This might be authentic Mexican mediocrity. Service was perfunctary. Chips and salsa were OK. Main meal: two dishes. Average tortillas, average vegetarian dish. Some kind of "leftovers" fry-up, consisting of mushrooms, cheese, bits of tomato, and onions. What a joke. Could have made a much better meal at home.
Margaritas were sub-average. Hardly any tequila, and phony lime-cordial mix. Lotsa salt though = more 'authentic' Mexican Mediocrity.
Very limited beer menu. Not good enough these days in Vancouver.
All of this was overpiced for what it was.
I get the sad feeling that some Vancouver diners are willing to put up with that down-home, simple, unpretentious fare, as though somehow this is acceptable because its oh so genuinely working class Mexican. They've been had! Won't be back.

hi after so many years in vancouver i finally found REAL..mexican food, i loveit i love it i love it..i choose all the 7 meats i like the carnitas my favourite mmmh very tasty , the salsa bar was great peanut,chile de arbol, avocado, i was dying with the salsa diabla..bien picosa as a mexican lady i recomend this place,i went today i travelled from surrey and i will back again and again..gracias a dona cata ..viva mexico!!!

I really didn't know what I wanted for dinner so after some agonizing decision making the gf and I decided to stay close by and headed here. I've been pretty disappointed by the availability of authentic sytle Mexican food in town and how terrible the "tex-mex for locals" variety have been so I made sure I came in here with no expections. Totally unfounded.

It wasn't busy so we were seated immediately after being greeted (which turned out to be one of the owners). We were immediately served complimentary tortilla chips in a small, plain disposable paper plate while we decided what to get. Too hard to choose since everything looked fantastic. Finally, the girlfriend chose the Mole entree while I ordered the Sarape. A brief wait and we were already eating. Our warm tortillas that came with our meals were served in a wicker basket, a nice touch. My Sarape was a mix of cheese, green peppers, onions and longaniza sausage, among other ingredients. Absolutely delicious. Great blend of flavours and with a tiny hint of spiciness. My gf's entree was also good, with the mole sauce hinting us with its chocolate undertones. The tortilla chips looked homemade since many pieces appeared oil soaked; they probably make them in batches. Portions are deceiving, and fill you up a lot faster than you think.

Service wasn't a sore point but it's not delivered like our western influcenced counterparts. The staff are very friendly (I noticed them explaining some of the menu choices to a few tables) but they didn't follow up with our meal until they cleared our plates - didn't bother me, though just so you know. Other than that tiny oversight, the service would parallel a typical restaurant with good service.

The restaurant is dressed up similarly like their food, with homemade touches all around, including the wall with all the framed media clippings of the restaurant, the colourful art paper cutouts hanging across the ceiling, a Mama Cata dedication on the long wall and a salsa/condiment bar on the mirroring wall. I will also state that the restaurant was amazingly clean, especially the floor tiles.

Clearly, the food they serve here is priority, made and presented in a simple manner. Think comfort food. Everything else from the service to the decor are executed without the forced tawdry seen elsewhere.

The food isn't by any means elegant, just good, no frills, tasty homestyle Mexican grub. Will return. Highly recommended.

Their soft tacos are superb! They don't seem to soak through & get soggy the way most other places make them. This is a new favourite for my taco cravings. For ppl eating in, you're able to help yourself to a great number of sauces/topping choices for your tacos! They have bowls & bowls of them lined up for you to scoop out of buffet-style. Freshly housemade.

Unfortunately, sitting in can get a little crowded if you're able to snag a seat at all. Prices are decent for the portion. Though I don't care much for the location, it's still alright. It's a solid for ambiance since it's relatively clean though small. Service is pleasant & adequate. Seems to be family-run & I can't say for authenticity as I'm no Mexican expert, but I do know I have enjoyed their offerings very much whenever I don't mind making my way to the area.

From reading the reviews on here, I went with pretty high expectations. What I got was half and half.

The food itself was pretty good. Love their corn tortillas, very nice. tacos were reported as yummy. I ordered the carne enchilada(?) which was tasty, but came with fat untrimmed.
A huge plus was the hot sauce bar. Lots of choices from avocado to green tomato.

The ambiance was bright and cheery, but nothing special. The music was a little bit loud though.

Service was what turned me off from probably coming back. We sat down and everyone else got chips to sample the salsas. No chips for us. No biggie. Then after we ordered our meals, my boyfriend ordered 2 pineapple jarritos. The server said they don't have pineapple, only strawberry, mango and guava. Boyfriend didn't want those, so he asked for a ginger-ale and I asked for strawberry jarrito. We got a blank stare for a second, then she walked away.
We got the tacos and were waiting for drinks before diving into the hot salsas. We kindly reminded the server and again a blank stare before walking away. Another 5-10 minutes passed and I got my meal and no drinks. We called over another server and asked for our drinks. She grabbed our bill and said no drinks were ordered. She asked what we would like and then said that they were out of strawberry jarrito and they don't even serve pop. At this point, we were dumbfounded and just asked for 2 waters.
We were surprised nonetheless.

Tacos were well-priced, but the experience left a sour taste in my mouth and I probably will not return. At least not soon.

I'm a bit mixed about the ratings I'm giving. This is a solid place that's quite good. Unfortunately, I also spent 3 years down in San Jose where we had our pick of a lot of Mexican food, much of it authentic. Now, I'll admit I was not a big fan of Mexican food, but then I found the good stuff. And it's pretty darn good! (For the record, you should check out the deli in the Chavez Market, San Jose location only. It's better than most "real" restaurants in terms of price, service, variety, etc.).

I missed Chavez ever since I came back, but was pleased to find Dona Cata! The menu isn't as extensive, but it's quite good and inexpensive. This looks like the real deal, with the "usual" burritos and tacos, except it's not the usual. Fresh tasting and tasty, not heavy at all. They also have daily specials and other things too. Once in a while pozole pops up, and the horchata is really good, maybe the best I've had yet.

Service was very friendly. Definitely not a fancy place, but a great place to stop by for a quick Mexican food fix. We'd go back.

Several menu items...tried single tacos first, meat was flavourful and tender, despite probably being boiled during preparation and I omitted salsa etc. Also about 20 different combinations of taco filling ingredients; great for people who like selection. Certain items taste quite homemade, not bland, and tortillas are solid. Service is reflective of casual atmosphere. Musicians were great for the setting and deserving of tips, explaining the 4 stars for ambiance. Overall would be back again if I'm in the neigborhood and looking for a decent simple meal.

Nice to see a whole section of the menu devoted to vegetarians but don't expect anything too creative. I enjoyed my dish, ALAMBRE VEGETARIANO ("a saute of mushrooms, onions, tomatoes with cheese, served with two flour tortillas $9.50") but I won't rave about it. The margaritas were fine and a good deal at 2 for $8 (special). Like other reviews have mentioned, the service is geared to efficiency so don't expect to linger over the menu; still, the servers are friendly and certainly helpful.
So the food is fine and the service is fine but overall I'd definitely go back and recommend Dona Cata to friends because the whole package is very good: the Friday and Saturday night music, food, service, ambiance ... I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Dinehere, we have discovered where the authentic Mexican food has been hiding -- in East Vancouver! This place has tacos, alambras (sort of like a mixed meat, vegetable, cheese stir fry with tortillas to scoop it up), tortas, even pozole and cactus. Everythign is authentic -- sometimes a bit too authentic, as I found a gross chunk of fatty pork skin in my carnitas taco. Service is somewhat inefficient but friendly, you do have to ask for stuff more than once sometimes. Not exactly a five star setup, you get a handful of tortilla chips on a small styrofoam plate when you arrive, there are no little cups to fill with salsas, the bathroom is clean but strangely arranged, etc. For me, it's exactly the kind of cheap authentic Mexican I have been hankering for, and I will be going back for more soon I hope.

What a surprise, we saw the large Mexican flag outside and rendezvous here with a couple of friends. The restaurant is tiny, bright and very clean. The small size gives this a very cozy feel.

But the taste is very big and homemade. I was hungry and ordered all seven varieties of their Tacos (one of each) for my plate. My companions ordered a combination of the Tacos available: chicken, beef, spicy pork, sausage, etc. And we washed it all that down with the rice and cinnamon drink.

They had an extensive menu and I will definitely return for more sampling. The price was very reasonable and I thought I was in a Mexican Cantina paying in Pesos. Highly recommended.