Cantina Bar
350 Darling St
Balmain, Sydney
Mexican food is great comfort food. It fills you and warms you on a cold night. It can be light or hearty depending on what you order, but you know it’ll always be big on flavour and often pack a bit of a kick too. We were in Balmain’s main strip - Darling St - and heading for Cantina Bar for a Mexican feed. It’s a long place that stretches back from its street frontage and looks - unsurprisingly - very Mexican!
It’s hard not to have some corn chips and guacamole. Even if you’re planning to pace yourselves, this seems to beckon. The corn chips were nice and crisp and the guacamole had good flavours as we dipped and nibbled.
We grabbed a few drinks. Mlady headed for the red - as she usually does. Sir decided to stick with the Mexican theme and had a Dos Equis beer. Both were b=nice drops. The beer was particularly good when the spicier food arrived later on!
Sir chose prawn and chorizo skewers for his main course. Described in the menu as Prawn and Chorizo Anticuchos they were char grilled and served with chimichurri, pico de gallo and chopped up flour tortillas. It was surprisingly filling. He ended up making mini burritos with the tortilla pieces, fillings and sauces.
Mlady chose the Chimichanga. This was a huge chicken filled tortilla that was deep fried creating a crispy outer and a hot tasty filling. The combination filling had marinated chicken, shallots, mushrooms and of course cheese. It all came with sides of corn chips, guacamole and sour cream. This was a big meal for a big appetite and it actually defeated Mlady. Sir gallantly stepped in to finish it off.
This is a lively place with great music and a happy feel to everything. Even the staff look really happy being there!
The food was hearty and tasty. The service was great too. The place has a great vibe. We’d gladly visit Cantina Bar in Balmain again.