On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

Typical chain mexican restaurant. The service is good, the food is what you expect from a chain restaurant. The one thing I always order is the crispy chili rellaino, it is the best.

I’ve always loved On the border but I will never return to this location. The door said they were open to 11 pm. We showed up at 10. I asked the seater if it was too late and he said «No, not a problem». We were seated and 10 minutes later a server finally showed up. She was very rude from the start. She asked what we wanted and I said I hadn’t received a menu. She said it’s after 10 and you can only have appetizers. I would have been fine with that but she was so horrible. I’m not sure if that is actual policy or she was just a terrible server. I asked of a menu for appetizers and she stormed off and didn’t return. We left after a few more minutes and she was standing in the kitchen door laughing about us with another server. We were very polite the entire time and this was really uncalled for. I must also mention that there were others still dining. I think they need to send a secret diner in to fire this woman. This happened on 1÷7÷16

I ate lunch here today, the first time since 5 years earlier and it will be my last. Went in at 11:20 and told the hostess I will eat at the bar which was empty. Bartender was still setting up for the day when I sat down, but immediately acknowledged me. I gave my drink order and she got chips and salsa. Salsa was from a tray sitting on the counter behind the bar, and had a sticker on it that said Friday. I really prayed that it was for the next coming Friday and not for the one that passed. Salsa was not on ice or anything just on the counter. After I placed my order I looked around and noticed crumbs all over the bar, perhaps from the night before. Behind the bar really frightened me since there were crumbs everywhere there too, and the floor was really dirty. Also metal sinks had condensation on the front of them, obviously saying something needs attention. The bar area was really dirty, and it made me wonder how dirty the kitchen would be that I couldn’t see. Food came, ordered the boarder sampler and it was just ok. Beans on the nachos were cold, and the other items my granddaughter could of made. Staff was friendly, but I did wonder where a manager was. A good manager would have gotten there and walked through the restaurant to see what needed attention, and had the staff address it before opening the doors. At least someone from corporate should do a surprise inspection, and pose as a customer to see how things look and taste the quality of the food… Taco Bell would of been better. Needs major improvements and I would start with management who should over see their staff. See attached pictures of the dirty bar area!

My wife, and I went here for dinner. Our waitress was super attentive to our needs and the food was ok. The reason I say ok was because the tortillas for my fish tacos were just horrible. It it smelled as though it was made from rubber and you can easily see that they were stale. The ingredients in the taco were delicious so I just chucked the taco shells and ate everything else.
All in all, our experience went well. Will we go back? Meh…

Excellent food and excellent service by bearer Kayla!
We tried some fajitas tacos and of course some frozen margaritas! Sumptuous and worth a try when you are in Portland and craving for some south of border food n drink…

For a chain Mexican restaurant, this would be one of the highest ranking ones. This location…
The service/​staff — Easily 5 stars! Polite and professional and not too friendly. Perfect balance. We never felt abandoned at the table nor did we feel smothered with attention.
The Chips and salsa are a favorite of ours. Sometimes the chips are a little too salty, but that was a rarity. The salsa is medium heat, which for me is perfect. If you are looking for «chunky» salsa, this is not the place for it. It is thick and clings to the chip but again, NOT chunky.
We ordered Guacamole LIVE which is made at table side. It was great in the fact that we can order without cilantro, which we love. It is a big serving. Be warned, it is easy to fill up on chips and guacamole. The server was quick to not only fill drinks, but to fill chips. He was great!
The entrees are quite large with great flavor. I had the burrito carnitas, which was delicious! I could only eat about ½ of this 2lb burrito. The beef chimichanga is great and filling as well. The entrees are big enough to split between two people, especially if you order an appetizer.
I am planning on returning, I would love to try the empanadas.

My fiancé and I went to dinner on a thursday evening and it appeared to be a steady flow of customers in and out, but certainly far from a full house. We had a pleasant waitress with very limited knowledge about menu items. She greeted us quickly after we were seated and brought us drinks right away. We received the complimentary chips and salsa after we sat there for a while. We had to get our own napkins. She then took our orders, both ordered the briquette tacos with rice and beans and brought us a second basket of chips and salsa, with way too much salt on the chips.
We sat then there for 45 with no food or service. (I looked at my check in times on Unilocal) The manager came out to apologize for the delay in food, stating how busy they were and said it would be right out. The food arrived ten minutes later. We had no silverware and had to find another waiter to bring us some. There was hardly any meat on the tacos, it was mostly the crispy onions, but the flavors were good. The rice was average and the beans seemed to be more like baked beans than refried beans. We waited for someone to check to see how our meal was or if we needed anything but no one ever came. We even had to walk to the bar with our cups to get drink refills. The only time anyone came to the table was our waitress to drop of the check. When asked how everything was, I stated it was less than par. She asked what part and I replied the entire experience. She said «Oh, I’m sorry, well have a nice night anyway.»
I understand that restaurants can easily get busy or understaffed and am willing to wait for good food. The food was less than average and left me desiring much more. I am disappointed in such poor service and no attempt at service recovery.

Excellent Mexican food, homemade, authentic and friendly. The fish tacos are not fried but a bit blackened and so good ! Fresh crunchy veggies mixed in and just the right spice, I will return !

On the Border’s happy hour menu Monday-​Friday from 3 – 7 keeps me coming back. Plus the free chips and salsa! I’ve only sat and eaten in the dining room a couple of times, both times were nothing to write home about. The happy hour deals, however, are worth stopping in for. You can get their grande margarita for $ 4, 50 cents extra if you want it to be strawberry or mango. For $ 5 you can get the «coronarita» which is their grande margarita with a miniature corona bottle sticking out the top of it (quite the crowd pleaser).
The food happy hour specials are great too, especially if you like to order multiple small plates and share. They have $ 2, $ 3, and $ 4 items you can pick from, most of which have two or three items on each place (mini tacos, mini chimichangas, avocado fries… etc)
The bar service can be hit or miss. To order from the cheap happy hour menu you have to be sitting in the bar area, not the dining room. Sometimes the bar area can be busy and the bar tending girls are running around with their heads cut off. They’ve always been pleasant to me and my company, but they tend to spend more time socializing/​flirting with the «regulars» (middle aged to older men) who you can tell come in very often and know them very well. On more than one occasion, I’ve laughed while elbowing my boyfriend and pointed to where a waitress was rubbing a mans leg while reaching over him to grab an empty plate. But I digress. the food and drinks are cheap and the servers have always been pleasant to me. I will continue to imbibe.

We had a fun time here me my wife and 3 kids. Our waitress that took our drinks went home after a 10 hour shift so Kate became our waitress. She was cheerful and nice orders came out timely and were good. The nachos are excellent. We all left full (except my daughter who doesn’t eat Mexican food)

Best chips I’ve ever had at any On the Border restaurant! Drinks were good, and service okay.

Worst place I have ever been too. Went in for a «quick» lunch. The restaurant had maybe 8 tables. Our waitress had maybe 2 tables and that’s including ours. Our appetizers took almost an hour to come out and when they did come they were under the heat lamp for most of that hour. He apps came out and then our meals 5 mins after. My nephews cheeseburger was so old and under the heat lamp so long we couldn’t pull it off the paper under it. Yes we could have sent it back but… Oh yeah our waitress came I’ve 4 times in 2 hours and no manager available or there.

My wife and I started off with a beer (Corona) and a hard cider (Angry Orchard) and a couple «waters with lemon.» The beer and cider arrived in their respective bottles, no glasses and no glasses were offered. We had to ask a second time for the waters. We also ordered a Queso & Guacamole Duo. The queso was particularly runny, but okay. However, the guacamole was a cold mess. The problem was that it wasn’t mixed thoroughly. One part of the guac was very salty; another part of the guac lump was really limey. We were not pleased.
I ordered the Grande Chicken Nachos as an entrée, and my wife ordered the Border’s Best Lunch Fajitas (Steak). My Nachos weren’t anything to write home about. Lots of beans, not much chicken, tiny dollops of sour cream, guacamole, and a few, out of the jar, jalapenos.
My wife’s lunch steak fajitas were very good. The meat was top quality and very tender. The medium rare cook she asked for, was received medium rare, which she appreciated. The rice was very dry. Probably left over from the noontime lunch crowd and not good. The beans were good though, but refried beans typically get better and better with age. Not so much with rice.
With so many offerings in the Maine Mall area, there is no reason for us to go back to On the Border.

We stopped at this location last planning on eating diner, since it was close to our hotel. Our first impression was that it was really dead, with not many customers at 6:30 pm. We sat at the bar and it was sticky like it hadn’t been washed in a while. The bartender did quickly greet us but said she would be a few minutes. We each ordered a drink and chips and salsa. The chips were overly salty and the salsa was very bland. My wife’s margarita was sugary and almost syrupy. While sitting there. We looked around and looked over the menu and decided that if a margarita and chips and salsa were not good, and the place being not clean that we would be very disappointed with the meal. The waitstaff seemed like they didn’t really want to be there, which is another reason we didn’t stay. I paid our bill and we went to Magarittas, near Hadlock field.

This is the place I wind up talking my 8 year old daughter into going to when she pesters me about wanting to go to Chili’s. It’s pretty easy to rip on this place, from the tacky 80s ChiChi’s décor to the funeralesque all-​black server outfits. Place could benefit from an update, or even a complete facelift.
There never seems to be a hostess up front. I spent 5 – 7 minutes waiting for a table last visit, which had I not been with kids I’d have been gone in 60 seconds… tonight it was about 2 – 3 minutes to be greeted and seated. Seriously, what’s the deal with that? Seems others have had the same experience.
The food is serviceable though. I’ve had a few decent meals, like the spinach and mushroom enchiladas and the grilled fish tacos. The servers have been pretty decent. The non-​stop chips and salsa assault is another 80s/​90s throwback, but sort of welcome here as the chips are good. I just tell them to stop after the second basket so I don’t overdo it.
I wouldn’t say go out of your way, but when you’re stuck on Maine Mall Blvd in chain restaurant hell, it’s the lesser of certain evils.

Despite the low rating on this place I actually really like it here. Always have good service. The brisket tacos are amazing. Chips and salsa is very good. For a Mexican chain I am always pleased with my dining experience.

The best things about this place is the location at the Mall and the staff.
Unfortunately the food is really bland and boring. There are several other Mexican places minutes away so I will be going to those instead.

I noticed that this place got a few stars here and there, but I love this place. First off, it’s a chain and I get it… people are sceptical and raise the eyebrows. Get rid of that notion when you’re at On the Border Mexicano Grill and Cantina.
It’s my second time going since I went to the location in Florida and I really enjoy their food.
I had a Fajita Chicken Quesadilla which tasted so good with sour cream and pico de gallo on the side. I couldn’t finish it because I was so full, which isn’t a bad thing here. The margaritas are delish because it was my first time having one and I fell in love with the Mango Sangria one.
Service was top notch granted it was a busy Thursday night. Our server was polite, remembered our orders to a T, and checked in on us more than I can remember. It’s a good thing because she cares and wants us to come back.
I would definitely go back and forget about the bad reviews!

I’ll be honest. I cringe a little inside posting a 4-​star rating on a national chain. To be fair, I’d give a 3.5 if that were an option. (Why isn’t that an option?) Anyway, there is an enclosed patio area that is nice in nice weather! Don’t like the beautiful view of the highway or the constant traffic noise? Maybe you shouldn’t be eating at On The Border… which are usually located near a mall or shopping center.
But hey, the margaritas are always good and most food tastes a little better after a margarita. While I don’t dine often, my go-​to dish is the three-​sauce fajita burrito. You can’t go wrong.
Go find an authentic, hole in the wall Mexican joint. But if you can’t and you have the craving, stop in to On The Border and pull up your hoodie so your foodie-​friends don’t see you with salsa dripping down your chin.

The hostess told us to seat ourselves in the patio area and we proceeded to wait 12 minutes before anyone came to us and gave us menus.
The salsa and chips were very good and flowed freely!
The remainder of the food wasn’t very good at all… In fact it was pretty disgusting. Pretty bad for tex-​mex fare. My wifes tacos tasted like taco bell. My chimichanga was bad also. Combined with the terrible service… I will not be back unless it is for beer and chips and salsa at the bar.
FYI…this is a tex-​mex restaurant… not Mexican.