Cantina Laredo

Slow service, mediocre food, and a weirdly quiet atmosphere without any music. Also, they don’t even have an entrance that leads straight into the mall for convenience — so you’re exposed to the elements if you opt to dine there while shopping.

The lighting in here is gloomy, perhaps to hide the aging interior. Soupy salsa and grocery store tortillas, lemonade is from a soda fountain… Not sure why the prices are so high here? Our server was nice but very slow. Then for the main course we were pleasantly surprised with excellent food. I recommend the poblano y camarones with ranchero beans. The pepper & spinach were fresh, the shrimp were cooked right… my 2 yr old liked the quesadilla ($ 7.99 kid item seemed high.)
We ordered the apple pie with cinnamon ice cream. Again, the food was good but geez… dessert added 30 minutes to our already protracted dinner stay and the restaurant was all but empty. It’s not like our waiter was running around busy. So in spite of yummy food I give Cantina Laredo only 3 stars because ain’t nobody got time for that!

Speedy, quick, & delicious. What more do you want for lunch?

Service is terrible. Too bad the service didn’t match the food because the dinner was very tasty. I had the ceviche for dinner and it was delicious. My bestie had the mahi tacos which were also very good.
We arrived and the restaurant was empty — it’s connected to the mall so we were going to have a quick dinner before shopping. The service was terribly slow — most of the time the wait staff stayed in the kitchen, so the restaurant was empty. Always scary to see an empty restaurant at dinner and poor service.
Be sure you’re not in a rush when you stop for a meal — it’ll be a while!

We’ve never had just an average meal at this restaurant, always more: Table side premium hand mixed guacamole, spicy perfectly prepared medium rare bone in ribeye, premium hard shell beef tacos, top shelf margarita, all contributed to a stellar meal, very satisfying. I personally think the pricing is reasonable for a location attached to a major shopping mall. I would suggest for others that think pricing is too high, split your meals as their portions are always over generous for one and enjoy just ice water with your meal saving typically $ 10-​$ 12 for a family of four. The décor is very nice, service was good, my two children loved the children’s menu one of them having tacos, the toddler eating all her chicken fingers. The tortilla chips were warm and the traditional green dipping salsa «chilli» was freshly made, thick, and just the right spice for older children and adults. Our waiter was always available but not intrusive. I will say we came in at 430 before the dinner rush on a Tuesday. We had a Groupon that allowed us $ 50 credit for $ 35 purchase. Our desserts, I had traditional flan, the toddler and 9 year old shared a huge brownie heated table side then covered in premium vanilla bean ice cream and sauced, was very good and a great Finnish! We only eat here once every three to six months but it’s always enjoyable. I truly think in most instances if you want quality prepared food, good service, in a really nice atmosphere, you have to be willing to spend more.

The service is good but not excellent but the food is unique and absolutely delicious.

Not so great. High prices for poor food. Service is ok at best. Rice undercook and black bean have no taste. Queso was pure terrible. Sorry but I will never be back.

I love a lot of seafood but when I had their salmon omg it’s great make sure you have it when you go

The last time that I was here I had the fajita tres. it was a combination of chicken, beef and three bacon wrap shrimp with jalapeños and cheese inside, it was really good. Then for desert we had the apple pie, it was really good.

Cantina Laredo offers an upscale feel to Mexican food. The interior is really cool featuring native art pieces and decorations. Something special about this place is their top shelf guacamole. They make is fresh for you, table-​side. I had the chicken enchilada and it was good, nothing to complain about. The service was also very good. This is a nice option for dining at the mall if you don’t want to eat in the food court.

I have found a second reason to visit the mall more often. I was so pleased with Cantina Laredo when I visited for lunch yesterday.
The wait staff was amazing! We were instantly greeted and seated with multiple smiles. Our questions were answered and our drinks never went dry.
I had the Ensalada de Cameron con miel. I had them substitute chicken instead of shrimp. In true New Years fashion I am trying to eat healthier and this is not always easy at a Mexican joint. I was blown away by the salad! My sister had a different salad and it was equally amazing! The chips and salsa was very good also.
So since we had salads we decided we would treat ourselves to dessert. (Hold your judgement) we had the mango tres leches… And ohhhhh myyyyy goooooooodness! It was delicious! It was worth every calorie. It was drizzled with this mango goo that was to die for and it had fresh blueberries on it also.
Needless to say we will be coming back! I would give it five stars but, I really don’t like going to the mall.

Holy Mole at Penn Square Mall
I love Penn Square mall. It’s like an ethnic crossroads of the world, the Roman Forum of OKC. Where else will you find an Apple Store, a potential flash mob and mole sauce? Those who won’t go to a restaurant because it is in or near a mall need to get over themselves.
Cantina Laredo is mall-​adjacent and their mole sauce is extraordinary. I had been craving mole for weeks and braved the black ice conditions and holiday-​packed parking lot to get my fix this afternoon. I had the chicken enchiladas served with delicate rice and steamed zucchini. What, no re-​fried beans? Yes and I love it. Everything at Cantina Laredo is exceptional — including the service — compared with the usual ho-​hum Tex-​Mex tortilla turnstile restaurant. Don’t be duped by frozen margarita specials. Really.
Sidebar: My first experience of mole sauce was an epic adventure. On a surf trip to San Onofre State Beach with two of my Planet Yoga brothers we stopped to fuel the forces at a local Mexican stand. It was authentic fish tacos with mole. The guys laughed when I wouldn’t shut up about how much I loved mole (and having to work to squeeze into my wet suit). That day was epic in many ways, a tribal communal experience much like the mall.
Hang ten and have an adventure soon at Cantina Laredo. Even their salsa is epic.

Guac tableside! The rest was ok. Not a fan of warm salsa, but the flavor was excellent. Had a salad and it was fresh and tasty.

Hadn’t been here in a couple of years, then wound up visiting for lunch twice in a week. First time was in a group for work lunch, second was solo grabbing a quick bite while running an errand. Short answer: food is better than average, while service is some of the worst I’ve encountered in a while (and that’s saying something in this town). Consistent clutter and dirty conditions throughout what could be a decent restaurant (even by corporate standards). Now, let me clarify: the staff isn’t unfriendly. On the contrary, everyone I encountered was nice, pleasant, and seemed eager to please. They’re not rude; they’re merely incompetent. That’s the fault of the management. Every problem I saw (slow, disorganized service; dirty tables and bar; problems with check-​out procedures) were all issues that could easily solved with training.
Three stars solely on the flavor of the recipes. Could easily get four stars if the management staff did their jobs.

I guess I’ve avoided this all these years because it is in the mall, and you know I have to have special dispensation to go to the mall. But Mr K likes it, and since he was paying, he was also choosing! The interior is very upscale: dark, quiet, subdued décor: basically just the opposite of an El Chico. Our server Victor was very polite and helpful.
We had the table side guacamole, one of my favorite things and very well done. I am also massively picky about my chips, but these were my favorite kind of chips: big, crispy, light and not greasy. I also had the house margarita, which was good size and made with a homemade mix of citrus juices and cointreau daily. So, not a skinny, but not 400 calories of sicky-​sweet sweet and sour mix either. For $ 8, I think it is one of the best value margaritas I’ve found.
We split the Laredo Platter, which comes with four items for $ 17.99. How in the world anyone could eat this by themselves I would never understand. Mr K ate the relleno and the tamale, but I had a bite and both were good, if a little on the tepid side. I had the flank steak taco with rice and we split the chicken enchilada with sour cream sauce. The meat in the taco was good, but how is it a taco without lettuce, tomato, cheese, pico, etc. I could have asked for that, I’m sure, so I’m not taking off a star or anything, just pointing out it seemed odd. The food was flavorful and well-​made with quality ingredients.
We enjoyed it, and I would totally go back. It was lacking a little something in atmosphere –I mean I liked that it was quiet, but it was like somehow too homogenized. Give me a little flamenco, or a few bright colors, just something to let me know we’re eating mexican besides just the chips and salsa.

Solid choice for dinner. If I could give them 2 ½ stars, I would. When I’m craving Mexican and I don’t want to make the 40-​minute trek down to Norman to eat at my fav (Pepe Delgados), this place is better than the standard fare of Mexican restaurants in the city. For the vegetarians: I always get the spinach enchiladas — unlike most places, the spinach is not from a can, they add a guacamole sauce on top of the usual white sauce, and the zucchini side is always spot-​on steamed and seasoned. My meat-​loving hubby tried the chicken tacos tonight — his opinion: okay. Like I said, not great, but not bad — better than most = solid. I do recommend the made-​fresh-​at-​your-​table guacamole.
It’s located at Penn Square Mall, but it has it’s own entry, so you can avoid the «so this is where all the state fair folks go when it’s not state fair time» crowd.

First time here, at about 7:30 on a Tuesday. Not very crowded but even with a full house this restaurant would not be as loud as a lot of Mexican restaurants. So here are my thoughts:
Atmosphere – classy without being stuffy. You don’t have to dress up.
Service – attentive but not overbearing
Food – my wife had the Cameron Poblano Asada which she like a lot, It was a poblano pepper with shrimp, cheese, and mushrooms with a steak on top, sauteed zuchinni for the side. I had the Cantina Laredo platter which consisted of a chili relleno, tamale, chicken enchilada and a taco. I had a beer, my wife enjoyed a margarita. Dessert was really good — apple pie with cinnamon ice cream and a brandy butter drizzled over it all. Definitely blew my diet with this but at least we split it.
Price – definitely on the pricey side for Mexican food. Our meal was about $ 60 before tax and tip
Overall – good for a change.
PS – we got $ 10 off from a coupon from the Tango Tab app. I’m not exactly sure how it works but when you take one of their offers food is donated to the needy. Our $ 60 tab was before the $ 10 discount.

I’m visiting OKC for the weekend with my mom. We went to a movie at the theater in the mall, and decided to try Cantina Laredo afterward because we wanted Mexican food, and it was convenient.
The food was pretty good, but not good enough to be very memorable. If I lived here, I wouldn’t make a point of eating here, but might do so again if I happened to be at the mall anyway.
The table side guacamole was really good, but like everything else on the menu, way overpriced. Ten bucks for one avocado, a squeeze of lime, a little diced tomato and a few sprigs of cilantro is highway robbery.
We both ordered the Enchiladas Veracruz. The name is misleading – it’s one enchilada, not plural, with a bit of rice and a few slices of sauteed zucchini on the side. Now, this actually isn’t a bad thing because most restaurant portions are outrageously huge. This was just enough to be full, but not stuffed. But like the guacamole, it was overpriced at almost $ 14.
Where Cantina Laredo wins a lot of points is with the service. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted well, and every employee we encountered was very friendly. Someone brought chips and salsa to the table within about a minute of our sitting down. I made a substitution with my meal, and the waitress didn’t bat an eye, telling me it was no problem. She brought us new beverages before we were even completely done with the first ones, and checked on us regularly to see if we needed anything. She was also very friendly, and we had a nice chat with her while she made our guacamole.
I always appreciate good service, and the staff at Cantina Laredo could give customer service lessons to a lot of other restaurants I’ve been to where the staff gives the impression that the patrons are imposing. And I do like that the portions were smaller than most places.
But one of two things needed to happen in order for me to give this place more than three stars – either the quality of the food needed to improve quite a bit in order to warrant the pricing, or the prices needed to be lower. I don’t recommend against going, but I also don’t recommend making a special trip just to go to Cantina Laredo.

We have eaten here twice the first time we had Tacos carne asada and ceviche. It was ok. The second time my wife had the spinach enchiladas and i had steak. It was terrible. So bad that we had to send it back. the steak was so fatty and tough it was inedible. it was cheap skirt steak too, ok, it says gourmet outside on the sign. Skirt steak is NOT gourmet. The enchiladas were absolutely terrible running with water soaking the plate. the beans were not cooked fully. one of the worst meals we have had in OKC. The manager gave me a free meal and took 50% off of my wife’s meal. But so what. I dont mind paying for a good meal so money is not going to sway my opinion about this place.
Wont be back. Dont have patience anymore to give any restaurant in Oklahoma to chance to screw me twice. I have culinary depression now.

We ate here while visiting Oklahoma City. Little did we know, we strolled in two minutes after closing time on Sunday. The manager insisted that we stay. We were the only people there, and they reopened the kitchen just for us. I offered to order something simple like fajitas, but they wouldn’t have any of it. They told us to act like we came in the middle of the day.
The lone server was so professional and courteous. He served us margaritas and table-​side quac with a smile. Their carnitas were outstanding — served with the bone in like I’ve never seen… more like a lamb chop Usually restaurants serve dry little chunks. Their tomatillo sauce is served warm, and it is fabulous.
The entrees are served with snap peas, which was a great change from the usual rice and beans. I substituted my rice for refried beans, and even the beans were tasty.
Nice food, and excellent service. It’s rare to find people who go out of their way to make your experience great (even when I showed up outside of business hours).
Don’t let the Penn Square mall entrance fool you. It’s a nice place. Good décor. Our bill was $ 72 for 3 top shelf margaritas, table-​side fresh made guac, carnitas, and chile relleno. Most entrees are about fifteen bucks, so pretty upscale for Mexican food.