Cadillac Bar & Grill

I’m torn between two and three stars on this one. «Meh, I’ve experienced better» is certainly how I felt, however, I might be open to trying it again sometime.
Came here with a friend around 5:45 PM on a Thursday and there were definitely plenty of tables available. After we’d been there for about 30 minutes, the place really started to fill up. The hostess and waiter were friendly, service overall was fine. No complaints there.
I kind of knew this coming in, after reading previous Unilocal reviews, but was still disappointed that this place doesn’t offer complimentary chips and salsa. Come on, that should really be standard at a Mexican restaurant. They offered it, along with guac, but as an appetizer that we’d have to order. Pass.
I was excited to try the puffy tacos, because I was super curious about the texture — were they crispy, were they soft? Answer: both! I really liked them. I had the veggie version, and the peppers and onions (and zucchini, I think) were cooked and seasoned well. I just wish they were either a little bigger, or the plate came with three instead of two. It did come with rice and beans — the rice was pretty decent but the beans grossed me out. For some reason I was expecting black beans like the ones at Chipotle, or that come in a soup, but instead these just tasted like baked beans — you know, like the brown ones that people eat with hot dogs. I don’t know, I’m no bean connoisseur so I’m probably missing something here but, I just did not enjoy them.
No dessert menu, just two or three items rattled off by the waiter, but we passed.
When the check came, we noticed they charged us for the side of salsa my friend ordered to put on her tacos. Um, what? Who charges for that? Guac, I understand. But a tiny side of salsa? Kind of ridiculous.
Total bill for two people (two orders of the veggie taco plate, two waters, and a side of salsa) came to about $ 40, tax and tip included. Definitely wasn’t worth the price in my mind. They nickel and dime you for the little things, and don’t even offer complimentary chips and salsa? MIGHT return, but not eager to do so any time soon.

Bar drinks came pretty quickly, the appetizers did not.
Two tables around us ordered after our table and both received their food well before we were served.
The food came to the table cold. Still tasted pretty good though. A lot of grease drips from the soft taco. Made the flavor so much better.
House margarita was a disappointment, bottled beer was delicious.
Our server really was not in the mood tonight. Had to waive down another server to get drinks replenished.
Changing my 3 stars to a 2.

Perfect Casual Birthday Setting — I had my birtnday this week and decided to have all of my friends meet up for margaritas and Mexican food. Being on the older side, I remember some fun times at the old location and hoped the new location measured up.
The new space is fantastic — huge — so perfect for large parties. The Cadillac Margaritas were completely delicious, and all of the food was really good. We ordered a Cadillac platter and a seafood platter. For me, the grilled shrimps, grilled lobster tail, and the steak fajitas were my favorite. They have these bacon-​laced pinto beans which are really delicious.
The staff were very efficient, friendly, and willing to help with everything, so, they made my birthday night a special treat!

Oh Lord, the Cadillac is back, and it’s as shot glass-​slammingly loud as ever. Is that a good thing? Guess it depends on whether you are a twenty-​something Twitter engineer with a scraggly goatee and a penchant for self-​absorption or an aging baby boomer looking for a decent taco and direct access to the restroom. I’ll give you exactly two guesses as to which one I am. The old one was where the Moscone Center is now, and I went to it many, many times after work with colleagues and friends alike because I was once a twenty-​something office drone who liked to party hearty.
So it should come as no surprise that I came to this one with a group of co-​workers for our holiday lunch. Seven of us were seated at a table toward the window in a most cavernous space though not quite as large as the old space. It was the middle of a Friday afternoon, so it was reasonably quiet except for a work party on the other side of the bar that was growing in population and volume as the afternoon progressed. The menu looked familiar and rather unadventurous much like the old place. We started with, of course, a couple of baskets of the $ 8 Guacamole with Tortilla Chips (photo:
).
The guac was good, the chips were fresh, and the price was a bit high for the paltry portion. Nope, nothing surprising in unicorn land. For my entrée, I decided to mix it up a bit by ordering one of their Puffy Tacos and one of their Soft Tacos for $ 15 per the suggestion of the highly opinionated waiter in his white shirt. The puffy one was filled with their slow-​braised carnitas with pico de gallo, and the soft one was the grilled steak fajitas also with pico de gallo plus guacamole. The plate came with their so-​called Mexican rice and frijoles (photo:
). Again I had no major complaints, but it was pretty middling despite the change-​up.
Because I was with a large party, I was able to get a taste of the $ 12 Ceviche with citrus-​marinated fresh fish (photo:
) and a bite of the $ 6 Tocino Pops, even though the waiter originally forbade us from ordering them since we weren’t sitting at the bar. These were a pair of bacon-​wrapped, mesquite-​grilled prawns stuffed with jalapeños (photo:
). These were the best things on the table, and I probably could have made an entrée of them if I was given a green light. A final word about the Margaritas: the $ 28 pitcher of the House Margarita was way too sweet for my taste, but the $ 36 pitcher of the Pepino Margarita was a savory delight (photo:
). Welcome back, Cadillac, guess I hardly knew ya.
FOOD — 3 stars… middling, middle-​of-​the-​road Mexican fare
AMBIANCE — 2 stars… ah, sweet youth… the evening brings up the decibel levels considerably with the shot glasses randomly and frequently slammed onto the bar
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… frankly quite pompous with silly Happy Hour rules
TOTAL — 3 stars… I’ll leave it at 3 stars as my memories of the old Cadillac fade further into my recesses