On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina greets customers with a lively atmosphere, serving Mexican cuisine ranging from tacos to burritos and chimichangas.
The interior of the restaurant was not very special. It looked like your average Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday’s trying its best to replicate an authentic Mexican restaurant.
After waiting an hour we were guided to a booth for five and greeted by our server for the night, Meagan.
Meagan greeted us with a smile and handed each of us a menu with “Savor the sizzle,” in bold white font.
Meagan started off by asking what we wanted to drink. It was a bit difficult to hear her over the music as well as other customers chattering.
My sister and I both ordered strawberry lemonade, my brother ordered water, my father ordered an iced tea and my mother ordered a margarita called an 1800 Mercedes.
Before our drinks were delivered, Meagan placed a bowl of tortilla chips on our table with individual cups of salsa. The chips felt warm to the touch and were even more delightful to eat.
It was difficult to stop myself from eating the nachos but eating multiple of them made my mouth dry. Fortunately, the salsa that accompanied the chips reduced that feeling, leaving a zesty and refreshing taste in my mouth.
After getting a second bowl of chips we ordered the signature queso and guacamole to go along with them. We also ordered our main courses. I decided to get the classic burrito.
While waiting for our food to come I tried out the queso and guacamole. The queso tasted very smooth and velvety, it was prepared with tomatoes, green chiles, onion, cilantro, poblano, and jalapeño. Dipping the chips into the queso left a warm, gooey trail of cheese on the plate.
The queso was very pleasing to eat, and the guacamole put my taste buds on cloud nine.
The guacamole had a very rich and creamy texture. It was apparent that it was made fresh before being served. The cilantro and lime used to make the guacamole was crucial in the refreshing taste.
There was nothing wrong with the strawberry lemonade that I ordered. The colors looked to me like a sunset, dark at the bottom and light pink on top. Bits of strawberry gravitated toward the top, floating along with the ice. Lemonade is usually tart but this drink was very light and easily quenched my thirst.
A customer in the restaurant had a birthday, and the waiters definitely brought it to everyone’s attention.
As is typical, this was announced to the restaurant. Servers began singing to the customer. I could tell that the customer felt a little bit uncomfortable as they slumped into their seat a bit, smiling nervously.
Meagan eventually returned to our booth with our main dishes in hand.
The burrito that I ordered came to $10.79 and I requested to have it with the signature queso on the side.
However, the signature queso drizzled all over the burrito ended up gluing it down to the plate. I was not too pleased with the presentation, but as they say, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. I dove into the burrito with my fork and knife, noticing the pico de gallo overwhelmed the taste of the chicken.
In addition, they forgot to add the guacamole and sour cream; so I thought that it tasted very average.
My mother ordered the Caribbean Mango Grilled Fish that she said she enjoyed. It was mesquite-grilled white fish served with warm pico-manga salsa. My curiosity got the best of me so I decided to try it out.
When I bit into the fish it felt like I had beach sand in my mouth.
The grilled texture was a bit too much for me and it was not very flavorful, making it apparent that I should just stick to salmon.
I also tried out the 1800 Mercedes drink that my mother ordered. Unless you like tequila, I would stray away from it. The drink tasted bitter and rough, and the salt brimming the cup did not help. I think the name 1800 Pontiac would be more fitting than Mercedes.
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina offers a pleasant family atmosphere, fair service, and very satisfying appetizers; although, I think I will settle for the mini tacos instead of burritos next time.
Info Box:
Name: On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina Rating: 3⁄5
Address:
4160 Church Rd, Mt Laurel, NJ 08054
Phone Number: 856-437-5360
Website: https://www.ontheborder.com/
Kind of Food: Tex-Mex
Price Range: $4.99-$25.99
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