Cazuelas Gateway OSU — Restaurant in Columbus

Wow, this place is all kinds of awful! Bathrooms so dirty they deserve a visit from the health department, the inside of the restaurant was nearly as cold as the outside, and despite it being too early for the dinner rush the service was terrible, and the food was not great either.

I saw some other patrons drinking big drinks and I assume they may be too intoxicated to notice the mediocre food. We asked for iced tea and discovered they do not have it, ever. I got a water, my friends got soft drinks, and the soft drink orders were mixed up. Our friend ordered a steak dinner and asked for a sharp knife to help with his tough and stringy steak entree, after 4 requests, the last from me making a fuss, we were told there were no sharp knives to give him. Really, serving a steak meal with no sharp knife? We also had to ask 3 times for more napkins, as the waiter that took our order did not serve the food, and the other servers did not appear to understand us, or care! So we finally got the napkins but the soft drinks were not remedied until the meal was nearly over, I assume they were hoping we would give up.

As for the food, the chips were not even warm, the salsa and other food was OK not great for the price and value. I got the Tres Marias, it came with little but rice and some sour cream. I ordered a large guacamole, this was about $14 as a small was $7. None was provided with the meal for free. My husband got another enchilada meal, it was OK. Trying to keep fighting to remedy the mistakes or get drinks refilled was unpleasant, especially as the place was unusually loud with no music playing at the time. The whole inside is like a big barn with no privacy or atmosphere and you had to almost shout or flag someone down to get attention despite wait staff asking if things were OK, they ignored our requests or did not understand us.

Then you go to the restroom and ew! Visibly dirty and graffiti everywhere. It literally says on the door "Enjoy having a poop" or something almost as eloquent.

We had to use our phones to get to the menus, and our orders were entered into handsets. When it was time to pay, I signed without entering a tip and the waiter had the nerve to point to the tip line and suggest I add one. I normally tip well but these servers did not deserve much, I put in 20% but regret it, with all the problems we had 5% would have been more appropriate. As it was with two meals at $15 and one soft drink, plus the overpriced guacamole and refried beans, our total was almost $60 and that was with no alcohol! Oh, and there is a 3% credit card fee, icing on the cake. We would have paid cash if we had known ahead of time.

I wish I had checked reviews before setting foot in here, as I would have known to avoid. There are so many good Mexican restaurants in this town, this is not one of them. To borrow an old saying "Just Say No" and find a better restaurant that deserves your...

TLDR; Food is great. Prices are a little high but worth it. Great for families, friends, alone or a simple date. Definitely visit.

Cazuelas borders on a lot of different atmospheres. It has an outdoor seating area, a bar seating area, group booths or even booths usable for dates. It's interior isn't overly brightly lit, but does have multiple television screens running. The outside tables have strung up lighting giving you just enough to see your meals.

Personally, I'd say this is good for a group outing, a family meal or a date. Or even a seat at the bar for some appetisers at the end of a long day at work.

The staff is extremely friendly. They're most happy to accommodate requests and just have a talk with you to help decide. Happy hour deals are good, I can't say fantastic but the items were worth the cost nonetheless.

We were seated near instantly (but wait times are possible) and our waitress checked up on us multiple times, gave us great recommendations and overall ensured that us and all other tables weren't lacking for anything.

The restaurant offers free chips and salsa and refills through your visit. Something our waitress ensured we had plenty of. This opens the place up to a great spot for appetisers during game nights.

Onto the most important then, food. Cazuelas is a Tex-Mex based outlet. It's menu can cater to multiple portion sizes, ages and dietary preferences. It can accommodate vegetarians too, which is a huge plus. And not just with a few limited options. Whilst the per dish cost could be considered on the higher size, the portion sizes easily make up for it. And the prices scale by the portion size. They are served piping hot at your table and you wish you could eat faster to keep them from cooling off. Recommendations: the big mama chimmichanga, the do it yourself quesadilla or burrito.

Drinks are made good and strong here. Drink sizes are good and happy hour pricing is fair. Recommendation: the blended guava margarita.

WARNING: stay away from the challenge burrito. It is not worth the intestinal pain. Not even as a one time thing. It honestly tasted like heat and absolutely...

I ordered advanced through Grubhub pickup, the hospitality and management was atrocious. I went to pick up my order and when I arrived there was a line out the door. This was not surprising due to social distancing, however, this was due to the patrons not the business policy. I walk in and there are about 30 people in the restaurant all gather together some with or without mask. The staff had plenty of orders ready to go, but had to be told by other patrons to call out orders. The bartender had a mask, but around his chin, making it, well useless. None of the other workers had mask, which breaks the policy set forth by Ohio. They were understaffed, and on one of the busiest days for a Mexican restaurant, cinco de mayo. Other patrons were waiting hours, I had a to wait an hour while others had to wait 2 or 3. I tried my best to separate myself from the people, and if I am being honest I would have left if I did not already pay for the food and have no way of cancelling or getting a refund. I finally got my order, and rushed out of there, only to find out my order was wrong. I understand these are trying times and quite frankly if I have to wait longer that is fine. What is not acceptable, is a complete lack of care for the customers well being and failure to comply with state policies. I left the restaurant feeling unsafe for myself and the other patrons of the restaurant, as well as all people who have had their food picked up for them, because it only takes one person. One last note, I wrote this review because this restaurant has failed even when there was not a pandemic. Every time I have been there (not by my choice) they mess up my or my friends orders, take forever to even take them and seem to not care about their customers. They need to learn to manage. There were two people who worked hard, the young man running the floor and the young women who took charge of the orders, thank you for...