Cantina Los Caballitos sits at 1651 East Passyunk Avenue in Passyunk Square, the margarita bar and Mexican kitchen that has anchored the strip's drinking scene for years. The pull is a long tequila list, a deep margarita menu and one of the larger patios in South Philadelphia.
This is the room for a drinker who wants margaritas by the pitcher, a late kitchen and a patio table with a group. Anyone after a quiet cocktail den should look up the avenue instead. The crowd runs from after-work neighbours to weekend groups and drag-night regulars.
The room. The bar opens onto a large outdoor patio that drives the warm-weather trade, with the dining room behind it. The Infatuation's review frames it as a reliable East Passyunk standby for margaritas and Mexican plates, and Philadelphia Magazine has named it among the city's best Mexican rooms.
What to order. Order a margarita first, from the classic lime to strawberry or blood orange, and split a pitcher if the table is four or more. Happy hour runs $6 margaritas and $20 pitchers, which is the value window. The kitchen serves birria and solid vegan options until 1am, later than most of the avenue.
Who it is for. Cantina suits a group patio night, a late-kitchen stop after another bar and a casual date that wants noise and tacos. It is the wrong call for a refined cocktail tasting.
Best time to go. Happy hour and warm evenings on the patio are the sweet spot, while the bar stays open to 2am every night for a late round. Weekends fill the patio fast, so arrive early for a table.
Cantina Los Caballitos is one of the most-recommended stops on Philadelphia's cocktail-bar map and fits a South Philly crawl in our Philadelphia bar guide. For more options nearby, see the wider best cocktail bars pillar.
What regulars say. Across more than 980 Yelp reviews, drinkers single out the margaritas, the patio and the late kitchen, with the birria a repeat favourite. The most common note is that it shines as a group spot and runs loud on weekends, so it rewards a patio booking over a quiet corner.
