I got a burger and fries and had asked the waiter to not cook the fries too much because they always come out like burnt crisps. He came back and said they won't do it. I asked the manager and he told me that's the way they cook them. I told him those are not fries, they are potato sticks. He didn't seem to care about me. The manager walked by me a few times and saw that I didn't touch my food at all and didn't ask me if everything was ok. I guess he really didn't care about his custom. Don't order the fries because they are just burnt crisps. read more

A little update: Arrived with a few friends fro drinks and apps and as usual the waiter immediately brought over hot chips and a bowl of salsa. The chips are great, just the right thickness to achieve the perfect crunch and a good size to scoop a little guacamole and salsa. The guacamole is always soft and for the appetizer serving it's approximately 4 scoops so pretty generous. We went through a couple baskets of chips and a few bowls of salsa and one bowl of guac. We all enjoyed a few Margaritas, various flavors, all were fabulous. We ordered the Chimichurri Steak an authentic argentinean style flank steak grilled over mesquite wood, cooked medium, sliced and served with a choice of our fresh herb chimi verde sauce or a robust chimichurra sauce. $11.98 We also had the Chorizo Flambado homemade cajun sausage baked with green chilis, tomatoes, and monterey jack cheese. served with fresh, warm flour tortillas. $6.94 I Love this place, the prices are low, the margaritas are great and the food is plentiful. Our server was A-1. Border Cafe still receives 4 Solid Stars. read more

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Great place to get home made Mexican food. They have good waiting staff, that knows their menu! A perfect place for lunch or dinner!

Finally got the chance to try Border Cafe in Saugus! We have gone to the other two locations (before the one in Harvard Square closed ) and I have to say that this was my favorite. The service was speedy and they were attentive! Even brought us extra chips! I ordered the blackened salmon which came out extremely hot. Everything was very tasty, except the roasted avocado which mostly just isn't my taste. Can't wait to return! read more

Border Cafe - Blackened Salmon - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

Went here for some CINCO DE MAYO! Had a ball. Will definitely go back agsin. It's been awhile since I came here but now it should be more frequent...food and magaritas was exceptionally good . Very good spot for quick bite or late night. Run for the BORDERRRRR!!! read more

Border Cafe - CINCO DE MAYO - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

This place is located in a large plaza with plenty of parking. We came on a Tuesday night and it wasn't too busy. The service is quick and attentive. We were served chips and salsa once we sat down. Guac and queso is extra. We got the chicken quesadillas and shrimp tacos and the portions were huge!! We couldnt finish our portions and had enough for the next day. The quesadillas were extra cheesey and the pulled chicken was so soft and tender. The shrimp tacos came deep fried and the sauce that paired with it was amazing. The prices are totally worth it for the portions! read more

Where do I begin. I frequent here quite often. Today, I decided to grab some dinner with my mother. 2 tables were seated after us, and they got their chips and their drink order right away. Needless to say never got anything. The lady who cleans the tables who is polite told the hostess that we hadn't been taken care of a writer came over and came up with some bs excuse she didn't know why we were in her section. We ended up leaving. I was so mad. read more

A trip to Border Cafe is never disappointing. You are welcomed by generous warm chips and flavorful mild salsa. We ordered blackened chicken fajitas and chicken bandera. Chicken Bandera has striking flavors from the mango salsa, grilled avocado, juicy chicken with chipotle lime glaze. Love this dish! Blackened chicken was good, spices well rubbed, a bit extra salty.. the extra salt killed all other flavors. Nevertheless, the chicken was juicy on the inside. Staff wore masks at all times and were very careful about the cleanliness. Very good experience at Saugus. Usually we go to the Burlington location, but it was closed today. read more

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We have gone here for at least 15 years, I have to say the last 2 times after covid hit...... My all time favorite the blacken chicken fajita are now gross, they are using chicken tenders with a heavy sand like coating of blacken seasoning on them..its nothing like the sliced blacken chicken they used to serve which was absolutely delicious. My husband's steak fajitas also had a sand like coating on them. I say sand like because they are coated with this strange texture, of spices. These items were never like this before covid and I have to say we will probably will look else where now for these items. It's no longer your sliced chicken breast and sliced steak like it was in the past. Our service was amazing the food not! read more

So we went to Border cafe...not really knowing what to expect we had open minds! so we sat at the bar and looked at the menu. Ordered drinks and a few appetizers and some gumbo. We got the blackened chicken fingers.... HOLY TERRIBLE! So much salty awful seasoning! So NASTY. Told the bartender that they were awful and she smiled and said do you want me to have them remake them? AH, NO! They are Awful. Take them off the bill! Horrible! (Nope..still on bill) The pastelitos were ok not great, i would never order again. You could choke them down but why? And lets go to the gumbo... was good, hot sausage added a lot to the taste but do not expect a New Orleans experience. Shall we discuss the mini lime pieces that they give you? I mean when i say mini, take a slice of lime and chop it in three. You get one. Ask for more and you get.... One. (Seriously, this is where you are saving money?) Did NOT like our visit! read more

Overall food, service, and design is awesome. Great prices and I've always come here growing up. The chicken burro is my favorite sad to see that they took the tostada grande off the menu but still the place is great. I highly recommend if you need a new place to try and are in the mood for Mexican food. read more

Very disappointed, menu items greatly reduced. No burgers, corn bread, Patron Tequila and many entrees. No longer worth the trip up Rte 1.

Not going back until they bring their blue cheese dressing back. Ranch is terrible. Why stop??

Came here on a Monday night after work to meet with a friend. The parking lot wasn't to bad. There was plenty of space. The staff seated us immediately. I vaguely remember my first time here but by the looks of the place as I sat there and by the looks of the menu maybe I've never have been here. As I'm dinning away customers kept coming in. Im sure this place gets super packed. I can imagine how it is on the weekends. We both ordered the house margaritas which was INVITING. Not too strong and not so watered down it was just made RIGHT. The waiter gave us salsa and tortilla chips as a complimentary to start off. After 2 drinks in we finally made our order. We both got the same thing which is the Tostada salad with chicken. She got hers without beans and the guacamole on the side. I left mine the way it is because I've never had it before and I didn't mind having all those things in it. The salad with DELICIOUSSSSSS omg it felt as if I was reintroduced to LIFE again. I would go back just for the salad! The portion was perfect because I couldn't finish it. When the bill came there was a charge for extra guacamole which we presented to the waiter and he kindly took it off no questions asked. Nice try kid! Nice try! Jk Overall my experience at Border Cafe was great I will definitely going back. read more

Border Cafe - Margaritas, salsa and tortilla chips - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

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Came here for Valentine's day and here's my experience so far. Upon arrival: Greeted by staff and was told there would be a 20 minute wait which ended up being 15 so not bad. Our waiter. Ademilton greeted us with exceptional customer service very friendly and never had us wondering where out waiter was. Food. I ordered two of the soft tacos one chicken one pulled beef. The meal cane with black beans and Jasmine rice. I'd have to say that the food was very delicious nicely seasoned and hot upon arrival. For a very busy night, Ademilton did a very good job so bravo to him. Restroom: Restroom was very clean and a decent amount of space. Cons: I'd have to say that I wasn't impressed with the two Martini's I had which was the mango and the regular. Way too much mango puree and way too much sour mix unfortunately. So that's my only complaint. So will I come back to this place, absolutely, but as far as drinks go, I'll stick to the beer with this place. I would definitely recommend this to my friends to try. read more

Border Cafe - Mango martini - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

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I used to enjoy going there. They have a very limited menu now. Haven't gone there in quite a while.

I did curbside takeout from this place at 6PM on a Sunday. Ordering online was easy and my order was brought out within a minute of checking in via text. Food was hot when we received it, and the chicken and tortillas were clearly fresh made. Flavor-wise, I'm really impressed. I'm originally from Texas, and it's always disappointing when northern interpretations of the food that I grew up with don't have enough spices, but that's not the case at all here. You can taste the mesquite smoking as well as the excellent seasoning on both the fajitas and the Chicken Bandera. The seasoning is hotter than most of the local food in Eastern MA, but that's a good thing. And then there's the beans. I don't normally rave about beans, but the black beans are magic. I don't know what they put in there, but I scarfed down my whole bowl. It tastes almost like there's some kind of wine reduction in there. We'll definitely be back. read more

Absolutely horrible. the menu is very limited. maybe the loss of customers is not because of Covid, but the lack of variety that the border used to have. Most of the best meals are off the menu. other restaurants have changed their hours because of Covid, like the border, but they didn't sacrifice their portions or their menu choices. I'm going to miss them we're done. how can they give a 1/2 assed menu???!!! read more

Years ago used to visit this location almost too much. But stopped going here and would only go to Burlington. I love the food at border always have. Saugus is just usually more convenient. Had some free time over the weekend so stopped in for apps and drinks. Usually my bestie and I like to hang around a bit so we can chat and enjoy some friend time. We will get a few drinks and tip generously. let me start by saying our food, drinks, and waitress' were fabulous when we were in. However, we complained that it was grossly hot and humid. Not only was it extremely uncomfortable to eat like that but cannot imagine what it's like for the hard working staff to run around in. We were sitting next to the thermostat and a manager did come over to turn the ac on. Within a few minutes it was now getting cooler and more comfortable. Great! So we ordered another dish to share in addition to our drinks and app. Which we then regretted because another manager came over moments later and turned it off again, Instantly muggy again. To the point we were getting tired, instead of finishing our app and ordering another drink we had to ask for our check and head somewhere else. We would've loved to have been able to stick around. Keep your guests and staff in mind. Will probably continue to visit Burlington moving forward hopefully a better experience next time if we go back to Saugus. Again, great food, great service! But yikes nothing worse than eating in the heat. ( Burros, quesadilla, frozen drinks, queso SO good!!!!! ) read more

I used to go to the Border Cafe on Route 1 in Saugus years ago when they were on the other side of art. 1 than they're on now, and, back then, they were fantastic but I went to the current Border Cafe last night and it wasn't good at all! The food just wasn't good! Last night, I got the blackened chicken fajitas and their fajitas used to be really great but no longer. The jumblia was just plain awful and I had to send it back. It's very frustrating but, unfortunately, the current Border Cafe is nowhere near as good as they used to be 10 years ago, and, in my opinion, the quality of the food and the price to value ratio just make it a place that neither I, nor my 4 guests would go back to again. They used to be great but now they're not worth your time or money. read more

Everything we ordered (gumbo, camptown shrimp, blackened chicken fajitas, frozen margaritas) was so salty that it was inedible. I don't know how this restaurant has 3.5 stars...the prices are very reasonable and service was good, but none of that makes a difference when the food is so disgusting that you'd rather go hungry. read more

I got the half and half fajitas. There were only three little pieces of chicken strips and the steak came burnt, which was impossible to eat really bitter. My friends got the chicken quesadilla and the chicken had sauce and oregano in it which is a weird taste for chicken quesadilla, should be grilled. Overall food was mediocre and the rice and beans tasted like they were in a can. Also guac was not included not even a small scoop, where in 90% of north shore Mexican restaurants give that little scoop atleast. Better Mexican food around. Waitress asked us if we wanted another one, well why would we if that same dish was horrible? read more

Really great restaurant, really great service; I ordered the chicken enchiladas, which come with chicken and enchilada made inside the restaurant. We got a bowl of lemons at the table to start. They were a bit sour but pretty good. Would recommend! read more

I used to come to this restaurant for over 10 years. Ever since Covid became a hot topic, this place has taken a fat dump. The menu used to be 3 pages, now it's only one. They also took out some of their best choices too. The portions shrunk a lot, and now they put a ton of fries to fill up the plate. Last time I went the food was lukewarm and the avocado was refrigerated and tasted bad. The service was also not the best. The waiter only showed up to give us drinks and our food, and didn't even check to see how the food was or if we needed anything. Unfortunately I can't recommend this restaurant anymore!!! read more

I've been wanting to come here for many years and finally stopped by when I was around the area. First of all our waiter was super friendly and service was very quick. We were extremely hungry and the food came within 15 minutes of ordering. All of the dishes were really good but I think the star of the show has to be what I ordered which was the Carne arsada. It was so good. A must try if you go. The only thing that took away a star is a lot of the dishes were too salty. Forgot to mention that the fajita was out of this world and the kids ordered a chicken quesadilla and it is better than most quesadillas that I've had. read more

Border Cafe - Carne Asada (sp) star of the show. Is a must try and that grilled avocado is so creamy. Delicious!!! - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

A lively and exciting environment. The lines are long, yet it only took us 15 minutes to get a table with no reservations, which I think is fantastic! The staff worked extremely hard to keep their customers entertained. All of the seats are comfortable. I was with a group of five people, and we started with freshly baked nachos and salsa. The food quantities are quite large. The fajitas were excellent and delicious. Quick and pleasant! read more

Have eaten here every week for years ... So DISAPPOINTED in the service!!! Not only did I wait over an hour for fajitas? They were all onions, no meat !???? Come to find out the waitress was switching shifts, no one came to our table or checked on us. So many things wrong even after we gave the benefit of doubt to the switching of the shift we tried to make best of it ?!!! BUT the rudeness, just made it impossible. Could not get check-fast enough at all. WILL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN, EVER. There was bugs in the drinks. 1 BUG IN DRINK 2 Management Pablo came to table after to ask about BUG in drink not helpful at all don't know why he came over 3 Fajitas for 2 was all onions 4 Waitress Anna swore multiple times under breath 5 Food was cold 6 Order was taken inaccurately, repeatedly ask for service.. read more

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But YELP is STUPID!! Border Cafe has been closed since December 2019!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to keep writing for Yelp so let me note don't rely on Yelp!!! read more

Food was good and reasonably priced.. it was me and my 4 year old son.. I had finished my food, still had a half drink and my son still had food on his plate.. he needed to use the restroom so I took him, mind you out jackets were still on chairs (it was cold) I took him to the bathroom we were not even gone 3 minutes when the waitress comes running into the bathroom mind you when we returned to our table our jackets were already placed in lost and found and our table was cleared, we had not paid the bill yet either... the manager says "well the table next to you said you left" mind you I didn't know them and did not say bye to them.. he did nothing to make the situation better, I was profiled as someone that was going to run out in a 40 bill?? Or should I have sent my 4 year old to the bathroom by himself?? I was not gone for more than 3 minutes and the waitress found us in the bathroom AFTER clearing our table and trashing the rest of my son's food... i understand things happen but the management did nothing to rectify the situation and it was embarrassing.. my son was so upset because he didn't understand why his jacket was in the lost and found... and as a mother with a child watching I had to keep my composure... I was so disappointed because we were having such a good night before that.. 3 minutes??? I can understand if I was gone for 15 but our jackets were still on the seats where were we going in 30 degree weather with no coats on??? Such a bad experience read more

Menu is still paired back way too much from what it was before 2020. Some of the current menu options are still decent, a choice is limited Missing the old house salad and dressing, popcorn shrimp, eggplant royal. On a side note, I am still mourning the loss of the crawfish popcorn menu item 15 years ago. read more

I was out with a friend craving the amazing VEGI Fajita at Border Cafe' only to have my culinary dreams smashed! What do you mean no VEGI Fajitas?? It's just vegetables?!?! How much easier can a meal be? So I had to settle for the Chicken Fajita.... WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! A few strips of chicken and maybe MAYBE 6 slices of sauté onions. What happened Border??? Someone really needs to rethink this decision!! I'm sad to say I won't be back. (Unless I see my Vegetable Fajita back on the menu) read more

January 14, 2023 First time back at the Border since the pandemic. I have been going there for 30 years and it was always my favorite restaurant. No more. Their menus is half the size which is understanble with difficulty hiring but...all of my favorites are gone, eggplant Royal, blackened cat fish and the shrimp Etoffe. I was so disappointed and will probably never go back. read more

We visited this spot around 3pm on a Sunday and it was PACKED. This place is super popular - and there was a 20 minute wait. I mean I get why -- the prices are reasonable, the decor is super fun and cute, and the food is tasty. The (free) chips and salsa are so good. The chips are warm and salty, and the salsa is good. To start, we ordered a cup of the gumbo and an order of the pastelitos. The gumbo was okay, I wouldn't order again or recommend. The pastelitos however -- absolutely delicious. Fair warning, these things are like molten lava hot pockets - aka cut them with a knife and fork, don't bite into it. But yes, they are delicious -- definitely order these. Might I add, this is actually a Dominican dish - yum. As our main, we ordered the crawfish & shrimp quesadilla to share because it's definitely big enough for two people. It was absolutely delicious and cheesy. Would definitely recommend and would order again. They were super busy but I felt that the service was lacking. I felt like our server was super stressed and wasn't really focused on us at all. When I asked if they had a certain type of drink available, he kind of gave me a pretty rude/abrupt "No." Just wasn't the friendliest. Overall, I'd return and recommend. Definitely a cute spot with a southern vibe to it, cute hanging lights. The prices are reasonable and the food is tasty. read more

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Very simple menu not that many choices for a big place like that they should have more options and for the kids as well

Ok so update. The service is super fast. Almost too fast, but can't complain. Strange: we we're almost done out basket of chips when our server grabbed them and said he's getting us more. Ok! Can't complain. In the meantime our food came out and the new chips. 5 minutes later he comes by and says "I have to ask, can I take away the chips and salsa?" No explanation, nothing and I was too flabbergasted to ask. No contact info for the restaurant, so now I can't ask. Any ideas? read more

Let me start by saying that today's visit was a 5+ for service and the food was good. However, I was utterly suprised and disappointed that you removed my favorite item from the menu. For over 20 years I have enjoyed going to Borders for Eggplant Royal. It is the only place around that had it and I loved it. Yes it was only a couple of frozen eggplant patties with some sort of a sauce with (probably frozen) crab in it but it was good and a little different from your average fare. How hard could it be to assemble and keep items on hand. Love the chips but something has changed with the salsa and not for the better. Taking my favorite item off the menu....you're lucky this wasn't a one star review read more

Went with the BF for a MUCH NEEDED date night... Went on St Pattys Day, because we didnt want to deal with crazyness everywhere else, we assumed lets do Mexican - it shouldnt be packed! Sat right down, had some Margaritas (could have actually had SOME alcohol in them)... Had our food in 10 mins as usual & was out in 35 mins... I tend to always order the same thing, so I knew what I was getting... BF had steak which was pretty good, but he didnt love the rice (white), wished he got somthing else... Nothing wonderful, you kinda always know what you are gonna get here... I still love them though... One of my faves! read more

Border Cafe - Chicken Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Saugus, Massachusetts

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What happened? This was a 5 star go to pre-Covid. We went tonight for the first time in a long time and were terribly disappointed. The menu has shrunk significantly, as has the portions. Food was so so at best. What a shame. read more

So disappointed with our experience. Maybe we should have ordered more drinks so the waiter would have come back and checked on us. Maybe we would have if he returned at any point during our stay. We asked for refills and water twice without any response from the waiter. The food was overly salty. We would have told the waiter if he had returned. After waiting nearly 20 minutes after we finished eating our meals, we had to find someone to get our check. After expressing our concerns to the server that was nice enough to bring us a check; we had a manager of some sort come to our table and then comped our bill by removing the least expensive item we ordered. We felt like the manager was underprepared to take care of customer service issues. I would not recommend this as a place to stop unless you think you should be ignored. We were wondering if we maybe had a man with us they would have taken better care of us. Fair warning to future diners. read more

I remember enjoying many of their dishes but unfortunately we were let down yesterday. The entrees were unbelievably salty.