ON THE BORDER MEXICAN GRILL

Health grade
B · 83/100
Orange County rank
Safer than 25%
Diner rating
3.1 ★ · 2,949 reviews
Violations
2 high-priority and 1 basic
Last inspected
Mar 2026

It currently ranks safer than 25% of Orange County restaurants we grade. The most recent report (March 25, 2026) still cited 2 high-priority and 1 basic violations, so there's room to climb. Diner rating: 3.1 from 2,949 reviews. Menus here flag options for vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free diners.

Trend: improving · B (83/100) · safer than 25% of Orange County restaurants we grade

Get directions Call (407) 825-2922

Restaurant details

Health grade
B (83/100)
Violations
3 total — 2 high-priority, 1 basic
Address
9301 JEFF FUQUA BLVD STE 5199, Orlando, FL
Cuisine
Mexican
Categories
Mexican restaurant, Burrito restaurant, Caterer, Takeout Restaurant, Restaurant, Taco restaurant
Price
$20–30
Rating
3.1 stars (2949 reviews)
Neighborhood
Southeast Orlando
Seats
195
Phone
(407) 825-2922
Website
Official website
Photo of ON THE BORDER MEXICAN GRILL
Photo: On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

Community Rating

Reviews via Google
3.1 Community-sourced rating 2,949 reviews
Read all reviews on Google →

What diners say — our read

An average is a poor summary when the underlying reviews look like this. When front-of-house comes up here it is usually a criticism, and the ratings attached average 1.8. Wait times is the next most common subject, in 52% of reviews (averaging 1.5).

No one in this corpus comments on how much food arrives at all. The single most common rating left here is 1 star (19 of 25). Of the 25 rated reviews, 3 sit at four stars or better and 21 at two or below.

The kitchen graded a B (83/100) on 2 high-priority and 1 basic violations at its last inspection, which is roughly where the reviews sit too. The visit behind that grade was March 25, 2026. Its inspection trajectory is upward over the records we hold. On health score it sits safer than 25% of the Orange County restaurants we grade. For specifics, the last inspection cited cross-contamination.

The weak part of this listing is the experience, not the sanitation — those are different failures. The underlying reviews are reproduced in full underneath.

Our own analysis of 25 reviews for this restaurant, set against its Florida DBPR inspection record. How we calculate grades →

  • June 30, 2026

    Service was slow and took forever to get seated when it wasn’t busy. They force you to use your phone to order and pay which makes substitutions and requests difficult. The food was the worst Mexican styled food I’ve ever had and I would’ve been happier getting cheezits from the kiosk next door. I didn’t even finish it and I usually finish my food. Hope this helps

  • June 26, 2026

    Horrible don’t eat this crap … got brisket taco just one and now I’m paying for it never ever again …….

  • June 24, 2026

    Noisy airport restaurant with excellent chips, salsa, and guacamole and margaritas 🍹 Long wait to be seated but worth it.

  • June 20, 2026

    Friendly server

  • June 20, 2026

    Never have I ever in the food industry seen staff argue over the arrival of new customers. The hostess told us it would be 20 mins even though half of the restaurant was empty clean tables in the back. We sat down and immediately our waitress and the hostess get into a screaming battle over her having another table to serve and how she told the hostess she is done for the night and doesn’t want anymore customers. You would think another table = another tip, but apparently that didn’t matter in this case. They took their intense yelling battle into the kitchen before it settled. Now, It’s about 10-15 mins before our waitress finally does come to our table only to tell us they cannot fry any food which eliminates your side of fries to all the entrees and half the kids menu as I have my toddlers with me. Now whether or not the fryers were actually down or not or she just wanted to get rid of us since she didn’t want us to begin with, we had had enough. Arguing over my presence already sent me out the door, but it really put me over the top to not give a dime to this business when you cannot even provide half of your menu when your menu is so limited to begin with. Over hearing all of this, the yelling and then the menu not an option another table nearby us got up and left when we did. This place needs serious new management and it can start with new employees who actually want to work. If 0/5 stars was an option it would be that. DO NOT GO HERE.

  • June 19, 2026

    Absolutely awful service. You sign up on Internet wait-list then they don't follow it. Then they claim they can't seat more people. Over 80 minutes waiting for nothing. Worst airport experience ever.

  • June 18, 2026

    Sat down at the table and our server got in a yelling match with the hostess for seating us on her area. The server then took over 10 minutes to wait on us. Once we tried to order she said that half the menu was unavailable due to the fryer being down but every table near us was eating fried food. I suppose the fryer could have broken just then but it seemed unlikely. I do not recommend.

  • June 17, 2026

    If you like TexMex that actually taste good DO NOT get this, ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!

  • June 16, 2026

    We had a terrible experience today at On The Border inside the airport. When we walked in, there was no hostess at the entrance to greet us, so we went ahead and sat down. When an employee noticed that we had entered, she approached us and, from a distance, spoke loudly and very rudely, saying that we needed to go back to the entrance because she was the one who had to take us to the table. The way we were treated was disrespectful, rude, and embarrassing. Most of the tables were empty, so there was absolutely no reason for such a harsh and humiliating attitude. Because of the terrible service, my boyfriend decided to leave and made a complaint to the employee. Instead of handling the situation professionally, she and another staff member started telling us to “leave” in a very aggressive way. When my boyfriend, shocked and upset by their arrogance, questioned what was happening, they threatened to call the police. When we said they could call, one of the employees responded in a threatening tone, saying that if she called the police, he could miss his flight. This made it very clear that their intention was not to provide customer service, but to intimidate, embarrass, and possibly harm us. This was an extremely unpleasant experience. The service was rude, disrespectful, arrogant, and felt discriminatory. I do not recommend this place to anyone.

  • June 13, 2026

    Many menu items were unavailable, and the cheeseburger was terrible. The only good thing about the experience was the service, the chips, and the fries. Maybe we should try a different plate!

  • June 13, 2026

    The staff is like wet cardboard. They were out of most food. Place was empty. 40 minute wait for table.

  • June 12, 2026

    We had a pretty disappointing visit to this location. When we walked in, the hostess seemed completely absorbed in her phone and it took way too long for her to even acknowledge we were standing there. Unfortunately, things didn't improve much from there—the overall service was incredibly slow, and by the time our food finally arrived, it was already cold. The only saving grace of the meal was the margarita, which was the typically good On The Border margarita you'd expect, but it definitely wasn't enough to make up for the poor service and cold dinner.

  • June 10, 2026

    Did not impress. I didn't eat the food. The complimentary chips were good, but the accompanying salsa not so much. It's the drinks I had a problem with. They were just weird in a bitter kind of way. We didn't finish the drinks, nuff said.

  • June 10, 2026

    All I ordered was 2 tacos with double rice. The tacos took forever and I got double refried beans. Wasn’t bothered enough to ask for the rice. And when I went to eat, the taco shells were chewy.

  • June 9, 2026

    I went to the to-go area, and honestly, save yourself some money and don’t come here. The employees were extremely rude. I simply asked for utensils and napkins because none were included with my order, and they acted like I was asking them for money. As for the food, it was disappointing and tasted awful. Between the poor customer service and the quality of the food, I would not recommend this place to anyone.

  • June 9, 2026

    For the "quick" service at the airport our 2 kids meals order took 20 minutes. No sauces for the chicken and no ketchup.

  • June 8, 2026

    No vegetarian options

  • June 8, 2026

    We didn't even get to eat here. But how difficult that you put a person at the podium to tell you to scan the QR to get a table. Ridiculous . Also noticed afterwards there was a takeout connected to the restaurant in which the girl could have said so. Imagine how much business is being chased away

  • June 8, 2026

    Rude staff, place was dirty, plastic utensils, ceiling has exposed wires and missing tiles. I understand airport food isn’t great but this is trashy.

  • June 8, 2026

    On a Monday afternoon... The hostess was incredibly rude to everyone, the automated check-in process was clunky, the wait was very long, the website doesn't have a simple way of viewing the menu while you wait... So, we left and opted for the grab-n-gi deli across the way. We will not return.

  • June 8, 2026

    Took 25 minutes to get horrible, over priced French toast ($16 two pieces of bread) through the Togo window. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Avoid at all costs. Kitchen waits until they have multiple orders of the same type. Orders made 15 min after mine came out at the same time. Women behind the counter barely spoke English. Was only given a fork to eat french toast, how do you cut French toast with just a fork.

  • June 7, 2026

    Went for brunch and my server was John. Such an amazing server and amazing drinks! The food was good, I got full with half of the breakfast burrito but stood for the drinks more lol for my layover. Kudos to John!!!!

  • June 4, 2026

    The waiter illegally alerted our tip from $5 to $15!! We called dozens of times no one will pick up. The food can only be compared to whatever is too low quality for taco bell to be willing to serve. Better to wait for airplane pretzels or starve. DO NOT GO HERE.

  • May 27, 2026

    If you love flavorless food with high prices then this is your go to place. If you don’t then save your money and buy a sandwich from across. I wish the CEO would remove the word MEXICAN grill from the sign. This place is a disgrace to my people 😭 our server was a sweet heart though. I pray she finds a better and higher paying job soon because she deserves better!

  • May 27, 2026

    Table 103. We did their online check in at 3:11pm. Got seated 30 minutes later. At the same time while waiting half the restaurant was empty but the wait time… was it justified!?!? Placed our order took another 35 minutes for our food to come out. My wife place drink orders twice. Because: They simply forgot too. After tasting thier food. I swear to you it tasted like microwave food. Think twice before you enter!!! Last say: This is not Mexican food!

Overall Score

58 / 100

  • Health inspection grade 30/40
    Grade B
  • Dietary transparency 10/20
    3 options listed
  • Community rating 12/20
    3.1★ average
  • Hidden-gem status 0/10
    Not flagged
  • Track record 6/10
    Improving, 0% clean

Composite score from health grade, dietary options, ratings, and inspection record — distinct from the state-derived health grade.

Opening hours

Monday
10 AM to 8 PM
Tuesday
10 AM to 8 PM
Wednesday
10 AM to 8 PM
Thursday
10 AM to 8 PM
Friday
10 AM to 8 PM
Saturday
10 AM to 8 PM
Sunday
10 AM to 8 PM

Inspection history

The following records are from Florida DBPR public inspection records, most recent first.

  1. March 25, 2026 · Complaint Full

    Inspection Completed - No Further Action

    2 high-priority · 0 intermediate · 1 basic

    • 03 — Temperature control of foods (cold/hot holding, cooking, cooling, reheating)
    • 08 — Cross-contamination: raw foods separated; food protected during prep/storage
    • 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained
  2. September 15, 2025 · Routine - Food

    Inspection Completed - No Further Action

    1 high-priority · 0 intermediate · 4 basic

    • 03 — Temperature control of foods (cold/hot holding, cooking, cooling, reheating)
    • 05 — Food & equipment thermometers provided and accurate
    • 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained
    • 16 — Dishwashing facilities; sanitizer test kits; gauges
    • 29 — Plumbing installed & maintained; mop sink; backflow prevention

Safer options nearby

Higher-graded restaurants close to ON THE BORDER MEXICAN GRILL, by Florida DBPR grade:

  • CLUB MCO GATES 1-29

    4.3★ nearby

  • LE GRAND COMPTOIR ARS GATES 20-29

    2.7★ 0.1 mi away

  • MOE'S SOUTHWEST GRILL

    2.4★ 0.4 mi away

This grade is calculated by us from Florida DBPR public inspection records — Florida does not issue official grades. How we calculate it →

Data last updated: March 25, 2026