Upping my review by 1 star. We tried On the Border a couple times after our initial disappointing visit, and the food was much better. Service improved too (friendly bartender on the bar side). Perhaps it has a new store manager or something? Seating at the bar side is enjoyable, with TVs & comfy booths. I thought On the Border was owned by the same company as Chili's, but that was in 2009. As of 2010, I guess it's back in independent hands, so perhaps it will make a turn-around!
(3)
Katie C.
On the Border Athens is NOT what it used to be. This was my absolute favorite place in Athens. My mom and my sister and I would go every Wednesday night for appetizers and margaritas. We patronized the place like crazy. The staff was rocking and we love the food. But the whole atmosphere of the place has changed in the last year. They've gotten rid of all the best staff, and now the service is subpar. I haven't been in ages, and that's really sad because I miss the food and I miss our servers from before. The food may be "what you'd expect from a chain" like other reviewers have complained about, but I adore it. The brisket tacos are the most delicious thing you'll ever put in your mouth, and the strawberry margaritas are to die for. I love the fact that you can get yellow queso, which is what I grew up on in Texas. If this review were about the food, I'd give five stars. But it isn't. This is about this specific location, and it well and truly sucks now, I'm very sorry to say.
(2)
Katie K.
Here's the situation: I'm driving my sister to school in Athens, and we are super hungry. I'm craving Mexican, so I ask her to use her phone to find us a tasty location at our destination. She finds an On the Border (we usually frequent the Duluth location, so we are familiar with it), and I ask her to use the GPS feature on her phone to map out some directions for us. Well, my sister is probably the worst navigator in the entire world. Anyone who has been to Athens knows that there really aren't too many main roads, and that you can't get lost TOO easily. So by the time we found the restaurant, we had taken more than a couple of wrong turns and were STARVING. So we walked in and bam, 2 orders of Dos Equis Fish Tacos (which is the only thing I ever eat here), a beer, and tons of warm chips and salsa were on our table before we knew it. And wow, was it good! The chefs here most definitely don't skimp on stuffing those tacos with the fish. (The Duluth location, in comparison, has started to get skimpy with their ingredients). Probably the best fish tacos I've had in a good while. And to prove that my review isn't biased simply because I was starving (which is when everything tastes good), my sister and I went back to this On the Border the next month, ate the exact same thing, and had the exact same yummy experience. I'm definitely planning on coming back here next time I'm in Athens! Oh, and I KNOW that this is totally fake American-Mexican... but who cares? It's still delicious! Service is also great here.
(5)
Trevor W.
Athens, GA... Worst Service ever.... Staff walked past me standing at the to-go counter to get my order... Finally after 30 mins someone helped me, then i got about a mile away and looked at my order and it was made incorrectly (as they do every time I order from them)... then when I brought it back to get it corrected, the girl that helped me earlier went about her business and didn't help me after I told her it was made incorrectly then rolled her eyes at me as she passed by several minutes later... So I asked to see the manager, he finally came out and was down right mean but did get my order fixed and gave me a $10 certificate to come back again (Which is highly unlikely.)
(1)
Rick E.
The food was fine, but the service was a mess. They were out of tortilla chips (but eventually made more--so at least they were fresh). We sat down at 1:15 for lunch, and mentioned that we were in a hurry, but the somewhat inattentive waiter certainly wasn't. We finally ended up with our food almost exactly an hour later! I might come back... the next time I have two hours available for lunch.
(2)
Jim S.
Food was really good. Service was really good. But...the kicker is that the pitcher of Dos Equis ended up costing $17. Yes...the price is not listed. I have lived in Athens for 15+ years and have never seen a pitcher of beer cost more than $10. When the waiter heard us laughing at our bill, he asked if it was about the price of the beer pitcher. So, evidently they know that their beer is extremely overpriced and giggle at those buying under the impression that prices might be about $10. Dear On the Border...we'll never be back!
(2)
Annie L.
The chicken tacos weren't anything out of the ordinary. Service was really great though :) I'm addicted to their chips and salsa---the salsa has just the right amount of chunkiness to it and spice! The grande margarita (oversized goblet made with margarita goodness) was a little too sweet and left me a little disappointed. Especially at $10 a pop. Yikes! This is still a good place to go to with friends. My foodie craving for good tacos will resort to Cali n Titos.
(3)
Ginger R.
It's not the food I'm rating. It's the rudeness of the staff and apparent manager. The door was unlocked and lights all on when I walked in to ask if I could just get an order to go because I thought I had walked in right before closing time (I would never walk in a restaurant right before close and eat in). When I walked in the door, some guy, apparently the manager, cut me off in mid sentence yelling over the bar from the back of the restaurant, "We're closed! Sorry, we're closed!" I immediately felt awful for walking in to a closed restaurant and jokingly tried to be nice and excuse myself by saying, "got any leftover cheese dip?" I was clearly joking. But he again cut me off in mid sentence by saying, "WE'RE CLOSED!" And waved his hand at me as if to dismiss me. Terrible management!!!!!
(1)
Susie D.
Well, just finished telling manager of the burnt chicken, dried out retried beans and the funky tasting kid nachos. He said that the beans look like that on the back, and he gets complaints about the kids nachos and he knew that the avocado was too hard?! Yet he still sends it out???? Not coming back here.
(1)
Gi J.
Easily one of my least favorite restaurants in terms of food. It's exactly what you'd expect from a chain family restaurant with cookie cutter menu items. The only things I'll get here are the fajitas. The salsa is pretty decent as well. The service is super hit or miss especially since I actually have met a lot of the serving staff since my girlfriend used to work here. I tried to like the food, I really did. But I can't overlook complete mediocrity on a regular basis. I will say that the watermelon margaritas here are AMAZING. Asides from that, there aren't really any redeeming qualities
(1)
Robert N Sarah G.
My wife and I went back tonight from for the first time since our bad visit about 2 1/2 months ago. We were using the "Be our Guest" coupons the manager sent us. I would like to share our experience with you. The hostess was cheerful and friendly. We were sat right away. Our server, Kelsey, was great throughout the visit. It was only her second shift and she was wonderful! I ordered a draft beer. We had live guacamole. I had the fish tacos again and my wife ordered the Ultimate fajitas. All the food was delicious, hot, and looked great on the plate. It also came out quickly. I was skeptical about returning, but the whole experience was truly wonderful and we will be coming back. They did a great job turning it around. Thank you
(5)
Ron M.
Today Jan 17th 2015 was our first time at the restaurant. We were seated quickly but that was the only and best part of our experience. After ordering our drinks we waited around 30 minutes before we finally got them. As we were waiting we watch as the waiter dropped a try of drinks and took one that half spilled and gave it to a customer and told him "Oh well, here is half a drink". Not exactly what I would call good customer service. At about 50 minutes into our visit we finally got a chance to order, keep in mind they were NOT busy. When our food arrive a half hour later, 1 dish was wrong and the rest were cold. We had to send it back and wait again for our order. The second time around we were hungry so went ahead and ate even though it was still cold. During this entire time with our slow and inexperienced waiter, the manager sat at a booth behind us eating and conducting employee reviews. You would think between 5-6:30 on a Saturday night the manager would be moving around making sure customers were happy. He was too busy eating and doing interviews to care about the customers. Talk about a poor excuse for management. My entire party will never go here again. They should b ashamed at how they neglect their customers and serve cold food.
(1)
Yuntao W.
Checked in with a $5 coupon when you spend $10 or more for entree plus a drink. Tried coconut drink and samples including everything. The waitress is beyond excellent. She brought salsa almost the same time i sit down. Overall good food, excellent service, good price.
(4)
JeAnna D.
Poor service and worse food. We waited 45 min for our food and it all came out cold! Very disappointed. Never plan on returning.
(1)
Cinny B.
First time we've been here in a long time. Service much better. Food much better. Management much better.....then, at the end, everything fell apart. Smh
(3)
Chris P.
We had a great lunch, no issues. I had avocado fries for the first time.
(4)
Sarah S.
Food was served cold. Typical tex mex chain restaurant food with a side of overpriced, nothing good about that. Salty chips with overly hot salsa and a $6 bowl of queso. Horrible service, empty drinks the majority of time we were there. Just overall terrible experience.
(1)
Christine K.
This is all you need to know about this OTB location: They have the BEST fish tacos ever. I've been to many OTB locations, but this one, by far, has the best ones! You can tell the chef put a lot of love into making 'em ;) --Very generous portion and highly scrumptious. Also, service is really great. Waiters are always friendly and willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
Emily T.
Upping my review by 1 star. We tried On the Border a couple times after our initial disappointing visit, and the food was much better. Service improved too (friendly bartender on the bar side). Perhaps it has a new store manager or something? Seating at the bar side is enjoyable, with TVs & comfy booths. I thought On the Border was owned by the same company as Chili's, but that was in 2009. As of 2010, I guess it's back in independent hands, so perhaps it will make a turn-around!
(3)Katie C.
On the Border Athens is NOT what it used to be. This was my absolute favorite place in Athens. My mom and my sister and I would go every Wednesday night for appetizers and margaritas. We patronized the place like crazy. The staff was rocking and we love the food. But the whole atmosphere of the place has changed in the last year. They've gotten rid of all the best staff, and now the service is subpar. I haven't been in ages, and that's really sad because I miss the food and I miss our servers from before. The food may be "what you'd expect from a chain" like other reviewers have complained about, but I adore it. The brisket tacos are the most delicious thing you'll ever put in your mouth, and the strawberry margaritas are to die for. I love the fact that you can get yellow queso, which is what I grew up on in Texas. If this review were about the food, I'd give five stars. But it isn't. This is about this specific location, and it well and truly sucks now, I'm very sorry to say.
(2)Katie K.
Here's the situation: I'm driving my sister to school in Athens, and we are super hungry. I'm craving Mexican, so I ask her to use her phone to find us a tasty location at our destination. She finds an On the Border (we usually frequent the Duluth location, so we are familiar with it), and I ask her to use the GPS feature on her phone to map out some directions for us. Well, my sister is probably the worst navigator in the entire world. Anyone who has been to Athens knows that there really aren't too many main roads, and that you can't get lost TOO easily. So by the time we found the restaurant, we had taken more than a couple of wrong turns and were STARVING. So we walked in and bam, 2 orders of Dos Equis Fish Tacos (which is the only thing I ever eat here), a beer, and tons of warm chips and salsa were on our table before we knew it. And wow, was it good! The chefs here most definitely don't skimp on stuffing those tacos with the fish. (The Duluth location, in comparison, has started to get skimpy with their ingredients). Probably the best fish tacos I've had in a good while. And to prove that my review isn't biased simply because I was starving (which is when everything tastes good), my sister and I went back to this On the Border the next month, ate the exact same thing, and had the exact same yummy experience. I'm definitely planning on coming back here next time I'm in Athens! Oh, and I KNOW that this is totally fake American-Mexican... but who cares? It's still delicious! Service is also great here.
(5)Trevor W.
Athens, GA... Worst Service ever.... Staff walked past me standing at the to-go counter to get my order... Finally after 30 mins someone helped me, then i got about a mile away and looked at my order and it was made incorrectly (as they do every time I order from them)... then when I brought it back to get it corrected, the girl that helped me earlier went about her business and didn't help me after I told her it was made incorrectly then rolled her eyes at me as she passed by several minutes later... So I asked to see the manager, he finally came out and was down right mean but did get my order fixed and gave me a $10 certificate to come back again (Which is highly unlikely.)
(1)Rick E.
The food was fine, but the service was a mess. They were out of tortilla chips (but eventually made more--so at least they were fresh). We sat down at 1:15 for lunch, and mentioned that we were in a hurry, but the somewhat inattentive waiter certainly wasn't. We finally ended up with our food almost exactly an hour later! I might come back... the next time I have two hours available for lunch.
(2)Jim S.
Food was really good. Service was really good. But...the kicker is that the pitcher of Dos Equis ended up costing $17. Yes...the price is not listed. I have lived in Athens for 15+ years and have never seen a pitcher of beer cost more than $10. When the waiter heard us laughing at our bill, he asked if it was about the price of the beer pitcher. So, evidently they know that their beer is extremely overpriced and giggle at those buying under the impression that prices might be about $10. Dear On the Border...we'll never be back!
(2)Annie L.
The chicken tacos weren't anything out of the ordinary. Service was really great though :) I'm addicted to their chips and salsa---the salsa has just the right amount of chunkiness to it and spice! The grande margarita (oversized goblet made with margarita goodness) was a little too sweet and left me a little disappointed. Especially at $10 a pop. Yikes! This is still a good place to go to with friends. My foodie craving for good tacos will resort to Cali n Titos.
(3)Ginger R.
It's not the food I'm rating. It's the rudeness of the staff and apparent manager. The door was unlocked and lights all on when I walked in to ask if I could just get an order to go because I thought I had walked in right before closing time (I would never walk in a restaurant right before close and eat in). When I walked in the door, some guy, apparently the manager, cut me off in mid sentence yelling over the bar from the back of the restaurant, "We're closed! Sorry, we're closed!" I immediately felt awful for walking in to a closed restaurant and jokingly tried to be nice and excuse myself by saying, "got any leftover cheese dip?" I was clearly joking. But he again cut me off in mid sentence by saying, "WE'RE CLOSED!" And waved his hand at me as if to dismiss me. Terrible management!!!!!
(1)Susie D.
Well, just finished telling manager of the burnt chicken, dried out retried beans and the funky tasting kid nachos. He said that the beans look like that on the back, and he gets complaints about the kids nachos and he knew that the avocado was too hard?! Yet he still sends it out???? Not coming back here.
(1)Gi J.
Easily one of my least favorite restaurants in terms of food. It's exactly what you'd expect from a chain family restaurant with cookie cutter menu items. The only things I'll get here are the fajitas. The salsa is pretty decent as well. The service is super hit or miss especially since I actually have met a lot of the serving staff since my girlfriend used to work here. I tried to like the food, I really did. But I can't overlook complete mediocrity on a regular basis. I will say that the watermelon margaritas here are AMAZING. Asides from that, there aren't really any redeeming qualities
(1)Robert N Sarah G.
My wife and I went back tonight from for the first time since our bad visit about 2 1/2 months ago. We were using the "Be our Guest" coupons the manager sent us. I would like to share our experience with you. The hostess was cheerful and friendly. We were sat right away. Our server, Kelsey, was great throughout the visit. It was only her second shift and she was wonderful! I ordered a draft beer. We had live guacamole. I had the fish tacos again and my wife ordered the Ultimate fajitas. All the food was delicious, hot, and looked great on the plate. It also came out quickly. I was skeptical about returning, but the whole experience was truly wonderful and we will be coming back. They did a great job turning it around. Thank you
(5)Ron M.
Today Jan 17th 2015 was our first time at the restaurant. We were seated quickly but that was the only and best part of our experience. After ordering our drinks we waited around 30 minutes before we finally got them. As we were waiting we watch as the waiter dropped a try of drinks and took one that half spilled and gave it to a customer and told him "Oh well, here is half a drink". Not exactly what I would call good customer service. At about 50 minutes into our visit we finally got a chance to order, keep in mind they were NOT busy. When our food arrive a half hour later, 1 dish was wrong and the rest were cold. We had to send it back and wait again for our order. The second time around we were hungry so went ahead and ate even though it was still cold. During this entire time with our slow and inexperienced waiter, the manager sat at a booth behind us eating and conducting employee reviews. You would think between 5-6:30 on a Saturday night the manager would be moving around making sure customers were happy. He was too busy eating and doing interviews to care about the customers. Talk about a poor excuse for management. My entire party will never go here again. They should b ashamed at how they neglect their customers and serve cold food.
(1)Yuntao W.
Checked in with a $5 coupon when you spend $10 or more for entree plus a drink. Tried coconut drink and samples including everything. The waitress is beyond excellent. She brought salsa almost the same time i sit down. Overall good food, excellent service, good price.
(4)JeAnna D.
Poor service and worse food. We waited 45 min for our food and it all came out cold! Very disappointed. Never plan on returning.
(1)Cinny B.
First time we've been here in a long time. Service much better. Food much better. Management much better.....then, at the end, everything fell apart. Smh
(3)Chris P.
We had a great lunch, no issues. I had avocado fries for the first time.
(4)Sarah S.
Food was served cold. Typical tex mex chain restaurant food with a side of overpriced, nothing good about that. Salty chips with overly hot salsa and a $6 bowl of queso. Horrible service, empty drinks the majority of time we were there. Just overall terrible experience.
(1)Christine K.
This is all you need to know about this OTB location: They have the BEST fish tacos ever. I've been to many OTB locations, but this one, by far, has the best ones! You can tell the chef put a lot of love into making 'em ;) --Very generous portion and highly scrumptious. Also, service is really great. Waiters are always friendly and willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy!
(5)