Cantina Laredo, Town Center

Cantina Laredo. Gourmet Mexican. Town Center.
It was ladies night; the Wine and Margaritas were half price! Out for a friend’s birthday we dined in the back of the restaurant in a private room. The restaurant always has a loud and busy vibe, pots and pans, people raising voices after too much tequila. We were in on 7:30 on a Thursday and the wait for walk-ins was two hours. The food is good, but not two-hour wait good. The service was good. We had more guests arrive and they set up an extra table, which was not easy with the venue being at max capacity. Everything was delivered in time, the drinks stayed full, and no big problems came out. This is what you should expect at a place such as Cantina Laredo. On your table should be two different flavors of a play on salsa. Both are delicious. Pictured above, the table started with the Top Shelf Guacamole. ($9.49) Made tableside, to serve two or four, the service of this is what makes it so good. It is extremely fresh, but doesn’t touch the recipe I make fresh in Costa Rica. This price on this appetizer is great because avocados in the grocery store are getting so expensive here in North Florida. The Ceviche ($8.99) was a pretty large portion of Shrimp, Scallops, and Fish marinated in limejuice. I ate enough Ceviche in Peru to probably turn myself into a fish, but this was just as good as Peru. Ceviche is relatively simple to make if your ingredients are extremely fresh. Entrees I have pictures of are the Carne Asada Y Camarones ($23.99) and the Pescado Del Dia ($22.99), which was Sea Bass. The Carne Asada Y Camarones was grilled steak topped with bacon-wrapped shrimp filled with oaxaca cheese and jalapeno. I didn’t try this but heard it was fantastic. The fish of the day, Sea Bass, was my meal. It was perfect. The fish had a great flavor, and was pan-fried to perfection. Melted in your mouth. The vegetables it came with were good, and the rice was just rice. I do think I had the best thing on the table because the fish was so good. If you hear your server offer this again in the specials, try it! For Dessert the Flan ($5.29) was ordered. Flan is custard with real caramel sauce. Another great cook at our table said it wasn’t up to par. Cantina Laredo was a great time. Try it out if you’re at the Town Center. The food is good, and it isn’t as pricey as Mitchell’s or Capital Grill next door.