Mother's Cantina breaking-wave mark

Family run since 2008

Fresh tortillas, made here from scratch

Hand-pressed tortillas, fresh-juice margaritas, and Tex-Mex made fresh daily.

See the Menu

What we're known for

Hand-pressed tortillas, scratch sauces, and the plates people come back for.

Order Now
Nacho Mother's Fries

Nacho Mother's Fries

A pound of hand-cut boardwalk style fries smothered in queso cheese sauce, tangy pico de gallo, and spicy ranch.
*Add spicy chorizo, barbacoa beef, chipotle black or pinto bean, pulled chicken, sautéed spinach, grilled veggies, or chipotle grilled portabella.

Add Item
Combo Steak & Chicken Fajita

Combo Steak & Chicken Fajita

A huge portion of a tender flame grilled steak with a fresh cut and flame grilled chicken, spiced with our house rub, sliced carefully and served over seasoned grilled veggies.

Add Item
Fajita Burrito

Fajita Burrito

Flame grilled chicken, steak, or shrimp with rice, beans, thick cheese sauce, and grilled veggies wrapped in a house made chipotle tortilla, grilled, and topped with pico de gallo.

Add Item
Birria Tacos

Birria Tacos

Three slow-roasted beef birria tacos, grilled with smoked cheeses in our house-pressed flour tortillas. Served with cilantro, lime, and our irresistible birria au jus. Irresistible!

Add Item

Tex-Mex made the long way

Tex-Mex made the long way

Tortillas pressed on the plancha, chile sauces built in house, and guacamole blended in small batches by Don Dario, the abuelo of the Mother's Cantina crew.

Order Now

Order ahead, pick it up, hit the beach

Order ahead, pick it up, hit the beach

Pickup and delivery straight from our kitchen on Philadelphia Avenue. Order online and it is ready when you are.

Start Your Order

The whole menu, all year

The whole menu, all year

Appetizers, tacos, fajitas, tortas and the happy hour lineup. We are open Wednesday through Sunday, in season and out.

View Menus

A local family business since 2008

A local family business since 2008

Neely and Ryan James opened Mother's Cantina in 2008. Winner of Coastal Style's Best of Maryland's Coast for Mexican restaurant, tacos, family business and caterer.

Learn More
House margarita with a chile-salt rim on the bar at Mother's Cantina

Happy Hour

Happy hour, every day we're open

Happy 2–6 every day we are open. Fresh-squeezed house margaritas, cold drafts and the full happy hour taco lineup.

See Happy Hour

Word from the dining room

Recent reviews from guests in Ocean City.

christopher kaspereen

christopher kaspereen

in my top 3 mexican places ever, maybe the top. flounder tacos were the best I've had, good cheap margaritas, family had enchiladas, fajitas and shrimp tacos, all fantastic. if you want the best mexican on the island and good, cheap margaritas, come in for happy hour. Edit: went a second time the next day, they ... knocked it out of the park again. almost the exact same orders, were as good if not better.

Cole Brincefield

Cole Brincefield

Mother’s Cantina in Ocean City is legit. The birria tacos are some of the best I’ve had — tender, flavorful meat, good consommé for dipping, and tortillas with that perfect crisp. The quesadillas are just as good: cheesy, well-filled, and hot off the griddle. Frozen piña coladas were very delicious too. Strong, ... smooth, and perfect for a beach day. Fun, upbeat vibe with solid service even when it’s busy. If you want real flavor and a good drink, this is the spot. Get the birria.

Anika Lal

Anika Lal

genuinely the best tacos I’ve ever eaten in my life, the most juiciest chicken, the most loaded tacos, and for the best price like seven dollars for the happy hour two tacos was so filling and so good. You must come here if you go to Ocean City Maryland. I’m not joking when I say it’s the best tacos I’ve ever had.

Frequently Asked Questions

What dishes are you best known for?

Our regulars come back for the Maryland crab quesadilla, layered with sweet lump crab, smoked gouda and a dash of Old Bay. After that it is a toss-up between the house enchiladas, the meat-free portabella fajita, a bowl of kickin' crab chowder and the queso-smothered double decker taco.

What type of cuisine do you serve?

Mother's Cantina is a Mexican restaurant in Ocean City cooking scratch Tex-Mex on house-pressed tortillas. Build your own tacos, share a platter of fajitas off the plancha, or go vegetarian with chipotle portabella, sauteed spinach or black and pinto bean fillings.

What services do you offer?

We serve lunch and dinner at 2810 Philadelphia Ave, with happy hour 2–6 every day we are open. You can place an online order for takeout, or book us for catering when you are feeding a crowd.

What areas do you serve?

You will find us on 28th Street in North End Ocean City, so the 28th Street area is our home block. We also feed plenty of guests from Midtown Ocean City, West Ocean City and Ocean Pines.

Find us on Philadelphia Avenue

2810 Philadelphia Ave, North End Ocean City. Open Wednesday through Sunday.

Map of Mother's Cantina - 2810 Philadelphia Ave, Ocean City, MD, 21842, US