We ate at the Border Cafe in Saugus, MA, last night. We had enjoyed the original Border (across the street) for years. We had a yummy meal, (try the craw fish enchilada, blackened chicken app., beef fajita). But, what stood out was the friendly service, and I mean service, bestowed on us by our waiter, Anthony. I can still smell the food on my jacket; not a bad thing. read more

My family & some friends are regulars @ the Border and we love it! Worth the wait and the price is definitely right for couples or families. Right now the best choice for Tex Mex on route 1. Worth the wait! Pros: Fajitas, Burgers, quesadillas, eggplant dish, jambalaya and all of the other dishes are great! Blackened chicken, catfish & salmon are out of this world. Fish is fresh unlike some of the competing restaurants on Rte. 1. Portions & prices good, salsa & guacamole very good & chips are addictive! Drinks good, faves are the house margarita & Long Island Iced Tea. Outside seating definite pro! Accurate waiting times are provided and drinks & chips served while waiting. Dining area & bathrooms clean. Cons: 1. Too many waitstaff changes. Don't know what's going on but retention of seasoned waitstaff & hosts may need to be given priority. There are a few new familiar faces during our recent visits. Hope they stay, nice kids! 2. Some portion sizes have decreased, specifically salmon. 3. Over the past year at least 3 times they've been out of salmon! Once there were 3 people @ our table who wanted this. Disappointing. Overall, fun restaurant with good food, we will definitely continue to eat there! read more

Best margaritas hands down. I come here a lot & I have never had a bad meal or a bad drink.

This is a great place to eat. Not too expensive and excellent service. They could maybe be a little bigger so the wait is less but on a whole it was great. read more

The lines are still long but at least there are now adequate parking spaces. The food is always excellent but the service is hit or miss. I LOVE the French Quarter Chicken! My dtr is a veggie and loves the tostada salad. The fajitas a wicked good as is Jose's rice. The drinks are good and the only thing missing is dessert but you will be too stuffed to have any anyway! read more

My husband and two of my three kids (the teens) love this place. I think it's just okay. And my three-year-old...well he'll only eat the fries, no matter what you order him off their extremely reasonably priced kids menu. Yeah, it's just okay. You may wait up to 30 or 45 minutes when it's busy to get seated, but the wait staff is quick & efficient, and yet you don't feel like they're trying to rush you out of the place. The chips are great, especially when you get them still warm. The salsa is okay...a little heavy on the diced jalapenos and cilantro, and a little watery. The food is, as everyone has written, extremely salty. It's a good thing they give you the equivalent of a two-liter bottle of soda for a drink. Trust me, you'll finish it, and need a refill. Oh, and LOTS of cheese. Lots and LOTS. Definitely don't recommend this place if you're on cholesterol or blood-pressure meds. BAD IDEA. My favorite menu item here is the Gumbo. Spicy-salty. and believe it or not, try it with some crumpled up chips in it. Gives it a nice oomph. Otherwise, the food is, well...okay. If you like lots and lots of salt and cheese. read more

I have been going to the Border Cafe for almost 20 years, starting w/Harvard Square. The food is always great...don't think I've ever had a bad experience here. Some people don't like the fact that it's always loud here, but that is OK w/me. Last went to the Saugus location on 11/3 and really enjoyed the 1/2 beef/1/2 chicken Fajitas. Very good; portions huge (had to take 1/3 home), service good and prices reasonable. Highly recommended.... read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant. Please do yourself a favor and try Chicken Guadalajara. Chorizo Mexicana is also muy delicioso. Only drawback... it's always SUPER busy and crowded so you usually have to wait quite a long time for a table. read more

Hands down my family's favorite place to eat!! They will wait the 45min to an hour no problem!! The margaritas are good (I always try the house marg first) I love the Cajun and mexican menu!! All you can eat chips and salsa... Yummmm... I always get the blackened chicken tacos, last time we went my husband actually ordered 2 meals so he could take one home, my only complaint is that you can't get to go there... Love it, will be back again!!! And again!!! read more

Pros: excellent food and drink Cons: so LOUD, always a long wait, no more catfish tacos :( I really wish it were quieter, don't bring anyone here if you actually want to talk because guarantee you'll only hear half of what they're saying. read more

I absolute love this place, the food is amazing if you enjoy mexican food though i recommend going on a weekday because weekends its packed to the max read more

This place is screaming good!!! Great prices!! Perfect portions. Nice atmosphere, loud and colorful. The drinks are very good. The customer service is top notch! And If you like spicy Tex Mex you'll love this place Texas, Creole with a Mexican twist!! The Margaritas are spectacular!! read more

Just ate dinner here.i had the Mexican burger.very good.but my wife wanted the steak and blue cheese salad and wanted to substitute the steak for salmon..because it's lent.so no meat on fridays...waitress said no.asked for the manager and he also said no....here's the reason and it's bullshit reason...now both salmon saled and the blu cheese salad was the same price.but the reason was they wouldn't taste right said the manager.i believe it's discrimination....religious reasons...to switch meat fore fish......boycott border if u want something substituted they wont. read more

Love this place! Food is amazing!!!! Only thing that sucks is waiting to be seated around dinner time its always a "20" min wait which really means 45 mins but its worth waiting for! read more

I come here at least once a month as me and my friends LOVE it here. we came yesterday just for a small snack and a soda. we ordered 2 fries and spilt them. I've always had very good service here and never had a problem with waiting because we love it that much here. yesterday I had the worst waitress ever. I don't know if she didn't speak clear English but she was not interested in working at all. VERY rude. didn't say hello, didn't thank us for the generous tip that she shouldn't have even be left. we asked her how big 1 plate of fries were and she shrugged her shoulders and when we ordered 2 she rolled her eyes and walked away. that won't stop me from coming here because I love it so much here. the food is excellent and the service has always been outstanding. I just hope I never get a waitress like her again read more

Border Cafe is my favorite Mexican restaurant. The service is always fast, the food is cooked efficiently, and the food tastes excellent. If I had to pick any place to go for dinner, I would definitely pick Border Cafe. The tortillas are always fresh and never taste old. Also, the food is not over priced. The price is always affordable and easy for a quick dinner with the family! read more

Great food and prices. The soda is freakin huge and I love the Salmon Caesar salad.

I love this place. Not only do they have great food but they have great service too. Love the blackened catfish. If you like a little spice in your food, visit border. read more

Good food, drinks and service. Easier to park here than Harvard Sq.

Never a bad meal here! Food and drinks are excellent, chips are always warm and fresh, staff is always attentive and pleasant!!

After eating here this evening and ordering the same thing I have ordered here for years (quesadillas with fajita chicken instead of shredded chicken) I was told I couldn't get it. A manager came over and said that border no longer provides any substitutions for any reason. Including allergies. I will never return again. read more

I love this place! They always have good food at a very affordable price. I have never been disappointed with a trip here.

Took my daughter to the Border this evening for a family dinner. It was very busy, short wait not too long though. Staff were friendly and helpful so this review in no way reflects upon the waitstaff. Silverware arrived in folded up napkins. Upon unwrapping it was clear that someone had carefully wrapped and folded up the silverware in dirty, used napkins. Gross. The food arrived, my steak was delicious as was my daughters empanadas. On her second bite she almost gagged and proceeded to pull a massive hair/hairball out of her mouth and throat. I called over the waiter who took it away and told us the manager would come over. The manager apologized profusely and told us he would take care of us, in the meantime could he get my daughter something else to eat. She politely declined after the thought of eating more hairballs didn't sound appealing. He assured us that we would be "taken care of" as an apology for the gross food. I rushed to eat, leaving most of my food as I knew I'd have to take her home or somewhere else to eat. When the bill arrived, they had only taken off the empanada charge. So basically, I wasn't charged for a dish that we took one bite of and returned because they were full of hair. No complimentary sodas or discount on the ruined meal. Basically zero compensation whatsoever. Too bad, I always liked this place but I'm all set with giving them my business again. Lesson 101 restaurant manager: Do something to make the customer feel a little better and make them feel like you want them to come back. read more

Ill start off by saying this place is mediocrity at best. Ive come here on numerous occasions and found myself feeling like Brennan from the movie Step Brothers with a belly full of white dog poop for hours after my meal. I will not complain about the endless chips and salsa but my willpower not to eat 4 baskets before my meal always leaves me self loathing filled with a side gluttonous guilt. Also I must mention that you should bring your life jacket because you will most likely drown in the bucket of soda you receive. Im convinced Michael Phelps would even have a tough time with this challenge. I must say the fajitas are tasty but then again fajitas are pretty basic. My cooking skills are subpar and even I could not screw up a fajita. I highly suggest you do not wear any clothing that you care about due to the aftermath.Your olfactory receptors will most likely identify this smell as 100 onions that sometimes may get confused for body odor. I will also never understand the amount of pictures of food and drinks from Border Cafe that always seems to find its way to my instagram feed. Gordon Ramsay would most likely give his phone "The Peoples Elbow" if this were to happen to him. On an upside the service here is always efficient and prices are cheap. There are many other options for Mexican food and that is where you will find me unless I am dragged here against my will. read more

Let me start off by saying that I love the food here-- real top notch Mexican. My only complaint was the service. The waitress took our order and completely forgot about us. She completely disappeared until our food came out (quite late) and never brought our drinks.. read more

LOVE the Border Cafe SOOOO MUCH! GREAT Food, GREAT Drinks, and amazing prices.... by far my favorite restaurant...never have had a bad meal. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.... have I mentioned I love it here? Try the Chicken Burros!! YUM! read more

The best term for this place is inconsistent. To be fair, I only discovered the Border Café a few months ago and have been there a half dozen times, sometimes alone, other times with clients or friends. First the service: very inconsistent. To date, I have never seen any of the hosts/hostesses smile or even appear welcoming. They never say "Welcome" or even "Hi". Instead, they look at you as if you automatically know what to say (which, of-course, you do) and then begin walking toward your table trusting you will follow. It's a petty thing, but it does set the tone for the place. The food servers range from very efficient, friendly and helpful to borderline surly and neglectful. The food: I will be up front - I spent many years living in the southwest, so my standards for Mexican or Ameri-Mex are high. In addition, at one time, some years ago, I cooked professionally, therefore; again, my standards may be a bit higher than some others. I have had great food at the Border and I have had borderline inedible food. The odd thing is that on several different occasions the best food and the worst have been the same dish served on different occasions. Example: Several weeks ago I stopped at the Border when I was by myself. I ordered the swordfish tacos, which were fantastic. They were served with one of the best chimchurri sauces I've had east of the Mississippi. The dish included a grilled avocado half - an unusual treatment not often seen in this area of the country. The swordfish was very fresh and tender and the accompaniments were equally good. I enjoyed the dish so much that when I returned to the Border today, this time with a client, I ordered the same dish. Only it wasn't the same dish, not at all. Today the swordfish was dry, tough and obviously well past it's prime. The dish was served with a tiny - and I do mean tiny, perhaps half a tablespoon - bit of mango salsa and a pile of greens that could have done with a more careful wash. (grit doesn't quite make a good salad) The mango was under ripe, the salsa one tone, merely hot with no depth of taste. There was no chimchurri sauce this time and the grilled avocado was burnt, not grilled. My guest ordered from the Cajun side of the menu having the "Jim Bowie" filet. He reported the steak as tough and overdone and that the shrimp placed atop were equally tough and tasteless. I would have brought the overdone steak and the lack of sauce for my dish to the attention of our server, had she made a reappearance at any point. Unfortunately, after taking our order, we didn't see her again until it was time to present the check. I suspect, from her general surliness toward not just us, but the other tables near us, that she was having some type of personal crisis and perhaps was attempting to deal with that crisis in addition to waiting on her tables. It is impossible to tell whether the inconsistency issues encountered at the Border are due to lax management at this one location or more serious, related to lack of oversight by upper management. I'll give the place at least one more try and hope, sincerely, that things will have worked out and that I can come back here and give the glowing review I once hoped to offer. read more

We have been loyal Border Cafe customers since opening, back when we were teenagers(!), and over the last year, I have to say, I've seen a real downturn in the quality and quantity of the food and drinks. Reading the other reviews, though, maybe I'm in the minority in thinking this? This has nothing to do with the recent Board of Health problems. We always get the chicken fajitas for 2, it seems now they really cheap out on the chicken portion and the tortillas are super tiny! And they scaled back on their liquor offering, I love a melon margarita, but they no longer carry midori. They seem to use a cheap, almost astringent tasting, mixer in their drinks, which if you are willing to spend an extra couple of bucks for a better quality tequila, its pointless. We are just so disappointed and at the point of finding a new Mexican place. read more

I've been going to the border cafe for years and always have great service and great food. No matter how busy it is you always get your food hot and very quickly. I have never had anything on the menu that I did not like and I have tried lots of things. Best restaurant on RT, 1 hands down! read more

came to eat here on Tuesday night 9/4/13 and the MANAGERS ARE TERRIBLE!! I wish I could give this review negative stars.. I went in to eat with my wife and kids and instantly noticed that this restaurant had an extremely bad fly problem.... I ordered a chicken dish ( I forget the name ) and I asked for lite spices... not only did the chicken come out loaded with spices on it, it was also undercooked... when my waitress came to check up on us she apologized profusely and said she would grab her general manager... I had to wait quite a while before he had come to the table.. he apologized for the issue and said he would take it off the bill and asked if I would like anything else from the menu, I declined. Not even 15 seconds after he had left the table my daughter found a dead fly in her kids chicken quesadilla... at this point ... I want my bill comp'd!! Absolutely ridiculous.. The only thing that the GM did was take off my meal and my daughters kids meal... no free drinks, no free appetizer, not even a gift card.. absolutely nothing... and to top it off as I was on my way out the door I saw the same GM yelling at our waitress and it sounded like he was blaming her for the issue... WHAT A JOKE!!! How this guy got a "GM" position I don't know but I am completely and utterly appalled that the owners of this chain restaurant would hire such a careless, rude, ignorant man... they would of been better off hiring the waitress as their GM, she handled the situation better than him!! I will NEVER go back to this restaurant (in any of its locations) and ive already told a handful of people to do the same!! read more

Came in last night with my friend Patrice for some drinks and food. The strawberry margarita was delicious and our server Josh rocked. He had an awesome sense of humor and gave great service. As a server myself I'm pretty picky so I was really impressed. Will definitely be coming back. Gracias, Josh! read more

The service was overall pretty good, the food was good, and they made us Arnold Palmers which aren't on the actual menu.

I got there on a Thursday night at 5:45 and was trying to get a table for 7 for a 6:15 gathering with family. They gave me a buzzer, but would not put me into the waiting list until EVERYONE got there. Unfortunately, the last 2 did not show up until about 6:30 or so. We did not get seated until around 7:30! I was at the bar drinking and waiting until we could finally get seated. By the time we were seated I wanted to leave already!! Also, it was extremely packed and you can hardly move. Once we were seated, we were given a table in the back which was filled with beer cases and I could hardly move in my seat and had to sit at an angle during dinner because of lack of space. We were given a smallish table and it was extremely loud in there and VERY hot and uncomfortable. The food was just ok. I have had better Mexican at many other places, even Qdoba~ I asked for them to wrap up my meal so have it to go and they threw it out! My bf said something on the way out, and yes they did at least make me a new one. Not worth the wait AT ALL! read more

The host with the tattoo is very rude and couldn't even show us to our table but she did seat all of the white people. She also did not stop staring at us. My family and I felt very unwelcome read more

This place sucks. Got served raw chicken and threw up the next morning. My ass was on fire from the enchiladas

Very disappointed one of my favorite plate seafood was bad of ready spoiled and they serve like that be careful I told them but they since they didn't care much for it I not going back there read more

Are you looking for a quiet, secluded spot where you and your main squeeze can share a special moment and you feel like you're the only two people on earth? Well, this isn't your place. Border has a vibe, an energy to it. It's almost like it's a living, breathing organism. This loud, energetic place serves decent, not great, food. Most of the sides (black beans, rice, jambalaya) are very salty; the meats are inconsistent, sometimes over spiced, sometimes bland. That being said, I don't go there for a great meal, I go there for a decent meal and a great time, and I'm never disappointed. The portions are good, the hot, complimentary chips are great (and if you ask for them unsalted they will fry up a fresh batch for you). I recently visited with a friend who was gluten-free and the hostess and waitress couldn't have been more attentive. Each option was explained to him and he enjoyed himself tremendously For a great night out with friends, good food, great drinks and a pulsing atmosphere, this is the place. My favorite dishes are the popcorn shrimp, Jim Bowie steak and what I think is the best burger on route one! read more

I came here more than 5 years ago when it was across the street and ordered from the kids menu and got chicken fingers and fries - which were bad from what I remembered. Years later, I came back to to the newer one with Davel and we got the gumbo, mesquite salmon salad, and the marinated chicken quesadilla. We were among the first people there and the chips were still hot when it reached us, very yummy and perfectly salted. The gumbo was also really good; it had rice, chicken and sausage - hot and yummy. The salmon salad was really good, the salmon, of course - the salad was a bit weird, yet still enjoyable. And the chicken quesadilla was yummy, maybe a bit too much cheese for my liking but yummy either way. Service was friendly and quick, and I will come back to try new things on the menu, a next time. Not anytime soon but in the near future, because I can't handle this overload of a fiesta. read more

Border Cafe continues to inch toward 5 stars in my book. The last time I went, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they cooked a delicious, and quite large, piece of blackened salmon that was served on top of a caesar salad. Absolutely top notch! read more

My parents used to take me here as a kid and now as an adult I still go often. My favorite is the cheese quesadilla. And the soda glasses are huge so I never have to ask for a refill. I've never had a bad waitress or waiter and the food is always awesome. The only downside is the music is sometimes so loud I can't hear the person I'm with. I also wish they had a dessert menu. Not a place for someone who either doesn't like Mexican food or doesn't like a loud environment. read more