That’s right Calgary, you have the folks over at the Starbelly Group to thank for yet another amazing local restaurant to grace our city. And what’s up their sleeve this time? Fresh authentic Mexican cuisine! There is no such thing as too much Mexican food and we are totally stoked about this new resto. Calavera Cantina is a vibrant new spot that’s giving us serious Venice Beach and traditional Mexican cantina vibes. Now open for in-person dining (yay!) and in case the Calgary weather decides to play nice, they also have an impressive 60 seat patio!
A personal favourite of Managing Partner, Derek Mihalik (and many Calgarians), Mexican cuisine just hits differently, and these guys have taken it to the next level. Calavera Cantina is led by Head Chef, Mike Westman who is determined to serve up fresh, balanced and incredibly flavourful dishes.
Staying true to Starbelly Group’s roots, Chef Westman is dedicated to supporting local partners by sourcing ingredients such as fresh tortillas from BC and coffee from our beloved Calgary Heritage Roasting Co.
So what’s on the menu? To start we HAVE to call out their mole sauce. Made from scratch with 27 different delicious ingredients, it’s absolutely out of this world! There’s so much more on the menu that we’re excited about, including the Chorizo Queso Dip, made using house-ground chorizo, this has us drooling as we speak.
Calavera Cantina has 11 different types of tacos to choose from, featuring all the classic Mexican proteins and then some (with wicked vegetarian options as well) all done with Calavera flair! On top of that are bright and colourful dishes like Chile Lime Crusted Ahi Tuna Salad and Chilaquiles (AKA nachos) in high-quality style. There’s no messing around with Chef Westman and his crew on this menu!
Not only are they slaying it in the kitchen but you can also expect incredibly fun infused cocktails as well. With 7 different specialty kinds of Margaritas and even 5 flavours of their House Margarita, there’s definitely no shortage of ingenuity at Calavera’s Cantina Bar! On our list to sip this Spring is the Buena Onda with a hint of jalapeño and the Montar el Rayo made with passionfruit and grapefruit juice, which sounds totally refreshing!
With delicious food and drinks like that, you’ll want to try them all so keep an eye out for their happy hour deals. Every day from 3 to 5 pm and 9 pm to close you can enjoy Margaritas for half price, get 25% off Tequila and $3 Tacos. Not only that, don’t miss out on Wine Wednesday, Cerveza Thursday, and Slushy Sunday for the tastiest Mexican food and cocktails all week long!
So Calgary, you asked for some Mexican food with a high-end twist and now you’ve got it! A locally-owned authentic restaurant in Calgary’s Southeast corner!
Calavera Cantina
Where: 4307 130 Ave SE #180
