This place is great! It was recommended by the hotel I was staying in and what treat! One of the specials was grouper with a mediteranian take on crab imperial. It was outstanding!! Fish was cooked perfect! They have house made sangria, also excellent. Smith island cake was a tad dry, but tasty. Very nice atmosphere and excellent service. The owner greats all his guests and it was clear there were a lot of regulars. When I travel back here I will definitely come back. I want to try the lamb. Highly recommend!! read more

We usually order off the menu, but for Father's Day I chose the Grouper stuffed w crab. Excellent! Of course, for Father's Day, I received a free Fried Ice Cream (big enough to share!). Our server, Megan, was great! Best restaurant in the area! read more

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. It's in an unassuming plaza next to starbucks. We really would have missed it if we didn't look it up on our phone. We ordered 3 specials & two appetizers. I forget the names, but it's most of what many already recommended in reviews and by our server. It was all delectable :) I ordered the sunfish with crab imperial in white sauce. You could taste the butter clogging your arteries, but why care? I'm out, so I'll enjoy it, all the while making myself believe it's a healthy dairy by-product :) You can tell it's not really tex mex, which the restaurant's name may reflect. To me it was a mix of coastal Italian cuisine mashed with mexican undertones of rice and beans. Shrugs* It worked. The decor is eclectic- part random thrown up objects mixed with a childish imagination. Cute but not reflective of the food. Will come back again. read more

Cactus Taverna is an excellent all-around restaurant. The food is quite delicious and varies from tex-mex to amazing Mediterranean and Spanish foods. The wait staff has always been superb and provides some of the best service in town. Prices aren't bad for the quality you're getting. Chips and salsa come with every meal. Their specials are usually excellent, and one thing I really like about them is that their not more than the regular entrees. They truly are real specials because they seem to all change every week. Can get crowded on Friday and Saturday. Come during these times and the owner is usually wandering around squirting wine into patrons' mouths from about 3 feet away. It's quite an experience. read more

Love the atmosphere! Love the food! And the staff is always on their A game!! I've never been disappointed with anything I been served .. and the dessert wine OMG yummy!!! read more

My husband and I were in town for the Seagull Century bike ride, came here Friday night and were so impressed we came back again Saturday! The food was excellent; we especially loved the Mariscos Saltados and the Paella. The service was great and everyone was really friendly! The owner went around with a wine flask and they also gave complimentary dessert wine. Wonderful place! read more

This place might not look like much in a strip mall, in fact, I did not know it was there until I saw it on Yelp, but the food and service are outstanding, and best of all, it isnt a chain. The service was spectacular, as the waitress easily rattled off the entire specials menu, describing the dishes perfectly. The food is not just the Tex-Mex you would get from the name. Saying that, the guacamole was outstanding and served in it's own tortilla shell. The main courses were good, ample portions, nothing I will remember forever, but decent enough. Prices are a little high for Salisbury, but decent food with great service in a nice atmosphere makes it worthwhile. The beer menu is not overly complex and does not feature any microbrews, but is alright. They also brought complimentary glasses of port over after dinner, which was a nice touch. read more

Food was just 'ok'. My chicken was dry, sauce was good, scallops ok. $19.99??? Not that good. My husband's pork chop was ok. Veggies bland. Chips were not homemade, salsa tasted from a jar. Atmosphere was nice. Local musician. Will not be back. read more

Stopped in for lunch, we had the paella, alligator and a seafood enchilada. The food was very good and it has a nice atmosphere. The after dinner wine is horrible though lol. We will be going back to try more items on their menu. read more

5 stars for not being a chain restaurant in a Sea of mediocrity. The menu was all over the place. So, we embraced it and we're glad we did. The service was outstanding, and the owner came over twice to make sure we were satisfied. Imagine that happening at the local Applebee's? See what I mean? Osobuco was fine. All the vegetables were fresh and tasty. If you find yourself in this town, go here and skip the same old. read more

Cactus Taverna - Mediterranean Near Me - Salisbury, Maryland

3 stars because the atmosphere is great the staff is nice and the owner serious about his intentions. Unfortunately for me there is nothing on the menu that pulls me back. Over the years have been willing to try again but no breakthrough dish for me yet. read more

Wow a hidden gem. Live piano, excellent service, delicious food. This place is a lot nicer inside than it lets on. The menu had a heavy Mediterranean influence. Free chips and salsa before the meal is always a plus, as well as complimentary port wine at the end of the meal. The manager stopped by to speak with us and ask how our meal was. Four stars only because I felt the dishes could have had a little more flavor to them. My girlfriend got the mariscos saltados (probably wrong spelling) and it was Great but the scallops didn't have a lot of flavor. I got the pork shanks and they did fall right off the bone but they had way to much BBQ sauce on them which overshadowed the flavor of the meat. Overall an amazing place with amazing service. The daily specials menu is unreal! read more

This is the best restaurant in all of Salisbury. The raspberry jalapeno sauce was amazing on everything. Except the flan...thatd be weird. Mikayla Joseph and Gwyneth were amazing and the only thing better than the food was the service! Except the flan.. that was the best! read more

First time visiting Salisbury for 4th of July, and I'm really glad I did. Stayed in Best Western which was fun, and came across this awesome restaurant. I'm really happy I met this place. Great staff, ambient, decor, food, drinks, everything!!! read more

This place had old world charm, exceptional wait staff, wonderful selections for every taste, was warm welcoming and attentive to customers! AND THE FIOD WAS OUTSTANDING! Thank you for helping me find it! read more

Gwyneth is the best server in Salisbury. Their Paella is absolutely delicious, the atmosphere is breathtaking, and the owner is too legit to quit. This place should be on everybody's bucket list when it comes to food. Service was phenomenal and once again the food was to die for. Flans dope. read more

Wow! Great food, great service, and great atmosphere. Fantastic. Couldn't be happier. I don't need to type anymore here for a review

Stopped through here on our way back to New York and we are so glad we did!! I had the grilled salmon which was delicious and my husband had the stuffed chicken which was AMAZING! My 2 year old daughter really loved the chips and salsa! :-) They gave us complimentary port wine with our dessert! So good! The staff was so nice and very attentive! If I'm ever in the area again we will definitely be back! I wish this place was in NY!! read more

If you're anywhere near Salisbury you MUST dine at Cactus. My family and I absolutely adore everything about it and make it a point to eat there every time we pass through. The service is exceptional, we're treated like family in what can only be described as an ode to the past of friendlier times -- when people enjoyed serving each other. Somehow, they managed to make the food even better than the exceptional service... order anything and you're a winner! Can't recommend enough! read more

I haven't been back since finding a large quantity of HAIR in my guacamole. My husband's guac had the same issue. Clumps of long brown hair. So bizarre...and obviously, gross. Every time I'd been, previous to that experience, the food was highly "meh." Nothing was particularly exciting, in terms of either the quality or seasoning. I was looking forward to the lamb options, since Cactus Taverna is the only mid-range restaurant nearby to offer lamb on their menu, but I tried numerous dishes and none tasted any better than I could've made them at home. And I am not a great home cook. My overall impression of this place was that it was massively overhyped. The menu is extensive, but I'm reminded of something I remember from Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon Ramsey would always end up having major issues with the places with enormous menus because such places couldn't manage do an acceptable job with everything on such a diverse menu. This is clearly the case here. read more

Let me prerequisite this by saying the owner and his staff at Cactus Taverna are AWESOME. Very kind and friendly, the owner greeted each table which you don't see very often anymore. I really wish the food had lived up to the great things we had heard about this place. The appetizers were great, but our entrees were lacking flavor and quality. We will definitely be back for the appetizers but not much else. read more

I stopped here on a family road trip with my family for a lovely meal. The food was delicious and priced economically. The outside was simple, but the inside had warm Mediterranean decor. The staff was polite and attentive. We definitely recommend Cactus Taverna. read more

My family and I visit several times a year friendly faces and comfortable atmosphere Good times good food and good memories read more

The food is great, the service is great, and the atmosphere is great. I enjoy the filet and crab and the blackened Tuna but everything I have had has been very good. read more

This place is amazing! Cory was our yummy waiter and service was excellent. Food, drinks, atmosphere was inviting and satisfying. Too bad we live so far away because this would be my hang! read more

The place is great. Excellent food. The owner is so charming, he comes around to the tables to chat and greet. The night we went a woman was playing a keyboard, soft music. Great date night place. Beautiful décor. read more

We have been to Cactus several times. We use it as our "special" date night go-to, even though we live an hour and a half away from the restaurant. All of the food is excellent, even the chips and salsa which tastes so fresh! The owner and manager always stop by our table to see how things are going. Always trust Adrian's recomendations, he is spot-on with taste and pairing wine! read more

This was our first time there and we will return! Our waiter, Adrian, knew the menu very well and made our experience spectacular! He was friendly, attentitive, and very hospitable. The food was good too! All in all, I recomend this restaurant and after I graduate, I will return on my trips to Ocean City. read more

I went to college in Salisbury and always make a trip to my favorite restaurant if I'm in town. The place has a Mexican theme, but you would be missing out if you ordered just a Mexican dish. I would describe it as more of a Mediterranean/Spanish restaurant. There are so many great choices off the specials. The owner is amazing, every time I was in there he made rounds to our table to make sure everything was ok, and on some nights would come around with a wine bag and give free squirts of white wine. There usually is live music playing. Did I also mention the complimentary port at the end of dinner as well? Nice personal touch. As far as the food goes, my favorite would be the alligator. I've had this at other places and they've been very chewy, but every piece was tender and accompanied with a raspberry-jalapeno sauce for dipping. For the entree I chose the filet medallions with crab imperial. The steak was tender and the crab sauce was delicious!. I also had a bite of blackened tuna with a mango-butter sauce and it was out of this world! I highly recommend trying this place out, and if you just order the traditional Mexican food over the specials, you would be missing out! read more

We loved it. The food was delicious, fresh and professionally served. After a day on the beach, we stopped on the way back to DC, and were surprised by a nice atmosphere: friendly waiters, full of positive energy, welcoming host, and live music. Mobrook to them for all they are doing. read more

One of the dining highlights in Salisbury-- you've got your pick of three or four comparable Mexican places, but at how many of them will the owner come to your table and squirt red wine in your mouth? This is what I'm saying. The food is almost always excellent. They sometimes play live music, which isn't always a good thing. read more

The rack of lamb is my favorite dish. The seasoning is perfect and I love to have them prepare it "lollipop style" so you can eat it with you hands. I usually don't even like lamb, but this really is amazing. I've been there six or so times and have never been disappointed. The salsa is fantastic. It's slightly different each time, but each version is delicious and flavorful and not too spicy. The owner is almost always there and is welcoming and really watches over every aspect of the restaurant. I highly recommend Cactus Taverna! read more

Wow. Who would expect such an interesting menu and high-quality food on a highway on the edge of Salisbury? We enjoyed everything, from coconut shrimp (a thousand times better than at Outback) to a Mediterranean salad to fajitas. Nice service, though it was a quiet night, so it's hard to judge what the place would be like when it's busy. read more

Our family was traveling and spent the evening in Salsbury. We loved this place. Staff was very friendly. The owner was making the rounds at tables and had a nice conversation but not overly in your face, and the food was good. Lots of specials. I was not disappointed by my strip steak with grilled scallops and grilled shrimp. Vegetables were fresh but overcooked, so I feel perhaps I'll give four stars instead of five because it wasn't perfect. However I would go back in an instant. read more

See other reviews to see what you'll get here. I'll just add the service was tremendous and the wine selection solid. I had the shrimp with crab imperial, yum. They even made it with less butter for me, and dressings on the side. My daughter had the crab and corn soup, excellent flavor. My husband had a paella full of seafood. He's Puerto Rican and picky but gave this a thumbs up. Nice ambiance (for a strip mall restaurant even) and great wait staff. We even got courtesy port for dessert, a nice treat. read more

Nice little place in Salisbury. I would say that service was on point, I never felt under served, but I ventured off the reservation and instead of going with steak or seafood got the pork chop. Maybe this was my mistake, it was a good try, but over done so it turned tough and dry....pretty hard to do when you stuff something with cheese and prosciutto. As the chop was bone in, it was okay by the bone, but then you miss on the filling. The house salad is unique, a parsley Caesar dressing gives the romaine an interesting taste. I will say they did the hummus well, tasty and just the right amount for an app. I ended with a slice of the Smith Island Cake, apparently the Maryland state cake. Layers of yellow cake and chocolate frosting make this quite a treat. As they were featuring fresh strawberries as a dessert option, I asked them to throw some on with the cake and it was a perfect combination! The owner, Amad, stopped by and we talked about the meal and he took my feedback and wasn't defensive, but took it as a positive experience. For this alone he deserves this rating. It's not the place for my last meal, but I would certainly return in the future. For those with the low ratings, maybe it was an off night or something but everyone employed here brought refills and pitched in to their coworkers to make this a positive dinner experience. read more

For a restaurant that has a great staff and management and does proteins spectacularly well, I can't understand why they use frozen bagged vegetables in all their dishes. Only downfall but it's a big one. read more

What a wonderful restaurant. The food was very good. Very Nice blend of Mexican and Mediterranean. The complimentary pour of port was very nice and considerate and was very much appreciated. The staff were amazing from our being greeted when we entered through dinner and even when we left. Great place. I Highly recommend the restaurant. The live music (saxophonist) was wonderful. We are visiting from out of town because of the Sea Gull Century bike ride. So glad that Martha P and my wife recommended it to us. Great experience. read more

I had an exceptional meal here after the Seagull Century. I had a softshell crab appetizer and a small plate of shrimp with crab imperial. The shrimp and crab imperial was truly memorable, everything was great - even the salsa and chips. I found the service to be excellent - very friendly and very prompt. I highly recommend Cactus Taverna. read more

Great food and service in a very unassuming location. Located in a strip mall and not much to look at from the outside but inside is wonderful! The food was excellent and we had wonderful service. read more