Sure, we all wish we were out at our favorite neighborhood bars celebrating Cinco de Mayo with the best of them this year. But thankfully, even during a statewide lockdown, local cantinas aren’t leaving us hanging. From full-fledged Mexican restaurants to trendy tequila bars, plenty of Charm City spots are featuring carryout specials to spice up virtual celebrations at home. Here are a few to choose from:

Bandito’s Bar + Kitchen: Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of the Mexicans’ unlikely victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, just so happens to fall on Taco Tuesday this year—and this Federal Hill staple is celebrating accordingly. Bandito’s will be open from 12-9 p.m. with takeout specials such as 16 or 32-oz. cocktails and margaritas, canned beers, orders of three tacos, and DIY taco kits. Orders can be placed online, in-person, or by phone.

Blue Agave: Just around the corner on Light Street, this neighborhood favorite will be open from 12-10 p.m., packing up orders of guacamole fresco, chips and salsa, fajitas, and tacos. To-go margaritas are available in traditional house or Spicy Guavarita flavors. Customers can call ahead for pickup or order delivery via Grubhub and Doordash.

Cane Collective Kits Benefiting CFF Maryland: The bar veterans behind craft spirit company Cane Collective have teamed up with Mr. Nice Guy Cocktails to distribute a special passionfruit margarita kit on Cinco de Mayo—with all proceeds benefiting the Maryland chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The $75 kit includes one bottle of Patron Reposado, one bottle of Cane’s passionfruit-jalapeno mix, and one Patron cocktail shaker. Orders can be placed onlinefor pickup and delivery.

Clavel: The team at this Remington gem is encouraging patrons to decorate their homes with homemade papel picado (Mexican folk art made by cutting designs into tissue paper) and tag the restaurant in their photos. To complete the festivities, Clavel’s new carryout operation, Pisa y Corre, is featuring tamales, michelada kits, special mezcal flights, and frozen empanadas to fry at home. Order online here.

El Bufalo Tequila Bar and Kitchen: Naturally, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at this Canton stalwart began a few days early. But they will continue throughout the day on Tuesday with 64-oz. Altos margarita pouches for $14, Casamigos premium margarita pouches for $10, and $65 build-your-own taco party kits. Place carryout orders by calling 410-814-0594.

La Food Marketa: Call this Pikesville spot to order a turkey chorizo, Peruvian chicken, and beef barbacoa taco kit that serves four. It comes will all the fixins, but you can also add on guacamole, churros, a pint of margaritas, or even a six-pack of the Mexican beer that shall not be named.

La Palapa Grill & Cantina: La Palapa is a fiesta headquarters in Ellicott City. Though the bar’s holiday celebrations will look a bit different this year, it’s still offering massive margaritas—made with Jose Cuervo or 1800 tequila—for curbside pickup. Additionally, guests can order chips and salsa, as well as 12 pork carnitas tacos topped with grilled pineapple, red onion, and cilantro. Orders can be placed online or by calling the restaurant.

Mezcal Mexican Restaurant and Bar: Celebrate with the full food menu recently made available for carryout at this Baltimore County cantina, which operates locations in Owings Mills and Timonium. In addition to the standout fajitas, burritos, and tacos, Mezcal offers bottled sangria, margaritas, and mojitos.

Papi’s Tacos: Not only is Papi’s offering special fiesta packages from its Hampden location (a bundle for four includes tequila, a mixer, an appetizer, tacos, and two sides), but it’s also hosting a virtual fiesta on Facebook Live. Throw on a sombrero and tune in from home to enjoy mariachi music, raffle drawings, live comedy with Mike Quindlen, trivia with owner Charlie Gjerde, and maybe even a piñata to whack open for good measure. The team is also giving away a $50 gift card to Papi’s and its sister-spots, as well as a Yeti cooler filled with $500 worth of booze. Any to-go order of $25 or more from either Papi’s location in Hampden or Fells Point will come with a raffle ticket to enter to win the prizes.

Taco Bravo: This Timonium newbie is open from 12-9 p.m. for curbside pickup and delivery. In addition to its regular menu, the spot is offering a deal on five chicken or steak tacos for $10. To-go cocktails include $5 margaritas, $10 grande sangrias and mojitos, and $25 64-oz. margaritas.

The Urban Oyster: Typically closed for carryout on Tuesdays, this Locust Point oyster bar is opening up for the occasion with a special menu of surf and turf tacos, guacamole, pico de gallo, elote, tequila lime pie, and seafood nachos smothered in beer cheese. Throw in a spicy grilled pineapple margarita and you’re in for a full-blown fiesta.

Vida Taco Bar: The Severna Park location of this strictly tacos-and-tequila bar is open from 12-8 p.m. for takeout tacos, nachos, guacamole, and cocktails. You can also catch Vida’s mobile margarita vans roaming in the communities surrounding all three of its locations. Upcoming routes are announced daily and orders can be placed online here.

Though Blue Agave Restaurante y Tequileria has been a Federal Hill fixture since 2000, most might be surprised to hear that the cantina didn’t serve tacos until Brian Acquavella took over in 2012.

“It was a Mexican restaurant that didn’t think tacos were authentic,” he says. “So our number one goal was putting them on the menu. The previous owners weren’t really hitting the mark of Federal Hill. It’s a high-energy place, and Mexican restaurants are supposed to be fun.”

Acquavella has certainly brought plenty of good times in the six years since he took over the Light Street staple. Aside from revamping the menu and building up a bar program with a lengthy list of tequilas and mezcals, he introduced one of the neighborhood’s most popular happy hours.

“From college all the way on, I remember the Mexican restaurants as the places where you would get the best happy hour,” he says. “You get some tacos and margaritas—maybe do a couple of shots. We wanted to be that destination place.” 

To celebrate the six-year anniversary of Acquavella’s ownership, the restaurant is throwing an all-out bash this week complete with nightly specials, karaoke, tequila tastings, and hangover brunches. Though the restaurant’s official birthday falls in March, the team held off on a celebration so that it could overlap with Cinco de Mayo this year.

“This is the biggest we’ve ever gone,” Acquavella says. “Having Cinco de Mayo fall on a Saturday this year has made us realize that we can do so many fun things the week leading up to it.”

Leading up to the big day, Blue Agave will offer a $25 discount for bottle club members on Wednesday, May 2, live mariachi music and special tequila pairings on Thursday, May 3, and authentic food specials by chef Fidel Arias on Friday, May 4. The bar’s official Cinco de Mayo bash on Saturday, May 5 will occur in conjunction with the annual Federal Hill Fiesta block party, which has moved from Cross Street to the new Stadium Square parking lot on West Ostend Street this year. On Sunday, May 6, the restaurant is offering 15 percent off all brunch checks to diners who bring a receipt from Blue Agave’s Saturday fiesta.

“We’re trying to do something to hit as many different people as possible,” Acquavella says of the week’s festivities. “It’s also a great opportunity for us to play around with new dishes and celebrate the culture of Mexico. I’ve been there 11 times now and I love it.”

In particular, Acquavella says his trips to Mexico have sparked an affection for authentic tequilas and mezcals.

“The first time I had mezcal in Oaxaca, I didn’t even realize what I was drinking, but I knew I loved it,” he says. “Two years ago, you couldn’t find anyone who was drinking mezcal here. But now it’s finally something that people are starting to understand. We’re up to 20 behind the bar, and it’s always exciting when people hear we have a new one and come in specifically to try it.”

Among the many Mexican-inspired cocktails at Blue Agave is the pineapple-raspberry margarita, which features an Añejo tequila infused with pineapple and vanilla bean that Acquavella created alongside head bartender Pabis Reyes.

“The infuse is something that we came up with a year ago, and we’ve found that people love it by itself or in the margarita,” Reyes says. “It’s really refreshing for the season and has a great combination of flavors.”

If you can’t make it to Blue Agave’s festivities this week, here’s the pineapple-raspberry margarita recipe:

– 2 oz. Añejo tequila pineapple/vanilla bean infuse
– 1 oz. Blue Agave house margarita mix
– .5 oz. raspberry liqueur
– fresh raspberries

Combine tequila pineapple/vanilla bean infuse, margarita mix, and raspberry liquor in a shaker with ice and shake well until chilled. Pour into glass with fresh ice and top with raspberries.