BelAir Cantina - CLOSED

BelAir Cantina was up beat and fun to eat at and the food looked amazing! Unfortunately, it didn’t taste as good as it looked. I think BelAir Cantina is not your typical Mexican restaurant. It’s a little off the beaten path as far as taste goes and either people like it or don’t. I fell in the don’t part more than I did. I ate the Polo Verde taco and it was the best item in my meal. The chicken was nice and tender and the salsa verde gave the taco that nice spicy tasteful kick. I was excited to eat the Carne Asada taco since I rarely order steak tacos and, dang it, I’ll probably stick to not ordering steak tacos. It was just ok and nothing special since it was just meat, unions, and cilantro with nothing really adding juiciness to the taco. To round out my main course, I ate the Chicken Tamale and again with disappointment. I tried to eat it with the Arbol oil and it was just pure fire. Like eating fiery oil with a touch of gasoline. I like my food hot and spicy at times but not just pure fire to light you up. Finally, I got to try the Churros. There was not much here since they were over cooked. A little too crunchy and hard but with the insides cooked a tad too much where there wasn’t much on the inside. In short, I think some people have and will enjoy the BelAir Cantina but not people such as myself. I enjoyed eating here but I didn’t enjoy the food as much!

This was our first trip to Madison and we ate at quite a few places, but this was by far our favorite. Our server was amazing, the place was immaculately clean and the food was perfection. The chips and house made salsa, I wish I could have taken it all home with me. I am a vegetarian and ordered three of the taco selections and they were all so good. We had another vegetarian in our party and a meat eater and we all agreed that this was five star. Great service, great food, great location and great venue!

Had a fantastic lunch at BelAir! Despite how busy they were, our server Charlie was super attentive and always made time for us! The food was super tasty -- my favorite being the carne asada bowl. Even the manager Jefferson came by and said hello! Overall, we had a lovely and memorable time. We'll be back for sure!

Went here for dinner on occasion of a friends birthday - this is important because the birthday boy got a free shot! And no, not the flu shot - TEQUILA! Our server - Kyle - was absolutely awesome whether it was his recommendations or friendliness. The food was great including items from both the vegetarian (no meat) and non-vegetarian (yes, meat) palette. Would absolutely be visiting again! P.S. theres $2 tacos on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s (I hope I don’t go wrong with the days…)

Ok this is my new favorite taco place in Madison! Located on the square with a perfect view of the Capitol. Love the friendly vibe of this place. We went in on a Sunday night and were promptly seated. Chips and salsa arrived quickly and each of the three kinds of salsa were soooo good!!! I couldn’t stop eating finally I had to move the bowls away from me. Love the options on the menu, I like that they have so many vegetarian options. They also have a nice selection of margaritas and they also make virgin margaritas. I had the mango margarita (virgin) and it was so refreshing. In the apps we ordered the quesadilla (spicy pollo) and los tres amigos. All three dips, queso fundido, black bean and guac were amazing. Even the quesadilla was so tasty. We then ordered the shrimp bowl, spicy pollo bowl, tostada salad , mix & match tacos. The tacos were splendid. The Korean inspired beef taco , zihuatanejo shrimp taco, and tempura shishito tacos are a must try. I love that that the mix and match tacos come with rice and beans. Everything we ordered tasted incredible. Great food, service, and location . Check it out!!

First time here. Stopped in for lunch after farmers market and winter art Fair. Katie, our server, was very pleasant. I had three different tacos, and my wife had the shrimp tostada. If you go, you must try the Smashburger Taco. It was outstanding. Also had a chorizo taco and a lamb taco. Three tacos get you free rice and beans.

Best Mexican food downtown. Michelada was on point. I didn’t get the name of our server but she was so sweet and gave us spectacular service. We will definitely be returning and recommending this place to our family and friends.

Great variety of Margaritas, Mezcal, Tequila and flights. About 20 different tacos ranging from vegetarian, jalapeño popper, steak, brisket and shrimp. Salsas had a kick!!

The food was delicious and extremely flavorful. It blew my expectations out of the water. The staff was inviting and friendly throughout our stay. The ambiance was mostly quiet as we went on a Monday. I only have the after photo... I could have licked the plate.

Recently brought my parents to see the capitol building in Madison and after wandering around a bit, were in the mood for some lunch. My dad is a big fan of BelAir Cantina in the Milwaukee area so he was excited to see they had a location near the capitol in Madison. The restaurant itself is bright, sleek, and modern inside. We started things off with their queso blanco fundido which comes with two ample bowls of hot and fresh tortilla chips. The dip itself is a tasty blend of white cheeses and spices. I could eat way too much of this. For my main, I got a quesadilla with a side of guacamole. The quesadilla was tasty with, in addition to the guacamole, a side of crema. I will warn the side of guacamole was huge. It easily provided guacamole for everyone at the table. My dining companion also opted for sweet plantains to share which were decadent and delicious. They were the star of the show for me. Buttery, sweet, and topped with crema and queso fresco--they were absolutely dreamy. The service was prompt and efficient. Get to it!

I hit up BelAir Cantina on a Wednesday night in August 2024 and sat outside on the patio. We had the chips and salsa (3 types of salsa) and each had a burrito, and split a half pitcher of margaritas. The salsas were all different but each tasty in their own right. The margaritas were well made - not overly boozy but enough to make a half pitcher just right for 2. We each got a burrito ($11 Wed Special) and first off, they were huge. But more importantly, they were delicious and well proportioned. We were both impressed with the taste. We could only eat 1/2 of the burritos - so they became lunch for the next day. We'll definitely be back to work through the tacos. Lastly - the service was very good! We had a really pleasant experience!

Enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL day on the patio at BelAir Cantina downtown Madison after the Saturday morning Farmer's Market on the square. It was not busy but the service was a little slow - which we didn't mind today since it was so nice out. The food was good - tasted fresh. I enjoyed the brunch tacos. My favorite was the "East Does It" Taco (chorizo). I also had the "Bacon and Egg" taco and the chicken breakfast taco fhat had strawberries on it and a waffle taco shell. Those two were also good but the "East Does It" chorizo taco was definitely the best. The inside of this place is super super cute with plenty of seating too so would go back even on a day with poor weather.

BelAir has turned into a staple spot for me when I'm craving Mexican food. Service really varies depending on the time of day. During the school year, this place will get super busy on Tuesday and Thursday nights with the college students. You might be waiting quite awhile for a table. However, during daytime hours we don't typically have an issue! There is pretty limited outdoor seating, but the inside is pretty spacious. There is also a bar where you can order drinks and wait for your table during those busy hours. I love their chips and guac! The added radish is the perfect touch. I also appreciate how they allow you to turn any burrito into a bowl. However, my last bowl I got was a bit bland and the lettuce in it was soggy. Overall, I've had pretty good experiences here and continue to come back.

Belair has super reliable tacos. I feel like taco Tuesday Thursday deal is a pretty good steal (discounts on select tacos) and the food has always been solid. I've had a great time with all of the servers, a bunch of fun young people. It's bright, not too expensive, and a pretty fun vibe in there.

Fun place with good vibes love the corn planters! The chips & salsa aren't my favorite all 3 salsas are a little off, I feel like they should lock one down. I did enjoy the black bean & corn taco a lot but the mushroom taco was too salty. The radish was a nice garnish was a really nice touch!

Still in the restaurant with an absolutely heinous stomachache. That being said, i was shockingly surprised by my food. i went in with very poor expectations, and that low bar was honestly met if not slightly surpassed. our server was nice though, i did accidentally like a few of his instagram photos when doing the 'ol stalk! but he was nice regardless. Like i said though, the food was genuinely moderately better than i expected, and i love a nice surprise!

As someone who regularly goes to the Tosa and Brookfield locations, this one wasn't my favorite. The service was good, but the carne asada was over cooked. Also, not sure if this place had a Touchtunes, but loud bagpipe music was playing for a good five minutes. It was funny for the first minute as I've never heard that in any restaurant before, but it got old after awhile. Still will always recommend Bel Air regardless of a random one off experience.

The food was overall was mediocre, none of the tacos we ordered stood out to us. It just seemed like another overprice and overhyped restaurant by capital square. The ninja pig taco was the best in my opinion. The carne asade taco I ordered tasted extremely dry, and I would give that rating of 2/10. My friend who's a vegetarian ordered all of the vegetarian taco options (3 in total- which isn't a lot) and even she stated nothing stood out to her. The chips from the salsa was hot when served which was appreciated. Our waitress wasn't too attentive towards our table as we had to ask her multiple time to refill our water. As our table checked out, she even left my friends card at the chip reader. Which honestly isn't a huge deal as it gave us both a chuckle, but probably not ideal if the restaurant was more on the busy side.

Delicious tacos, great variety, flavorful. Enjoyed the from scratch margaritas. Good service. Buzzing with energy. Would go back again!

After going to Bel Air a few times in the past couple years, I have to say that there are better taco places in Madison. Most recently, we went over the weekend and the restaurant was quite busy. Everything seemed to be slow, seating, greeting by our server, drinks, entrees, etc. It was busy, so I understand. We love the salsa trio here, chips and salsa were my fave part of the meal. My tacos were super disappointing, both tacos were extremely dry and my carne asada taco had no onions. My husband enjoyed his Korean Inspired Beef burrito, he always seems to pick the better menu items. Bel Air used to be a fave of mine, but recently has been underwhelming. I'd recommend Canteen over Bel Air if you're looking for tacos on the square.

Had a great dinner overall with the food, ambiance, and service! My family was lucky enough to be served by a sweet girl named Caitlin who really made it an amazing dinner! I loved this restaurant and could not recommend it more so you can expect me and my family again soon! Ps get the shrimp tacos they were to die for.

Ok this is my new favorite taco place in Madison! Located on the square with a perfect view of the Capitol. Went in on a Sunday night and were immediately seated. Love the friendly vibe of this place. Chips and salsa arrived quickly and each of the three kinds of salsa were soooo good!!! I couldn't stop eating finally I had to move the bowls away from me. Love the options on the menu, I like that they have so many vegetarian options. They also have a nice selection of margaritas and they also make virgin margaritas. I had the mango margarita (virgin) and it was so refreshing. In the apps we ordered the quesadilla (spicy pollo) and los tres amigos. All three dips, queso fundido, black bean and guac were amazing. Even the quesadilla was so tasty. We then ordered the shrimp bowl, spicy pollo bowl, tostada salad , mix & match tacos. The tacos were splendid. The Korean inspired beef taco , zihuatanejo shrimp taco, and tempura shishito tacos are a must try. I love that that the mix and match tacos come with rice and beans. Everything we ordered tasted incredible. Great food, service, and location . Check it out!!

Lively place across from the capitol, next to starbucks. We came on a Thursday evening, when the rest of the street was very quiet. It started picking up with groups around 6pm. The service was friendly, the crowd was young and white. They have lots of beers available, and they mixed margaritas in pitchers. We sat at the bar and watched the game while we ate. We ordered a carne asada burrito, with red sauce. It came with this knife stuck in it, which was kind of wierd, but the steak was tender and juicy. Good stuff. We also got a Korean-inspired bowl. Kind of similar to the carne asada, chipotle bowl style, but the sauce was siracha based. Ordering was quick and easy, with the server asking if all the standard ingredients listed were okay. I liked the bits of lettuce, the bed of rice, beans, and all the other fixins. Good food, good drinks, and fun company!

good food. good margs. BAD SAUCE DO NOT eat del molcajete salsa clásica habanero verde because it's horrible the carrots shine through mouth hurts

The falafel taco was okay. The soy chorizo taco was much better. The food came out pretty quickly, but wasn't very flavorful. Decent for the price though. The ranch water was a knock off and tasted awful.

This is one of my new favorite places along the Capitol square! Their food is excellent, the mimosas were perfect. A Mexican flair on brunch is so unique in this town. We loved the fresh taste and the cool vibe of this place. Whoever picks the music in the dining room -- excellent work. Our servers were great, although we waited a bit too long for our check. The burrito bowl was decent, but the tacos were better! Delicious shrimp tacos -- best in the city! Go here!

I've been to this Belair Cantina location a few times now. It's a convenient place to go around the square before an event or after work. Most places on the square don't take reservations and always have long wait times. At Belair, you can call ahead to be placed on a waitlist, if there is one. But I don't think I've ever waited to be seated! My favorite things about Belair are the taco options and the margaritas! I love that you can get a pitcher of margaritas either blended or on the rocks, and that you also have a variety of flavors to choose from! I gave them 4/5 stars for a couple of reasons. First, the service I've received has never been notably bad or great, whether it was a full house or nearly empty. And second, the food is good, but it isn't the first place I would recommend to get Mexican/Cantina food. Plus, they don't serve the complementary chips and salsa that most places do. That being said, I know I will be back for margaritas and tacos, and you should too!

We stopped here randomly because another restaurant had a long wait and this place did not. I walked into a super cute atmosphere and ordered steak quesadillas and chips and salsa. It only took about 10 minutes for my order to be ready. The steak quesadillas were outstanding!!!! Wow! The chips were fresh and crispy. The three flavors of salsa were all very good. We sat outside and had a great view of the capitol building. Loved our lunch and would definitely recommend it!!

The Surfers breakfast is quite bland. But the service was great. It's a cool place, so I'll give it another try at a different time.

Completely unmemorable. I ordered a horchata. It was so sweet, that it couldn't be consumed. I gave it to another person in my party of six, she also took two sips and could not drink the cloyingly sweet concoction. The taco salad I had as an entree was worse. Bland, flavorless, and watery. But the servant was so inattentive that I couldn't bother to voice a complaint; she appeared to overwhelmed in the almost-empty restaurant. Overall, the service and the food vied vigorously for the worst ranking. It was disappointing to experience such poor service and food. I would not recommend this place based on my one experience.

The restaurant is nice and in a convenient spot, but the food is subpar. I've now ate at this restaurant twice and hardly touched my food both times. While they attempt to mimic Mexican cuisine, it by no means does it justice. There is no flavor let alone any of the flavors you'd expect to find in Mexican food. The food is edible but if you're looking for Mexican food, I'd recommend finding somewhere else.

Our waitress was incredibly slow . I try to be incredibly understanding but taking 15 minutes to greet us and taking 30 minutes to bring us our drinks twice is unacceptable. If the restaurant was full, it would be one thing, but there were 3 tables in the restaurant. The constant apologies were appreciated, however, when there's no effort to improve, it's disappointing.

Fantastic food and service! Great recommendations! Love the atmosphere and the staff. We will definitely return. Thank you!

Belair is always a great place to eat and enjoy and wonderfully crafted margarita! Service is always attentive and lovely.

We used to live in Milwaukee and the origins BelAir Cantina was one of our favorite places for food and drink. The restaurant in Madison does a disservice to the brand. Both the food and service were lousy today, and has been every time we've been here. We are convinced enough that it is a lost cause. We will not return to this location. What a shame. You have to work hard to give tacos a bad rep.

The food and service was great! We came here on a Thursday night and our server Cherry was absolutely wonderful. The lamb barbacoa tacos and the blackberry margarita were great recommendations.

BelAir is a solid vibe with decent food. It's very reminiscent of college vibes (i.e., nice atmosphere on a budget). If you're looking for the best tacos and/Mexican food in madison, this is not the place. If you're looking for a good spot to chill with a group and food that won't disappoint, then it's your spot! To me, the trick to BelAir is just knowing what yours expecting and you'll have a good time. Nothing amazing, but not too shabby either!

Food was OK. Portions were decent. But definitely not authentic Mexican good food for the price. Ok

Updating this review because I absolutely LOVE Belair's food, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have $2 tacos (plus beans and rice if you order 3). However, I have to take a star off for the drinks. I usually order a pop here but every time I've ordered margaritas, I've regretted it. There's been way too much lime juice for the traditional marg and too much syrup for for the flavored margs. They are always too sweet or too sour. If they could make better margaritas. I will stick to beer or pop in the future. Definitely returning for the delicious food and awesome vibe though!

For the life of me, I can't understand why this place is so popular. The drinks here are great, but the food is extremely mediocre. We came on a busy night, and didn't have reservations. We were told the wait would be at least 30 minutes, but we chose to just eat at the bar instead, which turned out to be just fine (there were a few other couples also eating at the bar, but it's so big we didn't feel crowded). For drinks we got the tropical mezcal and spike horchata, both of which were delightful. For food, we got the cali guac and three tacos each. Side note: this place does not bring free chips and salsa to your table - it costs $2. Not taking off stars for that - I respect the hustle - just something to keep in mind. The food was all really well plated and looked appetizing, but the meat was dry, and everything was chronically underseasoned. I know this is the Midwest, but would a little paprika have killed them? I'm really expecting a lot more flavor when I got to a Mexican place. I might come back here for just drinks sometime, but the long wait times are not worth it for the food they're serving.

Birria Burrito pictured here. Charred cheese and bbq sauce and the likes. This was the best burrito on the planet. Drink not so good but that's alright.

Walked into a nearby spot the night before called Madisons. I noticed a Mimosa special so I decided to stop by the following day for brunch. Unfortunately, Madisons was closed. Yelp led me to Dlux or Belair. I decided on Belair based on the bar space and atmosphere to watch some NFL games. I made the wrong choice. First of all No Tortilla Chips were available. Also no substitution attempts were made. I overheard from the staff that someone ordered Queso, Guac, Salsa & Chips but were unable to provide Chips. I would've bought some next door at CVS or at least tossed in some celery sticks. Mimosas were ok but not worth the experience. I would never return if given the opportunity.

One of our faves. Great food. Happy hour is hard to beat, maybe even best in town. Ella is lovely, manager Justin was the cherry on top, checking in on us and making us feel welcomed. We'll be back!!

We had a great experience! They had an awesome marg happy hour deal and Ella was a super friendly server! The manager Justin checked in with us and made sure we were taken care of. We enjoyed our appetizer and our drinks! Great Tex-mex spot with a fun atmosphere! Highly recommend!

We were walking around trying to find a nice place to eat by the capitol, many places do not serve food until 4pm. Here was Belair Cantina, busy area yesterday Sunday because of a soccer game in Europe?! We didn't have any clue of who was playing. We went in the restaurant and the bar area was almost empty, we asked to sit there and for some illogical reason we were taken to a booth with the sun brightly shining on the area. It was just too hot to sit there, another couple got up from the bar, so we stated that we want to sit at the bar, and we did. Connor at the bar was very polite and attentive even though it was busy, he managed to greet us and explained the menu. We enjoyed the nachos and I enjoyed the spicy Bloody Mary. Great place after all!

I visit BelAir Cantina every time I visit Madison from California and have enjoyed their salsa flight and tacos! I wanted to order takeout about 9:35pm on a Sunday night. When I called to place the order I was able to get about half of it, but I'm a vegetarian and I asked if I could do a bean, cheese, and rice burrito. I was told that I could only order any burrito without the meat. I asked to order the port rajas. Then was informed that they were out of it. Every single ingredient in it, after confirming with management. I understand they were about to close, but I would much rather had them tell me they can't take my order versus being told a bold faced lie.

My boyfriend and I frequently go to BelAir to hang out at the bar. We always receive great recommendations and service from the bartenders. The atmosphere is lively and fun for a weekend night without being too loud to have a conversation. I love that you can choose to order just one or two tacos instead of an entrée- perfect for a late-night bite to eat while drinking. I also appreciate that there are plenty of creative vegetarian/vegan options. Definitely one of my favorite spots on the square! .

I came here with a few friends on a Tuesday night for $2 tacos. We all loved our food and the atmosphere was really vibrant and fun. The only negative thing I have to say is that my tacos weren't $2, apparently that only applies to certain tacos and I got the pollo verde and carne asada, so keep that in mind. I would definitely come here again though!

Very tasty and the 2 dollar taco deal on Tuesday and Thursday is value. The green salsa was bad but the other 2 were delicious. The tacos themselves were fine but necessitated salsa to be edible as they were extremely dry on their own. However, considering the value I will most definitely be back.

From start to finish they had dropped the ball early on. Dinner for 3 and the food took close to an hour to arrive. We placed our order only to be notified 15 minutes later they ran out of Birria. 30 minutes after that we were told they ran out of Korean tacos and smash burger tacos which we ordered from the start. Our server recommended shrimp as an alternative which we figured would be good only to realize it was to make up for lost time. Wait staff were inattentive, lacked common food service etiquette and more concerned with their chit chats amongst eachother rather than keeping us updated. Our food finally comes out and it is partial cold. The chips we ordered were over cooked and the salsa lacked taste. The whole experience would have turned out a lot better if staff stayed on top of things instead of being unsure and apologizing for something that could have been avoided. It was not the worst restaurant I've ever been to, but with what I expected I can't say I was impressed at all.

Food was good but they added five orders of chips and salsa to our bill and only gave us one order when we asked about it they said it's because we had five people at our table and not everyone ordered food, when the manager came by he was rude and insulted us when we were just asking questions we made it clear we were not mad just confused why we were getting charged 9 dollars for a 2 dollar chips and salsa that has free refills and he told us that, thats just how they do business.

Restaurant wasn't busy and window booths were available but the "hostess" sat us at a booth in the back away from the windows and across from the ice machine and a wet rag! I dislike inexperienced hostesses. The waiter was very good and after we asked to be moved to a window booth he gladly moved us. $$$ bigger tip for him! The food was good as were the chips and salsa. Nice decor. We will be back.

For a fun twist on Mexican food in a prime location, this is it! The location is in such a fun part of downtown Madison right off the capitol. There's a variety of cuisines intertwined in Mexican favorites. I got the Asian beef taco (left), it was flavorful and fresh. I also got two birria tacos which were disappointing. They're more so like a carnitas taco than birria - I had to ask for the side of consommé after both my friend and I didn't receive it. Overall though the atmosphere is very fun!

Absolutely delicious! Came here for taco Tuesday and they had $2 select tacos. They also have a deal where if you get 3 tacos, you get free rice and beans so I took advantage of that:) the restaurant is currently operating at I think a 20 person maximum inside so I would definitely call beforehand and maybe make a reservation. There's also complimentary chips with 3 types of salsa which was nice!

We had a good time at Belair today. It did take a little bit for our server to get to us when we first came. The tacos were delicious. I got mix of seafood and regular meat tacos and they were great! My friend got one of their breakfast burritos and she said it has become her new favorite. Overall great food!

Guac was good, that's pretty much it. Don't order the margaritas, wayyyy overpriced and super weak. Service was good Music choice was not it at first but they played some Bieber and won me over

So very ick. To start things out, we had a party of six on a Thursday night and waited for around an hour and a half for a seat after being told it would be only a 30 minute wait. No fault to the waitresses or hostess, they seem to be severely understaffed. With a full restaurant on a very busy night, there was one hostess, two bartenders and five waitresses. It was packed, not a single table empty and people just kept coming. Once we were finally seated, the waitress was super super nice and quick to take our orders (which we were happy about, since it's now been 1.5 hours and we were starving). We then waited another 40 minutes for our food to come out, but were kept distracted with the chips and salsa that she kept bringing out. I got the Ninja Pig tacos and they were cold and gross. Maybe they wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't cold, but they were just not what I wanted to eat after waiting 2 hours. The beans and rice were also surprisingly bad, the beans being black mush and the rice cold with no flavor. Definitely should've listened to the reviews before coming, find a different spot for cheap tacos. I'd recommend A La Brasa's Taco Tuesday deal over this place in a heartbeat.