So I hate bad reviews, but I have to leave one--mainly because I want this place to become better as I live close. I'll be specific only about what I ate, try not to hyperbolize, and hope they take feedback. I also know everyone has a bad day, so I hope to give them another chance. Complimentary chips were not good--not fresh, a bit stale, and salsa looked like it was sitting out and tasted of chemicals. If you're a Mexican place, you need to nail this opener. They did not. Hawkeyes Pub down the street has fresh tortilla chips and fresh salsa way better than this, and they are a pub... Chicken Tacos with corn tortillas--bad. It looked essentially like the cook had made a caesar salad with large chunks of chicken, covered with lots of lettuce, added a spoonful of not-appetizing guacamole on it. No flavor at all of Mexican variant. Tortilla tasted bland and reheated. Again--were this a diner serving tacos, I wouldn't expect much. But it's a Mexican Restaurant charging $12 for this meal. Fiesta Habenero in Q-Town has tacos for $1.75 that taste 175% better. I hope to be lured back soon by changes in the food! read more

Answering Machine $15 Prospective Customer knowing your hours: Priceless read more

Great little byob. It is actually little and quite popular. There may be a wait but you won't be disappointed. The food is thoughtfully prepared with fresh ingredients. We had Mexican trio, enchiladas and fried rice cream. Complimentary chips and homemade salsa is served when seated. Service was very good. read more

The family came for lunch on a Saturday. The place was dead but that worked out nicely for us. The service was great and the food was delicious. The chips were awesome. I had the tamales. My daughters loved their burritos and hubby enjoyed his chimichanga. I highly recommend. read more

We have now gone to El Cactus twice and will continue to return. Food is very good, the staff is very friendly, the ambience is very nice and it's clean. The staff is good at helping you decide what to order if you need assistance. The food is reasonably priced for the quantity that you get, which is a lot. read more

Didnt know what to expect but what I got was upscale food with mid range price in a strip mall. Taste, presentation, quality were all great. Entre's run about $15. If you want cheap head to taco bell. If you want good come here. read more

If you like the real deal mexican food, this is the place to be! I just ate lunch there yesterday for a business! I got a steak burritto it was awesome! They bring out chips and salsa it looked home made to me! Great way to start off a meal! They also have the best fried ice cream ever! Check it out not bad on prices either! read more

I am SO surprised to see good reviews of this place...as surprised as I was when I went there and had a horrible experience! My cousin and my aunt swear by this place, and being the lover of Mexican food that I am, I just had to check it out. I was less than impressed! We get there, get seated, and order. We have our very small plate of chips and salsa brought to us. We ate them up in no time. We're waiting, waiting and waiting for more..nothing. We ask the waitress for more, she says, if you want more, I'll have to charge you. WHAT?! We never heard of such a thing! I thought it was ridiculous, but they were good and we were hungry..so OK, fine. 2.00 for like 20 chips and a little cup of salsa. Absurd! Then, our food comes. I stuck with a classic chicken enchilada and my sweetie got a combo fajita. The fajita came out on a regular plate..no sizzling griddle, nothing! The beef, chicken and shrimp looked shriveled and dry, it was so disgusting! To top it off, it wasn't even hot!!! But of course, he ate it, I was so mad at him for that. Mine? Well, the chicken enchilada was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. The chicken inside was like boiled? Who does that? The corn tortilla it was wrapped in was so drenched in oil it was not edible. The sauce? That was the kicker! It was like someone opened up a can of Hunts tomato paste and dumped it on there. DISGUSTING! I call over the waitress and explain my disappointment. She brings us our bill. She tried to charge me for something that was not even eaten! I was like, excuse me? I told her that I would not be paying for the enchiladas. She goes back to the kitchen and a man (who I could not see) was arguing with her behind the wall telling her to make me pay for it! What nerve! Never ever again would I go back to this place and I certainly would not recommend it. Anyone who says this place is authentic most certainly has never had authentic Mexican food!!! read more

This is our go to Mexican eatery! My favorites are the tamales, ceviche and chicken chimichanga and my hubby loves the tortilla soup and hot beef enchiladas. On the off chance that we have room for dessert the deep fried ice cream is amazing! We moved a little bit out of the area so we usually order takeout or plan a special day to make the drive but we still eat here at least once a month. read more

This is a very small restaurant in a strip mall. It does not look like much from the outside or the inside but the food is very good. I have dined in once & have gotten take out at least 4 times & have never been disappointed. Staff is very friendly for eating in or take out. So great having a local authentic Mexican restaurant. read more

Fantastic food! This is the first time we tried El Cactus and we have lived in the area about 7 yrs. Only thing I regret is that we hadn't tried this place before. This will definately not be the last time we come here. read more

Great little place for authentic Mexican food!! We've been coming here for years!! Salsa is fresh and Delish! Guac is one the best I've ever had! Waitresses are really nice and friendly!! Definitely a local favorite of ours!! read more

Awesome food. We where Leary because of the condition of the front of the grocery store but once your in there go straight back and you will see tables and a grill area. The food me and the wife had where excellent. I will definitely be a repeat customer!!! read more

My dad first introduced me to El Cactus. My family is originally from Texas and my dad has said that this food is the closest he has gotten to good southern Mexican since we moved up North. This place is a tiny little restaurant in a strip mall. From the outside, it doesn't look like much and has a similar feel on the inside! But the food makes up for the lack of ambiance. Each table gets all you can eat salsa that is best salsa I have ever had with homemade chips. Portions are large and meat is GOOD meat, not processed and gross. They have a variety of sauces and fun Mexican sodas. This is also a BYOB establishment. I highly recommend giving this little suburban Mexican gem a try. Order the enchiladas... you won't regret it! read more

I would love to give El Cactus 4 or 5 stars but I can't because it is consistently inconsistent. First time I went it was awesome. Everything tasted homemade, fresh and authentic. Like a Mexican Nana was in the back cooking. Next time.....not so much. Stale tortilla shells, flavorless, dry chicken and rubbery steak. Everything tasted like it had been sitting out all day or out of a can. I really want to love this place because I have sweet memories of the few times I went and had an amazing experience but the worse thing about going out to dinner is not getting the same quality as you did before. Maybe the cook gets cranky, maybe on certain days there's a high school kid cooking...don't know but i hate when a restaurant is a crap shoot! read more

Excellent fresh homemade salsa! The chicken envueltas de mole were good. Desserts were fair. I don't recommend the flan -- it was very grainy, almost like a dense, soggy cake. I would eat here again, but skip the dessert. read more

This restaurant always serves fresh, expertly cooked, authentic Mexican food. The Guacamole is delicious, and today I had shrimp and tilapia fajitas. So delicious and filling. read more

My favorite for Mexican food! Love this place the quality is always on point! I have been here over the years and each time I return the food is great! read more

I enjoyed my meal at El Cactus. It's a small place with friendly service, but I think they close at 2 or 2:30 PM and reopens later for dinner, so it's not a place to catch a late lunch. I had the Masilla, and I thought it was well done, tasty, and authentic. Plenty of flavor, and a good value for the size. I think my total was $8 with tax. read more

Not much charm, but great large meals - take left overs for lunch tomorrow! Inexpensive and not taco bell.

Good menu and friendly service. One of the better Mexican restaurants in the area last time I ate here a year or so ago.

Really tasty food but I recommend getting it to go unless you don't mind your meal taking a really long time.

Since trying this place several months ago, it's become a weekly addiction (sometimes more)! My vote is for the steak tacos and nachos. It has been upgraded by one star because the service has greatly improved since I posted my first review. El Cactus is now perfect! Thank you, El Cactus, for providing me with authentic Mexican food that I use to be able to get out on the West Coast. :) read more

Delicious authentic and fresh food!! My favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. Love the enchiladas and flautas.

I've been going here since it opened. I think the food is very good. It's a little crowded in there, service is usually good. It can get a little slow when they're busy. They seem to have a good takeout business. No complaints really. I don't usually give anybody 5 stars so this is a high rating for me. read more

Not sure why I see some many good reviews on here. We stopped in for dinner, there were 5 of us and a small child. We were seated promptly and the server was very friendly. Thats about when anything positive ended. The chips and salsa that came out was pretty measly for a table of 5 but I am never one to complain about free stuff. From the time we ordered til our food came was about 45 minutes. Not an exceptionally long if they would have been busy or if the food would have been good. Between the fajitas, burritos, mole,etc.. everything tasted processed and canned....the best thing was the chimmichanga my wife ordered. It was at least executed well, crispy outside and good filling. When I order steak something at a Mexican restaurant I expect flank, skirt, hanger, or some sort of "grilled" steak. Not slices of roast beef that have been cooked twice and cut the wrong way(who cuts with the grain). We didnt stay for dessert and probably wont be back unless brought by friends. Has some potential, maybe we just caught them on a bad night. read more

Truly authentic Mexican food!!! Place is a little small but its cozy! It is BYOB so bring along a nice bottle to compliment their amazing burritos and tamales! read more

We lived in Lansdale (more like Colmar) for about seven years, and El Cactus is easily the best place that we have been to in the area, as long as you aren't looking for alcohol. (If you want alcohol, I think that your best best would be the Tex Mex Connection in North Wales.) The prices are reasonable, the service is usually great and never worse than OK. BYOB. A downside is that it can feel a little claustrophobic, particularly if they are busy or someone has an unruly child. There are no windows in the seating area. The place is in a small strip mall, and they are limited by the building that they are in. read more

A smallish amiable storefront restaurant. The salsa with the chips was great and was the tastiest part of my meal. I ordered the chicken fajitas which surprisingly only came with two small tortillas (I can only imagine what the lunch serving might be). The beans were served in a cup and were very soupy a- since you are only given a knife and fork - they were difficult to eat. The food overall was good but at $14, I felt it was slightly overpriced. read more

We had dinner here Sunday evening. The service and food were good. We will most likely not return, as there are other Mexican restaurants we like more. read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. Food is delicious and is always consistent. Pleasant atmosphere with polite service. Love the chimichanga (beef or chicken- both are awesome), Mexican trio, El Cactus trio, and guacamole. Great for lunch or dinner. read more

We've been coming here for years. Thank you for such great, rich Mexican comfort food! You're the best. Literally :-)

Where to start?! The place is super tiny. Right when we walked in the door we had to wait for them to clean and set up a table. The place wasn't even busy. Maybe like 6 tables were taken up. Table was super tiny and felt really crowded. The waitress drops off chips and salsa but we don't get our drinks for another 5 minutes. Finish the chips before she even comes back to ask for our orders. Drinks were empty, never checked back to see how the food was. I got chicken tacos which had no flavor and my husband got enchiladas which weren't very good either. Sauce was so sweet and chicken was insanely dry!! Sat there for another 20 minutes after we were done eating just waiting for the waitress to come back to clear plates and drop the check. Overall, service was horrible and food was not that great. Been to Mexican restaurants that are a lot cheaper with a lot better quality food. Won't be coming back here read more

We had the ceviche, the el cactus shrimp tacos, chicken and cheese quesadilla, and the shrimp chimichanga. Everything was delicious, the service was good and we will definitely be back. read more

This place is our go to Mexican place in the area!! Ordered an appetizer and it was a lot.. didn't even need to get an entree.. give you lots of food! Good prices for the quality of food read more

Disappointed. Mad as hell actually. Spent good money on Take-Out. No salsa, or sauce even though it was described in my order. Chicken burrito full of water. Too many better options nowadays. I was hungry and couldn't eat it. Wife was disappointed with her meal as well. This place was good, they're slipping and I won't go back. read more

I've visited El Cactus several times over the course of the last few years. The food is authentic and tastes great! The salsa is excellent! Service is outstanding and our food arrived quickly. (Thanks Tracy) FYI - This is a BYOB establishment read more

This restaurant is our go to Mexican place. Always wonderful food. I travel 15-20 minutes to purchase our dinners and spend 30-40$ each time at least 1 time a week. Tonight I ordered my food. The carne con sazon. After my 20 minute ride home in the rain I got home to dig into my food. I realized they forgot the most delicious part of my meal. The queso fresco. I called them to see if they could fix the order or credit me a meal since I live 20 minutes away and it was after 8pm. To my dismay and surprise their response was" what do you want us to do about it". Not what I was expecting. Guess what? You aren't the only Mexican restaurant in town. You will now be 30-40$ short In profit per week. The proper thing that should've been done was to put me on the phone with the manager to ratify the situation. Not tell me "what do you want me to do about it".Your food will always be good. But I will not return because of your smart ass answer. read more

Really authentic. Great food and a nice little restaurant. I have had both sitdown dinner and take out. I have not been disappointed yet. So far my favorites are the chicken and steak fajitas. read more

My husband, Mom and I went here on a suggestion, on a night that we were all hungry and noone wanted to cook. We were not disappointed. My mom had a chicken chimichanga, delicious, piping hot, and not greasy. My husband, I don't remember what he had, but it was looked like a burrito but ot rolled up. Just Mexican goodness, piled on a plate, covered in cheese. YUM! I had something I couldn't pronounce, but it was basically beef enchiladas. I originally asked for cheese, but on a suggestion of the waitress, switched to beef. Good suggestion! It was shredded, tender, and flavorful. No chewy strands in sight. The rice was a little wet, not much flavor, but I was too concerned with my enchilada-type main course to complain about blah rice. The chips seemed fresh, and the salsa was great, but you didn't get much. There's a handwritten sign as you walk in saying extra salsa will cost $3 due to the price of tomatoes, we didn't order more, but I think it would be worth $3. Service was great and attentive, but our meals all came out separately, which was kind of annoying. The place was almost empty, so I know our meals were the only ones being cooked at the time. Oh well, my meal, which came out last, was worth the wait. It's so hard to find fresh, tasty, non-chain restaurant caliber Mexican food in PA, this is a bright spot on the radar. We'll definitely be back. read more