El Cardenal Cantina

Great local watering hole. We had an abundance of snacks served with our drinks. The music was a little loud but thoroughly enjoyable. Will definitely go back for more.

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.

My husband and I loved this bar! It was down to earth. Full of locals, basic drinks and a great atmosphere and vibe. We referred to it as “our local dive bar.” Nothing fancy, just a great place to relax, enjoy and unwind away from the touristy fishbowl.

Golden Rush was an amazing cover band! They made the experience so great. The drinks were delicious, food was good, and the price was very fair. Really good experience, would love to go back.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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. 👌🏻🍻

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.

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

Awesome cantina! They always have promos going on so ask your waiter about any. They bring small snacks to the table for free and the food is delicious. We had the fish ceviche and the guacamole pizza and they were both awesome! Also we had GIANT & delicious Tinto de Verano cocktails 👍🍹 Yum!

Great fun. A local place, almost no tourists go. Oldest bar in merida. Good beer. Greet music. Great vibe. Bad service (but that's cos it's so busy!)

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.

A new Resturant so staff is new. However the chef is excellent and runs other restaurants. So you can be assured the food is authentic and good.

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.

Nice place to hear live music 🎶 Great vibe, kind people Service was top notch and the food was great as well.

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