Ottawa Foodies

Today we had a going-away lunch at the Blue Cactus for a couple of our colleagues. We had a reservation for a group of 11 and we were seated at a nice table in the back corner of the restaurant on the first floor. The complementary tortilla chips and salsa are a nice touch for large groups.

The service was quite prompt for a large group, though we waited a little too long to place our orders for a lunch. Our server took drink orders as soon as each guest arrived and our meals were all delivered at the same time.

I ordered the shrimp and brie club with a caesar salad - this is my usual dish when dining at the Blue Cactus, as most of the dishes are pretty generic. While it's been quite flavourful in the past, today it was certainly nothing special. The lettuce on my sandwich was wilted and even the brie tasted a bit off. There is also some kind of weird sauce on the sandwich. The caesar salad was pretty plain (I like it garlicky!), but it had parmesan AND bacon bits AND croutons, which is not always the case in similar establishments.

I'd echo the previous posters in saying that the restaurant is good for its location and I've had good experiences with their frozen beverages. Not a bad location for big groups either, but I likely won't be choosing to eat there again anytime soon.

I went recently and had the steak fajitas. Not bad but for roughly the same price I could go to Lone Star and get (much tastier) fajitas to feed 2 people plus free chips and salsa. In general the menu is unimpressive and all over the place (why is there bruschetta and calamari on a tex-mex menu?). My $8 banana daiquiri tasted like pureed bananas without a hint of rum and the service wasn't great either. It is the kind of place that is popular because of it's look and location, not the food.

Last time i went there i had a chicken breast with fries and i think the chicken marinated. Unfortunately, it was the dryest chicken i've ever had. Defintely don't recommend that. My friend had a pasta dish. It was the smallest portion of food. Maybe i shouold try something else there, but i wouldn't bother.

Last time at the blue cactus, I ordered something that was essentially chicken wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried (chimichanga perhaps). Basically, the flavor sensations were comporable to that of a sinus infection.

People have said that they have a good veggie burger, but I wouldn't bother finding out.

Just returned from dinner at Blue Cactus. I've been there one time before but during the day and only had a salad. I have to say that my second time will be my last. The portions are so small and I have to agree with the comments below: the service is lacking to say the least.
I'm getting a bit disappointed...where are all the good restaurants?!

Just came back from lunch from here....we arrived after the lunch rush around 1:30 (assuming they have a rush being in the market and all...only a hanful of tables were in there) and we were very dissappointed in the service. The waiter hardly cracked a smile and he did not seem interested in us or even working for a tip until it was ready to leave and pay, then he started chatting and smiling.

The meals eaten were the wild mushroom and chevre wrap with salad or fries (he didn't ask if I wanted fries or salad, I had to say), crispy chicken wrap, and California cheese steak sandwich. Despite the bad service, the food was good. 2 of the salads were mixed up and we switched them right in front of the waiter and he didn't even say sorry or acknowledge it. He also had to be flagged down for some coffee and it took forever to get the food and the bill.

Hmmm, I'll think again before going there next time.

Blech - bad service, small portions and the dessert nachos tasted really raunchy. I went back a second time and the food wasn't so bad but I had to hail down the server a couple of times.