Cactus Mexican & Mediterranean Food — Restaurant in Christchurch

I'm going to hold this place to the same standard I would for any self respecting place that calls their food Mexican.

If I were a Kiwi, and one who hasn't left New Zealand, perhaps this place merits 4 or 5 stars. To that effect, while I was here, a fellow did walk in and ask the staff "What is a burrito?" Hearing such a question shocked me to my core. Where have I ended up?

Anyway, I didn't try the Mediterranean food so my review will stop, decidedly, at the "Mexican" that I tried.

I ordered the burrito with beef and the churros.

The bad:

The rice. It was cooked well. Not mushy, not crunchy, but it had chickpeas and...curry? It was definitely not Mexican rice and struck me as wrong for a burrito.

Many of the burrito ingredients were on the side. Why wasn't my guac and sour cream and queso inside my burrito?

Speaking of the queso, it was runny and cold.

The churros were okay, I suppose. But the caramel sauce was runny and the chocolate sauce was straight up watery.

No salsa bar, and no...salsa that I could see.

No aguas frescas. And very kitschy decor. No Modelo, no Jarritos, no Coca Colas in the glass bottles (the beloved Mexican Coca Colas).

The good:

Good value for New Zealand. The price I paid for the amount of food I got was good.

The beef was excellent.

The churros were okay, I suppose.

The burrito was grilled. 🔥🔥🔥

The verdict:

Because I am desperate for good Mexican...I'll be back because while it isn't actually good Mexican,...

Wow! This place is awesome. First time we ordered tonight. We ordered a lot and everything was incredible! We got chicken souvlaki, beef taco, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, and churros. When we got home we realised we didn't have the churros and when we called to ask if we could come back and get them, instead, they came and delivered them to us and gave us a little slice of cake as well for free. I haven't had customer service this great in forever. So stoked, and the quality of the food was unreal. Everything was so delicious and such generous portions for the price. Such friendly and welcoming people as well. We will be returning regularly for sure!!

Had to update my 2 year old review, because this has somehow gotten better, if that was possible? We've tried pretty much everything on the menu at this point and are never disappointed and always full. Also, the beef souvlaki is unreal - I don't know when they switched to pulled beef but I wanted a second...

A shame to see Donut Boutique go, but these new lads at Cactus are an excellent addition to the neighborhood!

The nacho's chilli was all pulled meat, no mince, and the vegetarian version has quinoa in it (my favorite at the moment). I had the mixed option, came with both of the meats plus the vegetarian filling - which was fantastic.

Quesadilla were perfect thickness, about as wide as my pinky finger. Perfect moisture inside, not sloppy wet like some other places ive had. The tacos are amazing, have to reccomend the chilli lime chicken.

Jalapeno poppers could be a little hotter for my own preference, but they are still super tasty and hey thats why I have hot sauce for anyway :) I mix copious ammounts of Tapatio through the chipotle at home to get things a bit more fired up.

But my top choice so far is the meat on salad, whatever theyre marinading the meat in is blowing my...