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| - This place is a no-go for me. I was really curious about it and excited to try it because hello! new Mexican option in Madison, gimme more gimme more (yes, that's a Britney reference). They quoted us a 20 minute wait at about 6:30 on a Saturday night, and we did truly wait exactly 20 minutes. They get your phone number, and once they text that a table is ready, you have 8 minutes to show up.
We get seated and brought small waters and the chips and salsa trio right away. We notice, first of all, that the lighting is pretty bright, which is not preferred when I'll be drinking tequila with potentially flushed cheeks and wanting to have a little romantic mood lighting. The tables are also really close together. We could hear the conversations from the groups next to us. The orange and dark red/brown salsas were watery and did not taste like anything, seriously. We mixed the two together, added hot sauce and salt, and they were still a tasteless, oily, thin liquid. We asked for thirds of the salsa verde though. The thicker style chips were not my favorite either and didn't seem fresh.
Our margaritas were decent. We ended up getting two half pitchers, each for about $22, and they were mostly ice. We left feeling like we didn't actually consume that much alcohol (and I'm a total light weight). The strawberry one was tasty, and the classic lime option was alright. Our meals were marginal, served on colorful plates that reminded me of elementary school cafeteria trays. The beans and rice didn't really seem fresh, and I had a hard time knowing that I was about to pay $5, $4, and $3 for the three tacos I ordered. The $5 and $4 options contained tiny portions of fish and shrimp, and the $3 option was easily something I could've made at home (mozzarella and black beans).
The $6 for three tacos or tamales on Tuesday or Thursday sounds like the way to go with this place. We walked away having a fun night but not because of the restaurant specifically. Sorry, Bel Air Cantina! I wanted to like you.
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