Avo Modern Mexican — Restaurant in Cleveland

The trendy street of W 25th in Ohio City near downtown embraces a modern Mexican restaurant that I love to visit. Avo hosts creative take on traditional culinary flavors. On my last date night there, we stepped inside the chill ambiance and enjoyed a fusion of contemporary and traditional charm. The staff is friendly, approachable, and attentive; taking care not to rush but still quick to deliver on food and drink.

On the delightful array of tasty menu items, the fresh guacamole offers are a must. While the Caca guac is a trustworthy and scrumptious go-to for me, the lively Goat Cheese guac is a mouthwatering innovation to those who want a special tang. If guac is not your thing, count on the blended cheeses of melted chihuahua, oaxaca, manchego, and asadero in their fundido (especially with chorizo) with lime salted corn chips to arouse your palate!

The chipotle quesadilla is a culinary adventure. Every bite of its flour shell, melted cheese, chorizo, chipotle crema, sautéed peppers and onions is a celebration of flavors, every bit as visually stunning as it is delectable; adding a spread of sour cream only has me craving more.

For dinners, the cocktails are an ideal complement of crafted concoction. The Emma, Get Me a Lemon, with its limoncello, vanilla vodka, simple syrup, lemon, marshmallow fluff, egg white, toasted meringue, and graham cracker has a lingering, almost savory style that leaves me surprisingly warm inside for a cold drink. The house margarita is nothing to shy away from though! The mi campo blanco, gran gala, housemade mix, and lime present a novel zest with relaxed familiarity. Add a house-made syrup (pistachio for the intrepid among you) for a stimulating enhancement...

We had date night tonight. We got here around 8:30 and only had to wait about 10 minutes. On a Friday, that's amazing. Our food was delicious and out very quickly. The restaurant was really clean, the bartenders were friendly and skilled, the servers were sweet and the hostess is a person I will hold dear in my heart for my life.

Here's my big thing about tonight: I'm a disabled Army veteran; I have severe PTSD. For some unknown reason tonight it got really intense as we were waiting, to the point I feared I'd throw up. I asked to use the bathroom and just kind of stood in there reading the signs and trying to ground myself and calm myself down, but my heart was in my throat and it wasn't working.

Now, I'm the queen of pretending to be fine in front of other people. So I was amazed when the hostess happened to pop in there, and instantly recognize what was going on. I don't know how she knew, but she did. She reassured me, went and got me a cup of ice water and explained how holding the cold to my wrists would help bring me back. She offered to stay with me until I felt better and gave me a hug. How many of us are lucky enough to meet a person that understanding and caring?

The panic passed and I got to sit with my husband at the bar and eat nachos that were out of this world, sip my ice water and feel like I could enjoy our date. Before she left her shift, she came to check on me and be sure I was alright before she went home.

This girl is exactly the kind of empathetic, caring, beauty the world needs. She's a light in the darkness and I can't thank her enough. I pray that every good and wonderful thing happens for her. I promise to...

What are all the stars for??? This place is all surface and no substance. It looks nice on the outside. It’s cute enough. They look like they’ve got some cute leather, upholstered chairs until you realize they were probably from world market. The leg on mine was loose. The food, other than the chips and guac (which was great), was absolutely disgusting. I ordered the Yum Yum shrimp taco, the traditional chicken taco, and the rice and beans. As I was trying to chew, all I could think was how atrocious it is for white folks to appropriate other cultures and cuisines and then to do a horrific job at that food. My beans I sent back because they were literally liquid. I guess these are supposed to be refried beans. They were cold and drippy and didn’t taste like beans at all. She brought me back out something that was identical, just a touch warmer. My friend ordered the same thing and she had a thick paste like normal refried beans, but hers were not tasty either. I can’t even describe the taste, but I refused to eat it. I finished my tacos only because I was hungry. I tried to eat the rice, but stopped after I tasted some grains that were hard and some that were wet and mushy. Tasted like they had just put paprika on it and brought it out. I felt like I was eating gross public school food. The Yum Yum shrimp had a hard crust around it instead of a nice tempura batter. The sauce tasted flat and sugary. The tortillas were stale. The chicken taco was passable, but I wasn’t impressed at all....