Gomez Salsa OTR — Restaurant in Cincinnati

Vibrant flavor at a reasonable price with a disappointing hygiene.

Came in on the reds opening day after this place was recommended by a close friend.

Apparently their very own “Turtles” were the item in the menu to order so we ordered two.

One in baja style and one in Diablo style which is one of their items with the most heat 🔥

When i walked in, i was a bit confused due to the fact that no one is at the front door to greet or direct you and for a first timer like me— it was baffling.

The concept is like a fast food restaurant in which you order off a standardized menu on a board behind the counter and can make requests to add or remove a specific element off each style.

The food did take a while to come out. I assume it was because of the time closer to closing time. I was told by one of my friends that this place started as a take out restaurant only in which people would order through the small window on the side of the building which is still there!

It started as a late night meal take out and eventually they rented the rest of the space and were finally able to open a dine in area.

The ambiance was the unpleasant part of the experience and was definitely concerning.

All the tables were dirty and had crumbs from the previous customers, there was no safe place. On a very slow night like this one, i would expect a more hygienic environment or at least an attempt to accommodate new customers to sit and enjoy their meal on a clean space.

Also, one of the cooks came out of the kitchen with no gloves nor hair knit to take the trash.

Huge red flag for me.

The sanitation was the biggest downfall; nonetheless, the food was delightful, vibrant, and unique to their style.

The turtles were crunchy packed with flavor and the tortilla which felt more like a pita or gyro was a great portion size considering it was 12$—-not a bad deal.

The real kick was brought by the diablo style turtle which had me breathing heavily and making several trips to the self serve water station. It was vibrant, flavor packed, fresh and bold which is very characteristic of a mexican style restaurant.

So spicy that it made me reconsider using their restroom. I know it must be a real concern for the maintenance guy there!

I recommend getting their spicy crema sauce which settles down the heat and also adds a little kick to your meal. 2 in one which is like magic.

All in all, i would come back to order take out but due to their unsanitary conditions, i wouldn’t eat at the restaurant again.

Would recommend with...

Best Habanero Sauce in the City.. I work at Aladdin's and we trade lunch with Gomez I'm vegan so the woman who took our phone order was able to have the cook make me a vegan burrito with lots of Guacamole and black beans she was surprised with the request and asked our order taker Raj is that all I wanted no rice no cheese no lettuce.. and it was so good.. the Habanero sauce is that Work!!! It is pure Habaneros lightly seasoned you can see the pepper flakes and a little salt. The other day I went and bought 3 large cups of it for $2 each $6 total. When I ordered the cashier was surprised and asked me For real? I was like yes I love habanero sauce and that's all I ordered. I'm currently on a 30 day fruit cleanse and detox.. but on day 31 I'm going back for more Habanero salsa and a vegan burrito.. Glad Gomez exists not too many authentic Tacos and burrito spots in ITR but Gomez is great! They offer full service bar and dining area. Great taco burrito and...

I placed an online pickup order for dinner. It was what I wanted and I forgot to stop before I left downtown after work. Got there and was ignored at the pickup window. Someone finally pointed out to the guy at the window that I was standing there. Yeah…so I give him my name and he says “we just called your name”. Sure. I get all the way home and my order is WRONG. There’s some beef and jalapeños. Not what I ordered as I don’t eat red meat. I wasn’t driving back downtown because it’s late at this point. Throw the food away because it’s inedible. Wait the next day to call, no answer and the voice mail is full. Send an email. Crickets. They’ll never get another dollar out of me and I’ll discourage anyone else from going again. They used to be good. They’re horrible now. Don’t waste your...