Mexican value meal? Sure...i'll take it. HUGE restaurant for family's that just want to get in, eat and get out. The food is good. Highly recommend the fish tacos. The margarita's are great. I only gave it three stars, cause it's nothing to write home about. They shuffle you in, you eat, and you leave. Its a "sit-down fast food" joint. But, I have been here about 4 times, so they must be doing something right. Or putting crack in the food. read more

If you are a vegetarian and tired of not having many options. Border Cafe will save you well. But, the portion is toooo much. Order less if You are going with friends so you don't waste anything because you won't like to eat it the next day, unless you are starving. Cozy environment, not for dates unless she/he loves food more than ambiance. read more

Star #1 - CHEAP! Crazy cheap. Like, fast food cheap. Star #2 - Free Chips n Salsa, to fill you up before your cheap food. Star #3 - Umm.. big chairs? "Atmosphere?" Ok - look. You don't come to the Border Cafe expecting life altering food - and I didn't. The bar waiting area always sucks (this one's not quite as bad as Cambridge), its loud as all hell, and everything seems to be doused in salt. Salty salsa, salty chips, salty drinks, salty meat in your meals. Its just a decent place to get some crappy beers (nothing on tap?? come on!!), large (mixered down) drinks, and 'stuff' to eat. Nothing is special - but man is it cheap. "Cheap is dear" as my grandfather used to say. And this is proof - you don't get sour cream or guac with your dish. Its extra, of course. Hence.. the cheap. You don't get an overwhelming amount of food, either - but for $7 I don't expect a dozen soft tacos. A quick review of my Beef Soft Tacos. The Pico de gallo leaked all over the plate and everthing was.. wet. Kinda gross. The beef in the tacos was "shredded" stew meat (aka, shreds on its own) with "special seasoning" (aka, salt). The rice and beans left MUCH to be desired (overcooked rice and plain as heck beans). The rest of the dishes on the table looked similar - they had ups and downs. When half the menu items are "blackened" its pretty hard to screw that up anyway. Service is fair - distracted at best. You don't get alot of attention. The major cons: - no waters? distracted service meant almost no drinks of any sort. - LOUD LOUD LOUD - no dessert? when we asked why, the server said "oh because the portions are so big". uh.. getting a bit cocky there, Border. I ate another half bowl of chips after my tacos. But hey, really - its cheap eats. It could be alot worse. read more

It's tiresome that we have eaten here 1-3 times/month for TEN YEARS and they refuse to seat our party until everyone is in the restaurant. What gives with that policy? What are they optimizing? Why does no one recognize us? Arrive at 5:45 so you have a prayer of finding parking. Madhouse exactly at 6. Bad points: the food is extremely salty. Good points: French Quarter chicken, filet Bowie style, salads w salmon, fajitas. Gone downhill: crawfish étouffée ever since the BP / Gulf of Mexico disaster Mystery: no burritos read more

I love Border Cafe. I crave their hot chips and mild salsa. The prices are amazing, drinks are good, and I like everything I have tried on the menu. People call it Tex-Mex but it's really half Mex half Cajun fwiw. The blacked items are great. So let me share my many years of indulgence with you: Cheese enchiladas - I like them. They are very basic but I like the flavor. They are what I think of when I think of cheese enchiladas. I should also say that I don't like onions so these are unique in that they aren't onion-filled. Taco salad - comes in a huge friend bowl. I prefer the black bean one because the meats are all shredded and the flavors. The dill ranch dressing is yummy. French Quarter chicken - a friend of mine loves this and I had a bite. Delicious. Eggplant Royale - deep fried pieces of eggplant with a creamy crab sauce on top. I agree with other people, it's loud in there but I have young kids so this is a bonus. One weird fact is that they don't serve dessert. Like at all. For kids they have packs Starbursts or M&Ms - full, big bags! I'm sure I will think of more things to list and describe but these are some favorites. read more

I go here regularly with my wife and the food and staff is always great. I've tried just about everything on the menu and all of it has been delicious. Their free chips and salsa are some of the best. My go-to is the chicken quesadilla, it's a little weird at first because they put salsa inside but it is fantastic. read more

I love the food here. Always delicious and speedy service. But the manager working on July 28th refused to let my mom take out an order of chips and queso and continued to lie about the reasons why. Now normally this restaurant has great service I just feel as though my mom didn't have a good experience with this specific manager. Thank you. read more

Got in town late and this was one of the only places open around the hotel. I was not particularly craving tex-mex, but I ended up ordering the chicken enchiladas. They were good, but this place definitely goes heavy on the sodium. Salt, MSG or something. I have had better, but again, they were open so I have to give them props for that. read more

I love this place. OK. My husband and I had our first date in the Cambridge location 25 years ago--I was so nervous I couldn't eat a bite. And I thought it was fine for years until I had the Chicken Guadalajara with Jose's rice. Once I had that, it was all over. I have that every time. I love the chicken guadalajara. If I'm trying to be "healthy" I have the vegetable quesadilla. But then I go back to the chicken again. read more

So sad they got rid of the eggplant royale! Bring this back Border!!! Tried the seafood enchiladas which was okay, but not wow like the eggplant. read more

I'm a fan of border cafe. I like their menu and their food. And prices are decent. No, its not Mexican. If you read the menu, you'd realize that they dont claim to be. It says "tex-mex and cajun cusine". They offer solid dishes like mesquite chicken with mango salsa and crawfish etouffee. Other than the service sometimes being subpar, I generaly like Border Cafe. read more

Yummy yummy. I have been moving house into the suburbs and what a cool relief that my husband and I found this place. It is clean, dining room large, outdoor seating on the patio away from the busy, loud Middlesex Turnpike. It is easy to park, easy to sip margaritas, and satisfy yourself with your bottom-less free chips and salsa (unlike some cheapskate places - eh hem chili's). The French chicken is AMAZING. I don't use that term often. Totally unexpected, but the flattened chicken nicely breaded and quickly fried came with an amazing lemon cream butter sauce that will knock your trousers off. Order it with the jambalya rice and you will believe that your meal was made in heaven. I also got the fish tacos, which were aight. But there weren't any coleslaw in there! Way better at Rudy's. 5-stars only because I was super tired from fixing/moving house and the Francais chicken was that good. read more

I'm not huge on chains, but I am huge on Mexican. Literally. I eat Mexican, I get huge. Obsessed with the queso dip.. and I eat the whole bowl (hence the huge-ness). Service here was pretty standard, boyfriend's fajitas were pretty good, everything is good-to-go, nothing to write home about (except that queso.. hot damn). read more

Great - just like all the Border locations! Fast service, delicious food, good prices, fun atmosphere!

I have mixed feelings about this review... The place is enormous! Plenty of parking and tons of room inside! We went on a Saturday night at 8:45 p.m. I was with 17 people and called to make a reservation earlier in the day. NO Reserverations. Which is just really dumb on their part with such a large party. So we went in anyway and I have to give this place credit. Within 15 minutes we were seated. It was incredible! So kudos to them for seating us that quickly. The inside decor is pretty cool, too. But, while we were waiting to be seated we sat in the waiting area and it was really dirty with empty salsa dishes, empty chip baskets, cups and napkins on the floor. We get seated pretty quickly in a nice corner and our waitress was fantastic. Very sweet and amazing. I just had a chicken quesadilla . I have to tell you it was definintely, by far, the WORST chicken quesadilla I have ever had. The chicken was fine. It was this sloppy red mess they had all inside of it. It was like they opened a can of campbells tomato soup and poured it all inside of my quesadilla . It was disgusting. I hated it. AND...you ask for a side of guacamole and they give a scoop the size of a quarter..that you have to pay extra for. I definitely will be in no rush to go back here...I'm totally disappointed for sure! read more

I was pleasantly surprised by this seemingly just-another-chain by the Burlington Mall; I can assure it's much more than that. In impromptu dining in a parking lot, I still really enjoyed the vibe under the tent. We were immediately greeted with two baskets of chips and two generously-sized salsas for the four of us. Water refills were prompt as well. I ordered the blackened salmon tacos, and be warned that for the time being the menu is very limited. It's typically filled with vegan/vegetarian options, but my vegan friend had to get just sides (however, these came out to a dollar per side making for a very affordable small burrito bowl). The tacos were delicious and oversized, stuffed with plenty of salmon. The mango salsa on top was a nice touch, and I put the beans and rice on the side into the tacos. For all the food you get, it comes out to a decent deal. I'm excited to go back when the menu is full again! read more

Excellent food and service. We arrived at 530 on a Saturday and the wait was short. I'm sure it will be awful as the night goes on. We are actually fans of their Cambridge location and thought we'd try it closer to home. The food is just as good. The chips come to the table warm and salty. Oh so good!!! Hubby loved his frozen pina colada's. He always get steak fajitas and he is picky about his steak and always loves it. I am vegan and have been getting the veggie fajitas lately. They bring you a mound of about seven different sautéed veggies. I didn't like the corn tortillas they came with as much as the flour that I usually get. Next time I'll be sure to ask for flour. I pack up about 2/3 of my dinner - it's that much food. The black beans are great. A bit spicy which is how I like them. I usually get the pinto beans - but these are much better. And finally the wait staff was pleasant, helpful and quite friendly. It doesn't have the same 'vibe' as their original restaurant in Harvard Square. But the food is exactly the same and while it's different - it is great in its own way. read more

Got 2 chimichurri steaks and a kid's quesadilla. A runner or someone dropped off the tray with our food and just left, didn't put it on the table. The quesadilla was great, the chimichurri steaks were charred beyond being edible. They offered to replace them, but nothing for our trouble. Waitress was apologetic. It was so loud my wife was getting a headache and just canceled her dinner. I scarfed down half of my dinner and we made a hasty exit. Still tipped well because it's not the waitress's fault the kitchen and management couldn't get it together. read more

Mexican? Not so sure about that... Although the chips and dip are decent, I'm surprised this got such a good review. But I guess that's what you can expect for New Englanders, we're about as far from Mexico as possible. The rice was terrible and the beans practically fell out of the can. The cheese tasted processed, and the service is just okay. The only thing this place has going for it is the atmosphere. read more

I freaking love this place. I always get the catfish, and the fish is so big, you'd think it came from that show, River Monsters or Hillbilly Handfishin'. Not to mention the fact that it also comes with a cup of black beans, rice, and a piece of corn bread. I think it's the best deal on the menu because it actually works out to be 3 meals for me (I'm small though). I love the chips and salsa there because they are endless, and because the chips are nice a hearty -- good for scooping. When my food arrives, it's a free for all because I'm using the chips to scoop the rice, beans, and salsa all onto one thick chip. GOOD EATING. read more

Not what you are expecting. Cajun and Mexican all in one. Food was good, not great, but I'd eat there again. Service was very attentive, which I like, and the margaritas were muy bueno. My once a week taco place! read more

Border Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Burlington, Massachusetts

Been visiting these establishments since i lived in NJ eon's ago, there was a great place near where i lived called Jose Tejas, well, what do you know, Jose's and Border Cafe are one in the same. Warm fresh cooked, salty tortilla's with excellent salsa to start, i've tried many dishes in here and have never been disappointed, however my go to dish is the shredded chicken burrito. Always excellent, tasty white shredded chicken wrapped in the soft tortilla smothered in a delicious mixture of cheese and sauce. Served with a small lettuce salad with insanely good pico de gallo with your choice of beans and rice or, as i recommend, the jambalaya. Cool looking places with Mexican decor, service was prompt and friendly even though the place was jammed for lunch. Nice that the manager came to the tables to check everything was good, excellent touch! One of the best Mexican "chains" i've been to, i've also tried the ones on Rt 1 and the one at Harvard Square and the food was consistently good at all places. Skip all the other Mexican chains and stick with the Border Cafe (by the way, don't confuse this with "On The Border" as that place is usually disappointing) read more

By far not the best Mexican restaurant I've been to, but as for overall experience (cheap prices, good food, free chips and salsa and quick decent service) it is always a good lunch spot, especially for those who work around the area! I also love getting a side of veggies, such a good portion at a very reasonable price! read more

Different vibe than the Harvard square location, probably in part due to the more abundant lighting, which I am a big fan of. The chicken quesadillas are always a popular choice and they are so big, you will definitely be taking half home for later. On the other hand, the house salad is only $4.98 and is more than big enough to feed a person, especially in combination with the endless chips and salsa. Drinks wise, you have to get a strawberry margarita (slush) or try the sangria. read more

I went here with my husband and a couple friends on Saturday night the staff was really nice and attentive. We ordered fajitas, margaritas and Pinas coladas. The drinks were ok not strong at all but decent flavor. The food was good. I had steak fajitas and everyone else had chicken. They were spicy, even the regular chicken that was not supposed to be spicy. The rice was amazing but also spicy. We love spicy but our friend does not have a stomach for spicy food. read more

Border Cafe - Waiting for our food :) - Mexican Near Me - Burlington, Massachusetts

Absolutely love this place it's my absolute favorite place to go when I'm in the mood for Mexican. Starting with the salsa, which I am capital #OBSESSED with and chips that are always perfectly crispy and salted pair perfectly. One side not the cups are ginormous however they are like 80% ice so yay to ice cold drinks but you end up with an empty cup often however most visits I've had great servers who always have a refill coming you're way (in regards to the drinks and the obscene amount of chips and salsa I've consumed in a matter of minutes). I've tried a bunch of things on the menu however my favorite is a chicken dish which I forget the name of but it's a chipotle marinated chicken breast with a lime and a mango avocado salsa and the most perfect shoe string French fries I have ever had. I only have one complaint which frequently ruins my life, ok being dramatic but this place needs takeout!! Oh and if I could but the salsa by the gallon that would be v cool too. But deff recommend this place!! read more

What happened?? Pre-pandemic the food was really good. We ordered take out for the first time in a year and everything was so salty that both my husband - who loves salt and I think over salts everything - and I could not eat our meals. The guacamole was even too salty to eat. We ended up taking a few bites of each of our meals and it was so salty both of us were feeling sick as trying to eat it. Even after each bite we tried drinking water because we hate to waste food and it didn't help. The chips also had a burnt flavor to them. A year ago I would give Border 4-5 stars for basic Cajun and Mexican food, now, we are not sure we will go back. Hoping it's just a one-off experience. read more

Biggest surprise of my week-- The Border Cafe in Burlington, MA was excellent. Based on its position on the far end of the Middlesex Turnpike, in the dark shadow of the mall, sharing block-space with Chili's and the Macaroni Grill, I thought it would be terrible. Aside from all of the above, it's a new location of a restaurant whose success at its primary location in Cambridge had more to do (I thought) with its proximity to the T and cinema in Harvard Square and fairly excellent sangria & margaritas than to its food. The restaurant is sunny, inviting, and surprisingly easy to talk to your table-mates at, despite its large size. They won't seat incomplete parties, which I find irksome, but once we were all there we were seated quickly. The initial basket of tortilla chips was---how can I say it?--exciting! I remember the chips from the Harvard Square location as crumbly, cold, oil-laden affairs, but these were hot off the fryalator, salty, crispy and DELICIOUS. The salsa was fresh and the experience was almost new-- have I never had chips and salsa before? When the second basket was empty (our waitress kept a close eye on us) I started to worry, but my worries were groundless. There was always another hot, delicious batch close by. I had the chicken Guadalajara (great low-carb, high-fat option, if you're looking for that), and people at my table had the burro, Fajitas and fish tacos. They were all above-average and surprisingly good. No surprise, we all left feeling over-salted and full of oily chips, but it was a pretty good feeling. Reminder, this is a Tex-Mex restaurant, not a Mexican restaurant. One of my table-mates was concerned because he couldn't find the taco-burrito combination. (smirk). Also, though we were there at lunch, that the bar did not look like it boasted the latest and greatest in high-end tequilas. But that's not a fact, just an observation. read more

1st off its very,very noisy. Add screaming kids and u will want to bring earplugs. Other than that the foods great. Good portions and all the chips and salsa u can devour. read more

My boyfriend and I were looking for somewhere to eat in Burlington other than the Cheesecake Factory (weird right?) and we stumbled upon this restaurant. They have many Cajun dishes and a lot of seafood options. I got the swordfish tacos which were a recommendation from the waitress and they were awesome! The swordfish was slightly blackened, served with chipotle cole slaw, and fresh mango salsa. My boyfriend got the half chicken and half steak fajitas and he said the steak was the best he'd ever gotten in fajitas before. The guacamole was the perfect consistency and had good flavor. My only complaint is about the strawberry margarita I got. It was tasty but had a weird fizziness to it. I've had my fair share of margaritas and this one certainly wasn't great which is disappointing coming from a Mexican inspired restaurant. The food was awesome though! read more

Border Cafe - Swordfish tacos with field greens and a grilled avocado - Mexican Near Me - Burlington, Massachusetts

This is my plan B restaurant. Very family friendly with a Mexican Cantina vibe and decorations to stare at when conversations turn dull.. (think: colorful lights, painted ladies on the wall, neon signs, mexican hats...). I recommend the tostada grande and a Pacifico beer - i get it every time - a hearty salad that never disappoints. Avoid the crawfish quesadilla. Service is decent, and meals come out quick. But it is very loud -- so if you're looking to have deep conversations, this may not be the best pick. read more

I'm hoping this review is simply received as constructive for Border Cafe because they've been so consistent over so many years. However, went this past Friday and ordered the chicken burro with rice and beans. Well...HOLY SALT!!! On everything, so much salt it all just tasted the same. And I like salt, trust me, I'm the one that salts the tortilla chips but this was just to the extreme and honestly just about inedible. I wonder what's up with that. Well BC, look into that and resolve because we love you at your best which we know you've got it in you! read more

It's boisterous. The decor is a bit tacky. But you really can't complain when you get a warm meal with lots and lots of cheese for about $8. Border Cafe is a place that I've returned to again and again. As busy as it can get there, especially on a weekend, I've never waited more than 10 or 15 minutes for a table. I've also never had bad service; the waiters and waitresses here are prompt, friendly, and attentive. To start a meal at Border, you get a small dish of salsa with a bowl of tortilla chips. Often, the tortilla chips are too hot to eat because they've just been cooked. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Tex-Mex-Cajun-Creole meal without a margarita. Border offers a variety of them. My personal favorite is the strawberry margarita. Unfortunately, the bartender forgot to put salt around the rim when I ate there last night, but this is the only time that's happened. More often than not, I order the Eggplant Royale, which consists of two fried pieces of eggplant coated with a creamy lump crab sauce. You also get cornbread and a choice of jambalaya or black beans and rice. Sometimes, the eggplant is cut on the thick side, and when this happens, the dish is a little disappointing. However, most of the time, the eggplant is cut exactly right. A recent new favorite is the Bean Burro. It's a vegetarian dish featuring a tortilla filled with black beans and covered with melted cheese and spicy ranchero sauce. Like the Eggplant Royale, it comes with rice and beans or jambalaya for sides. The portions are generous, and the food is delivered very hot. The food at Border Cafe is simple, but it works. It's hard to mess up dishes that mostly consist of beans and cheese. If you're looking for an authentic Mexican dish, this is not the place. But if you want something good and cheap, Border is a great choice. read more

Overall I like this place. It's cheap, and it's good. I order the blackened catfish and it's very tasty, as is the jambalaya. It's also a good place to go if you have kids. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated. On the other hand, the atmosphere is pretty loud. And the last time I went, service was a little slow (but not excessive). If you're looking for "healthy" food options, you may want to look elsewhere. Luckily for me, I don't have that problem. I'll be back. read more

My favorite tex-mex type restaurant. The chips and salsa are excellent and the blackened chicken fajitas are the best fajitas I've ever had. I've been here probably 50 times over the last three years. Not everything on the menu is as amazing as the blackened chicken fajitas though. Most items are delicious though. Excellent prices on just about everything. Two can easily eat for under $30 here. For having such great food at low prices, this place deserves my 5-star rating. read more

I love this place and go here a lot! The food is always good but what stands out to me is the customer service. I was there today for lunch and our server Taylor made our day even better. She is attentive and fast and very funny. I love that I can count on the food being so fresh and delicious. What can sometimes be a hit or miss is customer service - but not here. The wait staff work so well with each other. The smile to each other as they pass each other ... yeah I love to people watch. I even saw the manager give one of his employees a hug. That stuff is very cool. You can tell when the management is good because the people working are happy ... that translates to the people coming there to eat. Good job managers!! Taylor - I hope somehow you see this. You are a gem! We will be back soon!! read more

I like this location. I usually go to the one in Harvard square but came to this location yesterday with my co-workers. I love their house salad and blackened chicken. I order them together and make my own salad concoction. Their enchiladas are good as well but anything with massive amounts of cheese is going to taste good. The service was decent, it was quite loud but that's the atmosphere here so it's OK. I'll be back when I am craving the blackened chicken and delicious dip that it comes with. YUM. read more

Border Cafe is my go-to restaurant for a quick bite before seeing a movie at AMC Burlington. What I love: quick service, tasty food, bustling atmosphere, friendly and efficient staff. What's not to love? read more

Excellent place for a good time with good food. Fast and friendly service. Ample portions. read more

Border Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Burlington, Massachusetts

The Waiters are always helpful and the margaritas are the best the chips and salsa are the very very best and food is so delicious and the drinks are free refills and they ask you if you want another refill once you are done with your drink read more