This cafe in the White City is the ONLY restaurant around the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We got there around noon on Saturday and we could sit with no wait. The menu is so small.. I was looking for a menu until my husband told me "hurry up and decide what you wanna get".. That's when I realized the drink/desert menu was their actual menu. I got the 1/4 lbs hamburger with cheese, chili and bacon. It just tasted terrible. The bun was cold and dry, hamburger meat tasted old and the fries were frozen kind you can get at a grocery store. I'm only giving 2 stars because I understand that it's hard for them to get fresh food as during our 130 miles trip, we saw zero grocery stores, and our server was a super nice lady. read more

See all

It's as bad as everyone claims it is. There's nothing around, so it's either this or the restaurant at the cavern. Although I haven't tried the one at the cavern, I wish I did. Cactus Cafe will close eventually. That's the only good thing about it. read more

They made the best hamburger and fries I have had in years. We are looking forward to going back to try breakfast.

We were passing through and stopped at the first restaurant we saw. We should have driven for another 20 miles and gotten McDonald's or something. It would have been better than this place. The place is severely run down and the food is even worse. All the food tastes like it came from a can. The service was horrible! I'd never felt so bad about leaving a tip in my life. The hostess sat us down and we waited for our server. She came and took our drink order. We ordered a few sodas (Pepsi, Root Beer and Dr. Pepper). The hostess brought one back (Dr. Pepper) and said the waitress was looking for the Pepsi. Wait...what?! So the waitress returns and says they are out of rootbeer....and Pepsi. I guess she couldn't find them. So we order our meal and wait. The food came out in pieces. This very much reminded me of being in a cafeteria with packages of sauce and stuff. Honestly, the best thing about the restaurant was the chips and guacamole. The chips were warmed up before being brought out and the guacamole (while watery) tasted fresh. The one star is for the chips and guac. After we were done eating, we went looking for our waitress as we hadn't seen her since we got some of our food (it came out sporadically). We found her in the side part of the dining area eating. No other waitresses were working so we wandered over to the hostess stand to pay for our terrible food. She didn't know what to do so went and got the waitress so we could pay for our food. Honestly, for the quality of food we ordered, the prices are too high. This is Walmart freezer food, not cooked restaurant food. Save yourself and eat ANYWHERE else but here. Oh, let's talk about the women's bathroom. Disgusting and run down as the rest of the place. Go see the photos for yourself. Someone is keeping their used personal items in there and the bathroom needs some serious cleaning. It's evident that hasn't happened in a long while. Enter at your own risk folks. read more

See all

Periosically stop at the gift shop area to use the restroom, saw this place for the first time. Instead of paying for an expensive oilfield plate, decided to check this spot out. The prixe is accurate for location, not bad actually. Wide variety on the menu. The inside is gorgeous. The only thing i would bicker about is the fact that my hamburger or fries was not cooked to order. This is upsetting because i was the only patron at the time. I wouldnt have mind waiting for the food to be cooked. For this i give it 3 stars. I plan to visit more often read more

Cactus Cafe - Inviting - American Near Me - White's City, New Mexico

See all

I'm not sure why so many people are dogging this place because my partner and I had a very enjoyable lunch and the staff was friendly and helpful. When we arrived we were immediately shown to our table and provided ice water. My partner ordered the chicken parm sandwich with truffle fries and I ordered a cheeseburger and fries; both meals were cooked well and the truffle fries were definitely worth the up charge. Don't let the negative reviews scare you from trying this place. Yes, it is the only eatery near the National Park but it is local and you are supporting a local business in the community. Just my two cents. read more

We ate at this cafe since it was the only one in the area. Even though the reviews were not good, we decided to give it a try. We were very happy with it. Our food was good, service was fast and our waitress Marley was very friendly. Maybe its changed hands since then so don't let the reviews keep you away. We really enjoyed our breakfast. read more

OK we only ordered the chicken strip and bean and cheese burrito it's a little on the pricey side for what you get but I'm giving 4 stars because of friendly service. The food wasn't bad but we seriously got scared because of the bad reviews but since we wanted to see the bats fly so we took the chance and wasn't disappointed. Give this place a chance. read more

Cactus Cafe - American Near Me - White's City, New Mexico

Came here for breakfast while staying at the White's City Cavern Inn (less than a 5 minute walk up the same side of the street). Husband had breakfast burrito with sausage and green Chile and said it was one his top breakfast burritos he's had. He said that it wasn't too spicy, but full of flavor. Just the right amount of browns, sausage, eggs and cheese. Burritos are massive - came with an appetite and still left with leftovers. Biscuits and gravy were great and just the right amount. We had another breakfast burrito and definitely are all set for a full breakfast tomorrow with all of our leftovers. A little expensive, but you're paying for convenience, location, and supporting a local business and it wasn't outlandishly expensive. Great overall experience, very friendly service, and lovely stained glass to look at! read more

18 dollars for 3 chicken tenders food looks really good but way too overpriced. read more

Cactus Cafe in White's City NM has new hours! Phone number 575-200-6774 It was reopened 2/28/2022 Serving Mexican and American food We're open Monday-Saturday 7am-3:pm We stop serving 2:30pm takeout til 3:pm read more

The menu wasn't too exciting but since this is the only dining option in town I was content to have a hot meal at the end of a long day. The whole town closes at 7 so be there on time. read more

Cactus Cafe - Country fried steak - American Near Me - White's City, New Mexico

Came to this place because it was the closest and only restaurant near Carlsbad Cavern National Park prior the the bat show. Service was ok, don't expect good service. Plates were over price, but that's Carlsbad in general if it's not a chain restaurant. I ordered the 3 taco that came with lettuce and tomatoes with rice and beans, it was ok, the meat did not have flavor and it was greasy. My friend ordered steak fajita with rice and beans, he said it was good. I would say this is the best restaurant compared to the other restaurant we ate. read more

See all

Please, believe the reviews. Just stay in Carlsbad, I was a kid when I came here first so I wanted to stay in Carlsbad because when I was a kid, my dad said no. He was VERY RIGHT. Darn dads, haha. I told my buddy, "don't worry about the reviews for dinner, let's just go." So, we are staying in Whites City, so let's just go eat here, it's food, it will be okay. We walked in and the sign said, "please wait to be seated." So we waited. Then the server came and said, "we we are closed." I asked my buddy, "I didn't bring my phone, what time is it?" (We are from Lubbock so the time difference was confusing to me.) he replied, "6:05." We left for Carlsbad. The hotel is great!! Seriously great. But the food...forget it. They ARE NOT OPEN FOR BREAKFAST. read more

Methinks not, thank you no. This cafe was the awkwardest​ experience ever. We thought the reviews were wrong about being overpriced when we looked at the menu and saw that everything was under 7 dollars. But we were wrong, this food is mediocre as hell. Coffee tasted watery like they poored lukewarm​ water into​ grounds. The eggs were wet and the tortillas were straight up RUBBERY. We literally​​ had to try to rip them. All in all a mediocre plaec to eat, but its also one of the only options. Also, this one guy kept picking his nose in the table next to us. Bleh. Try to plan ahead and not go. read more

Pack a lunch when you go to Carlsbad Caverns. You're not going to get great food because the location is so remote, but there's no excuse for the service. We had to get up and go to the host station to get our drinks refilled after about 20 minutes with several empty glasses. At one point another guest in my party saw our waitress, whom we had been looking for, sitting and chatting with other employees in a closed section of the restaurant. I can understand if we were staying an hour past close, but it was the middle of the afternoon. Location is the only thing going for this place. The food tasted all right, but not great. In our group of 4 we encountered greasy tacos, undercooked and WAY over seasoned meat and dinner rolls that seemed to have somehow been burnt and microwaved. Also there is indoor mini golf here but it was closed so I can't comment on how good or bad it was. Looked like it had been closed for awhile but maybe they just don't clean it enough. read more

Cactus Cafe - American Near Me - White's City, New Mexico

Very nice place in the middle of nowhere and friendly atmosphere. The food was really good but it was a bit pricey. Overall a good experience read more

This was the absolute worst dining experience I've ever had. The ONLY reason they are in business is because they get unsuspecting visitors from the Carlsbad Caverns. My tacos were stone-cold, my husbands hamburger was not fully cooked. The only partially edible thing was the French fries. I'm not picky, and I've never before returned a meal, but I did today. Do yourself a favor and DON'T DO IT. read more

What do you do when there's only one restaurant in town, eat or starve?? Well we decided to eat. I had set the bar really low for this place since I had already experience its neighboring hotel and read some of the reviews. Maybe that's why I was actually astonished when my food arrived. Note: there's no alcohol so it's no altered experience you get here! After reviewing the menu of your choice of frozen fried food or Mexican - I went with the native route. Our daughter and I ordered the chips and guacamole and beef & chicken fajitas. But my man thought maybe the frozen predictable option would be best. I even got the raised eye, really you ordered that look from him. The guac arrived and turned out to actually be pretty good. Everyone at the table enjoyed it and the chips were fresh and had none of the previously mentioned in reviews - chemical taste. Our food arrived and I was shocked!! It looked really good. But my mind quickly snapped to its skeptical side and thought "It's too good to be true. " I slowly put some meat on my fork and raised it to my mouth. Oh, OK, this isn't too bad. My fears began to lighten and I actually enjoyed my meal. My daughter's chicken fajitas weren't as good as my beef in my opinion, but her and my man both liked them. My man was feeling great envy since he ordered the chicken fingers. He said they were pretty bad and only ate a few to get some calories in. I think if I ever HAD to come back I would defiantly get the same thing as I'd be too scared to try anything else. Our waitress was pretty nice and checked on us often, so we gave her a nice tip. She seemed very grateful. I can only imagine what that poor thing makes working there. read more

See all

Well, I set my expectations low for this place with the hope that it would be better than most folks were saying in their reviews. The phrase I would use is, "it's not that bad." They obviously don't do enough business this time of year to stock any fresh foods. Everything definitely came from a can or the freezer. But hey, if you're hungry after visiting the Caverns and you can't wait to get into Carlsbad (the town) this place won't kill you. Your hunger will be satisfied. Also, as a note the place was empty when we were there but the service was still good. read more

See all

Do yourself a favor and eat in Carlsbad before you arrive. I didn't get a chance to eat. Arrived 1hr before closing time. (5pm) Waiting staff was loitering outside the front door. We were greeted very rudely by head waitress (the only adult among them) and informed us "we are closed" even though all of the neon signs said otherwise. Who closes at 6pm when they serve dinner?!?! I created an account just for this review, so others aren't caught off guard by the closing policy. Would give zero stars if possible. read more

Perhaps the worst treatment we have received in a restaurant. The hostess was incredibly sour and looked visibly miffed that we had arrived. She was the worst embasdadore for New Mexico. The treatment was so bad that we left and drove 20 miles farther to eat...where we were welcomed gratefully. Perhaps during the Covid closing she (Victoria??) forgot how to be civil. read more

Inside dining was available. No one else in the place on a Friday afternoon. The queso con chorizo was outstanding. We both had the burger and the filled the bun which is different than most roadside diners. Lots of fries. Server was wearing mask. read more

In and out, we tried to have dinner here because it was right next to our hotel. We did go in 30 minutes prior to closing time (7pm). We stood at the front for 5 minutes until the hostess who was standing there talking to another co worker in Spanish turned around and told us that they did not have any food left. Wow. Just Wow. read more

We are at this place because it was the first restaurant available after leaving Carlsbad Caverns and the restaurant there was closed due to a toaster fire. They told us they had a 15 to 20 min wait even though the restaurant was not even half full... we still waited... the person who sat down at the same time we did was served and left before we even got our meal. We ordered expensive chicken burritos at $15 a plate and when they finally came about an hour later they were missing the sour cream stated in the menu. When I mentioned this to the waitress she said they were out of sour cream. The burrito consisted of a white tortilla filled with dry chicken and then small portions of rice, beans, and shredded lettuce and that was it... no cheese and a small plastic container of salsa. We then had to wait for our silverware. I highly don't recommend this restaurant. read more

So basically we waited like an hour for the food which i can understand somewhat but unfortunately the food we got was literally just frozen food that you could buy at the store. It tasted exactly the same. Even the soda was flat. Id say come here if like theres nothing in miles to eat read more

We knew that this restaurant is struggling to keep staffed so we went prepared to be patient. The waitress was so nice, apologized for our wait, but we told her we were in no hurry. We got the queso with currizzo (sp?) and was so very good. We also got beef and bean burritos which were excellent! Its a cute restaurant not 100 yards from the park, so really convenient. Just go knowing you may have some wait time. BTW, we saw one of the reviewers here in Yelp that gave it a negative review while we were at the restaurant. She came with a party of about 10 people and she took her leftovers with her. So she must have liked it enough to eat again! read more

I was surprised by the negative reviews of Cactus Cafe. We just ate here and everything was really good! I got the green beef enchiladas - they were amazing, and my partner got the chicken nwings and onion rings (he said he loved both!!). We shared the cheesecake with strawberry syrup. Service was really attentive and nice too! We had a great time! read more

Came here for dinner, since it's the only place in town to eat. I had the Country Fried Steak. It was better than I expected. As good as any I've had before. Tried the peach pie for dessert. It wasn't anything special. Certainly not homemade as I was lead to believe. The waitress was very friendly and came by our table often. The atmosphere is nice. I particularly liked the stained glass windows of Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns. read more

See all

Cactus Cafe in White's City has amazing food. Great pricing and nice environment. Will definitely be going back.

Our group of 6 really enjoyed this family-style casual restaurant for lunch after visiting the caverns. Great green chili fries and huge entree portions. Authentic enchiladas with delicious red and green sauces. Very friendly service and interesting local art on the walls. We would go again for sure! read more

We weren't sure because of the reviews but it is the only place to eat near the caverns. We were pleasantly surprised. Burgers were great and so was the salad. Yes it was a little expensive but I looked at their menu first and could clearly see their prices so I don't think leaving a bad review for what I knew was fair. read more

Nice little cafe near Carlsbad Caverns. I had the country fried steak and and my friend had the chicken flautas with homemade guacamole and both were very good. They practice social distancing and felt very comfortable. Would definitely come back. read more

This is the worst food I've ever had. Incredible overpriced. The enchiladas are three tortillas stacked on top of each other with sauce. That's it. I'm not sure the meat in the burgers was actual meat. Also the food was cold. You are better off eating what you can find at the gas station across the street. The employees demeanor is very unfriendly as if they want to get away from the table as quickly as possible because they are used to being yelled at. While I'm sitting here writing this review, there is a man at another table arguing with the waitress about how overpriced his meal was. read more

Fan-tas-tic. You might get nervous with this being the only restaurant near the caverns but I'm telling you it's totally worth it if you ordered any of the Mexican dishes offered. The flautas were fried to perfection and the meat inside remained juicy with every bite. The guacamole was well made and if you like spicy food at all the spicy salsa is not only sufficiently spicy but has amazing flavor. I polished off a whole container of it because it's just that delicious. Rice and beans were good as well. I'd definitely come back here if I'm ever rolling through NM again. read more

When you stop caring about the quality of your food, it's time to get out of the business. My family and I visited Carlsbad Caverns and stopped at the first restaurant we ran into as we left. Steak burrito meat so dry and tough it could be jerky. Kids order ground beef burritos that were dripping with grease. Grandson ordered chicken finger, couldn't even finish them they were so salty. Being so close to a National park will only get you so far... Hire a new cook.... Immediately!! read more

Got the beef fajitas and chicken fajitas. Both were good. Few food options around this area. Tortillas are small, they should serve 3 with your meal, but 2 was ok. read more

Cactus Cafe - Beef fajitas - American Near Me - White's City, New Mexico

Good food. Family owned. Had a few gluten free options which is really hard to find in this area. We had basics, veggie burger and salad. Nice place to stop coming to or from the caverns read more

When you walk in you sorta get the impression food will be great. Unfortunately it wasn't fresh nor was it really good. It reminded me of bad bowling alley/fair food and that is maybe placing it higher than it was. Its in a great location from caverns, but I do not recommend. read more

Expensive but I guess it is expected when you need a place to eat and don't want to drive into Carlsbad. We paid close to $90 for 2 chicken strips baskets, 1 steak finger basket and 1 chicken fried steak. This included the tip. The steak was salty and had a lot of fat. The breading just kind of fell off. I probably will drive the extra 15 minutes to get something better from town next time. And they close early so don't expect dinner. read more