Address: 35-43 Albert Road, Colne, BB8 0BU.

Phone number: 01282 864 964.

Review from the Lancashire Telegraph on November 18, 2010

PREVIOUSLY known as Cactus Bob’s Tex Mex Cantina, the popular Colne restaurant has been re-born and come back as Hooties.

Subtle differences let you know that the Mexican is now in new hands.

The same family friendly party atmosphere is alive and kicking, but a new bar area has been added for people to pop in and sample one of their tempting cocktails.

There have also been slight variations to the menu, including a build your own burger section but there are still the usual range of fajitas and enchiladas.

A weekday offer has been added for two courses for £10 from a selected menu and from Monday to Thursday cocktails are half price.

After much deliberation I opted for nachos to start while my dining partner had garlic mushrooms for £4.45 each.

The portion sizes were almost overbearing but fantastic value for money and were brimming with flavour.

For mains I had Jerk chicken accompanied with rice and salad for £10.95 and my partner had a 12oz rib eye steak with hand cut chips and salad for £14.95.

Again the portions were very large, but although my food was nice I felt it was lacking some flavour and I found it became very samey.

My dining partner was impressed with his steak which was cooked to perfection, though the chips could have been slightly more crisp.

All round, Hooties gave an enjoyable dining experience, offering great value for money and service.

Review for lancashiretelegraph.co.uk by Kimberley Hall on November 18, 2010

Returning from holiday to a cold and wintry Blighty, four of us decided an evening trip to Mexico would help us continue the holiday spirit.

Formerly Cactus Bob's, Hooties had a bit of a reputation to live up to, as half our party had enjoyed meals there in the past.

We were seated next to the bar in the half-full restaurant, unusual for a Saturday night, but unperturbed, the boys' eyes soon lit up when they noticed a bucket of 6 bottles of Sol for £9.

With our eyes greedier than our bellies, we ordered nachos to share between two as well as nachos for one and meatballs.

In-between courses we were also offered a taste of a couple of the cocktails on the menu. The shot-sized tasters went down well with all of us and was a lovely touch.

We all would have been happy to have a cocktail, pay the bill and be on our merry way at this point, such were the more than plentiful portion sizes.

Unfortunately we had all order main courses as well.

Two lots of chicken fajitas, one chicken and chorizo salad and jerk chicken skewers filled the generous-sized round table we were sat at, and I’m sure we all felt like we were taking part in a Man v Food-style challenge.

The food tasted great, but we all struggled to make it look like we’d eaten more than we’d left.

Needless to say we couldn’t even consider a dessert. We did all manage a cocktail though; 3 mojitos and a margarita between us which were very good indeed.

The bill came as we wondered how much this evening of indulgence was going to set us back. It came to just shy of £25 ahead including drinks all evening and the cocktails.

I would put it slightly ahead of that well-known Mexican chain on price and quality of food.

My only advice to the Hooties people is: Don’t overface your customers quite so much. And keep up the free drinks!

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