This place seems to be a bit polarising - with most other reviewers either completely loving or hating the experience. After visiting, I understand both. Let’s start with the good. When we arrived at around 18:00 on an otherwise quiet Monday night, there was live music in the bustling courtyard. Fortunately, it wasn’t so crowded that we couldn’t get a table without a reservation. Portions were more generous than expected and the service was good. On the flipside, the food was, well, food. Not bad, not great. Just food. I expect you can also drink a considerable amount of cocktails before you’d start to get buzzed. I probably would have rated this 3,5 stars if I could, but seeing as I can’t - three stars, it is.

This place absolutely slaps. The band is absolutely out of this world, and the staff keeps you full of free snacks as long as you’re drinking and having a good time. I came solo dolo and experienced nothing but good vibes from the staff here. If that isn’t a testament to how great this place is then I don’t know what is. This is an absolute 5 star of an establishment and I’m so jealous we don’t have a place like this back in San Francisco. Service is fast and prompt, there is so much seating and the diversity of the crowd is so heart warming. That guitarist is maybe the best I’ve ever seen live. This is coming from a guitarist who played in Nashville, so recognize that you are absolutely in for a treat. *Pro Tip* Ask for the encore and request that they play La Chona (The greatest song of all time).

La Negrita is a very popular drinking spot with never ending plates of free botanas and live music in the later afternoon and in the evenings. Only gripe is that they can get pretty busy and the service can be lacking

We had such a great time here! Live music with a great Spanish band.... great drinks, food was really delicious and the atmosphere was super fun!

Love this spot. It’s a vibe there’s live music cheap beer and mezcal flights. You get tons of bar snacks when you drink: peanuts, cucumbers, pork rinds, something to absorb the alcohol. a great place for friends or for a date. Also this bar is 100 years old plus with a huge outdoor section

Loved the vibe inside but the guy at the entrance and exit where extremely unfriendly. So that leaves me to think there’re unfriendly with foreigners

We came here after hearing the glowing reviews of other people we met on our trip. There is a great vibe with live music and lots of tables in the garden. Once the live music started playing, people started to dance. There was a line to get in, but strange enough there were still enough empty tables once we got in. First one of the waitresses wanted to place us in the beginning which didn’t look so nice and had a hallway vibe. Luckily enough another waitress was very helpful and gave us a great table in the garden. We had a portion of the arrachera nachos which ended up being enough for us as dinner. Definitely worth the visit if you visit Merida.

La Negrita is a bit of an insider tip. The atmosphere is exuberant, the live music uplifting and the refreshing drinks and delicious food authentic mexico. The service was friendly, however the cantina was very busy so the staff was stressed. I would still highly recommend La Negrita though!

Great place, great selection of food, excellent drinks. everything was excellent. A wonderful place to taste and enjoy the evening

Great place, great vibes. You get A TON of snacks with your first order of drinks. Prices are totally fair. Everything tastes good 👍🏻

A very lively bar, with live music and dancing. The cocktails leave a lot to be desired, and don't have much alcohol, but there's beer. They will give you snacks if you order a few drinks, which is nice.

A nice place to grab a bite and drink whilst listening to live music. It has a huge indoor garden/patio where you can take a seat. The food is quite a lot for the price, but don't expect super high quality. I would say it's a typical student-type bar like they have in Sweden (except with very local Mexican music)😉. Had a great time here, but personally I care more for small high-end bites. If you are looking for a place to enjoy music and nicely priced drinks, then give it a try! I would recommend the agua Jamaica and some quesadillas.

We came here to dance and drink. Wait in the entrance line for ~10 minutes. Finally, we got a table far away from the dance floor and all the activities. Order a margarita which one was so suor. Guys at the nearby table got their sour cocktails as well. Moreover, they should give you free snacks for your order. We got nothing, nevertheless on other tables we saw a lot So, finally, all expectations and experience were ruined by service and attention to their responsibilities.

Great vibe but THEY WILL SCAM YOU for money. Watch you bill, be careful. Just visited this place and after hearing good things we were excited. Drinks were good and reasonable and the vibe was great. However, when it came to paying I paid by card. Put my card in and the waiter handed me the card machine which asked how much I wanted to tip. I added 5%, we only had one round of drinks so we literally only saw our waiter 3 times (once to be seated, once with our drinks and once to pay). I handed the machine back to the man, he looked at the screen, look confused, frowned and pulled my card out. He then put my card back in, this time when he handed me the machine it didn’t ask the tip amount it just asked for my pin. I did the maths, and the total shown on the screen was more than the total + 5%. Doing the maths again, it turns out that he had added a 10% tip this time, knowing for well that i had only added 5% previously. I didn’t argue as my Spanish isn’t very good and it was very loud in there. He absolutely knew what he was going and it is a big scam, as he then took my customer receipt with him so that I couldn’t check the price again. But as we only had two drinks I know that he scammed us! If you’re unhappy with a 5% tip why have it as an option? Disappointing as it ruined a lovely evening and we had planned to return for food but absolutely will not be going back, as will be warning people. Noticed there were lots of white people in here, lots of travellers and expats but very very few Mexicans. Perhaps it’s because the locals know they will scam you.

This place is so much fun! Live Cuban music, cheap drinks and free snacks. Great vibe here. Can get busy so you may want to get here a little earlier than the live music starts so you can get a spot. 100% recommend!

I was so looking forward to visiting this historic bar. But I was disappointed. The waiters were rude and seemingly didn’t want to wait on me. From there, the food was extremely underwhelming, especially for a “historic place.” I’d say, it’s worth a 1 drink stop to see the indoor outdoor seating. Skip the food, and move on to the next place.

I absolutley loved this place for the ambiance and vibe of Caribbean Mexico. They where playing live musik while serving strong big drinks. The food was avarage but a good offering and complimentary starters that where really nice. Go to this place to have a good night with drinks and amazing vibes and musik.

One of oldest cantinas still open after the covid. And, one of the best. Ice cold beer and great food. Ignore pre-covid reviews about too many entilted tourists. They are gone for now, mostly. Everyone is friendly, nice to all.

A great spot for small snacks and giant drinks for good prices!! The music is loud and thumping so make sure you’re in the mood to jam. Wait staff is very courteous and notices immediately if your drink is empty!! Came here on our first night and absolutely loved it. Come if you’re feeling snacky and wanna drink!

If you want to dance and eat great food here is your spot. Get there early because it fills up fast.

This place rocks. Good food. Reasonable drinks. Good service. Great music.

If you are looking for a genuine Yucatan cantina experience, look no further. This place has it all. Amazing staff, daily promos, amazing drinking, and BOTANAS!! Free food when you drink! Amazing music and ambiance and the staff are super friendly, no AC but dozens of massive fans scattered all over keeping the place nice and fresh all day and night. The food when ordered was amazing, if the botonas don't fill you up! I suggest the electric lemonade. The Pina colada and mojito and great too. Grande is totally worth it too

What an amazing experience at La Negrita cantina! They offer free bar snacks as you drink, and the live music each night is crazy good. Everybody will be up and dancing around the tables, and the place gets packed full each night. It is the best atmosphere in all of Merida, and the drinks are insanely good. We had plenty of micheladas as well as the famous "Electric Lemonade" which was a blue lemonade and mezcal concoction topped with Chamoy and Tajin. They are served in these huge glass jars and are absolutely delicious. The snacks are great, and they come by a couple times an hour to reload your table.

A great place to visit while in Merida ended up going every night while there.

Our new favorite place to visit in Merida. Good music, great service and excellent prices!

Such a fun place!! I was exploring the neighborhood alone and stopped by for a local Yucatan beer. I got a seat at the bar and watched the live band. Looked like a great place to come with a group of friends.

Beautiful place, fun music, fun guests! Great service, fair prices and good food and drinks. We ate and drank all night and spent around 500 MXN per person (we drank cocktails, beers and shots). We danced and had a dream time! Recommend! (Reserve if you can, we wanted to stay in the main room to watch the live music but they were fully booked).