Please don't say you've included salsa when you haven't!!!!! I love the crispy tacos here and have been coming since they still had the amazing salsa bar pre pandemic. I'm taking a couple stars off today because I did a pick up order, ***specifically asked*** if the salsas were included since I didn't see the shape of them in the white paper bag. She nodded yes so I took her word, drove home, and sure enough, no extra salsas included. These tacos are an indulgence and treat and it's annoying to not eat them the way they taste best. If you need to charge for the free salsas now, go ahead and do it, just don't say you're including them when you aren't. Super annoying! read more

The space has so much potential, but it has consistently mediocre food. I've been here half a dozen times over the past 10 years and each time I wish I'd gone elsewhere. Certainly store bought chips (and not even good, at that) accompany the 20$ carne asada burrito "mejor" with guacamole. I didn't throw any of my burrito away-it was fully consumed. But I can't say it was a thrilling or even especially satisfying experience. They take your order at the front and their system asks you for a tip while they're at it. There is no service; only ordering and receiving your order. I know the tip stuff is common, but I find it particularly hard to take when the food's not great. All of that, paired with a less-than-pleasant cashier. No smile. No "thank you" that I could hear. Just a pair of eyes looking at you like, "WHAT". WHAT. I just want a decent burrito-no attitude on the side or at the front, please. I think today was my last attempt at cactus. read more

The food was tasty, but the order was filled incorrectly. They subsequently rectified it. The margarita was delicious. There is street parking. There are two coded entry restrooms. There were plenty of tables. The dining area was filled with sunlight. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Chips & Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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When I was a kid we used to come here on field trips for my Spanish class. It was one of my favorite trips and I always had so much fun. I recently came here with my mom and daughter and it was so nice. Of course they have changed locations and the menu has expanded since the 90's. But it was a nice trip and we had fun. We ordered a carne asada burrito and a veggie bowl- both good. The folks working here were nice and I enjoyed the outdoor space. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Surprisingly affordable taqueria next to the Rockridge bart station. Lots of seating with wheelchair accessible options and an outside patio where dogs are welcome. Food was good. Not great definitely must go again, the best I've ever eaten in a while. But good and nothing to complain about. Disappointed that they pre portion the salsa and only three options. Wish it was a salsa bar as I loooove salsa. Bathroom was clean and not a biohazard. Normally this would be a three star. But the proximity to Rockridge, the affordability, and cleanliness bump it up to four. read more

OMG, Their new outside patio area is crazy nice it's so beautiful I have to believe it'll be packed every night in the summer once people see it . I've had so many enjoyable meals here with my family and friends it's such a great hangout spot for the neighborhood. read more

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Order first, find a table, then wait for your number to be called. Decent amount of people dining in for Saturday lunch. Got the street taco combo which came with 3 tacos and chips. I chose carne asada, carnitas, and pastor for my tacos. Carnitas and carne asada were on the dry side. Pastor was definitely my favorite of the 3 because it had juicy and tender meat. It came with chips but the chips felt stale. Overall just average tacos. Friend got a torta and said it was also just ok. read more

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My second visit, the 10 year old's first. The child is not a huge fan of Mexican food, mainly because she despises beans and tomatoes. However, we stopped by during our search for Waldo, and spied Chilaquiles on the menu, with an option for a green sauce. She was sold was she figured out it was basically chips an salsa for brunch. The food was delicious. The staff friendly. Not too crowded, so also quite a peaceful visit. read more

First time coming here in many years! My mom and I sat outside with our dog after a walk. I got the chilaquiles with salsa verde from the brunch menu and mom got her fave, the shrimp tacos. I've had their fish and shrimp burritos in the past and remember liking them. I would add their pineapple salsa from the salsa bar and was bummed they didn't have it today. Chilaquiles is my go-to brunch dish and the portion was generous. We noticed that they added mushroom tacos to their menu. Although the line was not that long, it took a a while to get our food because there was a party that ordered 6-7 items. Perhaps they might have been short staffed due to Mother's Day? Please bring back the pineapple salsa! Still, we would come back to try other items, especially from their weekend brunch menu. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Chilaquiles - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

I really love coming to Cactus and their food is very delicious! They are a great local spot right next to the BART station. They have tons of indoor seating and an outdoor patio as well in the back. The staff is always very friendly and happy to answer any questions you have. We typically order take out but decided to dine in this time, the inside is very cozy! Definitely recommend for a no frills, quality meal! read more

Cactus Taqueria - Three Cheese Enchilada Plate - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

The photos are out dated. There is no Sasha bar. The food was decent. But everything that I usually get for free (like salsa, chips, pickled veggies from most Mexican establishments) has an extra charge. And the portions they serve are small. There is no service as you order at the counter and get your own utensils and self clean up. But tipping is encouraged. So, this place is too expensive for a standard taqueria. read more

What happened to my beloved Cactus?! This has been my favorite Taqueria for over 20 year, and I am so sad that I don't recognize my favorite dishes anymore. The Tres Leches cake was not the same it so bland it tasted like it came from Safeway. The crispy shrimp tacos were marginal and the burrito tasted like it was made in Kansas. All the authenticity seems to be gone the food no longer has those rich flavors that made them exceptional. Service is still good but food was so disappointing! read more

Consistently great crispy chicken tacos for the 10 or so years I've been coming here. Thank you Cactus! read more

Cactus Taqueria - Crispy chicken tacos - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

We've been coming here for ages so we have a soft spot for this place. Though we no longer live close I came by today to pick up lunch for the fam. Parking is street parking which is not easy to find. Plenty of tables if you want to dine in. Food is good and there are also drinks and desserts to accompany should you so desire. Take out can be a bit of a wait. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Order and wait - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

The Food is mediocre here. I regret coming here. The service was efficient the environment is clean and well lit. But I wanted better tasting Mexican food. This is not great. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Salsa and Chips. The salsa was tasteless the chips taste like particle board. - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Get on board now! This place is great- with this kind of authenticity I've been coming here for years and today I've had the posole Verde and it was unbelievably great -tasty, deep, authentic to this seasoned hombre-I always love the crispy tacos and everything else they do it's amazing so I recommend cactus highly for authenticity ,high-quality and just general nice atmosphere. read more

May 26 ,tuesday went there i ask if i can get a plate of fish, the woman said NO , then she said i can make a BURRITO fish ....i said NO, so i order another plate ....surprise ,the tomato almost rotten i think from 2 days ago. My friend felt bad and we never back again Oakland near bart station read more

Tasty crunchy tacos. Salsa could be a bit tastier/spicy other than that the taco are a goto with guacamole added to the taco as a standard. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

Great location on the corner of college avenue by the bart, mediocre service, average quality of food. It's definitely a solid option if you're looking for convenient and safe mexican food. read more

One of my all-time favorite burrito places. I recently got a chicken mejor burrito for take-out and it was as good as I remembered. Great portion size, good value, well-cooked chicken, good proportion of cheese and rice to meat, and it came with plenty of chips and salsa. I look forward to my next Cactus burrito! read more

I stop here frequently and they have the best nachos! Pozole Verde is delicious as well as the crispy tacos and empanadas. Cal Mex food that is very satisfying. Speed of getting food has improved. read more

Cactus Taqueria is a mainstay in the Rockridge neighborhood. Friends who return to the Bay Area have such fond memories of this place. The food is good, the service always reliable and the restaurant has an excellent vibe with a nice flow to move guests through the quickly and efficiently. read more

I really dislike being upset with food that is served to me in a restaurant so I often try my best to not be picky but with the nachos of this place it was incredibly hard. Gosh! It was a joke. I wonder if I was being recorded to see my reaction. A $16 plate of nachos (plus extra for guacamole and sour cream) looking like this?! It even had carrots on the nachos but guacamole, sour cream and pico de galo somehow weren't part of the ingredients. Better to take out of the menu you guys. This is a dish I often get in other places so this one was the top of the top in how horrible it was in everything. To be fair, the tacos that my husband got were pretty good. read more

Cactus Taqueria - They called it nachos - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

East bay burrito review #53 Initial taste - 4/7 Meat - 5/7 Beans - 4/7 Rice - 3/7 Cheese - 4/7 Tortilla - 3/7 Salsa - 3/7 Overall - 4/7 rounded up. Not great texture. Tortilla was on the sticky side. The rice is probably best left off the burrito entirely. Steak was pretty good. read more

Cactus is a staple for our house. We eat in and take out and they are always consistently delicious!! Love the chicken plate, crispy tacos and empanadas. We vary our order but these are always part of it. The people are great, service is efficient and fast. A good atmosphere for dining in if you have time. Been a customer since they were in the old spot across the street. It's Tuesday-Get tacos read more

Went here after a protest. The tacos were ok, and huge! Also appreciated that there's tons of space to sit.

When I was ordering the cashier kept charging me for something I ordered and I kept telling her I wanted one thing but she ignored it and just put something else instead. This resulted in me getting charged 8 more dollars then I originally wanted to spend . My tacos barely had any meat and they just put a handful of lettuce to fill it. read more

5 stars for their crispy tacos. Doesn't matter which protein you pick, they're all good. Get the crispy tacos, a side of crema, and ask for their habanero salsa. Make sure you eat them there for the best results. You can thank me later. read more

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Cactus Taqueria does not miss! It's tough to find parking right in front, as the Rockridge Bart Station is right across the street, and many of the surrounding businesses are thriving. The line is sometimes out the door, but ALWAYS moves very fast! The customer service is amazing, and the food tastes great. When you come to Oakland, a visit here is mandatory. My recommendations: 1. Burrito Mejor - Carne Asada & Shrimp Mix 2. Crunchy Tacos (available in 3s) 3. Watermelon Fresca Enjoy! read more

Cactus Taqueria - 3 Crunchy Shrimp Tacos & Watermelon Fresca w/chips, Pico de Gallo & Guac on the side. - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

Great food perfect for family lunch or dinner. The rice is yummy and so is the Shens burrito. l have been coming here for 15 years now and it is still amazing! read more

Placed an online order through the website as I was commuting home from work, specifically selected the College Ave location. Went there and they do not have my order, double check the order and it was sent to Berkeley. Now I have to drive to Solano Ave after already driving from Pleasanton to the first location. Also, when I got to the counter at College Ave., the lady did not acknowledge me, just looked me up and down and shouted out a number. A Spanish man walks up after the person grabs their order and she starts helping him first like I wasn't even standing there. When he walks away then she acknowledges me. After using the bathroom and then coming back to check if my order is ready as the text says, I realize it was sent to Berkeley when she can't find my order. I get to the Berkeley location, wait my turn and immediately notice that my bag looks like it was tampered with and was unsealed/left open. In contrast, there was another to go order on the same counter with a seal bag in perfect condition. I thought to myself that I should request they remake my order but gave the benefit of the doubt. I open my bag and box and check my food, everything looked fine at first glance. When I finally got around to eating my food I noticed two pieces of hair at the bottom of the box mixed in with the salad. I also was given noticeably poor service compared to the people in front of me. I was very exhausted and hungry after a long day and even apologized to the cashier but I should have kept my attitude had I known the staff tampered with my food intentionally! There is no way that two pieces of hair accidently gets on the bottom of the to go box under the lettuce and tacos! Cactus Taqueria Berkeley- Process my refund as requested! read more

Cactus Taqueria - hair in my order - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants to go to. I haven't been here since the pandemic but I am glad they are still here serving delicious food. They used to have a salsa bar with a variety of salsa choices but due to the pandemic, they have cut it down to 3 salsa flavors (salsa verde, habanero, and a pineapple flavor one) that are given at the counter. Atmosphere: Large opened space with many seating. They have both indoor and outdoor dining. It is fairly clean. Service: Staff was friendly. Quick and efficient Food: My friend and I ordered the Rancheras Chicken with Chipotle Chiles Enchiladas. It came with rice and beans. I thought dish was okay because the enchiladas were lacking some flavor. I added some of the salsa to give it more taste. I am not vegetarian but I prefer the Grilled Vegetable Enchilada over the Rancheras Chicken. We also ordered the Steak Plate that came with beans, rice, salsa, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, guac and 3 tortillas. This is one of my favorite items on the menu. Every time I come here, I order the Chicken plate and I loved it. However, this time, I wanted to try the steak. The steak was tender, juicy and very flavorful! I'm glad I changed it up this time. I think the plates are worth it for its price. They give a good amount of food and they taste pretty good! We also got a side of chips for $1! I love to eat it with the toppings on the Plate and salsa! Lastly, we ordered the Strawberry Agua Fresca! This was my favorite drink there! It was refreshing! It's delicious and it was much needed to quench my thirst! Overall, I recommend coming here if you are in the Rockridge area. The service is great. The food is delicious and worth it for its price. I really miss the salsa bar but the 3 salsa choices they currently have are still pretty good. read more

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Visited this restaurant on a Tuesday evening to satisfy my craving for Mexican food, and I left feeling more than satisfied! Indoor dining is open, and there's an option for outdoor seating (but patio dining closes an hour before closing time). The inside dining area is rather spacious, with plenty of spaced-out tables and chairs for guests to sit and enjoy the food. We ordered chicken & anaheim chiles enchiladas and a 3-piece order of grilled chicken crispy tacos. I checked Yelp before ordering, and many recommended ordering the crispy tacos -- after tasting it, I understand why everyone was raving about them. The tacos were the perfectly crispy and scrumptious, and the grilled chicken was marinated to perfection. The guacamole was generous as well! The enchiladas were just as delicious. The cheese complimented each flavor well, and the rice and beans were extremely flavorful. I definitely recommend checking this place out -- if you stop by, order the crispy tacos!!!! read more

Cactus Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Loved to be back! Tonight tried the shrimp taco and friend tried the grilled veggie taco. Size is just enough. Vibe is so different from how it used to be back pre-covid. Best to park across the Bart parking. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Disappointed. I've been coming here for years but service has been getting worse, ladies tend to be rude and nickel and dime. Was really disappointed with the fish tacos today. Had also ordered tacos with no cheese for kids and they had cheese... unfortunate read more

Cactus used to be the default goto comfort spot for me and my kids over the last decade. Just like several others reviewers, I am finding a big issue with the new menu in that it doesn't appear to add any star item and downgrades most existing dishes. Mejor Burritos used to feed me and had decent amount of basics including lettuce and cheese. In the new version everything is designed as an add-on including what feels like salsa fresca, and the base price is higher. The new tostada has a strange new sauce and pickled onions that just don't go together. Even rice and beans burrito kids don't recognize as the same. Please bring back the old menu, adjust prices if you have to, but at least make dishes delicious without having to figure out add-ons. read more

absolutely love love love love love this place. been coming here for years. i absolutely love the crispy chicken tacos. best tacos i've ever had!! read more

Cactus is soooooo good. I've had a few things from here, but I'm in love their crispy shrimp tacos. I always get them with a side of cilantro rice and black beans. They make a watermelon Fresca that's amazing too. I try to get it every time I go. Busy or not, I've never waited more than ten minutes for my food and it always comes out piping hot. I can't wait for Covid to be over because I miss the salsa bar. All of them were pretty good, but my favorite was the pineapple salsa. Yum! The service here is pretty good. Everyone seems friendly and willing to help and I love that you can watch them make the food while you wait. It's fairly expensive, but it's on College.. lol... and honestly, it's worth it. I've been here a few times and I'll definitely be back. read more

Cactus Taqueria - Cactus - Mexican Near Me - Oakland, California

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Cactus Taqueria is conveniently located across the street from Rockridge BART and Market Hall. It's a staple of the area, and they offer some downright good food. In my quest to go plastic-free, one of the things I realized is that I can buy chips from them here, and at $1 per bag (small paper bag!), it's not only a bargain, it's not only fresh, but there's no plastic! OK, so that $1 bag looks pretty small, but it's plenty for one person. If you get two of those $1 bags, it's pretty similar to that big (plastic/multilayer) bag of tortilla chips that will cost you upwards of 6 dollars in the store. In fact, these same Cactus chips can be found in Market Hall Produce across the street. Not as fresh, and wrapped in plastic. As a vegetarian, my options here are a little limited, but their grilled veggies are tasty - and can be added to tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. Their veggie tamales are yummy, but they don't always have them. Thinking about the last few times I've ordered tamales here, I'll have to ding them a star because two of the last three times I've ordered veggie tamales, I've gotten one or more meat ones. :-( With COVID-19, one of my favorite features of Cactus is on pause, and that's the salsa bar. I'm sure you'll find photos of it if you peruse through other images. Wow . . . I just checked, and there are a crapton of photos (as well as reviews). Nuff said. Go get some! Why wait for Taco Tuesday? read more

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I'm so confused that you can do grilled veggies on everything else on the menu EXCEPT for crispy taco. Por que? It's super stupid and you should take grilled veggies off all together. Everyone loves a crispy taco and to have a cook that is willing but a cashier that says no speaks volumes. No wonder the business here has declined in recent years. Tostada, soft taco, burrito, quesadilla all good but crispy taco, no? Was it too popular and if so doesn't that say something??? Welp last time I come here! And y'all messed up our orders to the point of us leaving all together read more