Mission Cantina

We stopped in at the mission cantina on a rather cold and dismal Friday evening. I hadn't been there since the beginning of the pandemic when it was takeout only with a few picnic tables in the parking lot.

We started with a margarita, a sangria, and the chili which came with tortilla chips for dipping etc. It was excellent with an amazing depth of flavor, I'd definitely order it again.

They had fried clam tacos as a special, who was I to say no so I ordered 2.... First off, the tacos were much larger than I expected. I definitely could have gotten away with ordering one.

The first taco was pretty sublime with nice crispy breading and tender clams. The second taco not so much. There was a lot of shell/grit and a couple of the clams were super rubbery.

I love mission cantina and will definitely be back, but I don't think I'd order these again. We left with a liter of their yummy sangria.

Taking my review down one star because we just drove over an hour to get here, had friends meet us from an hour another direction and they're closed when the hours say they should be open.

Second update: tons of cars pulling in and leaving.. while we were figuring out where else to go a guy who placed an online order asked us how to get in... they didn't even turn off their online ordering when deciding to not open. While I hope there wasn't some kind of emergency and this was just a bad decision because it's Super Bowl Sunday, this is wild...

Absolutely delicious, friendly service, and they got 5 stars from me officially (which might have been a 4- just bc the menu is a limited and they don't allow any modifications- that's tough with kids and allergies) because I had to offset the stupidity of a previous reviewer who gave one star- because he was lonely and there weren't enough other customers there to entertain him. It's a restaurant not a support group! Will definitely be back! Portions were large, I was moved to leave a review after enjoying the yummy leftovers for lunch.

This is very good Mexican food for the east coast. I got a chicken burrito and it was huge and delicious! I would recommend getting extra salsa on the side. The chicken was tender, the rice was perfectly cooked, and the beans were so flavorful! I wish there had been more salsa in the burrito, but overall it's very solid especially for being in western Massachusetts. Definitely the best Mexican food I've had in non-urban area.

I came here back when I was a Smith student in '14 and loved it! Great food and service. I was in the area recently and decided to visit again. Boy, have things changed.

My friend and I entered the establishment wearing masks and sat at the bar. The bartender who served us acted like she was annoyed with us the entire time. Not even a fake smile, which made our meal offputting to say the least.

The food was great, but wouldn't come back based on this visit alone despite me visiting twice before.

I love them! I have been coming here with my family for years. Roughly around 2012 when they were still the small little restaurant. All of their food is really great and I'm always happy with whatever I get. The servers are always very friendly especially the ones that have been there since the beginning. I only knocked off one star since they stopped having a steak option for a meat choice. Really great restaurant, with great staff and food. This is the spot I always bring my guests from out of town to. :)

If you are feeling a bit peckish, and what you want are tacos, prepared well and at reasonable prices, maybe some chips and guacamole, and a beer to wash it all down, while sitting in a fun room with a spot on 80s and 90s juke-a-box, you would do well to curtail your walpoling activities and head on over to Mission Cantina forthwith!

I will be happy to change this, should the situation change:

I went in this Saturday evening to have a few drinks and some food. I go out to mingle or I bring a friend to hang out with. As I was out to mingle this night my only need is people. Mission Cantina had 1 man drinking a beer and a group of 4 colleagues just leaving as I came in. The bar was nearly empty, save for one other man and the bartender.

I will try again next Friday / Saturday.

When I say this is my favorite quesadilla that I've ever had, this is not an exaggeration. I cannot express this more vividly: I love this restaurant and everything it gives to humanity with every ounce of my being. I'm not sure if it's actually possible to have more savory, sumptuous, traditional and fat laden Mexican food unless you go south of the US border. I know it's Amherst, Massachusetts and you would never expect that town to get Mexican so right but oh my God, the mission DID IT. The mission's mission is accomplished. I will continue to drive an hour and 45 minutes from Boston year over year to taste this food. The braised beef quesadillas are five cheese goodness laden with the most savory, melt in your mouth beef you'll ever swallow. Most Mexican restaurants make you pay extra for sides like guac and sour cream, the mission delivers complementary guac and sour cream with every quesadilla. It comes right next to the plate. Not to mention the refried beans are everything you want in a refried bean. The beans are sweet, earthy, mashed and fried to perfection in pork fat. They drip with flavor. It's been three hours and my palate is still tripping on these beans. I will never be the same.

The cantina salad is equally savory and delicious. It has a delicious bacon laden dressing that reminds you of a southwest cactus infested Mexican kitchen dive hut... whatever that means, I'm just word vomiting at this point. Like holy crap sign me up for this every single day of my life.

The mission has so much character and style. Their bar is a big round inviting horseshoe that protrudes right into their front entrance. There are tables are painted like Mexican flags and their wait staff is friendly and always professional. We had the best waiter tonight, a guy who said he's been working there seven years. A UMASS alum. How is it possible to leave that place once you've tasted their food, of course he's been working there seven years. I started going here in college 10 years ago. They recently added an outdoor patio and it's opened up the restaurant a lot. there are two bars in the restaurant on either side of the restaurant separated by a wall. Just saying, you feel like you're in Texas but you're in Western Mass. Doesn't make any sense, but I highly recommend you see it for yourself. PSA: THE BIRRIA TACOS WHEN THEY HAVE THEM ON SPECIAL

Fun place
Generous portions
10x better then Garcia's
Fish TacosLoaded TacosGrilled Chicken Burrito