Cargo Cantina in Bristol, City of

Visited here for a lunch date with my husband during a visit back to my hometown. Checked Tripadvisor reviews and seemed a good choice. Our experience wasn’t that positive. Upon arrival we were told to wait outside to be seen so we did. Completely understand it is small inside so didn’t mind this until we waited over 5 minutes before we were seated by a different waiter than the one who told us to wait. 5 minutes doesn’t seem long but when standing outside (in rain) it definitely felt like it. At one point we were debating whether to move on but being short of time to pick children up from grandparents we waited. The waiter who told us to wait outside looked up twice from the bar area during this time at us and we felt this was rude not to address us. The restaurant was not overly busy and we could see at least a few staff on which sufficed for the area so not really acceptable. The waiter that served us was pleasant enough so we ordered Tacos and a burrito and two drinks. When the food came it was underwhelming - I had two tacos which consisted of two mini tortillas with a dollop of marinated shredded chicken on top - £9.50. There was no sour cream, guacamole or salsa which we’ve always had previously at Mexican restaurants. My husband had the chicken burrito which was more substantial but again there was a lack of condiments - £9.50. We noticed after that the menu stated sour cream, salsa etc as paid extras but the waiter didn’t make us aware of this which we feel would have been appropriate. We also order two grapefruit soda drinks - £3.50 each. Upon getting up to the till to pay we had to wait again because the waiter was talking to a friend outside and no one else came over. I quickly checked the bill and paid. I should have checked closer prior to paying as on the receipt I noticed almost £3 as a 10% service charge. I am not happy to have paid this with the service received that day. I didn’t go back to speak about this as we had to get off to collect our children. I would not recommend and will not return. I have had better Mexican food and service at a festival! I don’t usually leave reviews but in this circumstance thought I’d just let people know prior to visiting what you may encounter.

The popcorn cheesecake was delicious! The location and style of venue is unique. Small, cute little restaurant with a relaxed vibe.

The food was absolutely stunning and the staff are lovely. Would recommend this place to everyone!

Spicy margarita was yummm, we sat at the bar watching the chefs, they were super lovely and chatty. The nachos were so good, the tastiest black beans ever omg, the tacos were all nice, but needed the pickled veg side dish to cut through the richness of the meat ones, still tasty tho! the chilli choc and lime desert wasn’t for me, but that was just personal preference, my friend loved it! Defo Defo will be going back to try the new menu, have been waiting for birria tacos to come to bristol, so v excited!!!! also service was great, it was v packed when we went early friday night, buzzing atmosphere and they still were so attentive!!!

I've been here a few times now and often come for special occasions (it's a little pricey). They have probably the best vegetarian Mexican food I’ve ever had. Everything is impeccable. The Mescal Margarita was incredible, might be my favourite cocktail. Highly recommend.

The food is INCREDIBLE!! You need to try this place and see yourselves! Edit - I’ve just received a food delivery 21/10/2024 at 19:35 and the food was very disappointing unfortunately. From the best chicken burrito I’ve ever had to so very average burrito you can get literally anywhere. Disappointed!

Massive thank you to Ash for going above and beyond to help my friend who was in a wheelchair and got stuck midair in the whapping wharf lift (😅!). We went on to have a lovely meal at cargo cantina, highly recommend.

Great Mexican tapas Loaded nachos were amazing and big portion enough for two. Slightly pricey, but worth it

A relaxed and casual Mexican restaurant in the popular Wapping Wharf development, it’s not possible to book so we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get in, but fortunately arriving early evening mid-week it was no problem. The menu offered a fairly concise choice of dishes, and it wasn’t entirely clear what size the different dishes were and thus how much should be ordered. Our waitress was pleasant and friendly, but even having queried this with her, we were really none the wiser. They were also offering a mezcal flight (three shots for £20) and having never tried this before, it seemed a good way to start. The waiter took some time explaining the characteristics of each one, although I really think you’d have to be something of a connoisseur to pick out all the flavour profiles that he was talking about. In the end I think the only conclusion I came to is that mezcal is not for me, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. We opted for the fully loaded nachos to start, although what we got were the classic nachos, so without any of the meat. A downside perhaps of the waiter trying to remember everything we had ordered rather than write it down. That said, on reflection the classic was probably the better bet, there was still plenty going on with cheese, cream, salsa and so on. It was a great dish to nibble on whilst waiting for everything else. Next up we had the chicken and avocado nachos, as well as lamb nachos from the specials board and a corn on the cob, also from the specials. First impressions were that they were a little on the small side, two nachos next to each other on the plate, spread flat with the filling in the middle, but then for less than a tenner that was perhaps to be expected. The chicken ones were very good, very tasty and quite delicious. The lamb ones slightly less so, pleasant enough, but they could have definitely done with a bit more flavour I thought. We finished up with the Chocolate, peanut and lime which was decadently rich and very tasty as well. My only criticism really would be the beer options, it would have been nice to have something Mexican on tap. We opted for the bottled option, but at the equivalent of £10.38 a pint by the time they’d added on the service charge, this seemed ridiculously expensive. Overall though, very good, a relaxed and casual vibe, really friendly staff and great food.

Best loaded nachos I have ever had! Loved the margarita as well. However, the special menu for beef was completely bland and even the hot sauce served was tasteless! I assume something must have gone wrong on that day as I loved the nachos. Also slightly on the higher side of the process compared to portion served.

Fantastic drink selection at Cargo Cantina, very cool, quite fancy. Had to give a shout-out to the servers here, they were very accommodating to our requests and we ended up having a lovely evening.

We called in on Sunday evening for a quick drink. Ended up staying all evening and ordering some of the delicious veggie nachos and tacos. Great atmosphere, great food and great service.

Amazing food and margaritas Great for veggies Service excellent

A very pleasant lunch here. The staff are very friendly, the menu is small which is good for a quicker decision on what to have. A good selection of quick mexican foods, nice cocktails and refreshing iced teas. The nachos with salsa were great, the dips were very nice and spicy.

We enjoyed the restaurant moderately. The value for money was not there. Inside the onion vapors stung the eyes a little.

What a delightful experience in every single way! Conveniently located in the centre Bristol, this compact eatery offers outdoor seating on the balcony and also indoor seating inside the beautifully decked out interior of the cargo container in which this development has been situated. The staff were very friendly and helpful, as well as being knowledgeable about the menu. The food was a culinary sensation. The burritos were full and fantastically flavoursome, the beer was unusual and delicious (more widespreadly available beers were also on offer) and the corn on the cob was utterly delicious. As for the peanut, lime and chocolate dessert, it was at least as banging as rest. Highly recommended!

One of the best Mexican meals I've had! The meat fiesta sharing tacos were super tasty and we really enjoyed the variety. The food was made even better by the spicy, smokey picantes. We were made to feel so welcome by the friendly staff who were also very knowlegable about the food and the impressive selection of tequila and mescal. Great vibes all round and keen to come back to try more of the menu!

great food and drink, but usually too busy to get a table..and no way of booking one on line and no phone number on their website !

Small restaurant but had a lively atmosphere when we went. The tacos and nachos were packed with flavour. Overall, we really enjoyed our service here.

Cargo Cantina was amazing as usual. Food selection was good, waiter was wonderful. Would have been 5+ apart from the delay in our food being delivered. To be fair, we arrived at 2pm on a Saturday.

Amazing tacos, great location and vibe, sometimes there is a wait for a table but normally not long. The margaritas are incredible.

Typically a good experience but very disappointing today. Burrito was 80% rice with a bit of flavorless pork and two or three slices of cabbage, nacho prices have gone up dramatically and came with a whole nearly uncooked cherry tomato on top. Wondering if there’s a change of management or turnover on kitchen staff?

Disappointed ☹️ overpriced, underwhelming, very small portions. Would be great if they served the nice hibiscus margaritas in cocktail glasses, not in small water glasses. Staff were friendly and cheerful. Worst Mexican experience ever.

Asked about allergens before we waited 20 minutes outside for a table with my heavily pregnant partner. They assured us they could cater for both gluten and sulphite allergies. After a long wait we sat down ordered two drinks. Pregnant partner ordered an alcohol free beer and staff instead served her an alcoholic one which is completely unacceptable. When we came to order, they then informed us that nothing on the menu was suitable for a sulphite allergy and we couldn’t actually eat there at all! So we waited nearly 40 minutes in total to be told we couldn’t eat at this restaurant. So we needed to go somewhere else to eat. My pregnant partner was already hungry before we waited 40 minutes to be served. Then to make matters worse, the guy serving us (who claimed to be the manager/owner) and was extremely unprofessional. Told us essentially tough luck and here is the bill for the drinks… we wouldn’t have waited 40 minutes and sat down at all if your staff didn’t tell us it was ok for our allergies. You should be hugely ashamed for your service today. We won’t be returning. Allergens should be at the forefront of your business followed by decency and customer service. Today none of these things happened. Because your response has purposefully tried to manipulate the narrative of our visit, I would like to clarify; The only bad behaviour came from the manager, he was extremely rude and abusive in how he spoke to us and the language he used. And clearly this restaurant instead of taking this feedback seriously has tried to deflect the narrative instead of taking responsibility for the failings detailed. This is not a safe place to eat if you have any allergens.

We stopped by this area of Bristol and chanced upon this lovely restaurant which was on the second floor and easily missed. We both had the tastiest Burrito which truly were a whole lunch in a wrap. Well worth a trip back if we ever get the chance. Thumbs up for the service and warm blankets.

Great for a drink, really nice Margaritas. Pretty mid nachos and tacos - toppings taste dry but somehow watery so they go through the taco. Needs a bit of refinement

Great nachos and had awesome tacos here before. Not a cheap eats but pretty authentic (yes I’ve been to Mexico)

We had tacos and cocktails before a show . It was tasty but felt £9.50 for x2 taco was expensive, but they were tasty. Staff friendly.

Best taco I’ve ever had!! Ahhh it was sooo good definitely coming back with friends. Amazing food and amazing atmosphere 1000% recommend

Sina gave excellent service and was very helpful. The drinks were lovely and the weather was nice. We had a lovely time, thanks

Both times I’ve been we have had the sharing tacos plate. They do vegetarian options with cauliflower/celariac, both are really good and both were shared with non-vegos who really enjoyed the meal. Tacos & salsas are refillable and you will be surprised by how filling the spread is. Would recommend getting a side of nacho chips to dip, but you will be stuffed.

Lovely tacos but no WiFi available

Saturday afternoon and it was busy, but the staff handled it well and we were seated and served promptly. The loaded nachos were absolutely amazing, probably the best I've ever had, layers of flavours just so delicious. We were however disappointed with the tachos, the bread tasted too floury and the filling was a bit dry. The trout tostada was much better though. The drinks we had were both really good, a grapefruit michelada and a mezcal bloody mary, the latter was seriously strong! Overall it was a decent meal and I will definitely be visiting again just for the nachos. 8/10

We had the most amazing dinner here! The nachos were the best I have ever had!

Beautiful food! Friendly staff!

Excellent Mexican cuisine, very friendly and attentive servers and a great atmosphere! We took the Taco sharing feast formula, at 25 pounds per person, a treat, and they give you as much as you want. As an aperitif, I had the Hibiscus Margarita, and it was sooo good!

Took the fully loaded nachos on takeout - almost zero toppings despite having paid the best part of £20. Unbelievable.

Food is lovely. Especially the nachos (defo one of the top ones I've had). But quite pricey. You can get two fairly small tacos for about a tenner. But it is the sort of place you expect to pay more in. Really good cocktails as well.

Great tacos, great selection of Tequila, friendly staff, nice atmosphere. Would go back 👍

Nachos and tacos are really yummy! The nachos are hot and cheesy. Pork taco recommended. Will visit again!

Very nice staff good music but over priced we had beef tacos £12 served on plastic plate there were two taco they were not crispy it was more like a very small think flat bread no bigger than a tablespoon and the filling was no bigger than a teaspoon it was more like a starter than a main course I came out starving really felt ripped off

First and only visit to Cargo Cantina. I love Mexican food and I love street food so was really looking forward to this. Atmosphere was fine and the service good. Music a little too loud for a lunchtime but only a minor quibble. Unfortunately we were sat right under a speaker which didn't help...! My friend and I opted for the vegetarian Sharing Taco Feast option (£20 per person), with the assumption that that would include a good variety of fillings and a decent amount of food. (A single burrito was just over a tenner and looked a decent size, so for £40 for 2 people, I expected a good amount of food). There's no indication on the menu as to what the 'feast' consists of, and I now know why... What we actually got was approx 10 tiny dishes between, consisting mainly of dips. There was 2 tiny dishes of the celeriac filling, which was nice but nothing special. 1 tiny dish of a refried bean thing, the cauliflower dish which consisted of 2 tiny florets, 3 dips, about a teaspoon of cheese, tiny bit of sour cream, very small amount of the slaw and a stack of the world's tiniest tacos (so small that by the time you put any filling in, you would roll them). Price wise, would have been better off ordering individual items. Won't be going again Hardly a feast. Nothing there was note worthy and I left feeling hungry.

Been a long long time since I've tasted authentic Tex-Mex food outside the US. Most of the Mex restaurants / chains in the UK are light years away from the real deal. We were recommended this restaurant by someone from Mexico who had eaten here. The restaurant doesn't take reservations and can approx seat around 25 to 30 folks including outdoors. The seating around the open kitchen adds a nice touch to the dining. There are a few decent options for vegetarians, all of which were lip smacking. Serving portions were not too large. Service was swift and super friendly. Looks like I finally found the local Shangri La for good Tex Mex in the UK. Highly recommended.

Opposite the "M Shed" museum. On the first floor of a "container castle". Open kitchen: you can watch the chefs preparing food. Very tasty Mexican dishes at reasonable prices. Very friendly service and great ambience. The free water (from a used tequila bottle) is tap water and is practically undrinkable due to the chlorine content - definitely order drinks with your meal.

Tasty food made metres away and in front of you with a couple of vegan options too.

Definitely the tastiest mexican place Ive had in Bristol! The ingredients were fresh with the perfect level of spiciness. On top of that Cargo Cantina was the perfect level of cosiness with a lovely romantic ambiance. I definitely recommend if you want to wind down and try some new flavours!

Insane nachos - will forever recommend. Wish prices for delivery with uber weren't £5 more an item. Should do a student discount considering a student city.

Waited outside in cold 20mins to find out our order had been forgotten. Abandoned.

Ordered a late evening dinner on a Sunday. I wasn't expecting much but everything was so fresh and delicious I enjoyed every bite. I shall definitely be visiting their restaurant

As a solo diner they managed to find me a table on a busy midweek night. This is an intimate space in Wapping Wharf, where I had a delicious dinner. The service was friendly and informative without hovering true service with a smile. There is an open kitchen with bar style seating for people who like to watch the cooking, and tables inside and out. I had a selection of tacos and sides all were excellent, pork ones nicely fiery, chicken tostadas more mild but flavourful. Grilled Chorizo was delicious as were the beans and the pico de gaillo. Special mention to the Mezcal Old Fashioned, truly excellent drink.

Decided to wonder in one evening on a whim, and had a fantastic evening! We had the taco share board and it was very worth it, delicious, and generous. Also, this is one of the few places I've been to who accommodate allergies with sincerity, the chef went out of his way to accommodate. Lovely staff all around, will definitely have to visit again.

To my horror, my vegetarian burrito contained pork??? Additionally my Uber eats notes were also ignored. Quite frankly unacceptable!!

Uber eats vegetarian order contained pulled pork? Customer notes were also ignored.

My girlfriend and I stopped for some small bites. Tacos, roast style potato’s. Got more tacos in the end because they were so good. Really impressed with the flavours. It was the perfect start to our weekend in Bristol. The staff were really cool as well.

The food tastes amazing. Gluten free, vegetarian food on the menu and the waitress was very helpful. A choice of gf puddings so we shared two. Very good experience!

Visited on Saturday night, margaritas, nachos and tacos were all fantastic. There's no bookings but although it was busy no one seemed to wait top long for a table.

lovely restaurant, great atmosphere with a great host. Food was incredible and recommended it for a date night out or dinner with friends.

What a great little restaurant.. ate here today catered for me GF friendly.. exceptional food.. the staff were so nice! Highly recommend to anyone!!

Wanted to like it and tried - but the chips were generic, as was the pico. The habenero salsa was decently flavored, but not that spicy. The burrito unfortunately was really not good. Whatever cheese they are using is overpowering and drowns out the other flavours and pairs poorly with any of the salsa choices.

I got tacos and loaded nachos. I really enjoyed the nachos and felt was good value for money. I can’t say the same about the tocos.

Excellent tacos, and elderflower & jalapeño margaritas where so good! Great service, the staff were really helpful when deciding what to have, and happy to move us to a bigger table when it became available

Apart from the cauliflower tostados food was very average. Can't fault service though

Just ordered from uber eats. Lovely vegetarian burrito, but the tacos was sad. Soggy and also you only get two tacos for more than £10. Was just a load of celeriac stew filling and some coriander leaves. Neither pretty or generous portion. Dont recommend necessarily ordering from them via uber eats again. At least not the tacos. Other food was good, still pricy.

We had a great experience today Food was excellent Service even better The chap serving us went the extra mile We had a pram and baby which is not convenient in a small space for everyone, but he made sure to accommodate us well and we had a lovely time

Superb food, really great service and manners from the staff. Only downside is the size, but even that wasn't an issue, it felt cosy and comfortable with a really nice atmosphere

Lovely food but didn't appreciate being hurried out after an hour and a half. The waiter came over 4 times to collect our glasses and it ruined the meal because we felt like he wanted us to go. Felt rude after we'd spent £80 on the bill. Regardless of if people are waiting outside you shouldn't be making inside feel uncomfortable when they're paying customers and trying to have a nice evening.

Really nice food, a bit like an elevated Mexican tapas.

Becky, our waitress made us feel welcome and secure. The food, out of this world!!!! And don’t get me started on the margaritas!!! 10/10!

If you like sludgy flavourless cabbage and rice in a wrap you’re in luck. Otherwise steer clear.

Found this place while having a look around Cargo 2, it looked so inviting we decided to stop for a bite to eat. The staff are the loveliest people and so passionate about the food. It has an intimate feel to it, which we loved. For the outside seating, they had blankets and heaters to stave off the cold, which felt nice and cosy. The food was delicious - we tried the fully loaded nachos and their current special of Lamb tacos. We also had to try their special dessert in celebration of día del meurto. It sounded awesome and it didn’t disappoint. For drinks, my hubby had a beer which they serve in a frozen glass. I tried the staff recommend drink of hibiscus martini - it was so good and would now be my recommendation to anyone going. We loved our visit to Cargo Cantina and would highly recommend it to anyone asking.

Seriously the best Mexican I have eat at. I've tried chains and MasterChef winners, and they can't touch this place. The loaded nachos to start were crispy and had a bit of a kick and loads of flavour. The pork and chicken tacos were fantastic.

Really friendly but slow service. Had to wait over 30 minutes for 2 cocktails cause they didn't have the ones we wanted twice. Then got our bill wrong. Would recommend but just be prepared to wait

Good food but quite overpriced.

Fantastic food and drink and great service

Great vibe, fantastic staff and yummy food! We had a fab visit to Cargo Cantina recently. They catered for all our dietary asks and quirky requests from young and old 🙂 A lovely evening with family and will definitely return 🌮🍸

Best nachos and margarita I’ve had in a very long time. And the mood is excellent as well

Fantastic food, great service, nice cocktails. Didn't get the ladies name who served us but she was amazing, friendly, memorised our whole order! and really helpful with Gluten allergy knowledge.

Love this restaurant! One of the best spots of whapping wharf: The best jalapeno margarita, loaded nachos and pulled chicken taco

Great place! Really good food at decent prices and the staff are fantastic. Can't recommend enough

It's okay nothing special to be honest and I wouldn't return

Amazing burritos and very quick delivery

Ordered 2 burritos. Hardly any meat in either of them. Both were mostly cabbage. Very poor.

It’s a very casual but high quality restaurant . The menu was small so may not be great for picky eaters but for people, like us, who love to try anything and everything, we absolutely loved it! We had a couple tacos and nachos to share, we didn’t think it would be enough for us but the nachos were loaded and definitely filling. Only thing we would say about the nachos (as delicious as they were, could not fault the taste) is if they didn’t put some of the toppings in one area, but layer it instead. This ensures every nacho you pick up will have a bit of everything rather than having a huge amount of guacamole and a bit of meat because you picked a nacho up on a certain area. Other than that, it was perfection.

Cute place to eat and enjoy margaritas

As a person. Two tacos just £9 just seem too much. But I was in awe these were incredible and kept us going through lunch

We had the best meal today, the food, atmosphere and margaritas were fantastic. Really impressed with the service, the best we’ve had in Bristol in a while. We expected it to be quiet on a rainy Saturday afternoon but it was packed and I totally get why, this place is awesome!

Great food and great drinks! Staff were friendly and helped us choose our food. Would recommend the nachos!

Been several times now. Can't fault the place. Great decor, food and drink choices are brilliant. Value for money, certainly the next level of authentic Mexican. Lots of vegetarian dishes, staff really happy and genuinely caring. Have specials. Margaritas are to die for! Especially as we watched them hand squeezing the limes. Have made this a regular visit for friends birthdays. Love the whole cargo concept.

Took my mexican colleagues here and they loved it

came here while visiting Bristol and loved it. The waitress was very knowledgeable on menu and helped us decide. We had two spicy margaritas which were lovely but I could have gone hotter (although I like it spicy!) A portion of chicken Tacos and a portion of pork tacos. Both were delicious and fresh. Waitress recommended the cauliflower side dish. This was phenomenal and enough for two. Would definitely return and would ask for my margarita to be extra spicy next time.

Delicious, always look forward to coming here. Essential to have a margarita.

Food was ok, felt overpriced for what we had. Seats outside not comfortable and were not all sheltered from the rain. Waitress was lovely

Lovely food! 10/10 service from Darci, she was lovely and always happy to help, really made our experience better! :) Drinks were also delicious 😋 recommend cantina lots!!

Buzzing place on the upper deck of the containers. Great burritos. Staff were unbelievable; even gave us a free pint after accidentally pouring too many. Recommend, will be coming back to try the tacos

Great all round. Really good food

1 star for mildly poisoning a celiac (me). Either the corn tostados or the corn tortilla chips suffered from cross contamination and within 15mins of eating I could feel my stomach churning. And then to top it off, was told when I went to pay the bill in cash, "we don't accept cash". As someone with a foreign bank account, this means I got to pay more for my meal than others because of the transaction fees that banks charge AND the currency conversion. All because the owner didn't want the cost of having a till and having to keep cash on hand. And unfortunately the service was slow (to the point that others who were seated after me had their orders taken before mine). So In summary, I got to pay more for food that I shouldn't have been served (even though I declared I was celiac to the staff) that arrived later than it should've...Big Fail

Food and cocktails were all super good. I usually hate guacamole (controversial, I know) but the guac on the nachos was really good. Also had pork tacos which were also great and coconut beans. My friend said the vegan tacos weren’t the best, but I guess that’s what you get for trusting vegetables.

Cargo Cantina is a popular restaurant and its easy to see why. The food is fresh, tasty and good value. It has a lovely busy vibe and the staff are very friendly. Hats off to the head chef Sean who kept his calm throughout a busy Saturday lunchtime. Would recommend and return.

Good place and great atmosphere but the food wasn't worth it. The filling of the tacos and the potatoes was clearly a left over from the day before. Not fresh at all.

Best Margheritas in the UK, food wasn't bad either