Vida Cantina - Portsmouth

Good food but shame on them no chips&salsa on the house or any courtesy on the house. That doesnt make them a cuisine. I had their carnitas mole platter.

Food is very good here. Selection of entrees seems to be more extensive. Service and atmosphere are great. They are more expensive than other Mexican restaurants in the area.

One of the best Mex-American restaurants I've ever been to. An inventive menu with dishes that over deliver. Not just good margaritas! And the homemade totopos are amazing. Worth a special trip! Kid-friendliness: Will make tacos as simple or complex as your child requires.

This is not your typical strip mall Mexican restaurant with strip mall prices. There is a time for those meals and there is a time to enjoy elevated Mexican cuisine. We came on a Friday night. It was crowded, but fortunately, there weren 't any kids running around screaming or big bowl frozen margaritas for two. We did enjoy a show, but more on that later.This is all about the food, the quality of the ingredients, the way it 's prepared and the taste. This is not cheap Mexican food but it is so tasty and different. I had carnitas and carne asada tacos while my husband had fried avocado and the mushroom chorizo tacos. We had chips and salsa, each had rice and beans. We each had a margarita and my husband had a Modelo with dinner. Next time, we 're going to still order our own meals, explore the menu, but we 'll skip the house made chips and order an appetizer to split or order their fresh guacamole. (BTW, this is not the watered down version that comes already mashed in a cryo vac bag. This is legit. As for the show, two older couples came in. First couple, woman orders Birria. If you 've never had it before, ask. The server was knowledgable and patient. (It 's a lamb stew with chilies and a broth served with tortillas. You can 't find it everywhere because it takes time to make. She didn 't like it, complained quietly, sent it back and the server and manager came out and apologized. They even brought her some plain tacos. OK fine, nice to see how Vida Cantina handled it.Second couple was so typical. They give 60+ year olds a bad name. They sit down. Server comes to get their drink order. We love this place! Love the food, the woman says. We know what we want....Yada, yada, yada and pork belly tacos. Food comes, woman freaks out. I thought it said pork tenderloin. We 're very conscious of eating the right fats in our diet, you know what I mean? Man is adding his own side bar, Yeah, wasn 't expecting so much fat. Can 't eat that. Server and manager come over apologize, take it off their bill and table and order tostadas.Here 's the thing, if you 're such a foodie and you love the restaurant 's food you should know what pork belly is (BTW, delicious . But, if you rush, don 't suddenly make a scene, although they were entertaining.Good food is hard to find. Restaurants that support the local farms are hard to find. Vida Cantina is worth it. Their food is creative and tasty.

Tacos were served ice cold Slow service Overpriced Lack of salt and taste made the food bland Tortilla were stale and overly crispy, lacking freshness