Django Western Taco

So sad that Django has gone downhill so quickly. I really hope the new owners will return it to its previous glory. This used to be the BEST place for tacos, chips, and the beloved chorizo queso. The new menu offerings are horrible and just arent what used to be working so wonderfully. The cowboy chili with the bacon jalapeño cornbread has been replaced with a seafood stew. Those two are in NO way comparable.
Service has taken a nosedive as well. Many servers in the place and taking 15 minutes plus to be greeted and now charging for chips and salsa.
So sad…

Horrible service, under staffed, took 30 min to get chips and salsa. Never again. Don’t waste your time

I was sooooo excited to return to Djano Western Taco for my birthday dinner. I also had talked it up to my boyfriend who was comin along. It was a Sunday night around 7. Not very busy, maybe around 4 tables were seated. We were taken to out to our table right away, but unfortunately sat there for approximately 15 minutes before we were acknowledged. No water, chips etc… When we were given the menu I asked if this a special Sunday menu bc none of my favorite fresh items were on it. I was told this is a new menu (later finding out new menu and owner). The menu was very limited, with several items being fried. Fried chicken tacos? Fried shrimp? Where’s the fresh fish? The delicious salmon dish I loved? Service was extremely slow. There was a gentleman who came over a few times to apologize for the long waits, but I really couldn’t see why it was slow being the resturant was not busy at all. Waiting for refills, another drink. Having to wave someone down to ask for more water. The classic margarita was very small, lots of ice and cost $ 6.50 The restaurant was not clean and felt messy, not the cool eclectic vibe it had once before.
The highlight of the meal was the guacamole, but as much as I love guacamole it is not enough to make me venture back to Django Western Taco. Which makes this girl very sad:(

Walking in, I was excited to visit Django Western Taco’s; friends had made the recommendation before and many people on Unilocal had positive things to say about their experiences here. On Friday, however, I found out that the direction of this restaurant has made a turn for the worst.
Deciding to arrive early to sip on margaritas, my boyfriend and I got there around 6PM on Friday. The place was decently busy and we were immediately sat towards the back. We then ordered a pitcher of the classic margarita and chips and salsa, two standards of any Mexican restaurant. The margarita, however, was anything but classic. Either the margarita mix or orange liqueur flavoring had gone bad, and our margaritas smelled and tasted like left out bananas. Furthermore, the salsa appeared to be a green verde salsa — judging from its lime green appearance. Normally, this is not the spiciest salsa option out there, so we were not expecting much, but upon trying it with their stale, cold chips, we found that the salsa was actually tasteless. So much so, we had to dump the plastic bottle of «hot sauce» they gave us before each bite, but that still did nothing to enhance the flavor. It was a horribly dissatisfying way to start the evening.
After our two friends arrived, and we confirmed our initial opinions after giving them the chance to try everything, we decided to leave. We had lost all hope that any kind of dinner would be enjoyable there and wanted to put our money towards food we would enjoy. That being said, the entire experience ran up a $ 30 tab, an amount I thought was excessively high for the lack of quality in their food.
Scrolling through Django’s Facebook feed, one can see that in November/​December 2015, there was a change in management/​ownership. From this experience, I can only assume that with this leadership change came with a ‘new direction’ that has caused the less than appeasing experience we had. Future customers: check the date of each review on Unilocal!I think anything posted after December 2015 will be more reflective of the current state of the restaurant.

When you say «20 minute wait» and you really mean 2 hours … Please do your potential customers a favor and be honest. After ordering a horrible drink in the back bar (that’s impossible to get to & impossible to wait in) while suffering our wait for a table — we found out a couple near us had been waiting nearly 2 hours (after being told 10 minutes initially). 40 minutes in, waiter service was so bad, tables weren’t being turned around … We asked how much longer and were told 20 minutes (???). So we decided to leave (after a total of 50 minutes in the building; as did the prior-​mentioned couple after a near 2-​hours). The manager refunded my undrinkable bar drink (but not the whole 2-​drink bar tab, plus tip) … our payment to park, and hour of our lives meant nothing as we were not even given the slightest attempt at «making right» or convincing us to try again on another night. We use to come here all the time. I really don’t know what happened lately. Eek!!!

Disappointed in my trip to Django Western Taco. My friend had been here a few months ago and said it was a decent taco spot. We didn’t know, however, that management has switched over and that is definitely not a positive.
The classic margarita had a strange banana flavor that was unpleasant, unadvertised and unexpected. We got chips and salsa – the salsa had virtually no flavor and was very watery.
We were so unenthused by the menu selections that we paid for drinks and chips and left. There are much more favorable establishments in Northside to find dinner!

Django used to be my favorite place to get tacos in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, I think the owner or the chef has changed in the past couple months and it’s a completely different experience. The chips are consistently stale and unseasoned. The meat is dry and flavorless. Margaritas have gone down hill. The portion size decreased while the prices increased. I could be missing the mark when it comes to a changing staff but what matters is the food. The food isn’t worth it anymore and it pains me that we won’t be back.

So I used to be a big fan… but the last time I went I was dissapointed. The menu has changed, they charge for chips and salsa. and even salsa. I asked for some salsa for my tacos last time and they wouldnt give it to me. I was wondering what changed and now I learn it changed management or something. I may give it one more shot but a word to the new management is you better make the experience what it was and stop trying to nickle and dime people or you will be wondering what happened.

Oh, Django. I want to rate you higher, but every time I show up I am more and more disappointed.
The service has always been hipster chic. As in, where is my server? But, at least before it was after they had left you complimentary chips. Now, you get to pay 3 dollars for those bad boys.
The salsa is terrible. Two bland options-​green or red-​and pretty indiscernible in the taste category.
I have eaten the veggie tacos, which are fine, but again, nothing to write home about. But the Chili Rellenos is what I found to be the saving grace of this joint. It was flavorful, ample in portion size, and cooked to perfection.
Until my most recent visit. Either someone changed the recipe, or someone fell asleep at the oven, either way, it was a total disappointment in taste, texture, and portion.
I am seeing on other reviews that they are under new management, and it seems to be, overall, a disappointing change. I hope Django finds its stride soon. I, myself, won’t return until I hear some more positive reviews about it.

New owners and has gone down hill very quick. My friends and I have frequented this place for years and have always loved it.
New owner has changed the menu and inflated the prices. Which isn’t that big of a deal, I get business. But the service at my last visit was absolutely terrible.
It took at least 5 – 10 minutes after we were seated for our server to greet us, give us menus and take our drink order. This place was absolutely not at all busy.
Every drink took very long to get. And that doesn’t count the two that were completely forgotten and we had to remind someone to bring after a very long wait.
And by someone I mean we had no idea who our server was.
Apparently she had to leave in the middle of waiting on us, which I get. But the server who «took over» her tables never stopped by to inform us of the situation or check on us. Very disappointing, as my friends and I have loved this place for years. I was able to put up with the menu change but that was the absolute worse service I have ever received at any restaurant in my life. Will not go again.

The first time I went to Django my wife and I really enjoyed it. The second time we went was a complete disaster. My wife called to ask if they were open for business the Saturday before Christmas and they said they were. When we got there they were completely closed to the public. After a back a forth with the on-​hand staff it became very clear that there is no communications between the staff there.

So, i will start off by saying i am not a massive taco fan.
With that said, it was decent. Nice beer selection. Margarita, per my friends perspective was not that great. Got the Django Gauc, it was good! We each got tacos, they were decent. Kinda boring to be honest. The brisket ones where just brisket and some sauce. The pork only had some pineapple.
Thats just my opinion, i guess i am more of a burger or pizza guy.
Oh, floor was super slippery!

Django used to be my favorite restaurant! However, not one of the new management changes have been for the better — charging for chips, replacing appetizers, no single tacos, and (personal preference only here) the AWFUL interior color changes.
It’s disappointing because this is only a block from my house. Keeping at two stars because of the service and margaritas.

Experienced foodie review:
I could not wait to get to Django for a stone bowl. However, as with all new owners they have to put their stamp on the menu. This place will not survive another year. The new owner will discount the success of other people’s ideas to satisfy his own ego. Finally will be able to try all the other new places instead of blindly going to Djangos.

Given the other reviews and the great photos other Unilocalers have posted, our first visit to Django came with high expectations. Unfortunately my high expectations just gave them further to fall. We were greeted after several minutes of standing there; which was the service pattern for our Sunday lunch, a lot waiting. It took quite some time for our waitress to get to our table to take our order, to refill our drinks, and to deliver our check. In the meantime we had the chips and salsas. The salsas didn’t have much variance in what little flavor each of them had. Our tacos were plated nicely, but the taste was underwhelming. Our party of 3 all left unimpressed and hungry. Given the many taco options in the area I wouldn’t come back to this one.

I really like this Django. For one, it is very close to my house, but that does not really help you– unless you are looking to move.
I suggest you try it out, but I have some suggestions. I strongly recommend eating outside on a nice day– or not so nice day. The inside, while nicely decorated, is just too smoky.
The patio is just lovely. They have the tables spread out so it is much more cozy.
The vegetarian options are very good. They have two salsas for your chips, the smokey red sauce is amazing. For dinner I had the stuffed pepper with an egg on top. It was very good.
We had a very charming server who suggested some good local draft beers.
The deserts I’ve had are also very good.
One finally suggestion, if you must use the restroom, beware– the paintings of diaper clad devil babies hanging over the toilets will haunt your dreams forever. It’s worth it.

I have to say that I was a little worried we may have stepped into the wrong place. Being allergic to cilantro and knowing the prevalence of the stinky herb in Mexican/​Tex-​Mex cuisine, there was a good chance there’d be little or nothing there we could eat.
First of all, we informed our server of our dilemma and she reassured us that anything that comes with cilantro could come without it (except where it is mixed into the dish like for the salsa and guacamole, but that’s totally understandable). But we’d heard some good things about Django and we were in the neighborhood, so we thought we’d give it a shot. It was GREAT!
We started with an appetizer of the pork belly which usually comes with corn relish and guacamole – both loaded with cilantro. But they kindly substituted roasted corn for the relish and avocado slices for the guac and it was AMAZING! The pork would have been fall-​off-​the-​bone tender if it had had a bone in the first place and the corn was smoky, not-​too-​spicy and sweet seasoned with peppers and onions. D-​LISH!
For the entrée… well there’s no need to even mention the other tacos we tried because the BBQ Chicken taco made with smoked chicken, house-​made bbq sauce, white cheddar and fried onions wins hands down. There was no comparison to the somewhat dry meats of the «Al Pastor» and beef tacos I had in my trio. Ok, so I mentioned them… oh well.
I was hoping for an ok experience but I was surprised with an exceptional meal. I’ll be back.

Djang Good Tacos, but Needs Ventilation!
First of all Django makes some great tacos. Their fish tacos and BBQ chicken tacos are some of my favorites and could even give some places in OTR a run for their money in terms of overall quality and availability.
I often end up here while hanging out with friends in Northside as it really is one of the top dinner locations in the neighborhood. We also usually split a dip to go with the chips as each one is enough to share among 3 – 4 people.
The only downside of going here though is their ventilation. The kitchen isn’t sectioned off from from the general dining area so the cooking smells end up taking over the entire restaurant. This isn’t great when you go for lunch and come back smelling like a taco. If thy would fix this I would easily give it 5 stars.

We came here for the Taco Tuesday deal: buy 3 tacos, get the 4^th free. A pretty reasonable deal, but the tacos were nothing extraordinary.
We ordered 2 Al Pastors, a fish taco, and the beef brisket taco. The Al Pastor meat was minced pork instead of the usual Shawarma-​like shavings, which I found odd. The fish taco was the best out of the 3, cooked in a crispy batter and doused in a chipotle-​lime sauce. For how little we thought we ordered, the food was pretty filling.
The décor inside is really cool though, I liked the idea of using bullet-​holed oil drums for the lighting and the simplicity of the restaurant.
Overall, Django is a solid place if you’re in the area. I’ve heard that their other food is much better, so maybe I will come back with a different mindset next time.

I have heard so much about this place, but I’m rarely over in Northside. So one day we found ourselves over there and had to stop in. The décor is really cool. They have old oil drums with bullet holes for lights. Modern accents mixed with Spanish décor works really well.
So this place was a mixed bag for me. I don’t think it was what everyone made it out to be, but I will try it again just to double check. My biggest problem was how crowded it was. I mean– no room, people standing next to your table crowded. One lady was so close her purse hit my taco. (yeah, that was fun.) And due to the amount of people it was ear numbingly loud. Lauren was trying to talk and got so angry because I kept having to yell that I couldn’t hear her.
This is me trying to eat. And no we weren’t at the entrance, we were in the back. It was that crowded. So uncomfortable people standing touching your table while you are trying to eat.
The service wasn’t great either. It took them quite a while to even get to us. She took our order, left, and didn’t come back until check time. I had to track someone else down for a refill. She said it was hard to get over to check on us because of the people. I’m sorry, but that’s not an excuse. And she should have told them to move away from touching our table. She acted like we were bothering her, and we needed to move so she could turn the table. (from sit down to check we were there maybe 35 minutes, so she can eat it.)
The food. Well I went for Elote– and she said they were out of corn. So I opted for the pork belly appetizer instead. And it had a ton of corn in it? How can you be out of corn but use it on a different app? My only guess is that it was cobb vs kernel. So the pork belly appetizer was pretty good– except for the actual pork belly. I loved the corn and guacamole but the star of the plate was super fatty underneath. I love pork belly. I know its a lot of fat, but this was all fat. I had to spit it out into my napkin.
The chips were great and so was my taco. I got the BBQ chicken taco with white cheddar and fried onions. I love their BBQ sauce. It’s house made and it was delicious.
So like I said. It was ok. I’ll go back because I want to try the elote when they have it, and there were some other tacos on the menu I’d like to try. But if I had to chose between here for Mazunte– I’d 100% say Mazunte.