Oaxaca Restaurante & Cantina

Laurel Legare
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
11
Reviews
5
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Editor Pick

Genuine Mexican Dining Experience

  • March 31, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Genuine Mexican Dining Experience

After a week in Arizona, it was time to finally enjoy a good Southwestern meal. Mexican restaurants are popular in this part of the country and pretty much a dime a dozen. I had encouraged patience with David especially after our first outing for Mexican food was averted due to a kitchen fire back in Flagstaff. Patience paid off when we selected Oaxaca Restaurant and Cantina in Sedona!

After a rather full and tiring day, we were both ready for some adult beverages and strawberry margaritas were the chose de jour. We were a bit sticker shocked at the $8.95 per drink for a 16 oz glass but the margaritas were slushy frozen delights with very good flavor, although a bit weak on the booze. Ordinarily we'll feel a bit tipsy after a couple of these cocktails, but not tonight. That's ok; we weren't drinking to get drunk, but to the contrary . . . to relax. Mission accomplished!

For dinner I ordered an off the menu shredded beef wrapped with melted cheese on top and sides of mild red sauce and sour cream. They meat had been prepared with a night mix of spices, providing a mild kick, but not too much for my typically sensitive taste buds. Served with side dishes of the obligatory fried beans and rice, there was simply too much food to eat!

David had the steak fajitas which came out with all the sizzle and aroma you'd expect. His dish had a generous serving of meat, prepared with green and red peppers, onions, and mushrooms. With six tortillas, freshly made guacamole, and all of the other accompaniments, he also had more than he could eat in one sitting.

While initially I was a bit disappointed that they did not serve a complimentary basket of tortilla chips and salsa, I was soon happy that I hadn't filled up on them. For those who want them, they are available for $5.00.

Before our trip, I had found a "buy one entree, get another half-priced" on the local Sedona Chamber of Commerce web site so our dinner including the bar tab (which was more expensive than our dinners) came to a total of $80.00 including tax and gratuities.

Service was outstanding, the atmosphere pleasant and chairs very comfortable. After sitting for over an hour after a long day of hiking and being outside, I could barely move. I thoroughly enjoyed dinner and cocktails at Oaxaca and would go there again in a heartbeat when in Sedona.

They are located right in the "uptown" area of Sedona, on what can best be described as the main drag in town (89A). More information including menus may be found on their web site: http://www.oaxacarestaurant.com/.

From journal Sedona in Around 24 Hours

Oaxaca Restaurante & Cantina

  • October 20, 2006
  • Rated 1 of 5 by butterfly53 from Winsted , Connecticut

Oaxaca Restaurant was one of the places that our resort had given us a card for a 10 percent discount. On the night we returned from the Grand Canyon, we needed a place close by and still open so we chose Oaxaca.
In Connecticut, we have several Mexican restaurants which we frequent. Frankly, we expected better in Arizona. Sad to say, we were not impressed with the food or the service.

The variety of food available is quite large. There is everything from Eggs Oaxaca, basically an omelette with jack and cheddar cheese covered with green chile sauce to enchiladas, salads and tacos. Jim chose a beef enchilada and I asked for a combo of beef taco and cheese and onion enchilada. Unfortunately, when I received my meal, the enchilada was also beef. When I attempted to get the waiter to acknowledge it was wrong, I couldn’t find him. I ate the Taco (which was passable, but not anything to brag about) and still he had not returned. Jim finally asked the girl busing the table to find him. It still took him another five minutes to arrive. When I told him it was wrong, he seemed puzzled. At any rate, I eventually got the enchilada I had ordered and it was NOT good. No taste, really. We were very disappointed in this place and would not recommend it.


We noticed that there was a party of six sitting next to us. They all had left the majority of their food on their plates, and did not ask for doggy bags. I guess they were not happy either. Prices are moderate, but maybe you get what you pay for!

From journal Sedona in the Fall

Oaxaca Restaurant

Very cutely decorated tourist trap; don't let the nifty decorations fool you, the food doesn't match it. I should have realized it when I asked the girl at the front desk to sit "someplace fun" and she said "nothing here is fun." Another big clue should have been that she had no idea what "mole" was, a staple of Mexican foods, and for which the Mexican state of Oaxaca is famous. Our server laughed when I ask if they had any Oaxacan specialties. (At the table next to us, the server was asking for drink orders from 15 feet away before the party barely had a chance to sit down.) Food was extremely lackluster. I had "fish tacos" that my son accurately described as fish-sticks-in-a-taco. His combination platter was a heaping mound of tastelessness. My wife's avocado enchilada was dish of mush. We were disappointed even by the salsa (small portion and bland) and chips (oily). The dinner ended with a nice fat check. The next day, we mentioned our experience to our motel desk clerk who said he would have warned us if we had checked with him first, and his criticisms of the place matched ours exactly. NOT recommended.

From journal Spring Break Touring in Arizona

Editor Pick

Oaxaca Restaurante and Cantina

  • January 4, 2006
  • Rated 1 of 5 by Kellie R. from Dallas, Texas
Knowing nothing about Oaxaca, my husband and I lunched there because it was across the street from our hotel.

We should have just ordered room service.

We decided to split grilled cactus as an appetizer, which was actually pretty passable--reminiscent of under-seasoned grilled asparagus. Our entrees, stuffed sopaipillas and taco salad, however, had a drive-through Mexican food (like Taco Bell) quality about them. Actually, I would have preferred Taco Bell; the food at Oaxaca just didn't have any flavor. (It's too bad, too--I had been dreaming about trying stuffed sopaipillas for months!)

There's not much to be said for the ambiance, either. While I did not find it particularly unappealing, there was certainly nothing charming about it. The cookie-cutter appearance of Oaxaca seemed very "chain restaurant," which is exactly opposite of the slice of local color and flavor we were hoping for.

Our waitress was not particularly interesting, friendly, or attentive, but neither was she unfriendly or unattentive. In fact, her service mirrored the food perfectly.

To be fair, there was no wait to be seated. There might be a reason for that...

From journal Bird's Eye View of Turkey Day

Oaxaca Restaurante & Cantina

  • October 5, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by shadow102 from Phoenix, Arizona
Patio dinning over looking main street. Cool breeze with music in the back groung. Great tasting and great quality food with plenty of drinks. A very polite staff dedicated to making your dining experience a memory.

From journal Family Vacation

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