This place is one of my favorites. Not bc I live nearby (although that's a bonus), but bc the food and service are absolutely amazing here! You can really pick anything on the menu and I think you'll be impressed, but specifically the fajitas and the Prime Rib are unforgettable! The type of unforgettable that will stay in your head and remind you when you're hungry that oh yea, Cactus Cantina sounds amazing right now! Fajitas are served all day every day but the Prime Rib is only @ Dinner hours on Friday & Saturday nights. I will include a couple of pics from mine last night to show you just how amazing it looks but keep in mind, it tastes even better!! Cheers. read more

Cactus Cantina - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

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I don't know how but everything was and keeps being perfect! Second time here and will definitely be back! Staff is amazing and the food is perfect! read more

Let's start by saying that the food is great at Cactus Cantina! I have been having a issue for that last 4 visits, I order a dinner salad and it never comes. The main courses are served and I ask the server about the salad, they apologize. Because the main course has been served I ask them to cancel the salad. This has happen the past 4 visits, it has become a joke with our group to see if Bill gets his salad! I'm beginning to think they don't like making salads. This would be a 5 start review if you can correct/explain the issue! read more

I came here with a large group (again) and the service was a bit slow and mostly accurate. It was disappointing that with a group of 20, the waitress could only do max 3 bills. The cheese enchiladas were very good. A relative was not too impress with the clam chowder. The chicken salad seemed to be heaping with chicken. Another relative ordered a burrito and it was quite stuffed with nea We came in at noon on a Friday & it seemed like the clientele was a bunch of regulars. I would probably go back in a smaller party. read more

I took my two daughters hoping for a quick lunch. There was only one waiter working, an older gentleman, and he was not the issue, even if he brought out the wrong drink for my daughter. She wanted raspberry iced tea and got orange Fanta. I ordered the taco plate with steak tacos, and my girls ordered a taco/enchilada, and four street tacos. Finally the busboy brought out our order. He brought a shredded beef for me, then apologized and took it back quickly. He was very kind. The place was still busy with only our one waiter, but eventually the order finally came back, but my daughters were almost done eating and my taco had a flour shell. The waiter asked how we were doing after a few bites, and I showed him the flour shell. He left the plate but brought out a cold greasy stale corn tortilla wrapped in foil. I made the switch and ate a few bites, but it was bad. To apologize the waiter brought an ice cream. Nice attempt. If you want good food do not come here. Ugh read more

DO NOT ORDER ONLINE!!!! They don't have this system figured out yet. You order online and get charged for the payment, however if nobody "accepts" the order from the cash register- you're out of luck. Mine wasn't accepted and I received an email to call and guess what- the ringer on the phone was off so it just rang and rang. After trying to call for 15 minutes I headed over and had to wait in person. Spending 15 minutes of my 30 minute lunch break sitting in the lobby. NOTE TO CACTUS CANTINA **** Simply disable the online order function when you don't have the staff to man it!!! I would have gladly ordered lunch elsewhere today and visited CC when I had time but now you've lost a customer. Don't deceive people. read more

Day two in the area for training and this is what my coworkers chose for today's lunch. We walked in and were seated immediately. We were given baskets of chips and salsa and they hit the spot. The warm, crispy tortilla chips tasted great with the nicely spiced salsa. Good start. For lunch I went with the wet chicken burrito with red sauce ($11.99) and man this was a serious burrito. It also came with beans, rice, sour cream and guac. Overall it was OK. The chicken inside wasn't really spiced all that much so the delicious red sauce helped matters. The beans and rice were good but I couldn't finish it all. The service from Francisco was outstanding. Super attentive and he was allergic to our party of six having empty drink glasses. Overall, I'd go back to Cactus Cantina to try some of their other entrées. My coworkers all got something different and they all enjoyed their meals. Recommended. read more

Cactus Cantina - Wet Burrito - Chicken $11.99 - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

Great food, fast service, kind staff. Need I say more??? Highly recommend the cheese sticks

My wife and I came here for a date night, it was so busy but worth the wait, also expensive but I always say you get for what you pay. The food was delicious I wished I would've came here sooner, my wife and I have seen the restaurant but we didn't think it was good but we were wrong it's goooooodddd I highly recommend everyone was so respectful and friendly. read more

I have to say, as I do agree with most post about this place with regards to the surrounding ambiance being nice. Be careful being just a couple trying to have an evening diner on their Fridays. Third time I've been to this place and thought, well third times a charm.. yet again my date and I were placed in the middle of traffic of guest swarming past the back of my chair and bumping into me repeatedly. Our food came extremely late and cold as I noticed guest of three or more who were seated after us where getting the most attention. My steak was chard on the outside and pink inside. (Ew) My dates chicken was cold and sand dry. (Could chap your lips just by looking at it) Tip: (+)they do better with crowds which is good for families (-)horrible with diner for two (+)I recommend ordering Mexican from their menu. Tends to come faster and Mexican always tastes good (-)waitress tends to forget to come around and assist regularly. Unintuitive when they do come around. As I would love to recommend this place for continuous visits, I can't say I would make this a top ten of Riverside restaurants. read more

This place is very good except for the Cabernet pour! It is less than half a glass at $9.00 a pop! Very dissapointed in this. Almost a joke! read more

The family came in for a birthday celebration. Food and service were excellent. The wide variety of food on the menu made it easy to please every pallet Thanks for helping us put this together in such short notice you guys are awesome!! read more

Cactus Cantina - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

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The steak fajitas are amazing. The fajitas for two is a great deal and we usually still have left overs.

Great place, I liked the cooler cocktail! My buddy got the fajita, and I had the Chile verde.

Had dinner here last night. Child projectile vomits all over the table across from us as we are in the middle of eating our dinner. Hostess brings several dish towels out for the parents to clean it up. They leave it all in a pile on the table. Family had been done eating for awhile, mother leaves after saying rude comment to us to get over it when we said not one word to her. Father waits behind for bill. Looked like either a male server or manager, he brings him the bill and says they comped the bill because they felt bad for them. They said we could move but would have been more convenient to have them clean it up so we didn't have to see it and smell it. We finished eating and finally a busboy comes over to bus that table. He grabs the pile of rags and looks disgusted when he realized what it was and it was all over his hands. No one obviously told him to glove up. The male person comes back putting gloves on himself and tells busboy it is what it is. Continues to wipe up table with his rag over and over, shaking off the vomit into a water glass, then picks up salt and pepper and wipes with his contaminated gloved hands. Not once did they come back with a sanitizing or disinfectant agent and wipe the table down. We were there for sometime waiting for our check Once we were finished. Our server never came back in to check for refills, not sure if the chaos prompted that to happen?Now, we have been coming here since they opened, we pay for our meals, tip extremely well, not looking to get free food, but it would have been nice for a gesture of we are sorry that happened. What bothers me is that someone will sit there tomorrow and touch that table and the salt and pepper shakers. I don't believe we will ever go back. I worry health wise that with all the viruses goMing around that this could spread rather easily if the child was ill. Just a heads up, you comped the wrong meal! read more

Always the best food from a locally owned operation. If I could give 10 stars then I would.

I had the medallions and they were INCREDIBLE, sat at the bar and the bartender was helpful, friendly and made an awesome margarita!!!

Overall all food was good. Our waitress was very nice and and on top of everything. We were a party of 14 people. First time here.

The fried shrimp had the perfect texture and even though the veggies were a little bit too done the meal was overall still excellent. I couldn't finish the potato because it was so big. This is a great place to go for a budget dinner that isn't on a budget plate so it's well worth checking them out : note save room for their amazing dessert!!! read more

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Raspberry lemon drop is amazing. Ask the bartender Ashley and she will make the best drink ever!! read more

Cactus Cantina - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

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I have been coming to this amazing, family friendly establishment for more years then I care to count! I luv the personal experience we get and continue to support them thru this Covid-19 pandemic! Their take out is amazing and they are working to upgrade during this down time. Please go enjoy some amazing food and cocktails to go! Shout out to Francisco!!! Always the most amazing and can't wait to go see him and give him a huge hug when time permits! read more

Waited 20 minutes after being seated and nothing, no water or drinks offered. After getting up to let them know we were ready to order and that our waiter hadn't come, they still didn't come to our table. As soon as we get up go leave, they say "oh we were going to go to your table already". TERRIBLE customer service, and they weren't even packed. read more

The food is pretty okay for your typical "white" mexican food. The portions are pretty large and the atmosphere is nice. It's a good place to take your family because it's pretty loud. Service is so so. A nice date night place to come. read more

Excellent food and great service. Crystal our server was superb. Thank you will be back...oh and do try the Apple Cobbler w/ice cream was to die for. read more

If you have ever watched a few episodes of Restaurant Impossible and you walked into this place, you know right away that Robert Irvine would practically destroy this place. There are so many flaws, that the flaws have flaws. And yet they remain open. They must be doing something right, or not doing enough wrong to keep the customers coming. I think it is location myself. Showed up on a Friday night at 8pm. I would think peak time for this place and it showed, there was alot of people here. First thing you notice... is that it is filthy. The carpet is so old that it should be pulled up. They would do better with wood or some kind of hard flooring. Something other then the old green dirty, looks like it has never been shampooed in years looking carpet. I actually looked down and it stopped me in my tracks. I looked up and saw a vintage looking juke box. Saw the beer on tap and decided, well, I have walked into worse. (though most of those places were not places where people eat...) The waitress was nice. Asked us if we wanted seating for two or the bar. I asked for seating and she was about to place us until she noticed that all the free tables were dirty. Had to wait a few minutes which wasn't bad and finally got a nice booth in one of the side rooms with a TV (slightly blurry) but showing the Lakers game (a plus). The bottom part of the seats look about as old as the carpet but doesn't look as dirty. I opened up the drink menu and it looked like someone poured something all on it and it was sticky. lol. By this time I had a chance to check out the Yelp reviews. I noticed the bad reviews were more about the appearance of the place then the food. I did get a kick out of Melissa F. review regarding the drunk waitress. By looking around here it would not surprised me to see everyone working including the bartender being drunk. It just looks like that type of place. Strangely from reading Melissa F. review I realized two things. One, they actually serve pitchers of their Margaritas (not on the menu). Two, poor Melissa had a fly in hers. This strangely didn't stop me from ordering a pitcher of Hawaiian Margarita. ($6 for the glass, $20 for the pitcher) Open up the food menu and you can almost hear Robert Irvine complaining about how this place is trying to be everything and not specializing in one thing. I am not sure if it is a Steak House, Seafood Place, Mexican joint, or etc. They have a little bit of everything and it is so overwhelming that I decided to just pick from the appetiizer section. By the way the Margarita was good. My date thought that it needed more alcohol and ordered a shot of Patron Silver ($7.50) She thought that was much better. I ordered the boneless wings mixed with the teriyaki sauce, fried calamari, and a side order of fries (not on the menu). She ordered a platter of fried zucchini, onion rings, and chicken wings (bone in) There was not a long wait for the food that was good. I liked my boneless wings, the calamari was a little bit tough but had good flavor. My fries were ok. I do warn that you should eat them before they cool off and get soggy. The fried zucchini didn't taste like zucchini. It wasn't bad though, but it is weird if you eat something then have to ask what is this? I didn't try the wings and onion rings. Kind of hard to mess that up, most of the time. A-OK. is a good assessment of this place considering what I ordered and that fact that the place looks dirty. The waitress was nice and check back with us the right amount of times (you know if they are coming too often or not at all). The person that brought our food was nice and asked how was the teriyaki boneless wings because he never had them before. I would guess that people come here because of the bar (I noticed a few people talking to each) and they probably don't want to deal with Chili's (have a bar but is so crowded). And the friendly staff. It is not way the appearance of the place. I would like to add though that from the outside you wouldn't know it. Which is why I was so surprised. Next time I come back I will force myself to actually pick something other then the appetizer and give an update on the food. read more

Cactus Cantina - Pitcher of Hawaiian Margarita. - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

Been here two other times and it was fine. This time it was bad. Had t keep being reseated because of the sun and poor choice of window coverings. Ended up in an alcove that turned out to be the hottest place in the restaurant. Ordered a burger. Safe enough? Not. Beware it comes with the typical salad tomato and onion all wrapped tightly in a paper sleeve. To put anything on the burger that was messy u had to completely deconstruct everything. What a freakin mess on top of the heat. Bad experience for sure. read more

OK, so ate there again and this time my hash browns come NOT well done like I asked. Then I'm checking out my drink after 2 refills and there is something stuck inside of it that I can see from the outside. I stick my finger in it and scrape the side and its something like a piece of fat or left over food. That's it I'm done with this place, there food sucks! read more

This was the worst experience of my life !!! I went there with my boyfriend, drinks are super strong but the food and there tap water is deadly ! I was sick for about 3 days , ordered the steak and shrimp fajita and I spit it out back to my plate!!! Just a nightmare, shrimp was frozen and soaked in water too long , steak tasted like dog food , I can't even continue this review read more

Not vegan or vegetarian friendly, overpriced and the few vegetables available were disgusting, avoid this place like the plague! read more

Cactus Cantina - New American Near Me - Riverside, California

This place was highly recommended by someone who used to frequent it, so my wife and I decided to give it a try for dinner. Unfortunately, they were open for drinks only - the kitchen closed earlier. We came back a week later for lunch. The first thing we noticed was the excessively dated and filthy green carpet. Next, the whole place had a kind of run down, in need of a power wash kind of vibe inside. The menu was overwhelming. There were so many choices that it was hard to know what this place specializes in. We were quickly greeted and offered a booth in the bar area. The table was much too large for two people. Well, it beats one much too small. We ordered sodas and they were flat. We had chips and salsa and the chips were stale and the salsa was mediocre at best. I had a French dip sandwich and my wife had salad and chicken tortilla soup. Mine was okay, but not great. In fact, I couldn't finish it once I was no longer hungry. My sandwich was a little dry and the meat was fatty. I ate about half then I couldn't take any more. My wife was sick from the "soup." The soup was not soupy. It was chunky and thick like chili. It was weird. She got a bad migraine from it, so I wonder if it had something like MSG in it. She always gets a migraine when we eat out anywhere that uses MSG. She had salad, too. Too bad it wasn't fresh. The lettuce was wilted and had brown spots. It wasn't appetizing looking at all. In light of my wife's migraine, we won't be back anytime soon. read more

Have been coming to this place for years and always enjoy the food. Inside decor needs an update/refresh... But the staff is great and so is the food. read more

My whole family loves this place. Staff, drinks, & food are great. I don't get why people have to give negative reviews. They are bs! Go here! read more

I want to like Cactus Cantina so badly because it is so close to my house and very reasonably priced. However, every time my husband and I decide to give this place a shot, they let us down. We've tried a lot of different items on their menu and all of it is very bland. The fajitas are probably the best thing on their menu but even those aren't great. The service is typically very slow but everyone that works there is nice enough. I would give them a 2.5 if that were an option because they aren't quite a 2 star but definitely not a 3 star restaurant in my opinion. Pretty much if you go here to eat you will eat food. Not great food, not horrible food, just food. You will no longer be hungry, but you probably won't be satisfied. read more

Read alot of good reviews so decided to try it out. the place is a little outdated sorta tex-mex decor. When you walk in and look around you can tell its a local spot, everyone seemed to know everyone. We were seated in a booth along a wall, where you could hear anyones conversation around you. Our server greeted us after a couple minutes she was friendly I ordered a cadillac margarita which was nice and strong and then a caesar salad of course and a baja shrimp cocktail both were delicious my only complaint is that there were only like 5 small shrimp in a large cocktail glass...kinda a let down alot of juice left over. For our entrees I ordered the cheese enchiladas served with beans and rice and my boyfriend ordered the wet beef verde burrito also served with the same sides. Everything came out quickly and very hot. We both enjoyed our entrees, they werent anything spectacular but still tasty. My enchiladas were served with a red sauce similar to like taco bell red sauce in their burritos and the beans and rice were decent. If someone invited me to eat there again, I would look forward to it but I wouldn't drive out of my way to go back on my own. Its definetly good food for a decent price. read more

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Horrible service they didnt even refill our drinks. We had to wait to be served and the food sucked.

Great service! Complimentary chips and salsa. Good drinks. We had appetizers and they were decent bar appetizers, nothing special. My favorite part was they were playing Billy Joel for hours! read more

Came here for a quick lunch before picking up the kidos from school with the wifey. Wife had margaritas and I had draft beer along with fajitas to share! WoW!!!! Great food and oh the drinks were great as well. Thanks for a quick lunch date Cactus Cantina. If you r lucky enough to get Francisco as a waiter then u are in luck. Great service with even a little comedy. read more

All around, very disappointed with this restaurant. We ordered the fajitas, queso, enchilada, taco and 2 margaritas. The chips tasted style, the salsa was watery with little flavor. The queso was chunky and also lacking flavor. The fajitas were chewy and not marinated. The enchilada plate was so bland I didn't even want to finish it. The drinks were super weak and overall not good. On top of this, we got bad service The server was rude and was not attentive to our needs. With so many restaurant choices in Riverside and so many good Mexican food places, don't waste your time and money and come here. It was truly a waste of calories and $50. read more

Arrived around 7pm on Friday night, was quoted 15 minutes to seat the two of us, the waiting area was full but there was plenty of room to stand outside. Our waitress was quick to arrive and keep us topped off throughout or dinner. Ordered the prime rib and lobster and chicken with salad and tortilla soup. Prime rib and lobster was great, although the corn on the cob was pretty dainty compared to the rest of the portions. Chicken salad and soup were pretty basic, not bad but not not great either. Mango margarita was the best flavor we tried, the pomegranate was a little too sour for my taste. The waitresses were friendly and on top of things. Food was hot and decent. Overall it was nice place if you're not looking for the "wow" factor. read more

Our server Mia Rew & bartender Jacob Anne are easily the best in the industry, request them and you won't be disappointed. Made out experience a 12/10, will definitely be coming back here! read more