The Cactus

Across from the always lovely Woodhull hospital, it’s an awkward layout inside, the menu has no continuity… is it mexican, latin, italian or americana? I can’t tell.
I’m not even sure what the hours are, they’re sporadic at best. Subway is a few doors down if you want a sandwich, there’s a good taco place north of there on Flushing Ave, I can’t recall the name, but just pick one it’s probably better than this place.
The guy behind the counter spilled my drink on me when he was serving it, and then charged me for it. The other drink he picked up before I was done drinking it. I had the Tortas which was good and really cheap but I wouldn’t bother going there again.
I honestly can’t believe there are other reviews of this place it’s almost never open.

Nice staff, amazing food, large quantity.
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Amazing.

I am lowering my rating for Cactus from 3 stars to 1 star after today. It has to be the management that has this place all screwed up. They are constantly out of ingredients. Today it was no salmon and no vegetable lasagna along with a few other things. I placed an order for pick up. The woman who took my order didn’t seem to understand what they had and didn’t have because she kept asking someone. When somebody went to pick up the order 20 minutes later the woman got on the phone with me and apologized that she had lost the order. When I told her the order again, she told me they didn’t have one of the items. They seem very overwhelmed yet there were not many people there. The waiter was taking orders and had to keep explaining that they were out of whatever was being ordered. There was one cook in the back. Under proper management with a good team of workers this place can have great potential. It needs to be run more efficiently, faster, and they need to stay true to their organic name. Don’t call yourself an Organic Restaurant if all you have available that is organic is chicken and some vegetables. Natural is not Organic.
The first time I ordered from them, I ordered a salad with guacamole and black beans. They were nice enough to make it for me though it wasn’t on the menu but they gave me some lettuce, literally a tablespoon of o.k. guacamole and some beans. It wasn’t filling at all for the amount I paid. I feel that Cactus is still trying to organize themselves, no online menu and they just got menus printed. The delivery guy came with no change for $ 20 and they are never open on time. I’m sure once they get themselves together and are being run properly they will do great. My co-​worker loved her tacos. Goodluck Cactus…

can’t believe i live a block away from the spot and can’t believe i never visited but I’m glad i did. so i was craving a mexican food yesterday but really didn’t wanna go to my regular spot «too far» so i passed by «the cactus» and tried it out the place has a home feel to it nice and calm quite the staff are very polite and answer all your questions with a smile i tried a pork burritos and i loved it. my girl tried the chicken quesadilla and enjoyed it. wow can’t believe I’ve missed out on this mexican food so close to me
i will definitely recommend this to friends and ppl looking for a good place to eat a mexican style taco or burrito with a nice cold corona… i will be going back soon and will call for delivery
p.s To «the cactus» staff keep up the good work!!! :)

This place is amazing. I lived in Southern Arizona for a number of years and this place rivals some of the places I’ve frequented down there. The food tastes great and is presented well. The restaurant is clean and the delivery times are quick.
Every restaurant should be run like this… or maybe not. The Cactus deserves to be in a league of its own.

Let’s face it, the surrounding neighborhood doesn’t have much going on in the food department. Cactus is an oasis in the good-​food desert.
Under new management, the place is now full of tables, thoughtful dishes and neighborly, friendly staff. Seriously, the nicest people. And man can they make a killer chicken torta! I just tried their carrot/​fruit juice and was super impressed (especially for just $ 3 — a steal for an all-​fruit/​veg drink)

«I love Cactus! We order from here FREQUENTLY and have also eaten in the restaurant a few times. I wouldn’t say the food is super authentic, but boy is it tasty. The guacamole is delicious. The service is friendly and helpful and the delivery guys are also nice. The burritos are massive and filled with delicious things.
Love love love this place. So thankful it’s in our area and delivers!»
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Edit:
We recently discovered that Cactus has changed ownership and is now an «organic café.» We ordered once and everything was terrible (small, soggy burritos filled with rice and not much else), but thought that maybe it was just a fluke. We gave it another shot and were just as disappointed. We finally walked by a few weeks later to discover a new awning on the restaurant and a new name. I have to change my previous 4-​star review to 1 star. The food is terrible now. So sad to have lost a great delivery place in the area! :(

I’m glad that people have been able to write good reviews because I want them to stay open and do well for themselves but I have to be honest about my review, so here goes!
I’ve visited Mexican resturants throughout the city, I bypass the appearance/​ambiance of the places and stick to strictly reviewing the food.
I’m a HUGE chimichanga fan so after looking up and calling different Mexican resturants in Bushwick, they were the only ones that had them so I headed there on the J train.
I ordered a Chimmy with shredded beef, melted queso sauce (very Americanized) salsa and rice.
But on first sight of my dish I knew that I was in for a disaster! What I got was a steak burrito with cheese that looked like glue and cold rice…
I was really looking for a Mexican place near-​by that made good food. But this is not the place!
On the bright side, the food was cheap, $ 7 and an extra $ 1 for the glue sauce.
For people who like basic Mexican food like tacos, this place might do you right. But for those of use who have particular tastes and quality standards this place is a epic fail!

I thought I already reviewed this place.
It’s authentic, inexpensive Mexican food! It tastes good, and it’s nearby. This is my staple for quick cheap Mexican food that doesn’t taste cheap.
Oh let me not forget they have Coca Cola that is hecho in Mexico which means it has real sugar cane and not high fructose corn syrup – YAY!

what the hell is up with these reviews?
this place sucks. i asked for no rice and no sour cream in my burrito. the thing was ALL RICE (and sour cream, although that’s a secondary complaint). and it was that gross, puffy, parboiled rice full of frozen peas. tasted like nothing. what a waste of calories.
p. s. NOT authentic, NOT the best… my god? what’s wrong with you people??? obviously you’ve never been to california. or mexico, for that matter.

The tacos are pretty standard and the meat is well done, a little charring on my pork which added a good crunch. My favorite part of the meal was my carne enchilada tortas (spicy pork sandwich) which includes refried beans, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions, avocado and jalapenos in vinegar sauce. Delicious and reminded me the tortas in LA. They could have added a fried egg and I would ate it for breakfast too.
Cactus is pretty standard. Good food in a clean place. I’ll stop by for another tortas — the queso de puerco (Mexican pork cheese).

practically located underneath my apartment, this place is not merely a convenience. the pork tacos are delicious and the guacamole made to order (i like light onions). they stack up well against any mexican food that i have had in new york.
ps…hey julie m… if you noticed the other reviews, they make amazing tacos. custom orders are not their specialty, especailly if you order in english (sad but true).

Most authentic and best mexican for the price you’ll find in this neighborhood. As Mexican as it gets here on the east coast… Much cleaner since renovation.

I lived a block away for over two years before they opened this place and I was SO excited when I heard they were opening as there was pretty much nil in the area with regards to a decent restaurant, let alone a specific cuisine. Since they opened they have continued to improve. I was devastated when they were closed for renovation. There was no indication that they were going to stay at first but I found out later that they just had to shut down while a new building was being built. They re-​opened and I felt like it was even better. Among all the decent restaurantes mexicanos that I’ve patronized in America, this place was among the top three as far as cocina mexicana tradicional is concerned (specifically the Puebla region). My introduction to REAL comida mexicana was in Puebla so perhaps that explains my bias.
My combo de facto was enchiladas de pollo with one taco, either chorizo, tinga or bistec as my taste preferred. I would often change it up with three (or four) tacos, a burrito or fajitas instead. Their coctel de camarones is also notable. I have tried just about everything on their menu and was hardly ever disappointed. The only things I didn’t end up liking were their mexican pizzas (super greasy) and the fact that they NEVER had tamales (or rather that they wouldn’t sell them to me: D). I swear they were hoarding them or something. They claim to make tamales on the weekends but not once did I ever successfully procure one no matter how hard I tried. This was only a problem AFTER they re-​opened.
Before they opened originally, I had been ordering delivery from Fresco Tortillas and they did the job though they were in no way notable. Their burritos and tamales were especially sub-​par. I would give them a go every once in a while just to have a fresh comparison against Cactus and they lost every time. I’m sad that I won’t be able to have Cactus as often as I used to now that I live in Astoria but with the El Rey stand down the block, I think I’ll manage. When I had some of their great tacos tonight I couldn’t help but compare them to Cactus. Cactus will never be forgotten and I’m going to make a point to go down there every so often to say hola to the staff!
— For the record, El Rey compared very favorably, perhaps even eclipsing Cactus.

Possibly the best tacos I’ve had at a take out restaurant in NYC. For affordable mexican food, I think the quality is good. Personally I get their chicken quesadillas almost every time. Huge portions, and they use great cheese.

My girlfriend and I were soooo excited to try this place. We lived 2 blocks away and counted down the days until it opened. Finally went and it was bad. Another poorly run generic mexican menu. Sloppy food.