Carlitos Cafe y Cantina

Carlitos Cafe y Cantina Restaurant Review:

Carlitos Cafe y Cantina is the flagship restaurant of the Lopez family. Typically a theater-goers dream --- the place is located across the street from the historic Arlington Theater and just up the street from the Granada Theater --- it’s the outdoor patio with its three-tiered water fountain and live music that makes you feel like you’re on a perpetual vacation. At night, the white lights twinkle above guests. Mesquite-grilled specialties are popular, as are the margaritas. The menu is fairly uninspired, a safe collection of Americanized Mexican dishes such as nachos, grilled prawns with papaya salsa, shrimp empanadas, vegetable tostadas and sizzling mahi mahi fajitas. Traditional items include hearty bowls of pozole, chile rellenos and house-made albondigas soup. The service is average, but the chips and salsa flow freely on the house.