No restaurant can be all things to all people, but this taqueria comes close. The food is fast, nutritious, portable and cheap, but the cafeteria-style dinning and loud atmosphere are not for everybody. If you have kids and want to eat out in a restaurant where you're little ones can make noise, and a huge mess, this is the place for you. If you care about your meat being pesticide- and hormone-free, they use Niman Ranch products. And best of all, the dishes are all fresh and incredibly tasty. I particularly like the pumpkin and chocolate flavored sauces on the specialty burritos. read more

Awesome food! Awesome tacos! Good salsa and speedy service. As a person whose pretty picky about Mexican food this place definitely meets my standards! Would def recommend anyone in the area try it. read more

Love their crispy tacos...so delicious and so fresh. and I'm picky about agua frescas but this place has a strawberry-canteloupe one that is really good! I tried their tangerine one but it doesn't taste as fresh--tastes like it was made from a powder mixture... read more

This review is for both locations ... Cactus has been my favorite Mexican restaurant for years. The crispy chicken tacos are the best. They have rotating monthly specials. The interior is a bit dingy, but it looks like they're slowly renovating. I highly recommend Cactus. read more

Fresh, delicious burritos and addictive crispy tacos are the stars of Cactus, and the food is yummy enough to make up for the service (I would have given it 4 stars if the people who worked there were friendly or helpful, but they never were in the years that my husband and I went there multiple times a week). The best cactus is on College Avenue, so head over to Oakland if you're choosing between the two. read more

I probably frequent Cactus more than I should. I also grew up going there, and have pretty vivid memories of sitting around the fountain tossing pennies in and then making a mess pulling them out. It's quick, convenient and pretty cheap, though, and the food is always good. They use fresh ingredients and always have that authentic Mexican flavor. I either order a plain chicken burrito or the crispy chicken tacos. Both good and filling, even though the burritos seemed to have shrunk dramatically - but I'm not complaining. It's enough to satisfy my occasional longing for a true-blue Mexican meal and then some. My only critique is of the service: occasionally, because of the crowds of people typically frequenting, it can get a little slow. If I get takeout, I may sometimes end up waiting a good 10-or-so minutes for my food that I'm pretty sure is already done and has been forgotten about on the counter. read more

Best steak and bean/cheese burrito ever. So yummy. I recommend this place, refried beans are delish, and steak is seasoned perfectly. I will be back. read more

Stop #3 of my 2016-tour-de-Solano-Restaurants, Cactus offers casual Mexican fare that you can take to go or eat in house. I got a pork burrito. It comes with chips. I also had Horchata. They have a salsa bar, making me wonder if this place is also related to some of the other Mexican joints in town. My burrito was great, and I always love chips, but the server behind the counter seemed tired and bored. read more

Excellent Mexican food with very fresh ingredients. They use Niman Ranch beef and pork. Friendly atmosphere. But when you're ordering, avoid the guy who's a little chunky and has sort of a flattop and a mustache. He's Stingy McStingerton with the meat, and everything else. Have one of the women prepare your food. Prices aren't too bad, but the soups at the College Ave location in Oakland are way better, with at least double if not triple the meat. The manager here is a little bit weaselly. I got a stainless steel bristle from a cleaning brush in my taco, and he just blew it off. But it's still one of my favorites. Just avoid the Taco Grinch. Also, the Crispy Chicken Taco Snack ($2.50) is absolutely awesomely delicious, but God knows how many calories are packed into this gut-bomb. It's deep-fried and packed with cheese and guacamole. Incredibly delicious. I've eaten here and at the College Ave location at least 400 (probably way more, which is kind of scary when you think about it) times in the last three years, and they are both fun places with good food. The salsa bar at the College Ave location is much better. They also have a carbonated water dispenser on the soda machine at College, besides just the plain water. (Both are free) I can't drink diet sodas with aspartame,(which is all you can get at either Cactus) as it gives me a migraine, so I really appreciate the carbonated water dispenser (the tiny extra lever under the Sprite tab) at he College location. read more

Just because I have dark hair and dark eyes doesn't mean I freaking speak Spanish. I don't! And almost every time I go there I order in English and they answer me in Spanish. My husband who is Israeli get the same treatment every time and if you don't respond back in Spanish they give you attitude. Actually, some of the ladies working there have this attitude, like they are doing you favor in taking your order. I mostly go to cactus to eat their 'tres leches cake'. The best in the Bay Area. But today their cake was dry and so heavy that I decided not to go there anymore. It's not worth it the treatment we get. Also, the bathrooms are very disgusting. The food there is ok, I guess, and they charge you for every little thing you add. read more

I moved in to the town at the beginning of this year, and at first I liked catus, but always thought it was pretty OVER PRICED. $5 for one Lil appetizer taco ! At taco trucks there only.like $1 no more then $2 ! I mean I like then crispy taco, but not for $5-$6 each plus tax ! Then I like to sub. All my veggies for just cheese . & they say no I have to pay extra for cheese when then burrito is already $8 plus tax plus cheese ! I hate going here now ! Oh & IDK of anyone else noticed, but they RARELY WEAR GLOVES to make your food ! read more

i've had only good experience at the oakland cactus, so i was sorely disappointed with the location in berkeley. the line moved really slow, the people working there were cranky, and my veggie burrito tasted nowhere nearly as good as the ones i get in oakland. in my view, the worst thing is the lack of salsa...part of what i love about cactus is their amazing salsas (esp. the pineapple salsa!), but at the berkeley location there was only one red and one green salsa...very disappointing! read more

cheap, fast, fresh mex. and the chips are the regular bag tortilla chips which i like. i dont care for the home made thick oily chips like most other taquerias serve. two words: fish tacos. deliiiiiicious! well seasoned grilled fish, tender and flaky. my taco was piled with a ginormous amount of fresh vegetables and blackbeans and rice. went great with the fresh salsa bar they have. their salsa verde was so good my fish taco had to take a swim in it. so good and so cheap! read more

I tried this place for the first time last night, and I was very impressed. I had the crispy shrimp tacos, so that's all I can base this review on, but they were AMAZING. They put the shrimp and cheese in the corn tortilla and then deep fry it. Then they add lettuce and tomatos. It makes for a very tasty combination! The prices are very decent. I will definitely be making a return visit. read more

This place has such potential but every time I go back I leave and think it was a waste. Service is terribly slow. Even when I call and order in advance, it somehow takes me 20 minutes to get my food - even when there is barely a line. Salads are wet because they don't allow the lettuce to dry after rinsing it and serving it to you. If they just stepped it up in customer service I'd give a better review. read more

Always been a loyal customer - and was happy to see them on Caviar, because I'm happy to try to support my local restaraunts during this crisis. However, I'm very disappointed to say that when over half of my order was missing, the restaraunt was of no help to me. The woman I talked to said that Caviar only sent over half the order, and so that's all they filled, and that's all they charged me for. Setting aside the fact that I've never had a problem with Caviar not sending the accurate order to the restaraunt before, even some of the items she said were in the order they received from Caviar were missing, and one of the items I got was incorrect. What bothered me more than missing the food was her attitude, and the fact that she refused to take responsibility when it was clear that parts of my order were not given to the driver. Then when I offered to just reorder and work with Caviar for the refund of the missing items, she said I had to order through Caviar, and when I did, I got the message that the restaraunt was no longer taking delivery orders. So 4 hungry people looking forward to a meal and trying to help a local business, and only enough food for one of them. Very disappointing, and I'm afraid Cactus has just lost a long time customer even when things do get back to normal. Hope it was worth it to Cactus. read more

I've usually found this place reliable - decent food, ok prices, which is why I'll still give them a couple of stars. I walked in there today and waited for several minutes, with no one else in line, for someone to take my order. There were three people working behind the counter on other orders (for whom, I don't know - must've been phone-ins?). You'd think that one of them would at least look at me and say, "I'll be right with you", or at least acknowledge that I was there. Instead, they all avoided eye contact with me (again, the ONLY customer waiting to place an order), and talked to each other. Inexcusable. I walked out. read more

Hands down the best taqueria where I like to get tacos. I'm not always craving a taco but when I do, it's a Catcus Taqueria taco. Other food items on the menu are good too. They have a variety of choices to choose from and the atmosphere in the restaurant is really nice. read more

Ok, I just moved from Minneapolis, and can report that there's better Mexican food there than what seems to be on offer in Berkeley. This place was no different than Chipotle... bland food, unimaginative, not all that authentic. wont bother going back. read more

how do you tell when the owner of a mexican restaurant is a cheap-O? not free chips! unbelievable, how they don't give free chips is beyond me. the food is ok but as someone put it, it's cali-mex food. in other words, they make mexican food thinking how americans would like it. should you try it? off course. that way when you try authentic mexican food you can see the difference. read more

I've been coming to cactus since this location opened in the early/mid nineties, and I'd say I've been here close to 1000 times. No joke. Cactus is a reliable, inexpensive, quality neighborhood taqueria. It won't be the best Mexican food you'll eat, but I've found it to be consistently good and very good value. That said, they definitely do some things better than others. If you're going to Cactus for the first time, I'd recommend getting the crispy chicken tacos. They're good, and many people I've talked to think that's their best dish. I also enjoy the enchiladas, quesadillas, and tamales. The burritos are solid, but I'd recommend Gordo's if you're in the neighborhood. The chips and salsa here are also a bit subpar. Cactus recently instituted a system where you order at the register instead of at the counter (the way it had been for ~18 years), and as a result wait times are unnecessarily long. I'm hoping they change back to the old system, as this will damage their business. Be prepared to wait a bit longer than standard taqueria time for your food, even if the restaurant isn't busy. I also don't know what people here are saying about food poisoning. If anyone was going to get sick here, it'd be me, and I've never had any trouble. The place is very sanitary, and I've never even been worried about something like that. read more

We went to Cactus on Solano on 6-21. We hadn't been there for a while, but have always liked the cleanliness and the "clean" and well prepared food. First of all, it was filthy. The station where you get your utensils, salsas and glasses was truly disgusting. Obviously, it had not been wiped down for quite some time. The floors were sticky and strewn with all sorts of napkins and such. The carnitas on my "plate" were dry, hard and tasteless beyond edibility. They must have been sitting around for many hours just drying out. Debbie's fish tostata and grandson's burrito mejor were okay, but not as good as we remember. It seemed really dismal in there. Eek! Methinks not. read more

I have been a customer for years, but they don't seem to value repeat business. Over the years the quality and portions have diminished. If you get a burrito to go, it comes with nacho chips. BUT they give you like 6 chips and that's it. Cheap, stingy. I don't get beans on my burrito, but if I ask for a bit more rice instead, they look at you like you are crazy. Nine bucks for a burrito with a small side of salsa fresca, no beans, and they refuse to throw in even a handful of chips. If you ask for anything extra you might as well be from mars. So it's fairly decent on taste & ingredients, not so clean anymore, no table service - cafeteria style only (order & wait to be called) not friendly service. It's convenient for me sometimes, but there are much better places if you travel a bit further. Too bad they have gone down in quality & portions while prices go up anyway. read more

I love, love, love Cactus. My husband and I do takeout here on a frequent basis and have never had a negative experience. The crispy tacos are awesome and so are the burritos. I've tried the quesadillas, chile relleno, regular tacos, tamales, and nachos too and they're all good. I would have to say our go-to favourites are the crispy tacos. Simply delicious! read more

Everyone who works at the Cactus on Solano Ave is extremely nice - not to mention patient with those of us who can't make up our mind. Love their chicken tacos!! read more

Went here a couple of weeks ago because I was working in the area for a little bit, and after passing it by so much when it was closed in the early am, I was glad to be able to go in during normal business hours. My first time, I went for the classic carne asada mejor burrito. It was a good steak burrito with a lot of appropriate fillings. I couldn't confidently name them all right now, but I really enjoyed it. It was nice that everything was ready to go when I finished paying. Very efficient. I went again yesterday, when once again, I was in the area, and hungry. This time i decided to be a little more creative and get shrimp. It did take a little longer to prepare, but damn, it was worth it. The shrimp actually tasted like shrimp, and there was an adequate amount. Even when I was eating the cold leftovers today, it was still hella good. While I wouldn't say this place is authentic mexican, it's still hella good. If i'm in the area, and hungry, I'd stop in again. read more

OMG the original Cactus Restaurant! The empanadas are even more amazing here more authentic go here and get them! EAT THEM NOW order them if you are reading this on YELP! read more

The establishment may not look so clean and tidy, but he food is! You can observe how they cook/prepare your food. I love the fact that the produce is fresh! You can tease it. I have a very sensitive stomach I seriously get sick from eating out because well let's be honest the food isn't properly cleaned and properly prepared more than likely contaminated food is what gets me. Cactus never lets me down I come here a lot for lunch or dinner. read more

This place would be better if it was a truck. And don't dare walk in before 8:30, every yuppie family in Berkeley lo-o-oves bringing their kids here and letting them play in the little fountain thing. read more

Their watermelon juice the the best I've ever had. Decent burritos, and tacos. We've never had a bad meal from here.

I've been living in the area for a little over 2 months now, but i've been to this place numerous times already. It was my first night out in the town when a friend took me for a diner to Cactus Taqueria, and i've been in love with this restaurant since. The staff is very friendly, they have wide variety of meals to chose from, and i would say they keep the lowest prices in the neighborhood. One tiny thing which i do not like (since i'm not Mexican myself) is that they do not have pictures of actuals meals on their menu boards and i'm too shy to ask what each name stands for. I've been sticking to Black Beans and Guacamole Quessadilla for a long time, until i tried something else. And i was disappointed for a bit. Because what we used to call 'Tacos' in Montana is here called Burrito. So when i ordered a Chicken Taco, i got 2 small tortillas. And as I am a big eater i was disappointed cause i was expecting something bigger. LOL. Anyways, perfect place to stop by for lunch, dinner or whatever. Once my car broke down, but i walked 45 minutes to Solano Avenue just so i could grab a lunch in my favorite Mexican restaurant. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!! read more

!!! DIARRHEA !!! Terrible food. Ordered a mole chicken burrito that tasted like spaghetti sauce. Took three bites and retired it to the garbage. Their carnitas is fatty and tasteless and made my kids start to wretch. Apparently they use great ingredients (Nieman Ranch, etc.), but they just don't know how to cook. The people working there look and act like they cannot stand being there. The tables are filthy. Watched one of the workers use the same rag to smear food off of three different tables. read more

Good place to get good and cheap food. I went there for the first time craving a chicken quesadilla and it was as good as I imagined it to be! They provide good portions, will be back for more! read more

Brings back fond memories of good, cheap food. And horchata.

Actually, I am STILL unwilling to eat burritos because beans do not agree with me, and I'll leave it at that. However, I'll give Cactus another chance. I know they serve flan and I haven't had that in forever. read more

i had kind of avoided cactus for a while because I didn't remember having a very good experience last time I was there which was several years ago. finally went along with some friends... and well, i would have to say it was like i remembered it. we had several complaints... first off, the chips. you would think they could do better. we all got burritos and i found the beans in mine to be really mushy (i asked for whole pinto, not refried), and every single one of us had a leaky/splitting burrito. as far as taste goes, okay but not very flavorful. oh, and my friend ordered a cantaloupe aqua fresca and it was super watery. in sum, i don't think i'll be back. read more

i think this is as healthy as mexican food can get. the term might even be an oxymoron...healthy mexican. hmm. anyways. they have really good fish tacos, empanadillas, enchilladas, nachos, and salads. typical stuff, but all the ingredients here are fresh, and not saturated in fat. and for dessert, they also have alfajores, shortbread like cookies with lots of gooey caramel layered inside :) read more

Not bad. I think the food is a little over-priced for what it is. Also, I think that in a city where you can find tons of delcious mexican food that Cactus Taqueria doesn't have a memorable identity... unless the location counts... excellent location. Still, overall, not a badly spent dinner or lunch. Average. read more

you have to understand what you're going in for if you're going to cactus. cactus has quality, hormone free ingredients, fresh veggies, enough choice for the most demanding berkely vegan to still enjoy. personally, i enjoy the tamales here more than anything else, but every once in a while i stop for a fish burrito, nothing ever beat fresh fish smothered with simmered black beans and fresh hot sauce. mm. read more

It's convenient, quick, and tasty. If I lived closer to a better burrito place then maybe I wouldn't go here so often. They have fish burritos, so I'm happy. read more