Reviews of Taqueria Mercado Cincinnati (Restaurant)

j smith

I rarely give 5 stars, but this place is close. Quick Service. Good Service from Randall as well.

Abby Miller

Very disappointed in the quality of our meals for the high prices we paid. Our chips and salsa and avacado slices was pretty much the only good part of our meals lmao Our rice was crunchy and hard, the meat was chewy and tough, and my shrimp was fishy tasting. Our waitress wasn't attentive either.

Alex Williams

Big fan of this place. First time here, and I would definitely go back. Great margaritas, and great food. I got the House Special, and it was the perfect amount of food (not to mention it was delicious!) Highly recommended.

Praveen Ramkumar

Good restaurant but they don’t serve free chips over here.

Todd Gessner

Veggie enchiladas were fantastic!

Joshua Sergent

Best chips and salsa in the city! Great food and the staff is always amazing.

Chana Martin

GET THE GUAC!!! The food here is awesome. Make sure to order some of the guacamole...it is the best I have had since visiting Mexico. You will be glad you did!

ethio nae nae

They have amazing foods.

Josh E

Literally the best tortilla chips I've had. The chicken mole was darn good too.

Phillip Gill

It took a while to make it to this place but it was an enjoyable experience. The food was quite good. I got their steak burrito, which was delicious. Be warned, the large burrito is definitely large and easily made two meals for me. The chips are freshly made and the salsa is good too. They have a pretty solid bar selectiom as well. Overall, this is a low key place that serves up some pretty good food.

Esther West

Delicious. Like my mom's amazing home cooking.

Kateri Svec

Best nachos I've ever had. Friendly staff, inexpensive and strong (but not overwhelmingly strong) margaritas as well as a full bar. Good vegetarian options

Alfredo Navas

Excellent authentic mexican food and service to match.

Melissa Alexander

It doesn't look like much on the outside but this restaurant is awesome!! Their chips...Boy their chips are the bomb. They have great vegetarian options that could easily be made vegan. THE FOOD IS SO GOOD

Bill Niece

Food didn't come out sizzling, and steak fajitas tasted burnt.

denise martin

Good Mexican food. Try their fajitas. Very good.

Brian Hamilton

3 for 3 on great nights after drinking margarita towers here. Not sure the food is 5 star but I don't care

David Miller

Great Tex-Mex!

Catherine Del Valle

Food was good. They were renovating and it was cold inside from it. Everytime front door opened a blast of cold air came in.

Renee Stark

My top location for delicious mexican food. Nice location to meet with family. Feels similar to a cafe in Chicago I loved.

James

Good food.

Chanae Brown

My fajitas were not great. The chips and salsa were good, but not good enough to pay for when most places provide complimentary chips and salsa. The service was great. It was just okay. I've definitely had better Mexican food.

mark thompson

Spacious dining doom with a full bar. Tacos were plump and tasty, service great.

Paul Zindrick

Our go to lunch spot, you could say that my co-workers and I are regulars. Great service, fast, and always well prepared and tasty good. And, now that the remodel is almost done, we have windows to look out of. Cheers!

Joseph Marc

Last time I had Mexican food this authentic and this great was in DF. Great place, people and food. Also, I admire their resilience as they keep the doors open and the quality at five stars while construction rages around them.

Maribeth Mincey

Friendly staff and great food. This is my go to Mexican downtown

Amy Hahn

Right across from the library downtown, this place offers quick, inexpensive Mexican food. Lunch for 2 was reasonably priced and food didn't take long coming out. Everything was yummy, but their homemade tortilla chips are the best I've ever tasted. Chips and salsa aren't free, but definitely worth the $2 cost.

Janet Crocker

Good food. Authentic Mexican.

Cristina Moran

I just found out about this place last Friday and I have already been twice. Took the kids then had to bring my husband back the very next day and he loved it as much as I did. It is beyond good. The margarita's are everything! Thank you Taqueria Mercado!

Brad Hast

Authentic Mexican food and casual environment. If your in downtown Cincinnati and looking for some good Mexican food .. then this is your place. Enjoy !

Dave B.

Friendly staff, good food. Great horchata, tamarundo and Pina.

Umbrella Pest Management

Great place even better food

Gail Krebbs

Very good food ,good atmosphere

Samer Alvarez

Pretty good service and quality food. They also have natural waters like horchata, tamarindo, Jamaica etc.

Dennis Ross

Enchiladas were great although they are not like what you would get at any other Mexican restaurant around here that I have ate at.

James Shelton

Randy great bartender, prices memorized and fair.

Lester Ward

Great service and food

doug dogg

Great food and service

Tricia Thatcher

I’ve read many of the reviews about this place and am surprised so many people thought the food was good and authentic. I will say that the chips and salsa were very good. My husband and I both ordered the chimichanga with shredded beef. The beef tasted like unseasonsoned steak-um. I ate some of mine, but my husband said his was literally inedible. The service was virtually non-existent. We were never offered drink refills, and were never asked if our food was ok. I was a server in a restaurant for over 10 years, so I am well aware that tipping is important. I have never tipped less than 15% in my life, and I usually tip 20%. Tonight, I tipped 10%, and I honestly thought that was too much. Super disappointed. We definitely won’t be back.

Juwana Hall

Great food. Drinks are on point.

Divvertago Risegru

If you are looking for a place to eat Mexican food and dont want to hesitate and do research, then Taqueria Mercado is the place to go. I have ate here 3 times and have enjoyed the food there every time. It is what one would expect to eat a Mexican restaurant. The plates themselves are big, you get more than what you pay for and leave with a full stomach so dont order too much! The only reason it does not receive a perfect score is because the quality of the food could be better. It seems that it barely meets the prerequisites of Mexican food and nothing more. The food could certainly be better in taste and I am Mexican so I should know what good Mexican food should taste like. The second reason it does not receive a 5 star rating is because of the atmosphere, there is nothing to make it seem Mexican besides the cuisine and music. It could have Mexican history or art to make it more presentable especially on the outside.

Kevin Wing

Excellent bus stop across the street. Google insists I review this place, since I've been there so often. They know that because of GPS tracking. I've never been in, but I've whiled away many happy hours, at the bus stop, across the street.

DeBorah Reed

Very Friendly & the Food is good too

Dravin Downey

Fast, fantastic, affordable, authentic, amazing Mexican food right in the heart of Cincinnati!

Martin Schickel

Excellent value. Delicious Marguerites and Fajitas!

Blanca Jenkins

Great chilaquiles, tortas, and tacos! Friendly servers in a relaxed environment tonight.

Hayley Rozman

Big let down, honestly. I'm a frequent Mexican foodie, and this place was weird. It was located on a corner with a ton of construction, so they didn't even have a restaurant name or street address out front. Weird vibes from the start. It felt like a family restaurant with cooks and management who know authentic Mexican food, with local college kid(?) servers. No biggie. So I ordered a classic lime margarita, blended, with sugar on the rim. I got a very poorly blended marg (with huge ice chunks) and salt instead. Alright, no problem. Then I got the food. 2 enchiladas that came out looking like flattened tacos with some sauce. One chicken (delicious) and one barbacoa (a little on the fatty side). They were pretty good. The rice was excellent. And then I found a fairly large PEBBLE in my re-fried beans, maybe half the size of a pencil eraser. I bit down while eating and it broke in half. Honestly, I'm just so glad I didn't crack a tooth. The waitress (Katie) was very sweet and apologetic. Immediately called over the manager, Victor. Instead of just discounting the food or doing literally anything else to make it better, he went on a 2 minute long rant about how stones can be found in beans and it's human error when they get missed, "but it happens." And that if it would have cracked my tooth, they have insurance for that. It was honestly the weirdest (and also most awful) customer service I have probably ever had. I won't return (even though Katie was so sweet and said she hopes I'll give them another try--what a great employee!!) PS definitely not a $ in terms of cost. More like $$. Chips and salsa is $2.50. Lunch plates are around $10. Margaritas $8. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TLDR; bit down on a literal pebble in my beans and the manager (Victor) said "it happens" and they have insurance if it would've broken my tooth.

Thomas Breen

Great off the path mexican. Look at their tequila selection.

Chuck Hall

Authentic Mexican food with table service. Lunch specials and a bar.

Bret Lonaker

It's my favorite Mexican food. Cheese casadilla is really good

Calandra Davis

We are from Cleveland we have fallen in love with this place we came here last year and found this place and we came back this year and was NOT disappointed. The food and drinks are the BOMB I can't wait to come back hopefully soon.

Tim Bennett

Great food. Awesome chips and salsa. Friendly service. Authentic too.

VJ

This was a chance find for us and we loved it. The food is reasonably priced for the location this is in and the quantities are generous. The ambience is also great with plenty of food and drink options to choose from. Overall, much recommended.

Jay The Happy Chef woosley

Good place to meet after work. Great price's. I'll be back

Srikean Solutions

Quick service, good food

Rebecca Pena

Barbacoa by the pound! Ennough said. This authentic little treat can only be found here and if you've had the real thing you Know that it's a prized delicacy that's very hard to find North of Houston.The salsa Verde is perfect and the prices are decent. The service here is ALWAYS very good and if you're looking for GREAT MEXICAN FOOD, then look no further than this little downtown gem.

Sean Carter

Absolutely the best Mexican food around

Christian Downing

Excellent food at amazing prices, some of the best tortilla chips and salsa around.

Jazz Rockur

Very watery queso and spinach dip was an absolute joke. Appeared to be the same water(cheese dip) with minced green powder in it. Couldn't tell if it was really spinach. That's just the appetizers. I'll never go back. It was a complete waste of money.

Tim Tindall

Been some time since I last visited the place so decided to pop in and give it a go. Its Taco Tuesday after all. Go to the bar, short wait before service, no big deal. Ordered the soup and two tacos, a chicken and a pork. The soup was tasty but could use more seasoning, much like the tacos. These might've been the blandest tacos I had in Cincinnati. No individuality, no distinct flavor. Sad. And the cherry on top, I get my check and being it had been about a year since my last visit, I forget that you pay at the checkout podium in the front, just like she forgot to tell me this. I'm sitting at the bar waiting with my card on the receipt, 15 minutes while the staff is just talking. Theres only 3 patrons there. She didnt check back in on me or anything. I thought about getting chips and queso to go but both the fact the food was so unseasoned and the service was getting worse by the minute, I changed my mind. Save your time, save your money.

Rohit Singh

Good food. The place is always packed during lunch hour, but is worth the wait. I usually order the lunch combo of chicken burrito which comes with a side of fried beans and rice. Along with it i ask for my favorite jarritos to drink. The service is excellent. A must try place if you in dowtown Cincinnati

Patrick Carlotti

Fantastic food! Just be aware that it is usually crowded and they don't take reservations. Update: Apparently they take reservations for large parties. I have never been there with more than 4 people. Sorry guys :)

Carolyn Doyle

This place has delicious food. Chips and salsa are not free but totally worth it. Great lunch deals.

Anita Conner

Food is AMAZING and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend this place for authentic Mexican food.

Dane Wilson

Decent Latino inspired cuisine. I had the beef taco's (bland) and a cheese quesadilla with Jalapeños (very good). Salsa and chips needed salt. Good beer selection.

Susan

Good authentic Mexican food. Friendly staff and great margaritas

Larry Charles

Good food but right in flight path...

Toni Holm

Excellent food and wonderful service. We had a large group of friends that grew from a predicted reservation for 12 to almost 20. The restaurant handled the situation very quickly and nicely. Everyone loved the food (Sopa pollo!) and drinks. Our waiter, Adam, dealt with the crowd (who several time changed seats to talk with one another) with grace, humor and excellent memory! I've rarely had a dinner so good or so well served even in the fanciest restaurant. Thanks for helping our group have such a good meal and good time together. Highly recommened for groups or just an excellent meal.

Sarah Rich

Food is amazing the staff is great and you can’t beat the happy hour!!!! A must try

Julie Franks-Henry

Love this place! Never disappointed. The nachos are excellent, enchiladas are lovely, and the chips and salsa are delicious!

Denise K

Good place to try. Location is good, close many other bars and businesses . Chips and salsa was great. We ordered the steak fajitas for two, they were really good and it's a lot! More like fajitas for four lol. Lots of seating but can still get crowded. Extensive selection of tequila and many other drinks, lots to try. Truly recommend.

David Beeson

Good food and okay service

Jon Brockman

Great food, atmosphere could

Mariana

Food was ok but service was super slow.

Susan J Bonno-Buckner

Good Mexican spicy..best chips and salsa..but need to pay extra for them. Happy hour if your interested.

j moss

one of my favorite mexican restaurants in my opinion

Al Bryant

The food was good and messy, the best kind of food. We had Pork Seasoned Tacos and Choriqueso which was freaking awesome. Don't eat for lunch if you plan to do any work afterwards. Felt like falling asleep. Would definitely recommend.

A Macleod

So, food is good but oh my those margaritas. I had the Taqueria Special...but oh wow those margaritas. A little annoying that chips and salsa are a separate charge...but damn, those margaritas. Service was excellent and while I'm on the subject can I tell you about those margaritas....damn people! So, to conclude...food = good BUT dahhhhhhmn...those margaritas.

Willy Wolf

Give this place a try - will not be disappointed...

Omar Navarro

Visited the place And órdered takeout as well. I would stay clear from the chimichanga if ordering takeout, but the tacos, aztec soup are rather tasty. Horchata is surprisingly good for the States. Aah, the busboy was kind enough to speak spanish to us, but the female waiter (leyes call her esmeralda), clearly of latín ascent, would ignore us when speaking spanish. Not too polite.

Becca Ann

The food was absolutely disgusting. The chimichanga was soaking in a puddle of grease. The beans were watery and tasteless. The rice was dry. The quesadillas were alright, could've been more filling.

Ian Meitzen

It was good and busy. The food was relatively quick even though tjey hadcevery table full. They are in the proces of remodeling.

Sharon Morris

ALWAYS great!

Twanna Howard

Didn't care for it... I will stick to my Mexican restaurant El jinete for the margaritas

Dan Merhar

Great little spot. Usually go here for their lunch special which is hard to beat. Their margaritas are on point too. Great place for large parties as well.

David Richardson

Good food and service. Large selection of alcohol. Not a place for a quite meal.

mark whited

Good food, good value

Satish online

Good food

Alpesh Pandya

Probably the best maxican food in downtown. Tasted authentic and yummy. Their salsas, guacamole and sauces were amazing.

Lynda Kelley

Good food, not great service. Asked to get the channel changed to the game and was told it wasn't a priority. Oof. No bueno words to use to anyone, let alone a paying customer.

Ryan Croft

Amazing Mexican food and great service!

Ralph O'Hair Jr

The food had good flavor. Got the lunch chicken fajitas. Shockingly, it does not come with toppings such as lettuce tomatoes, sour cream,, cheese, etc. Also, be aware that if you would like chips and salsa, it will cost you $2.

Darcy Ryane

Best margaritas! Trulia fantic Mexican food an absolute must try. Definitely get the chips and salsa turn on both housemaid and unique! Highly recommended!

Jacob Linkugel

Great food, pretty atmosphere

Sanassa Diane

I placed a pickup order at 7:21 so at like 7:26, the kitchen should have gotten the order. The person on the phone told me 15 minutes. I gave them 25 minutes just Incase because I only have a 30-minute lunch break to drive there pick it up and eat, I know I know that’s a lot, but they’re only like 4 mins away I got there at 7:52, as you can see on my receipt. Alex, the “ Assistant manager,” was not friendly at all. Not only was he not nice, but he was not apologetic to the fact that i had to wait for an additional almost 10 mins for my food to come out after they visibly rushed my order out to me. Someone who I believe was The manager did offer me chips and salsa, but I had no time for them to give it to me and no time to eat it. I normally wouldn’t care but I only had 30 minutes for lunch and was misinformed over the phone, I would have waited to take my break if I knew they were going to do this. I literally had to eat my enchiladas and drive at the same time. Overall the food was good, Portions were small and everything was overshadowed by Alex and his “ I don’t care attitude”. and the fact that there were not punctual.

Mirna Feghali

Best authentic Mexican in the city

Edward Scott

Just Wow! Excellent Mexican food with not long of a wait.

Bryana robinson

Ridiculously good food . Wow .

Jasmine Jewell

I finally found my favorite Mexican restaurant! This is the most authentic food that I have found since moving to Cincinnati! I have been to plenty of other Mexican restaurants and something I noticed that was different with this one is that when I ordered my food, it actually took time! It wasn’t miraculously done and in front of me in four minutes. The chips and salsa was delicious and so was my entree. I was speechless... the steak was so flavorful and well cooked. I will be returning! Love love love

Allie O'Brien

Truly authentic from the decor to the food! You can’t go wrong with any item on the menu. Any of the fajita plates come with large servings which are perfect to share. They also serve the best margarita in cincy!!

Mike Kay

So good! My new favorite Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately it's 382 miles from my home. Rich, bold flavors. Spicy and yummy. Great service as well.

Abby Alexander

They have lovely staff and the history of the restaurants is really cool. The fajita style taco salad is the bomb

Joe Kearns

Food is almost second to none.. Very excellent. With price point averaged in, it's better than any in the city. Margaritas are the best around. Staff is friendly, knowledge, and helpful.

Senthil Kumar

We arrived during a busy Friday lunch time. It was crowded. We ordered and had to wait for 20 min to get our food. The food was delicious , felt fresh and worth it. Service was good too.

Torria Beasley

The food is amazing! The food is pretty authentic. The server wasn’t very attentive and this is the only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars. However, I will definitely go back again!

Diane O'Gara

Great Mexican food, cocktails, and staff. Highly recommend!

Frank Solomon

It was Ok, Price was Great Food was Great But Getting The Order Was Not.

Juanita Guilford

Best service , excellent adult BEVERAGES, right in front of Metro stop

Susie Forward

Fun place, great food. Randall was the best! He made our day!

Michael Nestlehut

Good food. Not a fan of the chips and salsa prices. We had four baskets on our table and we ended up paying around $8 total. Seems way excessive. That all being said to have FROZEN margaritas which is way harder to find downtown than it should be and they were pretty solid.

J Reilly

Best (only?) Mexican food downtown. I always get the chimichanga. First I always ask what a chimichanga is. Just in case it's changed. It never changes. Friendly atmosphere and it's never too crowded, which is odd considering how good the food is.

Bret L

Best chicken fajitas I've ever had. Same goes for the loaded nachos.

David Phillips

The food was good and it came out quickly. Quesadilla looked like a taco, but maybe that's what authentic Mexican food looks like. The taco salad was good with lots of shredded chicken. 4 stars because the flavor was good, but not excellent, there was construction going on and the chairs seemed old and not very sturdy. Price was good. Lunch for two just over $20.

Zachary Bradford

Really good Mexican food and great margaritas. Pricing is halfway decent, but you'll spend a bit less at your normal Mexican chain restaurant

Kimberly Laycock

Chips and Salsa were incredible. The enviornment was kinda just odd to me, I didn't really enjoy the feel there. My friend ordered and I said I'll have the same however they brought out two DIFFERENT dishes. When I made him aware, he didn't believe me at first but reluctantly took the dish back. When he brought my friend back his dish it was the same, wrong thing just with Chipotle sauce added. So my friend did not like mushrooms but still got them on his dish. Overall underwhelming experience, won't be back.

Avery Leslie

Lots of food, flavor and personality is so so

Grayson Zhang

Great food, fast service, and yes, the happy hour. We usually go with the Steak Ranchero or house special. We always say we're going to try something new but those 2 dishes are so good we're not able to move on quite just yet. Corn tortillas over flour, def.

Mark Rinaudo

Good drinks and chips. Nice views!

Kenn Woods

The staff was fun, courteous and helpful. The food was amazing!

Misty May

Not bad. Not enough jalapenos though:)

Brittany Sofer

Wonderful food will be back soon

Thadd Fiala

Good Mexican food that's a little on the pricey side. And you have to pay for chips and salsa.

stephen miller

Wonderful wonderful wonderful. Absolutely loved it delicious food and wonderful service

Ria Matlib

It's one of the best Mexican restaurants in town! It's not really that superior, it's just a no frills, futbol on TV type joint. Even when it's crowded, the food came before I could enjoy the chips and salsa! They used to serve goat/birria on the weekends. I happened upon it today! Asked the owner to bring it back more often. A great spot for downtown.

Conor Hackett

Never get disappointed due to food. I found this place on Google and after reading the reviews I visited here. Food was very good and staff was proficient and friendly.

Dustin Ingram

I had a great experience and fantastic tacos. The server gave great suggestions, which turned out to be the best decisions. All of the food was tasty and the drink specials were really good as well. I love when the chips are made in house with how flaky and crispy they are!

Anita Ingram

My husband and I had dinner here for the first time. Good food and service was average. The quesadilla with chicken was very good and my husband enjoyed his taco plate. The spinach dip was bland and not thick like I expected. Wouldn’t order that again. I liked the salsa.

Stephen Zeek

Have not been to this location for several years and loved it then, but seems both quality of food and service has slipped over the years. Cannot recommend over other Mexican places nearby at similar price points.

Joeye Smith

Best chips and salsa ever. Food always hot and fresh ingredients. Absolutely delicious

Gideon Smith

Undergoing renovations currently, but the food was astounding

Lisa Blaney

We love this place. Great food. There is nothing on the menu I do not like.

Dan McEntush

This place is the real deal! Great food with lots of flavor. The chips are even top notch.

Tyler J

The mole sauce was delicious. The portions are massive and I highly recommend bringing a friend because you might need some help finishing.

Greg Pond

Hand-made chips and salsa, and excellent margaritas. Friendly service!

Devon Balboa

Clean hot very fast and good service

lisa hall

I order thru grubhub. I've ordered several times. The last time my food arrived warm at best. Today, not only was my food cold, but the delivery time stated between 1pm and 1:10 PM. I went to the lobby at 1pm. No one had showed up at 20 after. I text and at 123 someone text back stating they would be here between 120 and 130. I waited a 1/2 hour on food. The delivery guy blamed you, stating the food was not ready. Honestly I don't care who's fault it was. The fact is, I paid $27 for food that's cold and was taken away from my job for a half hour! I will not order from you again, nor will I be using grubhub!