Playa Cabana Cantina

It had been a while since I went out to eat with my cousin and she was in the mood for tacos and shockingly agreed to have dinner at a ridiculously early time. Since I wanted to have enough time to catch up and still get home for my baby's bedtime, we decided to pick a restaurant in my neck of the woods.

Restaurant: Playa Cabana Cantina

Location: The Junction

Meal: Dinner

Day: Saturday

Son's Age: 17 weeks

Playa Cabana Cantina is run by the same owners as Playa Cabana and Playa Cabana Hacienda, but each location is a little different in terms of ambiance and menu items. I used to come to Cantina a lot before my son was born, but this was my first time coming with baby in tow. Just in case, I made reservations and indicated in the notes that we had a baby who was too young for a high chair so we would be bringing in the car seat. A good thing to note is that the music is loud enough that a baby crying won't disturb other patrons, but not too loud so you can still have a conversation.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
To be fair, I don't think this place was designed with babies in mind, but as I think I've mentioned before, most restaurants are baby-friendly at 5pm! We were seated at a booth for four so we could put baby on the bench seat beside us.

This looks better than it is. I actually thought the setup was good, but my husband was the one actually sitting next to him, and he said that due to space constraints he was pretty much sitting partially off the seat because there wasn't enough room for him to sit comfortably. There was another table nearby that brought a baby as well and they didn't appear to fare much better. As for diaper changes, the washrooms were located downstairs in the basement. 

As you can see, there was no change table and no counter space. Luckily we were parked on the street nearby so when my son inevitably needed a diaper change, my husband just took him to the car to change. Works fine in a group, but not really practical if you come alone.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our server was very pleasant and patient in explaining the different menu items to us. When we sat down, my cousin and I noticed that the seat on our side of the table felt sticky, and the server immediately wiped it down and checked to make sure it was clean. Our food also arrived surprisingly quickly, and the server also offered to bring another basket of chips for our guacamole when we finished the first batch.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you are into margaritas, this place has three different kinds! (Don't look at me like that - I'm allowed to have one margarita.) We each ordered a different kind. I can't remember what they are called, although as I noted above, the server was nice enough to explain the differences. My cousin had the more traditional margarita, I had one that had a bit of a citrus flavour, and my husband had the third one which was strong and really hit you with tequila. With drinks ordered, we decided to start with some guacamole.

The guacamole is simple and fresh, which is just the way I like it, and it makes for a great starter to share. We all agreed to order tacos, as it is cheaper to get three of the same and there were three of us. We had the braised short rib, the pescado, and the carnita.

If you are looking for a good fish taco, let me tell you, this is so not the place to go. I found it to be extremely basic, boring, and kind of bland. The carnita was much better as the pork was juicy and flavourful. The braised short rib was undoubtedly the star. The meat was succulent and perfectly paired with the crispy taco. After the guac and the tacos, we agreed to split a dessert: specifically, the churros poutine.

This is a dessert made with churros, marshmallow curds, carjeta gravy, and peanuts. I've never had a combination like this before and it is amazing.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The food is great and we got excellent service, but it is quite a hassle to bring a baby to this location as physical space is very limited.