Cactus Club

Just came here for one drink – a margarita – and it was great. Sometime you get a film left inside your mouth from the mixer they use but that didn’t happen here.

Day five of my seafood-​only diet was looking pretty slim-pickin’s while in Boston. I was sick of the food court offerings at the Prudential Plaza (my jail cell away from home) and dinner time was coming to a close without a single morsel of sweet crustacean delight.
Weak from my diet’s lack of lobster and other salt water-​dwellers, I agreed to walking down to Cactus Club. I don’t normally enjoy margaritas or the standard blah Tex Mex fair. Not to mention, seafood. But slap my fanny and call me Crazy, I was wrong on both counts.
We got there close to midnight and were still able to get a table in the bar area, which is separated from the larger dining room. We had queso with refried beans (so many noms), guacamole (more noms), and I had the quesadilla with… can you guess? Yes that’s right, grilled shrimp. Big, plump, juicy, JUST grilled to cooked shrimpies. And cilantro and grilled onions. CC offers a «build your own» quesadilla section, which is brilliant, and each quesadilla comes with two toppings. I sprung for the cilantro as a third choice and I’m glad I did. This quesadilla with its multi cheesy gooyness and crispy exterior was a total win for me.
Even more surprising, I loved my margarita. I have tequila running through my veins but I don’t normally care for its signature cocktail because I don’t like sweet beverages, and restaurants love the sugary add-​ons in a cocktail. CC used basic, clean ingredients and therefore the tequila actually shown through. They were out of Julio blanc and recommended the Milagro blanc, which was a really nice substitute.
The only draw back was the service. The poor bartender was also moonlighting as our server, along with every other table in the bar. She did a great job at keeping up, but she clearly needed up. That’s not her fault, it’s managements.
The seafood diaries live on.

They don’t do Delivery, take out it is. I called for a Pulled Pork Burrito. It was a big burrito, and a bigger mistake. This burrito was a total SNOOZE FEST! I’ve never eaten a more boring burrito in my life. If it were a man and this was our first date, I would have used my iron-​clad «Oh NO! I just got a text and my roommate is locked out of our apartment, I must go immediately. Sorry, BYE!» line and got the hell outta there. It is sad that this place offers lackluster food as is it located in a prime location. I guess I would only go back for the view and some drinks.

It’s a decent Tex-​Mex place that’s close to the Prudential and Hynes so it’s convenient for a lot of busy people with not a lot of time to eat. They seem to know it and are quick to seat you with rarely more than a short wait.
It’s a small and typical menu without any real signature dish to distinguish itself. The tacos and enchiladas are a good bet your first time. They charge for chips and salsa, three bucks actually. It’s not expensive, but so many places just give them as complimentary now, it stands out when somewhere doesn’t. The prices are reasonable for the quality so no complaints there, nor with cleanliness or service.
It’s really just your middle of the road place for halfway decent Mexican and big margaritas. There’s better Mexican in Boston than this, but it’ll do if you’re in the area and looking, just don’t expect to be blown away.

Food is pretty good. Certain things need a little help. Drinks are right on. Sausa margarita all day. The carnitas is good but can be a little dry. The chips and salsa are a great start. All in all, come here for a pretty good Mexican fix.

The afternoon sizzles. It’s finally summer, and I need a drink. I round the corner onto Boylston Street and see Cactus Club, like some mirage in a dessert.
Two Trekkies sit in the patio, one in full-​on green body paint, the other in a James Tiberius Kirk outfit. There might be a Star Trek convention nearby, I don’t know. People stop for pictures. Another young couple shares their nachos. Everyone’s friendly. Waiters are hard to come by (reminiscent of Trident on Newbury Street), but I’m not here for the service anyway. I just want a stiff Corona, some chips and salsa, and some WiFi. Apparently, this place has one of the best margaritas on the planet, but I’m just not in for it at the moment.
A small band of Berklee students have set up shop on the overpass nearby: one on drums, two on saxophones, three on trumpets. They play memorable renditions of songs like «More Than a Feeling» by Boston and «Moves like Jagger» by Maroon 5 and you can’t help but hum along as the Corona recedes with each swig. The fire department across the street from the musicians’ impromptu stage doesn’t seem to mind. Good. Because now I want to dance tonight. Thanks, Cactus Club (and Berklee College of Music).
Make it a Boston day.

Such an awesome place to hang out at in the summer! The food is fresh, simple, and delicious. As a gluten free vegan, I had no issue finding awesome options! Great salads, amazing guac, and kickass drinks. AMAZING mojitos! (and margaritas!) The outdoor seating is great when the weather’s nice too!

Don’t come here if you like food.
Let me start off by saying that I rarely find food hard to eat. People often compare me to a garbage dumpster because I happily eat anything and everything in sight. Nevertheless, everyone has their limits. We met up with some friends downtown for dinner at the Cactus Club because it was a good location for all of us. I’ve been here before but I never found it memorable. Now I know why.
To start, this place didn’t really get the greatest reviews on Unilocal.That’s okay though because Mexican food is pretty hard to mess up right? Wrong.
I began by ordering a Dos Equis on draft. Never in my life have I been so disappointed in a beer. Never mind that it was served in a Sam Adams glass, that was the least of my concerns. This «beer» didn’t actually taste like beer. In fact, it didn’t taste like anything at all. My water had more flavor than this beer. So so sad.
My girlfriend ordered their house margarita which should have been the only redeeming quality of this place considering that their website domain name is
. I don’t know how much they paid for that domain name but it’s clearly false advertising and a waste of money. It tasted more like sour mix more than anything else and Selma even had to ask if there was alcohol in there. What is happening right now?
Oh gosh the food. By this point, I forgot we even ordered the food. We got the enchiladas because we wanted to play it safe (even though Unilocal told us not to). I got the pulled pork enchiladas and Selma got the steak. The sauce was really overpowering.
Any finally, if that wasn’t bad enough, our friend ordered the steak fajitas and instead received chicken. Our waiters response was «it’s going to take too long to cook the steak.» At this point, all we could do was laugh at the whole situation.
The best part was when the bill came. It was probably the kitchens fault that the order got messed up but he still tried to charge us for the steak and put up a fight when we asked to simply have it changed to what we received, not what we ordered.
My 1 star Unilocal review was pretty generous given the tragedy that unfolded that evening. They get ½ a star because of the chips and dip, and another ½ a star because our friend said that the place «smelled good.»
What a shame. Never again Cactus Club. This was the worst.
Check out my blog (complete with pictures and childish humor) for the full review!

Went here today to watch the first runners come around the bend onto Boylston St. in the Boston Marathon. They open up early for the event. The good was pretty good. I had the Huevos. I enjoyed it, not too spicy. My husband had the Chicken Fajita– he enjoyed it, but the chicken was a little over cooked. The chips were fresh and crispy and the guacamole was also good. The Margaritas were nothing special. The server was pleasant enough but could have been more attentive. An okay place.

The bulk of the stars was because this is one of the few places in the area I’ve seen that will seat you before your entire party arrives. In my case, one person at a table of 7 — huge kudos for that & luckily my crew arrived within minutes of me sitting down.
The food was just ok and the service was scarce. They didn’t have enough staff and the poor server was hustling, he just rarely got around to us — a couple got up from the table to order drinks at the bar.
I did love the chips & hot sauces and we ordered guacamole. The $ 9 price of the guac is steep for small serving but still was the most favorite & most flavorful part of my meal.

Huge FAN OF CACTUS CLUB.
I have never sat down and eaten here, but I sit at the bar tables and drink pitchers of margaritas and gorge myself on the nachos.
The pitchers or margaritas are strong, and good prices. Average $ 30 a pitcher, which for Boston, is a good price.
The nachos are huge, loaded, and crispy. Solid Mexican food and the atmosphere suits it very well.
The wait staff is always friendly, and the place is always crowded with young professionals and students. (Berklee/​Northeastern)
Definitely my favorite place for Mexican food.

Came here just for happy hour so I can’t comment on food! We had margaritas in the bar. Friends had on the rocks & loved them. I has 2 frozen strawberry and they went down waaaaay to smooth. Yummy, I want another one now. I digress. We also got chips & salsa trio. I guess it’s free in the restaurant but $ 3 bucks in the bar. Not bad. Two of them were really good. The one that looked like ketchup, I could do without. Overall, moderate Mexican-​ish food in Boston… for a Texas gal!

The food is meh, but the location is so good, you can’t help but get dragged there with a group of friends from time to time. They do offer a Happy Hour special Monday through Thursday from 4 – 7 in the bar area, which helps you feel better about the whole situation. If I’m spending $ 4.50 on my app, it really is okay if I only eat three bites. If you love Mexican food like I do, than just think of it like you would Taco Bell. You would never call it «authentic», but it will get you through the day and it’s college student cheap!
If I were to recommend anything off the menu it would be the salsa sampler, it’s great for groups and you can snack on it while you have a few drinks. The guac is hit or miss, but when it’s on, it’s not half bad. The taquitos are very Americanized, but the portion size is good. The enchiladas are awful and when I tried the carne asada it was chewy, so you can skip those. Most of my friends play it safe with a quesadilla … cheese and tortilla is pretty hard to mess up.
I was honestly surprised to read reviews on here talking up the food, that is until I read a little further to the part about the awesome margarita pitcher specials … and then suddenly it all made a little more sense! So do yourself a favor and order the pitcher, drink the pitcher, then order food and chat amongst yourselves about how «this Kim girl doesn’t know what she’s talking about.»

What a good Mexican place. It is huge so there we never wait long for a table. The food is pretty good! Some of the best Mexican in the city and the prices aren’t bad.

I’ve been here one time for ½ apps before the big game. I though the buffalo tenders were really good. Nachos were weren’t bad either. And they have Modelo Negra!

I came with a large group of friends this past Marathon Monday and I would definitely come back for the holiday next year. We were able to watch the first runners come around the corner from our tables. The foods and drinks were great as well. We tried several different types of margaritas, which were all equally yummy. The chips and guacamole and build your own quesadillas were quite tasty. They have a nice patio as well that I would like to sit at next time we come back.

Pretty average.
Pros:
Chips and three salsas come out before the meal
Large portions
Good location
Cons:
Burrito was super dry
Rice was bland

Great food, friendly service and a relaxed atmosphere. I’m so glad that Boylston street is open again and coming back to life because this was a great stop for dinner on Cinco de Mayo weekend. My sister frequents the Cactus Club because she works just a few blocks away but this was my first time here. I loved it and will be back!
The food was pretty authentic for a Tex-​Mex on the East Coast. We were served three different salsas with the chips. The green salsa was my fav. and the spiciest. We also ordered guacamole and it was very good! It had lots of chucks of fresh avocado, ripened to perfection. I ordered the pork tacos as my main dish and I’m so glad I did because they were amazing. The menu says they are served with onion, cilantro and guacamole but I was presently surprised to see some cheese melted on them too! The pork was well seasoned and they were generous with the portion of meat on each taco. Three tacos came to an order along with a side of rice and beans.
Props to the patient servers! They were wonderful with my 2 year old nephew who was dinning with us. They gave us a kid’s menu and some crayons to keep him entertained. Our server even offered to take a group photo of the family because they saw we had a camera out. The friendly servers helped earn the 4 star rating!

No line to get in compared to the other bars around the area! (although this one was somewhat empty inside, but at least you don’t have to deal w/​too many drunkies)
yeah it’s kind of a dingy bar BUT they have yummy FROZEN MARGARITAS & a unique concoction of «sangria margarita»
NOTE: Coat check at the door but they have hooks on the wall inside that you can use at no charge!

Flan! Their flan is awesome aesthetics and taste wise. Not overly sweet and the caramel sauce around is divine. $ 5 for a decently sized, restaurant made flan? WIN!
Sangria tasted great, like carbonated wine. Again, aesthetically very pleasing with the lemon, lime, and orange lodged on the side.
Service is attentive and friendly. I love the chill yet classy décor of the place. My 2^nd trip here and Cactus Club never fails to disappoint.

Found myself at Cactus Club as it was near my hotel. Bartender was super friendly and makes a great margarita. So great and in a pint glass… I had two of them.
I decided to order apps to try out a couple different items. Taquitos were so-​so. Had WAY too much sauce/​guac over them it was like a soggy mess.
The queso/​bean dip… I would not reccomend this to anyone. Beans didn’t taste cooked enough and the cheese had an off putting flavor… sweet almost as if they added cinnamon or something. It came with some flour tortillas… MEH. I couldn’t even eat half of it.
Overall the food is so-​so but certainly come for the drinks!

I’ve eaten at Cactus Club several times, and think it’s a solid choice for a quick, reasonably priced dinner in Back Bay.
The food is good, but not great. The salsa that is complimentary with chips is thin (not my preference) but tasty. Enchiladas are ok, while tacos are better. Actually, the tacos are pretty darn good. You can choose sides of rice and beans with most dishes; we like the black beans a lot, but have noticed an odd taste in the pinto beans. Pick the black beans. For starters, I thought the guacamole was really good, and relatively reasonably priced (about $ 8 for a huge serving).
The beers list is adequate. They have around 6 beers available on draft; I usually order a Dos Equis Amber, which comes in a frosty mug with a lime wedge. There are also Mexican beers available in the bottle. I like that they have a few Mexican beers on draft. I have not tried the margaritas, but from seeing other diners order them, they look like they’re worth a try.
The atmosphere and service are where Cactus Club starts to fall apart for me. When you enter the restaurant, you’re in the dark bar area, which is usually more crowded than the dining room and features several tvs. If you’re eating, you go to the very large dining room painted in Southwestern strips and pinks. The acoustics in this room make it seem loud even when it’s not particularly crowded. I feel like I always end up paying a lot of attention to other people’s conversations here because they’re easy to listen to.
And oh, the other people. The proximity to Berklee and maybe even BU and Northeastern is evident in the people here. There are usually large groups of students (most often female, for some reason). The «older» crowd tends to be couples in their mid-​20s through early-​30s. There’s nothing wrong with the crowd particularly, but I definitely do not go here for the people. I guess maybe my issue is that Cactus Club doesn’t seem to have a crowd so much as it attracts a certain age group who don’t have much else in common. I will say that the groups of college students make for some entertaining eavesdropping.
Finally, service is intermittent. We’ve never had truly bad service here, but it’s sometimes significantly lacking. Most recently I was served chicken tacos when I ordered fish tacos (I just ate them – they were good and to be honest at first I thought they were just really mild-​flavored fish). Sometimes service can also be slow during the meal, but almost always I feel rushed to pay. Once they know you’re done eating, it’s time for you to go.
I’m looking forward to sitting outside in the spring and sipping some drinks – I have a feeling that might be the best thing about Cactus Club, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet!