Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada Mexico

MEXICO · ENSENADA

Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico, has poured drinks on Avenida Ruiz since 1892 and claims to have invented the margarita. Here is its history, what to order, the hours and the rules for getting there from the United States.

Hussong’s Cantina is a working bar at Avenida Ruiz 113 in downtown Ensenada, about two hours by road south of San Diego. Generations of US day-trippers, surfers and cruise passengers have stopped there for a cold beer or a margarita.

This guide covers its founding in 1892 and the disputed claim that a bartender invented the margarita there in October 1941. It also covers hours, costs in pesos and dollars, entry permits and the State Department advisory as of October 2026.

Where Hussong’s Cantina Is and How to Find It

The cantina stands at Avenida Ruiz 113 in the Zona Centro, Ensenada’s downtown district, postcode 22800. Its public business listing gives the phone number +52 646 178 3210, the simplest way to confirm opening times.

It sits in the compact downtown grid near Avenida López Mateos, the main tourist street of shops, bars and restaurants. Visitors often combine a drink with a walk along that street and the Malecón, the seafront promenade.

Cruise passengers land at the Ensenada Cruiseport Village terminal on the harbour. In a straight line, the cantina lies about 1.2 km (0.8 mile) from the terminal, within walking distance for most passengers.

Ensenada is a busy port, not a sleepy village. Baja California’s official state tourism portal calls it the most visited port in the Mexican Pacific.

The portal counts more than 300 cruise ships and more than 1 million cruise passengers a year. Expect a fuller bar on days when ships are in port, and arrive early if you want a seat.

A Bar Founded in 1892 by a German Immigrant

Johann Hussong, born in Germany in 1863, reached Ensenada in 1889 after a year in the United States. El Universal, the Mexico City daily, links his move to rumours of gold mines in Baja California.

His path into the bar trade is told in several versions. In the best-known one, he ran the saloon of a man named Meiggs, who left town after attacking his wife.

Hussong then bought a stagecoach stop across the street, remodelled it and opened his own business in 1892. Regional accounts say he obtained liquor licence number 002, and the brand describes it as the second licence ever issued in Mexico.

The business was first called “John Hussong’s Agency and Diligence”, and horses were shod out back for the stagecoach trade. The Hussong’s brand website says “John” came off the façade in 1974, when the name officially became Hussong’s Cantina.

John Hussong died in 1926 at the age of 63, El Universal reports. Discover Baja, a San Diego travel club and regional outlet, says the Hussong family still owns and runs the Ensenada cantina.

Discover Baja describes sawdust or peanut shells on the floor, old photographs on the walls and a mirrored back bar. The original heavy wooden bar has been replaced, but much of the old atmosphere is preserved.

The Margarita Claim and Why It Is Disputed

The cantina’s most famous claim is that bartender Don Carlos Orozco created the margarita there in October 1941. The brand’s published menu says he mixed equal parts tequila, Damiana liqueur and lime, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass.

In that account, he named the drink after a guest, Margarita Henkel, described as the daughter of an ambassador to Mexico. Versions differ on details: some call her father the German ambassador, and the brand website lists sugar and lemon juice.

Later recipes replaced the Damiana with an orange liqueur such as Cointreau or triple sec, Discover Baja notes. El Universal also lists variations made with orange juice, strawberry or mango.

The 1941 story remains a claim, not a settled fact. Several bars and bartenders say they invented the margarita, and drink historians have found tequila cocktails in print years earlier.

Slate writer N.C. Stevens examined the rival stories in September 2026. Stevens notes that 1992 obituaries credited Carlos “Danny” Herrera with inventing the drink in the late 1940s.

The same piece cites a 1936 Iowa newspaper report of a “tequila daisy” and a 1939 tequila sour recipe. Cocktail historian David Wondrich has linked the daisy family to the Spanish word margarita, which means daisy.

Stevens argues the drink most likely took shape in Mexican border towns during US Prohibition, when Americans crossed south to drink. The Hussong’s side has its own support: a 1992 paper in a Baja California history series dated the invention to October 1941.

Slate also cites John Beck, a US television correspondent in Baja, who said it was invented at Hussong’s as early as 1940. For visitors, the fair summary is that Hussong’s has a strong local claim, not a proven one.

What to Order and What to Expect Inside

Order the margarita, which the cantina serves as its original, or a cold Mexican beer. Visitors have also long ordered micheladas, beer mixed with lime and spices in a salted glass.

Hussong’s is a cantina, a traditional Mexican bar, and publishes no food menu online, so plan proper meals elsewhere. Baja Bound, a Baja travel and insurance site, says drinkers are served a basket of peanuts.

Expect noise, a mix of locals and visitors, and musicians moving through the room. Baja Bound describes a dim, cave-like interior with slow ceiling fans and layers of century-old paint.

The Hussong’s restaurants in Nevada are a very different experience. The brand website lists three: on the Las Vegas Strip, at Boca Park and in Henderson.

Titan Brands Hospitality Group, which the Las Vegas Review-Journal names as the owner, runs them with full food menus. The Henderson branch, announced in 2024, recreates the brick fireplace that heated the Ensenada bar in the early 1900s.

Their lunch menu, posted on the brand website, lists the Original Margarita at US$12 and a pitcher at US$50. Those are Nevada prices and say nothing about what the Ensenada cantina charges.

Hours, Prices and Costs in Pesos and Dollars

The Ensenada cantina does not post its hours on an official website. Its public business listing showed Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., closed on Mondays, as of 15 October 2026.

Hours can change, especially on holidays, so call ahead on +52 646 178 3210. From a US phone, dial 011 52 646 178 3210.

Drink prices in Ensenada are not posted online either. Conversions in this guide use 18.46 pesos per US dollar, the open.er-api.com rate of 15 October 2026.

Check whether a price is quoted in pesos or dollars before you order. Mexico’s peso uses the same $ symbol as the US dollar.

The costs you can pin down are for the trip itself. In April 2026, the three car tolls on the scenic highway rose to a combined MXN 152 (about US$8.23) one way.

Two regional outlets, N+ of Televisa and the Tijuana weekly Zeta, list MXN 50 (about US$2.71) at Playas de Tijuana. Rosarito charges MXN 49 (about US$2.65), and San Miguel, just north of Ensenada, charges MXN 53 (about US$2.87).

A return day trip by car from Tijuana therefore costs MXN 304 (about US$16.47) in tolls, before fuel, insurance and drinks. Cruise passengers avoid road costs but should budget for shore transport if they prefer not to walk.

Mexico’s federal fee law sets the 2026 tourist permit fee at MXN 983 (about US$53). Visitors who enter by land and stay seven days or less are exempt, and longer stays pay the fee on departure.

Getting There From the United States

Many drivers cross at San Ysidro into Tijuana and take Federal Highway 1D, the scenic toll road along the Pacific coast. Discover Baja puts Ensenada about two hours south of San Diego, depending on the border queue.

The road passes Rosarito and the surf break at San Miguel, which the state tourism portal places at kilometre 99. That portal also shows approximate border wait times, which help when planning the return trip north.

The State Department says Mexican car insurance is required for all vehicles, so buy a policy before you cross. Baja California is a “hassle-free zone”, which means a US car needs no temporary import permit within the state.

Land visitors heading to Ensenada need an FMM, the Forma Migratoria Múltiple tourist permit. It is issued by INM, the National Migration Institute, and can be requested online before the trip.

The State Department says travellers staying within 20 km (12 miles) of the border for six days or less are exempt. Ensenada lies far beyond that strip, so day-trippers need the permit too.

INM’s form says the permit allows one entry and up to 180 days from the border stamp. Print it, carry it with your passport and present both at the crossing.

INM also says a passport card works only at land crossings and in the border strip, not for travel deeper into Mexico. A passport book is therefore the safer document for a trip to Ensenada.

Cruise passengers follow different document rules from drivers. For round-trip cruises from one US port, US citizens may carry a certified birth certificate instead of a passport.

Travellers aged 16 or older also need government photo ID, the State Department says. A passport is still wise in case you must fly home from Mexico after missing a sailing.

Safety and the US State Department Advisory

The US State Department’s Mexico advisory, issued on Friday, 29 May 2026, rates Baja California at Level 3, “Reconsider travel”. It cites terrorism, crime and kidnapping, and says criminal groups fight for control of border areas.

The advisory notes high homicide numbers in non-tourist areas of Tijuana and says most killings appear targeted. It adds that US government employees face no extra travel restrictions in Tijuana, Ensenada or Rosarito.

The only restrictions in the state apply to the Mexicali Valley, far to the east. The department tells travellers to remain on main highways and avoid remote locations.

The 2024 killing of two Australian brothers and an American surfer near Ensenada drew international attention. On Friday, 9 October 2026, Uno TV reported that a court had found three defendants guilty in the Baja surfer murders case.

Pacific storms can also disrupt roads and ports in autumn, as the coverage of Storm Rachel in Baja California shows. Check the weather and road conditions before you set off.

The State Department notes that Mexico’s legal drinking age is 18. It also warns of contaminated alcohol and of criminals drugging drinks, so keep your glass in sight and drink in moderation.

For the national picture, the guide to Mexico security and crime in 2026 explains trends, hotspots and safer areas. The Mexico hub collects all coverage of the country, including Baja California.

What It Means for US Readers

For most US visitors, Hussong’s is a straightforward day trip from San Diego that needs a little paperwork. Drivers need a passport book, an FMM from INM and Mexican car insurance, while cruise passengers can walk from the terminal.

Budget about US$16.47 for return tolls from Tijuana, and nothing for the permit if you stay seven days or less. Prices inside are not published, so carry pesos and confirm the currency before paying.

Treat the margarita story as part of the fun rather than settled history. Then pair the visit with other Ensenada sights, which make the drive worth a full day.

The state tourism portal says Ensenada’s seven wine valleys produce more than 70% of Mexico’s wine. It also describes La Bufadora, a sea blowhole south of town, sending water up to 30 metres high.

For meals before or after, the Mexican food guide lists 25 dishes and where to eat them. The guide to Mexico culture and its key figures adds music, film and festival dates for US visitors.

Readers weighing a longer stay in Mexico can start with the Mexico City city guide. It gathers events, rents, safety notes and practical guides for foreigners in the capital.

What Is Not Known

The Ensenada cantina does not publish a menu or price list online, so current drink prices could not be confirmed. Its hours come from a public business listing rather than an official schedule, and holiday hours are unknown.

No historian has proved who mixed the first margarita, and accounts differ on Margarita Henkel’s father. Whether Hussong’s is the oldest cantina in Mexico, as the brand says, or in Baja California, as regional outlets say, is unconfirmed.

It is also unclear which family members run the Ensenada bar today. Toll rates and the permit fee are updated periodically, so check them before each trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hussong’s Cantina?

Hussong’s Cantina is at Avenida Ruiz 113 in downtown Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Ensenada is about two hours by road south of San Diego.

Was the margarita invented at Hussong’s Cantina?

The cantina says bartender Don Carlos Orozco created it there in October 1941 for a guest named Margarita Henkel. Drink historians dispute this, citing rival claims and tequila daisy and tequila sour recipes from the 1930s.

When was Hussong’s Cantina founded?

German immigrant Johann “John” Hussong opened it in 1892 in a former stagecoach stop. Discover Baja, a regional travel club, says the Hussong family still owns and runs the Ensenada bar.

What are the hours at Hussong’s Cantina?

As of 15 October 2026, its public listing showed Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., closed on Mondays. Call +52 646 178 3210 to confirm before you go.

Do I need a permit to visit Ensenada from the US?

Yes, if you drive in, because Ensenada is well beyond the 20 km border strip where no FMM is needed. Apply online with INM; land stays of seven days or less are exempt from the MXN 983 (about US$53) fee.

Is Ensenada safe for American tourists?

The State Department rates Baja California Level 3, “Reconsider travel”, but sets no extra restrictions for its staff in Ensenada. Stay on main highways, avoid remote areas and keep an eye on your drink.

Is Hussong’s in Las Vegas the same bar?

No, the three Nevada restaurants are run separately and serve full food menus. Their posted lunch menu lists the Original Margarita at US$12, a Nevada price, not an Ensenada one.

Sources: Hussong’s Mexican Cantina, history page; Hussong’s Mexican Cantina, lunch menu (PDF); Baja California state tourism portal, Ensenada; INM, Forma Migratoria Múltiple (FMM) online form; Ley Federal de Derechos, articles 8 and 11 (Cámara de Diputados, 2026 amounts); US State Department, Mexico travel advisory; Discover Baja, Hussong’s Cantina; Discover Baja, Ensenada guide; El Universal, where the margarita was born; Baja Bound, Hussong’s Cantina; Slate, margarita origins (September 2026); Las Vegas Review-Journal, Henderson branch; N+, Baja California toll rates (April 2026); N+, Tijuana to Ensenada round-trip tolls (2026); Zeta Tijuana, scenic highway tolls (May 2026); Uno TV, surfer murders verdict; exchange rate from open.er-api.com (all accessed 15 October 2026).