This is a hard one for me. As a kid who grew up going here for lunch in high school always regarding it as a legendary spot, it has lost significant credibility over the years when discussing food. I remember when it was like $7 to get a special and now it is twice that (within 5 years). I do not know their lease agreement or food cost etc but this has gotten to be fairly egregious. For this reason I had to take a star down because it's just hard to quantify what I had been getting for years next to a steep price increase. There is not much to say about the service and ambiance I mean it's a small place set up like a chipotle or a subway. There's no where to eat inside so we usually ate at the outdoor seating area of the coffee shop next door. This is a place you go to bring food to work or home after work, not a place to sit down and have a nice dinner. So the ambiance is irrelevant. Service is as good as it can be in such a small place but everyone is super nice and it's stayed that way throughout the years. Honey grilled chicken on any of their options is definitely the way to go (and chipotle sauce as a side or on whatever you get). Very upsetting I could not give this place 5 stars as it is reminiscent of childhood. However I still highly highly suggest trying this place out if you are new to Champaign and want a local hotspot option. read more

Always fresh, flavorful and fast! Rick & crew do a great job at this no-frills walk up joint. read more

Cactus Grill - Daily Specials April 2025 - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This is like an overpriced version of Chipotle that doesn't have seating or good flavor. $11.35 for a burrito. read more

Cactus Grill - Tofu Burrito - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

We love the food here. Our favorites are burritos and honey-grilled chicken quesadillas. We can't wait to go back!

Absolutely adore this place! My go-to item is honey grilled chicken Quesadilla with chipotle sauce and guac. I love how their Quesadilla is simple, yet flavorful. I usually get just cheese and meat on mine, but there is an option to load it up with veggies as well! The service is so fast ( you will be in and out sub 5 minutes). I am so happy that I got to find a delicious, reliable lunch spot :) read more

Restaurant review Inexpensive, fast, mexican food would be the four words to summarize your experience at Cactus Grill. This restaurant is located in a small strip mall that is adjacent to subway and Espresso Royale. Very limited parking spot and you may even miss the entrance when you come the first time. When you go order it is just like Chipotle, however the rice is not cilantro rice but spanish rice and the ingredients appear to be slightly lesser quality in terms of freshness and taste, however the daily special at 5.25 make up for this. Check out the pictures I scanned of the menu to determine which days you want to go. Otherwise the burrito is way better than the panchero burrito. So if you don't have to travel to prospect or on campus for chipotle, this can be your one stop shop. Pros: cheap daily specials, quick, inexpensive Cons: very small parking lot, hard to get in, lower quality than chipotle. The honey chicken reminds me of the chicken you get at the asian restaurants at the mall. Some poor health code violations which can make you leary, however that price still wins me over :) Hidden deals: Daily special 5.25 Monday- Chicken burrito Tuesday- 3 chicken taco Wednesday- Steak burrito Thursday- Chicken quesadilla and chicken taco Friday- Fish, tofu, or veggie burrito Saturday- Chicken burrito Health code rating: D. There are some terrible food handling reviews. It was recently covered in the newspaper as well. "The restaurant received an adjusted score of 30 and seven critical violations, including foods at preparation tables being improperly stored, a delivery from the morning still sitting out and raw meat being dispensed inside the undersized, walk-in cooler." http://il.healthinspections.us/champaign/estab.cfm?facilityID=1361 read more

Cactus Grill - Daily specials - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I came in right before closing the other night, my fault, I wasn't watching their hours and my partner was running late. Still, the owner took the time to answer my questions about their tofu, and asure me, without my asking, that their tofu is cooked separately from their animal products. I have to say, especially if you're vegetarian or vegan, try their Friday tofu burrito specials. Their tofu is flavorful and fried, and their prices are affordable. This local restaurant has earned our love and support, and when I move a few blocks further away this summer, I plan to continue to patronize them. read more

Absolutely love Cactus Grill. Delicious daily specials and their taco salad is amazing! You have to try their honey chicken, it's the best! The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. Highly recommend you try them today! (They are closed on Sunday.) read more

Ordered delivery on a Saturday night and wanted to try something different. I ordered a chicken burrito bowl with guacamole and a fish taco. The bowl was on special for $5.25. I ordered through grubhub and delivery was kind of slow, a little over 1 hour and 10 minutes, which I guess is to be expected on a busy Saturday night. The ordering itself though was very easy and convenient on grub hub. The fish taco was surprisingly good. The fish tasted fresh, and it was a fairly large size with all the toppings. I really liked the fish and the sauce it came with. My burrito bowl was also quite tasty. The honey grilled chicken was flavorful and appeared to be of good quality. There was no shortage of toppings, especially the guacamole I paid a ~$1.30 extra for, this was fresh and delicious. The portion was large enough to save half for later, too! Overall for ~$15 delivered this was a pretty good deal. I'm not quite sure if it was better than Chipotle, but it was definitely cheaper for a comparable product. I would get Cactus Grill again for sure. read more

Cactus Grill - Honey chicken bowl and a fish taco - good! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Best burrito/ taco place in town. Honey grilled chicken is out of this world good. 10/10 would recommend.

My first time there I got the the quesadilla with chipotle chicken. It was huge and made me feel pretty sick because it was so greasy. The guacamole was the only decent part. My second time there I got tacos. Very similar to the tacos in the dining halls on campus. Super generic ingredients, especially the black beans and shredded cheese. My third time there was probably the best meal so far, the taco salad with pinto beans and honey chicken. The taco salad shell it came in was really good. The pinto beans are definitely better than the black beans. Side note.. I was really thrown off when the worker asked me what beans to put in my taco salad. He put a thick layer of beans in the bottom of the shell/bowl and then asked if I wanted lettuce. Lettuce in my taco salad?? Yes of course lol. It wasn't much of a salad by the end of it. There's not many vegetables to choose from. If there is a next time, I probably would ask to just put a small scoop of beans on top. I was excited to try this place at first, but it never makes me feel satisfied. It's always pretty bland and greasy. I go here because it's convenient. Maybe next time I'll try and make a rice bowl with tofu or something.. read more

Inexpensive, quick and good. Always order the item on special. Tuesdays are (3) Tacos, but I usually go for Thursday's Quesadilla Taco combo. Special prices have moved up to 5.70, but it's still worth it. Only challenge is the parking lot, as it's narrow... and people do not know how to park. Oh well... still worth it. read more

Cactus Grill - three tacos in foil with cheese and lettuce - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This review is based entirely on the chicken lunch specials. The service is fast and friendly. I've never experienced much of a wait, and the food is consistent. The prices have scaled up gradually over the years, but that is to be expected. I recommend it for an easy lunch if you're craving something In the Tex-Mex wheelhouse but don't have time to go to a full service restaurant. read more

I ordered the steak burrito today and placed my order at 11:08. 12:55 rolls around and still no food so I called the store to see what the holdup was. The guy on the other end says he'd get in touch with the delivery driver and see what was going on; this after telling me it should be 33 minutes because his driver was on my side of town. I hung up expecting that he'd call and give me a new more accurate time to expect my food but 1:10 comes without a call and at this point I'm ready to cancel my order unless they're willing to take off some of the price for the long wait. As I'm on the phone with him the second time my food finally came. I shouldn't have tipped the driver but I did after he said that he'd gotten lost. On to the food itself. The flavor was good when I tasted it. Very unevenly distributed throughout my lukewarm meal in what should have been a satisfyingly large burrito. The rice was very bland in many parts and the sauce was a far cry from what I consider spicy. To be fair I grew up in Texas so they may have been catering to Midwestern spicy which isn't nearly spicy enough for a south/southwest pallet. For the $12 I paid after the tip, I should have gotten much better for my money. Oh and how they justify a $2 charge for delivery (which I found out after the driver was long gone) is beyond me. It's too bad because I really wanted to like this place. Maybe I'll have a better experience dining in but I might not have the stomach or wallet to give them a second chance. A free or largely discounted meal would go a long way in chalking this up to a fluke. read more

I really do dislike writing bad reviews for anything, but I feel this experience merits a warning. I just moved here from south Texas, was really craving Mexican food, and felt too lazy to go sit in a restaurant, so delivery it was. I ordered a cheese quesadilla (with onion and tomato for a sad attempt at pico de gallo), and chips and salsa. The quesadilla was incredibly greasy, the tomato chunks were quite large, and the onion was far too overpowering for my taste. The chips and salsa were another matter. The chips were edible, but they weren't my favorite. And warning with the salsa, if you order the spicy salsa, expect green salsa. I'm used to red, so the possibility of green didn't even cross my mind. I'm not a fan of green salsa, so my dislike is likely an artifact of my dislike of green salsa in general, not this specific salsa. Plus side? The food was delivered about half an hour earlier than estimated. Looking at the rest of the reviews, it doesn't appear that Cactus Grill is ALWAYS bad, so maybe mine was just a bad experience, but still... TL;DR: greasy quesadilla, hard chips, green salsa, searching for another Mexican restaurant read more

I started going to Cactus Grill as a student, then continued to make it a regular lunch stop after I stayed in Champaign for a couple years following graduation. I've missed it ever since I moved away. St. Louis has plenty of great food, including great Mexican, but I've never had anything quite like my regular order at Cactus Grill. Their Honey Grilled Chicken is delicious. I get it on tacos with corn tortillas and all the toppings (mild salsa for me). I've been gone so long I can't remember what day, but on one day three of these tacos is their special. I was back in town yesterday for the day, and had a full day of activity and eating, but I still made it a point to stop by and grab one of these tacos on my way back out of town. Wish I could get three more today. Come to St. Louis please! read more

Cactus Grill is a worthy substitute for Chipotle (I avoid campus if I can and the other location is out of the way). Their daily specials are a fair price and filling. I usually get the burritos in a bowl to save a little on carbs. I do wish their fish tacos/burritos used something like grilled salmon or tilapia, instead of Gorton's-type fried fish mystery meat. A big plus is they have Sriracha as a condiment! The Thai-Mexican twist makes me a happy camper! read more

I *really* wanted to at least add a star to my review of Cactus Grill on a return visit, but I'm very disappointed to say that I can't bring myself to do so. It happens to be very convenient to my work to go, so I decided to go on a day when burritos were the special of the day. Wednesday's special is Steak Burrito for $4.99, so I went with that, even though everyone who DOES like this place says that the Honey Grilled Chicken is the way to go. Since I was getting the special, I decided to get a side of chips and salsa, thinking that just in case the burrito was terrible, at least I could snack on the chips. To their credit, the burrito was much better fare than my previous experience with the tacos. I got the cilantro rice and black beans, but the steak just does not have that much flavor. I got the spicy green salsa, and this salsa does carry some heat with it when you have quite a bit of it at once. It had very little shredded cheese on it, which could have at least been a saving grace if there had been more -- they should think about going with a cheese sauce (ala Qdoba's Steak Queso burrito). Overall, it was food and probably a decent deal for the $5 special, but I wasn't impressed on taste. So...the chips. These were not even close to the life preserver for which I was hoping. The chips were cold, HARD, and downright inedible. They were only barely salted, and honestly, I was afraid I might chip a tooth. I ate about 4, and that's all I could bear. I got the hot salsa with those as well, and even tried soaking them a bit, but I ended up throwing most of them away. I'm sorry to those who do enjoy Cactus Grill and can't understand why I'm down on them. Like I said before, I would like to see them succeed. There is a severe lack of variety for lunch on south Neil near my work, and this would be a nice location if the food was more up to par. I will give it one more shot with the chicken, just because i like burritos but refuse to fight the campus parking/traffic. If it improves significantly, I will post an update. read more

If I were rating the food only- 5 stars. I LOVE cactus grill- the Honey Grilled Chicken Taco's are my favorite! Delivery on the other hand- 0 stars. Customer service when delivery is bad- also 0 stars. Called in my lunch order today at 11:30 thinking at the latest they would have it to my by 12:30. At 12:55 I called to see what was up (I work on campus and that can be hard). I was told 2-3 minutes. 25 minutes later I called back. The driver had forgot my coke, they were busy and had new drivers was what I was told. I said new drivers aside, I placed my order an hour and 45 minutes ago. He said to only pay $10 for my $20 order and they should be here soon. Finally they showed up after over 2 hours of waiting. Then the icing on the cake was that our food was cold (we pretty much expected that) and we were missing sour cream and got the wrong kind of beans in the burrito. Like I said I LOVE the food at Cactus Grill (when you get it there and it's hot), but their delivery service has a little to be desired. read more

As someone who works in the Neil Street area, I am dismayed that most lunch times options are limited to typical restaurant chains. Luckily, I can count on Cactus Grill when I want a fast lunch that is less corporate than a McBurger. The quality of the food is near mediocre; some ingredients really shine, but others somehow always disappoint. Many of the meats (chicken, steak) are chewy and dry, though they're left to soak in their juices before service (doesn't help, unfortunately). For my meat option, I usually stick with the fish, which is deep-fried in a panko-like batter. The fish dishes also usually come with a drizzle of creamy chipotle sauce, yum. Recently I bought a burrito with cilantro-lime rice and black beans. The rice is an unmistakable (but poor) imitation of the rice from Chipotle, with cilantro that is never mixed in evenly. When I bit into the beans, I realized they were still...undercooked? I was pretty surprised by this discovery as most places use pre-made, canned beans rather than beans cooked in-store...so compliments to homemade beans, but disappointment at undercooked beans. Despite my criticisms, I still return to Cactus Grill every other week to pick up food. It's not luxury, but I don't expect too much from lunch on a weekday. read more

First experience with this restaurant. I ordered the chicken quesadilla fajita style. I literally had to pick off maybe half of an onion chopped into tiny pieces. I love onions, but in moderation. read more

Cactus Grill - The onions I had to pick off my quesadilla. Yes, I do like onions....just not this many. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Decent burritos, but I prefer Panchero's, Chipotle, Moe's.... pretty much every other burrito place. It's not bad, but there's so much better that it doesn't make sense to come back here. read more

The best takeout Mexican food. Price is totally reasonable and even has nightly specials. Love their honey chicken tacos, and their chipotle chicken is good too. People rave about their fish tacos, which I still need to try. Recommend their green hot salsa -- it's not too bad -- for your burritos and tacos. But their red salsa great on their chips. Solid guacamole too. Last, this isn't a chain but just a hard working proprietor who loves having his own business. So good. Skip a chain go here instead. On Neil close to the Espresso Royale, and west side. Yum! read more

I know there are a lot of negative reviews of this place, in mid December I stopped in and tried both chipotle and honey tacos. I only really remember the honey tacos being decent. Today I tried it again, this time however the steak burrito was the 5.25 special. A couple notes- The special is not just lunch but all day. Also the burrito wrap can be substituted for a bowl which they fill with your choice of types of beans, rices, salsa and guac ( I presume they would put guac on it if you asked) tomatoes and onions sour cream. I recommend going in to pick your favs before trying delivery, that being said I was there at 7:30 pm and they have two drivers so there is an attempt to make the delivery service better. This is point where I have to say the steak bowl was very good! I chose Spanish rice, black beans and the standard veggies with cheese and sour cream, the portion was plenty and the ratios of components was well done, I recommend going in for your first time to see the options first hand, for me giving it a second chance was worth while. read more

In town for a wedding and this place is super close to my hotel. If I lived here I would get this all the time! The chipotle chicken bowl was/is THE best bowl I've ever had! I got chips and guacamole, but the guacamole taste like it was store bought instead of made there. I will probably be back tomorrow! Absolutely delicious! read more

Cactus Grill - a plate of food with chips and guacamole - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Ive been coming here since this location opened over a decade ago, its as good now as it was then. Hands down this is the best place to eat in Champaign Urbana, even though i recently moved out of town ill always make this a priority visit when i come back to town. read more

Ordered for lunch at work yesterday and all of us agreed that for the price it was not worth it - it was just okay. Steak Chipotle Burrito was big; but, like most places they are made in such a way that you just get large pockets of one thing in each bite. Panchero's at least mixes theirs a bit. The steak was gray with a non-discript flavor; but at least was chopped small enough that it didn't seem chewy. My spicy salsa was not apparent in the meal. The jalapeños were all lumped together in one of those aforementioned pockets. Chips were okay, tad greasy but good salt level. Guac tasted like it was the prepackaged stuff you can buy in plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store - it had that weird citric acid aftertaste that you don't get with fresh made guac. Did I still eat it? Yes, I was hungry and I paid for it! Was I disappointed? Yes, I had heard good things about the place... Live and Yelp, I mean learn! read more

I always go on Thursdays but everyday has a good special for the budget conscious folks.

Ordered the steak burrito bowl via a food delivery app because I had zero desire to get up off the couch. Delivery was about an hour which is standard for the app/ordering system. Came about ten minutes before the latest predicted time so that was nice. Burrito bowl was delicious with LOTS of steak, good amount of rice and the cilantro lime rice actually tasted like it had lime in it without being overwhelming. I ordered the guacamole as well which was an awesome life choice. I'm a guac snob but it was flavorful without being overpowering. (Too much raw onion isn't fun for anyone even if you aren't locking lips later on tonight. :) Portion was large enough that I'll probably finish it for lunch tomorrow AND it was a very reasonable price. Props from this quasi Mexican food lover. :) read more

Cactus Grill - Steak burrito bowl with cilantro lime rice. Yum. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Ordered lunch for a co worker and I . I ordered the honey grilled chicken burrito and nacho cheese and chips. The burrito itself was pretty good, next time I'll get the chipotle chicken, I felt the honey chicken was a bit overly sweet for a burrito, other than that it was great! Delivery was fast and food was hot! read more

Mediocre mexican. Priced awesome if you get the special and it's only about $5 for lunch and you have very low expectations. My fourth time trying this place, I ordered a burrito for delivery. Nearly 2hrs later, it still had not arrived. Called to cancel my order and the manager answered. As soon as i requested to cancel my order, he said "okay, I'll call the driver." and immediately hung up. I've been disappointed each time I've tried this place and this was my last time. Absolutely would not recommend. Pancheros or Chipotle are a MUCH better option over Cactus Grill. McDonald's would be a better option. Barf. read more

I had the honey grilled chicken burrito. I thought it was good. You can choose white rice, spanish rice, pinto beans, black beans to add to it. You also have the choice of tomato, onion, lettuce, hot sauce or mild, sour cream. The people working there were very helpful and let me try samples of the chicken before ordering. I didn't give it 5 stars because I don't think it's there yet. Also, the fish tacos are really awesome. read more

Best burritos in town for sure. I won't even go to chipotle, moes, or poncheros because cactus grill shuts them down.

My dad's a regular here, the owner knows him and everything, and some weeks I join him for lunch (he's a professor at the u of I and I'm a student). Honestly I really enjoy the food here. I'm not very picky but I'm not a Neanderthal. By my judgment the food is great, it's fast if you just drive there and get your order to go, and the staff is amazingly friendly. I like not supporting an overpriced corporate chain. And you get a lot of food for your money. read more

In champaign for work and had tried this place due to the great reviews. Needless to say I was quite underwhelmed. I ordered the chipotle steak taco salad. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good. It had the potential to be good. However, the meat had so much gristle that it felt like I was chewing on rubber. I had also ordered chips and nacho cheese as it stated that it was a menu favorite. I wouldn't know how good it was because I never received it. I'll give it two stars as opposed to one because the black beans were actually tasty. read more

This is a local establishment that serves hot fast delicious food. I tried the special of the day a chicken burrito and got the chipotle style chicken. It was awesome! The cilantro rice was tasty and the sauté peppers and onions gave it a good balance. If you haven't checked this place out, you really should. read more

So I'm back here to change my review. And they have really gotten better. Honey grilled chicken burritos on monday are the BOMB! I try to make it here once a week. Delivery has gotten much better and I tend to get my order in under an hour. Go Cactus Grill! read more

I give them credit, even though the formula was the same as Chipotle, this place has been around for years before all the Chipotle's and Chipotle knock offs decided to grace our forgotten town with their presence. The food is not as good as Chipotle, but it is much, much cheaper, with $6 daily specials. The steak though is very, very tough and to be avoided. The chicken is cheap thigh meat, but good for the price. Not much variety in the menu and everything basically tastes exactly the same, but the chicken burritos and taco salads are a good cheap fill up on occasion. read more

Dude how could I not be a fan when my first experience with this place is that they hand me a gigantic, free chicken burrito?? I hope that they get some spillover traffic from the Subway next door, because I can tell the locals that own the franchise are workin' hard and I don't want them to get eaten by economy like so many other local businesses (i.e., papa george, sweet indulgence, pages for all ages) read more

I was excited to try this restaurant as it had good reviews and I liked the made-to-order aspect to it. I even drove out of my way to go there. However, I was incredibly disappointed. A veggie burrito is just lettuce, tomatoes, and onions along with the beans and rice. That is not a veggie burrito!! Other places have peppers, sauté onions, etc. and salsa and jalapeños are included in the price elsewhere. If you don't order ahead for pick up, be prepared for sub-par service. Also, make sure you tip or they become incredibly nasty!! I'll stick with chipotle, qdoba, and pancheros. read more