Tastebuds

Everything at tastebuds is amazing! The atmosphere is great, and the owner is also pretty great! :) You HAVE to eat here!

This is my favorite go to lunch spot when I’m on the east side. It is set up cafeteria style, so you just go in and get what you need, nice and quick! They have a lot to choose from (amazing salads, wraps, pizza, burritos, salmon dinners, chicken entrees & pasta dishes). Im being serious when I say that if I named my favorites I would practically be naming the whole menu! The owners are also there a lot, very friendly, and working hard, which I think is really cool! I also went to meet up for lunch with a colleague and we lost track of time;not once did they rush us out or even say we needed to leave. I felt bad about it, but they just smiled and said its okay! This place is always busy, but it never seems to interfere with their exceptional quality of food and service. The only con I can think of is that I wish they were open later!

Two words: Fish Fridays.
Honestly, I’ve loved everything I’ve ever had from Tastebuds, but I have a love affair with the almond crusted tilapia they serve as a special on Fridays. It comes with wild rice and green beans. The sherry beurre blanc sauce they drizzle over the fish and rice is nothing short of amazing. It’s a bit expensive, but the quality and portion sizes make the price more than fair.
It breaks my heart that they aren’t open for dinner.

When I say EVERYTHING here is GOOD, I mean it. The atmosphere, the service and especially the food. While I am a creature of habit and usually just go with the broiled salmon and herb green beans, I’ve bought everything else for the other half to try. We have yet to be disappointed. The almond crusted tilapia is a must try.

Excellent food! Super clean and best of all fast and efficient service. I stop here for lunch when I can and its always great. I like the portobello mushroom sandwich the best with a side salad. Plenty filling and healthier than anything I eat. Definitely try it if you haven’t

Traveling on business again… My host suggested Tastebuds for lunch — WOW! What a great lunch! I had the Greek Pasta, the house specialty and it was great. A full plate of pasta with olives, artichokes, pine nuts, seasoning, chicken, and lots of other awesome stuff that I can’t remember. A very filling meal for $ 10. A couple other folks in our party had the daily specialty — a southwestern chicken fish and they were also very pleased.
This place is hard to find… Its in an older, brick building and there’s no obvious sign so trust your GPS.

Second time I’ve found something in my food that’s not edible. First time was back in May or June of this year I had ordered the black bean soup and was almost finished eating it when I bit down on something hard. I spit it out and it appeared to be a piece of some kind of twisted metal. I showed the cashier and was given a refund and told they would look into it as no one was able to identify what it was exactly. So I didn’t go to tastebuds for a little while after that. I decided I’d give them another try because we all know stuff happens. It’s been going really well until today. I was eating a salad that I really enjoy from there, and bit down on something hard again but his time I was not at Taste Buds but back at work. It appeared to be some kind of hard plastic with sharp corners. I don’t think I can eat there again after this, I’ve been lucky these 2 objects haven’t broke a tooth or cut the inside of my mouth. Sorry Taste Buds, you have good food but apparently not the safest.

I would have never thought to try this place based on the outside. Thankfully a client took me to lunch yesterday. There was a line out the door inspite of the rain and it was worth it. All the food looked great. I had a Toasted & Roasted salad with salmon and it really was perfect. The salmon was tasty and the combination of pine nuts, roasted potato (I know weird), feta cheese, onions was just perfect. Most of the other diners seemed to get either the greek pasta, or the special (meatloaf) both of which also looked wonderful. This was the best thing I’ve ever had in Cleveland.

Such an awesome lunch spot that is just slightly off the beaten path. The Greek pasta is so good and is filled with fresh veggies. All of the salads are good. It is slightly annoying that they are pre-​made because you can’t make any substitutions. The corn bread is good too.

Do you ever eat lunch? If so, you must eat at Tastebuds! Greek pasta is light and fresh, tomato soup is rich and filling, black bean soup is the BEST/​only black bean soup I’ve ever tried, pizza is unique and slightly crispy, salad dressings homemade and full of flavor. My dad insists on this place any time we’re in the area at lunchtime and gets the Greek pasta every time.
Only open for lunch and they get busy so come prepared with what you want and get there before noon or get ready to spend some time figuring it out while you wait in line.

Such a hidden gem. You would have no idea it’s there if you didn’t already know! It’s right east of downtown and has abundant free parking. The lunch only hours keep it busy but the cafeteria style line makes the wait go fast. All the items are pre-​made that day and so delicious! The roasted and toasted chicken salad was so big I didn’t finish it all and the corn muffin on the side was delightful. Highly recommend for a quick, healthy, delicious lunch!

So I thought I had done this months ago. I love this place and will go back. We stopped passing through Cleveland and what a surprise. Staff was outstanding and warmly let us taste their special of the day. Which I would have ordered but it was a bit much for lunch. Our sandwiches were outstanding moist and very tasty. Unilocal this Resturant and treat yourself.

I love this place, quick and easy with no fuss, the food is fantastic, my favorite is the Greek chicken pasta with pine nuts and feta, to die for! LOVE the hot chicken sandwich, it is truly wonderful with the homemade mayo spread that comes with it. EVERYONE is so nice and treat you great when you go in!

This place has so much character and charm and the food is amazing also!!! Great staff that make u feel like a regular even on ur first visit!!! Try this place everything is fresh and very tasty!!! U wont be disappointed! !!

Love this place! Definitely Cleveland’s best kept secret. You wouldn’t even know this wonderful restaurant was there by the looks of the outside of the building. My boyfriend was the one who got me hooked to this place. I have gotten the lemon pepper chicken and the salmon and both are to die for. I have honestly never had anything bad at this restaurant. The girls who work there are charming, as well!

I admit it… I have a bit of a love affair with the Greek pasta. I’m there 1 – 2 times a week to get it. The pine nuts, the olives, the feta… I love it all. It’s a little pricey for lunch at $ 10 but I’m stuffed after eating it if I’m able to finish it at all. It’s a cute place and the line always moves quickly. There’s a parking lot next door or a number of people choose to park on the street. They also have their space available for rent for private parties!

I’m really hesitant to give this 3 star review, based on the other stellar Unilocal reviews, but this was my first time at Tastebuds and it was just, OK. Tastebuds has been on my bucket list of places to try for some time. I decided to venture there for lunch today, having previewed the menu on-​line. I arrived at approximately 11:30, the place was busy, but not packed. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Wrap ($ 6.50) and a bag of baked Lays potato chips ($ 1.00). I’m not sure that the wrap was worth the $ 6.50 price, maybe if it included a small side. The wrap contained a generous portion of grilled chicken, sliced avocado, scallions and a spicy asian aioli. As other Unilocalers have mentioned, the sandwiches are pre-​made and sit in a refrigerated case. I probably would have enjoyed the sandwich more, had it been made to order. Sitting in the case (even though I’m sure that it had been made this morning), made the wrap just a little bit doughy and the aioli was just a little bit gelationous, which masked the avocado and overwhelmed the sandwich. I would have liked a little bit of crunch in the wrap, perhaps asian cabbage or beansprouts… maybe? Also, I thought that there was way too much aioli in the wrap. Serving the aioli on the side would have been better. There was a steady stream of customers while I was there, so this place is pretty popular. Looking forward to returning, but will choose a different option… maybe a salad or the signature Greek pasta, both of which looked very good.
To be continued…

I used to work around the corner from this restaurant. I went there so much I became friends with all the girls that worked there. When I was pregnant I ate their baked sweet potato at least twice a week. Seriously amazing!
If you want a tasty, healthy and inexpensive lunch, this is the spot.
I miss their lemon chicken and their salmon. I have yet to have better salmon anywhere. I really need to get out there again. I think I’m going through withdrawals.
Their salads and wraps are amazing too. Their menu isn’t huge but I love that. They are good at what they do.
I recommend this place to everyone!!!
Place an order for pick up for work or pop in before noon to miss the long line. I always went at 11:30am and it was perfect!
Definitely check this place out! It’s not to be missed!

What a well-​kept secret! Quick good healthy and fresh. Really nice artist paintings and a pretty cool atmosphere to eat. Bummer looks like they’re only open for lunch. Otherwise I think anything they would do breakfast or dinner would be awesome. I had the meatloaf green beans and mashed potatoes. Nice good flavor top of gravy. Get some you won’t regret it!

Hidden gem! Too bad they are only open for lunch on weekdays only. Their signature Greek pasta is divine and grilled Portobello sandwich is great for veggie lovers. Plus the atmosphere is colorful especially for those gloomy fall and winter days.
It’s cafeteris style so it’s super quick. So if you can steal some time away from work ot wherever, check this out!