On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

We sat in a booth in the bar, my husband and I. Great service and the food was awesome!!!

Outstanding food and top notch service! Our favorite server Karen always does an awesome job and makes sure to take care of us from A-​Z. If we could give this review 10 stars & Karen we would! I always get the chimichanga and my father gets the burrito. Chips and salsa are always to die for as well! We’re frequent customers there because of the awesome staff!
Great job On the Border! Keep it up! Thanks Karen as well!

This place has been my favorite food spot in wake county the service is awesome, wait staff very friendly and food is life…

Walked in to this place and it looked like it was understaffed and not many customers. It took a while to get service from bartender who was busy chatting it up! I got some chips and salsa to start but, later I asked if I could get enchilada sauce instead, and it took forever, bartender said they were heating up but when I got it it was cold ?? I was not impressed one bit… ordering the chicken steak fajitas was a mistake !!! over cooked and The food is not adequate enough for what you’re paying for, I felt ripped off !!

No hostess at the door. Had to flag someone down to finally get seated. Chips and salsa were fine. Strawberry lemonade good. 3 sauce burrito was horrible. Wife and I both had steak. It was fatty and tasteless. Sent both back. No manager came to the table to apologize. Lousy experience. Should have known better, it’s owned by Brinker.

Mediocre experience. I had the fish tacos and they were good, but I ordered only fries instead of beans and rice and got half fries and half rice. The server told me that the manager would bring out fries but they never did. The manager even checked on our table but I still never got my fries. Service was very poor for a slow Wednesday night. Overall, food was good, drinks were overpriced and service was quite poor.

Took a survey. came for the free queso as a result! Yum. It was happy hour​.great​.at the patio or bar only .Mon thru Thurs 3−7pm.9−11pm. Fun atmosphere, attentive waiter. Awesome happy hour prices ranging from $ 2 -$ 5.plus free chips n salsa

On the Border is okay for a chain restaurant, I suppose. Better than Chili’s, but not as good as Torero’s or El Tapatio. They have a big menu with a lot of options, which is good if you have large group of people with different dietary preferences.

My husband and I LOVE this On the Border! I keep getting the Dos Equis Tacos every single time we go, and we’re up to twice a week… you’d think I’d get tired of them, but no, not yet. He’s tried the grilled fish tacos and a couple of the burritos and seafood dishes, and no complaints. The food has always come out super fast and hot. Staff is friendly and quick, too. One other thing, you can tell they make the guacamole on premise, it’s that good.
We took my family from New Hampshire in, there were nine of us, and it was still fast and they were able to accommodate us even with a full house in less than 15 minutes.
Forgot to mention there’s a friendly manager we see over and over, Megan. What’s not to like?

Ok, I’m usually not one for reviews because I work in this industry. But in this case I have to say that this was a horrible experience, it took nearly 15 minutes just to get our drink order (by a manager)
Few minutes later as they were deliver to our table (by the same manager) our server came to the table for the first time and took our food order .
20 minutes later the food arrived along with a side of cheese dip that was supposed to be the appetizer ‚
Food was terrible: I had the bandera enchiladas: the meat was cold and really dry, the rice was also cold; so we’re the black beans and burrito my wife had. I did not say anything to the manager because I hate to be that guy. But I can say that we won’t be coming back here anymore.

When I saw the Fish Tacos on the menu I immediately knew what I wanted to eat. When the host asked if I wanted the fish grilled or fried, my response was grilled. Food came, the fish was good, the rest not so great. I had to take everything out of the tortillas because they were just nasty. When asked how my meal was, the response from my host was some people just don’t care for the corn tortillas. I thought this comment odd as the menu listed flour tortillas. When the bill came, any questions I might have had were answered. Turns out, GRILLED fish tacos are listed the next column over from the FRIED fish tacos. Cost about $ 2 more. I was deceived! Oh well lady!

I went to @OnTheBorder with a co-​worker for dinner. It was a nice visit, and the staff seemed to be nice and professional. The manager was constinently visible, and making sure that her employees were doing their job, and that they keepings customers were happy.
After we sat down, we were supplied with some fresh baked chips and salsa. They kept the chips and salsa bowls coming too, even before they were empty. I had the Chicken Flautas, with Beef Empanadas. My coworker had the superior platter with everything on it. At first, I thought the flauta was a taquito, but the manager said it was a flauta. As far as the empanadas, I will not get the beef empanada again. It tasted funny in the restaurant. I thought maybe it was because of the medicine that I had earlier, but after I had the leftover empanada the next day, I realized my taste buds were fine, and the beef empanada was just plain nasty and weird tasting.
But overall I would say the service was good, and everything I had minus the empanada was tasted good as well. It was only the second time I had ever been to OTB, but who knows when the next time will be.
#361

Very good service and great food. The steak nachos were very good today.
Many trips over many years leads me to say OTB is almost always a great meal.

I went back at the request of the Manager. It was better this time. The service was good and so was the food. I sat at the bar and watched football. The food was very warm when it arrived.

Stopped in for take out. Very good service, short wait time, and a very friendly bartender. The food was very good and packaged appropriately to assure I received the same items I would have had if I had eaten in.

If you like good Tex-​Mex food and you don’t mind chain restaurants, On The Border is a fine place for a meal.
I’ve always had good experience with the service here, the prices are very reasonable, and they have all the usual Tex-​Mex favorites. If you like burritos, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, etc., you will be very happy.
One thing that OTB really could do a better job with is having some more vegetarian and vegan options on the menu. They will be happy to make you a cheese enchilada, veggie fajitas, or a bean burrito, but if you want a vegetarian tamale, empanada, or tacos. .. then you have to find another place. Even the jalapeño poppers have chicken (yuck!) in them.
I love the grilled avocado enchilada, the guacamole live is amazing, and the veggie fajitas with the spicy sauce are great. I also like the cheese enchiladas with sour cream sauce and the chile relleno.
I don’t care for their beans or their rice — all versions fall short in my opinion. This is likely only a problem if you are a veggie, like me, of if you are in the habit of eating everything on your plate.
Overall, it’s a fine Tex-​Mex chain and I don’t have any big complaints. At the same time, you are not likely to be surprised or excited by anything at OTB.
–AnneK

This was actually my first time ever eating at any On the Border Restaurant. We went in on a Sunday around 5p and it was pretty dead inside. I ordered some tacos while the wife ordered some fajitas. I also ordered one of their frozen margaritas. The chips and salsa are pretty darn good, but found the margaritas lacking and overpriced for what you get. My tacos were subpar, but my wife really enjoyed her fajitas. The service was quick and we got our food relatively fast. I would try it again but would find something else on the menu.

As a fan of all that is Mexican, On the Border seems like an obvious choice to sample. It’s literally 1 mile away from my house, it’s fairly large in size, and a fairly well-​heard-​of franchise. Unfortunately. that’s about all I really have to say about it in a positive light.
I’ve eaten here 3 times, and there’s actually only one reason to ever eat at this place. They sell a 1lb tray of Salsa and a HUGE bag of chips for dirt cheap. For $ 6.99, you can take our a legitimate tub of salsa and a bigger-​than-​king size bag of freshly made tortilla chips. Their salsa is on point too; it’s quite spicy, very thin in texture, and goes well with almost anything. This is especially great if you’re looking to take something out to tail-​gate with or to snack on. They have alright drink prices, too, on domestic beers if you’re looking to catch the game there.
…that’s about all there is to say.
In my experiences eating here, I have never once enjoyed anything else. Not the appetizers, not the entrees, not even the «all-​you-​can-​eat» specials.
For the appetizer, I’ll especially visit the steak nachos. I’m not sure what type of fake-​meat it is, but I assure you, it’s not legitimate. Not only does it not even taste remotely like steak, it has the texture of rubber. It looks like store-​bought steak cubes and tastes, quite frankly, like nothing. When I think of nachos, I think of a «pile-​it-​high-​and-​drizzle-​on-​the-​toppings» sort of format. At On the Border, it’s legitimately 10 tortilla chips covered graciously with cheese, refried beans, and steak-​byproduct. To say it’s underwhelming is an understatement.
I tried their Barbacoa enchiladas, a meal I considered a «Safe» bet, as I happen to be an enthusiast for well-​prepared barbacoa. It was not enjoyable. The meal consisted of 80% tortilla wrap and a sprinkle of barbacoa inside. To add insult to injury, the «Special sauce» that is covering the enchiladas is extremely unenjoyable, and tastes substantially like BBQ sauce more than anything else. It’s quite an overpowering taste, too, which would be alright… except it’s a bad taste. What you’re left with is a terrible-​tasting tortilla and flavorless meat, alongside some refriend beans and rice, which lack any distinctive taste of their own.
I think what really tells you all you need to know about On the Border is the all-​you-​can-​eat specials.
Ladies and gentlemen, when I go to a place to stuff myself silly on your food, it’s basically an understanding on my end. 1) The goal is quantity, not quality, and 2) Your food is going to be enticing enough that I want to come back for seconds at the very least, if not thirds. during an all-​you-​can-​eat enchilada special, which consisted of either a «chicken» or beef enchilada covered in queso and rice and beans on the side. As experienced in all previous meals, the chicken and the beef, again, have no discernable taste whatsoever. It is as if you are chewing on cardboard. The regular queso dip is alright at best, but the queso used on these enchiladas was so thin and bland that I found myself scraping it off of my food. After eating half of our first enchilada (roughly the size of your ring finger and pinky finger in thickness and the middle finger for length), my dining partner and I glanced up as if to say «…am I really already ready for the check?» We tried the beefs with a 2^nd plate, and it was also wildly forgettable. When your food is so mediocre that even endless quantities of it for dirt-​cheap seem unappetizing, you have a problem. I distinctly remember thinking to myself «Taco Bell is cheaper and has more flavor than this place…» That should never happen at a sit down restaurant, period.
I WILL attend this place in the future… but solely for the chips and salsa. They’re cheaper than a King-​Size bag and jar of Tostitos salsa, it tastes better, and it’s fresher. Beyond this, however, there is simply no reason whatsoever to dine at this establishment. There are literally dozens of tastier options in the Raleigh area which are far more enjoyable and memorable for the same price… and if you wanted to get the food cheaper and quicker, Taco Bell would be a better option. Steer clear of this place until they do an entire overhaul on their ingredients, their menu, and their chefs.

It’s literally been years since we’ve been here thanks to a couple not-​too-​impressive visits and lots of other much more palatable nearby options.
Recent Friday night we found ourselves here (for reasons that are not relevant but let’s just say it wasn’t a first choice). Hostess… friendly and efficient… Service…excellent…food way better than it used to be. Everything tasted freshly prepared. The relleno was battered and crunchy. Especially loved that the sauce for it was served on the side in a little bowl so it wouldn’t mess up the crunchiness. The green chile chicken enchilada was very tasty. Husband enjoyed his three-​sauce steak burrito. Salsa that came with the chips was very flavorful and spicy (which we both loved).
Impressive for a chain, but more importantly impressive compared to where they were a couple years ago. It was obvious that good management is in place here and working hard.

It’s your typical Mexican franchise chain. The food was pretty good. The servers were nice, though they switched during my lunch.
The place clean.
They did make me a custom drink, and it was pretty good.