Foodie Friday: Blind Salamander Cantina

A new patio bar and cantina has opened in San Marcos.

Blind Salamander Cantina — a two-story bar and restaurant — sits at the corner of North LBJ Drive and Hutchison Street. The inside is painted in bright pastel colors. The music is blasting. The food is dished out fresh and the drinks are flowing. 

“The unique atmosphere of The Blind Salamander will be like nothing else in all of San Marcos,” Owner Allen Shy told the Daily Record before its opening. The  cantina’s unique name is a nod to the Blind Salamander, an endangered species that resides in the San Marcos River. “It’s something that all Southwest Texas/Texas State students learn about. I wanted a brand that would represent San Marcos,” Shy added.

What to get: 

During our visit, I went with Blind Salamander’s chicken fajita nachos — tortilla chips topped with queso, pico de gallo and chicken fajita served with a side of guacamole and sour cream ($8.95). 

My dining partner went with the chicken fajita quesadilla, which is also served with guacamole and sour cream ($8.95).

Patrons can also pick the Salamander Nachos, which come with tortilla chips, spicy beef, cilantro, elote, black beans, pico and queso ($10.95). 

Blind Salamander offers a variety of tacos, quesadillas and nacho options to sample. 

The new San Marcos eatery has jerk shredded chicken tacos — Jamaican seasoned chicken, cotija cheese and cilantro ($4.85). There’s also chicken fried steak tacos, which comes with chicken fried steak, elote, queso and topped with pico de gallo ($5.35). Blind Salamander also offers a shrimp taco ($5.50) and fish taco ($5.25), which both come with slaw, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, ranch and their respective protein.

The restaurant slings out a wide variety of breakfast tacos, including a migas taco ($2.99), chicken fajita breakfast taco ($3.49), beef fajita breakfast taco ($3.99), and The Stoner ($3.99), which comes with refried beans, eggs, tater tots and bacon topped with queso. 

You can also build your own breakfast taco from a variety of options, including cheese, eggs, bacon, potato and picadillo. Two tacos comes in at $2.99, while three tacos rings up at $3.50.

Looking for an appetizer? Blind Salamander has dirty tots — tater tots topped with queso, bacon and jalapeños ($6.95) — and salamander dip, which comes with queso, taco meat, guacamole and sour cream ($9.95). You could also get salsa, guacamole queso or elote to start off your meal.

Looking to wash your meal down with an adult libation? Blind Salamander has a multitude of specialty margaritas: pickle rita, pina rita, serrano rita, pineapple serrano rita, cucumber rita, bloody marita and skinny rita. A regular costs $6 and a large is $8. 

Blind Salamander also has plenty of beer options and infused tequilas. 

If you go:

Blind Salamander Cantina is located at 301 North LBJ Drive. The San Marcos spot is open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. 

For more information visit Blind Salamander Cantina’s Facebook: 

Phone: 512-749-1108