On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

I didn’t know this place existed until I passed it on my way to another restaurant near by. They go in a row. On The Boarder, Olive Garden, and Smokey Bones.
(Hey look at that grammar police. I just successfully used the Oxford comma.) Anyway, I liked this establishment. Place was clean. I liked the interior. Hispanic pottery and Jade Stewart plants adorned the walls. The servers treated you well. Almost on the same level as a restaurant you’d find that has linen. (This place didn’t have any.)
As soon as you’re seated they bring out some pretty spicy salsa and tortilla chips. I was stuck with a margarita, not that I’m complaining because the tequila was good. But I originally asked for a mojito, then the waitress came back and apologized for being out of mint leaves.
Moving on, The Big Bordurrito which I had was an enormous twelve inch burrito. I could barely finish it. I mean holy freaking burrito Batman! (Don’t get me started on Batman, I’m SO against Ben Affleck assuming the role!) But I survived successfully. After defeating it I didn’t feel like moving though. Finding Queso near me has been increasingly becoming a difficult task with the closing of Qdoba. So I had to order it before I left. Glad I did.

I absolutely love this place. I’ve been to Emilianos, Patron and pretty much every other Mexican place you could think of in a 15 mile radius of Pittsburgh. They have great happy hours and great food in general. And that says a lot coming from the usual non-​Mexican food loving person. It helps to have a FANTASTIC waitress who is personable and will help you figure out the best deal when it comes to those margaritas you love. I have been here numerous times and Lexi has turned us on to the great things on the menu. She also is the best server in the world! Even for this usual non-​mexican food lover, she makes me come back again and again. Her and the best gosh darn salsa I’ve ever tasted. It’s the perfect amount of spice!

Service was decent but this place has really aged and not in a good way. It seems run down and tired. I can remember when it opened and was packed. This is my first visit in years. I can see why I haven’t been here for so long. The place is dirty looking from age and the food was just not good. Small portions which is ok because the quality is just terrible. There are so many other options out there that are fresh and good. Heck is rather risk ecoli from chipotle than eat here again. Such a shame. The two stars is for the wait staff that tried hard to make a bad place better.

This is one of the best Americanized Mexican restaurants I’ve been to in the Pittsburgh area for the price. The «trendier» places in the city tend to be a ripoff. Portion sizes are great and the food isn’t totally bland and flavorless like at some other places that cater to Americans who can’t handle cilantro. People complaining about medium spiced salsa should not be going to a Mexican restaurant… Go back to Chipotle.

Food is Awful! Worst Mexican food I’ve ever had. Waiters finger was bleeding when he dropped off food to table. We sent Enchiladas back for being rubbery. General Manager had a bandaid on hand as well. This restaraunt did not appear very clean after a more thorough look. Very disappointed when I waste money. Good in other states. This location is not worth the visit.

My experience at On the Border was awful. It took 10 minutes to order drinks, 15 minutes to get drinks, 15 minutes to order, and 20 minutes to get our food, and once we actually got our food is was not very good. On top of that, our waitress forgot our dessert. Finally, the food made me incredibly sick and Ill. Definitely not returning to On The Border.

This place is great on food. Prices are not to bad. It’s great for family time. Chips and Salsa are always fresh.

I already had a bad experience last time I ate at on the border in a different state but I thought hey let’s try it again. Overall I ended up really disappointed and mostly just because of the food. I mean the waitress was nice enough and we didn’t have to wait too long, it just wasn’t good food. And we were served literally smallest portion of fajitas I’ve ever seen in my life! I’m officially done with on the border

Not enough help in bar. Single bartender for all the tables in bar. Management wake up.

I’ve been to On The Border before when I lived in Texas, but this was the first time here in Pittsburgh. Very high quality food, no MSG, extremely reasonably priced, and very friendly service.
We went on a Saturday during dinner, so we didn’t expect to be served our food quickly. The wait wasn’t all that bad, but our waiter and management were falling over themselves to apologize for the long wait, and even comp’ed our appetizers. I will definitely be returning here!

The atmosphere is very nice. The drinks nice. The food not so good. We didn’t have any issues with with wait staff. All friendly and service fast

Despite all the negative reviews my boyfriend and I went for dinner here anyway. he got the ranchilatas and I had the chicken tacos. our food was excellent. The service was good and it was a very pleasant experience

Is there a way to give zero stars? Visited this restaurant a few months ago a week or so after my parents had an awful experience there. Wanted to give it my own shot. Bartender was rude whenever i informed her that there was hair in both my margarita (the middle of it) and in our chips. She didn’t even wait to go to the back to allow her facial expression and body language inform everyone around the bar or her disgust for a customer complaint. I have been a server for four years… if someone makes you mad, go to the back and cool off don’t show disgust in front of that customer. Zero stars, never will be back, and will tell everyone about my awful experience.

Pretty decent chain food.

This was our first time to OTB in Cranberry (rte228) and most likely last. For not being crowded on a Tues it couldn’t have been worse. Food took forever (nearly 45 min), the kids nachos came out as 10 chips with burnt cheese, and most everything else was bordering on luke warm. The table next to us experienced the same issues so at least we were alone.

Fair service but the best thing we ate was the salsa. The entrees resembled cafeteria food. Burger over cooked and accompanied by a total of nine fries. Brisket quesadillas lacked flavor and salad was a bit sad looking. Upset for having to pay for that! The kids portion of grilled chicken was cut into a triangle as if they used the rest to put on a salad. The beer was cold but flat. We were not pleased with our experience and will not dine there again.

PLEASE DON’T GO HERE
Worst place ever. I went for a quick take out dinner at the bar. There were four people and TWO bar waitresses and the service was HORRIFIC. Credit to the first waitress for actually taking my order after a few minutes, but then she disappeared (she may have been working outside).
I received a really gross and watered down margarita but I didn’t complain. I decided I would order another shot to add to it. Well the dingbat waitress that WAS still in the bar area never even made eye contact with me so I could order. I mean d*mn there were only 4 other people and I was smack dab in the middle.
This chick progressively pissed me off, each minute she ignored me. I’m sitting there with this weak drink and she is basically walking around in circles. So finally my food came. Meanwhile some waiter come from the back and he and madame poor service were huddled around a check with him. He was complaining about how low of a tip he got and missy-​poo actually said, «that’s disgusting».
You know what I think is disgusting? The sticky bar area, your horrible service/​attitude, the weak a$$ drink, and the cold and tasteless food yall are putting out over there.
I am here for a conference and I PROMISE my mission will be to make sure that none of the 2000 attendees go over to this crappy place. I have never been to an On the Border and I will never again. Shame on the manager!
Hire mature and skilled staff, before you end up bankrupt like Red Lobster.

We eat at OTB at least once a week, esp. Spring through Fall as my husband and I own a landscape company and we look at new jobs until dark many nights. Although we could make a meal out of the chips and salsa, I love the Chicken Salsa Fresca, with a Taco Salad thrown in here and there! My husband always get the Ranchalottas with re-​fried beans. We have got to know the staff quite well. Jen and Sam in the bar are wonderful and make you feel right at home.

Went there 1÷3÷2014 .
This is my opinion
i will not go eat there ever again. The kids quesadilla was saturated with butter and lard. The steak fajita was burned and not edible. My wife dish was extremely salty.
I honestly went there because the other restaurant 1 mile away was crowded that night. So we decided to give them one last chance as all my experiences with on the border was really bad.
Never again

Dear On The Border,
We used to love you. Now we don’t. What happened to you? Our satisfaction has rapidly been declining. Service has been horrible. Beyond ridiculous. We had to ask the hostess to find our server on our last two visits. Even the food has changed. Do you now use rubber chicken? And my Taco Stand Shrimp Tacos only had 3 tiny shrimp each. Plus, the shells were hard as a rock. My bf’s ground beef tacos were dripping out grease all over his plate. I guess if we want good Mexican food, we will have to make our own at home.
Hasta la vista!
Julie D.