The Saddle Cantina
Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun North Rd,
Sanlitun
三里屯北路81号那里花园内西侧二层小楼
5208-6005
Open Sun-Thu 11:30am-2am; Fri-Sat 11:30am-4am
Price Y200-Y299 per couple
Accepts International Credit Cards
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- City Weekend says
With a great second-floor deck, friendly service and tasty margaritas, this is one of Beijing's most popular spots for summer night fiestas. The extensive menu offers mediocre renditions of Tex-Mex classics and more contemporary Mexican entrees.
- Contributor Description
The Saddle Cantina has different specials on different days, check out:
FajitaRita Mondays~ Our Sizzling Chicken or Steak Fajitas are half price as well as our giant frozen Margaritas!
Taco Tuesdays ~ Our platter of soft tacos are 15 kuai off and buckets of Sol Beer are only 100 kuai instead of 150!
TGIF Happy Hour ~ From 5pm to 8pm ALL drinks (not bottles) are half price! Its the perfect end to a busy week.
Weekends ~ BBQ time, huge skewer kebabs with juicy chicken, beef, lamb, veggies or shrimp are flame grilled to perfection.
Cinco De Drinko ~ The 5th of every month brings you 24 hours of drinks HALF PRICE!
Contributed by ricksaddle
4 years, 1 month ago
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I disagree with the "Second Bite" review from CW. I think the food is much worse and twice as expensive as it used to be. 45 kuai for chips and salsa!
You could once get a huge plate of shredded beef enchiladas for 50 maybe 60 RMB. It was always too much to eat with rice and beans, generous beef and cheese. Now they are trying to be high end where all they have succeeded in doing is lose the fun party atmosphere and make crap, expensive food.
The main reason I frequented the Saddle was for their awesome margarita deal on Mondays and cinco de drinko. But they have recently decided to not make them half off. Now you can only get 2 for the price that used to get you 3. I won't be going back there until they're really half off again. I have a feeling most of their other margarita regulars feel the same way.
Saddle is on par with Amigo for quality (which says more about Amigo than Saddle, I think), but the food is just average, the only thing it's got going for it are the location and festive decor. My big complaint is the guacamole to chip ratio isn't great--don't skimp on the gauc, people! It's the biggest reason why I love Mexican food~!
I had a bad experience here! It was my sisters birthday and I decided to take my family to this place for a dinner! Few hours before going there, I found the number of the restaurant online and called to make a reservation! I have been there before once and know that there was one special table there mostly booked for the owner. I wanted that table to make it a special night. As I knew it was not easy to get, I decided to call and ask about it! The person who picked up was a Chinese staff, so I asked to speak to someone in charge who knew English! However the Chinese man told me it was ok to speak to him. So I asked him about this table and if I was able to book it. He said it was surely ok. I had to make sure with him over and over until I was satisfied, explaining exactly which table I meant! However when I reached there with my family, they gave us an ordinary table on the side. I tried to explain to one of the waitress in charge but she was giving attitude not listening to what I have to say! All she said was that the table wasnt available for booking! I knew so and that was the reason why I called earlier and made sure about it! Otherwise I could have gone to any other restaurant and have a better evening! I was disappointed even more when the waitress was not apologetic at all. She was so confident that I was mistaken! I asked to speak to the person who picked the phone and she said he is just a minor staff! If so why is he the one answering calls and making decisions! I just wanted a special night for my sister and thought that it would be nice to have it at saddles, however was disappointed. It would have been totally fine if I was told on the phone that I could not book that seat. But lying to me that I can and ignoring me once I arrived on the venue is just very cheap! That spoilt my mood for the evening. The particular waitress was unfriendly the whole night and didnt bother to explain or apologize for her own co-workers mistake. I would appreciate if they would be more professional and let someone who can make decisions pick up their phone so that we can get a sure reservation. Not some random staff who would say anything to fool their customers into coming.
Credit where it's due, I've been back to Saddle several times during the last couple of months (since my last post) and found it has improved a lot. Before I would have classed it as nothing special and poor value. Now the service has become more friendly and reliable, the margaritas are great (as before), the food was brought out in good time and was tasty. Meat is still on the chewy side though. If they can fix that, then we got a cracking venue here.
What an improvement! From mediocre, expensive tex-mex food to now one of my new favorite spots to eat. 20 RMB Tacos are reasonable value (Baja Fish one is super tasty), the surprise hit was the burger. Best burger I've had in Beijing in recent times (and I've had a LOT), the meat is tasty and juicy and the jalapeno / avocado mayonnaise that comes on it makes for a taste orgasm. No joke. 35 RMB house-made-beer was also surprisingly good and much better than last time I went (around 2 years ago).
Seems to be a lot of drama on Saddles CW page. I can't help agree though that more can be done to improve the quality of the food (the fajitas had good flavor but had the consistency of boot leather). Drinks are decent and not shy with alcohol. Service was satisfactory (no mistakes were made), but I wouldn't say the staff is particularly friendly.
Finally I'll sign off by expressing my utter disgust at the comment posted by "The Brick" earlier in this thread. Not the really the smartest piece of text considering it's coming from another venue in the city.
After trying again and again to like this place, I've just stopped going. What a shame, soooooo much potential. Decor isn't bad. Best thing this place has going for it is half-price happy hour drinks on the terrace when weather permits. Everything else just goes downhill from there. Food is terrible. Nachos could be decent if there was any quality to it, I mean the cheese wasn't even melted on a plate of nachos. My low-grade beef fajitas come out in a plate of oil, more than my xinjiang "da pan ji." enchiladas were just a waste of an hour-long wait and my money. Plus, almost every time i tried to eat here had stomach issues a bit later. Its funny when my mates and I are texting each other at the same time asking if they were sitting on the toilet from the food as well. Expect better for the price, plus terrible service and lack of organization and training, just a total let-down on so many levels. I guess its still open just out of sheer laowai desperation for anything resembling mexican food. Oh when will the gods bless Beijing with a Chipotle???
Still average food .Went again to try out. The drinks were nice. But the food still need huge improvements. Its the question that needs to be addressed by the kitchen -do I need to make best food for customers always?
Dear bad 201,
Im very sorry about your bad experience at our venue. I assure you that we are trying our best to fill the needs of every customer. I very sorry to here that you body rejected the food. Please take care and hopefully next time we can live up to your expectations.
Cheers, The Saddle Staff.
I have been to the Saddle Cantina twice and both times were horrific experiences both for me and my friends. The first time was in summer, so we were making the most of the terrace, which I must admit is rather nice. However the weather took a turn for the worse and as the storm clouds rolled in a waitress rushed over to our table saying "ok you pay now". As the food we had ordered had not yet arrived this naturally took us by surprise. Speaking both English and Chinesedid not help get to the bottom of the matter. We assumed that maybe she thought we would move inside because of the rain but she did not say this and did not explain why we must pay now. We asked for the manager who five minutes earlier had been all jovially cheerful but lo and behold when we needed some explantion he could not be located.
Second experience was November 02 2010. First of all, all the food came at once, there was no concept of starter main course or dessert. Secondly the food was absolutely rancid. We had the beef fajitas, chicken burritos and nachos. My stomach rejected these disgusting concoctions and I was not in the mood for "Chinese customer service" as so left feeling unsatisfied. Needless to say the next day has been spent running to the toilet (my friend had the same experience). Just because there is no quality control in China does not mean you can serve any old sh*t. I knew that the chicken was "garbage ready" the moment it entered my mouth. Sorry to say but this place will not be getting a 3rd chance. What I experienced is known as "Montezuma's revenge" in Mexico, but that is usually from the water not the bad food.
my friend works at the mexican embassy and he always gets the chef at saddle to cater for his dinners. the chef makes the most amazing taqitos, tacos, burritos and beans.... mexican food done right
I was extremely worried coming to China due to the unfortunate lack of Mexican food here. I'm from the great state of California...the land of ubiquitous taco trucks and where Taco Bell was invented so when I heard about Saddle Cantina I was eager to try it, nay maybe even a little ecstatic. Immediately I liked the decorations at Saddle, they really reminded me of some places in Cabo. But the prices didn't. I know I can't reasonably expect the prices to be that cheap, but honestly I was hoping the portions would at least be bigger. The quesadilla claimed to feed 4 people, but split between me and a friend it was barely enough. Also, there wasn't really any sauce to speak of, just a small dish of salsa. Service was okay, but they took forever with a friend's beer which ended up arriving AFTER he was done with his burger. In terms of the taste, everything was just decent. I think if I had cravings for Mexican food I could definitely see myself coming here. But for now I am interested in trying out some other places in town, especially ones that aren't as expensive. Also...definitely get their volcano mojito (forgot the name??) it was quite possibly one of the best mixed drinks I've had in Beijing yet.
I am a fan of the saddle because of the food is excellent! A friend of mine told me someone he knows wrote a bad review about a bar, few days later, this person got a private message from the owner saying:" you can come in and eat my burrito!"
Luckily, the owner is selling the bar (asking for 1 million RMB). Hopefully someone is nicer will be opened nearby, so people have a better place to hang out.
Ryno Sorry you had a bad experience at the saddle. Knowing of your expertise in Beijing bar business, im sure you have a great sense of what it takes to run a profitable restaurant or bar. Please feel free to enlighten me on any improvements you see fit to operate a successful business such as the brick which does a fraction( if that) of the business as the saddle does. Since we are both in the hospitality maybe it would be more professional if this were a conversation we had face to face instead of having it over a public forum. All the best, Gordon
It's great that Gordo has replied to customer's reviews, not like some owners who don't give a shit about what the others think.
Someone admitted his mistake or someone is willing to take people's advice and willing to do something about it is a lot better than some people who are just being a hypocrite or like to criticize the others.
A bar has tea on the menu but can't serve tea properly (meaning the bar doesn't have a pot to boil the water, doesn't have a coffee machine, doesn't have sugar, and uses some free mugs from a fast food restaurant) is not much better.
Everyone makes mistake, and we should give people a chance to make it up. At least the burritos here are a lot better than those shitty Tommy Guns Burritos which taste like dog food!
Dear Saddle Fans,
I'm very sorry for any troubles you have had with the Cantina for the recent weeks. I currently am back and will fix all the problems that have been happening recently, I apologize for the bad service all around and am currently working on fixing the problems as we speak. Please be patient and the next time you come in don't hesitate to find me and voice your thoughts or problems. I am more then happy to help in anyway I can.
Cheers Gordon
This has got to be the worst restaurant in Beijing. Last week after multiple service issues we simply walked out. There was no manager on the ground and at the entrance we found another group of people doing the same thing and on the way arguing with one of the greeters. All of the staff, greeters thru waiters thru bartenders are untrained. There is NO culture of service or professionalism whatsoever. Clearly there is an absence of management. Do yourselves a favour and dont go near this place. We will never enter the door again.
Oh man, no sooner do I rip on Luga's about them reneging on their drink specials that I saunter over to Saddle for my beloved FajitaRita Monday and have a new reason to complain. We were very excited to see all of the TVs playing the World Cup match, and the fajitas, crepas dessert, and mango margarita were all excellent. I was happy as a clam until the bill came, and I was overcharged for my margarita. Why? I asked. It is Fajitarita Monday. My drink should be half price. Didn't you see the signs? Everywhere? No, she replied. You ordered during happy hour. It is 40% off. Ugh. Is nothing sacred?? I am still convinced that she had no idea what she was talking about, though she did defend her position in admirable English. Mr. Cantina, please say it isn't so!
I have officially become a FajitaRita Monday regular! Great value, the fajitas are excellent, and the margaritas big and delish (though I ask for less alcohol--the first one I had was undrinkable, in my opinion =) ). The crepas dessert is actually really good, too. My only question--why are there only 3 tortillas instead of 4? I've never only had 3 served with my fajitas.
Also tried Taco Tuesday. I swear if they had a deal every night I'd be there (hint hint Luga's and Peter's). Only soft tacos qualify, and the beef is not ground beef but more like pulled beef, but the chicken and veg ones were good and the portion was more than sufficient.
Service has also stepped up a lot now that the owner's hanging around. Definite thumbs up!
Whew! Finally an alternative to Lugas! Perhaps it's not new but it's new to me! The drinks were awesome and quick (LOVE that they are in slushie machines ready to go!). The food was wonderful as well. A very large group of friends and I were there last weekend and were so impressed by the service. We liked it so much, we went back last night to sit out on the deck and enjoy the weather. It's a bit expensive, so we'll only go back during happy hours. However, I'm willing to pay a few more quai for good service!
Thanks for your comment JuJu. Sorry for your mishap. I have currently moved to the Saddle at the end of Feb. so the service has improved 100%. And yes, they did not know how to service the wine properly then but now they are trained to perfection. Come back in and try it out.
Cheers Gordon
I went here on Jan for my brithday dinner with my friends. I think they really need to improve their service. I definitely DO NOT need you guys to teach me how to open a wine bottle, I don't need a tutor. Pls remember to open the wine bottle before you serve your customers..
Sorry your right. Im having a bad day with all of these flowers flying in my hair and I just watched Alice in wonderland and was a bit dissapointed. Ha! Sorry for the latest reactions and we will try to fix any problems with any complaints. Sorry for responding poorly to your suggestions. Next time please find me and we can fix the problem for you right on the spot. Some times I just get caught up in all this drama when we work so hard to make this the best place to be for mexican food. If anyone has any other problem don't hesitate to leave your opinion and we will take it with great consideration.
Cheers, Gordon Kutil Saddle Manager
My friends and I all like it. I am a soup girl and really liked their soups.
But gordonkutil, you are being a little too defensive. Myabe tesarax is a Luga's plant, but your response to jessie99 was not very good. You should investigate her claim. Maybe she did go to the wrong place, but you should see what exactly they are serving as ice tea rather than be defensive and maybe ask her in a message the specific dishes she ordered what night she went, etc. and investigate,. Remember the customer is always right. If you take a look at the Punjabi guy, he responds to all the complaint reviews and offers a solution and invites them to come back and re-try.I mean I love Cantina, and think the food is good, but just trying to give you some advice to make sure Cantina continues to do well.
Message sent to me by user "gordonkutil" after my last post about the Tequila.
"Fake tequila. You should talk to our supplier of JOSE QUERVO. They only supply to Hong Kong, Shanghi, basically everywhere since they are a ligit company, but hey Im sure your just another person from another restaurant trying to give us a bad name so your lousy bar will do better. Best of luck with that. Since you only have three reviews of places Im sure your an expert at it thought. Funny how two of the three are about here. If you work for lugas tell him i said Hi. Cheers, Saddle managment"
Fake tequila.. Ouch!
Well thats kinda weird. We don't even serve peach ice tea. But sorry you had a bad time. Are you sure your reviewing the right place. As for prices have you looked at the village lately. We are half the price of most of there places.
Cheers, Gordon Manager
I went here for a lovely birthday dinner with friends, however it was overpriced for what we got. Nobody liked their meals and whether this was a case of bad choices I'm not sure but, because for the prices, I'm not willing to return. Also, the pitcher of peach ice-tea (or something like that) was overpriced and bitter/disgusting.
fajitas good, margaritas sadly not
Good mexican food.Drinks too are good. Like the place .
Had a great experience there Wed night. Started out with problems with our reservations but their staff very professionally got us alternate arrangements and took good care of us during the entire time we were there. Good service (they were pretty busy!) and decent food. Their manager went out of the way to apologize for the screw up with the reservations.
Food was decent, Margaritas even better.
In the end, found out that the screw up with reservations was on my side, not theirs. Thumbs up for for the great service!
Have to agree with spicejen; be very careful when checking the bill, it tends to be wrong and always on the overcharging side.
You go on the terrace, order your favourite drink and enjoy the sanlitun weather or beijing weather.
There is no great ambience or any good service.
I like a mexican so out of 3 mexican dinners in a month, 1 of them is here ,because the terrace, fresh air. Food is not the puller for me to comehere.
Drinks made are quite fine.
Ummm.. I didn't read through ALL reviews, but the one's where I did, no one complained about the billing!?! 5 out of 5 times that I have been there, they made mistakes on our billing. Meaning, things we never ordered were being charged to us. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BILL HERE! On top of that, CHECK YOUR CHANGE!! Because 3 out of 5 times, they underchanged us. This place really needs to get their act together.
Element fresh and this place is most hyped but the reality is this isnt a great place. Firstly it deserves to be more clean . The place is too small and with few customers get crowded and sometimes getting a decent place could spoil your mood of going out. Too much noise, is another problem to deal.
The best part is the variety of sauces ,and food is so so ,so you could fill up your tummy and nothing extraordinary.
Last night is the kind of night that Saddle Cantina was made for. The first really beautifully warm night of the year and we were enjoying frozen raspberry margaritas on the patio. A couple of us enjoyed the fajitas, which included yellow and green bell peppers and onions, (served with a side of guac, sour cream and salsa) and a chicken quesadilla too (also served with salsa). The service was prompt and courteous and we quickly received whatever we needed. The outdoor pool table is great in concept, but was littered with all sorts of leaves and other assorted crap, but hey, its outdoors, so I suppose I should be happy that its not severely warped. This is always my go to bar for late evening, week-day drinking and I would highly suggest it for the summer season.
Dear Saddle Cantina:
I have been there several times, most because my friends want to enjoy your margaritas, they are Crap, sorry but that's the true you use fake lime juice and cheap tequila I don't care about the tequila quality because in margaritas doesn't matter but fake lime juice is very bad for the flavor try to make better ones; on the other side I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food and can tell you you are far away from TEX - MEX and Mexican is really impossible for you, get a consultant Mexican Chef and you will find all your mistakes your food is Crap, Nachos are the worst I ever try, please invest a little money on making your food better you have the spot just need some improvement, if you need a consultant please drop me a private message and I will give you the contacts of a real professional Chef in Mexican, Tex Mex food and how to make it good always. Bye and think about...you have the chance to be better.......if you are interested.
A few updates from us here at the saddle cantina
We have been listening to all of our customer feedback and have been making changes!
All of our drink prices have been REDUCED up to 10rmb Margaritas are all 50 and other cocktails are down to between 38 and 48. Mixed drinks and beers have been reduced as well.
we have added a pineapple margarita, a peach margarita and a MANGO margarita!
we have a BBQ menu which has burgers, roasted chicken, ribs and kids food on it
we have buy 1 get 1 free Hoegaarden on wednesdays and you get a free chips and salsa
we have happy hour every day between 4 and 8 where our cocktails are half price, margaritas are 30 and beers are discounted.
we have NACHO CHEESE FRIES! - a huge plate of fries covered in beef and cheese sauce with jalapenos
we have a whole menu of main dishes now including chicken leg with home made mole sauce, salmon with tequila sauce, steak, chili relleno and tons more mexican authentic dishes.
We have a networking even on the 3rd or 4th Thursday of every month called Boozecham where you can meet professionals in Beijing and swap name cards, network and drink super cheap Australian beers including VB, James Boags and Crown Lager for 15 to 25 kuai.
we have a texas holdem poker tournament every monday night from 7pm with cheap Stella Artois
All of our regular specials are still on:
FajitaRita Mondays - Fajitas and Margaritas are half price all day
Taco Tuesdays - Soft Taco platters for 40 kuai and 100 kuai buckets of sol beer
Cinco De Drinko - Half price drinks for 24 hours on the 5th of every month
Lack of Authentic Mexican food is the reason for this restaurant to be popular.
I like the atmostphere , and the crowd.
Food tastes Mexican surely but can improve.
For the prices of drinks and food I would give a 3 star. If the food improves no problem to pay the prices even if there are some problems in the service as ultimately you are in beijing and if someone serves real authentic food, service can be excused ! The decor is good.
i've never been to a TEX-MEX restaurant that is so CHEAP on their salsa and guacamole. i had to order two additional sides of salsa to finish my original order of chips and salsa.
used to go to their cinco de drinko night, but now it's becoming a big frat boys hangout night. Luga's Villa has more character.
their margaritas are over priced at 60RMB. i'd paid that if:
a. i was at a 5-star hotel bar b. a hot chick bartender made the drink in front of me c.they give you free chips and salsa
I've been going to Saddle Cantina for a while now, and the place has definitely won my heart over, in spite of some quirks that simply won't change.
My biggest complaint is the service: the staff is neither friendly nor attentive, sometimes it's impossible to get a waiter's attention, even if they are a few feet away.
However, I'm a convert: the bartenders got the drink mixing right, and my personal favorite is the mojito, absolutely delicious and deadly. The enchilladas are spicy and rich. I don't really need to mention the terrace, do I? One of the most perfect spots to people-watch and relax during the summer.
An issue from tonight...a week removed from my last posting.
I ordered a Sol...darn near about the 6th of the night and the waitress brought me a Corona instead. Knowing (I do come here a lot) that the Corona was 10 quai more than the Sol, I asked how much the Corona would be, since in fact, I did order the Sol. I was told I would have to pay the 40RMB for the Corona and she couldnt take it back because 'I'm sorry'...which is always a good excuse.
Fortunately for the waitress, I ultimately got her to agree to charge me a Sol price for the Corona, which was all I wanted. After she did so, I told her not to worry about it that it was okay, I'd just take the Corona at full price.
Sad you have to teach their staff the principals of customer service, but someone has to do it.
Regardless, I'll probably be back within the next week...I'm a sucker.
nothing to say about the food. the drinks are a bit overpriced. but the service is incredibly lousy, 9 times out of 10, either they mistake the order or dishes took more than 30 mins to come... when the place is not even full. and they the waiters don't even seem to be embarrassed about it. maybe they learned the rude way of doing business from the management. but sure it's a success, people keep coming so why bother.
Forgot to say, this place help me to find God, I finally found a place I can have Mexican food again after all the bad experiences at Luga's.
Thanks Saddle!
Great Mexican Food and good customer service.
Just like this place! I will defin go back there!
Had an interesting visit here last night. First off, I like the Saddle and it is good for what it is - 'good enough' Tex-Mex food with a great atmosphere and pretty good margaritas.
The service is still a little hit and miss and some of their 'policies' are awfully strange.
First off, the chili con queso, which is good, comes with about 20 chips, and if you want more, you have to pay for it. I told the waitress that all we wanted was enough to finish it, and her response was that maybe I should put more on each chip instead. Most Mexican restaurants around the world give you free chips and salsa, but if you want enough to be able to enjoy something you ordered here, you have to pay extra. Even funnier, the 15RMB order of chips was about 10 times the size of the original order.
We also wanted combination fajitas - half beef and half chicken, which of course we couldnt get because 'beef cooks faster than chicken'. Seriously, it couldnt be done because the kitchen couldnt work out the logistics of cooking it. No big deal, it was half price night, so we just ordered two, and I did laugh when the beef order came out about 10 minutes before the chicken - I guess beef really does cook faster than chicken!
To top it all off, my friend asked for 3 plates, which caused the waitress to bring us 3 margaritas instead. The one I was currently drinking was about half full, so I just said give me one anyways, no big deal - but the waitress insisted on removing the one I was half way done with because 'she had to do dishes later and it took her a long time'. Again, just laughed.
I'll be back, often, but I certainly don't expect a whole lot of common sense out of the wait staff.
WOW...Who knew management was so rude?
Um - The Saddle Management - you guys might not want to keep replying to angry patrons on this forum - its not exactly smart marketing.
My major complaint it the "Sour Cream" is not actually real sour cream - its AWFUL...and unedible... I LOVE sour cream, so anywhere that does imitation el cheapo fake sour cream will never get my vote.
To make it worse - the side order of sour cream cost me 15rmb!
It was awful awful awful and none of us ate it and of course there was no refund, just a nervous laugh and a shrug from the waiter when I mentioned that it was not real sour cream - I didn't follow up any further than that because honestly I couldn't be bothered and I could see that it was going to get me nowhere - I didn't know there was a foreigner/english speaking manager on all the time.
Say what you want about Luga's little hole in the wall - but the Tex-Mex food is actually better on average than The Saddle and they have REAL SOUR CREAM...
Anyways - thats my 2rmb
REAL SOUR CREAM - its available in China!
x
Ok, so I was initially a bit put off by the flame war going on here in the forum, but I was really craving Mexican food, so I decided to give it a try and go there on a FajitaRita Monday with my girlfriend.
The first things we ordered (and also the first to arrive) were two margaritas. I had the traditional lime flavor (with the additional 10RMB 15ml float of tequila), and my girlfriend had the banana one. I can honestly say that the only possible way of getting sick from these is because they use SO much alcohol - I have never had a margarita in Beijing where the bar was so liberal with the tequila - bravo!
The next things we ordered were the chili con queso and a steak fajita. The chili con queso was served near-boiling hot, and remained warm until all of the chips were gone - definitely a plus. And although the fajitas weren't "sizzling" when they came out, the flavor was still good, and the portion was easily big enough to share.
I finished the meal with a shot of the 普通 (common) tequila, and at 45RMB, this is the only instance I saw of this place being overpriced. So, I won't be coming back here if I ever want to gorge myself on tequila, but with a pleasant atmosphere and amazing margaritas, I can confidently say that I will definitely be back, and that anyone who has yet to try it, should.
Typical North American style decor rushed in to my eyes when seeing simple wooden tables and bar chairs,hanging cowboy hats around transparent glass ceiling ,placed generous hoarding at will on shelf,of course,chatings of those relaxed people.I came here for their fajita monday,on which you can pay the beef or chicken fajita and four kinds of magaritas at half price!the magarita was pretty cool and a teaser for the main course,as well, the fajita was good although not the best i have ever had,but who will mind it enjoying the cozy environment and attentive services?
wow... i like this place and have been coming even during the early days before the olympics. however, i am now SHOCKED to be reading the replies/feedback from the "manager." regardless, customer is always right. my gawd.
Solid Tex-Mex food, nice beer, great atmosphere especially out on the patio. The drinks seemed to have gone downhill recently. My Margarita was so full of sickly lime cordial (or something) that i could hardly drink it. For 60rmb i expect a great cocktail. Staff are very nice though the service is hit and miss.
For some reason I was thinking this was a public forum for reviewing the restaurant, not one for berating your customers and calling them liars.
Interesting form of marketing!
Excuse me but if this is "constructive criticism" why did you not call me to make these complaints rather than come here to a public forum to discuss them?
Your friends may have heard your end of the phone conversation but they did not hear me ask you to confirm several days in advance, something which you failed to do.
I am sorry Sally but you made a mistake by confirming at the last minute.
I hope that you managed to enjoy your friends birthday despite the lack of a pinata and I hope that you did not spoil it for her by spending the evening complaining about it, that would have been a true shame.
Phoebe,
Just to set the facts straight, my friends were with me when I made the call and could hear our conversation. So they could confirm what was agreed to regarding the pinata and the reservation.
Secondly, I would not consider a text message saying "I thought we had agreed that there would be a pinata. Any chance u could get one" as a rude text. I do not like the accusations you are making.
Third, in your text message you wrote: "I will have other decorations for you though." There were none when we arrived. If you memory fails you about what was written on SMS between the two of us, I still have them all on my phone and can show you anytime as proof.
By your response, it appears you do not value good customer service or your customers, and cannot take criticism as a means of improving service or improving the way customers are handled (for example if you had only "pencilled me in" perhaps you could have called back to confirm? Or you could have let me know that it takes 3 days to make a pinata and that it was not confirmed).
I'm quite disgusted by the false allegations you are making and the unnecessary comments you are writing about my "poor organizational skills".
I hope you treat your staff with more respect than you do your customers (or should I say ex-customers as myself and my 20 friends will not be coming back because of you).
I have to say that I am an avid promoter of the Saddle as the outdoor patio is nice, food is not too bad, and the margaritas are fab. However, just reading the above reply seems to put a damper ont things. is this how you responde to a customer with some contructive criticism? This also reminds me that I arranged a party awhile back at the Saddle for all the good reasons I mentioned above. However, when I arrived, the reservation sign had the wrong name, the tables were not arranged, and the staff had no idea about my reservation. Things were evenutally sorted out and fortunately before all the guests arrived. I hope the Saddle management seriously reevaluate the event management staff!
I have to say I am not very impressed if a restaurant manager is replying to customer complaints like a moping child. You sure don't win over new customers like that, no matter who is right or wrong.
Actually Sally,
We spoke on the phone and you were not sure about the reservation I told you that I would pencil you in that that you could look at our website to let me know if you wanted to order food on advance, I also told you to confirm a few days in advance if you wanted the pinata (I hand make the pinatas and they take 3 days to make and dry) You did not confirm until the morning of the party. (my phone was out of credit for about one hour on Friday morning)
After I told you that I could not make a pinata in a few hours and offered you other decorations you sent me a rude message asking me to go and buy one, i replied to that message and you did not reply to me.
I never promised you balloons and asked for confirmation before i spent hours making a paper mache pinata, you waited until a few hours before your friends party to start confirming things and because of your poor organizational skills you were left without decorations.
I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened and I hope that in the future you will remember to prepare for your friends parties a little better.
I tried to organise a birthday for a good friend last Friday. When I spoke to Phoebe who is allegedly the manager(?) I was promised balloons and decorations. I was also promised a pinata.
She told me to confirm the day before if I wanted any pitchers of drinks or food preparing in advance. Otherwise everything else was confirmed.
I tried calling again on the Friday to ask about food, but couldn't get through. Eventually I could only liaise with her on her mobile through text message (she was out of credit). She continued to promise "decorations" from my birthday friend, but said there was no pinata as it would take 3 days to make!!
When we arrived, we found no balloons or birthday decorations. Only a sign on the table with my friend's name.
What a huge disappointment!!!!!!
How can you promise something and then not deliver?? What type of place does that to someone on their birthday???
I would like to rate this place a minus 5!! How lame....
When the Saddle Cantina opened up a couple months back, it was THE source of good quality food and drinks in the Sanlitun area. While the Mexican food was not authentic, its food quality was excellent and it provided it's own unique take on the regions cuisine. And lets not forget about the drinks! Strong Martguerita's with the option of adding another 5 kuai tequilla floater to give your drink that extra punch. Alcohol quality was also superb, there was no need to fear the dreaded Beijing Hang Over caused by the deadly mix of Qing Dao's and some extra ethanol added to your drink!
Since then however, the Saddle Cantina has taken the stark quality dive that a lot of the restaurants here in Beijing do after opening up. A couple months after opening, the slushy margerittas had become watered down, the heaping tacos were mostly stuffed with lettuce, and the salsa has become watered down.
The Saddle recently also started there "Half Price Fajita Mondays". While this was a fantastic idea, it seems that management didn't quit understand that if you are going to advertise "Half Price Fajitas", you can't serve half sized portions of fajitas! This was the only fajita meal in Beijing that has left me with a large surplus of tortillas afterwards (Most places I find myself begging for more tortillas)
Send a message to the management at the Cantina! Next time you eat there and receive small portions, poorly cooked meat, watery margerita, or poor alcohol be sure to point it out to the foreign staff! I, for one, don't mind paying higher than average prices at the Saddle, but I want the quality that used to come with it.
Paticamelo
I don't really understand your comment about the Margaritas.
First you say you have to drink it in under 5 minutes while it is still frozen, then you say there is too much ice. They are frozen margaritas made in frozen drink machines, its the same as asking if we really need that much ice in a 7/11 slushy.
I am glad you like the atmosphere, surprised you don't like the drinks and sorry you don't like the food.
The food is mediocre and the drinks... Let's put it this way: everytime I order a margarita the only way not to end up drinking what tastes like dirty water is to drink it under 5 minutes. Do we need that much ice?
Why do I keep going then? For the atmosphere and the pool table. On any given day I bump into friends and meet new people. It's a great place to relax, but the food could be better. The beer is always quite cold, another plus.
don't know about the food, but LOVE the margaritas and cocktails, atmosphere is great (love the retractable roof) and there's always a vibrant crowd. Perfect place to start the night. Also, LOVE LOVE CINCO DE DRINKO! Wish it was more than once a month!
whew... busy busy above there... well, ive been there twice. and i think the food is ok. my other 2 friends also agree that the food is good. its not blah yikes. its good. we had 2 burritos and 1 nachos. 2 margarita and 1 tequila. later we added 1 mojito and 1 qingdao. those beverages were fine as well... when we first arrived there, we didnt have table but then we decided to eat at the bar. it was ok too. i like the outdoor (the 2nd time i was there i finally got the outdoor seat). it seems like with all those bad reviews about this place, this restaurant keeps running well judging from the crowd. service was ok. some room for improvements. when we got our bill, we went quiet for a while looking at it, but yea... again, its ok. since we enjoyed the food, the drinks, the ambiance, the companions and the conversation, we didnt think much of it. maybe not a place to go too often for a tex-mex food, but im more than happy to come back here again.
2 stars.
Lots of problems. Food is lousy. Order some brunch dish with raisins and it was inedible. Also got ice water, there was little black **** floating around in it.
Came for the last two Cinco de Drinkos--both times it took over 30 minutes to get half priced margaritas. I'd rather pay full price than wait that long.
Service is good, friendly, and legitimately feel bad when they tell you they won't have any more margaritas for "who knows how long." They should offer a full priced margarita option upstairs (on Cinco de Drinko) that removes all the hassle.
See u Phoebe : ),
Kelvin
my name is Phoebe and I'm the manager
Please ask for me tomorrow and I will buy you a drink which will change your mind.
get your visa card ready
Hi "ricksaddle" congrats on the award...pity I only tried your Mojito and that is eenuff to deter me away from trying other cocktails in your place. Maybe when I pop by tomorrow on 20JUN, you may wana offer me to try your best cocktail to "win back my heart".?? This time I will not bring cash since Credit Cards are now acceptable.
See u!
We DO accept credit cards.
thanks for your comments Kelvin very constructive.
As for your remarks about our cocktails.... the voters tell us another story. We got an award last night at The Beijinger's Bar and Club awards for "Best Cocktails" and "Best New Bar of the Year"
Thanks voters!
Agree with "heydude" on his above comments that This place brings Beijing the obnoxiousness of the Rickshaw's drunks at ten times the price(we are comparing it with "Rickshaw" cos this two outlets are run by the same management). However I think the increase in the prices is worth it for its ambience. It will be better if a small section of this place can have their lightings made to dim; so that this place can be made as a romanatic dating/pick-up place : )
The service are just average, the food is nothing Mexican at all, yucks! Oh they really really really need to buck up and train their staff on how to make a good Mojito! And it is ridiculous that such a big place DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS!!!! For this they derserve nothing more than 2 stars out of 5
Hi "ricksaddle" , above u wrote "Our Hoegaarden beer...The 70 kuai is the giant draft wich you cant find it sold in other venues" I beg your pardon??? I think you have not been to Kro's nest hye? They do have 500ml Hoegaarden draft beer as well and I dun think they are selling at your price(I was last there 2 months ago so u maybe right only if they have increases their price recently, but I doubt so. But at least you are not the only one selling your so called "giant" Hoegaarden draft beer!) Cheers!
My family and I had Saturday lunch at the Saddle a couple of weeks ago. The service was friendly, but slow (there was only 1 other table when we arrived, 2 when we left so they weren't overwhelmed). The amount of food was HUGE, but lacked flavour and it was room temperature when it arrived. Rather than wait for our server to materialise again so that we could have it heated, we had a few bites, drank our really cold beers (which were lovely) and left vowing to return for a couple of drinks in the coolest new block in Sanlitun, but never for food.
I don't know why people are slamming this place -- what the heck are they comparing it with? I had to hold back a bit, I was going to The Saddle every day for a while. It's just that nice, especially now that the temperature is good for sitting outside.
As for the food... Maybe it's not as "real Mexican" as El Fogoncito, but it sure as heck tastes a lot better! I've been to El Fogoncito three times, just because there wasn't anything else around and I heard it was the real deal. I hate their club atmosphere upstairs, and I still haven't found a dish that I really like. Compare this to The Saddle; I love all (well, there are only 4 or 5 so far) main dishes on their menu.
I do wish they had similar beans burritos as you find at Rickshaw, though. They seem a bit... healthier.
Some Replies..
Our Hoegaarden beer is 40 kuai. The Same as a dozen other venues around Beijing 40 is the RRP (recommended retail price) The 70 kuai is the giant draft wich you cant find it sold in other venues.
Our Sol Beers are 30 and 20 on Taco Tuesdays Our Homebrew Draft is 35 Our Stella Draft is 40 (only 5 kuai more than we sell it at The Rickshaw)
Our Margaritas have 2 and a half shots of tequila in them and cost 55 (only 5 kuai more than we have been selling them at the rickshaw for a year)
we have a happy hour every Friday from 5 to 8 we have deals on Tuesdays and Mondays
and the 5th of every month from midnight to midnight ALL drinks are half price.
Yep, we are more expensive than the Rickshaw we are also the same or cheaper than other tex-mex places around Beijing.
We had a large group of Mexicans in the other day who told me that the food was the best they have ever had. Come and see our new hot sauce collection straight out of Mexico.
sigh.... people love to hate.
But its all good, we love our customers and our customers love us. If there are any problems ask for Nick or Phoebe, there is always at least one foreign manager on duty all day and night to solve problems.
see yall soon!
Food: The worst Beijing-Mex ever!! Drinks: Expensive watery margaritas with lots of ice, sour mix but no tequila. Ambience: extremely bad music, Dusty, noisy music system. Service: could be worst. Décor: the place is falling apart with the most horrible furniture in the world.. Crowd: White trash drunks. For a Beijing with out trash!
good atmosphere and location, but sadly completely overpriced!
the beer and cocktail prices are almost on the same level? 70 kuai for a hoegaarden beer?! sorry, but that is ridiculous - even when imported!
at least introduce a local beer at a reasonable price, so one can choose - or else your customers won't be coming back once the hype has cooled down...
and krisryan: as the manager your comments regarding criticism are way out of line! calling your patrons idiots/losers (even if they stoop to a level that is not acceptable - e.g. calling people "drunk aholes") you should definitely not retaliate in such an ungracious way, stooping down to the same - maybe even a lower level. that is just bad judgement on your part and will cost you customers who read your comments!
To the management: As a mexican national I can sincerely and regrettably tell you that your "mexican" food is tasteless (that is the "tacos" and the "burritos" which was what I had, oh yeah and the Salsa!) You guys really need to add some flavour to your food, I thought it was impossible to make mexican food be so insipid, c'mon guys!. Try using "chipotle" chili for adding flavour to your dishes (you can get those at Wal Mart, Ole, Jenny Lu, etc) some red mexican rice (take some tomato chunks add some garlic, coriander and some pepper powder and that's it!) Mexican food can be so easy! I really like the location and the place in itself but you have to revisit your recipes and bring down the beer prices(30RMB!?). I strongly suggest you go to "El Fogoncito" in Wanda Plaza and take a look at their dishes (those are the ones that come the closest to the real thing in Beijing) and they are about to open their second restaurant near The Place so you guys have to watch out! I ll be happy to recommend a mexican friend of mine (professional chef) as a consultant who could actually use a part time job now...
Love the food, the ambiance, and the super cool beer.
Could wish for more variety in the menu, though I know the place is still in its infancy.
It's great to see some many new quality Mexican food places pop up in Beijing!
Mr. Napp, Constructive criticism is always welcome, calling myself and my patrons from our other establishment "drunk aholes" is not feedback. Insinuating that there is something wrong with our alcohol verges on slander. I was here ALL night last night and the night before and individually asked EVERY patron for their feedback. We do have some things to brush up on, but I mostly received very good comments. I did though read your other reviews and feedback for other establishments. I'm wondering if you have ever been to a place that you enjoyed and written something positive. :) You have rated 5 places with a cumulitve value of 7 what does that average out to Mr. Napp? Most of our patrons know where and how to find myself and our partners if there is a problem. We are more than flexible to meet our client's needs when we are asked. Mr. Napp, you may think that I am slamming customers, but I do take it personally when someone calls me and our patrons "aholes" on a public domain. If I go to a restaurant and there is a problem that I feel worthy of a poem and time on a public blog, I'm sure that it would at least warrent calling a manager at the time of the problem? I wouldn't do it anonymously in an attempt to discredit a business. Saying that, thank you again for your comments and I do wish you luck on your journey to find the place that suits your tastes. As I mentioned earlier: From the owner. Credit cards: obviously want it on and will do it as soon as i can! Drinks: we buy from the largest and most reputable supplier in BJ. Yes they are leathal. The food is constantly improving and will be perfect by the time we get our gas on in the kitchen so we can do it the right way. (The food by the way had all good comments, from the burritos, to the salad, to BBQ to the massive taco plate to the margs)The pool table: Its an outdoor pool table under a tree! thats how it is sorry. (One can always play indoors)The price: Kai is cheaper go there. We also have a deal every night. If I had feedback that night, I guarantee we would have shared a beer and solved the issue that night. Thank you Mr. Napp.
One final comment - at the time of writing I count 20 reviews with a cumulative total of 39 stars. That is an average of 1.95. How can this restaurant have a "buzz" worth "5" when on average it has received 1.95 stars out of a possible 5! Someone is rigging the system...
Is this 2008? What manager calls his patrons losers? Is business that good that you can afford to toss those aside that express dissatisfaction? Moreover, should we as patrons put up with such a cavalier attitude to customer service? Why should we have to ask for the manager?!?!
Your prices dictate our expectations.
In this case, the Saddle is at or near the top of the market so YES, we should expect English-speaking staff instead of tracking down the manager. YES, we should expect exemplary customer service. YES, we should expect a better pool table. YES, we should expect credit cards to be accepted. Finally, YES, we should expect good food NOW (instead of when your kitchen figures things out. Why should we pay inflated prices while your kitchen staff produces below market fare?).
You publicly state that the kitchen is not up to par (“The food is constantly improving and will be perfect by the time we get our gas on in the kitchen..”) so how can you call someone that shares your observations a “loser”. You know and we know your food isn’t worth what we are paying for it so how about giving us, your patrons, a price break in the interim? So you offer “a deal every night”. So what! Your deal just brings the Saddle up to average and average deserves little congratulations or fan fare. You promise things will get better? Great! But that is expected. You set the standard by setting the prices.
I can put up with Beijing’s quarks but a foreign manager that does not respect his patrons or the feedback they offer is too much. You will not see me in the Saddle again!
Did you ask for the manager? He is American.
Been there yesterday(Thoursday night). Food was avarage at best and we all thought it was overpriced as well. On top of that, when the check arrived they tried to overcharge us for a drink we didn't have and we had to argue with the waiting staff to get the check fixed. Took us over half an hour and lots of broken Chinese to go this done (No English was spoken whatsoever)
From the owner. Credit cards: obviously want it on and will do it as soon as i can! Drinks: we buy from the largest and most reputable supplier in BJ. Yes they are leathal. The poet: Idiot. Haaa The food is constantly improving and will be perfect by the time we get our gas on in the kitchen so we can do it the right way. The pool table: Its an outdoor pool table under a tree! thats how it is sorry. The price: Kai is cheaper go there. We also have a deal every night. Five stars for reading that idiots poem. loser.
Wow, The Saddle must be doing something awfully right to have so many people slamming them as hard as they've been. I'm a buck and change soaking wet, and I had not only one, but TWO margaritas, without incident a few weeks ago.
Warning: Stay away from the margueritas. Tastes great, feels absolutely terrible about an hour after just one. A couple of friends have also gotten sick from the marguerita. Not drunk. I'm willing to admit to light-weightedness, but we were straight sick. Stick to beer.
Get the sap off the pool table and maybe I'll come here as often as I do to the Rickshaw. Oh, and then make the beer cheaper and start serving Tsingtaos. Give us poor, common people who teach English for a living something to grab on to.
Hello beijing, wake up! They don't accept credit cards becuase they don't want to report income or revenue to the government. Don't let them tell you it's because of the fees - it's not. Cash businesses can under report thier income to the government because there are a million ways to evade the real income numbers.
The Saddle Cantina has been open for barely a month, and I've already been there five times. No, I wasn't coerced to go by anyone else, nor was my food or beverage tab on the house. I've gone because I liked it and thought it was worth it. The service wasn't at five-star level, but for a place that just opened and has been packed every time I've been there, I was pretty impressed. While Beijing isn't exactly the best spot in the world for Tex-Mex, I still think that the Saddle is the best we have on offer at the moment, so I stand loyally by my previous positive review.
Though people seem to be fired up on both sides of the spectrum about this place, I have no strong feelings either way. The decor is nice, the drinks are pricey, and the food is ok. It looks like the place attracts a small but loyal fanbase on a daily basis (I came twice and saw the same people) and other than that, there not much mystery here.
I wouldn't recommend it for the intellectual types, and I wouldn't recommend it for any roughnecks, for all of you that dont fall at either extreme, this might be a place to check out.
Because my experience at the Saddle left me speechless, I decided to write a poem that summarizes my feelings.
Wtf, what is this eateries draw? Is it the same drunk aholes from the Rickshaw? Is it the fact, that when I order a drink, it costs a hand and a dime, and the pool table stinks? Is it my burrito, stuffed with too much rice, my queso with too much flour, or my margerita with to much ice? Oh there are so many things that this place has forced me to learn, mainly that nice decor and big hype is not enough reason to return!
Go to tex mex, or just wait for a good south of the border place to open up somewhere else. See this once if you must, but dont be fooled by the decor and the empty hype.
Most definitely one of my new favorite bars in town. The atmosphere, the retractable roof, and the patio is great. The Tex-Mex is deelicious by Beijing standards, and I'm okay with the higher price of the drinks as long as I know for sure that it's real alcohol (vs. the fake stuff at Shooters or Kai) and they keep the expansive margarita list. Also love the fact that they have pinatas!
The don't take credit cards.....it sucks!!! Why bother putting in the patio, when you don't take card? Place s pricey so i don't want to have to go to a money machine after dinner because The Saddle has drained all my cash. Message to owners, call Bank of China so you can accept C-R-E-D-I-T C-A-R-D-S
Just about as close as you're going to get to real Tex-Mex in China. Margaritas = good. Guacamole = good Queso = good. A bit pricey for what it actually is, but its well worth it all.
Atmosphere is great.
Will be back over and over and over and over.
At 7:30pm on a Friday night, this place was already packed... with families, men wearing straw faux somberos and Beyonce music. Somehow, I'm still enraptured, probably thanks to Saddle Cantina's enormous margaritas and open terrace. The only negative, should a Corona set me back 40 RMB? Hmmm. Dinner for two w/ a margarita, chicken burrito and Corona each cost us 300 RMB exact. Hmm. Still, booze, terrace, Mexican food... Chris and Chad, I think we figured your formula out.
This place brings Beijing the obnoxiousness of the Rickshaw's drunks at ten times the price.
Yes. The patio is beautiful, and they do have smothered burritos, but the service and food quality leave much to be desired. There's tremendous potential if they can figure out how to make a palatable burrito and a decent margarita for less than 55 kuai.
At the moment, it's a good place that, with some tweaks, could be a great place
The Good
The patio's great. You can tell already this place is going to be rocking in the summer.
The place was swarming with fuwuyuans who were polite and efficient. They seemed to have some trouble understanding the names of menu items, so it might help to bring at least one Chinese-speaker with you.
Solid chips and salsa. Two of the salsas (a chunky tomato salsa and the Rickshaw salsa) were great, and the other two (a green sauce and a bean sauce) were lackluster. Great + lackluster = solid.
The chicken burrito was delic. It's smothered in red enchilada sauce, and super tasty. Didn't have any of the alcoholic beverages, but they looked massive (esp. the margaritas).
Whole layout of the place feels open, clean and friendly. Has a real nice vibe to it.
Looks like they're going to have a promotion or event virtually every night of the week.
Instead of bringing tables free chips and salsa, they bring popcorn. The popcorn has a nice dusting of spices on it, although the dusting was a bit too firey for me and my dining companion. We were each coughing until we got used to the spice.
They bring a free pitcher of water to every table. Nice touch, and something we don't see enough of in Beijing.
The Bad
Drink prices: 20 kuai for a single can of Coke? That's US$3 for something I can get at 7-11 for two kuai. This one actually made me a little angry. Order two cokes, and you're already in for the price of a satisfying meal at a decent Chinese place. Other menu/drink items I can understand being a bit more expensive b/c of difficulty acquiring ingredients and the like, but selling a soft drink at this price is coming dangerously close to gouging. Markups in the alcoholic beverages weren't quite as egregious, but still fall into the high end of booze prices in and around Sanlitun (ex: 70 kuai for a large Hoegaarden).
At the moment, their "opening menu" only has three entrees on it: burritos, enchiladas, and tortas (with the burritos and enchiladas each coming in beef, chicken, pork, and veggie varieties). This is sure to change with time, but it means that, for the moment, their menu's a little sparse since one of their three main offerings isn't quite up to par (see below)
The pork carnita enchilada was disappointing. Seemed to be lacking a certain zing, and after it started getting cold, I lost all desire to eat it. The refried beans and Mexican rice were clumpy (i.e. too dry).
The side of the patio closest to the courtyard (the east side) is a little dark after nightfall. Made it a bit difficult to make out the menus.
All in all, I'd say the good outweighs the bad, mainly because there's nothing in the bad that
a) Chad and Kris aren't already working on (adding to the menu and tweaking existing items, for instance)
b) couldn't be easily fixed (lowering prices just a tad)
Whether this becomes a "once every week" place or a "once in awhile" place for me depends mainly on the prices. We shall see.
I absolutely loved the Saddle Cantina. Apart from friendly managament (of Rickshaw fame) and good service, the margaritas and daquiris are enormous and absolutely tasty, and the number of tequilas at the bar will make your head spin. There's wifi, a terrace, pooltables, and a roof that opens up for nice weather, so I highly doubt that many other places will have their draw during the summer. And the food? Generous portions of solid Tex-Mex, not to mention that famous guacamole. I'll be there at least once a week.
This place just opened up and is very likely to become one of my favorite places in Beijing: great decor and stunning rooftop terrace (already looking forward to some massive BBQ's out there). What I love about this place is that the roof can be opened up and the windows are huge; hence, in summer you get this actually inside but feeling like outside feeling. The margaritas are huge and quite tasty. The food is alright and I believe they will improve as they go. The music was mostly Colombian, which is my favorite anyway.. What they should think about is the price of the beer.. too expensive! As a first impression: great. I will be back to see some more (and potentially add one more star to my review)!
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[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED] Second Bite review, August, 2011[HTML_REMOVED]
[HTML_REMOVED] For the last several months, we’ve been hearing rumors about the Saddle Cantina’s culinary comeback. Friends raved about the food and the new chef, JP, and we couldn’t wait to try. But eating our way through half the new specials menu on two separate visits, we’re disappointed. The food is now edible, which is a big step up for The Saddle, but still mediocre.
[HTML_REMOVED] The Tampico steak tampiquera (¥83) comes with a superb side of rice, and the flavors of the rather soggy enmolada tortilla are spicy and legitimately Mexican. The meat, though, is dry and bland. The ahi tuna salad (¥75) sounds appealing on the menu, but the medium rare slices of tuna are overly fishy. The spicy sauce that covers the tuna and accompanying salad has a nice bite, and the slices of fresh mango add a lot to the dish. But a similar side salad with the habanera pan-fried chicken (¥82) was over-dressed to the point of drowning in spice. The large chicken breast, topped with a sauce that starts with a robust tomato flavor and gradually builds into a moderate spice, is passable, but not exciting.
[HTML_REMOVED] Saddle’s new specials aside, the regular offerings are better than they used to be, although that’s not saying much. Tacos dorados (¥40)—corn tortillas with shredded chicken, guacamole, sour cream and cheese—are surprisingly bland, and the guacamole was watery and tasted a little off. Saddle quesadillas with cheese and jalapenos (¥45/small) are deliciously cheesy and spicy—but it’s pretty hard to go wrong with melted cheese on tortillas.
[HTML_REMOVED] On a positive note, service has definitely turned a corner, and there seems to be a very effective system in place. Waitstaff was efficient and pleasant on both our visits, and they’re great about bringing and refilling free glasses of water.
[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED]Sienna Parulis-Cook[HTML_REMOVED]