Cactus Cafe

Service is a bit mean and the inside of the restaurant is sad. The whole place smells bad. Hours are pretty rough with the place closing at 3 pm and last sit down service is at 2:30 pm. Not sure why they do that outside Carlsbad caverns where visitors are steady throughout the day. The food is pretty excellent and fries are some of the best we have had.The Buffalo truffle burger was awesome. The chicken sandwich with jalapeños and bacon was good.

The Whites City web site boasts that this place has a new chef and a new menu, so I went in with the hope that the food here had finally be elevated out of the mediocrity that it has wallowed in for my entire lifetime.Sadly, that was not the case, because either the new chef is on vacation and no one else who works there is actually capable of cooking, or the new chef has already quit. The menu we were handed was the old one-page menu of basic American and Mexican dishes that they've been serving for the last 30+ years.The only interesting thing about this place is the old-fashioned Western decor at the entrance. However, any welcoming decor is overshadowed by the disgusting smell the permeates the restaurant. It reeks of sewer and bleach water, like these people have never heard of room sprays and plug-ins.The food isn't much better. You know it's going to be bad where there are no options for side dishes. The fries are described on the menu as being battered, but they're standard frozen foodservice fries. Their beans look like they're pintos straight from the can. These same beans are used in the bean and cheese burrito, which would probably honestly taste better if it was actually one of the pre-made frozen ones. The burger is a frozen patty that tasted odd, worse than a school cafeteria burger. As for the chicken fried steak, well, don't be expecting any of those massive ones that you'd get from Mary's in Strawn or many of the other Texan cafes known for this dish. This one is made from the burger-sized chopped steak patties from the grocery store, and is topped with thin, bland gravy. The only food that seemed reasonably acceptable was the crispy tacos (made with pressed shells, of course) and grilled cheese.This place only gets away with serving food this terrible because it is basically the only option for people from El Paso who travel to the Caverns, since driving into Carlsbad proper is almost an hour round trip. I would love to see another restaurant go on nearby. Anything.THE CAVERNS HAVE THEIR OWN RESTAURANT THAT CLOSES AROUND 2.

Service was great. I had enchiladas that were heavily peppered. The cheese wasn't melted. It was like they weren't even trying. My friend had a half wedge salad that was too salty. And this came with a hefty price. I realize that this was a tourist trap, but they could still do better!

Didn't even get to actually eat here. Very slow service. Waited for almost half an hour before asking how much longer for our food and was told they have no more chicken. No one even came to tell us this. Then waited another half hour when we noticed people came in after us got their foods before us. So we left.

This is not your typical roadside diner! We had a wonderful poblano burger, truffle fries, and a Nashville Hot chicken sandwich, all of which were fantastic! Worthy of Diners and Dives show. Staff very friendly and helpful to boot.

I had Amber as my waitress and she was a very kind woman. I had the breakfast burrito and they were very accommodating to my restriction to red meat. When I asked for hot sauce she said she didn't have any but said she had some in her personal supply and gave me some from there.Amazing genuine service and decent food, better than I expected from a place such as this. I recommend the burrito for breakfast but not sure how everything else is.

The menu is limited. They did not have the salad bar, which it did say seasonal, but only summer time. There were a few things they were out of also. The staff were very friendly. There are leather art work and gorgeous stained glass windows. The quesadilla is enormous. My husband got the fish and chips.

Good food and nice waitstaff. Clean bathrooms and area. Very yummy quesadilla and burger. The fries were delicious.

The Classic burger and the steak basket were delicious !!!!!! Great service and that food hit the spot after exploring the caverns Please support them !!!

Food wàs old, greasy, not fresh at all.. took about 2 minutes for all 3 plates to come out.Would not recommend at all.