Up in the area visiting family and this was the spot someone suggested we check out for our first night dinner. Hearing it was a Mexican restaurant I was excited as it is one of my favorite cuisines. Stepping foot inside nothing seemed off and it had unique overall vibes due to being inside a building originally from the1800's they mention. You can see some of the age/wear & tear the building has due to this. The kitchen appeared to be upstairs then they had multiple areas of dining areas. One looked quite full and we were brought to the other that had just a few tables in use. They have different painted murals as well as artistic displays. Some of those displays are simply just a variety of cups that honestly look like you'd pick up from the dollar store for a pool party. Other than those the art displays did add a nice touch but appeared random still. The buildings age combined with overall cleanliness of the restaurant were not great. Compared to almost if not every other Mexican I have been to the ambiance/vibes were bland and lackluster. Could use some more attention to make it really stand out. Lastly though the food menu was giant and drink offerings were vast as well. More flavors available for margaritas than maybe anywhere I have seen. My wife got a blueberry one and I got a peach to enjoy after our long drive. The peach was good and tasted like peach. The blueberry was less fruit and more candy/kool-aid. Food wise she got some carnitas tacos and the only real note was the tortillas used could have been warmed to have more sturdiness to them. I got the Flag Combo with rice & beans for a side. It was good enough to finish but the flavors were not what I expected for most of it. Everything seemed to have a unique flare/taste to it but in ways that just did not work. The cheese they used on the enchilada and beans had more of a pizza taste than Mexican. The three stars I think is fitting because nothing was amazing and nothing was awful just middle of the road. Overall if you find yourself nearby and want Mexican not sure there are many other options so give it a try. Maybe you will enjoy it more than more! read more

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One of the worst meals we've had in years. The steak was beyond overcooked. The tables are so close together the people next to us kept bumping us throughout the meal. The staff had to pass the meals down the table and never came back to check to see if we wanted anything else The women's room was filth, the fan and wall were covered in dust elephants. Both the stall doors are broke. Don't waste your money!!! read more

I used to really love this place, but my last 3 visits have been more than disappointing. The last two times I ate at the restaurant, there were long hairs in my food. I gave it a few months and decided to try again tonight by ordering for pickup. My food was completely cold when I picked it up, and it was made completely wrong. I ordered a burrito bowl, which is until recently had been completely custom. There were food items added that I had specifically requested be left out, and items I had requested to be put in were missing. The person taking my order read back the order to me twice over the phone to confirm it was correct and I still received a messed up order. Additionally, 22 dollars after tax for the small amount of food that came in my single bowl is not worth it. read more

Fajitas (sizzling) no chance... Warm at best, dried out and loaded with peppers. No pico, just a pile of lettuce and shredded cheese with cold tortillas. Service - i hope the young mans grades are far superior to his ability to take care of customers. I sat for roughly ten minutes before he took the order from the people next to me that had just sat down. I asked for a refill and napkins - still waiting. Place is the only Mexican Tex Mex place around so they have that business captured. It was crowded and loud which is ok but i should have opted for the bar. Best part was the hostess, she was attentive and very well spoken.​​ read more

I used to love this place and would come here regularly. I don't know if they got new owners but this place has gone to complete shit and will never get my business again. Complimentary salsa and chips has turned into an extra charge. Burrito bowls that you used to be able to build, not anymore. They now come with set ingredients and it is disgusting. Everything has gone up in price and has gone down in quality. Don't waste your money here, go over to burrito bobs instead. read more

While the servers where nice. The food was cold and over priced. My husband and I ordered two burrito bowls and they came out with no meat and missing corn and when they brought the meat out it wasn't hot. The new menus had nothing on them compared to before missing my favorite menu item the taco salad. Everything was overpriced for the little we got. The only good things where the cheese dip and ice cream we ordered. I miss the old menus and honestly will not be coming back. read more

Haven't been here in years and, man, have we been missing out. The ambience takes you in as soon as you walk through the door. The setting and decor transport you straight to a Mexican locale. Our server, Andrew, was attentive, friendly, and understanding despite how busy the place was. Food was well cooked and seasoned. So delicious. The whole family loved it, which is a rare thing with our kids. Lol. Will have to come back more often. read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

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Margaritas were delicious but the restaurant smells terrible and is dirty. I wouldn't recommend this place on how badly it smells. read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Strawberry margarita - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

Recently went back to NY and had a great visit over the summer. The food was fresh and good flavors and textures and a lot of it. The prices are decent. It was very hot inside during the summer so that was not super great but everything else makes up for it. The service we had was really great as well and helpful with a few of our question. Solid margaritas! And of course this great cheese pull with that queso. When we visit back home we usually make a stop at Cactus Grill and Cantina ! Adding video shortly :) read more

Here on Dec 7 2025 for a birthday. There is no heat on in the restaurant. We are freezing wearing our winter coats and hats inside.

This place is so dirty and smells like rank beer. The food was awful. Donot recommend. it needs a good cleaning and some love.

10/2/2025 So disappointing. Haven't ate there in a year. Salsa was 3 days old. Chile relonos was so hot it was inedible. Taco meat had zero seasoning. My cats wouldn't even eat the chicken from the enchilada. I had the Los Rios. $25. Yuck. Let me add I called to let them know and the young girl hung up on me. read more

Our waitress was excellent. The food was ok, but left the tail on my shrimp and chicken fajita. Cobb webs line the walls which should have given us a clue what was in store. As we sat down to the table we were swarmed by flies. They were everywhere!!! It was absolutely disgusting. Additionally, it was so hot that one of guest preferred to sit in his car. He ate half his meal and had to leave because it was that hot. Patrons shouldn't have to hover over their food to prevent insect landings! read more

We went New Year's Eve for dinner. The entire restaurant was basically empty. We were seated up against the bar. It's typically darker in the restaurant but it was dark enough I could barely read the menu. I ordered queso and a quesadilla. The queso was cold when it came out. Trying to get the waitresses attention was impossible to ask of it could be warmed up. (Cold lumpy cheese is not worth $10) and when the quesadilla came out it was put your finger through the bottom of it soggy when i picked it up. If you sit out in the main dining room I highly suggest not looking up if you're a neat freak. The walls are disgusting and covered with Cobb webs. Took my boss from out of town there and told him as we left that years ago it was the waste water treatment plant. His response..... oh no wonder the food tastes like shit. read more

Love the atmosphere. For that, I give them an extra star. My margarita was good. A lot of Pesc-friendly options. read more

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Fish tacos on taco Tuesday. Winner, winner fish dinner, baby. Tequila and corona round out the night. read more

One of the best places to dine in the area! Delicious margaritas, burritos, & quesadillas. Not to mention the rooftop outdoor dining with a gorgeous view of the river read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - a man and a woman sitting at a table - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

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Outstanding Margaritas made fresh by bartender Alex. Outstanding food! Outstanding service! Great atmosphere! The only negative comment would be that the salsa was a little bland. Fajitas, chimichangas, burritos, and tostadas fantastic! read more

Always great food and attentive service fresh salsa and warm chip's delicious chimichangas are great as well as the pork tacos

My wife and I have been going to this place for years, always had good food and service. But in the last year it has really gone down hill. We went 2 weeks ago and my food was burned but my wifes was ok. Tonight both of our meals were burned inside and out. Will never go there again. Sad to say but not giving them any more of my money and you shouldnt either. Service has gotten pretty shoddy as well. read more

The food and service were both top-notch. Our group of 5 had our very excellent dinner on the roof, which was a wonderful experience. So why not a 5 star review? This goes out to whoever owns or manages this place: for God's sake, and everything that is decent, PLEASE provide your waitstaff with either some kind of dumb waiter, or relay system, to get orders up and down those many flights of stairs. The present arrangement seems needlessly cruel to the wait staff. read more

Horrible lettuce was brown salsa was like tomato soup but tasted bad. $36 wasted. read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

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The food here was not very good. The chicken and steak must be precooked, frozen, then thawed to serve. It's definitely not grilled! The service was pretty good and the decor was colorful and cute, but the food had no flavor. read more

Not worth the trip. For starters the menus were dirty, we saw a person In the second floor kitchen smoking. Ordered queso dip and it was terrible. They over cooked it and the cheese separated and tasted burned. Half of the chips were stale. The steak quesadilla was dry. This was probably the worst Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. read more

Our vegetarian family cannot eat at Cactus Grill because they use an oil that has animal ingredient in it for all their beans, and even the chips--we can't order anything except a green salad and the salsa. We'd have to bring our own chips! It's a real shame because our family loves Mexican food. This information should be on the menu, because unless you ask, there's no way to know. Most Mexican restaurants avoid lard and any animal ingredients in non-meat dishes, because there are a lot of people looking for healthier and lighter cuisine. read more

I've been up here for close to a year and this is the only place I actually enjoy going to. I don't know how it would hold up against Mexican spots in NYC or in Jersey but it does the job as far as the north country goes lol. There is a parking lot - some spots are metered and some are not. When you enter the place, it has an old city Mexican vibe to it. Sometimes it takes a while for a hostess to get to the front and seat you but they are very friendly once they arrive. My overall biggest complaint is the overall service is slow. It takes a while before your server gets to you and like I mentioned about the hostess not being in the front. The margaritas are mmmmm! I usually get the steak quesadilla and they are really good as well. It's worth checking out if you are in the area for whatever reason. read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Free chips and fresh salsa- you can also purchase guac (which is absolutely delightful or queso) - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

Great food and excellent service--we look forward to coming back!- Andrew was a great server and even with it be very busy it was excellent!

It was bad . So bad . This place is exceptionally dirty . The tables had a stickiness to them as did the menu. There was no AC so it was pretty warm inside . The silverware was unwashed and had streaks where someone else's mouth had slid down the fork . Another person at my table's silverware had a hard chunk of food stuck to it . When the server brought back more silverware she said " hopefully these are better for you ." They weren't . The food was utterly atrocious . The vegetable fajita contained unseasoned , unsalted , completely bland and over cooked peppers , onions and bizarrely - cauliflower, broccoli and huge chunks of carrots ! There were (no exaggeration) at least two cups of shredded cheese dumped on the plate alongside some sad ice burg lettuce . It looked as though the cheese had gone warm or moist at some point because there were huge melted together clumps . My plate had a quarter size chip out of the plate with a sharp edge . ( see picture .) They brought one person in our party out the wrong dish entirely . It was disastrously bad all around . Please spend your money elsewhere, like even Taco Bell is fine dining compared to Cactus . I hope the health department gets to this place soon before someone becomes ill. Shame on them . read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Severely chipped plate I didn't even notice initially because I was too grossed out by the disgusting food . - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

We usually love the Cactus, but our past two experiences have left us uninspired to return. Several weeks ago, we came in and sat down in the bar area. The waitress was all over the place and seemed hungover. Had to request multiple items ordered several times and she went to refill drinks and then forgot them. We finished our dinner by the time she even realized it. This most recent time was this past Saturday. Party of 3. We sat in the actual dining room. Will never do that again. Tables were so close the chairs were touching the patrons behind us. My SO chair got bumped by staff and patrons much that he became frustrated while trying to eat dinner and we ended up boxing our food up and leaving. The staff was trying to squeeze around people with large trays of food and no space. The table we were sitting at was so close to the other patrons that you couldn't move between the tables. It was very uncomfortable. The server seemed very frazzled and struggling to keep up. She took our order and then had to come get it again because she had dumped water on the ticket. As for the food, it was ok. Very overpriced. Twenty dollars for a quesidilla. We dont get the chance to go out a ton, and when we do, we want to relax and enjoy ourselves, not regret that we spend our money and time for frustration. I suggest maybe spending your money elsewhere for the time being. We will be. read more

Excellent service, food presentation and taste. Good prices and generous portions. Nice ambiance. Being able to visit a TexMex Cuisine restaurant is a treat specially here in the North Country. Great food and great staff. Highly recommended. read more

1st time ever eating here and was happy we came. Now, with that being said, we're from the Chicago area and we are blessed with the best Mexican food, so I'm reviewing with regard that I'm in northern NY. Had a margarita on the rocks and the 3 amigos platter. Both were very good. The enchiladas meats were shredded and seasoned very well. I would return read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Three Amigos platter - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

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Ordered the Queso to start (which came w/our dinners instead of as an appetizer). Bleghk! Aside from having to ask where it was since I ordered it from the minute we sat down, it tasted like hamburger helper, pretty terrible. I ordered Chicken and Steak Fajita combo for my dinner, both of the meats were overcooked. My husband's Guadalajara was mostly beans when it was supposed to have pork and chicken in it. $87 with tip for 2 drinks each and terrible food. So, Steer clear of this place. The quality of food was just awful. Service was just ok, the place was packed and I think they were doing the best they could. Waited 15 minutes from the time were seated to get a drink. Do not recommend. read more

We were there for the first time Thursday night. The place was packed but we were seated promptly. I wish I would have gotten the name of our waitress, young blonde in a pink tee shirt, she took our drink orders, brought them quickly, took our orders which were delivered hot snd delicious in what seemed like a short time. She checked on us several times and was friendly and attentive. I'm looking forward to going back. read more

Love the Cactus! The Mexican food was great! And these signature fish tank margaritas are the best!!! So many flavors to choose from too! read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

Very good food, great location. The service was quick, the food was cooked just right and their queso was amazing. Not over priced.

Yuk. Dirty, chips are crappy but frozen margaritas are excellent. So go there for a margarita and leave.... No AC. R u kidding read more

Service was slow even though we had a reservation for our party of ten. The waitress was snippy and didn't have much of a "people person" attitude. The extras that I ordered were forgotten and I had to remind them. The food was tasty and had visual appeal. The quantity of food served was good. The atmosphere was very loud, not somewhere you'd want to go if you wanted to hold a conversation with someone. I'd be fine never going back but wouldn't say no if someone else was paying. read more

Cactus Grill & Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Potsdam, New York

Tasty food, good portion sizes, some tables didn't seem like they were 6ft away once people were in chairs... almost back-to-back and the waitstaff couldn't get between. Our waitress seemed a bit overwhelmed, I could have used some sour cream but from the time she dropped the plates off to the next time she checked in on us, enough time had passed that I was basically done with my meal. Ah well. read more

This is a review of my dining experience this evening although I must mention that last year I dined at this establishment as well and the waitress added a $20.00 tip to my card after I left despite leaving a cash tip. To start the place is filthy. There is dirt upon the exposed pipes, cobwebs on the walls, and the center sauce holder was just covered in grime. My appetizer plate was dirty with what looked like butter. The table rocked back and forth and was sticky. Drinks were ordered and they arrived quickly. After ordering food my party waited patiently. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time but my meal was missing. I was told that my shrimp needed to be cooked. I waited again patiently for what seemed like a half hour and my food never came. Since my waitress did not return to ask my party if they needed refills on their drinks I had to flag down another waitress to ask to cancel my order and bring the bill. Once the bill arrived I went to pay it and observed my meal enroute. I politely sent it back and had it removed from my tab. Historically, the food here is quite good, although two bad experiences means I will never return. I encourage otheres to avoid this establishment as well. read more

The food is so bad and so overpriced it's stunning. My son got a $15 "burrito bowl"; it consisted of rice with beans on top, a little bit of cheese. I got a bean burrito, which was so bad I couldn't finish it. I am NOT a fan of Taco Bell, but I go there sometimes in a pinch. I would go to Taco Bell ANY DAY over this place. The owners should be embarrassed by the lack of quality and by how much they charge. read more