On The Border

I’ve been here for several happy hours and they have the best margarita and chips! The happy hour prices are very reasonable and the staff was great.

Went there on a Sunday night. It wasn’t overly busy so we were seated immediately. Soon as the waitress arrived, she took our drink order and brought us some chips and salsa.
Service: our waitress Ashley was excellent. She had a great personality and gave us suggestions of what was good there, because neither of us had been there before. Once the manager heard this, he stopped by and welcomed us.
Food: we both got the fajitas. Mine was chicken with shrimp, hers beef with shrimp. We both found the food very good. For desert we had the flan. I thought it tasted ok, but my date said she has had way better flan. *shrug*
Overall: I don’t know how it could have been better. I’ll definitely come here again.

Service was poor. I’ll stick with going to Towson or Elkridge, because I do love the drinks & food

I had never been an On The Border before last night when I went with a friend for dinner. We were kinda bummed because we got there right after happy hour ended at 7, but oh well! We still had a good time and hopefully we will make happy hour next time.
Food: Chips and salsa were brought out immediately as we were sat and we also asked for queso. Chips were fresh, salsa was also fresh and had a little kick to it, and the queso was some of the best I’ve had. For our meals, I ordered the brisket quesadillas and my friend ordered the fajita quesadillas. I thought my brisket quesadillas were really good (little too much sautéed onions, but I just picked them out) and they came out really fresh. My friend seemed to like her fajita quesadillas, except she said that it had way too much cheese for her liking.
Drinks: We both ordered a coronarita and they were both delicious! We also both got the original flavor and with sugar around the rim instead of salt and they were both brought out quickly and exactly as we ordered them. Definitely a good drink choice when you are there! However, drinks seemed a little pricy. Some were as much (or more) as items on the menu… yikes.
Service: Service was quick! We were sat immediately, and our drinks and food were both brought out quickly. Our server was very attentive, but once we got our check, she came back 2 or 3 times when we weren’t ready yet and I don’t think we had been sitting with the check for that long. However, I would rather her be attentive and aware than neglectful. She was also very friendly and polite.
Overall, I had a good time at On The Border. Great drinks, good food, and nice service. I would like to go back again sometime to try other items on the menu. Also, major plus is that it’s in a shopping center with a parking lot so no having to deal with searching forever for a spot on the street! Hopefully the next time I go, I get there in time for happy hour!

The food is about a 3 star rating, but the service is a 5, so I averaged it out to a 4. It is what it is, pretty decent ok chain, in a pretty decent generic setting, not out of this world great but nothing bad either. But, I’ve been here on a couple cheap date nights with the bf and the service is always the best. Maybe the best I’ve ever had at any restaurant. We were never even remotely low on drinks or chips/​salsa. Bf got fajitas and he always eats all his tortillas and needs more, she brought him out a new pack before he even finished them. Wow!

If I could break this review up I would because if your judging the food and drinks alone I would have given this place a 5 because the food was delicious.
This 1 star rating is because of the service I experienced. I went on a Saturday night with a group of 6 people. The restaurant wasn’t that busy by the time we got there. The waitress came over and asked us if we knew what we wanted, didn’t ask us what we wanted to drink, and didn’t recommend anything on the menu. After we placed our order we were looking forward to the chips they usually bring out while you wait. Never came. 30 minutes later when we finally saw our waitress we asked her for chips. Our food was delivered by someone who was not our waitress and we didn’t see her again until our food was almost finished. Then we asked for the check and that took another 40 minutes of waiting because she kept screwing it up and over charging us for things we didn’t order. I am unsure if she was new or what was going on but if I ever go back in sticking to the bar seating, never had a problem there.

Dirty and under-​staffed (at least the night we tried to eat here). A soul-​less corporate chain can and should do better.

Had a great time at this restaurant, my waitress was the best. she always had a smile and even when I spilled my drink, she assured me that it was alright and made me feel like it was not a big deal.
Thank you BRIANA you rock!

Service was great. Food was awful ! The rice tasted like vinegar and so did the Tomatillo sauce. The black beans were the best item on my plate.
We also ordered the guacamole which was bland, my coworkers added salt and asked for lime to add. I won’t be back at least not for the enchiladas.

We went there for lunch and got the lunch portion steak fajitas and the lunch taco salad. Having never been to on the border we decided to give it a try. We may go back but I much prefer Don Pablos food to on the border. They serve chips and salsa when you are seated and the salsa was very hot which was good. However with the rest of our food everything was so very salty. I don’t even know if it would have had a better taste because everything was so salty that’s all we could taste. They were not very busy, which could have been because it was the latter end of lunch time. The service was wonderful though our waitress was very attentive to us as well as friendly and polite I do not know if that had anything to do with there only being three other tables in the place.

Blah. I guess you shouldn’t expect much from chain restaurants. I am a light weight and I downed 3 Margaritas and felt nothing. They tasted good but no alcohol at all.
Food was greasy and salty. Happy hour has good deals. Guacamole was good and chips are good but queso drip was kinda gross. Chimichangas are gross too everything was just greasy and salty without any flavor.
Maybe will co sider regular entrees if there is a next time. Happy hour nkt worth the stomach h ache that follows. Chips and salsa were good.
Service was poor and no one seemed to know who they were taking care of even though it wasn’t that busy.
Cheap and convenient good for groups

Still loving this place. While the chicken Caesar salad is no longer on the menu (which makes sense given that it’s a Mexican restaurant), the Mango Chicken Salad is on point. The chicken is great quality, the mango is fresh, and I’m embarrassed to say that this salad and the chips and queso/​salsa may be one of my favorite meals.
But I tried a watermelon margarita and it wasn’t so good. It tasted nothing like watermelon (basically just grenadine). But that’s ok. I’m not here for the margs. The standard margarita MUST be better (next time).
The queso and chips make this place worth it. Please come! It’s a pretty restaurant, the waiters and waitresses are super nice and the queso is great. I’d hate to see this place not make it.

Happy hour and taco Tuesday deals are incredible. You can get a lot of food and margaritas for so cheap.
I thought the food was all delicious. Queso wasn’t what I was expecting, more of a yellow cheese with peppers and such in it (I’m used to a white queso that’s smooth but maybe that’s just me)
It’s a big place so there’s not usually a wait. Overall I thought it was great

Nothing to write home about, but it’s pretty consistent, as most chains tend to be (at least in my experience).
The fajitas are pretty tasty and flavourful, The cocktails aren’t too shabby either.
The salsa is a little ridiculous though. I can’t each much of it before my mouth bursts into flames. I wish they had the option for a more mild heat!
Also, the service was great the first time I went here but it sucked hardcore the second time. I can’t really say it’s hit or miss based upon two visits, but hopefully it was just an off night.
I’d come back, but I actually prefer Don Pablos (mainly because the salsa is way more edible, which is a biggie to me!).

Great place to try. Very good Hispanic food for your buck. Server was very attentive and made sure we were taken care of. Again, the food was amazing. It was slightly confusing to park but we managed. Only con: PLEASE dust the place. Lol there is so much dust on them lamps. Will be back for sure tho.

I had to ask for menus, I had to ask for utensils, I had to ask for hot sauce. Avocado fries are not good, don’t try to get adventurous. I received two enchiladas for an entrée and it was their special for Monday, so considering they were $ 5.99, I think they were fair. The single star really is a result of my take out order of guacamole. See the picture I have posted. What a pathetic portion for $ 6.99. I had to laugh it was so utterly ridiculous. As with most Mexican restaurants that I steer away from, I have to say Adiós Muchachos!

Because sometimes you have a gift card…
I can’t in good conscience give a chain restaurant more than 3 stars, but On The Border is good for what it is. We stopped in to use our GC during happy hour on their first week in business. The staff was great (hopefully not just the opening staff), the food was good (and plentiful), drinks were great and reasonably priced on happy hour.
The never-​ending free chips were almost overwhelming in their never-​endingness but they were super tasty. Not too oily, not too salty. I could have eaten them for an entire meal. The queso/​guac duo on the happy hour menu was distressingly skimpy on the guac. The avocado fries were great, although I do not want to know the fat content…
The menu is expansive and almost overwhelming, as is the restaurant space itself. If you’re in the mood for a predictable chain restaurant experience, you will not be disappointed, but if you are in the mood for authentic tacos, head west on Eastern Avenue towards the area just before Fells Point instead.

Stopped by here in the middle of shopping at Canton Crossing. Greeted right when we walked through the door and the service continued throughout the stay. Our server was nice and attentive, although she was a little confused when we ordered guacamole since she asked if we wanted a cup or bowl (which is the sizes for the queso). I guess being a new restaurant she was still learning.
They start you off with some chips and salsa. The salsa tasted fresh and had a nice spice to it. We also ordered the guacamole live, where they mash the avocados at your table so you can say yay or nay to some of the add ins. We opted for everything — tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, and jalapeños. Tasted like guacamole should and I like it chunky so they made it chunky.
For lunch, I ordered the lunch time chicken fajitas. It was a pretty large lunchtime portion and came with beans and rice. I am not a bean person so opted out of it. The lunch portion came with three tortillas and there was way more fillings than what fit into three tortillas. The chicken was dry but tasted okay in the wrap once I added everything else in. The Mexican rice was good — had bits of corn in it and a good flavor. Husband ordered a dish that came with three different kinds of enchiladas and enjoyed it. He was insanely full afterwards.
They have different specials on different weeknights that were advertised.

This was my first time to an On the Border and this is a new location in Canton Crossing. The design, décor and hospitality were well received. They have outdoor seating which will be great for the spring/​summer months. The staff was still in training so you would expect some screw-​ups or awkwardness. Our waitress was very attentive and got all of our orders correct. I ordered the enchilada suizas with black beans and everything tasted great. I also had the El Jefe margarita with a tequila shot «meltdown» (just an added shot); it too was good. The only downer was that a waitress spilled an entire diet coke down the back of someone in our group but the manager came immediately over and offered to pay for our meals; he ended up giving the girl a $ 30 gift card for the accident. For a chain this place is pretty good; is it authentic… no. I hope to go again and improve my rating.

We have been waiting for On the Border to open and its finally here! We went on a busy Friday night to check it out. There was about a 5 minute wait which wasn’t a big deal given the amount of people already inside. It was a bit of an awkward design since the tables come right up to the door. Not much of a waiting area. Once we were seated our chips and salsa came out right away which was a huge plus for me. The chips were warm and fresh and the salsa was delish.
We started with the table side guac. It was good, but not great. Once we mashed it a little more it tasted better, but not sure I would splurge on it again. Our party ordered the brisket tacos, carnitas tacos, and the fajitas. I was a little disappointed in the portion size of the fajitas. I got both chicken and steak. There were miniature pieces of protein brought out to me. I basically had to ration to get through the meal. The other two entrees were thoroughly enjoyed by the others.
Our service was pretty good despite how crowded it was. We did have to ask for some things twice like more chips or napkins, but I assume it was because it was opening week and they were all still learning.
Even though there were some hiccups, I am excited for this place to be here and am looking forward to trying out some of their happy hour specials and drinking on the patio when it’s warm!