El Cantarito Bar & Grill

I had the lunch chicken fajitas. There was a generous portion of delicious chicken, and the presentation was nice. The meal included rice and sour cream/guacamole salad. José was our waiter. He was very attentive and provided excellent customer service.

Food was bland. It wasn’t bad, just no flavor. 3 out of 4 meals tasted like there was no seasoning. Drinks were ok too.
Service was great, we got there at 5:30 on a Thursday, there was no wait. By 6 it was full.

First off they just opened so you have to assume there are going to be long waits and there are a lot of kinks to work out. We went for dinner on Wednesday and waited about 30 minutes to be seated which was what they told us the wait would be. Initially we had great service and got chips & salsa and margaritas pretty fast but service went downhill from there. We ordered queso that took about 25 minutes to get to our table and we had to hunt down the server and remind her. We also had to hunt her down for more drink orders. I think a lot of this had to do with being a new restaurant and being very crowded. Food also took awhile to get out but it was hot and fresh food. Food wise and decor wise I would give this place 5 stars, but they will need to work out the kinks which is understandable for it just having opened.

One suggestion I would have for them would be to have phone numbers written down for waiting so you can get drinks at close by places while waiting to be seated and they could absolutely dim the lights. It is extremely bright in there and a more dim lighting could make for a much better atmosphere. They should visit La Santa (Glenwood South) and a’Verde Cocina & Tequila(Crossroads) to get some lighting and atmosphere ideas.

This place has a ton of potential and hopefully it will be a place that will be in downtown Fuquay for years to come! Be patient, but I would highly recommend El Cantarito Bar & Grill.

We came during lunch on a Tuesday around 12:30pm. We didn't have any issues finding parking or getting a table but it did look decently busy.

Pros:
-Everything tasted fresh, food was very tasty.
-House margarita was pretty strong for the price.
-Salsa was smoother than I generally prefer but flavor was on point.
-Lots of variety on the menu for both food and drinks.
-Great aesthetic. Trendy and modern decor.

Cons:
-Service was very meh. Our waitress didn't write down my husband's request for no sour cream and when his food arrived there was sour cream on it. She didn't come by to ask if everything was correct, and didn't ask if we wanted dessert or more drinks, just brought the check.
-We had a toddler with us and were not offered a high chair or a booster seat when we were seated, so not sure if they are available.
-They have paper straws, which I really do not like.

Overall, we will come back again and hope for a better service experience.

Overall pretty good - especially for a soft opening. Will definitely have to come back.