Rick’s Cantina and Tequila Bar

They are now closed.

The salsa taste like it came straight from a can of tomatoes. The hot scale of the sides is miserably off. 5 skulls for the blueberry-​habanero (it taste like blueberry jam, not spicy at all) then 7 skulls for the ghost pepper (spicy as shit).
The service is decent but the food is never consistent. I either get great food, or end up sending it back and not eating. The prices don’t reflect the amount of food you get. Eh, ill pass and go to Chipotle next time.
Get your stuff together, Ricks!

Once I leave the southwestern United States, I’m often worried that good Mexican food… or even Tex Mex ceases to be a concept. A shining example of the latter, Rick’s Cantina is certainly passable, and a good alternative to chains like Chipotle if you’ve got some spare time.
Their menu is pretty much just tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. Burritos are where it’s at! You can get pretty much any meat, and if you wanna have a good time, pay the extra $ 2 and get it loaded with jalapenos, bacon, and guacamole.
Hey, I was hungry.
I started off with the pie pan nachos topped with chorizo. Because of the daily special, it was only half price, and enough for two people to share. The drink specials are amazing, too, with $ 2 pints of select craft beers. That’s amazing.
Overall, the food is tasty. And HUGE! the chips are also hot and house-​made. Service was a tad bit on the slow side, and seating was a little too cozy, but overall I would be a regular here if I were a local.

Nice decorations and good service.
Salsa yuck… tasted like pureed sofrito. Worst I’ve ever had. Guac tasted straight out of a bag.
Duck Sope — bland duck a strange mushy pastry.. tasted like an under-​done donut
Mushroom quesadilla — cheese overwhelmed the delicious mushrooms.
«Caesar Salad» orange dressing, sweet croutons, and queso fresco? Not like any Caesar I’ve ever had and bland to top it all off.
Chips were homemade at least, but lacked salt.
Fish taco bland. pitiful portion even for 5 buck «happy hour» price.
Pork belly torta … huge portion. nice bread. Belly and plantains were mushy and the side of slaw was a vinegary mess.
I will give points to the server. She was friendly, knowledgeable of the menu, and attentive.
The only redeeming part of the whole meal was that we had a gift-​certificate, so we didn’t have to pay for the whole thing out of pocket. However, I would not go back based on the food.

Food is pretty good and it’s the only place in town that serves duck and Mexican food. I was a disappointed with how many chips I got with my meal. It was quite sad really, I got maybe… ten chips? I’m use to getting unlimited chips and unlimited salsa when I go to a Mexican restaurant. Regardless, they have all types of yummy salsa to choose from. I also enjoyed sitting on top of the roof.

Not being familiar with downtown Harrisonburg, we had a little bit of a hard time finding Rick’s, which is located on a narrow little street off Main Street. Luckily, there was a parking lot right next door.
At first we really wanted to sit on the roof deck, but we were seated in the second-​floor restaurant area, which was nice and cool. After a while, a table became available on the roof and the host offered to move us, but we decided to forgo the humid temperatures and stay in air-​conditioned comfort.
The main theme of this restaurant seems to be duck. Duck quesadillas, duck burritos, everywhere a duck duck. I had the duck quesadilla special, and my daughter had a duck burrito. The only problem was trying to find something that the seven-​year-​old, a very picky eater, would eat. He loves eggs, so we were able to order an egg burrito for him. He wouldn’t touch it, and when we brought it home and tried to eat it the next day, it was awful — beyond salty and somewhat peculiar-​tasting. But our duck meals were just ducky! And well-​fueled by the very good Sangria Margaritas we had.
Fun atmosphere, good service and prices that were decent until we got the sticker shock of the bill and discovered the snarky double tax: the state of Virginia AND the additional — and higher — Harrisonburg city tax. Oy! Not the restaurant’s fault, but a
stinging reminder that we were not home.
Sure hope Virginia keeps this it’s dirty little secret!

I checked out the downstairs bar only, on a Sunday afternoon. It was small, but they have a larger dining area upstairs. The décor was fun and festive with some Mexican wrestling masks and retro Mexican album covers on the walls. The bartender was really friendly and helped us decide on drinks. They offer a wide variety of tequila, including some high end choices and special infused flavors for unique drinks. The house margarita was great, not too sour, and the bartender added a rim of chili lime salt for a nice kick of hot pepper (it was actually spicy, not for weak taste buds). We also ordered some of their crispy, fresh chips, with creamy queso dip flavored with roasted peppers and onions.