Cactus Pear

Extremely disappointed! Dined here on a Tuesday evening and the place was empty. Besides the older couple who was just enjoying drinks, i was the only guest dining. I arrived and was shown my table and then the host mumbled something, and came back with a water. After being ready for almost 10 minutes, the waiter took my order. I chose the beef enchiladas. Disappointment soon set in after the first bite. It was bad. The first indication should have been how fast my food arrived, i would say it to be about 4 minutes from order to delivery. My food was hot in some parts and ice cold in others. The lack of attention from the waiter was annoying. Won’t return.

This place was all right. Our food came out in a pretty timely manner, our waitress was nice enough, and the environment is less ridiculous than some Mexican places. Frankly, though, my portobello fajitas were under seasoned, something that could have been easily fixed by some cilantro. The vegetables dripped with oil, and I would recommend the cook cuts back on that. They also were poorly cooked in general in my opinion. They were neither a crispy grilled texture, nor did they have a deliciously browned sautéed taste/​appearance. They were floppy. The mushrooms, slimy.
The salsa is fine, but the rice of the rice and beans dish tasted blander than I expected – it looked like it had seasoning. Maybe it was stale?
Anyway, I had expected to like this place a lot more. I love Mexican.

It’s quite disappointing experience. Thought it’s a Mexican place (judging from the name), but their Mexican menu is really short. When looking at the menu, I was really suprised that they serve gyro and BLT salad. OK, not a good vibe. Food is very average compared to the price they charge. Also they don’t have proper high chair, they only had some sort of bump seat. If you have children that can’t sit still yet, good luck to have you and your kid fed!

So this is based on two times coming here. Both times the owner has been clearly visible acting in an entirely unprofessional manner. He has been personally rude to his staff as well as my group on this last occasion. I also DO NOT understand how expensive the food prices are. I am very rarely a negative Unilocal reviewer. Seriously, look at my reviews. Pretty much all positive. This place: no Bueno. We will be taking our business elsewhere from now on.

I go here for lunch at least once a month and every single time I get something different on the menu. I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had and the chips and salsa are so unique and delicious.
Besides the parking lot, I always enjoy coming here. Whether I’m just in to try one of their many different flavored margaritas or to have a meal, I always leave satisfied.

The Cactus Pear is one of those places that has been around for ages, but you just never got around to visiting.
After a long day at work, some friends, who were visiting from out of town, asked me to come hang out for a while before going home, do I kicked it with them for an hour, and…
… It was just okay. Their menu reminded me of a cross between TGI Fridays and Don Pablo’s, neither of which I have ever been enthralled.
The parking over there on Jefferson is a PITA, especially during prime time and Happy Hour, the servers were polite, if not damn near stoic, the bathrooms were dinky, and the atmosphere was nice.
Now…I had the Jerk BBQ Chicken Fajita which my friends swore by, and I have to say it was pretty damn good! The portion was more than I could eat, and I’m known to suck down some food, even with braces on. So, that being said… you come to eat good food, and if the other items were as good as that Fajita then I give the place a hearty endorsement.
So give Cactus Pear a try if you’re ever in Clifton!

We’ve only recently discovered this place thanks to it being mentioned at work, and it’s fast become one of our top Mexican restaurants. They have an impressive list of margarita flavors (I’m having a Sangria Margarita below), which are decently strong, and their food isn’t exactly run-​of-​the-​mill chain food. We had the Kale & Mushroom Enchiladas and saved enough room for Fried Ice Cream.

Been going to Cactus Pear for decades — both Clifton and the late lamented Blue Ash location. The salsa and lime Margaritas are fairly unique and reasons to come. The problem with the enchiladas is you get two and the chicken, beef and cheese options are all excellent — what to do? Pear salad very good also.

Come here often with wife and friends. I think they have some of the best tamales around coupled with really good margaritas. I like sitting outside in the courtyard and always find it a fun and relaxing place for dinner and drinks. Did I say really good margaritas. .Yes I did!

Should have gone to Denny’s. Margaritas were great, but the food was overpriced and terrible. Would not recommend.

Had dinner and drinks with a friend last evening before a movie at the esquire and we were definitely not disappointed!
The queso blanco to start and a frozen peach margarita are pretty much the way to go! I also enjoyed the shrimp tacos and the mango salsa was delicious!
If you’re looking for a strong margarita and a nice evening in the gaslight district this is the spot.

I came here with a couple of friends for happy hour margaritas. Their happy hour special isn’t great, just a couple of dollars off of beers and margs, no food discount (or if it is any better, the waitress did not inform us). Pricing aside, the food and drinks are very good! I got a frozen mango margarita and a strawberry, both had a good amount of tequila. I also got a vegetarian quesadilla, which was excellent. The service was great, as we had an attentive waitress and an endless supply of chips and salsa.
Pros: Outdoor patio, good margs and good food
Cons: There are better mexican happy hours in cincinnati
⁴⁄₅
All in all, a great mexican restaurant. I would love to come back for a full dinner.

The owner thinks it’s funny to be a jerk, the food is barely even Mexican (nor a good contemporary fusion), and a burrito costs $ 15. Their menu makes no sense, and is basically illegible. Just focus on a few things and make them exceptional. I have re-​tried this place about every two years for ages, and I’m officially never going back. Their house salsa is the only good thing they have going.

As my wife and I said as we left the restaurant, there were 2 good things about the meal we had here. We were full, and it was over.
Imagine a «Mexican» restaurant without any molé enchiladas or chicken. The server had never heard the words «agua» and «fresca» put together before. The salsa that came with the chips looked like it was going to be good until we tried it– totally flavorless. So we sighed and spiked it with a bottled habanero salsa from Mexico. Then we had some flavor.
So, giving up on the Mexican dishes on the menu, we decided to split the steak. That ended up being the saltiest piece of meat I have ever eaten. And the asparagus was cooked beyond recognition.
Never again…

Absolutely terrible experience. First the appetizer came with the food, which wouldn’t have been bad but it seems it was sitting out as the nachos were so soggy I had to use a fork to spear them.
Then the lemons in my sisters ice tea seemed to have been cut the day before if not earlier, they were hard and wrinkled.
The lettuce was dry for our fajitas and the dark salsa we got at the beginning tasted bland and watery.
We sat next to the wall and the wall was covered in dust.
WORST OF ALL when we complained to the manager of all this, he kept interrupting us telling us we were wrong, or it was the waiters fault, that we knew nothing of what we were talking about and in the end he just put his hand in our face and said goodbye.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND GOING HERE

There is a reason Cactus Pear has survived in it’s off-​the-​beaten-​path location for so long – the food is good. Be sure to get the roasted tomato salsa, as it is a real treat. Other than that, If you’re not sure what to try, I suggest the tamale (a half order is more than enough).

I’ve been going here since college and it’s still one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Their hummus plate is very good! It comes with tons of different veggies and is very filling! Another favorite of mine is the quesadillas. I highly recommend them, the steak one is amazing.
Their margaritas are also very very good!
I feel as though this restaurant is hidden in Clifton, and if you live on campus you’d need a car or to take the bearcat transportation bus. It’s definitely worth it!

The great thing about Cactus Pear is that it’s in close proximity to my house and the university, so it’s really convenient for UC students. It’s one of those places I would only go to for drinks. The food is okay, but Mondays are the best days to be here for their margarita specials — although be ready for crowds…
Last time, they must have been understaffed or something, but our waiter completely ignored our table until he gave us the check (hinting for a good tip, probably…). We were there for about two hours on a, given, extremely busy Monday and a group of 5, but a busser (I think?) was actually taking care of us instead. It just took as long as humanly possible to get food/​drinks/​checks back out to us until the busser swooped in to help our waiter. We wanted to leave earlier when seeing families and other groups waiting at the door, and it definitely shouldn’t take a half hour for the check to come and for us to GTFO. Not their best day…
Aside from this one unpleasant experience, Cactus Pear has been better. They serve unlimited chips and salsa, which has a strange blackish-​brown hue but is actually very tasty and probably makes up for the prices of the entrees. There is a wonderful outside patio for warmer days also.

Visited Cactus Pear sort of late on a Saturday. We got there and the staff was clearly prepping to close about an hour and a half before their closing time. It was pretty empty except for the bar which had a few patrons sitting around watching the game on awkwardly placed TVs.
We sat at a high top table near the bar and ordered a pitcher of frozen sangria margaritas and chips and salsa. I looked over the menu which was typical «Mexican» (tacos, salads, soups, etc.) but didn’t order anything.
The bartender brought our pitcher VERY quickly and the drinks were delicious. The chips and salsa (which is a dark color) was also pretty tasty. I will definitely be back to get my margarita fix and maybe next time I will try the food. Definitely recommended for drinks!

If this were Star Search, Ed McMahon would announce in his big Ed McMahon voice, «Yes! And the judges gave Cactus Pear… three and a half stars»!
Cactus Pear certainly has its highlights: a unique salsa, intriguing Margarita selection, delicious steak; but sports some low-​lights as well: prices are a bit high, blue corn everything sounds exciting but the taste is a little drab, etc.
I guess I just never had anything here that made me feel like I had to go back. It’s a decent spot and I never mind going, but again, I’m never excited about going either.