Iron Cactus

The queso and salas where good and the chips fresh crispy homemade, it wasn’t very busy being its 2/​3ish service is decent we need more chips man!!! Beans and rice were really tasty and presentation was nice comes out out an tamale chuck: p fajitas are not no San Antonio fajitas like to me Lupe Tortillas has the BEST Fajitas hands down… but for what it was I would rate 3 out of a 5. Queso was a solid ¾. Considering we are downtown Dallas a dinner for 2 at a Mexican restaurant is not highly out of range at $ 50 bucks but I feel the meat could have been tastier :-) plus corn tortillas are not homemade :-((((but the flour are however I don’t eat flour sooooo for me this doesn’t win me over. They also play trendy hip music which is nice for a contemporary chic feel. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly.

I had a party of ten. service wss fantastic, steak fajitas were perfect. Had to do individual checks, no errors. Would definitely come back!

I ate here tonight not many people in the restaurant it was about 1030 had a hamburger stuffed with cheese and jalapeños it was great the service was great the atmosphere was great I don’t the big deal is

Nice Place. Nice view on the rooftop at night. Friendly servers! Good place for a birthday dinner or get together.

Typical Tex Mex restaurant, hardly any flavor, no flare. Apart from the great location and the view, it was very okay. Definitely overpriced, but the service was good!

IC delivered fantastic service and fantastic dishes today. I’m surprised at the lack of stars they’ve gotten here! Definitely going back with more friends!

The place looked good from the outside.
Walked in, there was a long-​ass 45 minute wait at 9PM. Cool, there’s no wait at the bar. Let’s go. Ooo, I like these stairs. What a cool-​looking place.
Sit upstairs and get no service. Damn, I really wanted to try their desserts, too.
Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with my girlfriend having the runs the whole time and I was sitting by myself. But c’mon, at least offer me some water, right?
The people watching is really good here, though.

Bad service and mediocre tex-​mex food, pretty much sums this place up. Server completely forgot about us so we were left rationing our drinks. Not to mention he looked ticked off when we asked him to split the tab.

We came here with family while visiting in Dallas. We are vegetarians so it is difficult at times to find something to eat but we have never had an issue at a Mexican restaurant until today.
We wanted enchiladas but wanted to add onions and bell peppers to the cheese ones and we were told we couldn’t do that because the enchiladas are premade. We then asked for veggie enchiladas minus the asparagus and once again they said they couldn’t do that either. That was a first for us. Usually enchiladas are made to order but not at this place. Can I mention the enchilada dinner was $ 13 on top of that. So I am paying $ 13 for pre made enchiladas.
We then asked for quesadilla and she said they can make it because they make those fresh. We ordered it how we would want it (beans and cheese) and she took the order. About 10 minutes later the manager comes to our table to tell us that they making an exception for us this time but they can not customize the quesadillas either. We said they waitress mentioned to us that they were freshly made and we can put whatever we want on it. He replied by saying «that is not her decision and not her place to tell you that». I found that to be unnecessary for him to tell us that as guests of the restaurant. Can I also mention that this was on a Wednesday night around 9 pm and there was only one or two other parties there so they were VERY slow.
If you are looking to pay $ 13 – 15 a plate for pre made food this is your place but I just feel that if you are charging a premium you should be able to customize the order. Not to mention that is for a veggie dish and no meat. I am sure with meat the price point is a lot higher.
We will not be back when we are in town that is for sure.

Had a good time sitting there. The bartender was very candid and polite. The manager was handling a service recovery after we sat down and overhearing the conversation I couldn’t believe how gracious he was about this Togo error. He ended up comping the whole bill and throwing in an extra complimentary appetizer and running out to put money from the register in her meter as she sat up at the bar being very frosty. The wait was only like 7 minutes longer. He said if she wanted to throw a couple bucks to the bartender who was being very proactive and engaging. May not have been my situation but it is nice to know that people do still go out of their way when in the wrong. Food was soso. We only had straight forward cocktails but overall I would come back and sit at the quiet bar again if I wanted a beer.

GOOD: drinks are amazing! The bloody mary was spicy and delicious. Lots of interesting coctails and entrees and Tappas to choose from. Free chips and salsa! Manger went out of his way to create a cocktail for me when they didn’t have the ingredients for the one I made (more on that below)
MEH: the service should have been so fast considering it was kind of dead on a Saturday night. This worries me, downtown, 8 o clock it should be crowded. We had a party of 6 and we were sat right away. The fajitas although cooked to perfection had the seasoning equivalent to gravy according to my partner. They won’t let you have 2 drinks in front of you at once, so finish before your second order.
BAD: served my friend the wrong dish, and couldn’t make a drink on the menu and asked me what was in it? How would I know? They made up for this above after I told them never mind the drink. Expensive overall, I bet if they sinplified, lowered prices, this place could pack!
Edited because we revisited and the service was even worse than the first time. They got both of our entrees wrong. I guess this is why iron cactus is almost empty on a Friday night.
Overall, underwhelmed but I stay hooked on the drink menu.

The service was HORRIBLE!!! Waited 45 for our appetizer and waited about another hour to get our food. They didn’t bring us utensils and the server was so slow… My boyfriends food was cold and mine was overheated
Just horrible
I guess I’ll give a pro… The margarita was good.

I went here for on a date/​happy hour and this place is just «ok». There is nothing really wrong with this place but nothing really stands out either.
The wait staff is attentive and respectable. The food is «ok» and they have a pretty good cocktail drink selection.
I think that I may have to come here a few more times to really see if I like this place. I will more than likely come back here for at least one more happy hour.

Best Tex Mex down town Dallas. I was told by someone to order the top shelf margarita. Since I don’t drink I’m leaving it up to my Unilocal friends to check it out and order it for me. They have 101 tequilas here so they definitely will have what you like. At night there’s amazing music playing outside. So be sure you go up all three stair cases to head to the top floor. Their chips are placed on the table warm and fresh and the salsa is at perfect eating temp. A little spice and not so over powering where you need to chug down some water. I’ll definitely come back when I’m passing through Dallas.

Not sure why the ratings aren’t higher. Hubby and I had a pleasant dinner on the balcony with nice servers. It’s a more leisurely pace of dining so don’t expect them to be on top of you.
We started with Queso and a recommend margarita that was very yummy. Get the shaker. It’s a better deal. I had the brisket quesadilla and hubby had the fish tacos sautéed and spiced. Everything was very fresh and tasty.
Glad we stopped in for a bite. You will be too.

The atmosphere is good. It wasn’t too busy for Monday lunch.
I had the mahi mahi — delicious. The other guys liked their food.
The service tho isn’t great. shame.

Either they mistook me for a food critic, or they are creepily awesome at service. I had Smoked chicken enchilada with a zippy verde sauce that was amazing. The smoked brisket enchilada with chocolate chipotle sauce was even better. Unlike other trendy places that overdue the chocolate in savory sauces, it was perfectly balanced. Even the chips and refried beans were far better than most places. The vanilla flan desert belongs in a haute cuisine restaurant in new york.

If it wasn’t for having a fantastic server, I’d give the place 2 stars.
I stayed at the hotel right outside of IC and had been checking out the misting patrons sitting on what looked like a rooftop for days. I decided to go check it out at night time when I thought it would be less hot. Hell nah. The fans and mist didn’t help that damn Dallas heat. We ordered drinks and they were the best thing about the place, along with the tableside guac.
I had the fish tacos and were probably the worst fish tacos I’ve ever had. That’s pretty bad because I’ve had some horrible tacos in my day. Hubby had the fajitas and said they were decent. His dish did come with a boat load of food compared to my little 2 tacos.
The ambiance is ok as the crowd is very varied but it’s really too damn hot in Dallas to do anything outdoors. Similar to Miami, you need to be in AC ²⁴⁄₇. I would consider IC again for only a drink and guac type spot. I would not suggest going for a full on dinner as the $$$ is not worth what you’re getting, but that’s my spoiled Chicagoan opinion.

The restaurant is in the heart of downtown Dallas. I was visiting the area on a business trip and had a dinner scheduled at Iron Cactus. Things to note:
–they do not take reservations
–they have a GREAT tequila selection so if you’re a connoisseur or enjoy the liquor this is perfect for you
We were a large party and were seated in about 40 minutes. They send you to an upstairs bar that has little to no air conditioning but a nice view of the street and some buildings and outdoor seating. You can also order apps while you wait if you’re hungry.
They bring chips and salsa to the table. I think they make their own chips and the salsa tastes fresh with a fine texture and not like it came from a tositios can (not that that’s bad salsa, lol!)
I tried the grilled chicken flat bread which was light on flavor but tastes. The flat bread was more like a pita bread and the flavors were very faint.
As an entrée I had the seafood paella. The ratio of protein to rice was very good. Usually when you order this dish there is more rice than fish, very equal or even slightly higher on the scale to protein. It’s a little different in terms of flavor than a paella I was used to with yellow rice but I really enjoyed the dish. Others ordered the fajitas which smelled great and the meats looked moist.
I enjoyed the restaurant and if you’re looking for «upscale Mexican» this is the place.

UPDATE: I have to upgrade my previous review to a «4» now, mainly due to receiving consistently good service over the last few times that I’ve been in. There have been times when it has been slow, as well as very busy times. The food has been really good, and the margaritas? What can I say? They’ve been even better, particularly during happy hour.
I’ve been strongly preferring this Tex Mex location as opposed to another one across the street. Parking is still the same with an area close to the valet parking folks, yet this is manageable.