Clifton City Tavern Mexican Cantina

I really, really wanted to like this place! It’s not a chain restaurant for starters and in a local yocal neighborhood. On the bright side, it is very, very funky on the inside. Who knew glitter on the ceiling could look so good? The downside is the food. I ordered the sizzling fajitas which were sizzling but overly drenched in some sauce and was mostly steak with little onion and no real peppers to speak of. My friend had some Mexican dish and swears it was frozen and just reheated. Perhaps if we were drinking the food would have tasted better. My friend just texted that after we departed he had a minute long fart. That just about sums it up.

My wife and I just moved into the area and tried this place out. Simply AMAZING! The food, service, and atmosphere are excellent. From apps to dinner to desert, everything was delicious. Highly recommend skirt steak meal, Plato cantina for app, and flan for desert! Margaritas are off the charts. Thank you Felix for great service! Highly recommend!

Great food, service, and atmosphere. Will deff be back. One of the best Mexican spots I’ve tried. Drinks are also great!

Did this place good? Yes but it definitely does not deserve 4 stars. At best I would give her 3.5.
I went on Valentine’s Day 2016 and was met with a very pleasant waitress but who was slow with the drinks. Not her fault as the bar is swamped with margarita orders.
The music would play ONE SONG then shut off. Honestly guys, pay for premium radio and you won’t have this problem. I had to remind the staff that the radio was off TWICE. It’s awkward with no background music playing.
They served the fajita then forgot plates and tortillas. We stared at the delicious sizzling fajitas until they stopped sizzling and a food runner popped his head and we were FINALLY able a to ask for them.
The food was honestly good. I enjoyed the churasco steak and my wife the fajitas. The margaritas were good as well. But they are in need of a good manager to tighten up this ship.

Came to enjoy a place nearby & wanted to get some dinner first; we stopped by this restaurant & it was by far one of the best I’ve ever been to. My boyfriend & I had the skirt steak with rice & beans & it was the best steak we’ve ever had & we come from queens New York! The chips & salsa that was served at the beginning was delicious as well. Eddie our server was great… Very friendly environment. Definitely wish I lived closer to come here more often but this definitely won’t be the last.

After reading the reviews by reputable Elite’s I knew I had to give this place a try. We went on a quiet Saturday early evening. The is parking nearby but just be careful if you park across the st (it’s Mario’s parking). Plus nearby there is st parking. We lucked out with a prime spot.
Outside it looks like a normal Mexican Restaurant. Not too gaudy. When you walk in, the place is very cool. It makes you feel like you’re in Mexico… although I have never been…
There is a bar on the left with tables nearby. We sat in the back.
We were seated promptly. Our waitress was super friendly and suggested some great drinks/​entrees. Service was great throughout. A couple of house margarita’s for me, coconut frozen drink with alcohol thing for the lady… baby had house made milk.
They immediately bring over chips and salsa. Don’t be a fool and fill up on them! Although they were very good, one order was enough.
I decided to get the black bean soup to start. It was good but not the best I had.
For entrees:
I had the pork burrito. Nothing wowed me EXCEPT the actual pork. It was crispy on one side and melt in your mouth on the other. It was very unique and so much flavor! One of the best burrito’s I ever had.
The wife had 2 tacos — chicken and beef. The chicken was just ok but the beef was similar to the pork. Crispy and melt in your mouth!
Their prices are very reasonable.
Everything was great. ENJOY!

It is a very solid place. Overall, the food is tasty and the service very attentive. I wish the tacos were more authentic, and the taco meats not as dry. There is nothing that wowed me and at the same time nothing that would prevent me from going there again.

I had some of the best Mexican here. I had the flautas with a side of tostones. Everything was delicious including the drinks! Erica was our waitress and she was very sweet and accommodating. Will definitely be back!

Awesome food! Great margaritas. yummy tortilla soup and the avacado salad is the best here. Their salsa is to die for. Def will be back :)

Tried this restaurant based on the Unilocal reviews and was not disappointed! Fun colorful atmosphere. Awesome happy hour– had $ 3.99 pomegranate margaritas that were to die for. The enchiladas were delicious! Glad to have a new go-​to Mexican place!

This place just gets better and better.
Make sure you ask for Eddy most known
as Fausto this guy knows what he is doing!
Will definitely come back to this place.

Great margaritas and nachos! Come here for happy hour or dinner and you will find good drinks! I’m not crazy about mexican but I have to say the nachos are my favorite with grilled chicken!
Happy hour is definitely worth it!

We came here today for my boyfriends birthday and we enjoyed everything. The place is nice inside and the food was great! We will definitely be returning soon! Oh and the owners were so nice as well!

I wish I lived next door to this spot! The avocado salad is to die for! The steak dishes are amazing! The wings are juicy and crispy! What keeps me coming back is my Beloved Tavern Margarita! Shoutout to Johanna as this establishment is off the hook! Food, pricing and staff are amazing… Shoutout to Felix, he’s the man!
Diane C turned us on to this place. All it took was one awesome happy hour gathering and the rest is history!
We’ve been here multiple times thus far and it always keeps getting better.
Food:
— Avocado salad — calling all haas lovers!!! Order this. It’s full of yummy avocado slices with a simple dressing that’s ohh so lovely!
— Empanadas — are elegant and served in twos. The crust is nice and packed with meat!
— Fish tacos — talk about refreshing and light. These puppies are flavorful and seasoned nice.
— Wings — crispy and juicy. The type of wings y’all expect at a wing joint! Love them.
— Steak — Ahhhh yes the steaks are yummy. Order well done if you like it medium well. The portion is well for the hunger inside you or perfect to split if sharing!
— Nachos — loaded and will leave you wanting more!
Drinks:
— Happy hour — it’s until 7pm folks and the margaritas are banging! Nice blend of chill with a adult juice kick. My fav is mango and strawberry mixed! Get any of them!
— Tavern — the KING of all margaritas! The glass is enormous and hold 6 – 7 margaritas, 2 beers and 2 shots! For $ 35 green backs it truly worth every penny y’all!
We hope to see you there. This spot is fun, festive and it gets live! Enjoy and have DD if your getting the Tavern!

Chicken tacos were delicious! Food was so flavorful!!! Highly recommend this place!!!
I was a little skeptical about the tortilla dessert, but it was absolutely heavenly!
Beware: When you ask for the spiciest hot sauce, it is super super spicy! Yum!
(This review is from a few months ago)

Been twice and have loved it every time. Johanna is awesome and Felix is too cool. Can we say lush for happy hour.$ 5.00 margaritas or mojitos any flavor until 7pm… I had mango mojito and coconut margarita (about 4 or 5 all together). They had just alcohol to make you feel oh so nice. ESPECIALLY THE TAVERN… THAT THING IS HUGE and 2 people can share it.
TAVERN = 32 OZ MARGARITA WITH 2 SHOTS TEQUILA AND 2 BEERS UPSIDE DOWN!
Salsa and Nachos have a cool heat, which is tolearable since i can’t take too much spicy things.
Food was flavorful. They empanadas were crunchy and good, chicken wings were crispy and hot sauce was a nice addition. Seafood tacos was tasty as well. The grilled steak was juicy and seasoned well, but if you want medium well order well done because it still may come out with a little pink in the middle, which may depend on the cook. Overall, its a 16oz steak and me and my fiancée split it which was enough for me. The rice and beans are not enough to split, so you might want order another side.
Great Service and Great Food what more can you ask for… except for drinks please!
Recommend this restaurant especially for happy hour!

Thank you Johanna, Michelle and the gang for another wonderful evening filled with great drinks, food, service and enjoyment!!!

I definitely liked this place. It has been bookmarked for a while. I went on a Thursday evening and the place was not too busy. I sat at the bar, and the bartenders also waitress. They were really friendly, but busy. You definitely have to ask for things while at the bar because they are all over the place.
I had the frozen mango coconut margarita and it was amazing, Great flavor and it was nice and strong. They do not skimp of the liquor. I then had a strawberry margarita on the rocks and it was not as strong as the frozen. So I will stick to frozen.
As for my meal, I had the steak fajitas, and they were OK. The meat was very tender, but there wasn’t much flavor or seasoning. I took it home and added some things and cooked it over a bit and it was on the money.
They did pass the salsa test with an A-.I would definitely come back and try other dishes, but overall I enjoyed my time.

My friends and I do a Dinner of the Month club and since my birthday is on Cinco de Mayo and it was my month to choose a place I chose here. My friend suggested it because she found it on Unilocal and has been wanting to try it out.
The place is on the smaller side, but to my surprise it wasn’t crowded at all being it was Saturday before Cinco de Mayo. I made a reservation for 9 ppl at 6pm. When some got there and checked in the guy said it was for 8pm but he’d accommodate us. Well I even have the message that says it was for six pm. Anyway, I got the chicken fajitas and strawberry margarita. They only allow the one free margarita through Unilocal for one per table so that was unfortunate.
The chicken fajitas were really good and filling. They had a little spice to it but it was delicious. The strawberry margarita was pretty strong and I was feeling it. Happy hour is till 7pm so we were able to get one happy hour drink in then just paid extra after happy hour. After we paid the bill the girl came with a round of pineapple tequila shots. We all thought, «mmmmm pineapple!» Yeah… no! Must like tequila to enjoy this shot. It was a nice gesture though!
So reason for not getting five stars is because one persons food came out and took some time for everyone else’s to start coming after that. I’d say they need to figure out their timing on food a little better. The other reason is because the waitress literally stood near our table when we were finished and kept looking at us many times like «ok you going to leave?» Another girl even kept coming by taking our water cups. I could understand if there was a line of people or even a few families just waiting to be seated but there wasn’t. They had the boxing fight on too and we were going to stay to watch but decided to leave.
All in all definitely a place to try and I’d probably go again of I’m in the area.

I came here with a large group of friends, and we had a good time.
We got there before happy hour ended (even on the weekend) and so we were able to get $ 4 regular margaritas and $ 5 flavored margaritas. the first mango one that i ordered was pretty strong and flavorful, but the 2^nd and 3^rd one — i didnt taste as much alcohol. After happy hour ends, its about $ 6 for a regular margarita.
I ordered the skirt steak for dinner. It was perfectly cooked. I asked for medium, and thats what i got. The sides were ok. We all enjoyed our meals. At the end, they treated us all to a round of tequilla and pineapple shots which was a great plus! However, i did feel like our waitress was just hovering us, wanting us to leave right away. I would understand if the place was packed and they needed to seat tables, but that wasnt the case. We felt like we had to leave. I would definitely come back again!