On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
| Address: | 1 Buckhead Loop NE #130, Atlanta, GA 30326, USA |
| Phone: | +1 404-991-2500 |
| Site: | ontheborder.com |
| Rating: | 3.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
JO
Jo D
First off, the host Martín is one of the greatest to do this. He was sitting people, wiping off the tables, brought water to our table (the only water we got, by the way) ... basically everything. I would come back just because I know he is one of the few people in Atlanta that is at least going to greet you right, but he could not be our waiter. One the other hand, almost everything here is off taste wise. The good is that everything came out at least warm to hot. The chips are never burnt and the salsa was decent, yet slightly too liquidy to put on anything effectively. Also, the stuffed jalepeno appetizer was pretty good, but is served with a cheese sauce - which seems to be overkill on cheese in this dish; order these, but if there was some other type of salsa that could pair better - that would be great. The churros were fried well, but have waaaay too much sugar on them; they also have a weird coconut taste which should not be there - since they do not list that on the menu. I ordered the Big Bordorrito with chicken ... thinking it would be like Moes Homewrecker. Not quite; dry and tasteless, with a hint of too much damn rice and beans. Seriously, I took HALF of it home and picked out about only 5-6 pieces of chicken. The dryness was very apparent because the waitress couldnt be bothered to bring out water - even when I put the empty cups on the edge of the table. We also had guacamole which was ok, but it was not prepared with the same smooth consistency as other places - which is more of a testament to it being thrown together by the waitress. The frozen margarita I ordered was nothing but chunky pieces of ice and margarita mix - no alcohol. You have been warned; one of the worst I have ordered in years, and I drink a lot of them. I was going to ask for more alcohol, but left it alone because the margarita itself was pretty much garbage anyway. I am not a person that complains about the food to send it back. I figure this is the way they make it and as long as it is edible, I will only review it in its pure state (without them trying to make up for the foods shortcomings). Yet, I did have to say something about the water to the waiter (cant remember whatever her name was because she was not good). They brought one water to go, but didnt bring water for the 1.5 hours we had been sitting there. The inattention was reflected in her tip from me, and usually I start at 25%. I shouldnt have to tell someone to do their job. On a lighter note, On The Border is a decent restaurant that needs to stop messing with the Tex-Mex fornula. Some bad service may bring down scores, but people will come back if they tweak the food to make it more in-line with what is expected.
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Carson Tollner
I ate here about a week ago after overhearing some of my coworkers talking about it. So my family and I were driving around Buckhead last Friday looking for some place to eat, and then I remembered this place. I started talking about it and my wife said she had been to one while on a business trip so we decided to give it a try. We walked in and nobody sat us in a booth while we waited for 10 minutes. We finally sat down and our waiters/waitresses changed about 3 times and during that time our drinks never came out and they said that they "forgot to put our appetizer in". My wife kept giving me dirty looks, and then our food finally came after about 35 minutes. It was cold and my daughter ended up feeling sick after eating her Tostadas. We all stopped eating because of first, my nauseous daughter, and second my son started feeling queasy as well. I asked for the check and it took FOREVER for her to come back with it. I wouldnt even let my four year-old take a refreshment mint because I didnt want him to get sick either. I shouldve known what my experience was going to be when we walked in and there was nobody in the place and how it took so long for somebody to greet us. Save your lives and never eat at this place, ever.
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Brian Nebeker
The circumstances of this visit were different from my other experiences at On The Border. Atlanta had just suffered from snow and ice which shut most of the town down. I found On The Border open and is sounded good to me. Unfortunately due to the storm they were short staffed and they were only serving their lunch menu. My favorite items are not on the lunch menu so I settled for one of less favorite items the taco salad. I also ordered queso which came out at just the perfect temperature for enjoying and the chips were cooked right making for a yummy combination. The Taco Salad was not as good as usual not really sure what was wrong may it was just not what I wanted at the time. There were not many people there so the staff was not challenged but the service was friendly and quick. The parking lot could be a real challenge to find a spot on a busy day as even with very few people there I had to park a little way from the entrance. I would have rated it better but the prices are constantly going up and with a premium price I expect a premium product; and sometimes On The Border falls a bit short on their food quality. I still go here because even when it falls short a bit it is better than most mexican resturants.
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Sheara J
The food at On the Border is pretty average as far as Mexican food goes, but it gets 4 stars from me mainly because of its service and atmosphere. Nothing is truly spicy there in my opinion (even if they tell you an item is), but you can always ask for some Cholula sauce to spice the food up! My family went there yesterday afternoon for a late lunch, and we were able to sit out on their porch (the inside was a little too cold!) and enjoy the fresh air. The unlimited chips and salsa were nice and the guacamole/queso duo was a good deal if you want a taste of both. The yellow queso is a little on the thick side, but the flavor is decent. The Brisket Quesadilla was delicious and definitely worth trying! My mom had the Taco Salad which she seemed to like- I would recommend choosing the jalapeño vinaigrette with it as it has a great (not very spicy) flavor. I had the chicken chimichanga, which was tasty as well. The rice on the side was a little dry, but the charro beans had a nice flavor/texture. We also tried the flan for dessert, which was REALLY awesome- smooth and sweet!! The service was good, and our waitress was attentive and pleasant throughout.
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John Beck
My girlfriend and I arrived here in the mood for some good Mexican food and left very disappointed. We were seated immediately and drinks arrived at the table in a matter of a minute or 2. It only went downhill from here. The table was very sticky, but this actually turned out to be the best service I got there because I stopped a passing waiter and told him and he cleaned the table immediately. When we got our food it was lukewarm at best. My "Ultimate Fajitas" consisted of 80% vegetables and 20% meat...not what I was expecting for almost $20. Not only were they lukewarm but they also forgot my tortillas and I had to ask twice for them. By the time they finally brought them out my food was cold. My girlfriend did not like the chicken in her quesadilla and wound up just eating the cheese and tortilla. I was very disappointed with with my fajitas. Waiter did not visit us during the meel one time. When it came time to leave it took almost 20 minutes to get the check. I was very upset. Terrible food, terrible service. We will certainly not return to this restaurant. Save yourself a bad experience and go to Tin Lizzys or BarTaco.
