the boom boom, the pick up scene and all that awesome Tom Foolery Hi Jinx! Yes, we are pretty quick on the uptake, as they say.
Yeah, this place is a little Jekyll & Hyde. Or is it Clark Kent? "By day, just an innocent, laid-back, locals hang out for a little socializing or afternoon cocktail quaffing, but after the sun sets a balls-out night club that expedites reckless sex with careless abandon. Or is it careless sex with reckless abandon? Hmmm. Who knows. Hell, who cares! Just use protection. OK, enough with the PSA.
Regardless, the nights we've been here for the balls-out portion seemed OK all-in-all. Not as d-baggery as some spots, slammin' busy, a decent DJ with some serious mixologist dudes who can rock it big time. Y'know those types that eschew (yes, eschew) jiggers and basic retard measuring things and just go with it? Yeah. They're good. Try the Laughing Buddha. It's just been a little too wall-to-wall for my tastes when I've been here. But I get it. For what it is, it's good. But hey, I already scored a hottie for life (that's what our vows said), so maybe that's just not my bag. But as an objective observer, guys, there's some hot women here!
But what we're talkin' about today, young 'uns, is the upstairs laid back bar, in the daytime, bitches. Daytime drinking is the new black. Ya heard it here first. The photo to the right (or left, above or below depending on the screen size & resolution of your Mac, PC, PDA or mobile device) doesn't do the bar justice. It's actually more gritty than this. Righteous! These guys know their tequila, they even schooled VdV! And they have the selection to back it up. Aside from not stocking Siete Leguas (whimper), they have darned near just about any fine tequila ya could shake a stick at. And after my rant about the Siete Leguas, I think they may bring that on soon. We even got a glass of a not-yet-released tequila, Don Roberto Anejo, that is excellent. Not too oaky, excellent semi-sweet vanilla on the finish and packs a punch.It should be in stock in acouple weeks, ask for it!
So bottom line, depending on what you're into on any particular day, this place can deliver. Laid back 'hood feeling bar during the daytime, or get your swerve on and (try to) bag a hottie at night (or just hang with friends, that's OK too, but more boring) Cantina brings it.
Oh yeah, ask for Anson, he's a cool dude and a great bartender. Tell him VinDivine sent ya and see what happens. Do not hold us responsible.
Jeezus H Christ people. I thought we were all over the appletini thing.
Cantina: Un Galleria de Bebidas? Seriously? Seriously. As in "Cantina: Un Galleria de Bebidas takes itself WAY TOO SERIOUSLY"
So we have a big group meeting here for my cousins birthday. First off, the friggin bay bridge is closed, so I've been sitting in traffic for an hour to make the 15 miles from Marin. Busting for a piss, I walk in and straight to the back and they have ONE toilet for each gender. Shared with the restaurant next door. Good god. A popular bar in the city with ONE friggin can? I squirm and hop for a few minutes, then mercifully unleash the coors light I had before we left home.
Finally I can go sample this bar that everyone is SOOOOO excited about. Elbowing my way through the painfully hip twentysomethings , I get to the front, catch the harried barkeeps eye, and give him our order.
"Greyhound and a Martini, please. Stoli if you got it...."
"Ummm, yeah. here's a list of our cocktails. Give that a look and I'll be back. "
Turning to my brother in horror, it is dawning on us that if you want a cocktail, you MUST order ONLY one of their overwrought, sugary, plouf drinks. Mojitos, blackberry martinis, and other syrupy hangover inducers.
Not being into that kind of lame shit, we decide to get a shot and a beer. But theres a problem. All the little kids are ordering their blackberry mojitinis, and every one of them takes about 5 minutes to make, so bartender guy doesnt make it back for about a week. We finally get an order in, two shots of patron and a 2 glasses of Lagunitas is friggin 40 bucks! Brother pulls out credit card to pay, but bartender guy has gone off to make more fruit punch.
We've now been in this place for about half an hour, 29 minutes of which has been spent waiting. For the pisser, the bartender, the bartender, and the bartender.
Our party is now all leaving to go to dinner down the street, so we try to get bartender guy to close our tab. This takes, I kid you not, 15 minutes, which may not sound like much but feels like a friggin eternity.
I dont know who willingly puts themselves through this kind of pretentious, tedious nonsense so they can vomit technicolor streams later on in the mission, but it aint gonna be us anymore.
Nice place. Live DJ. Great cocktails. Downstairs private area!
Keep in mind that seating is sparse and the place is tiny - but good times can be had here!
Pefect for a drink with friends or a date night.
I came across this place for a friend's b-day gathering on International Talk Like a Pirate Day http://www.talklikeapi... By coincidence, it's the logo for Cantina.
Heading westbound down Sutter, this place is easy to miss. It's narrowly tucked beside a building that juts out ~ you need a treasure map to find it. I recommend stopping in - ambiance is warm and easy on the eyes.
Check out the mouthwatering liquor menu. The bartenders are artists and create these amazing cocktails. Just be patient as it takes time to craft them.
I look forward to coming back.
I hardly ever write yelp reviews but i really loved this place when i had my birthday drinks there last month.
Perfect for happy hour / cocktails. Great space, good bartenders and awesome cocktails.
I went here for the very first time last Friday, and I must say I was pleasantly impressed. Their drinks are reasonably priced for the area, $28 for a pitcher of flavored margarita of your choice is a good deal. The bartenders are all attentive and friendly, and they actually talk to you about their drinks!. Their five-spiced margarita was not your typical mediocre cheap margarita, it actually was subtle with a hint of tangerine..be careful though, two glasses of those and you are in for a good buzz.
This place stays true to its Latin theme, it is unpretentious, original and a cool place to chill with your friends :) I love the fact they had a live DJ, and the music wasn't too loud where you have to yell for your drink or talk real loud with your friends. I will definitely come back here again, kinda wish they also serve food..maybe appetizers?
Never underestimate the power of suggestion.
I have weak skills when it comes to convincing people. But I can be sweet as pie when I want to. Of course I used that to my advantage and "suggested" to a fellow Yelper that we grab a drink at the Cantina because I was itching to get a cocktail crossed off on my Big Eat SF list:
#30 Laughing Buddha cocktail at Cantina
My throat was parched from the rare 86 degree weather last night. I was delighted that the bar wasn't crowded yet so we were able to park ourselves at the first barstools that became available.
Here at Cantina, gone are the days when your bartender took 5 seconds to make your drink. You'd be waiting with bated breath as the master measures the magic liquid, mixes and adorns it with a garnish.
My laughing buddha cocktail is made with ginger brew, Hangar One Buddha's hand citron vodka, fresh squeezed lime juice, agave nectar, muddled ginger and Serrano chilis. A unique drink that's incredibly refreshing with a subtle kick in end.
The already hot night made even hotter, thanks to my cocktail, my friend and the power of suggestion.
Sneaking sneaking up on you! Is exactly what these drinks will do!
Having the pleasure of sampling some of the finest exotic cocktails that can possibly be made in San Francisco in retrospect I savored my drinks and my company greatly.
Social behavior can and is definitely enhanced by imbibe consumption. Those of the finer types create the best!~
The atmosphere of this place is a mix crowd. Mostly professional and the pretty pretty hipsters. Low lit venue in the back for sitting and catching up with old friends and newly met ones. DJ puts the spins on the drinks 'round about 9 ish. Solid jams that enhances the crowds vibe and the servers flare for fixin the drinks!
Yes, I know its on the7 X 7 top 100 places to try for their signature drink but who follows that list anyways? Well, I know who follows it. So, of course I do respect their obsession and spice for life as was the spice for their drink which complemented well.
I settled in for the Tuscan Sangria. The fresh squeezed lime and O.J. really added a kick to the Chianti based Sangria. Let me say that everything is measured and made with such attention to detail here it knocks you off the barstool just waiting in anticipation for that drink to arrive!!
On my second call went for the suggested Pisco Punch. Again, fresh made everything! They crush the pineapple in front of you! Whether you care or not is immaterial, their drinks are just as bad-ass as their art on the walls that changes periodically.
The drinks will lure you in, the vibe will enhance the experience, the crowd of hipsters will entertain you and the pirate will get your ass buzzed before you know it!
Here's to the nite!
The bartenders are awesome! Excellent cocktails and just watching them make the drinks is quite entertaining in itself. You know they're good when they actually take time to chop up the ingredients fresh in front of you, muddle it properly, expertly pour the ingredients without jiggers, shake it up the correct way, TASTE the drink to make sure it turned out right, and garnish it beautifully. I felt like he was putting his heart & soul into it. Wow....Kudos to Sumit S. for taking us back to Cantina after we left and demanding we try the Laughing Buddha drink. Refreshing with a sharp kick of fresh ginger = yummy!
Besides the awesome drinks & bartenders, the atmosphere is great. Cool DJ and mixed crowd. The bouncers are nice too. Great spot for drinks!
The Laughing Buddha cocktail was AMAZING! I tried the Old Gringo, not knowing that mezcal is very different than tequila, and did not like it one bit. The bartended helped me figure out why I didn't like it, and educated me on mezcal in the process. Then I had two delicious Laughing Buddhas, though if time and the next morning's schedule had permitted, I would have kept drinking them all night!
Also had a very cool vibe and interesting crowd. I will definitely come back.
You ever want to splash someone in the face with a drink and then storm off (of course with style, think: sashaying out the place to Mims "this is why I'm hot")
I mean I wouldn't waste my drink unless I despise the person from the front to back. If that person accidently stepped on a rake....repeatedly...I wouldn't stop it....I'm just sayin'
So you get the picture.
BUT.....the Laughing Buddha = Hangar One Buddha's Hand vodka, fresh ginger, chilies, lime and ginger beer is so good it rudely wakes you up from prima donna daydreaming.
The drink is good I wouldn't splash it on my worst enemy.
Liked the atmosphere, nice bartenders, cool art on the walls. The best part were the drinks, yum! We had the blackberry & cabernet caipirinha, and it was really tasty! The crowd was mixed- mid 20s to early 80s? This is definitely a nice little spot to get drinks at!
Another go-to for caiprinhas when i'm feelin it!
Great bartenders, good drinks, great space.
The bf and I hosted an event here for 50+ people and they totally accomodated in their basement space.
Blink and you'll miss it, but a definite bookmark
Staff here is hands-down the best. Drinks are super good, too.
Ordered the Jerez Margarita and it was darn tasty. Refreshing with a good buzz.
The cocktail menu is impressive and so is watching your bartender making your drink. Everyone around you will be friendly and it's the ultimate chill-lounge. I love the ambiance and the decor. Reminds me of a Latin patio with a bunch of candles.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND IN UNION SQUARE AREA.
I love my experience at the Cantina!
My hubby and I hosted an event last night at the Cantina. I love…
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Cantina was my first stop of the night on an impromptu bar crawl that my ladies and I made. The bar is narrow but has good ambiance. Loved the skull & crossbones decor.. It definitely added to the preppy Yale secret society meets Pirates of the Caribbean look.
The drink menu was refreshingly different from most bars, but instead of playing it safe and ordering from the list, I got the bartender's attention and asked him to whip me up something unusual. He ended up concocting me a Sidecar cocktail which was amazing. After I downed that, I tried the Laughing Buddha cocktail made with fresh ginger and chillies. Very smooth and clean tasting, but a bit too intense to finish. A lot of people complain that it takes forever to get a drink made here... but with the bartenders making everything on the spot from fresh ingredients, what can you expect?
Is there a better place in the city to have a great Manhattan whilst one waits for their table at Canteen? I do not think so.
Good Rye, an excellent vermouth and a few bitters are all they need to make a palate sing the praises of, well, good rye, and excellent vermouth. No twist of lemon, orange or candied cherry needed.
Now that I've had time to recover from the massive hangover suffered from an epic evening at Cantina last night, I can finally do justice to my review of this establishment. My friend and I hosted our joint birthday party for some 60 of our closest friends and suffice it to say that Cantina is an absolute top notch venue with fantastic staff.
We had originally set up our party at another venue, but 5 days before the date of the party, we were told we were double booked and we had lost our reservation. After a bit of scrambling, we found Cantina and they were more than helpful in getting everything we needed to host an awesome partay. Jennifer was our contact and she was amazing. She was super accommodating and got us everything that we needed.
We had the entire downstairs portion of Cantina reserved for our party and I was quite surprised how large the space was. There was ample seating and tons of nice little touches like candles which really helped to set the sexy tone of the night. Jason, our personal bartender for the evening, was friendly and efficient in dosing out shots of pain and doom. And judging from the comments by my friends, everyone had a fabulous time. I will definitely look to Cantina the next time I host a party. That'll hopefully be right around the time that I regain some shred of dignity and self-respect lost from last night.
Cantina is not the closest bar to my apartment - but it's my favorite one to go to for quality drinks and atmosphere!
The cocktails are super yummy and made with care. I absolutely love Jennifer! She is always attentive and super helpful if you are scheduling in groups or parties. Great place to have a get together, great place for a date, perfect for after work to unwind. Highly recommended, and in my case, not too far of a walk home if you order one to many of the quality beverages!
Just the right size bar to grab a drink with some friends. Sat at the bar and mingled with the regulars and bartenders. Thanks to Jason our bartender for recommending this place! Love love love their caipirinha. They also have a pretty long drink menu to fit anyone's taste.
You can walk by and not even know its a bar but I think that might keep out some of the tourists in the neighborhood. I'm not sure what this place is like later in the night but before 9 PM its a pretty mellow and chill bar.
I'm going to keep coming back until I've had a pitcher of every drink on the list.
Really good fruit drinks! Nice decor.
We went here for a birthday party. The place is neat, really nice. It's not that wide, but really long. We got a table in the back. Drinks are stiff and good. The place was packed, barely any space to move through. Lots of fun though. Highly recommend it.
1 star for using freshly squeezed fruits when making cocktails.
1 star for the laughing buddha cocktail made with yummy Hangar One buddha's hand vodka. This drink is not for you if you don't like spice as it has serrano chiles!
1 star for one of the better caipirinhas I've had. I was introduced to this tasty drink in Costa Rica last year and I've been on a frustrating search (until now) to find a comparable caipirinha.
1 star for the laughs I got out of seeing a friend swoon over the bartender and acting like a giddy little school girl after having a 15 sec conversation with said bartender!
Awesome bartenders.
Awesome awesome cocktails, both from their menu and ye old standbys.
And awesome stylish and sultry interior design.
The only downside, if there is one, is sometimes it gets a little too much Union Square influence, if you know what I mean. Retirement age tourists and denizens alike, with this incredible oozing sense of entitlement. It's like, "hey, I'm enjoying the hell out of a $9 cocktail ALSO, so why don't you take your pocket book and shove it."
No hard feelings, Cantina, I still love you.
So we were planning to go bar hopping in the city, but we really did not know where to go. we walked around several bars and some of them looked a bit sketchy. but then we found this place. it looked nice, with a decent size crowd. so we walked in and got the table near the back of the room. the drinks here were good and NOT expensive at all! i was think i would be throwing down a lot of money for drinks because we were in the city. but the 6 of us ordered a couple of pitchers of mixed drinks (i forgot what they are called). they were good and we only ended up paying about $6 a glass. yum!
Great quaint unpretentious little bar in the Union Square area. The place is small, long and narrow and very dark. The bar is huge though and I could spend hours just looking at the different types of liquor they stock. Would be interesting to be a bartender there!
Chill, relaxed, no cover, would definitely recommend it.
What a find! So thankful my friend introduced me to Cantina.
When a friend and I were finally able to catch a time to meet up, she suggested Cantina for HH. As much as I enjoy HH's, I'm used to the drill of testing out my lip-reading skills and coming home with a scratchy throat and ringing in my ears from the high decibels.
So what's special about Cantina?
1) The chill, cool, yet intimate layout of the long bar, that's perfect for a small party to catch up over drinks. 2) Their cocktails. As all the other reviews indicate, their cocktails are good, and the Laughing Buddha is a prefect blend of refreshing, pizzaz, and a kick. 3) The bar tender(s). I can only comment on the one young gentleman who tended to us and smoothly (but not obnoxiously or creepily) engaged in and out of our convos.
The only note to add is that since it's in the theater district and the setting is darker, it's probably not the pick on a rare sunny SF day.
But otherwise, I can't wait to go back.
I went to a friend's going-away party here, and couldn't stop coming back. It's my new favorite bar in the Union Square/Nob Hill area. The place is narrow, but never too crowded, and usually filled with friendly young professionals.
The bartenders here definitely go for a quality over quantity approach, and actually taste their drinks before serving them up. The Laughing Buddha seems to be a Yelp favorite, and for good reason--it's spicy, but without a lot of heat. Highly recommended.
I've heard rave reviews of Cantina over the last few months, but it never seemed to be a destination. Last week we finally ended up there randomly on a low-key Tuesday night. The bar was buzzing with activity even though the inside section seemed closed. I liked how the bar seemed busy with just the handful of customers that were in at the time.
I only had one drink - the Laughing Buddha but it was delicious ! I've had cocktails with Tabasco sauce, but never one with Serrano chilies. To steal a line from a friend - 'it's like having a party in your mouth'.
The bartenders were smart, knew their spirits, and were more than happy to impart their knowledge.
Can't wait to go back !
Neighborhood: Union Square
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Dive Bars
Neighborhood: Union Square
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Dive Bars
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Bars
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