El Puente Cantina

This is the best place hands down. I am an LA girl who grew up on the best Mexican food with many trips to AZ and TX thrown in. Since landing here I’ve found good — but not great. THIS is great.
One happy Gringa!

Great meal! We were looking for something different than a taqueria this evening. We’ve passed by this place many times and finally decided to try it out. Right away we were served chips, bean dip, and salsa; they all tasted hot and fresh. The sodas and horchata came in a large cup. And the entrees we ordered (Spinach Enchiladas, Chimichanga, and Veggie Fajitas) were all very good. They even included a quarter of an avocado as a garnish on each of our plates. They put the wrong sauce on one of the enchiladas, but they brought a fresh one to replace it. The place could be fixed up a bit more, but the food and service were very good.

Boy oh boy!
Where did we end up, it was saturday night when my friends and I decided this might be a cool little place to get some dinner and get our drinking on. First of all, the place looks extremely grimy and unclean. Making our way in we spotted a man relieving himself along a far wall, needless to say lunch was not had there. Not wanting to be negative nancies, we decide to give the place a chance to impress us. They were playing polka/​banda music which appealed to the drunk crowd, then they switched to a DJ who was obviously doing someone a favor, no way he was being paid to do what he did. We got out of there the first chance we got and never looked back, I wish I could say that it is a type of spot for certain types of people, but that would be an insult to whatever group I would classify as its clientele. Would never go back and I hope that once the place shuts down for lack of business, something worthwhile takes it’s place.

The food was filling, but not delicious. We didn’t get the attention from the waitress that we would have liked.

this place used to be good under previous ownership. It’s also right off the 101 NB next to Denny’s.
Now the food is bland and lacking any sort of quality taste. Chips are stale and the taquitos just aren’t very good.
also, if you want to be caught in between bar brawls and have glass bottles hit on your head, and possibly be shot during a physical altercation… this is your place.

They changed ownership and this place now SUCKS, the service was terrible and the food was horrid. I used to really really like this place, I will NEVER EVER come back. I was talking to the waitress and asked why the place was so empty, she sheepishly said that since they changed owners people have stopped coming. I’m not kidding our food was gross.

Best menudo in the Santa Rosa.

We hit this spot because we could walk to it from our hotel while in Santa Rosa. Dinner and drinks at the cantina sounded like a good plan after a long day, but it wasn’t really up to par in my opinion.
First I have to give kudos for the beautiful décor and furniture. We sat in the bar area just because we wanted to keep the vibe casual and watch a game. The rest of the restaurant didn’t seem like it was busy, but It took longer than expected to get some menus and then to get an order in. I guess they may have been shorthanded.
My biggest negative is about the Milionaire Margarita that I ordered. First, it was served in a pilsner glass (at least that’s what I would call it) which is not so traditional, but oh well it’s an alcoholic drink so drink it right? It was called a Millionaire Margarita because it was supposed to have top ingredients like 1942 Don Julio tequila and mix etc. I asked for salt. What do I get for $ 18 a glass? A tall glass of semi-​cold margarita that tastes like the mix could cost under $ 10 a gallon with table salt around the rim. Not a happy camper at this point, but still trying to be a good sport.
I wanted to order a huge meal, but restrained myself and ordered the shrimp tostadas which came with 2 tostadas. The dish was typical, but could have been better. I did like the super spicy slices of red chili that were hidden in the mix of shrimp. It was just a bit too much lime for me though. I would have preferred a less sour tostada. My husband ordered tacos (a la carte) and didn’t say much about them so I’m assuming they weren’t anything to write home about.
When we had asked for recommendations for taquerias in Santa Rosa this one did not come up. I guess it’s not known or there were better places. The convenience of the place got us in and that was okay by us. However, I would not return if in the area.

Friends and I have been going to El Puente for a long time now, the food is always great as well as the drinks and service.
What I do find concerning is that sometimes on Friday-​Sunday this place gets really busy and there is A LOT OF DRUG USE GOING ON! I encountered 5 Men coming out of a single person men’s restroom sniffing and stuff, I walked in and found baggies of COCAINE ON THE FLOOR! Tons of FIGHTS and apparently on a good day you can sometimes find FULL BAGGIES OF COCAINE! on the floor. This place should really be checked out by the police! OH and they DONT ID ANYONE!

Good eats. Friendly! Large portions.

I couldn’t stop it, my carro, that is, as it pulled into the El Puente Cantina parking lot adjacent to Denny’s on the Avenue. The restaurant’s been there as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until my auto steered me there on a rainy Saturday afternoon that I stopped and partook.
First came the warm, homemade chips and amazing salsa! Just right, as Goldilocks would say, and we ate it all up and asked for more. It seems our server not only served but doubled as the bartender, so service seemed exceptionally slow. The rest of the meal made up for it, though.
I ordered a chicken chimichanga — absolutely mouth-​wateringly delicious, and mi esposo ordered a plate with pan-​fried chicken breast, rice, beans, flour tortillas, peppers and greens that were topped with sour cream and guacamole. We split our meals and licked our platters clean.
True, the venue needs a makeover with new lighting to brighten it up, yet rightly priced and tasty food with a menu that goes on for several pages will bring us back again. There’s also a full bar, so we may return for Happy Hour some day when the weather’s better and we can sit outside on the patio.

We used to come here a lot. But the LAST time the taquitos were — like stale, bad, rancid, or some thing. So we mention it to the guy there — who knew us well cause we came once a week. Hey, these things don’t look or smell right. He leaves, then comes back and says the cook says they are fine. So, he doesn’t care, oh well — this place really is a dump. So theres not a whole lot to miss, check it out for your self, good luck. Just use a lot of hot sauce, that will make it all Ok. If your stomach hurts or worse, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’ve been passing by here for years and always wanted to stop in and check it out, well today I did just that!
I had a Chili Rellenos and a Chicken Enchilada and both were just OK. The service was attentive but not friendly. The place was a little run down too. The only saving grace was the salsa, it was good but could have been a touch fresher.
Kinda middle of the road all around.

I love Mexican food. It’s really hard to impress me in this category. I read the Unilocal reviews and decided to go. The service– quite impressive for a joint on Santa Rosa Ave. Salsa– hot off the bat and truly delicious. The area isnt great, nor the décor, but if your looking for quality food at a unbeatable price, its all here. Full bar, plasma tvs, they even have Wi-​fi! Great!
Service– 4
Décor– 3
Location — 2,
Food quality– 5
Food flavor– 5

this is our favorite mexican place in santa rosa. we love the waitress jessica — she is so sweet — and the chimichangas and burritos. the novelas and sports on the tv can be a little loud. if you hit the place at karaōke time it’s still loud, but much more entertaining.
chicas, be careful walking in heels in the parking lot!

I went there with my stepdad when I moved to Santa Rosa. He saw something about it in the Press democrat. The service was good and they were extremely friendly, it was pretty empty when we went. I loved my enchiladas (chicken), they had good salsa. My stepdad has the Chicken Mole and he really liked it, very authentic.

I’ve only been to El Puente a few times but it’s never disappointed.
This is a sit-​down restaurant — not a quick, cheap taqueria. But the prices are still decent and the food is great!
The chicken mole is really good and fairly sweet — although not the best I’ve had or anything — and the Al Pastor is also quite nice. The chips are crisp, fresh, and homemade. They have also two really tasty salsas (ask for the special hot stuff).
We went for a late dinner last night (Sunday) and just after getting our food, the place filled up with local Mexican Karaōke enthusiasts. Just like any Karaōke scene, some of the singers weren’t so great but others were pretty impressive — and some were muy borracho.
The whole scene was really entertaining and I’m eager to go back around the same time. I must admit that the two large margaritas I got from their full bar helped my mood, just a little!
Oh, yeah… here’s the standard breakdown:
— — — — — — — — — — — -
Taqueria point breakdown
— — — — — — — — — — — -
Feature/​Points (0 – 5)
Veggie ingreds./ 4
Meat/​4
Chips/​4
Salsa*/ 3
Authenticity or originality/​4 (traditional menu)
Service/​4
Atmosphere/​5
Value/​3
*Salsa breakdown:
Flavor/​4
Heat/​4
Variety/​2

Set slightly off street and tucked behind a Denny’s lies a hidden gem. While not fancy, the food is authentic and pretty darn tasty. Within a few minutes of sitting down, we were served our water along with freshly made chips and a salsa that had some good flavor and heat going on. My dinner partner ordered a beer and I a shaken Margarita; the beer was cold and came with a lime (no having to ask) and my Margarita was, well great. Nice pour!
For dinner I had the Chili Colorado ($ 8.99); here it is made with pork rather than the more Americanized way of using beef. This is very authentic. The sauce was a little acidic to my taste and the meat was semi tough, the rice and beans were homemade and flavorful. My dining partner had the Carnitas which were tender and moist. Always wanting to try a few things our first visit to a new restaurant we ordered a couple of sides — a Fish Taco ($ 2.99) the fish was sauteed rather than deep fried and served with the traditional taco toppings; and a Beef Tamale ($ 2.99) which had a nice meat to masa ratio. Our server took it upon herself to put those on one plate so she could charge less than the ala carte prices– a nice display of good customer service.
This is a place where locals come; a tele-​novela is playing on the television — at 7:30 you can hear the Mariachi band start practicing in the bar for the disco that starts there each weekend at 10:00 p.m. It’s not much to look at, but the food is good, the service attentive and the prices are very reasonable. LindySez — you should check it out!