El Cactus

I had no idea this restaurant was here for 3 years!!! Thank you groupon for introducing my husband and I to this place! We’ve been a total of 3 times and have been pleased each time! We went in on Tuesday for their taco special and were very impressed! The santi pow pow and the brisket are out of this world! Make sure to ask how santi pow pow got its name! It’s Bonefish’s bang bang shrimp meets taco! The mango salsa compliments the meaty brisket so well! They do not skimp on proportions! My husband is in love with their chicken quesadillas. We have not been disappointed by any of the food! We love to support our local community– definitely a place to check out!

Great tacos. Awesome owner. I love sitting outside with my wife enjoying the awesome spring weather and chowing down.

Super nice staff and even the owner was so helpful. I had the chicken nachos which was good and enough to share for 3 persons. My husband had the fish and shrimp fajitas and loved every bite. I will come back again and again. Thanks Groupon! I will recommend this wonderful cozy restarant.

Thank god for Groupon! I have lived in Manassas for several years and never knew this little gem existed until I saw a deal on Groupon for it.
The husband and I went to El Cactus for a late dinner. The place only had a few diners and most of them were at the bar. The place is exceptionally small with only 8 or so tables, so I can’t imagine this place when its busy. The waitress was very attentive and answered all of our questions about the menu. Husband got some sort of rice bowl and I ordered the carnitas tacos. The waitress brought out the most AMAZING house made salsa and tortilla chips. The chips were so delicious that we had to order some queso as well. Everything, seriously everything, was delicious. The carnitas had the most amazing flavor and was so moist and tender. I was inquiring about take out menus when I saw fried Oreos on the menu. Of course we had to try them. We were stuffed and so the waitress offered to only serve a half order (2 instead of 4) which was perfect! Again the Oreos were delicious! I had to roll off of my seat when leaving I was so stuffed but it was worth it. We will definitely be back!
Oh and they have lots of specials! We were informed that they have Taco Tuesdays and All you can eat enchiladas on Thursdays. We were also told that the cook also likes to make random things and put them as specials, so I can’t wait to see the menu next time we are there!

Disappointing Mexican restaurant. Food was bland and served lukewarm. Tortilla chips were oily and not crispy. Portions were terrible. The wait staff was alright but kept coming to ask if everything was alright then lagged at giving me my check. When I first walked into the place it was dead and dark. The only highlight: The outdoor seating was great because it was a nice day and there was live street music that night. Great location.

Korean taco is $ 4 on Tuesdays now

Our Go-​To Spot for dining out! We love this little place. The people are friendly. The service is great. The food is always top-​notch! We’ve tried everything from shrimp nachos (huge — enough for a meal… for two), tacos (Taco Tuesday is a must), burgers (not your everyday burgers), steaks (yes, I said steaks… and they were amazing), and churros (try them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and have never been disappointed! The food is always more than expected! They have a great selection of local beers and their margaritas are refreshing. There is a great outdoor seating area for when the weather is nice and two TVs inside to catch the game. Come join us!

This place is absolutely delicious with some of the best margaritas I have had!

Poor execution.
I like the idea of El Cactus. It has potential. But I think their food+drinks are a little over priced for the quality of food.
Taco Tuesday is fun, and the Korean Taco is delicious, but I still think it’s way overpriced. I’d rather go to any other restaurant/​bar in old town.

The guacamole was awesome! I’m from Tx, we have the best Texmex restaurants in town I think. We decided to try this one in our trip to VA. The food was excellent and the service too. We got brisket tacos and they were so delicious. We also had some mango margaritas that we also loved.

This is a guaranteed good meal. My favorites on the menu are the nachos w steak, the carne asada tacos, and the tres leches for dessert. The staff is very nice. We enjoy eating on the back porch when it’s warm, but there is ample seating upstairs. My hubs favorite meal is the bulgogi tacos, and they are off menu so you’ll need to ask for them. Margaritas are solid including the yummy cactus pear. This place is a definite must as you try restaurants in old town Manassas.

This place is awesome. Came here on Veterans Day and they had a whole menu of free meals just for veterans, I’ve never seen that in 17 years of service. Staff was really friendly and the food was fantastic. I will be back again!

Not sure why the negative reviews… but we got a groupon and decided to give it a try and so very glad we did. Sat outside and followed some of the recommendations so ordered the table side guac and yucca to start. All fantastic! But the salsa that comes with the chips was some of the best flavor I’ve ever had. We ordered the mojito and a special drink called the Hail Mary. We ended up ordering 2 more Hail Marys, so good! For main course we did mix and match tacos. My husband got the brisket tacos and I went with Korean tacos and pow pow shrimp. Everything was extremely delicious, packed with flavor. Even though we had no room left we ordered the Tres Leches and wow. So yummy we finished it all. The live acoustic music was just the icing on our Mexican cake :). We will definitely be back. Oh and we had nothing but super friendly and timely service. Love this place.

Food is amazing. I’m from Cali, which, in my opinion, has the best Mexican food. So, I have expectations. El Cactus’s nachos totally met them. You can tell they care about presentation. The chicken in the nachos tasted great, too! Fair prices! And their made-​from-​scratch margaritas are awesome and cutely served in a mason jar.
When I went, it wasn’t the busiest. My date and I were the only customers, being serenaded by open mic night. Didn’t seem like a place to mingle. Although, it was a cold, windy weeknight. Hopefully it becomes busy and stays open. I’m certainly a repeat customer now. I recommend it to anyone who loves nachos especially. Hard to find «Cali» nachos.

Oh oh… Stopped in tonight. Only ones there. Eventually 2 other couples came in. No more free chips and salsa. Big mistake I think.
Started with the crab cake. Tasty but I think just a tad too much filler.
My wife had her usually steak fajitas. I had the torta sandwich which is a steak sandwich and fries.
Sangria white was kind of disappointing. Not sweet at all. Oh well I still drank it.
So maybe this is not my favorite place in old town any more. I’ll give it another try. I really loved it on previous visits. I would hate to see it close.
Because the food is still good sticking with the four stars for now, but I really wish they reverse that chip decision. After all give the customer salt and they will order more drinks!

After a summer of being open I’m starting to see a deterioration in quality, especially during lunch rush.
The service gets overwhelmed very easily. I’ve had to flag down servers for everything, checks, refills, extras, etc. Lunch has to be a fast meal because people have to get back to work. I don’t think they have this down.
They don’t use the cool upright taco stands anymore.
Fountain sodas are $ 3!!! Even on Taco Tuesday, a soda + 3 tacos + tip can be around $ 12.
Its a good thing everything is still really tasty.
With Zandra’s opening up around the corner there will be some serious competition for El Cactus now in Old Town.

My interest in El Cactus piqued before it even opened — from the moment I spied signs and movement in the building while sipping adult beverages across the street at Monza. I (im)patiently waited for the soft opening, grand opening and then just a little more time to allow the crowds to simmer down and the new business kinks to unwind.
A couple of friends had already dined there and had good experiences. $ 2 Taco Tuesdays were raved about. $ 2 TACOS?! A variety of specialty options like Korean Tacos included in this deal?! I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had to participate in such a wonderously delicious, low-​budget meal!
As we were seated, complimentary chips and salsa bowls were provided. We must’ve looked seriously hungry… and I’m OK with that. I took it up a notch by ordering the Queso appetizer — basically melted cheese with pico. Simple, yet satisfying. My friends shared an order of Guacamole. I like that it’s mixed at the table in front of you and you’re able to bear witness to its freshness. I, of course, scored a bite and it was pretty good.
The most notable downside of all the first tastes here — the chips. They were all stale. We went through 3 – 4 bowls with the salsa, queso and guacamole for 3 people. Not a single fresh bite. This was rather disappointing but not a deterrent.
As previously mentioned, I came for the $ 2 Taco Tuesday special, but more specifically for the Korean Tacos: bulgogi meat with a small amount of kimchi. I ordered two «spicy», which just meant a sriracha-​like condiment on top. I also had a Chicken Taco — you know, as a variable. I enjoyed every bite of each one. The meat was tender and the sriracha sauce on the bulgogi gave it a good kick. In general the tacos are small, so I can’t imagine paying more than $ 2 – 3 anyway (reg price 3.99−4.99).
As if this wasn’t enough, our group also (over-​) indulged with fried oreos and churros. Both came with scoops of ice cream (salted caramel maybe? I can’t remember). I’ve never been a fan of churros, so there wasn’t much surprise that I didn’t care for them at El Cactus. The fried oreos on the other hand… life changing. Warm, yet not gooey, sweet, fried oreo. Combining that with ice cream was a texture and flavor home run! Definitely a great way to end a meal here.
It should be mentioned that our service experience was pretty good as well. Although our main server seemed to be new and not completely knowledgeable of the menu/​special offers, we had other friendly employees check on us as well. Bartenders, other servers, and even the owner came over and spoke to us. That speaks volumes in regards to their value and care of the customer.
Although I’ve moved out of state since dining here, I will be back in the future to try brunch and/​or the chimichangas!

Time for a little update.
I’ve been back to El Cactus quite a few times since my last review, and I must admit I am seriously impressed with the service we’ve been getting. I generally site in the bar area and those ladies have always been a pleasure to chat with. They are also really creative when it comes to the drinks and have surprised me with a few really unique creations!
I’ve had the chance to go to «Taco Tuesday» twice now (and planning another trip tomorrow) and I can honestly say the $ 2.00 tacos are worth EVERY cent and then some. My favorites are the Korean Taco served with spicy Kimchee and the Diablo Shrimp! My friend ordered the «Tuna Taco Dinner» the last time we were there, don’t let the name sway you… these were freaking delicious! I was actually pretty jealous that I didn’t ordered them myself.
I am so happy that El Cactus has joined the lineup of yumminess that is Old Town Manassas. Battle Street is really one of the most delicious places in Manassas!

Man o man, the tacos at this place… they’re a thing of beauty. Couple of notes about this place before I talk about the food though. Firstly, it’s in Old Town Manassas so be prepared for street parking and a short walk. Secondly when dining at night, it’s quite dark in here so if you have poor vision this is a challenge. (I know my mother would be THAT person pulling out her phone to read the menu.) It’s a small space inside so when it gets full it can be rather loud but the food I had here over two days more than made up for the noise.
Dinner on Friday night here with Jodi C was my first trip into El Cactus and after eating here I knew it wouldn’t be my last. We split an order of guacamole as an appetizer. It was brought out half made and finished table-​side. Not joke there were three avocados in the bowl! This makes me super happy as I LOVE avocados. It doesn’t get much fresher than that. It was rich and creamy and great company to their salsa. Our server Mel was wonderful and keep our drinks refilled and checked up on us.
We both we for tacos, which fair warning, run between $ 4-​$ 5 each. When they came out I noted that they were smaller than normal tacos so I started to worry. Upon the first bite there was really no room in my head to think about the taco size for the next few minutes. I had the Carne Asada and a Ground Beef taco. Jodi had a Baja Fried Fish and a Korean Taco (not on the menu). Probably some of the best tacos I’ve had in my 29 years. The Carne Asada was perfectly cook and not chewy. Their salsa roja on top added a wonderful balance to the flavors along with the pico and guac. The Ground Beef was good (the Carne was my fav of the two) and set apart from other «Americanized» version of tacos by the Mexican crema they put on top.
I was gifted with a taste of both of Jodi’s taco choices and I have to say Mel did not lead her astray when she suggested the Korean taco. I’ve had Korean tacos before down here in Richmond, but this one was way better.
We decided to finish off the meal with the churros and salted caramel ice cream. Everything with our meal had been well executed from the kitchen up to this point. Sadly I was not very happy with the churros. They tasted heavily of oils to me and were not light though they were crunchy. The ice cream was good on it’s own but unfortunately needed for the oily churros. Something needs to be adjusted regarding the recipe/​cooking.
We ended up making a second visit the next night rather late, after a day at a winery. I stuck to just tacos and was again not disappointed with them.
In wrapping up I have one final comment. The first night were were there the owner was sitting at one of the high top tables in the front by the window. There were a few parties dining, but I did not see him circulating around at all checking on customers. Regardless of the establishment, if you are an owner, it goes a very long way to checking up on and thanking your customers for coming in. Hopefully on future visits I’ll see this happening.

Great Tacos!
On Saturday they serve a nice brunch with an extensive menu selection.
You also have the option of ordering off the menu.
I had a chicken and carne asada taco, they were delicious.
For a starter, I also had the tortilla soup which was exceptional.
They comp you with chips & salsa.
Jennifer provided great service and was very friendly.
She told me that on Tuesday they have $ 2 dollar tacos all day.
They have an outside patio around back which will open when the weather warms up.
You will find me there on Tuesday sipping a top shelf rita and munching on a taco!