On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina — Restaurant in South Carolina

The bottom part of this review was composed by my 12 year old granddaughter while we were sitting at the table. She did a pretty good job of describing our experience but I wanted to add a few things. We have been going to this restaurant for over 15 years and the quality of the food has dropped in the last 5 years but this was the first time the service was this bad. We have had several birthday celebrations on the patio over the years with larger groups than we had this visit and never ran into a problem. Sitting at separate tables wouldn't have been such an awful experience if they hadn't turned the radio up as loud as it could possibly go. It was hard to hear the people at the same table. The management was very unprofessional and rude. The waitress Brooke didn't do a horrible at service but was rude when asked anything. The tip being added would not have been a problem if we had actually been a party of 9, but the 2 adults sitting at the separate table where at the restaurant before us and ordered before. Brooke really cheated herself on the tip by adding 18% to all the checks, because if we had not been forced the 18% she would have received our normal tipping for fair service. I have to say this will be our last time to go. I also need to add the restaurant was not busy or crowded.

Terrible. We had 9 people, and they made us sit separately because we couldn't move tables due to a " fire hazard." The caso was bland and runny. It tasted like spoiled milk. It took forever for everything. Even straws. Straws! My nachos were bland and tasteless, and it took forever to get them because they kept messing them up. The waitress constantly assumed that I wanted extras on my order. Then they gave us an 18% tip because we had 8+ people, though we were separate both by tables and payment. Then, when we attempted to get the managers, she was "too busy." If you are looking for a good mexican restraunt, DON'T GO HERE! In fact, if you go to Lyman, you'll find a hole in the wall restraunt called Casa Carrion that's 10 times better. Not to mention, it was a birthday celebration and they messed...

May 2019 Update - since we live in the area, I’m able to chronicle the unpredictable saga of our once favorite restaurant. Granted we are here on Cinco de Mayo, but there are numerous empty tables and no wait to get in for lunch. We sat for nearly ten minutes before anyone showed up for drink orders. Wait staff appears to have gone thru 80% turnover and the new folks are in no hurry to get anything accomplished.

Fajitas arrived on a metal skillet cool enough to touch and handle. And, as usual, one of the orders was wrong. I don’t understand why this restaurant is so hard to run efficiently.

As I have said before, we really want to like On The Border but they just want let us. I’ve filled out every receipt survey we get and still it gets worse with each visit. The menu, if done correctly, is delicious but the hassle and problems now outweigh the positives. This will be my last trip. There are several restaurants that are just as good and they seem to appreciate the patronage. Unfortunately, I’d recommend avoiding OTB.

Their table placard this time is a bit ironic: “Impress your friends and familia.” A plug for OTB catering. I think maybe they should get their in-house dining experience in order before trying to expand.

July 2018 Update - Three star rating - unfortunately the quality for the restaurant continues to decline. Wait staff turn over seems very high and the kitchen must be in chaos. Food took forever with restaurant less than half full, multiple orders wrong and no manager in sight.

Four star rating - This is one of our favorite restaurants. The food is always good but the kitchen usually messes up one or more orders. Also the wait staff and service is very unpredictable- some are great, several should consider a career change. There is really no pattern to it, some of the best service has been when they were really busy. We like it enough to put up with the...

Visited Saturday night, Dec. 15th. Restaurant was not very full for a night that should have been packed. Host was absent from the front. Restaurant was dirty. Napkins and food on the floor under several booths and tables. Our table had chip crumbs on top. Also had an opened straw in my chair.

Food - ordered tableside guacamole. Never came. Reminded the server, Carlos, still never received the guacamole. I ordered the border sampler as my entree. The three other people in my party received their food first. The food runner said she would be right back with my order...she never came back. Carlos visited the table to check on everything, told him I was missing my food. He said "they must have missed it." Not sure if he was talking about the kitchen or the food runner. My food came out about 5 mins later and was delivered by Carlos...not a manager. Anytime there is a mess up like this, I feel like a manager should make a visit to the table. The pic I posted is from my friend's two hard shell tacos...maybe a tablespoon of meat in each and each taco came on a separate plate. Finally I need to comment on the drink I ordered...the Holdiay Swirl Margarita. The picture on the menu shows a brightly colored pink and neon yellow/green swirled margarita. The yellow/green coloring comes from the added Midori. My margarita was straight pink, but I was assured by Carlos that I was being served the right drink.

Overall not impressed during this visit. The last time we visited, months ago, I remember being underwhelmed. I will not be returning to this location until the restaurant is under new management or the staff takes a little more pride...