Welcome to Mérida’s oldest cantina. Having opened its doors over 100 years ago, this traditional style bar is packed with colorful, glitchy decor and folk stories from the locals. The staff is friendly and drinks are cheap. Food is okay, but good enough to snack while you chat it up with friends, listen to some live music or stop for a beer on the way home. They keep all the bar basics in the menu; burgers, nachos, pizza and a few Yucatecan dishes. The place is not very big, so the live bands can get in the way of having a conversation…live music most days of the week after 7pm. Drink specials on the weekends on beer and mezcal.

Really nice, relaxed. Great place for a beer on an early afternoon. No crowd today, but was hard to get in on the weekend. Mostly a local hangout. Botanas were very good for a small price. From the menu, I had their chicken sabututes, which were excellent and reasonably priced. Overall, much nicer than the pre-covid days. It has probably been here for 50+ years. I was here in 1977 and again in 2006. Was more divy on those days. Just reopened after covid shutdown. Another place I am adding to my list of great Merida cantinas.

Great vibes, even during Covid. My cousin and I enjoyed ceviche, wings, beer, and mezcal. The patio area has a great vibe and it appears as though live music is available in the evenings.

If you are looking for a traditional Mexican cantina that is not yet too touristy, this is the place to come to. They have live music every night and the overall atmosphere is really fun. The food is what could be called "bar food." It is what one would expect at a cantina. The service is very, very good. Drinks are really a personal preference; we usually stick to beers and tequila. Some love their cocktails, some don't. The only major downside is the bathroom (men and women). I hate to be blunt but they are really bad. The overall consensus is that they are in urgent need of a major renovation. UPDATE: The bathrooms have been renovated and are much better now.

Spent an afternoon here after a day of traveling and It was exactly what we needed. Great drinks, great food, and very friendly service. I noticed they were going to also have live music later in the day- excited to go back!

The most horrible food I had in Mexico. We ordered the yucateco plate and every single item was either burnt or tasted like nothing. The cocktails had no alcohol in them and even the michelada wasn’t so good. The music was too loud and the toilets were dirty. On top of that the waiter complained when we didn’t tip. I don’t understand all the good reviews.

Good cantina for live music, outdoor seating and big drinks in the Santiago neighborhood. I wouldn't go back for the food, but would go back for music and company.

We’re staying about a block away for a few weeks and this will be our go-to spot. The Food is incredible The Vibe is incredible The Drinks are incredible Live music was sensational The owner, jesus, is a gem. He has passion and talent. And is also so welcoming and sweet. We had the Camarones a la Diabla tacos. I’ve never had anything that delicious. So much flavour! Definitely the best tacos I’ve had in Merida so far (but also my life????) Can’t wait to go back. Apparently there’s live music every night and on Saturdays tribute bands perform of some pretty big Mexican and international artists - Selena, Bon Jovi, Alejandra Guzman, Luis Miguel, etc.

Amazing place! Super generous servings of free snacks with beer purchases - the snacks kept coming with each beer I ordered, I ended up with enough food for a full dinner! Great ambience too with the wonderful live music. Highly recommend!

Never been to a Cantina before. Great service, and drinks. AND the best bit… free snacks. Love it.

Vegetarian Options Available! Happy vegetarians! Great place for good drinks, with enough alcohol 🍺. We have tried so many drinks 🍹 around the city of Merida and finally we found the right place. Prices are really good.

Very much a dive bar aesthetic, which I loved! Mixed crowd but depends on the night you go and have occasional live music playing. Though I've been told they have someone playing every other night. Don't forget to tip these guys, they go above and beyond. Go check it out!

The best cantina in Merida! And the best bartender, she always remember I love michelada MANGO 🥭

I came for an early lunch on a weekday and the place was nearly empty, which is what I was looking for. It was relaxing, and the food was good. They didn't have all the vets listed on the menu, but that's nothing unusual these days. I had panuchos with chicken (my first) and enjoyed them. With two beers they were enough for a light and beery lunch. I like the selection of music they were playing and could see coming back in the evening for food, drinks & live music.

Three stars for the service of the waiters, the wings are good, the Miches and the cheladas very well, but the cleaning of the place is terrible, I know it is a canteen but garbage outside the boats, the bathroom it smells like fungus, and you can see it in the sink, I don't have a photo because I left the bathroom, and they almost forced me to give them my phone number alleging health protocol, which during the entire pandemic to all the other canteens and restaurants where I've been never asked me,

Cool hangout spot. It was a Thursday night and they had a cover band playing. Patrons really singed their hearts out with the band which made our visit even more fun.

We came a couple of times to El Cardenal during our stay in Merida. You won't find lots of tourists here, this is a local place, but that is what we love the most. Look them up on Facebook to find their specials and the cartelera. During March, they had 2x1 pizzas on Thursdays and nachos on Wednesdays. Fantastic guacamole pizza #sinqueso

We've been coming for years as our neighborhood cantina. After each time, we leave saying, there was something off. The mixed drinks were over salted. Quality of food was terrible. The band was amazing.

The good: music (jazz night) was great, bar has a nice atmosphere and decor, feels quite relaxed - dive bar atmosphere but with a good mix of people, tourists and locals. Food (pizza and wings) was pretty good, although it took a very long time to arrive despite being simple. Good promotions (check their Facebook page). The bad: drinks were very watered down, you may prefer to stick to beer. Table, floors and menu were sticky. The ugly: we had to wait for ages for our change on the bill and ask different waiters several times for it to be given back. It felt like the waiter wanted us to give up, leave and just leave all the change. And then when change was finally returned, the waiter unilaterally decided to keep 10% as a tip. We would probably have left more if he hadn't done this. It left a very bad taste after a pleasant evening.

The perfect place for enjoying two extremely talented musicians playing live 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s rock! The service is excellent and the ambience is magical - the twinkly fairy lights and hanging red and yellow lights, with the whimsical decorations make for a truly memorable and fun time.

Came, cleaned the table with the napkins myself (because the waiters were passing by me and seemed like I was not there))) and waited for 25min (!!!) until the waiter brought me this (he called it Mojito)…. Very sad and with such service don’t worth any attention…

Great food at this 100+ year old establishment. Live music was fantastic. Would recommend sticking to standard spirits, as the cocktails felt slightly imbalanced. Overall a very wonderful experience!

Really nice place to hang out. Kelly was very service minded and recommended which tequilas and mezcals to drink. To get frozen glasses in the heat is very much appreciated. 👌🏻🍻

The staff was great. Great prices and they offered us complimentary appetizers on the house!

Oh my God what a wonderful place! Very good staff, super-tasty quesadilias, perfect drinks and today they had a wonderful band playing rock'n'roll music live! It was a wonderfull experience, thank you!

Loved this place. Fun atmosphere. Lots of food options. There was 2 for 1 pizza the night we were there. Eclectic decor which added to the vibe. No probs getting a table on a Thursday night. Great drinks. Enjoyed our first dinner in Merida here

Great outdoor patio with mood lighting and tropical plants. They also have a large covered area in case of rain. Good appetizers and pleasant servers. The only negative is that they close at 10 pm. So, go a little earlier and it will not matter.

This place is well made. I love the art, the trees and the music. They let you dance! Also, try the jamaican drink with mezcal. So good.

Local bar with unusual decor and a welcoming vibe. Quiet bar at the front, larger garden area at the back with live music. Decent food. The pok chuuk pizza with avocado sounds all wrong but tastes great. Have it with a Victoria beer. Excellent combo and great value. One pizza is plenty for two people to share.

A great neighborhood pub / catina...nightly music...been 3 times and been impressed w Bands...Tuesday is 2for 1 wings!! Wednesday was beers and Thursday is pizza...basic pizza Nice outdoor patio/ courtyard...treed in, great murals on the inside A great neighborhood spot! Will visit again w friends and family!!

If you want to go local you should definitely eat at El Cardenal Cantina. The food is traditional Yucatan style and very tasty. We also had some nice Mexican music playing on radio.

Really great neighborhood cantina! The band last night was fantastic, wish I would have caught their name. Drink prices were reasonable and the pizza was really good! Staff did a good job as well. We will be back.