Cactus
$$ • Mexican Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
Gf menu available. Food OK but not outstanding. Can’t have the corn chips unfortunately as cooked in a shared fryer.
We dine here often in the past 7 years, and I’ve never once had a “glutening” or even a contamination.
The chips are in a shared fryer, however, if you want to try a dip-able appetizer, they’ll provide a separate bowl to avoid cross-contamination from potentially chip-preferring guests, and offer grilled corn tortillas in place of chips. (For an up-charge, of course. I miss when they didn’t charge for them, but chips and salsa are no longer free anymore either, so….)
My favorite regular-menu item is the Flank Steak Salad with balsamic dressing—absolutely delicious! The brisket tacos are good but greasy. My Celiac teen loves the Seafood Enchilada, and their (it has been back for now two summers so I’m hopeful it’ll keep coming:) seasonal Dungeness Crab Tamale is my I-get-it-every-time-in-summer favorite.
The kitchen staff, and in my experience, all of the waitstaff are highly aware of Celiac and cross-contamination. Even when Cactus is packed, they’ve never slipped up with my family.
Also: the flan is gluten free, so if dessert is a must or want for you, you at least have something. Granted, it’s sometimes hit-or-miss, but the few times I’ve gotten it, it’s been good. And I’m someone who hated flan prior due to the texture. (My spouse is a lot pickier, so I added the “hit-or-miss” for his sake. 😅 “Sometimes it’s creamy and delicious while other times it tastes like it’s been sitting open in a shared fridge for a beat.”)
I eat here weekly. I order off the gf menu. The chips are not from s dedicated frier so I avoid those. I always order the crudités to go with the queso guac and salsa. Easy win here. Maybe not on parking but the food service bathrooms bar and tv all slap.
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More Reviews
They have a gluten free menu, seem very knowledgeable about cross contamination...but here I am, sick as a dog, exactly two hours after eating, which is how it always is. Probably a one-time screw-up, but I have a "one strike, you're out" policy. Food's good, though?
Love this place! Very accommodating and never been sick. Be aware of tortilla chips, as they are fried in the same fryer.
Staff had a gluten free menu & gave us a free dessert for being out of town. Great staff great food!
Staff very knowledgeable, substituted fresh warm corn tortillas for chips due to cross contamination in frying, to enjoy with salsa and guacamole. Food was delicious
The food was delicious!! They have a really huge gluten-free menu, I was quite impressed! It’s fairly loud inside, but the food was amazing (I got seafood enchiladas) and the drinks were great, too!
Not Celiac Friendly! Do not recommend for sensitive folks.
Great service, fun atmosphere, and they know there gluten free and don't act weird when asked about the food. They heard we were visiting and brought a GF comp desert super yummy.
I wanted to love this place-but they made me (celiac) sick. They were knowledgeable, subbed chips for corn tortillas, but I think in the lunch rush something got contaminated.
I had the best experience at cactus. We were first greeted with this waitress who was very excited to tell me about the restaurant about the gluten free menu when I mentioned that it was our first time there and that I had a gluten intolerance. I asked her what she would suggest and she said the brisket tacos which were fantastic. When we asked for the check she came back with a flan on the house just because it was our first time there! What made it even better was that she knew we were from out of town and that it wasn't very likely we will be back anytime soon. I was impressed and if I fly back to Seattle I will most definitely be back!!
Fabulous food and drinks - all servers are conscious of gluten free!
Two dinners. Both servers very knowledgeable about GF and warned us about the chips. Delicious.
Gf menu for easy ordering. Don't eat the chips if you need a dedicated fryer. I had the tortilla soup and it was very good.
The list their chips as GF with a disclaimer that they're deep fried with flour containing products. It's a huge red CC flag to me. Otherwise the food was great and you should definitely go for a drink!
Reviews of this Chain
The server noticed I was looking at the GF menu and asked if I was celiac or just guten intolerant. I told him I was celiac and he immediately pointed out that the chips on the table were from a shared frier, and then bought me corn tortilla and my own salsa to avoid cross-contamination. Wow! I have never had a server be so proactive.
They have gluten free options listed on the menu, but it is too bad the chips aren’t safe to eat. You have to watch your friends & family enjoy the chips and salsa and guacamole while you wait. Oh well.
Great experience! The chips and salsa were good and the green enchiladas were pretty tasty. A good amount of options- I’d definitely go back.
Sad, because I was also symptomatic before the end of my meal and that has never happened at this Cactus before :(. Not sure if they have changed a recipe. Just want to give a heads up since someone else also had a reaction the same week.
We love the food and vibe, just not safe for me. I ordered from their GF menu and made it very clear to the server I absolutely cannot have gluten and was assured they would take every precaution. I was symptomatic before the end of my meal.
