Cactus Jack’s

Went for breakfast/​lunch… I had a turkey cobb salad. The lettuce was so soaking wet the dressing ran off of it. It was like soup in the bottom of the dish. The salad itself was very good… let’s spin the lettuce dry and then serve it. Table mates had breakfast. They all said the food was good, but the presentation was awful. The plates looked very unappetizing. The hollandaise on the benedict looked like a glob of yellow stuff… did they make it? Today? The hamburger patty was not a homemade patty.
They need to really work on presentation… and spinning the lettuce dry!

Best cocktails & prime rib in town. Hands down! Breakfasts is excellent as well. Service is excellent. I’ve been a regular for over thirty years. My family knows this is my favorite place for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The dark room has this «vintage masculinity» about it that makes me smile in pompous satisfaction.
I highly recommend the surf and turf. Burgers are good too.
The food isn’t really the selling point though.
This is usually a quiet restaurant that caters to people with money to spend and don’t want to spend it in a noisy, «baby screaming in the corner» type of place.
A nice place to get away from the noise in your life. Price point filters out alot of the lower end consumers, so it’s mostly golfers trying to lay low, or retired guys ignoring their honey do list for an hour.
Never been here after dark. It might be more active.
Fantastic, fantastic option for stressed out introverts with social anxiety… like me. LOL
I am giving this place five stars because I love Cactus Jack’s in Indio.

There was a time the food was great but not any longer.
Strike 1. the salad was limp with imitation blue cheese dressing made with cottage cheese.horrible.
Strike 2. the baked potato was obviously reheated. Come on potatoes are cheap make them fresh.
Strike 3… the petite filet mignon while cooked correctly was dry. not a drop of juice to be found and flavorless.
The only saving grace was the warm bread
Skip this place and go to Sizzler.

I really wanted to like this place. really. I’m naturally inclined to find the silver lining in things.
Silver lining:
1. was right next to our equally sub par hotel
2. I didn’t have drive my car
3. The food came out hot. Biggest pro on the list.
4. Our server tried her best.
Cons…
Oh where do I start…
Ok, honestly with a name like cactus jacks, I was ready for some good margaritas and cheap mexican food. I was disappointed. :(
Cons #1: It was an over priced (diner?) full of old people and old people food.
For $ 21 I got a chopped sirloin (hamburger without the bread) with onions and mushrooms, and grilled veggies, with a side salad. (details to come)
Cons #2 :The side salad was right out of the ez pack bag with a squirt of tub of vinaigrette. I could have gotten this at Denny’s down the street for $ 4
Cons #3. The grilled veggies consisted of overcooked, under seasoned zucchini, and 2×¼ tomatoes. slightly grilled. and I added tons of salt and pepper.
Cons #4: My husband ordered the same with mashed potatoes with steamed veggies. The baby carrots decomposed with the flick of a fork… it was BABY FOOD!!! GROSS!
Cons #5 (&6): The mashed potatoes and gravy. oh boy. I had to taste the potatoes a few times to really come to the conclusion that they are not from powder/​reconstituted powder. They WERE however from overcooked potatoes and they tasted like an old lady’s house smells. And #6 the gravy was clearly from canned or powdered. Jellied bouillon.
Last one, I promise…
Con #7: The house only serves drinks on ice. Ordered 2 margaritas on the rocks… EWWWW. it was cheap tequilla on ice with a splash of generic mixer. Not a good drink, and frankly I would drink MORE margaritas if they tasted better.
Wrap up: pick another place. The prices don’t reflect the quality.

This place has been here for 30+ years as we were told by our server and I’m fairly certain it was furnished from a 30 year old restaurant that went out of business. You aren’t going there for the atmosphere and décor!
The menu is basic 1960s (when most of it’s clientele were in their prime), but good solid wholesome food. I must say the filet i had was very good– basic but good quality tender beef. Same with their signature dish– the prime rib.
Prices are very fair and the service was outstanding. Don’t expect anything fancy upscale or innovative. Not a thing wrong with that either.
This is your father’s steak house (if he’s over 80!)
I would go back again if I had to be stuck in Indio for a night.

The BEST Chicken Fried Steak I have ever!!!
Great service, comfortable mellow Saturday bfast.

Very disappointed. I ordered the special — Stuffed sole with lobster. The sole was mushy and the lobster was nowhere to be found. I sent the dish back to the kitchen. And the service was terrible — continually had to search for her. On the plus side I had the tomato bisque soup — it was good. And my friend had a filet which was good. We had gone to the Cactus Jack’s in Palm Desert and had a great meal with great service. We had hoped for that in Indio but…

I love cj’s, every valentine’s or special occasion this is where you will find us. I love the dim lighting and the old frank Sinatra vibe you get when sitting near the bar. It can be a bit pricey but well worth it. the outside doesn’t look so hot but its whats on the inside that will sutprise you.

We come here every year as a favorite place to eat, because of the Indio Dog Show. We have always liked the food with great service. However, tonight with reservations we brought 7 friends (our total number was 11), who have never been here.
Unfortunately, none of us will ever return!!!
Where do I start, the food was mediocre, as well as, taking 2 hours to get our food. The service was the worst ever. One of our friends only ordered a salad, and he was the last one to receive his food 2 hours later.
The owner was at the restaurant, and we expressed our frustration in great detail. He could have cared less, and told us it was not his problem. I have never left a bad review for any business before. I am sad to say that I had to leave this one.

My previous comments are in full force but add a caveat… stay away from the crab. I have had a number of crab dishes here including an oscar dish and have concluded that they don’t know how to thaw crab.
All crab arrives frozen from the boat and all you have to do is thaw it just before cooking/​serving. Somehow, CJ’S gets their crab to taste like it has been sitting out for a day or two.
Everything else here is good (ok, maybe not the oysters Rockefeller) but avoid the crab.

We came into town and wanted a nice place to set down and have a quiet steak dinner. Prices are a little high but the food was well prepared and we received great service.

So disappointed in the Mexican shrimp dinner
5 small grilled shrimp on a large plate $ 27
Ridiculous
Never going back

17 stars for Cactus Jacks!!! 20 stars for our bartender Kaitlin!!! The most amazing bar in the valley! Absolutely unbelievable people (almost all local regulars) sitting outside literally loving life and each other! The vibe here is unbeatable! Have I mentioned Kaitlin?! The prime rib sliders!!! The best prime rib I have EVER had!!! You’re an idiot if you don’t hang out at CJ’s!!!

I went to Indio for the Sammy Hagar concert (which was just ok) but my real find was Cactus Jack’s.
Cactus Jack’s looks like Frank Sinatra would have hung there. We had breakfast and my Lox and bagels could not have been any fresher. Larry had chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy. The serving was so large he had breakfast for 2 mornings out of it.
I will defiantly go again when in the area.

Great lunch spot. Love to come here when I’m in court in Indio. Great service!

Best Prime Rib I’ve had. It was suggested by strangers who over heard me looking for PR. I’m not disappointed. Order it with the white pasta… It’s a meal by itself.

Looks like a total dive on the outside, but NEVER judge a book by its cover!!! This place has killer prime rib! Drinks are amazing, and total romantic, dark atmosphere inside!

Great big «meh.»
The folks we were visiting loved this place, they’d had great service for years from the same gal who had risen from busser up to manager, so they kept coming back every year during their snowbirding. I guess great service for them makes up for totally mediocre cuisine.
Sourdough bread for the table was great. And that was the highlight of the noms. I got a NY strip, which is an exceptionally easy steak to prepare. Don’t have to worry about fat igniting a bigger fire and burning it like you do with a rib eye or other steaks. It’s difficult to overcook a strip. But they managed it. And I’m not sure if they even used spices.
Another place we also had to ask for water refills. I know this place is IN the desert and and all but if my water glass is completely empty, I’ve even eaten the ice cubes, um, I probably want more.

My family loves this place but I found it very average.
It wasn’t very busy and for the prices, I would have expected a bit more upscale décor.
The steak was bland and pasta was so so. The best thing all night was the rolls.
Not my favorite.