I've had a lot of Mexican but I really loved the way they served the enchiladas here. Nice layer of cheese and baked so it had a nice toasted layer. Really satisfying and affordable. A very small spot but got lucky with seating with no wait. Would love to come back. read more

Cactus Charly - Enchiladas (green sauce) - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Fresh ingredients and super cute decor. Never would have thought that Maplewood would become home to such a solid authentic Mexican restaurant. The guacamole and frijoles refritos (which come with corn tortillas) are delicious appetizers. Recommendations: Mexican burrito, chorizo tacos, aguacate relleno, and Mexican salad. read more

Cactus Charly - Each chair has unique hand-carved design. - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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Definitely returning...chorizo tacos were great! read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Cactus Charleys was a lovely experience. I got the shrimp fajitas which were delicious. It came with rice, beans, and guacamole which was more than enough food. Salsa and chips could have been better; I just like my salsa chunkier. I was also able to eat in a large group which many other restraints in the are could not accommodate! read more

I've previously had their food before and decided to try it again last night. My girlfriend and I ordered for delivery. Delivery time wasn't bad - but the food itself was just let down after let down. Her Quesadilla was just sub-par cheese squeezed into a soft shell - cheese tacos wouldve been a more accurate term. My tongue tacos were just chunks of flavorless meat dropped onto small tortilla shells. The beans looked like the kind they serve in jail. The queso fundido wasn't too bad. read more

Wow, this place is a pleasant surprise! Maplewood now has a formidable Mexican restaurant. The building used to house New World Caterers, and has been converted into a casual eatery with colorful Mexican murals on its walls. But more importantly, it serves VERY tasty food that is, as far as I know, authentic in nature, and certainly is seasoned properly and not drowning in cheese. We shared a very good chunky guacamole (needed a bit more lime juice, but delicious) and quesadillas filled with very good chorizo as appetizers. The chips and salsa are quite good, too. The chips were warm and crisp, but completely greaseless. Entrees were burriitos with shredded beef in a mild tomato sauce, enchiladas with shredded chicken in a very good green sauce and the California Burrito Loco filled with roasted pork. All three were delicious, but the enchiladas were the winner hands down. All came with superb yellow rice and refried beans (do they use lard? it tastes like it!). They also have Mexican Coca-Cola made with real sugar, and in glass bottles. I don't usually drink soda due to its evil use of high fructose corn syrup, but this Coke is the bomb, much lighter on the palate and not too sweet. By all means, try this place before everyone else rushes in. It only has ten tables or so. Service was friendly and competent. Our whole bill came to $55 before tip. Not bad for food of this quality and freshness! read more

I'm not clear on this whole star routine with even 1 star equaling a minimal positive with a caption of "Eek! Methinks not." FOOD WAS SO BAD, I ALMOST DIED. After ordering the ice cold stale refrigerated Guacamole which had a huge amount of filler consisting of lettuce and then put on top of more shredded lettuce, the Mexican government stamped my passport "persona non grata" (really). Carnitas was so dry, I think the pig came out of the desert. (They do have pigs in the desert, don't they?) Thank goodness for the sauce that came with the tasteless Flautas. Mediocre tasteless talapia tacos and a very watery thin bean soup even though that had some flavor. I thought the re-fried beans were passable and and so was the shrimp Quesadilla. Done! read more

Came here on a Sunday and it was not to busy. It's on the small side and not on the main street in the village where all the restaurants are located. Loved the wall art, especially the sombrero. Went well with the vibe of the place. It's a long menu which always makes me nervous. I ordered the fish tacos. The priciest thing on the menu after the Carne al Carbon. I was expecting the fish to be fried but it wasn't. It appeared to have been stewed. The fish was delicious if you ignored the chunk of garlic (or not if you are a garlic fan) but it made for a very soggy taco. My daughter got fries (it was a LOT) because that's all any 4 year old will eat. My bill was very reasonable. Overall, I don't have any complaints. I will most likely return but will not be getting the fish taco. Service was great, which is another reason to return. read more

The first thing you may notice is the decor of the eating area. Nicely done! The walls are adorned with Mexicanish looking columns and flourishes with various political and historical murals done in a Hispanic style (they strongly resemble some murals I've seen in Peruvian and Mexican restaurants.) The restaurant is very nicely done! It turns out that the restaurant is family run. Our waiter was the son of the owner, and he took pride in both the restaurant, the fact that his father did the decor for the restaurant (building the columns) and the busboy's cousin did the murals. The family is from Mexico, but I didn't ask where. When we arrived, the two choice tables by the windows looked like there had been a party there. The tables were filthy and littered with the remains of a feast. We were shocked at how long it took the staff to clean the tables. He had already served us drinks, let us peruse the menu, and had taken our orders before he started to clean the tables. It was a little disconcerting, and too bad, because I would've liked to have sat there. Thankfully, the tables were serviced before we started to eat. The menu is quite expansive, which is cool. I was expecting to Tex-Mex, but it really did look Mexican, since it includes things like mole sauce, ceviche, huachinango, and chayote. It's a fun menu, and there are lots of choices. The store features sodas from Mexico, which is pretty cool. One of my favorite things about going to Latin America is getting their cokes, which are made from can sugar rather than corn syrup, and are still served in awesome glass bottles, old-school. The food was good, but I have to confess, it's cooked for an American palette. The American palette, for the most part, shuns strong flavors. We saw the same thing in the other Maplewood restaurant we went to, Wild Ginger (Thai). Here's a breakdown of what we had: Salsa: B+ Delicious, but needed more flavor. The ingredients were obviously chosen carefully since they were both fresh and ripe. But I would've liked it more oniony. More garlicky. Some chilli heat. As it stands, the salsa was delicious (B+ for me is slightly above average, with B being average). Maybe Cactus Charlie would consider serving two types of salsa: normal and picante for us heat lovers? Nacho Ground Beef: B+ Above average, and delicious. A few comments, though. First, the ground beef should've been more spicy and flavored more strongly. More chili powder and garlic would've been nice. I've found that the juice that pickled nacho rings come in is a TERRIFIC way of seasoning ground beef. It adds a sour/salty/hotness to the beef. I think it was toned down for a New Jersey palette. My second comment was that, I hate to say this, maybe less cheese would've been good. Don't get me wrong. I would die for cheese. But if you look at my picture, the nachos were under a blanket of cheese. It was delicious, but when you do this, and cook it, every last tortilla chip becomes soggy. Now, this could be both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, it's great if you take the crispy chips from your basket and use them to scoop up the soggy chips/cheese/meat from the nachos. I really enjoy doing that. On the other hand, you end up eating too many chips this way. You wanna get fat? Cause that's how you get fat. Third comment would be the nachos would've been better if guacamole and salsa were put on top. Oddly, both were missing (I ended up dumping our table salsa on the nachos.) Chicken Tacos: B+ The tacos were delicious, and it was fun to eat tacos in a hard shell again. For some reason, hard shell tacos are a dying breed these days. Color me unauthentic, but I love 'em. The tacos themselves were tex-mex, not Mexican. Mexican tacos are minimalistic. Small. These were big Tex-Mex style tacos. Not that it's bad or anything. Just an observation. Second observation is that the sauce and chicken, while PHENOMENALLY good, could've been seasoned more. Like the ground beef in my nachos, they lacked any kind of heat or savoriness. The chicken was very soft and flavorful, but it didn't really sing to me. It wasn't dynamic the way Mexican stewed chicken often is. Again, I wonder if that's because the food has been dialed to a typical New Jerseyian palate. read more

Cactus Charly - My apologies for a bad picture. The nachos were actually pretty good (see my review.) - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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Not impressed! Cute little restaurant in downtown Maplewood. Great decor, and authentic feel. However, service was super slow. Waiter brought me chicken enchiladas instead of burrito. Since the food took so long to produce I didn't want to get the issue fixed fearing waiting another 15 minutes. read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. In fact, they owe me stars. I ate there last night with a friend and had to wait 10 minutes for our table to be cleared off while the waiter took another order and did who knows what else. Then we got our chips but no napkins, utensils, or waters. We were already unhappy with the slow service so we ordered the queso fundido immediately. While we waited, and not before finishing the chips, I had to go up and ask for napkins and waters. The bus boy brought those over but no utensils still. The queso was HORRIBLE. it was the greasiest, most overcooked tiny portion of jack cheese with a sprinkling of chorizo that could easily have been a teaspoon of breadcrumbs. It came with four corn tortillas but no utensils. We finally got them as I was using a napkin to absorb some of the grease from the cheese. My friend's food came out first. Three chicken quesadillas on a place with sour cream and salsa. I told her they looked like she could have made them at home. She took a bite and confirmed that she could have made them at home... but they would have been better. She ate half one one and couldn't eat anymore because they were so bad. My chayote plate came out second but the waiter first decided to drop off a check at another table while holding my meal. The moment he set my plate down, a swarm of tiny insects descended from somewhere and I was unable to take a single bite of food without waving my had furiously over my plate. I ate a third of my food and couldn't take it anymore. I put my napkin over my food and asked for the manager. There was no manager there but the waiter told us there would be no charge because everything was so terrible. We left him a $5 and got the heck out of there and away from the bugs. read more

This was OK. Got delivery and it was pretty fast. It is gut-filing standard Mexican fare.

Best place ever! I've been trying to find a good mexican place for years and this place is it! Great service, reasonable prices and awesome food. I've had chicken tacos that come with rice, beans and a little salad. The fajitas are tasty too. I can honestly say I lick the plate clean whenever I come here which is now every week. I highly recommend this place! read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

have done lots of take out with teens. lots of money spent at cactus charly over the years. dining in -- one.. i have never been to a Mexican restaurant that when you ask for more salsa for your food, they tell you it's an extra $2 charge..... i also thought i'd use restaurants.com and buy some vouchers -- bought a few $5 vouchers to use - there were no restrictions printed on the certificate. went on a weekend and was told i couldn't use it, after the bill came.. disappointed... went again, a weekday.. showed them the app... and was told that you had to present a hard copy of certificate.... who prints anything anymore?! disappointed.. needless to say overall: unpleasant service... food is so so & overpriced read more

Best mexican food in north jersey. Menu has lots of choices, and I have never had a bad meal. Tastes and feels more like authentic mexican than your standard tex-mex. They do a great job and we are and will be regulars. read more

Excellent chicken chimichangas. Delivery was quick. There were some issues with incorrect charging; however, that was rectified immediately. Highly recommend. read more

We had the combo which included an enchilada, chili relleno, and taco. The taco became soggy from the enchilada sauce, so it wasn't very good. The refried beans were burnt and hard. The relleno was decent but nothing to brag about. The burrito was mediocre. The beef tasted more like pork than beef. The burrito itself was not rolled correctly and fell apart. read more

Pretty busy place on Sat downtown Maplewood. We enjoyed the food, ceviche was very good, burrito very fresh with a very nice team texture to the flour shell, kids had chimichangas which they liked a lot. Service was good also. Over good taste and in the end they even brought ice cream on the house for us moving to make some space. Really enjoyed it good job read more

Cactus Charly - Walls - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

Was recommeded this restaurant by a friend. This place is amazing. I def recommend this to everyone. :)

A great spot. Having grown up in Arizona, and eating at the houses of many of my Mexican friends I'd like to think I know Mexican food. And THIS IS GOOD. I've been here a number of times and it's always been quality. 8 times out of ten the chips are hot when they bring them out (not a must have, but definitely a nice touch) the salsa isn't wonderful, but definitely good to munch the chips with. The servers are always nice and accommodating, although they can at times seem understaffed when they are busy. The food is pretty authentic Mexican, NOT Tex-Mex. With true Mexican favorites like tongue tacos and stuffed chayote, this place is really giving you the Mexican experience. The portions are always generous, and I've never eaten anything I didn't like. Tip: It's better to go when they are not as busy, service will be better and during the non-busy times, they make their tortillas in house. (Our server told us they cant keep up with orders if they try to make the homemade tortillas during the dinner rush). Don't miss out on the horchata (which is homemade) and delicious! read more

I've eaten here twice. The 2nd time was the charm. I had a Blackened Tilapia with mexican seasoning, sauces over refried beans and rice. It was delicious. The place is quant and cozy. A lot of young adults from the town, and also families enjoyed the establishment as well. I'm always skeptical about authentic Mexican restaurants and food, especially because I've eaten in Mexican cuisine in Texas and California...so to find a place close to home on the East coast, is always comforting that's for sure. I would say the Horchata was ok ... not the best I've had but perfect to have to go for dessert. The guacamole was really good...and the salsa was perfect. I enjoy supporting family owned businesses , and this is one of those establishments that I don't mind chowing down and supporting. I enjoy it and so does my mom's, step pops and lil bro. If you want authentic Mexican cuisine in the area, I recommend you stop by and get a dish. read more

This was an interesting experience. First of all, it's a smaller restaurant, maybe 13 tables and some outside seating. We sat inside, the tables outside were full. They sat us next to the kitchen, and next to a floor model air conditioner. For some reason, this AC unit spit out water which rained down upon my party and myself. Eventually we had to ask to sit at another table. Their only seemed to be two waiters, and they seemed a little frazzled. I don't k is if there was an issue with the kitchen, but we waited a while for our food, and when we inquired, we were brought out another tables meal. Luckily we didn't start eating until things were settled. We started with Queso Fundito (I think), and we weren't sure what to expect. It was a plate of melted cheeses with some chorizo and other things and four tortillas. It tasted good, but it at the end of the day it way a cheese tortilla with a slight chorizo flavor. For dinner I had Enchiladas with the Mole Poblano sauce. These were really good. My companions had the Enchiladas Ranchero and the Burrito. The burrito was enormous. Both of them them enjoyed their meals. read more

I had the same experience as the reviewer below-really bad service. The food was not great either. The meat tasted like poor quality meat.

For many years I really disliked Mexican food. The flavors and smells were not enticing to me. A business associate choose Cactus Charly for a lunch meeting about a year ago. To my surprise (and I think as a testament to the authentic cooking) I loved my lunch and devoured everything on my plate. What it lacks in ambiance, it is really like a cave in there, it makes up in having amazing, tasty and reasonably priced food. I am glad I discovered this place and it is my go to restaurant for Mexican food. read more

This is a place I go to all the time. Either with family or just my girlfriend and I. The staff is friendly and efficient. It's a BYOB which is always a plus and the liquor store is across the street! The food is fantastic!!!!! I'm a enchilada and chimichanga type of guy. My girlfriend loves the fried snapper! Come here and you won't be disappointed! read more

i tried their flautas and they were so good! u get 3. i got chicken in mine! the rice and beans were on the side and good as always :) very good service! one of my favorite mexican places. read more

Best Mexican in the area! Not great, but good mole & green enchiladas read more

Cactus Charly - Store Front from across the street - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

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In the Maplewood/Millburn/Summit area there are a lot of great spots to eat but surprisingly there aren't many Mexican places. Normally we go to Tinga but have never been too impressed so we wanted to give this place a shot, boy did we make a nice choice. The nachos were super cheesy which is just what I like. All the fajita plates look awesome and the smell is insanely addicting. I always just get regular tacos when I get Mexican for the true experience and they were some of the better tacos I have had. My girlfriend got a burrito and the presentation was nice with one half of it covered in salsa and the other half covered in sour cream. This place is BYOB and they can turn your wine into sangria. Yes that sounds awesome but I don't suggest it. We gave them the bottle and they went to the back with it and returned with the transformed sangria. The sangria was good but a little sweet and not very strong. At the end of the night our waiter asked if we wanted the left over wine from our bottles back, it turned out they barely used half the bottle in the sangria!! Don't get the sangria, you won't get the experience of a real BYOB because you leave with no buzz besides a sugar high. Who goes to a byo restaraunt and only has one glass of wine? This disappointment didn't last for long though because the churros we got for dessert were fantastic. They were fresh and warm from the oven and came with a delicious chocolate sauce. As you can see, despite the sangria debacle I still gave this place 4 stars, that's how good the food was. Not to mention it's got that Mexican feel inside with the decor and setup read more

They have a great lunch combo but I skipped it and went right to the shrimp tacos. I'm not a tomato fan but I like their fresh pico and salsa. The salsa verde is excellent! The chips and tortillas are too thick for my taste. I like that they have real Mexican sodas with real sugar not corn syrup. We have also had the enchelladas, chyote, and quacamole that is made table side. I have always liked the waiters there and they have added some experienced local waiters as well. read more

Had a craving for fish tacos so we came to Cactus. Positive: The ambiance is cute and the portions are huge. That's about it. Salsa was watery and tasteless. Fish tacos - complete disappointment. Fish was terrible, tasteless and all the wrong consistency. Even though I was quite hungry I could not eat it. The service was very rushed and impersonal. The whole place has a feel of a fast food establishment. I will not return. read more

So I gave this place another chance despite the service last time. This time our server was much friendlier and more attentive than he was the last time. I still am not sure why the do not have more help. Food was good and came out piping hot. They have redeemed themselves! read more

Solid Mexican food. Restaurant can be a bit stuffy inside. Service is great! Never was upset with the food quality. I've had multiple apps. and entrees from Cactus Charley and have always enjoyed them all. Must try: Nachos Check it out! read more

Beautiful Quaint family Mexican eatery. Delicious food! Great flavors. A bit on the expensive side for a Mexican eatery but a definite must try. BYOB read more

Cactus Charly - Mexican Near Me - Maplewood, New Jersey

I never write reviews. If I like the place, I leave a generous tip and tell family/friends. If I don't like it, I tell the owner/manager. Unfortunately, this place has become ridiculous. Food-wise, I think it is decent, albeit on the pricier side. I generally order delivery from Cactus Charly since my husband is not a fan. Recently, I ordered shrimp fajitas for delivery and was quoted 45min. It was the weekend and the place is usually packed, so that seemed like a normal delivery time. When it hit the hour mark, I called to check on my order and was placed on hold for 7min. I then called back and when I informed the waiter that he put me on hold for 7min he said, "Well I am talking to you now." No apology or explanation, just a rude reply. I actually had to tell him to apologize. At this point, we were well over the delivery time and I was ready to cancel the order. After 90min (original quote was 45min), the manager came to drop off my food. When I opened the door and told her how late she was and that her colleague put me on hold for 7min, she didn't seemed upset or sympathetic. So then I said that I didn't feel like paying because I was really put off by the wait time and lack of care from the restaurant. Of course, I was going to pay and had cash visibly in my hand (with a tip), but the manager walked away from the door. Didn't apologize, just walked away and said "fine". I assumed this was her way trying to make it up to me since I order often. Today I just called to order and was told that they would no longer deliver because I did not pay for my food. I spoke to the same woman who came to my door and reminded her that she quoted me 45min and that I had cash ready to pay her. She told me that 45min was the same amount of time as an hour even though I repeatedly reminded her that she arrived over 90min after the order was placed. And I reminded her that I had cash in my hand when she came to the door. I was not going to run out to her car in the dead of winter after she walked away. She apparently told the owner that I refused to pay and suggested that I stole my dinner. After lying to me about the time it took for my food to arrive (and then backtracking) and suggesting that I stole even though I had cash in my hand, the woman said that she would deliver the food. At this point, even though I am craving Mexican, I do not feel like giving them my business. A big part of these reviews are customer service and experience. While, I was willing to spend the $30 on fajitas and guacamole, I am not OK with rude customer service in which the restaurant acts as if they are doing me the favor bringing my food late and shocked when I complain. There are many other restaurants in the area, so I guess I will have to find a new Mexican restaurant. Sorry for the longest review, but this was clearly a frustrating experience and a really unfortunate since I am still craving fajitas. read more

I can say this is a solid Mexican restaurant with a lot of really good choices. I have been there 3-4 times and each visit has been consistently good. Tonight we ordered pollo en mole verde, beef enchiladas, and chicken soup. The mole was the highlight by far. Check it our for yourself. read more

Just had take-out from Cactus Charlie's tonight.It is absolutely the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten.Ordered fish tacos.The tortilla was soggy and the ingredients were sad.My ordered #21 .The shrimp was tasteless and we wound up throwing out the food.Never go back again read more

Walked up to the counter. Said "hello" to the server standing behind the desk. He doesn't respond and walks around the desk to get to a table. It takes 1 second to say hello back. I used to be a server. I never ignore people. He comes back and helps me get my pick-up order. Comes back out from the kitchen, places it on a nearby table and says to me "That's yours." Wow, I was standing right between him and the table. It takes less effort to hand me the bag rather than place it on a table and walk away. Never ever again. read more

This was my 1st time here and my last. Had dinner with my 8 year old son. The server who also seated us was not friendly and did not once check in to see if "everything was ok." It was our 1st time there, which I mentioned, but he could have cared less. My son had the chicken quesadillas. Each quesadilla had very little chicken and cheese. We are not fans of refried beans - would have asked for black beans had we known. The server didn't seem to care when I asked him about a substitution, so I let it go. I had the three fish tacos. The fish was decent but was overwhelmed by the giant tortillas. It was torture trying to get a check. When it was delivered, I had to wait to have it picked up and brought it to the desk instead. Didn't feel appreciated nor was the food compelling enough for a return. read more

Cheap, family-friendly, no frills mexican food. Come hungry, leave stuffed. We especially enjoy coming here in the summer for the outdoor seating, BYOB and they'll make you sangria. A Maplewood staple! read more

Best mexican restuarant around the area. Original food with great seevice. Amazing decor