Neon Cactus

The food is fresh and fantastic. Such an overlooked and underrated restaurant in the city. Prices are fair. Not a lot of ventilation in the place so you’re going to come out smelling like a fajita, but it’s worth it. Hard to find a table on Friday or Saturday, and they don’t take reservations… so plan for that.
It’s also a bar for Friday and Saturday nights. Smaller place, but cool for a few drinks. The basement usually gets packed.

We stumbled past this place after a shopping trip around Leeds we were looking for somewhere a bit different for lunch. My friend seemed to know the best places to target in Leeds so after around 10 minutes in the restaurant district we found this gem!
Considering it was pretty busy inside (we managed to nap the last table) I had high hopes. Given that it had the feel of an authentic Mexican restaurant I started with a cocktail — which nearly blew my head off with the amount of alcohol in it! Just the way it should be…
We ordered some nachos with chicken — I would normally have gone for the pulled pork but my friend doesn’t eat it. Having said that the chicken on the nachos was a great addition adding smoothness to the crispy nachos and added a spice on the tangy salsa. We both followed with the enchiladas — I opted for the bbq chicken (may have went overkill on chicken here) and they were tasty.
I would say they were slightly gloopy — in the fact that some of the re-​fried beans were quite mushy nevertheless the meal was pretty reasonable in terms of price and considering we just walked in on spec.
Probably not the best Mexican in the world — but much higher quality food in comparison to chains in the area.

When entering this place the ambience brings you that little smile at the corner of your mouth. Tastefully decorated with cushions and candle light it’s a really nice place for an intimate drink and a catch up.
I went on a Saturday afternoon and the setting was perfect, not too many people and little murmurs of chatter and tasteful music gently playing in the background. The cocktail list is extensive and they taste really blooming good. Lets all cheer to the rise of tequila as one of my favourite tipples I was pleased to see it had been put to good use!
I’ve not eaten here and to be honest I’ve not ever really fancied it so I will still stick to the drink mmmmmmm Aaarrrriiibaaa indeedy …

There are plenty of places to try food on Call Lane so why choose Neon Cactus… here is why…
Their Feast Menu!!! £10.95 each and food which delights and warms the Soul!
Starts with Nachos– chilli beef & chorizo on one portion and some kind of squash stew on the other. Both very tasty toppings and a very satisfying portion
Followed by Tacos– chicken tinga, and again the squash stew. Lovely soft tacos with just the right topping balance and very tasty!
Followed by Enchilada-​chilli beef & chorizo– could this get anymore flavoursome
Topped off with Fajita of North yorks belly pork with cumin seed crackling.
OMG– it was a taste sensation, a party in my mouth and every other exclamation you can come out with while swooning over the deliciousness presented at Neon cactus. For the £10.95 a head I defy you to find tastier food on Call Lane!
The setting is more suited to a bar hence I haven’t given 5 stars– its a bit dark with candle-​light being the predominant lighting, the service is a bit staggered with the bar being dealt with also but all in all we were happy with the food and the service was quite attentive enough for us.
2 beers and 2 soft drinks brought the bill to £25-​ish and we didn’t hesitate to leave the remainder of the £30 for a tip.
Give it a try– your taste buds will thank you for it!

It’s not often that I get out and get a few tipples down me… (wait for it) on Call Lane, but being the second bar of the Unilocal Cocktail Crawl for Leeds Loves Cocktails, I had a chance to revisit this fabulous bar. I can’t speak for what it’s like late on a weekend night, being as I tend to avoid the copious crowds in favour of a quieter spot generally, but early on a Friday night the place was already buzzing. Not too busy that you couldn’t get to the bar, but not so quiet you felt wrong for drinking and having a bit of a party.
I love the stylings, with the curiosities and wooden back bar shelves, and any bar that devotes itself to tequila is a happy place for me. This wouldn’t have been the case previously, but I’ve something of a new affection for margaritas and shots of tequila with the green stuff to chase. (I still can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s lime-​y, chilli and delicious.) The array of cocktails available for the special cocktail week were all great, all tequila based, and all very tempting. Being early I requested a longer drink, and that was what I was given — a Pineapple something (forgive the memory loss) and it was really tasty. Very tequila-​y still, but a good balance of pineapple, little pepper (?) flakes, and tequila.
I must say, I’m a fan. And I’m still fondly looking forward to coming back for some more Mexican delights, as the food here is marvellous. It ticks all the boxes: good bar staff, good drinks, good food, good décor. Get down for good times!

Another wild one in Neon.
Too many Zombreros that resulted in me single handedly devouring a 14inch pizza and cheesey chips.
Woke up with one of their Cocktail swizzle sticks in my handbag, I have no idea how… sorry about that.

Ariba ariba! Stay off the hot sauce…
So, I visited Neon Cactus last night for some drinks, food and a catch up with friends.
I hate the pulled pork burrito and a mexican beer. The food is great, if you like it spicy, and the place has a good atmosphere. We all thought it would be a laugh to try the Ghost Pepper hot sauce. Bad idea. Almost bleddy killed me :-(Sat in agony for about 20 minutes, and nothing could calm my burning tongue (perhaps I’m a bit of a wimp)…
Anyway, food (sans hot sauce) was good, beer was good, and all for a very reasonable price.
Yay!

I’ll admit I’m a fan of Neon Cactus — if you can sit upstairs. It has great atmosphere, good food, and great cocktails. They’re feast menu — three courses for ten pounds each (for two people) — is great if you’re hungry and want lots of variety. The service is ok… although I’ve seen better, and sometimes it can be difficult to get a table.
My main recommendation is to avoid sitting downstairs — it’s dark, quiet, and smells a little like eau du toilet (not the perfume).

We went on a friday night and the bar was pretty full, music playing and a great atmosphere. We found a seat luckily and ordered food and cocktails. The food was fantastic. I had the veggie quesadilla and my partner had Pulled Pork burrito. The jalepino poppers we shared for startes were sublime though would have liked more! The ultimate though has to be the wall of hot sauces. If you like hot food and hot sauce, this place is a must. we’ll definitely be back I think this friday night.

This will be my first updated review and though it only moves a star in the right direction rest assured this is an almost total retraction, and proof positive that you really can’t judge anything on a first impression.
I still feel that downstairs is a dark, brooding and cold place. If they’ve not sorted their pipes it may well even still be serving flat beer to an overcrowded sweaty mob. But if you were me, you’d be long gone by then.
Neon Cactus really shines (if you excuse the pun) in the early hours of evening. Before the booming base and surging hipster crowd comes an almost serene authenticity. Hispanic music playing softly through a jukebox, Pancho Villa on the walls and a menu that keeps me coming back.
Its the food! The food that saves this place. Cheese stuffed Jalapenos, sizzling chicken brought to your table still cooking! And a whole array of Mexican treats that rival any bar i can think of in Leeds.
I’ve been twice now and it hasn’t disappointed. As a total venue it misses the 4^th or 5^th star, if all it had to offer was the food it would be 5 without qualms. But for a bad experience on the club side i keep it to a 3 (who knows i might venture there in the wee hours and let Neon Cactus earn itself a 4).

Neon Cactus! If you’re At the bottom of town and looking for an enchilada, Quesadilla or just a plate of nachos Neon cactus is a perfect shout! Also they do have an impressive selection of tequila!
I bet most of the people that are in here getting their drink on at the weekend wouldn’t even know that they serve food, and in some ways i’m a little glad because it means i can always get a table!
The food never takes too long, I usually opt for something fresh fish based «market fish taco’ which they source from leeds market, or some spicy chicken Quesadilla –NOM! If you a feeling particularly hungry the Neon cactus feast will really sort you out!
The desserts are really good too… Churros can be hard to find in leeds so go for them, think spanish/​mexican doughnuts… Chocolate filled tortillas are a good shout too!
After dinner its down to the tequila as a little digestif… Blue Agave based goodness and with probably over a hundred to choose from you might be a while so ask for a cheeky recommendation, Just to mention if you say you don’t like tequila… –This is the real deal we have all had the misfortune of drinking something or other that lacks finesse or had a little red sombrero on it, step up to the plate pay a little more and get a lot –and don’t just knock it back enjoyed with some lovely verdita its awesome, they usually have a couple of modern tequila accompaniments too like grape and ginger :)
By this stage the music is probably reaching fever pitch and the party is kicking off, this bar really gets pumping at the weekend and the staff are always ready to act like it is the weekend even if it isn’t!

Neon Cactus — one of Call Lane’s newest additions — is a great Mexican bar that offers amazing food, cool tunes and all the tequila you could dream of.
Open from 5pm through the week, 12pm on a Saturday and 3pm on a Sunday, Neon Cactus is a great place to visit for the best Mexican food in Leeds. It has a fantastic menu offering everything from tacos to fajitas available to order til late.
During my visit (10pm on a Thursday night) I ordered chilli beef and chorizo nachos (which arrived on a huge plate) to share with a friend for £4.50, followed by a delicious chicken burrito with ‘dirty rice’ for only £5.95. Washed down with ice cold beer and a few cocktails it was the perfect end to a hard days work
Their cocktail menu consists of a wide range of tequila based drinks which are carefully prepared by the lovely Neon Cactus bar staff who have an impressive knowledge of alcohol. Dare to ask for a recommendation and you may awake with a fuzzy head!
Neon Cactus is a popular choice on a weekend, packed with people dancing to the best in indie/​electro, supping the wide range of margaritas on offer along with the bar’s impressive collection of over 70 varieties of tequila. With two large bars (one in the basement), Neon Cactus is a great night out with a brilliant atmosphere and a wonderful place to eat when it’s more chilled out through the day.
Great place to go with your mates!

Neon Cactus is without doubt perfect for Friday-​night post-​work drinks. The kind where you head home at 11 feeling like you’ve been out until about 3.
Part of its appeal for post-​work socialising is that it’s a bit novelty, has a wide range of drinks and has quite a few seats which if you run out of the office dead on five you may be lucky enough to commandeer for the evening.
But the best thing about Neon Cactus is undeniably the food. Tasty tapas-​sized morsels of Mexican fare such as tacos, fajitas and nachos, most coming in at under a fiver.
I had three mini chicken tacos and a handful of my pal’s beef and chorizo nachos (which were more than big enough to share) and that more than saw me through my second and third glasses of wine with my dignity intact. And at less than £3 for the tacos I could definitely justify an extra drink.

As soon as a friend explained how bananas this place was so much so that people were swinging off walls and having a crazy good time, I knew I had to go.
What I love about this place is that it compiles a mixture of things; think Mexico meets Shoreditch, London. It’s a crazy mix of Mexican inspired décor, food and drink with electro indie beats to complete the scene. I love this, it’s not a try hard Mexican bar, it’s a delightful infusion of all things Mexican with a contemporary twist.
You cant go wrong with ordering nachos from a Mexican serving bar, so I went for some nachos with beef and chorizo chili, they were ba-​nanas. I really recommend them even if you’re not hungry. I find myself awake at night thinking about them they’re that good. Seriously.
Drinks wise, you can get a nice concoction of Mexican delights for around £6, which is pretty reasonable seeing as you wont get them anywhere else in Leeds and they taste pretty damn good. Only the aftermath is what you want to look out for, this place is sure to leave you with a terrible hangover!
I suggest going on a weekend, the atmosphere is crazy, its so crowded but in the best possible way, its like a mini festival in there. Ambiance, quality drink and good people, what more could you want?

I’m a bit of a sucker for things of novelty, and with a name like Neon Cactus, you can’t help but be a little curious as to what you will find, one thing you’re certain to find is tequila, lots of it, straight up or with mixers, it’s here, and in large amounts.
The atmosphere is generally more friendlier and more relaxed than many of the other bars that reside on the Call Lane strip, with people actually enjoying themselves as opposed to just looking like they are, too afraid to shake their hair out of place or sweat through the make up.
I never had the pleasure of Dr Wu’s so I don’t have anything to compare it to, so standing alone Neon Cactus does itself proud. Plenty of drinks to choose from, be it a spirit or mixer or beer, and with the extra bar space, you can pick and choose where you order from.
The décor is nice too, a good combination of the relaxed with all the cushions and warm reds and oranges, with the smart of the clean lines and dark wood. I love the artwork behind the bar, it amuses me greatly, and there’s a cheeky cactus hidden here and there too.
If you visit during daylight hours, then the food’s worthy of a dig in. Basic style Mexican food, with little authenticity but plenty of flavour, and really reasonable prices, ranging from the enchilladas to quesadillas, but I spot no chimichangas. Tacos start at £2.50, and burritos and other goodies range from £4.50 to £9, so a good place to go by day or by night.

Formerly Dr Wu’s, Neon Cactus is (according to its website) «bringing tequila to Call Lane». Owned by Leelex Ltd. (the owners of nearly all the bars on Call Lane), Neon Cactus does just that. Afterall, it is a tequila bar. With an absolutely gigantic selection of spirits, liqueurs and mixers, you could probably order ust about any drink you’d ever heard of, and they’d almost certainly have it! Popping candy tequila happened last night.
According to its website, it is a Mexican Restaurant by day, there’s no real evidence of this at night, but I look forward to giving it ago. If the food is as impressive as their alcohol selection, I look forward to it!
Through the drunken haze, Neon Cactus looks very similar to it’s predecessor, but the faux-​aztec gist on the décor really adds a warmer feel. With full bars upstairs and downstairs, it doesn’t really matter hich floor you choose to sit on.
I feel it important to add, the barstaff are a refreshing change to miserable barstaff you find in other similar cocktails bar. They obviously all really get along well and have a laugh, and are friendly and chatty with customers. Not only that, they know their booze. Ask them for a recommendation, god knows what they’ll suggest, but it’ll make a change from your regular bottle of lager or rum and coke.