Viva Taqueria & Cantina
| Address: | 101 N Aurora St & E State St, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA |
| Phone: | +1 607-277-1752 |
| Site: | vivataqueria.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Kevin
Wish I could leave no stars. I have been to viva on multiple occasions, and something always seems to go wrong or someone is always impolite. This past visit was such a miscarriage of service I had to write a review to warn others. After being seated, we waited 20 minutes before being asked for our drink order. It would be understandable if it were busy, but it was not. While placing our order for drinks, we ordered our apps and meal as well. The waitress assured us that they would bring the apps out before our meals. 45 minutes later not only was our food not there, we were STILL waiting for our drinks!! Totally unacceptable! Shortly after asking for a 4th time for our food and drinks, everything came out at once. Our server was extremely rude the entire time, acting as if we were an annoyance for eating there! The food was ok, not bad but nothing noteworthy(which is OK, not bad food). Here is even more of a kicker. I left my wallet on the table on accident, and came back later that night to get it (they were closed but let us in) and luckily they had it behind the bar. My cards and ID were still there, but $200 was missing... convenient. I was so disappointed (and even with the terrible serivce, I still tipped well 20%). Nothing friendly from anyone there, even the manager was displeased and was reluctant to and unhappy. The location is still great, its too bad it isnt a better place
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Kelly Schmid
This restaurant is doing itself a disservice by not implementing a system to make seating more efficient. Tonight was the second time in a row that I put my name in for a table and likely would still be standing there had I not spoken up (like every other place in Ithaca they do not take reservations). I was told there would be a 35 minute wait so my party and I walked down the Commons and returned no more than 10 minutes later. 40 minutes after we returned we watch the host seat a party that arrived well after us. When I spoke to the host about this he claimed that he tried to find us but we werent there....we had been standing there for the past 40 minutes (I was timing it). We got the next table- about 1 hour after we had put our name in. The poor hosts at this restaurant (I am fully aware-as a former server- that the is is not the hosts fault, but the owners/managers) have no system in place to properly seat people. Rather, they write names on a piece of paper and just look for the person that requested the table when said table in ready- they dont even call the name out! They desperately need a better system and until this happens I will not be returning. It is not my job as the customer to be worrying about being overlooked or forgotten because of a restaurants poorly thought out seating plan. This restaurants only saving grace is that it serves good food and has good servers.
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A Private User
We had lunch at the Cantina and were thoroughly disappointed. I had been craving Mexican food like I remember eating from my hometown of El Paso. We thought wed give this place a try. If youre looking for some place quiet enough to hear the person across from you talk, this place is not it. But when there are lulls in conversation maybe youll catch a strain of 80s music in the background which do not enhance your dining experience. I felt the place lacked ambience, despite the colorful paint. We ordered salsa and chips, the chicken quesadilla and the super burrito thats first on the list of burrito choices. I didnt like that we had to pay for salsa and chips. :( The salsa was loaded with onion and cilantro; however fresh, it didnt even have a kick that mild salsa offers. The chips though were good. My quesadilla was pretty good but my husbands burrito was seriously yuck. Not sure why but they added cinnamon and nutmeg to it so it tasted more like potpourri. We called it the potpourrito. I give this place two stars. If youre looking for a quick bite to eat the place isnt bad. But if youre looking for more authentic Mexican food Id go elsewhere first.
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Stephen D
For authentic Mexican in NY, it doesnt get any better than this! Over the years Ive patronized many authentic Mexican restaurants from NY to CA to AZ, so I think you can rely on my comments. If all youve experienced is Taco Bell or the slightly better Del Taco or even the quality ingredients of Chipotle, then you still havent had a real Mexican meal. Were hard to please, but Viva Taqueria in Ithaca is as good as it gets anywhere weve been to in NY State! In fact we were staying in Aurora and made a few 30 mile trips to Ithaca to, among other things, get more of the good stuff. We especially liked their fillings of grilled chicken, shredded chicken Mole and (vegetarian) calabacitas. Their seasoned rice, guac and pico de gallo were all fresh and authentic. You cant go wrong with their Super burrito or any of their tacos. The place can be cramped (they really should expand) but the atmosphere is good and the service was friendly and fast - impressive because they are usually so busy. Enough for now - I think I need to find another reason to head back out to Ithaca...
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alexander emmanuel pacheco
After being seated we waited a full 15 min at a table before being greeted or even given water- had to ultimately go inside and find someone myself. Very frustrating as we had just come from a hike and were very hungry and thirsty. Service after that was fine, nothing special. The food is... not good. "Steak Fajitas" were actually some type of compressed meat product, imagine a gyro slice for example. Guacamole was almost liquid, like it had been blended, not chunky. The michelada was very confused, had lime juice but no spice or savory seasonings in the bottom at all. Dumped some hot sauce in and that sort of helped. The saving grace is basically a) sitting outside in the center of Ithaca drinking beers and people watching is really nice and b) the price is right. Place is pretty cheap. If this were not the case I would see very little reason to go here. I would possibly consider coming back with lowered expectations and trying again.
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David Williams
Overall, I would not go back to this restaurant. Food was very bland in taste and in color. When I think if Mexican food, I think of very tasty, colorful food. I had the cheese enchiladas with green sauce, which also came with beans and rice. The black beans were bland as was the rice--no flavoring or coloring. It was like they boiled the black beans and just put them on the plate with the steamed rice. Everything was about the same temperature except the pickled thick carrot and onion slices and garlic cloves which were slightly more cool than the rest of the dish, but were also sweet which did not match well with the rest of the plate. The green sauce only added color--no taste or spiciness. Actually, I think Taco Bell has a better use of color, texture, spiciness, and temperatures in a contrasting fashion to make the meal more appealing to the customer and for a lot less money.
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RObby Stone
Ive been in upstate NY for five years now and been on a desperate search for quality Mexican cuisine; this place continued the trend of disappointment. Mole was sadly over-the-top sweet and molasses laden, tomatillo sauce was clearly under roasted prior to hitting the food processor, re-fried beans had enough cumin to choke a donkey. It seems as though they thought sugar added to every recipe would improve the flavor profile; let me tell you, it did not. As busy as the place was, I guess theyve got a handle on continued operation but I would attribute that to the location 100%. They certainly arent doing it with the food or the service which was adequate but surly and unappreciative. I didnt expect much from a college town joint but Viva dropped the bar even from initially low expectations.
