I approached La Cabana, which is in Venice, with a few different wants; To enjoy the margaritas, to get drunk off the margaritas, and this may be pushing it, but to eat some decent Mexican food. That’s right, it was Friday night and I cared much more about the drinking than the eating. A fun and festive atmosphere wouldn’t hurt either. I was a bit cranky when we walked in because we were running late. They don’t take reservations so I knew we would have to wait. The restaurant was what I expected. The place was dimly lit and the dark booths were crowded. It was about 8:30 and they hostess told us the wait could be about an hour for six of us, so we high-tailed it to the bar. The minute we walked through the back door my mood was infinitely brighter; the party was on the patio. I wondered why anyone would even want to sit inside.
I asked for the biggest possible margarita on the rocks with salt, and the bartender did not disappoint. Not only was it huge, it was also potent. I went with the house margarita while my friend shelled out the $26 for the Patron version. We watched as they poured shot after shot into her glass, and she had no qualms about handing off her debit card.
It didn’t feel like we’d waited an hour, but to be honest, we were drinking so fast that it felt like we’d been there five minutes before they showed us to our patio table. It was a little warm out there with the full crowd and the heaters blasting, but we were pretty comfortable. Also worth noting, the hostess did mention that there was smoking on the patio. I detest when places seat you without warning you that someone will be smoking while you eat, but the smoke never bothered us anyway.
Most of the menu was in Spanish a seemingly obvious detail, but with six girls talking and getting liquored up focusing on the menu was somewhat confusing. We started with a small guacamole, which disappeared in seconds. For my main course I settled on the Papa y Chorizo Quesadilla, which, it turns out, was the Pancho Villa quesadilla with chorizo added. I hadn’t bothered to read what that was, (potato and cheddar) so I was a little surprised to find potatoes in my meal. I still loved it. Be forewarned, however, their plates don’t come with guacamole and sour cream on the side. You have to ask for it.
There were a few veggie burritos ordered, which were gigantic, and described as “good, but too much rice.” I didn’t actually try the La Caracola, a spinach and shrimp Quesadilla, but that was also given a “good,” not “great.” The truth is that we were so busy drinking and chatting that we really didn’t pay enough attention to what we ordered or how we wanted it. Still, my chorizo quesadilla was delicious with the sides of guac and sour cream.
Towards the end of the meal tuxedo-clad mariachi singers approached, three older men with toupees and deep voices. We requested a love song and they offered it in English, Spanish or Italian. I figured Spanish would be the way to go but someone yelled “Italian!” so there it was, an Italian serenade at the end of our Mexican meal. The biggest surprise of all was the bill. For all those drinks, food and fun, it came to about $30 each, granted we’d paid for our first round at the bar.
We stumbled upon La Cabana by accident since I’d confused it with another restaurant, but I’m so glad I did. I’ll be going back for a giant margarita and another rowdy, Mexican good time. I should also mention that they stay open and serve food ’til 3am every night of the week, so if you have nowhere to be, you can just make a night of it.
Photo by naanÂ
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1 Louis // May 7, 2008 at 11:13 am
I grew up eating here…
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