Cantina Social Club brings seasonal Mexican cooking and low-intervention wine to downtown Vancouver
A pop-up by the team behind Chupito opens Wednesdays through Saturdays at Pinche Taco Shop, blending traditional Mexican drinking house culture with Pacific Northwest ingredients.
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A new Mexican cantina-inspired pop-up is arriving downtown, bringing the energy of Mexico City's traditional drinking houses to Vancouver's food scene.
Cantina Social Club opens Wednesday, July 22 at Pinche Taco Shop, located at 367 Seymour St., and runs Wednesdays through Saturdays from 6 p.m. until late. The space transforms nightly into an intimate venue lit by candlelight, with communal tables and lush greenery.
Chef Maria Ponce leads the kitchen, drawing inspiration from different regions of Mexico while embracing seasonal ingredients from B.C. Rather than strict tradition, she uses it as a foundation for inventive new dishes. The menu changes with the seasons and the kitchen's creative curiosity.
A playful beverage program curated by Tara Davies and Erick Vazquez follows the same philosophy. The bar features low-intervention B.C. wines, cerezas, and rotating low-waste, high-fun cocktails. Highlights include the Half-and-half Paloma (half frozen, half sparkling), Pina Daiquiri, Cantinatini, and rotating La Ronda—seasonal large-format cocktails made for sharing.
"Cantinas have always been about more than food and drinks—they are places where people gather, celebrate, debate, and build community," says Vazquez, whose grandfather was a Cantinero in Mexico City. "Cantina Social Club is our interpretation of that experience in Vancouver: creative without being complicated, refined without pretension, and always centred around bringing people together."
The concept also introduces Vancouver to Sergio El Bailador, a resident dancing skeleton mascot inspired by Mexican folk art and the festive spirit of the classic song of the same name.
