The Prickly Pear

The pictures are from a second visit and I must admit those fajitas caught me off guard as they are and were exceptional. Disclaimer: All pictures posted are from the 2^nd visit.
I hope they find their stride. Oh!!! The Prickly Pear was available this time for the margarita.
The sides were tasty and they season everything really well here as the chicken even had a twang that was nice, sweet and hearty. Not sugary sweet but tasted as if it had been rubbed or drug through a fruit.
The reason this place can’t just make it to 5 stars even though I’d lovvvveee nothing more than to bestow that honor? There’s always something.
Used a groupon this time and the fine print (which I didn’t read for understanding) said not applicable 4/​xx which was Easter. Yet, had someone referenced any of this at the confirmation of booking the day before we arrived then I would have simply dined another day. I genuinely hope these guys make it. Fix the kinks and find the right balance.
We worked out the Groupon with amount I paid was applied and nothing else. It could have soured my entire experience but they were so ecstatic that I was so polite and gracious. Apparently this happens more often than it should and others yell, get upset and so on per the employee. In my mind: that meant … all the more oyu guys should be upfront and frank with verbal confirmation to ask, «Will you be dining with a groupon or deal/​coupon?» That way it can trigger everyone to confirm the dates and disclaimers.
Stop acting like … «Oh! you have a coupon. how did you get that coupon… well, let’s all pretend we never knew a coupon could be circulating.»
All in All: The food is worth the trip

Excellent restaurant, fine lake views, and friendly service.
Dinner is quite good, but the lunch menu is unsurpassed in value and taste in the area. Highly recommend.

Walked into an empty restaurant, sat down at 3:20p and thought, «hey, chips and salsa are always free, let’s get that to start.» Nope, that’ll be $ 5. Ok, whatever, maybe they are exotic chips. Then looking at the menu, no tacos, no quesadillas, no burritos, nothing but fajitas and enchiladas. I ask the waitress where the normal food was and was told we are «upscale Mexican» and after 3p they won’t serve tacos or normal Mexican cuisine. Nothing on the «upscale Mexican» menu appeal to us so we paid for our exotic chips and went to Chipotle!
If restaurant was on Bar Rescue, that dude would have a field day.

What a gem in a sea of ordinary. I am a huge skeptic of Mexican restaurants since I lived out west for 10 years. My standards are high. With that being said, may I welcome you to the Prickly Pear! The menu, while not expansive, has a selection of high quality options that will not disappoint. Love the Paella! And did I fail to mention the location, location, location what a spectacular view. The staff is incredibly gracious and their knowledge of tequila is beyond impressive.

Very pricey for what you get… which isn’t much. Nothing we ordered was memorable. Terrible terrible service.

We had our rehearsal dinner here– everyone loved it! Good portion sizes and friendly service! Gorgeous lake view.

I found this place on groupon and was excited for lakeside dining. Their self perceived image is upscale Mexican cuisine. I suggest above tex Mex but certainly not upscale (other than the price point). I am comparing it to verde in Huntersville which is seriously outstanding slightly upscale Mexican but at a much more reasonable price point and slightly greater serving sizes.
Drinks — I don’t typically drink and if I do one and I’m feeling it — I had 2 and nothing. I’m wondering if they forgot the tequila.
App — crab cakes which were fine but no better than what I buy at Harris teeter.
Entrees — ordered beef enchiladas which had no depth of flavor, very one note. Other party ordered the Marbella which was so rich you couldn’t each much and again single note.
Service of receiving entrees was fast but with attitude when I mentioned the groupon. Also, the groupon came with 2 drinks and the other person doesn’t drink so I figured I could get 2. Waiter advised it was one for each person. Other party said its for me and with an eye roll he agreed.
One upside was the outside seating area over lake although the tables were dirty so the feeling was more like we were at a deli.
Overall wouldn’t go back even with a groupon :(

Had a fantastic meal here with a great view. Asked chef to make me something and he came out with a Martierra. Fantastic, will definitely be back.

Fabulous food! Upper scale Mexican. Service was great! Ambiance really nice. View of the lake. Food was loaded with levels of flavor that just pop. I highly recommend this place and will visit again!

Not good good or service.
Started off ordering a sangria and asked about beer on tap. Waiter brought a Sierra Mist and said his father would know more about beer. The father said they have ipa.
Ordered The «kids elbows with Jack cheeses» and the «one of a kind queso dip»
The kids meal was penne with Alfredo and feta cheese. Tasted like nothing and the queso tasted like cheese wiz.
To top us off my chicken enchilada had a hair in it that was definitely not mine.
Would not go back.

A great place. Great food. Great service. Good prices. We came on a Groupon to try it. We’ll definitely be back.

Oh no. no.
Absolutely over priced & service sucked.
We ordered big margaritas, which were mostly just ice and sour mix — very little alcohol… if any. We ordered chips & salsa & guac — very small portion of guac (maybe 3 – 4 small bites) and few refills on the chips or salsa. We got an appetizer of flaming cheese (mostly grease and very few veggies) and had the fajitas to split (nothing to write home about). I was expecting a lot more for the amount over $ 60 which we spent — or at least some service…
Our server rarely checked on us, never refilled anything unless we flagged him down and asked him, which there was 2 other tables in the entire restaurant — surprising for such a slow day how un-​accomadating this guy could be.
Best tip about this place: if you do order the flaming cheese app or the fajitas, you will only be given 3 small flour tortillas with the order — then you are charged for additional (kinda hard when there was 2 of us splitting everything, should have just thrown 1 more in there…)

Couldn’t have possibly been more displeased with this establishment after my girlfriend and I’s visit to the Prickly Pear for Valentine’s Day. We were looking forward to the dinner – a nice, delicious meal on Lake Norman at a reasonable price. God only knew what we were in for.
We had scanned over the menu beforehand and both of us had a pretty good idea what we were going to get. So when the waiter brought out a fixed menu, it threw us a real curve ball. It’s Valentine’s Day. It’s one of the busiest nights in the restaurant business. I get it. The thing is, absolutely NOWHERE on their website did it mention this. If it did, we certainly wouldn’t have chosen this place.
Because much of the menu was in Spanish and the two of us only know a little bit, we asked our waiter what various menu items were. Instead of being helpful, he gave us a condescending look and provided nearly no help.
Ultimately my girlfriend ended up going with the quinoa appetizer, shrimp dinner & chocolate cake dessert. She enjoyed the app, shrimp wasn’t anything spectacular and the chocolate cake was extremely disappointing. I went with the shrimp/​tomato appetizer, the swordfish dinner and the chocolate cake. I mistakenly ordered the shrimp app because I wasn’t aware of what all was in it due to our waiter’s refusal to lend any advice. The swordfish was the only redeeming aspect of our experience, it was pretty good. As mentioned previously, the chocolate cake was a total let down. Despite hardly ever leaving food on my plate having the biggest sweet tooth, even I wasn’t even able to finish the cake. That tells you all you need to know about the quality.
All the while our meal was going on, about 50% of the staff was hanging around the bar just two tables away from us. Our reservation was a later one (8pm), but it was clear that most of the staff was finished and just waiting for us to leave as there were probably only three tables still being waited on. They REALLY made it a welcoming atmosphere. They also messed up our order so maybe management could have put that staff to work.
I actually have plenty more to say, but I’ve wasted enough of my time and money on this restaurant. Good riddance.

This is a nice place, I’ve been interested in trying it out since we moved to the area. Came for Queen City Restaurant Week. The food was good: a quesadilla and a braised short rib for apps (they were great, actually — super strong start!), beef tenderloin and swordfish for entrees and chocolate mousse for dessert. The problem was in the description of the side dishes — I have a mild seafood allergy; nowhere in the description of my tomato risotto (that I was super excited to try) was there any indication of the shrimps and scallops that arrived on my plate. There was a mix-​up with our entrees (we were served someone else’s apps), and we received heartfelt apologies, though it took an inordinately long amount of time to receive our proper meal.
In sum: I plan to talk with management to discuss their descriptions, and will look forward to another opportunity to re-​review with a higher satisfaction rating.

The Prickly Pear is easily my favorite Mexican place to dine of all time. The food is great and the view of the lake is unmatched. I left off the fifth star because I have been disappointed in the margaritas. They taste great and seem to be popular enough but i suspect that there is not a great deal of alcohol in them. The lack of alcohol is not so much of a complaint as the fact that they are expensive. My friends and I typically get a pitcher or two and feel like were paying mostly for mixer. With that said it doesnt even matter, well keep coming back for the excellent food and watered down maragritas!

Not that good. 2 stars as I’d eat or drink here again if someone else was paying but about it.

Great place for a special occasion, food is excellent, only 4 stars because it is pricey.
Prickly Pear margarita is a must have as well as their Samgria. Can’t go wrong

Ate there last night, as always the Chicken Fajitas and Roasted Pineapple Margheritas were wonderful! !
The staff is always friendly and welcomes us every time. Has become a weekly visit for us

The absolute best Mexican food in the Charlotte /​Lake Norman area.
I moved to Charlotte from Texas a year ago and have tried many of the local Mexican food restaurants around the area. I had not found one that could serve a great meal like the authentic Mexican food restaurants in Texas until I found the Prickly Pear.
The food is perfectly prepared, they have a great selection of appetizers, entrees and a perfect drink menu to go along with the food.
The outside lakefront dining area is perfect for a romantic dinner or relaxing lunch.
There is plenty of parking and even though it is not inside Charlotte city limits, it is well worth the drive to enjoy a great Mexican food meal.

Came here on Sunday by boat. FYI if you want to come by boat to this restaurant or Eddie’s next door (formerly Vinnie’s), there are no docks so you anchor on a small beach.
Prickly Pear is in what uses to house an Italian restaurant. It has a nice patio and classy interior.
We started out with the queso dip ($ 7). It was a big let down. The chips are fried nicely butbthey are very thick. Then I had the shrimp street tacos and hubby had the chicken fajitas.
Portions are small which I don’t mind if the food is great. However mine was just so-​so and hubby said he would not order the fajitas again.
Draft beers $ 4. This is definitely not your typical mexican style restaurant so don’t expect that. They call it fusion food on their menu.
Highlight was our very nice waiter Andrew. Total for two for lunch with tip was just over $ 50. We will be back due to limited dining choices on the lake, but we didn’t feel we got our bang for our buck. Next time though we will try different entrees and skip the queso.