Cactus Bistro, Bar, and Grill — Restaurant in East Haddam

Was trying to go to another place that was listed as open and got all the way there to find out it was closed.

Pulled into a parking lot to see what was in the area and asked someone parked where to get good food. As my daughter was pulling it up on Google the guy said Cactus Bistro.

This place is absolutely GORGEOUS. Very nice patio but we were not dressed to be outside and it was a bit cool. Was not crowded and despite getting there late in the evening everyone was still pleasant. There were a few people at the bar which was lovely and they had preseason football on.

Waitress was so sweet and pleasant. She took our drink orders and even contributed to helping choose what to eat because everyone the menu sounded delicious.

My daughter got the Salmon Oreganata, grand princess opted for lasagna and I decided to try something I have never had - Veal Osso Buco.

I did get a Bloody Mary (well two). It was Zing Zang but had some nice accoutrements and a good amount of vodka.

Oh I forgot the bread!! Those warm bread rolls they brought to the table were so good!

Food comes. My daughter loved her salmon - sauce was so flavorful. GP said the lasagna was really good. I had to taste it and it was definitely like I made it myself. Now to the Osso Buco. A huge piece of lamb covered in a gravy that words do it no justice, a generous portion of mashed potatoes that needed nothing added, and some mixed veggies (carrots, broccoli and asparagus). Being the first time for me that Osso Buco was amazing. The meat was tender and seasoned. The gravy was not overpowering the meat and complimented it nicely. Even sliding the mashed potatoes through the gravy made them even better even though they were great alone.

All in all I am hella glad the other place was closed because this place was AMAZING all the way - drinks, food, atmosphere, staff and price.

Shout out Rachel our waitress!! Great...

We had just Moved to town and we're looking for a place to frequent. We stopped in at dinner time and we were seated right away. We requested to be out on the patio. There were a lot of people inside at the bar seemed like a very Festive atmosphere. The server was friendly and polite. She took our drink orders but It did take a bit of time for her to come back. We ordered two of the specials, I got the tuna with risotto and asparagus, my fiancé got pasta with shrimp and scallops. We waited what seemed to be a considerable amount of time even though they didn't appear to be very busy. During that time we had finished our drinks and waited for the server to return. Finally I went inside and asked the hostess if we could get more drinks. The server came out a few minutes after and took our second drink order. We had garlic rolls while we waited, they were outstanding. When the food finally came out My Fiancé's dinner was very good, Mine was not great. The tuna was excellent. It had a little bit of kick to it, but the risotto was not at all like risotto I've had in the past. It was not creamy. It seemed like rice with seasonings And the asparagus was 3 pieces of asparagus with carrots and broccoli. I didn't recall it saying anything about carrots and broccoli on the menu. Overall it was a good experience and we will afthough definitely give it...

We went in on a Tuesday night it was not exceptionally busy. Sat down ordered drink watch the bartender talking to all the people at the bar approximately 15 minutes later he made my martini. I ordered a dirty martini and I got into martini with a lime. The server brought me back a dirty martini that had not been shaken nor was it cold. After a while I decided to go up to the bar myself and ask the bartender to please shake it take some ice. I ordered the eggplant parmesan. The eggplant was mushy the sauce in my opinion was too salty and too sweet. I also had a pour all the water off the bottom of my plate. We ordered a child's chicken tenders with honey mustard all we got was mustard. Never did anyone come over to ask us how our food was or if we'd like more water which we were done with before the food came. When I went to pay I told the woman at the register that I was very unhappy and then I would not be coming back and she just kind of smiled and laughed. I was there years ago I think it was under different ownership and it was horrible and I had heard from some people that the food had improved but sadly I don't feel that that's the case and I definitely will...