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Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Back BayArlington (Green)
Back Bay (Orange)
The atmosphere seemed good. We came here to meet some friends of my husband's. We were all excited because we read a review about it in the Improper Bostonian beforehand that was good. Well, we were here just for some drinks and we split some appetizers, but the sense we got was that this was an OK place, as in, somewhat mediocre. We had margaritas, which seemed a tad watered down, but ok. The chips and guacamole seemed pretty run of the mill.
I actually really enjoyed my food at Cottonwood.. except I think I was more enthused than my dinner mates. (Full disclosure, I was a few drinks in by the time I arrived here which may or may not have affected my enthusiasm for life in general). I think they felt there was nothing special about their selections.
However, I'm willing to give Cottonwood the benefit of the doubt. Instead of thinking Cottonwood serves predictable Southwestern food, I am instead going to say that I am a superior order-er. Enough suspense- I had a mexican pizza, which did not sound great on the menu but looked awesome when it was brought out to the table next to ours. In reality, Cottonwood probably deserves 3 1/2 stars. However, the roasted red pepper sauce on my pizza, our pitcher of margaritas and our fun waiter merits an extra credit 1/2 star.
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In keeping in tune with my "reviews of places that I work near"..
I like the Cottonwood for two reasons:
1. Happy hour (ok, so this is a recurring reason). Not only is it easy to just show up and walk into the bar area for a drink after tearing my hair out at work, their cocktails are yummy! I think that everyone should try their Summer in Georgia cocktail - peach vodka, so good! I also like the jukebox which displays the Rejection Hotline number every once in a while. ;)
2. Bar food. They make some really good nachos - considering that they're nachos.. I had their nachos with steak and it tasted as if they had cooked a perfect steak and then cut it to sprinkle over the nachos, rather than tossing reject steak bits into it.
Other than that, the bar area is a tad small and it can get really hectic at 5PM on a Friday. Most of the servers are friendly and prompt, but having said that, there are also some that are clueless. Also, I wish the bathrooms were larger!
This place is a really strong 3 stars but mostly because of their food and only a little of everything else.
I went there for a lunch meeting after having wandered by it a number of times. We decided to eat outside because of the weather but it was a little awkward. The outdoor area is actually bigger that that of a number of other places and is very well intended. They manage to keep an integrated feeling with their awnings and proper gate. However they have these cheapo plastic seats that seemed more like they would have even been turned down by wal mart buyers.
When they got us set up they did this really odd thing where they had the waitress take our order then one staff member brought over cups of water and another brought over our silverware. Come on to they have a bunch of staff members sitting on a bench with their fingers crossed "I've been practicing really hard. I hope that coach puts me in to bring them straws".
They also had a strange thing going on with our drinks. One person in our party got a glass of wine and everyone got a cup of water. The wine came in a proper glass and all of the water was in throwaway plastic cups. Errr really, you can't even spring for heavy duty plastic cups like half the dive bars in Boston use. You're not even going to pretend?
The food on the other hand was nice and solid. I kept it simple with a steak wrap and was nicely surprised. It was tasty and well balanced and though the fries were super greasy they were crunchy and only kinda made me want to have a heart attack.
If you want to have decent food with service, but don't care too much about the quality of the service this is right up your alley and for a sit down lunch place in the area it's a pretty good choice. I wouldn't take someone here if you were trying to impress them but they might enjoy the ability to get a tan.
Yeah, it's a good place. Just know what you're getting when you go -- "Southwestern"-American food that isn't different in a single way from anything you've ever had. Come on, chefs, take some chances!
The crowd was kind of mixed -- there were a variety of ages, but it seemed like primarily older people were there, all after work. For a Thursday night, it wasn't crowded at all.
That being said, the food tasted pretty good and the service was decent. If you're in the mood for some casual food with a group of friends after work and you don't care about having an amazing meal, you'll enjoy it.
But if you're up for a great meal, do yourself a favor and leave the restaurant, take a right and walk down Berkeley until you hit Tremont and the fantastic restaurants of the South End.
Just okay - I went here with some friends for my birthday, and the food was nothing special. I think there are lots of other Southwest/Mexican food restaurants in the area that are better, although they did have good cocktails which is why it gets 3-starts. Probably wouldn't go back.
I tried this place out for the first time tonight. Overall I had a great time. The double-stuffed chicken breast with goat cheese, bacon, dried cranberries and mashed potaotes was excellent! The spinach fell short though. I tried a Crab and Brie Quesadilla and it was tasty but tiny.
I felt like I expected more from a place like Cottonwood Cafe. I work, breath, and live the restaurant industry so I always notice the details. I always notice the details such as the napkin used as a tablecloth placed upside down. Staring into the dining room, this places feels like nothing more than a chain'd applebees with nicer longer lasting fuel cells. The service was good but nothing to call mamma about.
Decent food, decent service, but the atmosphere needs some originality.
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I like cottonwood. I've been here a bunch of times and always enjoyed my meal. It gets pretty busy during the week around lunchtime, but I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table. They have this great spinach and artichoke dip that they serve with tortilla chips, carrot sticks, and bagel chips. Its huge and I'm embarassed to say that I've never not finished it.
I've had a few entrees but my favorite is the tostada verde with chicken. It's more of a taco salad than a tostada though, since to me tostada ("toasted") should be warm or have warm ingredients on it like refried beans and hamburger. Its a taco salad shell with greens and beans and sour cream. Its really big and filling for a salad and has some kind of really good lime dressing.
So although it may not have the most authentic or amazing Mexican, its good for what it is and its affordable. I'm conflicted bc the part of me that loves spinach and artichoke dip wants to give Cottonwood a 4, but the part of me that doesn't love the waiter with the ultra hairy chest and the shirt unbuttoned just one button shy of being workplace appropriate says it must get a 3.
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Since I work upstairs (literally) from Cottonwood, this has been a go to place for quick birthday lunches and after work drinks. Convenience certainly drives us there.
The first time I went, it was just for drinks. We had just finished a "gouge your eyes out with those plastic spoons in the cafe" painful project and celebrated with shots of FIP (fruit infused Petron). They take high quality tequila (clear) and let it sit for a few days with different fruits in the bottle. Now, i don't like the taste of alcohol, but I DO like the taste of candy. And that's what the shots tasted like. I was new to the office, so I didn't drink too too much, but enough that I called my husband of two months "some guy I am dating". Oops. Heads up on the FIT shots - good but deadly.
I haven't been too impressed with their lunch service. I didn't even pick up on the fact that it is TexMex; it seemed fairly white on white bread fare. Burgers, sandwiches, salads. The entrees are a little too steep for lunch, so we have stayed away.
It gets three stars because the food isn't bad, it just doesn't stand out. And is over priced. It is convenient if you work in Back Bay, but there are other places that are better and more reasonably priced. Good shots though...
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I was really disappointed with this place! Luckily the prices aren't terrible (by Boston standards) so wasn't as P.O.'d as I would have been had I blown my eating out budget for the month on a truly sub-par meal.
I have had better southwestern food at On the Border and that is not saying much.
The drinks are reasonably priced and good - the bar is way to small for this place. Given the clientele of many post-work happy hour type folks, the Cottonwood Cafe would be much better served by apportioning more of their space to the bar.
The decor is nothing to write home about - in fact it is downright fugly for Boston.
My friends and I were pleased with our drinks - a variety of margaritas and cocktails. Not too pricey , especially given the current trend toward any mixed drink being served in a martini glass with a 20% upcharge for a drink that would be 20% less if served on the rocks.
Virtually EVERYTHING on the menu needed salt - and LOTS of it.
My friends and I started with the chips and four dips - the chips appeared to be right out of a bag - not warm or house-made. The "dips" were flavorless guacamole (despite that it had a fair amount of pico de gaillo mixed in), a salsa verde that also was bland and flavorless, a red salsa that was eh - ok but again could have used salt or a nice squeeze of lime, and a con queso sauce.
The con queso sauce was the only item of the 4 that had any flavor - but the cheese was runny and didn't cling to the chips. this made for a messy bout of eating.
I had a special - Hawaiian Spear Fish with grilled shrimp and jambalya risotto. The spear fish was actually seasoned well - seemed to have a light lime tang and was very good.
The shrimp was over cooked as was the risotto - Soggy, bland risotto. It tasted like and had a texture like oatmeal. The jambalaya flavor was not there at all. There were chunks of sausage and shrimp in the "jambalaya" but the shrimp in it was also dry and rubbery.
A friend eating with me had a grilled steak that she said tasted good and mashed potatoes seemed like a good side choice.
I am really surprised this place has stayed in business so long in the location it is in. I can honestly say that the franchise tex mex restaurants have more enjoyable / flavorful offerings than Cottonwood Cafe and I am not a big fan of those places.
If you have a hankering for tex mex or southwestern, go to Rudys in Somerville or to one of the Border Cafe's locations.
One star for the foodl; 2 for the bar.
It was ok. There was no one there so the server was pretty attentive to our table, but the food took a good 25 minutes to come out. The menu is pretty limited but I ended up getting the mixed grill. The steak was great and the chicken was nice and juicy but I was not thrilled with the rest of the plate. The refried beans tasted straight out of the box and the rice was slightly mushy. There are so many better places in this area to eat, don't bother.
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I just noticed a pattern in the bars and restaurants I've Yelped within a three block radius of Copley Square: nearly all my reviews contain the word "work" and those that don't, remind me of work, either going to, being at, or wishing I didn't have to. There are afterwork bars and "I have to go with the group for lunch" restaurants and "I've got to get out of the office right now before I stick my tie in the shredder while I'm wearing it just to see what happens" places. Work, work, work. That's what Copley Square means to me. Why don't I live in a city with more than two main streets downtown?
So why do I bother? Probably for the same reason I ask why stars suddenly appear every time you are near. No, that's not it. Maybe I'm a masochist. Or it could be the afterburn from the pitcher of margaritas my work friend and I drank last night at Cottonwood.
Anyway. I like the Cottonwood. OK, "like" is a little strong. The Cottonwood has its place. How's that? If I'm going for cocktails or an early dinner with work associates I actually like but with whom I'm not ready to commit to going more than a few steps from the office (must maintain the buffer between work life and personal life) I choose the Cottonwood, especially if it's summer and we can sit on the patio.
The drinks are OK and the finger foods are pretty good. Even the entrees are acceptable. I especially like the pulled pork burrito, even though the kitchen won't make it without beans (morning-after issues, don't ask). Apparently the ingredients are pre-mixed. Maybe that's a signal that I should go somewhere else. But the Cottonwood's patio is a nice place to sit on a summer evening, relaxing in the cool, breezy shadows of Boston's insurance companies, and venting about the people who pissed me off all week.
I like waving at the people in the duck boats, too. I once had a friend who enjoyed quacking at them. I thought it was cute; she turned out to be emotionally unstable. Who would have thought it? Not I.
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Cottonwood cafe... eh.
There are too many amazing places in Boston to spend time and money here.
The price was reasonable, the service quite poor, and the food... well, not great. The quesadillas had little cheese and the chicken was overcooked, the black bean soup tasted like liquor, and the artichoke dip seemed microwaved.
This is not southwestern at its finest... not even for the northeast.
Boston generally lacks excellent mexican/southwestern food, but you can get better elsewhere.
(Oh, and a personal pet peeve: the bathrooms were dirty.)
I was very disappointed with this place. Supposed to be some tex-mex theme but the food was nasty. I ordered the mixed grill. The beans were so gross I had to scrap them off my plate and set it aside. All my meat was overcooked and flavorless.
Garth S. really put it best when he observed nearly anywhere you can eat in the Copley Sq. area seems to be an extension of work. I feel as if everywhere I eat that I can walk to from work was catered and decorated by Staples.
Cottonwood is par for the course. There were a whopping 2 vegetarian options at this joint, and the one I got (vegetarian enchiladas) were bland to the point of being almost inedible. I had to ask for habanero sauce just to get through them. The service was pleasant though, and I imagine if you wanted to go for burgers and margaritas it'd be fine.
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The ambiance is nice here. Big place so never had to wait for a table (although I've only gone at lunch time).
I only give 3 stars because the food is not...special, as in I think I could make it. I've had the burger with Gorgonzola which was pretty good. But then I had a steak wrap my second visit. Ordered it medium well and it came still breathing. I had to eventually ask to have cooked again. When I mentioned it the waiter, "That is medium," he quipped. Now I'm not a gourmet chef or anything but medium well should not be hot pink. Take this shit back and cook it for reals this time. He did and it was better. But why in the world is the shredded cheese and pico sitting BESIDE my wrap. Why is it not inside the thing? Weird.
I'd go again, but only because it's across the street from where I work. The food is not spectacular (can't say anything for the drinks). I wouldn't MAKE PLANS to go here, I'll put it like that.
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Between all the Mexican restaurants in Boston, this one is by far the worst, if not the most disappointing restaurant in Boston (after reading the reviews.) Skip it. Sangria tastes like cough syrup, margaritas were sub par, and food was an all out D+. My girlfriend waited 20+ minutes for a second corona. Spinach dip was microwaved. Ouch. If I could give this a turkey rating I would.
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The last and only time I went to Cottonwood, there wasn't a patio yet, so it's been a while.
I met a friend there and we sat in the bar area at a little cafe table and got some apps and drinks. This was when I was still drinking frozen strawberry margaritas, just before some genious finally kicked me in the ass and forced me to drink a margarita the way they're meant to be had, on the rocks and oh so delicious.
Anyway, so at the time I really was into my drink. Their website says their 'ritas are award winning, but I wouldn't go that far. The food was also pretty good.
Right there on their menu and website they say they're not Mexican, but southwestern, so I'm not sure why a lot of people here are pointing out the distinction. Aaaaaaaaanyway..
We had the artichoke and spinach dip, which was great but how hard is it to mess that up? My friend had a salad and I had (dang) quesadillas. They were both good enough to make me want to return one of these days. I just feel there are always better choices out there than Cottonwood and it gets the shaft...
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I've only been here twice, but I love Cottonwood!! Their double-stuffed chicken is amazing, as is their mac and cheese. As soon as I ordered those things, the waiter gave me a look telling me that I had made the right choices. Their chips with four dips was also really good. The second time I went there, I had the Chicken Diablo and that was great too. The margaritas are very good too, especially the blended fruit margaritas. We've always been too full to have dessert, but they look good on the menu.
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Frankly, I was disappointed with the Cottonwood Cafe. One downside to reading fellow Yelpers' reviews of a restaurant prior to dining there - if the place got mult. 5-star ratings, it's immediately held to higher standards by me. So *maybe* I would have given Cottonwood Cafe 4 stars had I not seen all the great reviews beforehand. Or maybe not.
Nonetheless, a quick recap: Spinach & Artichoke Dip earned positive remarks by all, as did the Crab Cakes. Potstickers were fairly nasty (but duh, should have known not to order that from a Southwestern joint). My main dish, the Enchilada Verdes, was unremarkable at best. Very little Verdes sauce. Dry chicken. Bleh. Margaritas were also just so-so, though I was coerced into ordering the super-sweet frozen strawberry pitcher when I should have gotten the traditional standby on the rocks. Dessert, banana ice cream & brownies (forget the actual name), was fairly good. Service was solid on the whole, ambiance was tasteful and inviting, but service and environment alone won't bring me back to the Cottonwood.
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Bad Mexican food for yuppies. That pretty much sums the Cottonwood up. If I remember correctly one of the menu items features Dijon mustard. I've never had French-Tex-Mex fusion before.... and I hope I never have it again. It's overpriced to the extreme and only half-way palatable.
The worst part about the Cottonwood, however, isn't even the bad food. It's the bad margaritas. If I'm paying 30 bucks (holy crap!) for a pitcher of margaritas they better be damn good. It's hard to find a good margarita in Boston, but these are the worst, so that's sayin' somthin'. The only reason this place isn't getting one star is at least they have a patio. And, the black bean soup was pretty good.
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I've been to Cottonwood many times, as I work right down the street. While the food isn't stellar, it's still good, reliable, reasonably-priced food. Drinks are terrific, love the extensive margarita menu. And that every pitcher comes w/ chips & salsa!
I almost always order the same thing, the crab cakes and frescas salad. I love both! I've also had the snakebites, which are so yummy, I love how hot they are. The artichoke dip is good as well. I've tried many other dishes here, and have never been disappointed.
I wouldn't necessarily call the food Mexican, it's more SW/Mexican fusion-y.
The outdoor seating makes for a great after-work location, as it's not super-trendy and packed at 5:05pm. And there are private rooms available for no cost, perfect for bdays, bachelorette parties, work events, etc.
Parking is also validated for up to 2 hours, which is a plus in downtown, as parking is hard to come by, and pricey, in this area.
Cottonwood's mixed grill is an enormous combination of pork, beef and chicken and easily ranks as one of the best dishes you can find anywhere in Back Bay!
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The food is so-so. I started with black bean soup. The cup comes with a side of lemon, sour cream and tomatoes. What was seriously lacking was SALT! There were no salt/pepper shakers on the table which I found odd.
My friend had a salad which looked like a typical caesar salad (in a southwestern restaurant? Weird). I had the enchiladas verdes which were pretty good. Nice helping of guac (which also needed a lot of lemon and salt) and sour cream served with rice and pinto beans was presented on the plate. The portions were decent, I didn't take any leftovers home.
My friend had the vegeterian enchiladas but I don't think she liked them. We skipped dessert. Overall, not bad, but I wouldn't make a special trip to Cottonwood Cafe.
this place is great, if you want to avoid the craziness of all the newbury and boylston street restaurants but still eat in the area. they have great outdoor seating, food is good, and i love that they have dos equis on tap
My friends and I used to go here now and then for our weekly Sunday brunches. They can handle a group men with style. They start you out with chips and salsas while you suck down $30 pitchers of Margareta's. About an hour later you get your cheesy spicy enchiladas. Another pitcher. Lets eat a little more. More chips please?
Before you know it, its late afternoon and the day has faded away. We are all feeling full and a bit sleepy. We are now looking at a $350 meal bill. Ah Oh...those $30 pitchers sure add up. How many did we get guys?
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This place is amazing. It was my first time in this place, the foyer was packed with people. I was in there with a friend, who went up to ask how long the wait was. We were immediately seated. I had an absolutely amazing meal. Everything was incredibly fresh, came out very quickly. In a conversation, I was telling a friend about a dish I had a while back, I was telling him how terrible it was. One of the staff, approached me and asked me what why I thought it was terrible. I immediately chuckled and told her I wasn't speaking about the meal in front of me, I was talking about something I had a while ago. She chuckled as well. The rest of the staff was very friendly. To my surprise, the prices in this restaurant were amazingly reasonable. I was highly impressed with not only the food but by the staff as well. This is a rare gem!!!
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Cottonwood Cafe has good food, but it's a bit pricey -- then again, it is right in Back Bay. The decor is relaxing and dark, with sort of a desert feel. The food? It's good, but it's not straight up Mexican. It's more like fusion or Tex-Mex or whatever. But it's still good. The service? Eh.
The outside patio is a great place to have a drink after work during the summer, but as it's in the Wind Tunnel Hancock area, it tends to be a bit windy there.
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I'm torn about Cottonwood. I first went there last Thursday with my boyfriend and was pleasantly surprised! The sangria was delicious and we started off with an appetizer of tortilla chips with 2 salsas (red and green). The salsas were not of the chunky variety, but more of a puree. I liked the green, but I thought the red one tasted alot like tomato sauce. Next, I got a small version of the Verdes Fresca salad, which I loved! It had goat cheese, red grapes, and honey-toasted pinenuts. Yum! Our meals were also good - he had the chicken quesadillas and I had the barbeque chicken sandwich (great fries!). Both were very good, but not outstanding.
I liked the place so much I brought my dad there that Saturday for lunch, but was really disappointed. We were told the main part of the restaurant was closed, so we had to sit in the bar area. Instead of the cute blue-rimmed water glasses I previously had, we were served our water in plastic Budweiser cups. Then, we could only order from the Cafe menu, not the Lunch menu. Granted they are similar, but the lunch menu had more choices. I got my salad again and sangria - this time with chicken on the salad - still loved it! My dad, however, was advised not to order the pulled pork sandwich, which our waiter said was very dry. He got the pork burrito instead and didn't particulary care for it. Our spinach artichoke appetizer was good though.
Cottonwood is worth a shot and they had some interesting, flavorful dinner items that pretty pricey, but sounded good. I say check it out!
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Great location. Great ambience. Great food (the Spinach and Artichoke Dip is to DIE for). Varying service level. Have been there multiple times at lunch and you just never know how long it is going to take. Best idea is to go on the early or late side of the lunch hour or just wait until Happy Hour - but don't drag your feet or you'll find yourself without a place to sit in the bar. Drinks are good and the chips and salsa are deadly as in you'll never stop eating them. One really, really bad experience on a Friday night with incredibly poor service, cold food and server attitude sticks out but I haven't had any problems since and would never voluntarily give up that amazing Spinach and Artichoke Dip!
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Mexican is a little too...international (?) for Cottonwood--I'd say more SW US-ish. Anyway, regardless, artichoke plate was awesome--large w/ lots of dippers, salads were huge (for 7.50 on the cafe menu)--my friend informed me that you can customize your meal--the staff is totally flexible--she got cucumbers and tomatoes on her caeser salad. hey, whatev floats your boat, right? desserts were creative--chocolate tacos, execpt the "tacos" were more like chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies. A great, fun atmosphere, complete w/ jukebox. Only complaint is that the music was a little loud and we ended up yelling across the table.
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Expect to pay a little more than the typical Mexican restaurant for a classy atmosphere and excellent food, which is more creative than your standard Tex Mex fare. The variety of margaritas are top notch, too, though a little expensive if you're hankering for a pitcher. This is a good place for a date or after-work drinks, as there is a bar area. The appetizers, too, are good. I recommend the calamari and nachos.
Pretty decent food. A bit more than you might expect to pay for Mexican, but the atmosphere is nice and classy. Never had anything bad here, but nothing is particularly memorable either. I'd generally prefer Cactus Club on Boylston for their food and value but Cottonwood Cafe is better for a more upscale feel, especially in the evening.
I only came here for appetizers, and they all tasted great. They do a really good job with nachos. Great atmosphere.
Upscale Mexican restaurant. Eat outside if you can. It tends to get a bit breezy this side of Back Bay. The food is sort of like exotic mexican. Their salsa is my favorite. The inside is very simply decorated.
Living East of the Rio Grande makes you desperate for Tex Mex, any available Tex Mex, even if it's in a circa 1995-decor (i.e., lots of teal & glass) setting! No, it's not that bad. Dishes are cheesy and spicy, what more can you ask for? It's very convenient (close to Marshall's) and centrally located (pretty close to Antropologie). Good formula.
Overpriced. That's pretty much what it comes down to. The food was ok, but the prices were about 25% higher than the food was good. Our server was nice, but forgetful and disappeared for long stretches, leaving us with empty drinks far too often. And someone please tell them that the #1 ingredient in a Mojito is NOT sugar.
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Cottonwood Cafe is good when they're on their game and when they're not, they are a mess.
Sometimes your meal can arrive in under 10 minutes and sometimes it can take 35 minutes. There is no rhyme or reason to it at all. I've been for lunch and dinner and it's the luck of the draw.
I do, however, really like their food! The Sedona Chicken sandwich is really good and I love their chile dusted fries. Their salsa and guacamole are awesome and the calamari is delicious. My friends eat the jalepeno poppers all the time but that's a little too hot for me.
Margarita's rock!
So, I'd have to say, go to Cottonwood if your not in too much of a hurry.
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