Cactus Charly
“Don't get the sangria, you won't get the experience of a real BYOB because you leave with no buzz besides a sugar high.”
“It's not a fancy place, but, the food was very very tasty, seasoned just right with a kick, and everything freshly made, and the service was attentive.”
“I usually get cheese enchiladas (which comes with a small salad, rice, and beans on the side) with a mango Jarrito and it is total comfort food.”
Cactus Charly
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Both my husband and I are in complete consensus that we had a terrible meal / experience here. We walked in on a sunday to the tv blaring so loud on a soccer match that we could not even hear ourselves think. We asked them to lower the volume a bit and they were not very pleased with us at all.
Complimentary chips and salsa were brought out, a nice touch however the chips were in a very skeptically reused plastic container it seemed like…
Started with their special jalapeño poppers which listed melted cheddar however it was not real cheddar but a cheese sauce instead and was gross.
I then had a burrito which was disgusting. The sauce on top was congealed, tasted like sugar. The rice was inedible and the refried beans caked and cold. My husband got the chicken fajitas which weren't much better. The chicken for some reason tasted like pork, really unappetizing. Also, they came with 3 fajitas only which is very odd and insufficient.
They did not even ask why I left my entire dish minus one bite. A good server/restaurant should ask is everything okay with your food however our server could care less.
This was the worst mexican food I have had in a very long time. How can you mess up fajitas and a burrito that bad?? Needless to say we will not be back.
Ate at CC's again last night. Still very good, but gf's fish tacos were just ok (although the actual fish inside was very good), they were rolled up like enchiladas and otherwise kinda plain. The place was very loud, despite being only half full… It's alway like that because of the acoustics. Couldn't make eye contact w/ a server when we wanted to pay, so had to wait at least an extra 15 min for that.
The first thing you may notice is the decor of the eating area. Nicely done! The walls are adorned with Mexicanish looking columns and flourishes with various political and historical murals done in a Hispanic style (they strongly resemble some murals I've seen in Peruvian and Mexican restaurants.) The restaurant is very nicely done!
It turns out that the restaurant is family run. Our waiter was the son of the owner, and he took pride in both the restaurant, the fact that his father did the decor for the restaurant (building the columns) and the busboy's cousin did the murals. The family is from Mexico, but I didn't ask where.
When we arrived, the two choice tables by the windows looked like there had been a party there. The tables were filthy and littered with the remains of a feast. We were shocked at how long it took the staff to clean the tables. He had already served us drinks, let us peruse the menu, and had taken our orders before he started to clean the tables. It was a little disconcerting, and too bad, because I would've liked to have sat there. Thankfully, the tables were serviced before we started to eat.
The menu is quite expansive, which is cool. I was expecting to Tex-Mex, but it really did look Mexican, since it includes things like mole sauce, ceviche, huachinango, and chayote. It's a fun menu, and there are lots of choices.
The store features sodas from Mexico, which is pretty cool. One of my favorite things about going to Latin America is getting their cokes, which are made from can sugar rather than corn syrup, and are still served in awesome glass bottles, old-school.
The food was good, but I have to confess, it's cooked for an American palette. The American palette, for the most part, shuns strong flavors. We saw the same thing in the other Maplewood restaurant we went to, Wild Ginger (Thai). Here's a breakdown of what we had:
Salsa: B+
Delicious, but needed more flavor. The ingredients were obviously chosen carefully since they were both fresh and ripe. But I would've liked it more oniony. More garlicky. Some chilli heat. As it stands, the salsa was delicious (B+ for me is slightly above average, with B being average). Maybe Cactus Charlie would consider serving two types of salsa: normal and picante for us heat lovers?
Nacho Ground Beef: B+
Above average, and delicious. A few comments, though.
First, the ground beef should've been more spicy and flavored more strongly. More chili powder and garlic would've been nice. I've found that the juice that pickled nacho rings come in is a TERRIFIC way of seasoning ground beef. It adds a sour/salty/hotness to the beef. I think it was toned down for a New Jersey palette.
My second comment was that, I hate to say this, maybe less cheese would've been good. Don't get me wrong. I would die for cheese. But if you look at my picture, the nachos were under a blanket of cheese. It was delicious, but when you do this, and cook it, every last tortilla chip becomes soggy. Now, this could be both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, it's great if you take the crispy chips from your basket and use them to scoop up the soggy chips/cheese/meat from the nachos. I really enjoy doing that. On the other hand, you end up eating too many chips this way. You wanna get fat? Cause that's how you get fat.
Third comment would be the nachos would've been better if guacamole and salsa were put on top. Oddly, both were missing (I ended up dumping our table salsa on the nachos.)
Chicken Tacos: B+
The tacos were delicious, and it was fun to eat tacos in a hard shell again. For some reason, hard shell tacos are a dying breed these days. Color me unauthentic, but I love 'em. The tacos themselves were tex-mex, not Mexican. Mexican tacos are minimalistic. Small. These were big Tex-Mex style tacos. Not that it's bad or anything. Just an observation.
Second observation is that the sauce and chicken, while PHENOMENALLY good, could've been seasoned more. Like the ground beef in my nachos, they lacked any kind of heat or savoriness. The chicken was very soft and flavorful, but it didn't really sing to me. It wasn't dynamic the way Mexican stewed chicken often is. Again, I wonder if that's because the food has been dialed to a typical New Jerseyian palate.
Came here on a Sunday and it was not to busy. It's on the small side and not on the main street in the village where all the restaurants are located. Loved the wall art, especially the sombrero. Went well with the vibe of the place.
It's a long menu which always makes me nervous. I ordered the fish tacos. The priciest thing on the menu after the Carne al Carbon. I was expecting the fish to be fried but it wasn't. It appeared to have been stewed. The fish was delicious if you ignored the chunk of garlic (or not if you are a garlic fan) but it made for a very soggy taco. My daughter got fries (it was a LOT) because that's all any 4 year old will eat. My bill was very reasonable. Overall, I don't have any complaints. I will most likely return but will not be getting the fish taco.
Service was great, which is another reason to return.
Cactus Charlie's is a BYOB Mexican restaurant in downtown Maplewood. Usually when I travel to Maplewood we go straight to Arturo's or Lorena's but we decided to give Charlie's a try. I'm not a huge Mexican food fan but sometimes I get a craving for it. That being said we went last night at 7pm and were able to get a table right away. It's pretty small inside but it's festive. With large painted murals on the wall and sombrero hat lights it definitely sets the fun atmosphere. Service was attentive when we first sat but after our meal, it fell off a bit as we waited a while to get the bill. Complementary chips and salsa were brought to the table. The chips were average, I usually compare them to the chips and salsa at Jose Tejas but none ever come close. Kids meals are pretty cheap at under $5 which is nice. The menu is pretty extensive and gives you options of many popular dishes from tacos and burritos to fajitas and ceviche. There were some seafood options available too but I opted to go with something more traditional. We started off with the nachos con carne which were fantastic. Hands down the best nachos I've ever had. I just wish I could say the same for my main course. I ordered the chicken enchiladas in mole sauce. The mole sauce had a sweet taste to it which overpowered the rest of the meal. A tad less mole sauce probably would have sufficed. The refried beans that accompanied the meal were also very good. They were creamy and flavorful. The shredded chicken inside the enchiladas was a little bland and chewy. After being blown away by the nachos I had set the bar a little too high for my expectations. Although, for my first visit I was satisfied enough that I'd give Cactus Charlie's another try in the future. That is of course if I can keep myself from being pulled in by Arturo's when visiting Maplewood!
This was OK. Got delivery and it was pretty fast. It is gut-filing standard Mexican fare.
I was actually leaning more toward "meh" with this review, but I'm in a good mood today. This is a popular family-friendly spot right in Maplewood Village. It's not a big place, maybe 15 tables, with not much atmosphere to speak of, despite the colorful and vibrant culture that is being represented. I know authentic Mexican food and the food here probably qualifies as such, but what it did not qualify as, in my estimation, is overly flavorful. I had three tacos, all of which were pretty bland. The chicken was dry and generally lacking, the carnitas was overcooked and not tender (although did have a little bit of heat, which was a plus), and the shrimp was decent. In retrospect, if I had three of the latter, I probably would have been happier. I'm not trying to hate, but I just really love tacos and these were a disappointment.
The rest of the food we ordered was also fair to middling (quesadillas and enchiladas). Nothing was terrible, I was just hoping and expecting more, I guess. The whole experience left me feeling kind of blah. Service was decent, but the place was pretty empty. Prices are ok, but maybe a little on the high side given the quality. I'll probably give them another shot, but overall, my maiden voyage to Cactus Charly was underwhelming.
Very solid. Good food, good service and a great atmosphere. It's your typical Mexican restaurant. It's not upscale and doesn't pretend to be. It's down-home, quality eats in a relaxed atmosphere. It's BYOB so it gives you the feeling you're at someone's Mexican home and can have whatever you want to drink. The food is great. My wife and I each ordered burritos and both were very large, very filling and very good. The options are your standard fare so you know what you're in for before you go. It's not the biggest restaurant but it seats a lot of people and when the weather is nice there is outdoor seating. Probably one of the strongest Mexican places in the area. There are many choices nearby but many continuously fall way short and don't follow through on the more authentic style of central Mexico like this place.