Hussong's Cantina

Hussong's Cantina anchors Avenida Ruiz in the Zona Centro of Ensenada, Baja California, and has operated on the same site since 1892, making it one of the oldest continuously running bars in Mexico. The room keeps its original sawdust floor, dark wood bar and taxidermy- and photograph-lined walls, and a mariachi trio circulates between tables through the evening, playing requests for tips. The crowd mixes cruise-ship day-trippers, Baja road-trippers and Ensenada regulars; there is no dress code beyond casual beachwear, and the age range runs from twenty-something backpackers to retirees revisiting a bar they first saw decades ago. Drinks are simple and inexpensive: bottled Mexican beer, tequila shots and the margarita the bar claims to have invented in 1941, mixed to order at the long bar rather than pre-batched. There is no cocktail menu beyond the classics and no wine list. The bar opens at 11AM daily and runs until 2AM, and the atmosphere shifts through the day: quiet and touristy in the late morning, filling with mariachi and drink orders by mid-afternoon, and loudest from around 9PM on weekends when a younger crowd and a live band take over the back of the room. There is no cover charge and no reservations; visitors walk in and find a stool at the bar or a table depending on the hour. Bottle service and table minimums do not apply, and the cantina does not hold tables for groups. Ensenada's cruise-ship schedule strongly affects crowd size, with the cantina often packed within an hour of a ship docking at the nearby port. The mariachi group works for tips rather than a set fee, and paying for a requested song is customary.