On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

Reviews

• Amanda K R.

  star star star star star 23 August 2026

  I love my bartender Jen and the rest of the crew.  
  Seems they have a set of regulars who are always addressed by name and these tarbenders are pretty awesome at remembering everyone's names.  
  Happy hour prices at the bar, a menu with a selection to die for.  Even the pickiest eater can find something to nosh on.
  Chicken, seafood and steak are a staple and the sizzling hot fajita dishes seem to fly out of the kitchen.  
  Lots of great appetizers to chose from as well, but save room for the main course.  Don't fill up too much on free chips n salsa and a flavored margarita.   It's a win win coming to t

• Kona K.

  star star star star_border star_border 20 August 2026

  First time at the new location (to me-- I was only at the OLD location a few times like 5 years ago). Restaurants wedged into shopping malls ALWAYS suck. LOL. It's just a fact. But this was , ah, OK.
  Terrified to visit here- because it was a Friday at 6 pm (! ORANGE ALERT on LONG ISLAND. ALL THE MORONS ARE OUT AND HUNGRY! and they are all brings tons of screaming kids!). So I tell my dinner partner let's see how crowded it is. Turns out not to be so bad at all (however by 7:30 it was packed to capacity) .New place has super high ceilings and tables have a nice bit of room around them. Super nice BUT the music was way way too loud . It's not a disco, it's a family restaurant. Our waiter was good, but we tried to joke around with him and it was not happening. The free chips and salsa are excellent ! Super fresh. We should have stuck with that, but also ordered the "sampler" appetizer (note that I'm not a lazy a**hole and spelled out "appetizer" long-hand. I hate the word "aps"). It was good but at $13.99, it should have been a little bit better. It was good except for the nachos with some weird meat or sausage on them- just yuk.
  Me and my friend both got the fajitas - they were good ----- but what sucked, and will continue to suck , in all Mexican restaurants , from NOW till DOOMSDAY is when you get the side condiments (shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole ) WHY WHY WHY are they always so TINY ?  I mean tiny ! The amount of shredded cheese would probably be a level tablespoon full. The sour cream and guacamole (notice that I spelled out GUACAMOLE as I hate the "guac" abbreviation !) were about the size of a melon-baller scooper (you know- the metal tool that makes small melon ball scoops). I mean TOO tiny to even USE. Sad,and it always happens from HIGH end restaurants to low end ones. Is sour cream that expensive ? Is it ?
  All in all, we will return but please note: get there EARLY and you will come out ahead.

• Aarti R.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 13 August 2026

  My mediocre Mexican review is not based on the quality of the food, but rather on the surly service I had during the off peak hours today.  Now I know this isn't authentic Mexican food. Calling it such would be like calling Olive Garden authentic Italian. It isn't authentic. It's Americanized and simmered down for a more boring palette, and I'm fully okay with that.
  
  I arrived at 230 in the afternoon, long after the lunch crowd had tapered down. My dining Buddy was stuck in the construction on 106/107, so I sat with my book and read until the waiter came to take the drink order. Having previously discussed what he and I were ordering, I was ready to go. The waiter didn't introduce himself, but took my drink orders. I told him I was also ready to order our meal and would do so when he brought the drinks back.  The waiter gave me some sort of Look. I can't explain it, but I immediately felt awkward sitting in a booth with my book.
  
  I told the waiter I wanted the lunch special chicken quesadilla (for me) and the lunch special chicken fajita (for my boyfriend). The waiter said took the order down and left. He came back with chips and salsa for the table. I asked if I could have an order of guac with the chips. He told me both of our orders came with a side of guac, which didn't help me with my guac craving.  When he passed by the table again, I asked if I could order a guac for the table. He said "you can do whatever you want." and left again. At this point I was seriously angry at the idiots who thought 245 in the afternoon was a good time to do construction on a major road because I did not want to be alone anymore.
  
  When my boyfriend arrived and sat down, the waiter's attitude changed. We were greeted with a smile. He brought out a setting for table-side guac. Freshly made and double the price of the stuff they scoop up in the back. I didn't say "table side guac," I said "a side for the table."  I told the waiter this and he said that the table side was fresher and better. It was delicious guac, but not what I ordered and not worth the upcharge to see it done Benihana style in front of me.
  
  When our lunch order came to the table, I was surprised at the generous portions. I was under the impression that lunch specials are smaller. I was right. The waiter conveniently didn't hear me say "lunch special" on both my orders, so he brought out full sized entrees for both of us. I don't stutter, and I know I have a good public speaking voice, so I was immediately mad at his selective deafness. My boyfriend could tell I was upset. He asked me if I wanted to talk to a manager, but at that point he was half way through his fajita.
  
  Usually I sample my boyfriend's food, but the discouraging interaction with the waiter coupled with recent personal health issues had me feeling funny about the fajita. He finished the whole thing, but my good mood was gone and I hardly ate my quesadilla. It was a great quesadilla - warm chicken with gooey warm cheese, onions, and peppers. It came with a side of sour cream and the promised guac.
  
  Our waiter came to check in on us and gave us the check and to-go boxes after we asked. The bill was higher than expected, seeing as how the waiter didn't give me the lunch specials I ordered. It wasn't a bad bill for the amount of food we got. We paid cash so we didn't have to wait for him, and got out immediately.  I would love to come back and say "si" to those quesadillas. There were some amazing-looking drinks on the menu that I look forward to trying! But if I'm sat in the section of the waiter from today, it's adios, muchacho. No way, Jose.

• Saul P.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 9 August 2026

  Been here around 3 times, food is ok, really good nachos and great coronarita,  2 stars because of the service, I actually walked out because we waited for 30 mins to get someone to get our order... and not even, I had to stand up and go ask the host to send someone and the guy (very nice btw) quickly asked someone and came to us to tell us he sent someone, the server walked into the patio but right away stepped back out because apparently he wasn't done with his joke, a few seconds later he came back in and like that he walked out again to keep joking with his coworkers, 10 mins after that, nothing again, definitely not visiting this location again.

• Stephen L.

  star star star star star_border 6 August 2026

  Free tortilla chips with salsa right when you get seated, it was a great way to keep busy while looking at the menu.  The salsa was a but spicy but great, I couldn't have enough of it.  With Yelp checkin you get a free queso, which is a cheese dipping sauce. I felt it was a bit too thick and I definitely preferred the salsa.  The tortilla chips were in big pieces and were hot when it came out.  
  
  The food came out really fast, my wife and I ordered the lunch special and we chose 1 beef taco and 1 fish taco.  The fish taco was definitely better and more satisfying, note that it's an extra $1 for the fish taco. But that extra $1 was worth the crispy and tastiness of the fish taco.  
  
  Whenever I'm in the Hicksville location, I'll be sure to come back here and try more items on their menu.