Food always solid. Decent portions for the price. Place should be busier, not sure why it's quiet at lunch. read more

The food was horrible. I really don't enjoy putting a place down, but I'd feel more bad if I didn't save someone from having to sit through a meal here. The rice, the beans, the enchilada and burrito. All terrible. read more

DELICIOUS! Authentic (I am Mexican ) BEST beans and rice, everything top notch. Such cute decor!!!

Chips and salsa are really good. Along with their chicken enchiladas and fajitas. I would bring cash only as it's easier.

My all time favorite is Chayotes vegetarian dish. It's light, healthy and tastes fantastic. Service is always great. Clean and cozy place. Liquor store is across the street if you're in mood for a drink. read more

Went alone for lunch and received queen treatment :) had a delicious bowl of chips and salsa while I waited for my avacado burrito. The burrito was huge, hot, and well stuffed. The staff checked on me often to make sure I was okay. I sat outside. I'm recommending this place to everyone I know. read more

A friend of mine asked me to give Cactus Charly a try. The steak tacos were flavorful and tender, with a nice char on the outside. Served on soft corn tortillas and I topped it with the cilantro, onions, and salsa; that we're packed on the side. The portion size was generous for the price. The refried beans were cooked well. The rice could have used a little more salt/ seasoning. However, the star of the night to me was the Fried ice cream. The coating of the crushed corn flakes was spot on. Crispy, crunchy and flavorful. The cinnamon was on point as well!! Every bite was spot on! While fried ice cream is not a traditional Mexican dish, it has become popular in Mexican restaurants in the United States. It is believed to have originated in the United States in the 1890s and has since spread to other parts of the world. read more

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The food is hot and tasty, and the portions are definitely filling! My family and I recently stopped by for an impromptu dinner, and the kids were happy with their chicken tacos and quesadillas, which is always a relief. My chicken burrito could've easily been two meals, but it was so delicious that I couldn't help myself from finishing it. The atmosphere is always festive, even when there's only a few diners seated. Yet the place almost always seems to fill up quickly. The service is all right. There's usually only one server when we've been, so if you're in a hurry, you might want to order everything (including dessert) all at once, or you can bug the cashier for an extra set of tableware or another drink. Oh, it's also BYOB, so feel free to stop at the liquor store across the street or around the corner before arriving (or after ordering)! read more

We ordered from Uber Eats New Years Day. I've never eaten here before, and I wanted tacos, so Cactus Charly it is! I ordered the shrimp tacos. It was served with a side of beans and rice, and the onions, cilatro, and salsa verde were served in little containers to pour over shrimp. Overall, the tacos were delicious, I only wish they were seasoned, but the onions cilantro and sauce were enough. The rice and beans were good but still lacked, maybe salt? Was missing something. My son got the ground beef enchiladas. I had a bite, and they were also delicious. Our food came with a bag of chips and salsa, and that was much appreciated. Like as if we were at the restaurant and they give you a basket of chips. I feel like I would order again. Test it some other dishes, or get the shrimp tacos again, lol. read more

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Actually 2.5 stars. The ambiance was "authentic" let's say, and the food wanted to be, maybe. The veg enchiladas had a lot of boiled potato, and frozen corn. Maybe a little broccoli and onion. The kids cheese quesadilla was a taco size tortilla folded over. The service was fine I guess. read more

Sad... I liked this place but check your order before you leave...they screwed up.. ordered the enchiladas de mole and they left out the ... essential to me ... rice. It felt like a half portion of overpriced food. Not worth the aggravation and there are better nearby alternatives I am sure. Used to be s friday night ritual for us but no more. Time to order elsewhere. read more

It's OK. 3 Stars. Not my favorite Mexican restaurant, but it is in a nice location in Maplewood Village if you're in the area and want to dine in somewhere. read more

The food was okay. Decor is beautiful. The bad part is when then the bill came. I ordered 3 items. Soup, fajitas Pollo, and enchilada ranchers. The prices were all different ( more expensive) then on the menu. The whole bill was $50 when it should have been $40. You cant just go changing the prices. That's a deal breaker. Never going back. read more

Food is great. Always ready for pickup within an hour or less. I recommend the enchiladas with mole sauce.

Maybe it was what we ordered, but the food here didn't seem that authentic to me. On top of that, it was loud with a lot of families who let their kids run around their tables. Lots of better Mexican restaurant choices to try in the area read more

We love their fajitas, so fresh, so good we get the special with the steak chicken and shrimp. We are probably here 2 to 3 times a month fresh delicious, Mexican food read more

Cactus Charly - Pineapple soda - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Skip the chicken "fingers" and fries... very skimpy and needed to make food for my son. read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Cactus Charly is an authentic Mexican spot with good food! This place is small and will get busy especially on the weekend. Upon walking in, the host/cashier station is located towards the back (which is like 10 steps LOL) so you would have to walk to them to put your name down and get seated. Warning: There is no room to wait in the restaurant. When I visited, they were doing construction outside so hopefully they have seats. The inside of the restaurant showcased Mexican culture with murals on the wall, tables and chairs. The service was extremely slow since there was only one person taking orders and another person bringing out the orders. What didn't sit well with me is that even when the waiter had down time, he did not go around to the tables to see if they wanted to order anything else or if everything was okay. Catching his attention was difficult when he was running around the restaurant. I think if there was more people working, guests could've gotten in and out and people waiting could've gotten seated faster. I understand the stress of being understaffed so I wasn't hard on him when he did come to the table. The portion sizes are great! I ordered a vegetarian burrito which came with a small salad, rice and beans. Hands down one of the best burritos i've had. It was also my first time having horchata and I fell in love. They serve it in a big cup so you'll have enough for the duration of your time there. You also get free chips and salsa to start out your meal there. This restaurant is also BYOB. I saw a guy order a margarita in which they provided the margarita glass and mix, the guy gave the waiter his tequila and he mixed it right in front of him; pretty cool! MUST KNOW: Now here's the kicker, make sure you read the sign at the front of the door where it says the prices reflected is what you pay in cash. If you pay in card you will be charged a fee. My table found that out AFTER paying. It's pretty hard to see the sign when there was construction in the front and I was trying not to fall over into a ditch. Also, someone in front of us was holding the door to where the sign wasn't visible so I feel like they should have that disclaimer on the menu and before you pay. When the waiter took the payment he should've stated there was a fee on the cards and how much the fee is. Any-who, the food great and the ambiance stunning. I would go back and remember CASH ONLY to avoid having to pay for a card fee. read more

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Every place has a signature dish that makes them stand out, and for Cactus Charly their salsa verde chicken enchiladas hit the spot. For a first timer, that really stood out to me and I would get them again. Their chips and salsa are really good, they're fresh and you get a huge portion. read more

Well CC messed up majorly, tried to put in an order at noon on 5/5 for a 6 pick up, but they said they can't do that. Told to call back later and food ready to 45min. So try to call at 5:30, no answer, so put order in thru grub hub, said food ready at 6:30. At 8pm went to CC to tipped the Grub hub person $20 and told her to go, I will take care of order. CC supposing stopped taking orders at 6. There were 20 people outside waiting for orders at 8. It's 8:30, my order is still not been called out. There is someone here been waiting since 5:30. Every time someone comes out they say 5-10 minutes for my order. No apologies read more

Cactus Charly - People out side waiting game on 5/5, for hours - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Great service and food. Hostess was very friendly and got the details of our order correct. Have gone back several times!

A busy Saturday night- the place was packed. It's a bring your own tequila and they will make the margarita. Now to the food: Fajita pork - ok Snapper with Mexican spices - better than expected. Margarita- bring your own tequila read more

I always try mexican chicken soup. This is one is really good. It had lot of good vegetables. read more

Cactus Charly - Avocado stuffed with Shrimp to go with a nice dinner outdoors. Cactus charley was very good. Food is great! - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

The owner is racist and rude.I would never recommend this one. there are better Mexican restaurants in the area. save your time ,money and dignity. The service was slow, food was salty and all items are charged extra 2$ as COVID surcharge, if you pay by card you are charged extra fees. I don't mind paying extra as we all know the after effects of COVID. But you don't lose a penny to be polite and nice. The owner keep yelling at us and asked us to leave, well we left and never came back. read more

Do not recommend, first impression means everything, while the service was okay, the appearance of the server who was handling the kitchen and table at the same time was not the most appealing. I ate a little of the food which wasn't very tasty with a yucky feeling in my stomach., and literally got a stomach ache after eating the food. read more

Service was great, waitress was friendly. I had loaded nachos which was good. I was not impressed by the Tres Leche cake. read more

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I'm pretty local to the area so I come here often enough and once again I was not disappointed with my meal. I'm glad that this place is still BYOB. Food was good, nice size portions and quick service. read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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Everything is great, the food, the service,.... But it could use some lower lighting and a liquor license!!!!

Perfectly fine local Mexican spot. Small, seat yourself, byob that on this particular night, had one person working the entire room. Service wasn't bad at all considering this. Food itself was solid, shrimp ceviche and an interesting version shrimp cocktail served in a cocktail sauce were good starters. And the steak fajitas were flavorful enough to prompt a return visit. read more

Cactus Charly - Shrimp cocktail - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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Ive been to this place a few times for the experience but now that we are stuck inside i was able to test the food with out the experience. The experience definitely was the savings grave for this plsve. I got the shrimp scallops and mussles special. The dcallops was chewy abd everything tasted fake or generic. Was not fresh or authentic at all. So if you want authentic mexican look elswhere if you just want quick microwave mexican-ish food theres your place read more

I was actually leaning more toward "meh" with this review, but I'm in a good mood today. This is a popular family-friendly spot right in Maplewood Village. It's not a big place, maybe 15 tables, with not much atmosphere to speak of, despite the colorful and vibrant culture that is being represented. I know authentic Mexican food and the food here probably qualifies as such, but what it did not qualify as, in my estimation, is overly flavorful. I had three tacos, all of which were pretty bland. The chicken was dry and generally lacking, the carnitas was overcooked and not tender (although did have a little bit of heat, which was a plus), and the shrimp was decent. In retrospect, if I had three of the latter, I probably would have been happier. I'm not trying to hate, but I just really love tacos and these were a disappointment. The rest of the food we ordered was also fair to middling (quesadillas and enchiladas). Nothing was terrible, I was just hoping and expecting more, I guess. The whole experience left me feeling kind of blah. Service was decent, but the place was pretty empty. Prices are ok, but maybe a little on the high side given the quality. I'll probably give them another shot, but overall, my maiden voyage to Cactus Charly was underwhelming. read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

First time here and it was really cute! I am a critic for horchata and this wasn't bad. It was really creamy and delish! I just wonder if it was powder or homemade because it had some suds on top. We got tacos, chicken, shrimp, and steak; which were all yummy! The guacamole was probably the most disappointing maybe needed some salt ‍ read more

Cactus Charly - Horchata - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

This is the food I have been missing all my life. The dishes are not the run of the mill Mexican food. I have ordered multiple times and each time my meal has been delicious, authentic and unlike anything I have ever eaten before. I can't wait to try everything on the menu. read more

Cactus is a very traditional mexican food spot. Delicious!! Its now deemed a staple in maplewood village, a small restaurant but every bit worth it. You can order anything and be delighted. Dont miss Cactus if in the area.. read more

I visited this restaurant recently and was very surprised that their prices on the menu and their website is not what they are currently charging. I brought the price gouging to the attention of the woman at the register and she proceeded to confirm that she sells the items for more that what the menu stated and saw no problem with, I expressed to her that, that's misleading. She then proceeded to throw money in my face and being NASTY! and RUDE!, can you believe this?! I sure couldn't.! I was very upset. No apology nothing. Then she decided not to make my order and return my money. Needless to say I told her I would report her to consumer affairs and I would never return to that restaurant. I am sharing my story so the public can be aware of the price gouging and the disrespectful behavior at this restaurant. Concern Citizen read more

Service practically non existent. Got my order wrong with no apology or offer to fix.Taco salad was literally a green salad in a shell. Would not recommend. read more

We know it's Cinco De Mayo. We fully expect you to be overwhelmed with orders, we fully expect to have a very long wait, and yet, guess what? We expect you to be somewhat apologetic if you TWICE forget to actually cook the food that we have been waiting in line over an hour for, and have already paid for. We ESPECIALLY do not expect to be spoken to rudely by the manager and told to "Go Away". Ok done! We will not be back. read more

One word! The food is So gooooood!!!!! I would never say such thing on my second review of the same place. As always you have to try it to believe it. #happyeating. read more

Cactus Charly - Nacho yo mamas hot sauce. And the Mexican stay Red Snapper is a killer. - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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So I gave this place another chance despite the service last time. This time our server was much friendlier and more attentive than he was the last time. I still am not sure why the do not have more help. Food was good and came out piping hot. They have redeemed themselves! read more

Ordered fish tacos for takeout. The absolute worst Mexican food I've ever ordered and I'm a big fan of Mexican food. My tacos were soggy and tasteless. The whole meal was just bad except for the yellow rice. It's hard to mess that up. I'll never be ordering there again. read more