Cactus Grill: Where Tex-Mex Meets Flavor in Champaign

Review written 1/31/2026. My favorite restaurant for over 10 years. Delicious lime cilantro rice, delicious black beans, delicious chipotle sauce, delicious tofu, delicious guacamole, delicious spicy salsa. The chips can be hit or miss, but when they are good, they are great. Friendly owner of this restaurant who strikes up conversations with the repeat loyal customers.

Just tried it for the first time today! And it was awesome! Bought steak burrito with Spanish rice, everything extra spicy and ate it is 3 min. So much flavor and biggest authentic burrito I’ve tried so far.

Absolutely love Cactus Grill. Delicious daily specials and their taco salad is amazing! You have to try their honey chicken, it's the best! The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. Highly recommend you try them today! (They are closed on Sunday.)

Amazing food! I have been going there for what feels like 10-15 years. I have found that the burritos on off special days are bigger then on special days. But if you get the chance try the chipotle sauce. The staff here are always friendly and you will get in and out quickly. Highly recommend stopping in at least once.

It is the kind of place that you want to see expand to new locations but also you don't want there to be any chance of losing the Mom & Pop feel that might come with a franchise. I would describe this place as an upscale Mexican Subway or small-scale Chipotle with fresher ingredients. Consistently great food and service at very reasonable price. I've been getting their honey grilled chicken quesadilla and fish burrito for years now and cannot remember a negative experience. Even if you don't usually like fish, you should try their fish burrito. Glad to finally give them a shoutout.

I love this place! My tofu and taco salad shell were both cooked fresh, the ingredients are seasoned well, and the people are super nice! It's the best build-your-own burrito place in town.

Cactus Grill has definitely becomes one of my favorites Mexican food spots so far. The taco salad with the honey grilled chicken has me on a choke hold. I also love the aesthetic of the place, the chipotle sauce ugh! Taco shell so big it be bussin out the box so much they need tape to close it shut. Sooo good and they stuff your taco to the brim.

Updated review 4/05/2025: Rick the owner is friendly and cares about providing great service and big food portions. However some of the staff members need to learn and follow basic food safety practices. Such as some of the staff throw food back into the containers of food once it has been laying on the line. For example I’ve seen several of the staff throw lettuce and cheese from the line back into the serving containers. Also their nacho cheese sauce is so old tasting it made me spit it out and almost vomit when I ate it one time. But I highly recommend getting a burrito bowl and chips and eating it like nachos (but skip the nacho cheese here). Also be careful in the parking lot! I had somebody hit my car here years ago one time when I was parked because the lot is so narrow and the person who hit me had expired insurance. If you value your car, might be worth parking down the street and walking during busy times in this tiny lot. Chipotle sauce is delicious here! The salsas are good. The black beans are good. The cilantro lime rice is good. Sadly I think the tomatoes are canned. I’ve seen them come out of a can before. Would be better to be freshly diced. I always skip the tomatoes here ever since I saw they are canned. Original review: I am so sad they changed the cheese type :( I had been a loyal customer for many years and went the other day and the cheese is different now. I am sad about this, please bring the other cheese back it really was part of the overall cactus grill taste. I really wish this restaurant still had delivery, it’s some of the best food ever, please bring the other cheese type back and please clean the ceiling vents above the food serving line. But your restaurant does a great job, delicious and unique taste. Spicy salsa is best I’ve ever had.