Little Water Cantina

I go here for the view. This is a great place to bike to and grab a drink at in the summer. It’s location is very easy to get to.
All of their food is delicious and their drinks are good but I find them to be extremely overpriced. Also, their portion sizes are quite small. I have ordered food a few times and was disappointed in the portions each time.

Meh. Had dinner here earlier this week and have to say I was unimpressed. We started out at the bar for a couple of drinks, which were served to us by a very unenthusiastic bartender. Not sure if he was having a bad night or if he’s always grumpy, but seriously, if we are dropping almost 50 bucks for a couple of beers and margaritas, I don’t need a side of a nasty attitude along with my drinks! (EDIT: I see from reading other reviews that the bad attitude is an ongoing problem that management hasn’t addressed for whatever reason. Still sucked.)
Anyhow, we then moved on to our meal. Happily, our server was pleasant, but the food was, well, not up to snuff. The meat in the boar torta was tough and pretty greasy, our chips and guacamole were very average, and same for the tacos. For the prices charged, I expected much better. The bright spot of the evening: Negra Modelo on tap. As for the rest of it, we won’t be back.

I’ve been here a few times, twice on dates and once (the first time,) with my two teenage daughters.
First, the daughter experience. Averaged, I’d say my daughters are moderately experimental when it comes to food. They’re always willing to try things on a menu they’ve never had before, but it’s really helpful when what’s offered includes a backup plan (i.e. common things like rice and beans, for example,) just in case their tastebuds are unwilling to continue the journey. That said, I recall the menu being a real struggle for them — there just wasn’t anything listed that catered to someone with a younger palette.
I’ve also found the menu a challenge, and I don’t mind trying new things.
Regarding my dates… I’d love to feel more welcome from the hostess and serving staff. Smiles make for a cozy atmosphere and add to the experience. On one visit we didn’t realize we were required to walk to the bar for cocktail service rather than wait for a server to help us at our table. That made for an awkward 15 minutes of looking around puzzled…
Bottom line: If you’re a foodie looking for something different, this is an okay place. (It’s a 5 minute walk from my place, making it convenient food.) Or, on a sunny day the view is worth your time for cocktails and appetizers. However, there are better local options for families, especially if you have finicky kids.
(Got a little rushed at the end there, sorry.)

Little Water is a cool spot on Eastlake for food, drinks, and an amazing view. The interior of the restaurant is really beautifully decorated, especially now around the holidays, but the real draw is the view off the deck. It’s still too cold to sit out there, but if you sit by the windows you can eat while gazing out on the water, which I think is really nice. They don’t have a ton of beers/​ciders on tap (there were only 5 the night we went) but the ones they have are pretty solid. I got the pescado taco: three tacos loaded up high with Alaskan cod, pickled onions, and various small greens, with salsa verde and creamy chipotle sauce on the side. These were pretty tasty, mostly thanks to the awesome pickled onions and the chipotle sauce, and were satisfying, too. This is definitely on the pricier side of Mexican restaurants, but I like that they have some pretty creative items on their menu and source their inspiration locally. Service is fast and friendly and it’s a really nice spot to sit and enjoy. I’ll definitely try happy hour at some point, too!

This is still our favorite spot when we want margaritas and quality food or just want to see our favorite bartenders. I can’t understand the critiques on the staff. We love everyone who works here! I attribute the negative reviews to people who can never be happy and just aren’t happy with their own life. This is the best– give it a try you will not be disappointed– just sayin.

Chipotle mushroom and chips and salsa for appetizer was oaky and Posole what I order was good and I enjoyed the table outside with nice water front view on sunny day. I ordered midori sour for drink but It was too strong for me.

Ray: «Little Water Cantina» were the words of the day for Josh and my weekly Thursday night out.
We found free parking not very far from the establishment, so I felt like that was a bonus! The interior of Little Water is really nice with an eclectic feel to it that lends more than just a touch of class.
We were seated right away with our choice of inside dining or the patio. Josh and I agreed a few weeks ago that, when given such a choice, we would always choose the inside so we would get a better feel for the place and it’s offerings.
The menus were on what I thought were our place mats. There were three or four items on the menu that I thought I couldn’t live without, and that says something. I went with the Chicken Enchilada meal. The way they described the smoked chicken flavor made my mouth water. I just had to have some.
The meals came breathtakingly presented, I must say. The Enchiladas, covered with beautiful brown sauce were decoratively drizzled with crema and sprinkled with cooked and crumbled chicken skin — positively delicious from every sensory input. Every bite I took, the further I drifted from my mortal moorings.
Atmosphere, customer service, food presentation (flavor combinations not withstanding) I would be remiss to award anything less than 5 stars for Little Water Cantina.
I would feel completely confident bringing guests or honored friends to this establishment without a second thought!
Josh: On a recommendation from my beautiful girlfriend, we headed into Eastlake to pay a visit to the Little Water Cantina. We found parking about one block down on Eastlake where there’s still un-​metered parking (but probably not for long). We walked in and were greeted pretty much right away by the hostess who sat us promptly. The dining room is open and bright with light colors and large windows looking out onto the water. They have a large and inviting patio, and as beautiful as it was last Thursday when we were there, it was just a tad nippy to be sitting out there, though not everyone felt the same as me that night as there were plenty of people sitting out there soaking in the sun.
We placed our drink orders and got to peeking at the menu. Pretty much everything looked good, a very hansom menu to be sure. Definitely had a few different possibilities (even the special, which wasn’t on the menu, sounded fantastic). I ended up going with the adobo pork belly tacos, but I’ll have to go back to try the wild boar torta ahogada.
The wait was fairly short for the food. Nice presentation and wonderful aroma. Thinking about it now as I’m writing this is making me salivate. There was two good sized chunks of pork belly, an amount of greens that was small enough to almost be a garnish (but wasn’t), and tortillas.
Fantastic bold flavor with everything. Not overly spicy at all, but still some heat present. I folded up most of it with the tortillas, but enjoyed the rest just straight off the fork.
I really liked this place. Very friendly and prompt service, quite delicious entrée. I have no problems with awarding the full 5 stars to Little Water Cantina, and I’m looking forward to going back!

This is my third time here and it’s their third strike for the worst service I’ve experienced in Seattle. Each time I’ve had to wait at least 10 minutes to have a server come to the table and this time we finally gave up on sitting on the patio in the sun. The food is mediocre and over priced and the margaritas are incredibly inconsistent. It’s a huge disappointment because it’s such a cute place with a great patio, but three strikes is one too many and I will not be back and would not recommend this place.

I just walked by this place looking for a place to grab a bite and a drink. It’s very cute! The door was open and there was a very delicious sounding drink on the board. Walked in and was ignored. I asked if they were open and was told yes, but I could only have chips and salsa. I asked if I could sit outside. I was told yes but it was bar service only. Then the very rude bartender walked away. I decided I could go home and make my own food. Or keep walking to the next place. Won’t be back. Also, noted the place was empty. Not a surprise.
I just checked your website. It was about 2:15pm when I walked by and your site says you are open. Odd, considering you are only serving chips and salsa that I order from the bar where a dirty looking rude wannabe hipster can barely be bothered by my presence.

This was my second time coming here, but the first time was over a year ago so I don’t remember that much. My lunch was great, but the service wasn’t the best.
I ordered the carnitas in a burrito. So good! The salsa that they serve it with is YUMMY as well. Definitely will go back even if it’s just for HH to get chips and salsa.
The service was extremely slow. We didn’t get our order taken until being there at least 20 minutes, but felt even longer. Food took a long time to come out as well. Our waitress was nice, but the restaurant wasn’t filled at all and still took long for all parts.
Wouldn’t be against going back but would hope for better service!

I’ve been coming here since they opened, I can’t believe I haven’t written a review before!
On my most recent visit I had a chicken sandwich for lunch that was amazing. Super flavorful meat, guacamole, and they had no problem with leaving the dairy office me. The sun was out, I sat just inside the patio door so I had the benefit of the air (and the view) without too much sun.
I often just come for drinks + chips and salsa and guacamole (probably my favorite food ever).
On rainy days/​nights it’s nice to sit in the area by the front door (if they have the fire going).
Service has been good and bad over the years, but on my last visit it was perfect. Check in, quick service, never felt rushed to leave, never felt neglected. Hope it stays that way!

I would like to give more star to this restaurant. It has one of the best views of Seattle with outside seating and nice interiors. It’s clean, the service is good.
The food is not that great though. Very medium quality. We ordered chips and guacamole, I liked the guacamole but the chips was too greasy.
The shrimp was spicy but ok.
To me the worst part was the beef that came with the salad, it was too sweet and didn’t really go with the taste of the salad, it wasn’t a good combination at all.
Overall, this is nice spot to hang out and have a drink during the summer. You get the view of lake Union from the east. Definitely not a good place for dinner, I was for dinners before and the menu and the food was not very impressive.
Their house margaritas are very famous,

this place is sort of hidden and i will admit that i’m not often in the area. i would think that this place gets a lot of business from all the people living around, but that’s another story.
this was a pre funk landing and since i was late, it was a quick beer. i didn’t get to try any food or really look at the menu. manny’s and then up and out.
there is patio seating with umbrellas for shade. staff was quick and serviceable. a place to land if i’m in the area.

I’ve only been to this restaurant once, but they have a dish that is so good that I will go back there again. The dish is a creamy poblano corn and rice casserole dish that is something like a macaroni and cheese in terms of richness. It’s called «Zarela’s creamy poblano corn & rice» and it’s cheap. If you have had Japanese food, this is very similar to doria but with no meat. The dish looks small but it will fill you up and put a smile on your face. I didn’t even get to eat the entire thing because everyone else at the table was shoveling it into their mouths as fast as they could. I also ordered the smoky chicken enchiladas and found them very bland. I would not order them again. The chicken meat inside looked like it had been put through a blender. We called it «tuna of the land». I had a small bite of carne asada from one of my dining companions and it was pretty good but come on: it’s steak so of course it’s good!
That said, the views are amazing and the staff was very friendly. If you go, I suggest going on a nice day with some people you like, getting a few drinks and ordering that creamy poblano corn and rice dish.

Delicious and great patio seating! The bummer is that happy hour does not apply to any areas in the restaurant other than the dark corner bar. And who wants to sit there when it’s 80 and sunny out?
Delicious margaritas, chips are good and fresh salsa. I usually go for cocktails so haven’t explored the menu yet!

Jerome gets off 7 hour plane ride and smells like a homeless dude in the middle of August in a non– airconditioned subway car. Do I shower first before going out to eat? Fuc no; I’m Frenchipino and it’s part of my culture. Now, where was I?
The food:
The wild boar plate with beans and rice caught my eye immediately. After fried chicken, there’s no finer animal then Ms. Piggy, so this was a captain obvious choice. I got it as a taco dish instead. Dryer then my sense of humor, I almost choked on it. It was also under-​seasoned. All the sauces on it and the red spice thing that came with couldn’t save this plate. I’ve never had wild boar, but it pretty much tasted like pork. I was expecting gamey’er? Starving like Marvin, I shoved it down my throat and chased it with margaritas, which brought back memories of prom night.
My homegurl had the pork belly tacos. Very tender. Lightly seasoned and «sauce’y». When you first see it on the mini-​skillet it comes in, you think it’s gonna be a flavor explosion in your mouth (twss), but disappointment was what followed (twss). Underwhelmed, but growling stomach subdued, we pressed on with our jalapeño margaritas in the sun and tales of wild women, gerbils and the river dance.
Note: when it’s sunny out, expect a wait for dining outside. Tables are communal. Leave your # with the hostess, if you want to walk outside and hit the bowl one more time and they will text you when ready. You’re welcome, playa.
The rant:
Drinking and dining el fresco is what this joint is all about. The scene outside is the water, the boats, the paddle boarders, etc. And on a sunny day, this can makes it a destination joint to chill.
The food is ok. It’s watered down, experimental, white people-​Mexican grub. Nothing wrong with that. If both dishes were this bland, I’m guessing most of the menu is as well. But, I’m used to very well seasoned Mexican, so it’s not for me. The staff is professional and accommodating
That said, I hate cabs. I like to spend my dough on food, not rides (including that kind). Ubering all the way here from Belltown built up expectations considering there are a lot of options where I’m staying. If I could rate this on a, «is it worth a $ 20 roundtrip Über ride there» kind of scale, I would give it a 2. However, since this is Unilocal,it gets a 3 for the experience. If this was a few blocks away and the sun was out, sure. By no means is it a destination for me for its tacos that I have to hurry and not shower, because that’s just uncomfortable for everybody. And, I’m Über it.

Little Water Cantina really tries hard to deliver a great dining experience. The staff was wonderful. But mistakes in the kitchen disappointed us. Also, the music was rather loud, making conversation difficult.
Cantina does have a very nice view of Lake Union and Wallingford. There is a deck with several tables, but we didn’t see any heat lamps (which are de rigueur in usually cool and damp Seattle). We came here because JP had been here a few days earlier with a friend, and they raved about the awesomeness of the enchiladas.
We started out with clams. The accompanying broth was tasty. We liked the bread that came with the clams.
For entrees, JP ordered the chile relleno and I went with the Smoked Chicken Enchiladas. Cantina’s chile relleno came stuffed with mushrooms and Mexican cheese. Also inside the chile relleno was something called «huitlacoche.» Huitlacoche is literally corn smut (a disease caused by a fungus). Huitlacoche is safe to eat, and some people say it has a woody or musty or mushroom flavor. Sure, why not? In any case, the chile relleno was delicious. It was nicely seasoned and had several pleasing textures. Yet the broth was very salty.
But moving right along, let’s chit chat about the enchiladas. On first bite, I was surprised by the dry crunchy texture of the enchilada tortillas. What the??? The enchiladas’ inside (smoked chicken and, I believe, cotija cheese) was only a little less dry than the outside. But in fairness, JP says he particularly liked these crunchy enchiladas. Okie dokie. Now, that leaves the enchilada’s broth to talk about. It was incredibly salty. Inedible actually.
Normally, when out to eat, I prefer to view it as just another meal and move on (then write about it later). But this time, I had to say something about the tomato sauce-​based broth. Our server was mortified and checked back with the kitchen. They themselves tried the broth and were devastated to find it just as salty as I claimed. They didn’t know why it was salty but were confounded that so many patrons had eaten from that same batch of broth earlier that day, but I was the first to speak up!
Little Water Cantina graciously took the entrees off our bill, which left us with a fondness for the restaurant. I could see coming back here during the summer months. Free parking is available in a garage underneath the restaurant.

We love this place! Each time we come to Seattle we always stop here! I was shocked to see they only had 3 stars. It is just not right.
The food is impeccable with lovely layers of flavor. The pork taco special had fall apart pork that melted in your mouth with cojita cheese and poblano peppers. I had shrimp tacos with perfectly cooked shrimp– moist with intense flavor. It included caramelized onions with richness that the whole taco was a tango in my mouth.
The margaritas were fresh and delicious too. My fav is the caliente with Jalepeno. Even though it was busy we had terrific service. All very helpful and knowledgeable.
This is not s typical Mexican restaurant. It is a modern place to enjoy rich, yummy flavors in a relaxing atmosphere. And did I mention the amazing water view? They have an awesome patio even open in winter with a fire pit.

My friend took me here while visiting Seattle. On a scale from 1 – 10, I would have to give it a 6. It’s Seattle high end Mexican food. Of course I am a little biased when it comes to Mexican food. I live in AUSTIN! I will critique it to the tea. The food was a little too much for what it was. My sandwich alone was $ 12. No sides or anything. That’s the biggest downfall. But I am thinking they charge so much because of the view.
Now the view is pretty sweet. I am not going to doubt that.
Service on the other hand was great. Server was really quick and nice.

I don’t know how I never noticed this place, it’s right next door to Eastlake Bar and Grill, which I’ve frequented a few times. I pretty much fell in love the moment I walked into this place.
I went on a beautiful warm sunny Seattle day, which is PERFECT for this place. There is tons of outdoor seating. It’s all picnic tables and communal seating, but hey what a great way to get to know people and make new friends right? I went around sunset so it was a bit chilly to sit outside since I get cold very easily. The view was breathtaking. The pinks and oranges in the horizon above the water was magnificent. 10x better since I had a margarita in hand too. ;) We sat inside next to the huge open windows. I wouldn’t call them windows per say. They’re from floor to ceiling, so pretty much giant doors. The décor inside was very romantic. There were lights strung across the ceiling, cute small tables with mixed matched chairs, and small vases with flowers on every table (except mine haha). When it got darker they dimmed the lights creating and even more romantic ambiance.
We ordered the house margaritas, guac and chips, and carnitas tacos. The guac is amazing! It’s chunky and creamy all at the same time, perfection! The chips are delicious too. I think they make it themselves. They’re not the hard crispy chips I’m used to getting. They were a bit softer, like they just got done being deep fried. It’s a huge portion too! The carnitas were very flavorful. My favorite part were the pickled veggies in it. Not sure exactly what it was, but it was purple. Pickled purple onions or cabbage? They bring out a side dish of hot sauce and yes it is HOT. It leaves an after burn. The margaritas were simple but good and strong. The cups they came in were super cute! Small, round, and mine had bubbles in the glass. Pretty neat!
Great first time experience. The thing that wasn’t up to par was that we waited a good 10 – 15 minutes for the waitress to come take our order. However, I easily overlooked that because the rest of the night went perfectly. It’s a great place to hang out in the sun with friends while enjoying some refreshments and food, but it’s also a great little casual date night place.