Local Cantina Water Street

503 E 1st St, Dayton - 45402
109 reviews
Mexican Tex-Mex
(937) 999-4230

Overall, I was disappointed. I should have listened to some of the reviews below!The food itself was not too bad, of the 9 different tacos my group had, 7 were pretty good.The biggest issue with the whole experience was the service. We had a seat, waited for about 5 minutes, and we were all set to order. We gave our drink orders and said we are also ready to order food. She said "well I can't remember all that" and walked away. She barely checked on us during our meal, instead valuing the gossip with her coworkers and the TV. It truly made us feel like pests, not guests.Parking: Parking is limited to street availability.

Flies flies flies yeah! They’re gonna get you! And your food. We won’t be going back. The taco shells were stale, the service was meh, and there were flies everywhere. This was our second time trying it. We decided to give it another chance because, although our food wasn’t great, our server was super nice last year. This time, the food was worse and so was the service. The only good thing about this place is its nice location.

I’ve been here three times now just for this chimichanga. I have been to many restaurants around the nation and I’ve never had a chimichanga this good in my life. And Jamar is a machine behind the bar, he KILLS it with the margs. The Hong Kong Fooey taco is a favorite.My family and friends love this place.

Nice place. Food was decent BUT they need a blind or something to block the Setting Sun . It blinds you if you're sitting on the wrong side of the table. Rotating the table might also be an option.Good view of the ballpark. They do not do karaoke anymore because the apartments that surround the restaurant have complained. Seriously what did those people think when they moved into a place with a bar attached?Completely forgot to bring us our desserts so that is why I'm giving it 4 stars.

Self-serve chips & salsa stand is a nice option. Ordered guac, which was good, but stupid expensive for the portion size.Local Cantina house cerveza was passable, but not even served as a full pint (which I guess didn’t really matter because I didn’t bother to finish it).Our server was nice enough; most of the other staff members seemed miserable (when they were actually around).Dining room was dirty. Food debris on empty tables. Our table top was sticky.Atmosphere left a ton to be desired. Loud club music didn’t really fit the early afternoon vibe. Movies with bloody violence on the TVs seemed like an odd choice for a dining experience. No one seemed like they were having a good time (especially the staff).Ordered several tacos. They were okay. One had a very chewy tortilla. Both tacos with fried ingredients had an odd taste; not sure if it was due to old oil in the fryer or not, but it was very noticeable with both items despite all the other ingredients and sauces on top.Overall, I’m in no rush to return, and if asked to recommend I would do so with caution.

04/23/2022: Stopped in after a Dragons game. Nice place, we didn't see our waitress for 20 minutes, the guy that sat us took our drink order, he brought water. After ordering our food I ordered a beer. The other drinks that were ordered when we sat down showed up when our food arrived, easily 30 minutes after sitting down. The food was very good, but my beer never showed up. Our server was very good with my two grand kids, she asked my grandson for this autograph, she had him blushing. To bad our drinks showing up so late, probably would have ordered a second round if the drinks would have been timely.

Food was average at best and even though restaurant was very empty food and drinks took forever. Employees were clearly more interested in joking around than helping customers. Only real positive of note is the bottled hot sauces were solid. Would not return.

Absolutely outstanding food, service, and atmosphere. The staff was great and the food was fantastic. Definitely plan to make this visit more often.Pro tip: the Cantina Fish is amazing.

love it good food and people

Nice spot for some good tacos! Came on taco Tuesday which was pretty busy. But the food was great! Drinks were a bit pricey for the size. Server was very patient and nice.Definitely a colorful interesting spot.Parking is a little difficult to find during busy times so give yourself extra time to find a spot to park.