When you first find Cancun Mexican Restaurant just beyond the corner of Adams and Main streets in Biddeford, you might be a little concerned.

Heading down a short set of stairs and into a basement lounge, you half-expect to walk into a smoky cantina with men playing knife games in the corner and women salsa-dancing around the tables.

Additional Photos

Bartender Gama Chavez serves a margarita to Adam Smith and Thea Hernandez at Cancun in Biddeford. Mix-and-match food platters complement Cancun's big drinks. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

You probably won’t find either — at least on an average night — but you will be treated to some huge drinks and good food.

The bar and lounge are to your right as you enter, or you can proceed ahead to the restaurant. The space is separated into two rooms by a stained-glass half-wall and a doorway connecting the corners of each area. Mirrors hang along the walls to give the space a larger feel.

There’s a huge wooden bar, including about 10 bar chairs, that covers half of the room. A few of the chairs have a good view of the flat-screen television that hangs to the right side of the bar, which was showing a beach soccer game when I walked in. (Who knew this was a televised sport?)

The lounge area includes cafeteria-type seating, with short thin tables and padded metal chairs surrounding a larger flat-screen television and situated below the only window letting in natural light.

When I settled at the bar, I was greeted with a large platter of freshly made tortilla chips and salsa. Free munchies like that are always welcome.

The staff at Cancun is extremely friendly, and the bartender checked on me at least five times during my 90-minute visit. Along with the Mexican music providing a background in the bar area, the deep Spanish accents almost make you forget you are on a side street in Maine.

When it comes to drinks, the phrase “glasses as big as your head” pops up on many review sites, and that description was proven to be true on my visit.

Beer at Cancun proves to be a lesson in Mexican flavors, with imported labels such as Modelo (Original, Negro and Especial), Pacifico and Sol available in cans and bottles ($3.75). There are also domestics for those who like their beer made closer to home, with bottled Budweiser, Miller Lite and Sam Adams ($3).

On draft, there are the staples of most Mexican restaurants, such as Dos Equis Amber and Lager ($3.50 for a 16-ounce glass). Cancun also carries Miller Lite, Coors Light and Allagash White ($3 for a 16-ounce glass) if you like your draft beer more local.

When it comes to mixed drinks, Cancun is well known for its margaritas. At $8 for the original lime margarita and $9 for flavored blends (peach, pina colada, strawberry, mango, raspberry and pomegranate), it seems like a slightly high-priced glass of the common drink — until the glass, which is more like a huge goblet, is placed in front of you. Then you realize the value you’re getting.

Cancun also has a full bar to make most mixed drinks, although the bartender explained that the staff is most familiar with the most common well drinks. In keeping with the outgoing and enjoyable atmosphere, however, they’re willing to try to make any drink if you know the ingredients.

If you are looking to grab something to eat with your drink, the menu selection and prices at Cancun are almost unbelievable. With quesadillas, burritos, tacos, chimichangas, tamales and many other entrees, you can mix and match up to three to form a platter of food with rice and beans ($7.49 to $7.99).

And with the plates of food following the example set by the huge drinks, you’ll most likely be bringing something home with you — especially if you order the massive margarita.

Elisa Doucette is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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