You can't beat this place for the price. Â The chips are outstanding, always hot and tasty. Â I've had a number of different entrees and all have been worth it. Â I particularly like the blackened salmon salad and the fajitas. Â Multiple people deliver food and appetizers so they mess up the orders sometime that's the reason for a 4 star rather than 5 star rating.
It is noisy and you often have to wait on the weekends but what popular place doesn't have a wait on the weekend.
This place is one of my favorites - awesome food and drinks for a super cheap price. Â I love their fresh homemade chips and salsa (has a nice kick to it). Â The number one reason I come here is for their queso appetizer. Â I haven't been able to find anything like it anywhere else. Â Their quesadillas are full of cheesy deliciousness and their fish tacos are amazing.
Review Source:In a previous review in 2011 of the Saugus location, I listed the many reasons why I think Border Café is the best Tex-Mex in the Boston area. I was reminded why I am such a  fan last night after an early dinner at the Burlington location. The food remains delicious and prices have not increased. The flank steak in my Half  & Half Fajitas ($12.48) was spicy, caramelized and tender, the chicken was moist as was the flank steak served over crisp greens in my wife's Beef Fajita Salad ($8.48). Negra Modelo remains at $4 and I do not think that the Margarita prices have risen in a couple of years. Portions were ample. Service from Danielle was friendly and prompt. The Border continues to provide fantastic food and drinks at a bargain price.
I favor the Burlington location because it seems to be less crowded than Saugus and I dislike driving on Route 1. That is one insane roadway. I also like the larger patio in Burlington which is not subject to the road noise of the one in Saugus. The original Harvard Square location is good, too, but the parking situation is completely different and, honestly, the service and kitchen are not as consistent as the suburban locations.
I continue to rate Border Café a 5 because for quality Tex-Mex in a fun environment at a value price, it really is as good as it gets.
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Cheap food and very large portions. That said, most of the customers in this place probably aren't familiar with PX90. In fact, you may feel like you're in a casting session for "The Biggest Loser." Nonetheless, we like this place because it's a good spot to grab a bite to eat before a flick at the Burlington Cinema. Thus far we've experienced no issues with the food or service, but observing the clientele - 90% of them seem to have type 2 diabetes - may cause a loss of appetite.
Review Source:I love this place and go here a lot! Â The food is always good but what stands out to me is the customer service. Â I was there today for lunch and our server Taylor made our day even better. Â She is attentive and fast and very funny. Â
I love that I can count on the food being so fresh and delicious. Â What can sometimes be a hit or miss is customer service - but not here. Â The wait staff work so well with each other. Â The smile to each other as they pass each other ... yeah I love to people watch. Â I even saw the manager give one of his employees a hug. Â That stuff is very cool. You can tell when the management is good because the people working are happy ... that translates to the people coming there to eat. Â Good job managers!! Â
Taylor - I hope somehow you see this. Â You are a gem! Â We will be back soon!!
Delicious Border Cafe. Â Whenever I need a fix for some Mexican food, I head up to Burlington for some Border Cafe goodness. Â Is it the best Mexican in town? Â No. Â But they give you tons of food and its pretty tasty. Â Grab yourself a margarita and some fajitas and you won't be disappointed. Â For those looking for healthier fare, the fish tacos are a solid hit. Â The wait times can be discouraging, but its worth it.
Review Source:Got in town late and this was one of the only places open around the hotel. I was not particularly craving tex-mex, but I ended up ordering the chicken enchiladas. They were good, but this place definitely goes heavy on the sodium. Salt, MSG or something. Â I have had better, but again, they were open so I have to give them props for that.
Review Source:Must say, haven't been to the Border in years and I happen to drive by this one every day on the way to work, so my brother and I decided to stop in for lunch before heading to a movie. Glad we did! I always have had good memories of this place from years ago when I used to frequent their Route 1 location. The Burlington Location is very clean and bright. We ordered the Cajun popcorn shrimp app and had the delicious free chips and salsa they have always served, great as usual. I of course, had to order one or three of the always excellent Margheritas! Â I believe my brother ordered the Crawfish Etoufee and I had the Blackened chicken with rice and black beans. As I stated before, hadn't been here in a long time and happy that they are as good as I remember. I also had to give shout out to our server Nick. He was seriously one of the best servers we have ever had. Very attentive, always there if you needed a refill or anything else, too bad there couldn't be someone like him in every restaurant!
Overall excellent time. Would highly recommend to others and will definitely be back.
good prices and portions to boot.
Overall, a pleasant experience. We were visiting the area and had margaritas at the bar while waiting for our table on a busy Saturday night. The bartender was helpful and friendly and the drinks were tasty and made to order. Once seated, we were served salsa with house made chips to enjoy while we waited for our dinners to arrive. When trying out a new place, I tend to order a menu item that is standard fare- for Mexican food it tends to be fajitas or enchiladas. In this case, I went with the grilled chicken fajitas. The tortillas were made there and there were just enough (4). The chicken portions were nice big chucks of breast meat. The ingredients were a bit "off" from the norm- they served the fajitas with onions only, rather than with onions and peppers, and the side plate contained salsa, sour cream, and iceberg with shredded cheddar on top of it. Where's the guacamole? A bit odd, but still acceptable. My only complaint is that the grill platter seemed overly seasoned, a bit salty to my liking. I had to leave the last of the grilled onions behind because of that. The pricing for everything was what I would expect to pay and I would definitely go back for drinks and (probably) food if I lived nearby.
Review Source:Not worth the trip
Loud  .. Noisey atmosphere
Not so great service
Shrimp quesadilla had lil canned
Shrimp and was barely editable
Soooo Greasy and hard to even cut!!
Yuck yuck yuck
Barely unable to converse
The chips were good but the salsa as another
Review mentioned tasted like it came from
A can!!!
Why do some places play loud music on top
Of the LOUD Noise?
Oh, did I mention how HORRIBLE
Of an experience ... Could not even finish
My food ... And NO I did not take it home!
Will I revisit this establishment? Â GUESS
LOL!!!!!
I love this place more than anyone should love a restaurant. In the summer time, I wish I could just live there. The swordfish tacos are out of this world. The blackened chicken is my faaaaaavorite meal, and now I order a side of grilled avocado and it could be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Love this place!
Review Source:Border Cafe is one them gems that you find every now and then! I'm glad we found this place. We had some here a few years back with a friend who recommended it. All I have to say is that we missed it! And this past weekend we had a hotel in the Burlington area. So after a night filled with driving we ended up doing a late night dinner here! And let me tell you they did not disappoint in any shape or form.
We got sat very quickly! However we got here on the later side (10pm). The staff was still very much on their A game that night! Our waitress was very helpful. She took our drink orders right away and got them to us in less than 5 minutes! The best part was when she took our food order she was just having fun with it! I asked what size the corn was when you order a side of it and she was trying to show me with her hands and one of the other staff members had been laughing at her trying to imitate her! It was pretty funny. It also comes to show the staff must enjoy working there. To me this is a great sign! So service all around was just perfect that night!
The food came out nice and hot. Everyone gets free chips and salsa before they bring out your dinners. We each got the Taco & Enchilada combo dinner. All I have to say is wow! It tasted great. One thing I would also like to toss in is that they also use a Cajun spice on most of their dishes. I for one love Cajun spice! Its not over the top spicy but just enough to let you know its there.
The pricing for your food is also more than fair! For 2 soda, 2 meals and the free chips and salsa came out to be $23.52! Thats before the tip. So we made sure that we left a big tip!
We love this place! I have no issues recommending this restaurant to anyone. The staff is amazing and the food is great! Not to mention the price is more than fair. We will be back again that I promise you.
Margaritas seem to be consistently weak, as in not sure that there is any tequila in there. Â Just looking for a basic house margarita nothing too potent, but at minimum what I am paying for. Â On one occasion, I told my server that this was the case. She nodded her head sympathetically and apologetically, and remarked, " That's just the way the drinks are here." Â I am sorry she has accepted the below minimum standard for her place pf business. Otherwise, the servers are nice enough, and the food is pretty good, and pretty consistent with other Border Cafes. I do not believe the weak drink policy is consistent with all Border Cafes. I may give them another try this summer to see if they have changed at all.
Review Source:The margaritas are a bit sweeter than I prefer and the salsa tastes like it came from a can, but the chips are fresh and pretty good. Â The food itself was not so great. Â I got the enchiladas & taco combo and they were very bland and the rice and beans were just so weird for Tex-Mex. Â It was black beans and some rice with lots of stuff mixed in that were not remotely what I expected. Â We also tried the jambalaya and were unimpressed.
Review Source:This restuarant is perfect at what it does, which is providing quality drinks and solid, inexpensive Tex-Mex food.
Ive been here several times and I have never once had a problem with anything. Staff are always pleasant, never had a complaint about the food, and the atmosphere is fine. I like the Chimichurri Steak dish the best. You get fresh chips and salsa for free too.
Really, you cannot go wrong here.
Do you like smelling like Mexican food?
Well, if you come here, you better. And that's not the only thing you have to prep yourself for.
Border Cafe offers cheap, decent Tex-Mex food with filling portions. Their chips are complimentary and endless, which helps you through the short wait for your food (markedly faster than other restaurants, I thought). Our server was friendly and very helpful, but it was near impossible to communicate with her simply because the atmosphere was too noisy. We resorted to awkwardly yelling at her as she maneuvered around the table.
The food was quite good, in my opinion. I'm not a fan of pulled beef, so it was probably a mistake to order the pulled beef quesadilla. I enjoyed my mother's shrimp and crawfish quesadilla, however.
Honestly, this place is remarkably cheap and very good for the price. Just be ready for the noise and smelling like Mexican food, and you'll have a great time.
If you're looking for cheap Mexican/Tex-Mex food that's actually good, you need to come here. The thing about the Border Cafe is that it really is much more Tex-Mex and Southwestern than it is Mexican, though there are traditional things like burritos, enchiladas, and tacos on the menu next to fajitas and a variety of grilled fish and meats.
The place is huge inside, so if you want to bring a bunch of people for some margaritas and good food, this is your place. Service is generally spot on, and the chips and salsa keep coming to the table until you tell them to stop; Their taco salads and Mexican fare (which is what I've had most) are really good, not too salty or overly sauced, and very reasonably priced. The cheese enchiladas with rice and beans are awesome, and one of my favorites. If you're looking for authentic Mexican, you may be a bit disappointed as this place tends to try to wear many sombreros as it were, but the variety of food they cook, they cook well. You won't regret it.
I have eaten here twice now because it's right next to the hotel I stay in when I come up to Burlington on business. I'm really kicking myself for not taking a picture of my food because it is so delicious. First time I came with 3 other people and we all got different things and shared some apps. We got the "pastelitos" which are like these little baby empandas filled with shredded seasoned chicken and cilantro. They give you a cilantro/oil dipping sauce that has a little bit of red onion, green onion and some other things I couldn't identify but it sweet and has such a kick ass flavor. Their guac is out of this world good. Their chips are hands down the most amazing tortilla chips I have ever eaten. Ever. I talked to the waiter when I was there last and he said they actually have a chip cook that all he does all day is cook orders of chips. They come out of the fryer melt in your mouth good but they're not greasy. You get complimentary chips and salsa, order yourself some guacamole as an appetizer and you're all set! Their margaritas are pretty good- no ice chunks, strong enough to taste the tequila but not too strong that you're falling all over after 2. I tried the melon this time which wasn't overwhelmingly melon-y. Their chicken fajita was fresh and delicious as were there black bean and corn empanadas. In all honesty, you could get a meal and split it with someone and still be full. I got 4 empanadas with my dinner along with seasoned Mexican rice and black beans with cheese.
The service has always been good both times that I have come and the bathrooms are really clean. My only complaint was that if you want sour cream, they charge extra and then you get a tablespoon of it in a cup. I like my sour cream and at the rate they charge I would get stuck paying $5 just for some darn sour cream for my food.
One of my best friends is obsessed with Border, and so I have frequented here many times, and each time I like it more and more. Â Salsa and chips are always fresh, and their 3.95 house salad is a must. Â Three of us can share it and it feeds us well. Â Their dressing, vinagrette I think?, is so good. Â Splitting a salad and an app makes a great meal its always reasonable. Â Do not drink the wine here, it is not good at all, if you are going to drink go for a mixed drink or beer.
Review Source:Yum! Affordable and delicious with a lot of good options. The salads are HUGE and very good. I especially like the chicken fajita salad with ranch dressing. The ranch has dill in it and is soooo yummy.
Be sure to fill up on chips and salsa and your entree because they don't serve dessert. Drinks are also very large! Prices have some weird cent values (ex $6.47), but the low prices are very appreciated. Good, cheap locale for a weeknight dinner or happy hour. Â Lots of kids and families and the huge location make it not the right spot for a romantic date. Â Is a good option for dinner before a movie.
What a disappointment! I previously had only good things to say for this solid standby and once-obvious choice over the nearby Chile's. Unfortunately, the service there tonight has pretty much driven me from wanting to dine here again.
Everything was fine until the bill came. I had a MasterCard Gift card for well over the bill plus 20%, typical for making sure the card will clear with room for the tip in the restaurant machines. Â I even opened the gift card package in front of the waitress. Â
"WE DON'T TAKE GIFT CARDS."
You don't take legal tender backed by a well known credit card company that you do accept? And you do not list this policy anywhere? Could I please speak to the manager?
When the manager came over and asked about not accepting gift cards, she said that they do not have to list their payment policies. Â (Considering a restaurant is a service driven business where customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to the success of said business, I felt this was an odd sentiment for a chain restaurant). Â She then proceeded to rattle off a list of other cards they do not accept, interrupt me when I asked another question, and not offer any remedy to the situation at all.
My defense for one star...had the manager not spoken to me in quite so condescending a manner, I would have chalked this up to a strange policy, with the potential to embarrass the customer when it comes time to pay; a quirk in an otherwise decent restaurant. Â However, the condescending tone, the immediate defensive tone and attitude to my question, and the lack of an offer to remedy the situation has truly turned me off from this establishment.
Love, Love, Love the Border & I know people are going to revue & say it sucks and its not authentic Mexican... so what... I love the border...
Free Chips & Salsa (get Guacamole - they have the best)
Cheap Drinks... and then tons of fun. THe place is loud, always packed, but sooo what... Just better to people watch... The menu is cheap, the food is plenty..
Go here you wont be sorry!
I was skeptical to come here at first because I have not really liked Mexican food in my 5 year tenure of living in MA (I grew up in the south!). But this TexMex place is decent! Not flavorgasmic, but decent!
I ordered the chicken soft tacos with avocado on the side.
The Hub ordered chicken fajitas.
I have to say, Â I've never had such good flour tortillas in my life. Not an exaggeration, just a testament to my experience with Mexican places in my 29 years of living.
The fajitas are MUCH better than the tacos though (I generally prefer what my husband orders...). Taco meat here (like at EVERY OTHER place in MA) tastes like how I think cat food would taste. I had to take the meat off the tortilla and just eat the tortilla. Thankfully I love the tortillas. Otherwise I would have rated this place 2 stars.
The rice is SO flavorful- so delicious. My husband got the jamalaya. He really enjoyed it. Will definitely come back!
I liked this location. I wonder how it differs from the Harvard Sq. location. I thought the staff was friendly and attentive. And very easy to get to by foot if you're staying in the Candlewood Suites in between leases during moving season :)
I'm not huge on chains, but I am huge on Mexican.
Literally. I eat Mexican, I get huge.
Obsessed with the queso dip.. and I eat the whole bowl (hence the huge-ness).
Service here was pretty standard, boyfriend's fajitas were pretty good, everything is good-to-go, nothing to write home about (except that queso.. hot damn).
I heard this place was good in Harvard square, so I decided to check this one out nearby the hotel. Â Luckily the place wasn't too crowded for a Sunday night and was able to get a seat right away. Â They have a fairly large menu of mexican dishes and lots of choices for beer on tap and bottle. Â They supposedly have great amazing margaritas, but unfortunately I don't drink tequila, so I didn't try it. Â I got the enchilada + taco dish with a chicken taco and shredded beef enchilada. Â The enchilada was slightly overcooked, with a rubbery taste to it but once I got into the middle, it tasted ok. Â The taco was just simply a tortila with just chicken inside and thus slightly disappointing. Â It came with rice, beans and pico de gallo. Â I also ordered guacamole as an extra.
Overall, the food was ok, good for cheap mexican food, but not great quality. Â The service here was good though. Â I really liked the homemade chips that they give you to munch on as well as the salsa.
Mr K has wanted to try this place for a long time, but it's always packed, especially for dinner. I had the opportunity to meet a friend here for lunch, so lunch it was, albeit a bit early. We met at 11:45, and the place was fairly empty, but at 12, it was hopping. Lots of businesses in the area along Middlesex Turnpike and off the highway. Good thing we got here when we did.
There's an outdoor seating area, but we opted for a booth, which provided a fairly quiet area to schmooze. The rest of the place was very loud.
The attentive waiter brought really salty chips and a good salsa, but when I commented how salty, he brought the salt-free ones instead. They were good and fresh.
I ordered a vegetable quesadilla, with lite cheese, which came with salsa, lettuce, and sour cream. The quesadilla was a little crispy on the outside and pretty decent. I didn't study which vegetables were inside, but I believe there were mushroom, peppers, cauliflower, and onions. My friend ordered a salad with blackened chicken and enjoyed her meal, too. I have plenty of leftovers, which is also a plus. The tab came to less than $20, with tax. They have a long list of margaritas, but we didn't partake.
Will be back, but it will have to be for an early lunch or dinner. First come, first served. I'd say 3.5 stars but will round to 4.
I was confused as hell when the bartender handed me the menu and it was half Mexican, half Cajun...and there was country music playing in the place. Â what the what?!?
Chips and salsa were on the blah end for me, so I had low expectations for anything else. Â I didn't know what to order, but the bartender assured me the fajitas were the best I'd ever have. Â That's a hell of a promise, so I had to bite.
At $11.48 for 1/2 chicken, 1/2 steak, they were certainly cheap, so I expected little. Â But wow! Â They were actually really, really good! Â I don't know if I can go with best ever, but damn good.
I'm still too confused by the Mexican/Cajun/Country stuff, though, so I can't go for 4 stars.
My favorite tex-mex type restaurant. The chips and salsa are excellent and the blackened chicken fajitas are the best fajitas I've ever had. I've been here probably 50 times over the last three years.
Not everything on the menu is as amazing as the blackened chicken fajitas though. Most items are delicious though.
Excellent prices on just about everything. Two can easily eat for under $30 here. For having such great food at low prices, this place deserves my 5-star rating.
Dining here after a terrible day, quickly swept my winter woes away.
What can I say here that probably hasn't already been said? I've been to Border Cafes before and never felt impressed by the food, or anything else they had to offer.
Until last night, all of my unimpressed thoughts have totally changed.
I can't help but day dream about my Swordfish Tacos. I don't think that any other place could ever replicate my plate of perfection. My mouth waters the thought of every indulgent bite. Â My plate was full with leafy delicious greens, with an amazing mango salsa and a half avocado. Â Take a look at my uploaded picture! Simply wonderful!I was truly satisfied with the portion. Three fish tacos was just plenty. Best of all, it wasn't the most expensive menu item. It was $10, and change.
My waitress, Allison M, was smiley, completely delightful. She was always on top of her game. Consistently refilling my pail of water and adding two lemon wedges before I even reached halfway, or even a quarter way of my 64 ounce water glass. This is pure attention to customers. This has to be one of the fewest times that I have ever seen such flawless waitressing. She deserves to be on some sort of Wall of Fame.
If I could only say the worst part of the dining experience, was the mere 5 minute wait for seating. Trust me. It was worth it!
I didn't have any adult beverages, but as I looked at neighboring tables, I saw margaritas all lined across the tables. I doubt anyone went home feeling less than pleasant.
To top the night off, the amusing staff let me go home with a fun blue balloon. How can't I be in love? I can't wait for my next visit!
Border Cafe, you're terrific!
Ok, Border Cafe seems to have gotten a bad rap for not being a good Mexican joint here. Â Hello people...it's called BORDER Cafe, NOT MEXICAN Cafe...thus the Border like mix! Â That's why Jambalaya can meet Tex and Mex! Â Praise them for not rolling the same old boring 3 ingredient Mexican menu in 20 different dishes!
Here's the good: Â Hot, addicting chips served with moderately spice salsa. Â Very good tasting Margarita's (only get on rocks, frozen is weak slush). Â Nice, hot variety of very good entrees. Â Ridiculously reasonable prices. Â Every time I get the bill I need to recheck since I think they must have made a mistake.
The bad: Â Mostly ice in the Margaritas and it can be a bit loud. Â Overall, that's just a little bad!
Lots of surprise menu options like the Eggplant. Â This is a great dish! Â I've never found it made like this anywhere and never done as well. Â
Most won't come here to get Filet Mignon, but don't hesitate to try it. Â Very flavorful and not your classic big chunk'o'meat either.
The Fajitas are very good. Â Fresh ingredients and the meats are moist, not all over dried like some places. Â
The atmosphere is a big open room with a, somewhat, cheesy bunch of bayou meets Texas meets Mexico random stuff. Â I love that the gas lamps are truly gas flame lamps. Â The outdoor seating is very nice when the weather is good. Â Not many places around here have outdoor seating at all!
About 50% of the wait staff are very nice and friendly. Â The other 50% are just doing their jobs. Â None seem to be rude or anything, but they are very, very busy so they are just doing what's needed to keep up.
Anybody who compares this place to Chipotle has lost their mind. Â It's not even close. Â They're just a bunch of whiners who can't do any research and realize this isn't you're standard run of the mill Mexican joint.
For a chain, this place is VERY good. Â Menu gives some really nice variety and all the dishes I've tried have delivered. Â Again, the best of all is the price. Â Crazy reasonable, especially for the kids... Â oh, btw, the kids meals (significant portions for kid size too) are under $4 and they come with a candy treat at the end.
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