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Celebrate modern Mexican cuisine at Vida Cantina where bright, adventurous flavors and local, seasonal ingredients come together on every plate. Located on Route 1 in Portsmouth, this chef-driven, award-winning restaurant puts a twist on the classics—think fried avocado tacos and inventive margaritas that will provide a fiesta for your taste buds!
Low-key locale providing inventive Mexican cooking & a long tequila list in a playful atmosphere.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 2456 Lafayette Rd, Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone: (603) 501-0648
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Order and Reservations
Reservations: resy.com
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Related Web Results
Vida Cantina | Modern Mexican in Portsmouth, NH
Vida Cantina bar in Portsmouth, NH, featuring a wooden counter with orange chairs,. Exterior of Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, …
Vida Cantina NH – Portsmouth – Facebook
After work plans: happy hour @ vida✍️✍️ discounted shishitos, margs, nachos…need we say more? Open 4-9pm #vidacantinanh #happyhour #eatlocal #portsmouthnh.
Vida Cantina | Restaurants – Food Network
Vida is the best Mexican restaurant in the Portsmouth area. They use … Portsmouth, NH. Moxy. 106 Penhallow St, Portsmouth, NH. Copy That!
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Reviews
Hailey Cino
My husband and I stopped here for dinner last night after checking the area for restaurants that were featured on DDD, expecting a unique dining experience. Vida was along our route, so we decided to stop in. We arrived at the restaurant around 7:15p and waited about 25 minutes for a table before being seated near the bar. The restaurant was a bit loud with patrons, but we were still able to talk with ease. I ordered the Apple Cider Margarita and my husband ordered the margarita flight. While the Apple Cider Margarita was a seasonal delight, the margarita flight was tasteless.
The service was lacking, with quite a bit of waiting in between ordering drinks and ordering food. We ordered the salsa flight and really enjoyed each flavor! A gentleman came through to check on us with the long wait and brought us a refill of chips and salsa. We ordered an assortment of tacos including the Al Pastor, Carnitas, and Pork Belly. Each of the tacos were flavorful and we really enjoyed the spicy kick with the Pork Belly. The wait for the food was long, even when the restaurant quieted down, and it was barely warm when it arrived.
It appears our experience was very similar to another recent review from JJ. Hopefully, it was just an off night, but we would pass on a second visit and try a new restaurant if we were in the area again.
… moreThe service was lacking, with quite a bit of waiting in between ordering drinks and ordering food. We ordered the salsa flight and really enjoyed each flavor! A gentleman came through to check on us with the long wait and brought us a refill of chips and salsa. We ordered an assortment of tacos including the Al Pastor, Carnitas, and Pork Belly. Each of the tacos were flavorful and we really enjoyed the spicy kick with the Pork Belly. The wait for the food was long, even when the restaurant quieted down, and it was barely warm when it arrived.
It appears our experience was very similar to another recent review from JJ. Hopefully, it was just an off night, but we would pass on a second visit and try a new restaurant if we were in the area again.
Arielle Nagy
Organic, top quality food, no seed oils.
Such incredible staff and vibes all together.
It’s one of the only places that meets our criteria for clean eating and they are phenomenal ontop of all that.
… moreSuch incredible staff and vibes all together.
It’s one of the only places that meets our criteria for clean eating and they are phenomenal ontop of all that.
ikc
This place was highly rated and decided to give it a try. It gets crowded and very loud. It seems to small for the amount of people that occupy this place when it’s full. Maybe eating at a time when they are not as busy would be a better choice.
I’m not so sure about the quality of the food here. The calamari and tortilla chips came out really dark looking like if the oil was old. I’ll give it another try and see
… moreI’m not so sure about the quality of the food here. The calamari and tortilla chips came out really dark looking like if the oil was old. I’ll give it another try and see
Lindsay Mead
Seriously the dishes on their menu are a true culinary experience. We have tried an extensive amount of their menu from appetizers to tacos to daily specials to pizza and even including the pig head platter. Nothing at this restaurant has ever not blown us away. The drink menu is amazing in itself. We love this restaurant for a date night or a family dinner, we eat in or do take out. Their chips guacamole and salsa are a go to for football Sundays. The pizza they make is some of the best pizza portsmouth had to offer, don’t wait just go now. Most recently I tried the new Cubano Torta and Fried Fish Torta on their menu. Unbelievable.
… moreAaron Haines
STOP reading and just go!!!! But if you like “some dude on the internet opinion” here goes…. First it’s the absolute best Friendly’s building makeover ever floor to ceiling the interior decorator knew the history embraced it and hit a home run with the makeover. Staff everywhere you looked there was a smile on all the staff members! That smile was not for looks they were all delightful!!!!! The food……. My wife NEVER finishes anything EVER… She practically was licking her plate…. Chef David whom we had the pleasure of talking to at dinner, absolutely has some special recipes he shares with us. We had his vegan tacos which was a take on his moms special he made as a kid…. It was simple and out of this world good… Thank you for sharing your creativity with us.. Will be back for sure!!!
… moreJ J
Positives- tacos were tasty. Chips and salsa flight was awesome. My apple cider marg was delicious.
Negatives- poor service. Started off busy, but eventually died down and even when it wasn’t busy the waiter was not attentive. Had to flag the waiter down just to get another drink and get some more water after waiting for what felt like a really long time.I’d give the service a C-. The margarita flight wasn’t good. The Margs had little flavor to them. Ordered the cornbread and it never came until the very end when we were already done our meal. $10 for a very tiny piece of cornbread I could have eaten in 2 bites. Would not go back there again.
… moreNegatives- poor service. Started off busy, but eventually died down and even when it wasn’t busy the waiter was not attentive. Had to flag the waiter down just to get another drink and get some more water after waiting for what felt like a really long time.I’d give the service a C-. The margarita flight wasn’t good. The Margs had little flavor to them. Ordered the cornbread and it never came until the very end when we were already done our meal. $10 for a very tiny piece of cornbread I could have eaten in 2 bites. Would not go back there again.
Lea MacKnight
Farm to table restaurant. We were blocked from attempting to leave and were told “this is a farm to table restaurant and that’s why it takes a little longer to get your food”. As if I haven’t worked in a restaurant before to know the kitchen was probably understaffed and or underprepped. I have been eating farm to table my whole life. It would have been nice if the host/ server were able to tell us about the wait/backup in the kitchen so we knew what we were getting into before hand, but I understand they’re busy too. The food did look good, but we left without our food after sitting for over 45 minutes after ordering. We watched tables only just get their food when we decided to leave and by the looks of it the tables arrived well before we did. Fun mixed drink options. We paid at the bar for our drinks before leaving. The bartenders were nice and understanding about us leaving before receiving any food. Very lively restaurant with cool ambiance.
… moreKristine D’Angelo
Food was very good but I couldn’t give it 5 stars. Service was great even though they were very busy with holiday get-togethers. Also, made it really loud for conversation. Prices seemed really high to me for the amount of food you got. Cocktails pricey too.
… moreYerandy Minaya
We made a quick stop at Vida Cantina in New Hampshire, and it turned out to be a delicious experience. I had the fish tacos, which were fantastic—the fish tasted incredibly fresh and flavorful.My husband tried the birria tacos, and while he noted they were different from what he expected, he found them to be very good as well.Overall, Vida Cantina provided a delightful meal that exceeded our expectations, making it a worthwhile stop for anyone looking for tasty and fresh Mexican cuisine.
… moreCharles Cutler
Fighting above their weight class and struggling to get the basics right. I wouldn’t define this as a family style Mexican restaurant, but more like an attempt at higher end bar food. The bottomless chips find their bottom due to lack of attention from wait staff and by all accounts the drinks were warm. The atmosphere is pleasant, which is good because the wait for food after ordering was nearly an hour. My suggestion is to establish more traditional Mexican restaurant tenants including larger portions, fast service, liberal use of cheese, large cold drinks, enthusiastic wait staff, kid friendly options, and exceptional beans and rice. All missing at this establishment.
… more