The Cactus Restaurant — Restaurant in Liberty Township

We saw the great reviews and decided to give this place a try. Previously, we had really enjoyed the Cuban restaurant that used to live in the same space. The spot was definitely updated and bright, but maybe still a bit stark.

We ordered the appetizer sampler and drinks. The sampler was mostly variations of cheese and pork skin. It was ok. Everything was fried. It needed the variety of something fresh like we saw on the menu. The pork skins were really more small chunks of pork belly and there were some that were just fried fat.

We ordered the churasco with rice and beans as well as the chicken carbonara. The sauce on the steak was really good, but the steak beneath on its own was very plain. It wasn’t cooked to order, had no sear, and not much actual flavor. The rice was just rice. Probably the best thing we ate all night was the tiny bowl of black beans. They were quite good.

The carbonara probably came at least 10 and maybe 15 minutes after the churasco. The chicken was ok, but would have been better if it was maybe grilled. The sauce was made with the same fat and pork from the pork skins. The fat lent a smoky flavor to the carbonara that was off-putting. The sauce was just heavy and not enjoyable. The pasta itself was ok.

We also ordered the Nutella milkshake. It has a brownie covered in Nutella and then more is spread around the outside of the rim. The milkshake was ok. The brownie was quite crunchy. The best part was Nutella, which is really hard to make poorly. It was too expensive given what it was.

Overall, we spent over $110 for the two of us. We ordered no alcohol or extra frills. The service was fine. The ambience was fine. For the money, we have just been to far better recently. I will say the arepas looked great and fresh. Maybe we ordered poorly, but then the menu has too many flops and especially so for such a...

Amazing food. The reason it's called Latin food is because Mexico isn't the only Spanish speaking country in the Americas. You will find a different style of cooking here that is very delicious, and unless you're from South America, something just a bit different. For one thing, it's not spicy hot. Carbs feature corn, casava, and plantain, so there are naturally plenty of gluten-free choices. The dish I ordered included a steak that was the best I've ever had, and I've eaten at fancy steak houses. The decor is modest, but spotlessly clean and comfortable. The music is simpatico and not too loud. The staff is nice. We'll be going back often. We had take-out this first time due to the recent spike in Covid cases, but will be happy to eat in after cases slow down. While waiting, we chatted with Jose, the man who greets patrons, and handles the register and phones, a charming conversationalist. Plenty of parking. Overall,...

My wife and I went to this place because we were hungry and in search of something new and exciting. When we stepped in, we weren’t disappointed by how nice the atmosphere was, the music, the service, the menu aesthetic was phenomenal. Now, when the appetizers first came around, we weren’t disappointed and in fact most everything was great. We had the sampler and our only complaint was the chicharrones were too salty. However, when our main entrees came, we weren’t disappointed exceptionally dissatisfied. The rice was hard, and not flavorful, the beans as well and the chicken and steak skewers we ate did not taste fresh or appetizing. We had high hopes but ultimately were extremely dissapointed and left all of the food at the dinner table. We paid our bill (over $70 before tips) didn’t make a fuss, we just left....