Cactus Willies Steak Buffet

We stopped there yesterday afternoon on our way home from Upper Marlboro, MD. All I can say is… WHAT A MESS! The service was slow. The steak was so tough, eating my boot would’ve been tenderer (& tastier). The gentleman working the grill was unpleasant. The food was NOT good, mediocre at best. And HOW do you mess up dessert? The place reminded me of the buffet on Vegas Vacation (w/​Chevy Chase).
We had to go to a restaurant when we got back to Pennsylvania to eat something tasty!
If anyone ever suggests to you to go to Cactus Willie’s in Essex… RUN & keep on running!

Regretfully we were here just one day ago, the absolute worst dining experience ever… over cooked and tasteless. Do yourself a favor and don’t go here, no low price could justify this horrible food!

There are simply just better places to eat.
I’m not a fan of Golden Corral. But even they beat this place. The décor is outdated. The food is mediocre. And the service can be slow.
Do yourself a favor and try a different spot.
**** In response tot he comment written by Rob L. From Cactus Willie’s, this was my response:
Dear Rob,
I can appreciate the fact that you reached out to myself, and others on here. I used to work in the industry and I know how hard it is to get customers who’ve written you off back. It can be a very hard task.
And I think reviewing the reviews here on a site like Unilocal is good. It’s good to see what people honestly feel.
And while I appreciate the offer of the free meal, I have to decline. If I accepted free things from the businesses I wrote reviews of, It would lessen both my integrity, and the reliability of what I write.
I do wish your business the best of luck in turning things around.
Rick S.

This is a cheap and very cheap buffet place. It mainly served a poor substitute for soul food which surprised me having the name of Cactus Willie. WTH! The place is dirty, old, and the staff reflects this as well. The crowd is varied and the night I went, which will be the last time consisted of ignorant teenage girls. Looking at them they did not need a buffet. The food is hit and miss but more on the miss.

When I worked for a stint in Essex my coworkers took me to Cactus Willies for lunch on my birthday. Ughhhh… Me thinks not.
Now, I like to graze at a buffet like the next mega-​vore but this place was just nasty.
Most everything was overcooked (imagine that) and there was a smell of dirty carpet in the air.
I should’ve pottied up before I left work because once I hit the brown cloud in the bathroom what little bit of an appetite I had left was heading further south. I coulda sworn I heard a fog horn in the distance when I entered that room.
Oh but you shoulda seen the coworkers. Like pigs in shit!
They can’t get enough of this stuff.
Well at least I know now what Cactus Willies is all about and when I hear the ladies at work swoon about the place I won’t feel like I’m missing anything now.

I go here (first time) for a meet up group. Should of known by the nasty parking lot… to run and hide. Walked in… Dirty! Walked to the bathroom… O m GEEEEEE! Crap in two toilets. Tissue on the floors, 1 little girl crying «there’s no soap over here!»…I wanted to spray my feet with lysol… rrrrrr! Ok, ok… the food was bland, the carpet hasn’t been replaced since 1805… the waitress was nice COOL BEANS! I had 1 taco, a coke, took 2 bites of a salad (yuck), had some watered down pudding (double yuck).hey did I mention the waitress was cool as HECK? lol