Nashville, TN—
We must admit the first thing that comes to mind in Nashville is a laid back patio, live local country music and a BBQ atmosphere. When we heard about an amazing Mexican Cantina in downtown Nashville we were running for the doors for delicious Mexican food at the Boca Loca Cantina and Taco Factory.
What makes Boca unique is that Tim Heavey and his business partner David Reyes are no strangers to the restaurant business, with both having stints in establishments in Uptown Dallas and Chicago. They have brought some of the best Mexican selections we have seen in awhile to an area that is all about hometown American food, but new to the amazing fresh and unique Mexican dining.
Boca takes a concept of an old house from the surrounding rustic area, adds a large covered patio and a cut-out bar that sits smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. The bar gives you views of the entire restaurant. With an amazing menu, what’s not worth seeing here right. Sound good already? Boca’s building history is worth checking out just by itself.
What makes this place a winner and must visit while in Nashville is the combination of amazing drink selections and the farm to table fresh menu options.
Two drinks on the menu that you can’t miss are the Spicy Pina Margarita which combines Altos Resposado, muddled jalepeno, homemade pineapple puree and fresh agave sour and lime. This is a great mix of spicy and sweet. We opted to dip the jalapeño slice in the drink and take a bit, bad idea, but great drink. This can be ordered by the glass for $9 or pitcher for $36.
Next up, a creation that is showing up in a lot of places with different versions is their Nashville Mule. You can probably guess where we are going with this one, as it replaces its distant cousin city drink with their own with Corsair Vanilla Bean Vodka, Ginger Beer and fresh lime. This is definitely the most refreshing on the menu and our choice as one you would order more than one.
For anyone who enjoys tasty and flavorful guacamole, we suggest the Mango Habenaro flavored delight. Sweet and spicy with a creamy texture has us hooked. So great we had to order more, as we are sure you will do the same.
Since we have really hyped the drinks and guacamole, we hope that we haven’t put you in a twisted state. Time to move on to the best part of the menu, their tacos. Tacos, tacos and more tacos leave you craving more than one. With 11 different varieties available it becomes hard to decide which ones are the best. We loved them all that is for sure, but the Housemade Chorizo and Red Snapper ones were certainly the most memorable. But we did order three of the Al Pastor, again the sweet and spicy grabbed us with the grilled pineapple and avocado salsa.
What also makes Boca cool is you can grab a salad or even a burger, of course all natural grass fed. So if bourbon and burger and patios are in your plans, you can do that here too. Grab some moonshine from the menu and you officially become part of Tennessee right here in Nashville.
What really makes this place memorable is that you can have an amazing dinner or you can come here for a local Sunday Funday and get some great sustainable ingredients during brunch for amazing prices. The Chorizo skillet can’t be missed, it is a slice of spicy heaven. Fair warning this dish has a kick from the chorizo and jalapenos, but if you can handle the spice you won’t go wrong with this dish.
Boca Loca offers late hours to take care of the neighboring college kids, but takes care of the Downtown crowd too. Being just 2 miles off Broadway and within walking distance to all attractions makes this a must check out place on our list.
Boca Loca Cantina is located on planet earth as their menu describes at
2000 Balcourt Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 298 4000
