Happy hour: Amazing. After dozens of times, I remain impressed with the happy hour food and service. The Ya Ya rolls are off the charts (steak, salmon, or chicken) The nuclear margarita packs a punch for its small size. Cactus Ya Ya offers free chips with salsa and bean dip. Ambiance is loud and active. Great for hanging with friends, not so great for business meetings. They don't have WIFI either. Happy hour is only in the bar, so 20% of the time I wait for an open table. I've been for lunch and dinner, and generally I'm pretty pleased...But happy hour definitely stands out as being top notch. read more

Going to a little hole in the wall place, I wasn't expecting a lot. To my surprise, it was very clean. The food tastes great and large portions. I give a thumbs up. Not quite 5 stars, service could be a little faster. Other than that, great. read more

Great place for cocktail but everything else sucks! There "fusion" food is too weird to describe. Asian/Mexican? Nothing tastes quite right. Staff seems disinterested. I always tell people that they have weird "fusion" food and we always end up going somewhere else. read more

This was a terrific Mexican place. More romantic than most Mexican restaurants so it was a neat find. We'll definitely be back.

I've been coming to this place since I was a kid in elementary school. They've always had great food, and it's a pleasant departure from the usual mexican restaurants in the area because of it's Southwestern flare. And after recently turning 21 I've discovered their bar, which I'm learning has one of the best happy hours in town. While the drinks are all the same price, their appetizers decently priced and amazing. I would recommend their ya ya peanut rolls personally, but they're all pretty good. It's an awesome way to eat something light while grabbing a couple drinks with friends. And did I mention their drinks are nice and strong? Or maybe they're what a drink should be, but they don't skimp on the alcohol as do most places. Overall, Cactus Ya Ya is a great place to have a meal, or just have a light snack while enjoying drinks and company while being in a nice atmosphere and being waited on by the friendliest servers I've encountered in the area. Keep it up guys! read more

Eaten here before and we enjoyed the food. Our server was pleasant. Great prices on happy hour but ONLY in the bar. Not on the patio either. The bar is way too small to limit it to bar only. Prices are nearly double if you can't sit in the bar. There was a "long wait" according to the waitress. So needless to say we weren't going to be seated before happy hour ended. We left and went to Twilight. A mere $120 between 4 of us that went to another business. It would be nice to come in with your kids too and be offered happy hour prices since most families are on a budget. I strongly suggest you reconsider your Happy Hour extending throughout the restaurant. Word of mouth is gold in a small town! Also a very cheesy rule of "no taking home leftovers" from happy hour. Not a typical American business practice. Tacky if you ask me, or any of my friends that we have discussed this with. read more

The people here are so nice they gave my son a birthday ice cream taco when we didn't order it. Thoughtful of them. Everyone liked their food. Skewers were very tender. Great drinks. read more

Mmmmm. So yum! My favorite place for mexican food or maybe I should call it tex mex. I've been coming here for years and they have great food, atmosphere, service, happy hour and drinks! Drinks are always stiff, get a marg or the Trouble. So good. I tend to always get the peanut chicken ya ya rolls and an avocado ranch side salad. My go to. The ya ya rolls are to die for, I crave these often. The peanut chicken ones are the best. The shrimp ones are good too! Get double of the black bean salsa versus the red salsa. The black bean salsa is incredible. Best fish tacos in town I think. Those are on happy hour with the peanut chicken ya ya rolls and I will switch it up between the fish tacos and the rolls. The batter is good and you can get hard or soft shell. I go soft and the sauce they put on them is so delicious. I've had their quesadilla, their Reuben (yes they have a Reuben) and their chimichonga. All good. You pretty much can't go wrong but I have my favs. If anyone is new to town and want Mexican, I guide them here. It's a fun little spot, not a chain and you will get great service and some good eats and drinks. Sit outside by the fire or inside in the bar. Good for small parties (10 or less) and casual spot. I seem to go after a good workout. Wish I could give it more than 5 stars. *Their bar is small so for HH its always packed. Get their early or towards the end. *Happy hour is daily 3-6pm I think. read more

I was so excited to try this place out after hearing all my friends talk about it. I went with a friend for lunch and was surprised at how busy it was for the lunch hour on a week day. We had the smoked salmon rolls to start. They were really good. Loved the flavor and thought it was a great starter. I also had a margarita. They come in really small glasses and tasted more like syrup then a drink. That's where I drop a star from the review. For lunch we both ordered the fish tacos. They were really good however I thought the fish was over breaded. I would go here again if invited but it wouldn't be a place I'd jump up and recommend. It was just MEH, not anything too amazing. read more

We were going to go to a mexican place instead but my friend said her sister in law said that she loved this place so we thought what the heck let's give it a try. The service was awful. The happy hour menu was slim to nothing and the food was bland and tasteless. Everytime we wanted a refill on our soda's our waitress was no where to be found. I could also see other tables looking around for a waitress or looking for anyone to help. We were very dissapointed and you won't be seeing us again at this establishment. Also, the bar is suuuper small and the chairs were not comfortable at alll. We went on a weekday and during happy hour, it was not busy at all. read more

Had an amazing experience here! The host, Imani, was super informative and helpful and got us quickly seated. Our server, Naomi was amazing! She recommended several delicious options which we ordered and loved! The food was out fast and she even gave us a refill to our chips and salsa! Imani even stopped and checked in to make sure everything was tasting good and also offered a refill of the chips and salsa. An amazing first experience here, will definitely be back! read more

I love Cactus!! The bean dip and salsa are always tasty. I usually order the southwestern pasta, which has never failed me. It's enough to take home some leftovers too which I always like. I also like the steak rolls and chicken skewers. I find the flavor to be great and the staff friendly. The service can be slow sometimes. I have had to wait, but I usually don't mind, I like it enough. It's also great for happy hour with friends. Give it a try! read more

Tonight was special. Tonight was the first time I've been to a restaurant that was suggested by someone who reads my blog posts. Well...full disclosure.....he has suggested another restaurant before, but this time it was official.....he suggested it in the comments section of one of my posts. And, by the way, you too can suggest restaurants that you may love, hate, or otherwise for my crew to check out. We take this shit seriously, so have at it.....leave a comment....shoot me a message.....hell, if you're a friend, hit me up on the facebook. We're always looking for suggestions. Tonight's restaurant was Cactus Ya Ya in Vancouver WA.....just accross the Columbia River from Portland, OR, which for those that don't know, is where I live. Vancover....the "Couve"......Vantucky.....is the red headed step child of Portland. Often people snicker when it's mentioned in Portland.....some even burst out in full laughs. But, it is a city......ummmm......okay......it's not much of a city......more of a bedroom community. But, it does have some neat features.......well.....I overstate that......it has features. Anyway....enough dis-ing Vancouver.....let's get to why I'm here. We dined at Cactus Ya Ya tonight. In attendance were my daughter and son-in-law and a couple of my favorite people.....Tracy (whom I worked with at a terrible terrible awful awful company) and her husband Chris.....who has become a good friend and reader of these ramblings. He was the one who made the restaurant suggestion. My first impression was that this was a noisy place....but, we were seated rather close to a birthday party who had been there drinking for enough time to be loud. You know the group....you've seen them. But, after awhile they left and we could hold normal conversations without shouting. This place is odd.....it's Mexican in nature, but with.....oh, what would you call it.....Vietnamese?......I guess, Thai would be closer.......it's got a fusion of Thai mixed in with the Mexican food. That may sound odd.......but, it works. Listen......I grew up living next to a couple....she was full blooded Italian and he was full blooded Blackfoot Indian.......and they we ever so much in love. Why can't Mexican fuse with Thai to make a delicious combination? They can and it works at Cactus Ya Ya. Unusual, yes. But peanut sauce on a tortilla chip is fantastic! My dinner was the obligatory chile rellanos......poblano chiles stuffed with cheese and battered in corn meal then deep fried and sauced with a red chile sauce. It came with Spanish rice and a choice of beans. I opted for the black beans, my fav. I gauge Mexican restaurants on how well they do this simple dish. Done well, it's a delight to the taste buds. Done badly, and you wouldn't feed it to your cat. That's why, whenever I visit a Mexican restaurant, the first thing I order......if they have it on the menu......is chile rellanos. Same goes for sushi.....I always order the saba.....or mackerel, for you English speaking types. If it's a good sushi restaurant, the saba will be salty and cool....bare on a nice puff of rice. You can tell right away if the restaurant has fish that's been in the cooler for more than a day. And saba is the about the simplest of sushi......as are chile rellanos one of the simplest Mexican dishes. Though the rellanos were nothing to jump up and down about, when I put the peanut sauce on them, they popped. It works.......kind of like a chocolate strawberry and a good Gewurztraminer. It made the taste fantastic! Other than the food, this place has a great waitstaff. Attentive, yet hidden and not intrusive. They pour a heavy drink.....always good in my book. The decor is just what it needs to be what it is....an unusual fusion. And, not like a recent restaurant....clean. This is a place that needs more than one visit. The menu choices are really unusual.......and they all must be tried to get a good solid view of what's going on here. Yes, Chris....this will be a good place to keep in the Rollodex for further observation. It's unusual......very. Oh....almost forgot the pics.......here....... ummmm.....sorry.....forgot to take pics until just after we started eating......but you get the idea. One bad thing.....and there always is one bad thing.....this restaurant doesn't have it's own website. You can google it and get the address and all the crappy reviews at Yelp, but this place needs it's own website. Other than that....go....get some Mexican with a Thai influence.....you'll be better off knowing that you can do that in life. Until next week....or so.....go dine.....it's good for your soul. read more

Liquid Love and Chicken Peanut Ya Ya rolls.....always the best. Thanks for doing it right. read more

Cactus Ya Ya - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, Washington

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Food was blah. Was pretty disappointed in their guacamole, it was the whipped store brand version, not fresh made. Steak tacos were subpar as well. Chips and salsa were okay but that's about it. Others in my group were equally unimpressed. Staff was nice and ambiance was fine but I would never eat there again. read more

Walking out of Cactus Ya Ya, my husband and I were in agreement: despite its proximity to our house, once was enough. The salmon enchiladas: gooey and weirdly fishy. The fish tasted like it had been hanging around the kitchen for quite some time until someone finally noticed it stinking up the joint and decided to toss it into an enchilada. And it didn't taste like any salmon I've ever sampled. The bean dip: irredeemably flavorless. The salsa: okay, seemed fresh enough, but too sweet and vinegary for me. The shrimp and cream cheese rolls: edible, but lacking in flavor. And they definitely should not have been paired with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. The flavor combination was not a auspicious one. The Mexican chicken soup: okay. Too much cumin for me, but edible. Once was enough. My daughter did enjoy her bean and cheese burrito, though. I guess it's hard to go wrong there (though if you're ever on Bainbridge Island, there's a Mexican restaurant that could give it a good run). On the positive side, the flock of young, cute female staff were right on top of everything. We wanted for nothing--except food that was more to our tastes. read more

Best Happy Hour - Best thing on the menu is their Thai Chx--ya ya rolls ( I crave them when I haven't had them for awhile). I have yet to have anything on the menu thought that I didn't like. Their chips not only come with salsa but also a bean dip that is very good. The service is prompt and ready to serve and usually isn't that hard to find a table during Happy Hour, really depends on the day. Fav drinks are their basic margarita and Liquid Love (which is a martini, very good) read more

Love the bartender, Mickey.and the great concoctions she mixes up for us. Today we had lunch too- a turkey Rueben that was pretty untraditional but so good and both caesar and house salads. Fresh and good, especially liked the avocado ranch dressing. Great place with a fun vibe. Where else do you see a bathtub of ice behind the bar! read more

Awesome place. Lighting is very dim. Place is kept cool in the summer. Food is to die for. My regular thing to get is the southwestern salad with salmon. Huge serving with the best salmon I've ever had. The dressing is spectacular. I've also heard from quite a few people that their fish tacos are out of this world, best they've ever had. The service...kinda slow. But worth it. The salsa and bean dip, ahhh! yummmmy :) You'll like this place, just give it a chance ;) read more

The best fish tacos! Fresh tasting great atmosphere. Have been going for drinks and food for years, before the east side blew up 15 years ago. The change of the out door space has been a great place for outdoor dining, and don't forget the putting green lol read more

In my experience I've always had top notch service here and the food is out of this world! Fish tacos!!! Tortilla soup!! Garlic mashed potatoes!! Tamales. O my gosh. yum yum yum! read more

Maybe the best Happy Hour in Clark County. Love the chicken yaya rolls. Simple but super delicious. Love going there.

Giving two stars because this used to be our favorite restaurant and because the service was good. My husband and I stopped in for dinner last night and it was early, probably 4:30. He ordered the chicken skewers rice and beans and I ordered a chicken taco and chili relleno. It took some time to get our food which was okay because we had plenty of chips and salsa. Our waitress told us it was because the skewers take a long time to cook . The chips seemed different this time like they aren't homemade. Anyway, my husband's plate came and his rice looked like and tasted like they had left it in a pan on the stove all night. His vegetables were crisp and I mean burnt to a crisp. The chicken was kind of dry. My chicken taco had no pico de gallo unless you consider a plate with undressed bits of lettuce chopped tomatoes chopped onions and olives pico de gallo. I guess you could call that deconstructed pico de gallo. Anyway the meat was not seasoned and the taco shell was like a shell from Taco Bell. I don't know what happened or who was cooking back there but we have never been so disappointed with a meal! Wow! Hoping it was just an off night. Please fix this we love you guys! read more

Great food and hospitality. We tried Cactus Ya Ya for the first time and we'll definitely be back. Their menu offers a wide range of delicious options, perfect for a family with different tastes. The Ya Ya roll was top notch, the tamale plate was great and the margarita was awesome. We will be back. read more

I've never left here with any urge to return. I know people love their peanut sauce rolls, but I found them to be alright, but definitely too soft and lacking a crunch texture. Their rice also sucks and it's hard for me to get past it. If a Mexican joint can't throw down some delicious beans and rice, then they definitely get marked down for me. This is a place I will go if a group of friends is adamant about going here, but I'll try to convince them otherwise. The outside seating area is pretty cool and feels like a great place to be on a summer evening. read more

I've been back in Vancouver for a year, and other than chain restaurants, the quality independent restaurants are few and far between, compared to across the river in Portland. I'd count Cactus Ya Ya as one of the best of the unique restaurants in the city, and it's probably my favorite to eat at regularly. As others mention, it's not purely Mexican, it's definitely a fusion joint - mainly Southwestern but with some interesting bits thrown in. For instance, they have a Thai-like peanut sauce which is one of my favorite things ever. I generally go for a combination, as that's at least 2 meals for me (their leftovers fare very well the next day), with their chimichanga being my favorite single combination item. My favorite non-combo is the skewers - beef or chicken on a stick kabob-style with tortillas, beans, rice, & other stuff (sour cream, guac & shredded cabbage). They don't skimp on the extras. This dish is also where I discovered the peanut sauce (like spicy peanut flavored paste, weird looking but delicious!), which I ask for no matter what dish I'm ordering. It goes so well with everything! Most dishes come with your standard beans & rice - their black beans are awesome, and the Spanish rice is about the best I've ever had - normally the rice is an afterthought when eating Mexican. I used to never finish it. But here, I feel like eating every bit, mixing it in with the generous guac/sour cream/beans & whatnot. So tasty! The chips and salsa is complimentary and very good - especially the red salsa, which is my favorite of the restaurant-style salsas. Spicy but not too much burn, with some sweet thrown in. It's good enough that I've bought pints of it to take home with me. The black eyed pea dip that comes along is a good contrast, too. There are many specialty drinks to choose from, but the strength is the margaritas - I'd call them the best restaurant margaritas in Vancouver (with El Tapatio on hwy 99 a close second). Far superior to the generic glop you'll get at a place like Chevy's or On the Border, for lower $$. They're good sized, and STRONG with a very limey taste, not too sugary with too much sweet and sour. For those that like to taste the tequila in their margaritas, this place is for you. I recommend the 'Nuclear' (a Gold version with Grand Marnier floated on it). Two of them are more than enough for an entire evening, bring a designated driver. ;) At 6.50-6.75, very reasonable for what you get. They feature several other variations with different liqeurs/flavors, but the classic top-shelf style Nuclear is the best one. The ambience and service is great - very comfortable and for the most part you get served efficiently. We go there at least once every two weeks, and only one time did we have a poor server (spent most of our dinner going in and out of the break room, while we waited for the rest of our order). Since there's a lot of alcohol being served in the form of margaritas, there's a decent semi-drunken vibe going that is kind of fun but not too annoying if you're not also drinking. It's OK for kids if it's earlier in the evening, as they have a fairly broad menu, but later on during dinnertime or late night it's probably more appropriate for older kids and adults. We generally eat in the center section between the bar and the 'dining only' area, which is a nice medium level of energy. read more

My son, his fiancé and myself were excited to check this place out. Sadly we were disappointed at the "Happy Hour" gimmick to lure folks in. There was no "Happy Hour" on drinks. The only "Happy Hour" was you had to sit in the bar area ONLY and there was a modified list of foods to choose from at a discounted price, ALL the drinks were full price starting at $7.95 per drink (margarita). The chips came with a sweet salsa and black eyed peas with no flavor. We had the smoke salmon fish tacos, the peanut chicken and the beef and cheddar tacos. Needless to say we did not eat all our food and seriously did not want a take home bag either. We can now say we've been there and done that and would not recommend this to anyone we care about. read more

Worst mexican food ever. Ordered a beef chimichanga and they put the beef on the corners of the "chimichanga" and filled the rest with rice. Pathetic excuse for a mexican restaurant. Streaky cups. They dont know what a chimichanga is either. read more

If you're wanting good food DO NOT COME HERE. I'm not sure if it's because it was a Friday night or what. Our appetizer took 30 minutes to come out, when our dinner came out it was cold. I ordered the chicken enchiladas and it was dry with hardly any sauce, some nasty beans and rice came on the side (also cold). Our waitress was nice and the outdoor seating was comfortable, but that's the only positive. WILL NEVER EVER GO BACK read more

Always good. Consistent really good food. The Yaya rolls are to die for. Salsa has the perfect amount of heat. Drinks are pretty good. My only gripe is it's pretty loud, especially in the bar read more

Not traditional - but the fish taco's are to die for. Every couple of weeks, my girlfriends and I swing in for lunch. Never had a bad meal or service. I love their peanut sauce it's the bomb. Have also been there with a few couples in the bar for some drinks and snacks - the service is amazing and have never left without feeling as though we had a great time and were full. read more

I was really disappointed. It's super dark ( almost creepy dark). Loud! Food was less tasty than I'd get from Taco Bell! I ordered fish tacos. I guess i should have ordered "red cabbage tacos with a fish stick" thrown in". Drink was harsh. No thanks read more

Cute restaurant. The staff is always friendly, and the chicken Ya Ya rolls with the peanut sauce are the best!

Good food and service. The enchiladas are excellent. My husband's burrito was huge and mostly meat. The margaritas were good. Only complaint is the noise level, but we will be back. read more

To preface this review, I have to say that I just moved from Phoenix, where there is the absolutely best Mexican (authentic and fusion) food anywhere, outside of... well... Mexico. I anticipated Cactus Ya Ya being some kind of Mexican/Southwestern fusion place, and tried not to get my hopes up too high. I was willing to give Cactus Ya Ya a fair chance, but one look at the menu had me a little worried. Southwestern fusion is one thing... an identity crisis is a whole 'nother problem. Sadly, that seemed to be the case here. The complimentary chips with salsa and bean dip sure kept the kid busy, but the bean dip wasn't particularly tasty to me. I ordered the fish tacos, which were nice and crispy. Unfortunately, that is where the positives end. The corn tortilla was little better than a from-the-box shell, and the rice and beans were completely flavorless. My friend ordered the Southwestern Enchilada, and it was pretty darn bad. After no more than two bites, she decided to just skip lunch. A garlic cream sauce has no business on an enchilada... just sayin'. It was a pasty-white mess, and not worth eating. Hopefully there are some other places nearby that will be able to satisfy my love of all Mexican and Southwestern foods, since I'm still looking to fill that craving. read more

Very middle of the road. Decent mexican food with a pretty large menu. There was nothing about it that blew me away from the service to the drinks to the food. One nice thing is that the chips were hot and they offer both salsa as well as bean dip with their chips. Probably won't end up being our go-to Mexican place, we're still looking for that. read more

Fish tacos and yaya rolls, happy hour is best in the couv. Nice drinks. Good alcohol content. Staff is on it. Chips flow freely. Bean dip with chips is excellent. read more

Love the Ya Ya Rolls, but hate the word "NO". Every question, request, etc. the answer is always "NO". Someone needs to teach the management how to say "YES". Seems like there are just too many other places that understand the importance of making simple accommodations these days. I just don't get their rationale. You're in the service industry people. You're blowing it. read more

Brought my mom when she was here for a visit. The food was amazing, and friendly staff.

I went here despite reading MANY poor Yelp reviews. I must say I completely disagree with everything negative I saw about this place. The experience was wonderful, start to finish. The waitress was great and the Peanut Chicken Ya Ya Rolls are a must try. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a couple perfectly made margaritas. I also must note the putting green in back that has, for whatever reason, not been mentioned! Such a nice touch. We will be back very very soon. read more