I have been going to the cactus Yaya for about 4 years now. it has always been really good food and really good service. I went in today (Sunday) and got chicken and steak skewers and they came out like rocks. :( Serious inedible rocks I understand how this can happen sometimes. I have had it happen in my kitchen Unfortunately they wanted to charge me the nine dollars for each dish afterwards!! HOWEVER we couldn't and didn't eat the dish. It was seriously AND SADLY INEDIBLE !. The Sunday bar staff was very rude about giving us a refund and they only refunded one. It's a shame because it's always been so good!!! Seems that Sunday workers are not quite up to snuff? I'm sad because they wouldn't acknowledge the issue. Usually it's very different. Maybe the cook is new?? Either way when you serve hard ass meat on a stick and think it's ok... time to talk to the staff maybe. ??? Re-evaluate the normal experience that is expected at the YayA.. Staff really should listen. After I sent my food back I witnessed a different server bringing something ELSE back to the kitchen. Would be cool if the restaurant would acknowledge the issues. Not turn a blind eye. Please THANKS B read more

I absolutely love the YaYa rolls! The peanut sauce is lovely and it's a perfect fusion of modern Asian and Latin cuisine. Fresh flour tortillas encase shredded chicken, cabbage, and carrot slices. They serve as my main meal but are technically a starter. The bean dip that accompanies the chips and salsa is to die for. It's warm and seasoned perfectly. The is one of my go to comfort food eats in Clark County. The atmosphere is dim with lots of decorative lighting and the acoustics are good for conversation. Dinner plates are served warm on lovely Fiestaware platters. Service is always prompt and professional. read more

See all

Incredible food, so tasty! Ive had the quesadillas, guac,, burritos, and more! Everything is fresh, flavorful, and filling. Great atmosphere, fun staff, and yes it can get busy! High traffic area so be careful in the area. Good parking. read more

This used to be my husband and my favorite place to go we would literally drive from Oregon to Vancouver just for their halibut fish tacos and their pan fried oysters. We decided to stop this evening to get our favorite meal the pan fried oysters were so fried/burnt they were hard to bite into If it wasn't for the delicious homemade spicy tartar sauce we would not have been able to swallow them. We got the halibut fish taco plate with rice and beans. The fish was deep fried to a crisp and overcooked the rice was burnt and the beans were dry. Super super disappointed the best thing about the drive out here was the Mandarin lemon drop although it was $10.25 a drink being a little tipsy helped the food go down better! So sad and so disappointed as this is one of our favorite places. Was not worth the hour and a half drive to get here!! The service was slow but good ! Overall $85 if garbage burnt bland food ! Drinks strong but spendy. read more

Went out for a evening meal and was completely disappointed. Where do I start, ordered a draft beer and it was flat. Girlfriend ordered a Margarita and it tasted off so we sent it back. She ordered a Corona in a bottle and it tasted old. Then there was the food. I ordered Enchiladas with rice and beans and they were bland and the cheese tasted funky. My girlfriend ordered a tostada and got a salad with a few chips underneath. If only one thing was bad I would let it slide but when pretty much everything except the chips and salsa are bad it is not a coincidence. Definitely don't recommend this place. read more

I really wanted to like this place. It was our first time and we came in for lunch. The service was totally fine, as was the restrooms and the like. It's a bit dark inside but it's a good ambiance. What let me down was the food. First off the menu is a weird fusion between Asian and Tex-mex. They have yaya rolls which are basically egg rolls, and a burrito with stir fry fixings in it. They also let you sub garlic mashed potatoes for the sides. It's a confused menu. My partner ordered chicken fajitas and I ordered beef. The tortillas are store bought (think old El Paso style), the beans tasted similarly from a can, and the fajitas were just "meh." It had a sort of wet rub on it which wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It gave it a grainy mouth feel. The chips were stale (like a lot of other reviews pointed out) and the guac was clearly not made in house. It had that "guac sauce" flavor you get from store bought guac that needs to be shelf stable once it's made. Most of the food lacked seasoning as well. Thankfully they do have a lot of hot sauces on the table. read more

See all

A Vancouver classic! I hadn't been here in maybe 10 years, but met coworkers here for drinks this week. And, when thinking back to the first time I went here, it was 21 years ago with a girlfriend who was pregnant and we had non alcoholic cocktails and felt fancy doing so LOL (I was in my very early 20s). Convenient location (this was truly the center point for the 3 of us coming from different parts of the county this week). The Yaya rolls are a MUST HAVE. Good chips and salsa too, and the drinks were strong but not too strong! We had a great waitress who checked on us enough but not too much, and was non-invasive which was appreciated as we had met to discuss some sensitive stuff. And while yes it IS loud in there, we actually wanted and appreciated this as it enabled us to talk about our sensitive work stuff and not feel concerned that others would or could hear us. I definitely need to add Cactus Yaya into my list of places to meet up with others more often and into my date night rotation with the hubby! I had forgotten how great it is! Also, those saying their food was tasteless...ya'll have COVID and lose your sense of taste?? Because that was not my experience! read more

Great Happy Hour. Food prices are between $6 -$8 on Happy Hour menu. Fantastic service but getting alcoholic drinks can take too long at times. Small Bar area servicing a large Happy Hour crowd. Outdoor seating is okay. One fire pit, could use some updating. Overall a great place to meet someone for drinks. Food is good too read more

Cactus ya ya should update open hours on website. We were very disappointed to visit cactus ya ya and see a very small sign that says : closed for maintenance and at the same time website says : opening soon @ 4pm. There was on old couple waiting , car parked near front door for it to open may be they also didn't knew they were closed. Just waste of time. read more

OK, first off, I've driven by this place many times on my way to someplace else. And I should have done just that the other night when my wife and I were hungry and jonesing for a bit of o'l Mexico cuisine. We were so surprised that this place works so diligently at extracting every last bit of flavor from it's dishes, I figured that maybe someone complained years ago about the spice and now they make damn certain that will never happen again. I won't go into the details just because the memories are somewhat traumatic and I'll just get mad all over again that I spent good money eating what could have been any cardboard box discarded behind the restaurant. And now that I think about that, most any cardboard would have been a real delight when compared to my bland meal. I mean there are bad flavors and plain old disgusting flavors, and then we have the Cactus Ya Ya total absence of flavor. I asked the waiter just how they accomplish such total flavor extraction, I mean it's so incredible to witness such poor cooking, let alone PAY for it..... read more

This is a fun place to go if you're looking for a casual but delicious meal. The portions are large so be prepared to have some leftovers! The staff was very friendly and our food came out fast hot. The pasta in my dish was cooked to the perfect texture and they do not leave you hanging on the shrimp. There were large chunks of shrimp in every bite! Definitely a spot I will be coming back to! read more

Cactus Ya Ya - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, Washington

They have some great food and margaritas. The service is usually pretty good as well.

Definitely one of the most depressing meals I've ever eaten. I can't even comment on flavor because there was none. My tears taste better than this food. If good customer service is your restaurant criteria then try your luck, otherwise 10/10 would not recommend. read more

Love their Ya Ya Rolls. Go for happy hour and the cost is very reasonable. It is more like early dinner for me.

Great food & wonderful service. They have an awesome happy hour & good beer. The chips & salsa & beans are such a treat when brought to your table when you are seated. read more

Amazing service, great food, a fun mix of southwestern and Asian or Thai flavors. We really enjoyed our meal and the experience!

I would have given this one star for food but the service was exceptional. We were seated right away, everything came out quick (chips, drinks, dinner). The servers were very attentive and helpful. But the was terrible. Tasted bland and like curry powder. Very bland mid western tasting Mexican. Go to Nuestro Mesa instead. My chile relleno was bland tasted like a canned Chile tasted canned and wrapped in an omelette covered in tomato sauce. All four of our dishes were bland and badly done Mexican. This was not Mexican- where is the jalapeño? The flavor? read more

Although the acoustics can get a bit loud on a busy night, the Ya Ya rolls are worth it! And if your not feeling the Mexican vibe their Turkey Rueben is amazing. read more

I have never left a yelp review before but I felt I had to in order to warn others to not waste their money here. The food is atrocious. For the first time in my life I actually had to spit it out. The meat was completely flavorless and dry, the "burrito" was 2 inches long, the tortillas were the same tortillas I buy for camping trips at Walmart, and the rice was over cooked. My wife and I both took a few bites, paid, and drove over to chik-fil-a. There is no saving grace here. read more

Little dark but food was alright, server was super kind! Very attentive and made sure we were taken care of! Thank you Sean! K

Delicious food. Great service. Great margaritas. I love their bean dip that comes with tortilla chips. All the food is So good! I've never left without a doggie bag. read more

Cactus Ya Ya - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, Washington

Pretty mid. The starter thing we got was pretty good. But our main plates were pretty bland. Also we had to yell to hear each other it was so loud in there. read more

Love the place, the staff and the food! Always a favorite place for happy hour- can't get enough of the YaYa rolls & homemade peanut sauce.

This is one of my favorite places to go to. They have great margaritas and good, different food. The service is usually pretty good. They are usually a little on the loud side when busy. read more

We gals came here for lunch. We ordered fish tacos. The bits of fish were so breaded it was hard to find any fish and so deep fried. UGH! I grew up in SoCal where fish tacos came to be. Fish lightly grilled served with cabbage slaw and a tangy lime aioli on soft tortillas. Even the salsa had almost no flavor. We ordered more salsa hoping to find some kick. Sorry but they need to rethink their fish tacos. The server was very nice. read more

I recommend the fish tacos - so good! Service was great and the restaurant has a nice vibe.

Service is great. Food is not amazing but it is consistent. Happy hour is very loud here though. It's also very dark and I can barely read the small print on the menu haha. But other than that I would recommend, if anyone cares what I think. read more

First time here, and Love this place! The hostess was so sweet and the bartender gal was super great too. I got the regular margarita (couldn't choose, I'm boring), and the Cajun shrimp skewers with rice and beans and tortilla shells. NOMM. I also got a side of lime Crema for dip. Cute Interior, highly recommend- Definitely will be back. read more

See all

they pour strong and they're always so friendly!! i love the chicken strips or the quesadillas! cute place i've been coming here since 2016

I decided to give it another try. It wasn't good a few years ago and it isn't good now. I wish I wouldn't have gone there. I came home and puked. The meal was completely tasteless. The chips were stale, and broken. They weren't even whole chips. The drink I ordered did not taste at all like a Margarita, it tasted like expired mix of some sort. I told the waitress it wasn't right. I had someone else taste it. He said it wasn't a margarita it tasted like some other type of drink and it was funky. I ordered a tostada and it was like old lettuce on stale broken chips. The waiter said, "here is your salad". It was supposed to be a tostada. The service was good but not the food or the drinks. Save your gut and money and go somewhere else. read more

Been coming here now for 3 years... I love the vibe, the salsa & chips are some of the best in town. The Southwest Mexican style food is always excellent and consistent. Great happy hour to boot! I highly recommend this place for dining or takeout read more

First i have never reviewed this place. I've been coming here for 15 years!!! It's still consistent and the staff always has great energy and definitely are attentive. The off chance they aren't.... you can literally just speak up and they stop and acknowledge you right away and are always still so nice. For a texmex style restaurant definitely worth every penny spent. Oh the beans with the chips and salsa is fantastic!! That's my go to. read more

Cactus Ya Ya - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, Washington

See all

We came into dinner late and took advantage of their 9 o'clock Happy hour. Great food. Great drinks. Fantastic service. So pleasant to sit out by the fire pit. Highly recommend.! read more

Food is GREAT and they have a fun and friendly staff! But......this is the noisiest restaurant I've ever been in. Very difficult to have a conversation while eating. People eating at the adjacent table were complaining of the noise as well and we were seated in the dining area away from the lounge. If YaYa could fix the noise issue, they would get my vote for best Mexican Restaurant in Vancouver. But the noise really is an issue. Under 40 crowd loves the bar and liveliness! Summertime, we eat in the outside patio area which is wonderful and quiet! read more

2 stars is for the bartender. Food should get a zero. Had HH fish taco and tortilla soup. I get that HH portions are smaller but the fish should fit the tortilla. If you give me a street size piece of fish give me a street size tortilla. Otherwise it was a cabbage taco with a fish garnish. It really had no flavor. I do not even know what the soup was. It looked like mole. Strange and tasted burnt. Drink was just ok. Twist on a lemon drop. Got a little sweet at the end with the syrup that was added. Not a go back but the server took the soup off so props to her. read more

I had better food in county jail. I'm glad they don't advertise as Mexican because they're Mexicant great customer service tho.

I really enjoyed the food. The servers were very friendly. It wasn't all that loud compared to some other Mexican places. It's been there a long time and the acoustics in there are good for cutting noise. Decent bar area and reasonably priced food and drinks. Portions were nice too. A good Mexican place to eat. I'd go back. read more

I've only ever come here for happy hour , which is one of my favorite happy hour places in the Couve! We always get the peanut chicken ya ya rolls (love the sauce !) and 2 skewers (chicken and streak). Chicken is very tender, flavor of both super good. Food has always consistent. Happy hour pricing is excellent and overall, dig the vibe of the bar. Summer time there's also a nice outdoor area with a fire pit too read more

See all

Good vibes and ambience. the bar area was packed during happy hour on a Tuesday. I ordered a chimichanga with shredded beef , everything was pretty good besides the side of rice , it didn't have much flavor. The waitress was really nice and kind. read more

Cactus Ya Ya - Shredded beef chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, Washington

We are always looking for great Mexican food. Since we've moved to Washington we still drive to Portland for Mexican food as we can never find anything authentic but this place is great and it's not just Mexican they have a little of everything. We will for sure be back read more

See all