Cuco’s Taqueria

Bang for your buck: ⁹⁄₁₀
Quality: 7.5÷10
Service: ²⁄₁₀
Ambiance/​Location: ⁸⁄₁₀
Overall: ⁸⁄₁₀

Half an hour wait for my girlfriend to get a freaking coke??? So bad I had to go to the bar and get one for her myself! REALLY??? The place wasn’t even busy considering it just turned 5pm on a Saturday night. There were plenty of open tables inside and out. This place used to be good food with good service… What happened??? Then my appetizer and a few beers was $ 40!?! Oh and they added a patio but it’s strictly non smoking. Mediocre food and crap service, I’m NEVER coming back again there are way better options here in Columbus.

Review of Breakfast | yum yum yum
Praise. This place is a hidden gem. They are open early for breakfast. I’m visiting for a conference and staying with a friend and wanted to have breakfast after having an early dinner last night.
Not very busy for breakfast which is ok. I’m glad because service was great. I ordered El Tapatio (see pic) and I subbed out the beans for rice instead. No extra charge for the substitution. The eggs were great and my favorite part was the chorizo and potatoes (see pic). It was so spicy and flavorful. The pork tacos (street style – onions and cilantro) — -I could not stop every bite. The barbacoa was tender and melted with each bite. I wanted more.
The plate was filling and I couldn’t finish it all. It was a little over $ 8 with tax. Great prices! My friend got the Huevos con Chorizo. His dish came with corn tortillas on the side. It looked great!
I looked at their lunch options and there is a good variety for cheeeaaaaappp prices. I’m definitely coming back here when I visit again. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

this is the spot & if you’ve been you know why. it’s like a little vacation cold drinks, good food & fun/​colorful atmosphere. my favorites are the fried fish tacos/​burrito, queso fundido w/​a pitcher of house margaritas & maybe a dos equis too

Had dinner sat night about 9:30, they close at 10, but they welcomed us in and we had a great meal. I got the tri colored enchilada’s, love it! The beef is perfectly seasoned and love the salsa verde sauce over it, the cheese enchilada has salsa roja, and chicken enchilada comes with queso cheese. I added a side of guac, I love guac and theirs is really good. My husband got pork burrito ranchero, he loved it! I had to taste it since he kept saying it was the best thing he ever ate! The pork was so tender, it melted in your mouth and was super juicy, I dont know how they cook it but it was awesome! We go a couple times a year, but since my husband has found a new love, we will be back more often. We also like the chips and salsa, the salsa is just perfect with heat, so its hot, but not to hot. I definitely recommend Cuco’s to anyone that likes mexican food, its the best I’ve had in columbus!

My favorite all-​time Mexican restaurant. My family and I eat here often, and the staff knows us as familiar faces. One of my favorite dishes is the Tri-​Color Enchilada, but have never had anything here that I was disappointed in. Margs are great!
They also expanded their space in the last year or so, and the outside patio is small, but great that there’s an outside space now! Highly recommend!

Great food! And drinks. The burrito was the size of my daughter, bring your appetite.

Unfortunately had a poor experience tonight. We got seated and were given chips, salsa, and water immediately, but after that we sat for 25 minutes without anyone else coming to the table to take our order. I’m not even sure our table had a waiter assigned to it. The chips and salsa were great but we finally walked out after all that time. I really like Cucos, but with how popular they have become and all the traffic they get now, they should probably start expanding the wait staff so that these situations don’t happen.

Went on May 4^th with 3 other couples. When I sat down I asked the waiter for water. He came back in ten minutes and asked if we were ready to order. I ordered the casita salad, a beer and asked for a water. I got my beer. All the food was brought except my SALAD and another SALAD! I then got up to go to the bar to get a water He saw me and brought one.
As my group was finishing I got my salad. Had a cpl bites and took it to go. Chicken was pounded flat. Cooked dry. So bad service. Dry chicken.

Four of us had dinner here the other night and it was good, but not great.
We’ve tried several (I’m guessing at least 12) Mexican restaurants here in the Columbus area and plenty of them are good, but we’re still really searching for something better… we’re not sure what exactly we’re missing, we just know we haven’t found «THE PLACE» yet. We’ve come close a few times though.
This place is in a small strip mall located close to Henderson and Kenny. As our friends live nearby, we decided to meet them here as they really like the food and have recommended it a few times in the past.
We showed up around 7:30pm and the place was busy, but there was a table open for us. We quickly had chips and salsa in front of us and our drinks arrived soon after. We asked our waiter for some hotter salsa and he referred us to the SALSA BAR, which had 4 different salsas included to it, along with some pickled onions, carrots and peppers. This is the reason for the 4^th star, as we went back to the salsa bar two more times during dinner, as a way to add more flavor to the food we had ordered.
Our friends each had the La Mexicana, which looked like a combination plate, while my wife went for the Alambre Al Pastor and I opted for the Carnitas plate. As mentioned above, the food was good, but the added salsas really helped, especially with the pork, as it was a little dry.
Our friends were drinking margaritas and they seemed to be enjoying them, as they each had 2… so maybe that’s the way to go here. Drink a few margaritas and then have dinner. Next time, we’ll give that a try.
We also noticed this placed serves breakfast, (opens at 8:00am), so we will come by and give that a try at some point soon.
We’ll go back!

Like it it mostly. Some menu items are gringo specific, best to stay away from the combo plates.
Great Salsas and Svc, will certainly go back

Excellent food and service. The best part is three varieties of vegetarian tacos! Such a gold mine for a vegetarian, awesome salsa, salsa bar, a liquor bar, and fresh beer on draft. Is anyone really watching the soccer games in tv though?

New to the area. I’ve been here 4 or 5 times and have never been disappointed! Wish they used strictly white meat chicken but my enchiladas are always great. Salsa and queso are GREAT! They give you well over enough food. Always in and out here!

It is very good. I am a bit nostalgic. When it was first opened, it was much more like Los Guachos. They had a grocery and sold tacos. They evolved to a typical margarita joint. The food is well above average and the prices are very reasonable. My favorite is the Burrito Don Cuco. Wait staff is always very friendly.

I have been coming here for many years, and will continue to, only occasionally.
It deserves to be said, the servers here could care less about ones positive experience. This has always been the case and is a running gag with many of my friends who eat here. I guess they figure that its always busy, so they don’t need to have good service. Seriously, the food is good enough, but I have yet to have a good experience with the servers, who are as aloof & apathetic as can be. Even on the rare occasion when I point out that, say perhaps the soup is cold, or something is missing from a dish… they could care less, never offering to correct or remedy their mistake.
We’ll be back Cuco’s, why not make your restaurant self serve so I can avoid your wait-​staff altogether. By the way for my waiter from yesterday… I’m not cheap, you just stink as a waiter so I only gave you 10% …as a gift!

Really good food at a good price. The chips and salsa or queso are wonderful. I had the burrito and it is huge!

Great service, but our food was rather bland and flavorless. The chicken was not spiced at all. Their Paloma’s are pretty good though.

Cuco’s is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Columbus. It’s far better than El Vaquero, but not quite as good as Nada. Some of the highlights at Cuco’s are the handmade margaritas (I love the jalapeño one) and the salsa bar. We love the burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas here. Their nachos are a bit soggy and not as good as some of their other appetizers. Service is always very friendly and attentive.

Cuco’s is fantastic. Cheap, delicious and unique. The best affordable mexican you can find in Columbus.

Cuco’s Catered our Wedding and did an amazing job. They were by far the best vendor we used! Everything was on time, delicious, organized, professional, and affordable. They even put centerpieces back together that fell over from wind. I can not say enough good things. I HIGHLY recommend them!!!

Great little lunch place. Always good solid mexican dishes at a good price. I enjoy the salsa bar and matching up the different salsa with my meal. Chips and salsa are pretty standard but enjoyable. I’m told breakfast is nice but I have not tried it yet

All of their authentic dishes are very well done and their more American offerings come just as you would expect at any given Mexican chain restaurant. If you smile and ask, they’ll even make their breakfast dishes for you during off hours. I recommend the chorizo and eggs– so very good!

I am giving a One Star because I come here every month & this is the only Mexican restaurant I go to in Columbus. So tonight my husband and I arrive at 9:45 almost to closing, we knew exactly what we wanted and ordered but when our food came out it was not to our satisfaction. Our queso dip was warm, my husbands burrito was warm, and my ceviche looked messy. I say if the cooks refuse to have late customers they should lock the entrance door. This is a bad way to end a great customer relationship and I will NEVER go back there again.

I remember this place being so good, and I don’t know what happened. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not completely terrible, but the last time I visited, I had a great meal, and this time was just blah. First of all; I’ve come here around 9 pm when they close at 10, and the doors have been locked, so that was pretty shitty. Then, a bunch of us went on the 4^th of July, and I wasn’t sure if they were open, so I tried calling, but they wouldn’t answer. The second time I called they answered and hung up the phone. Whatever, we decided to go anyway, since we were set on Mexican.
We get to the restaurant, and luckily, they’re open. We get seated immediately, but it takes a good 10 minutes for anyone to come over and take our drink order. I’m not sure if they were short staffed or what, but after that, the service went a bit smoother.
We started with the chips and salsa along with guacamole and queso. We loved the queso, although it’s a bit runny, but the guacamole was terrible. I didn’t even want to eat it, it looked so bad. You cannot get guacamole of that consistency without getting it out of a bag, and it looks like they may have added some diced tomatoes to it. It tasted terrible, and no one ended up eating it.
Fast forward to the main course, and I had the pastor and chorizo tacos as well as the pastor gringas. My girlfriend and I split the chipotle chicken quesadilla which ended up being way too much food. The tacos and gringas (although I could have done without the shredded lettuce on top) were very good, and the chorizo was some of the best I’ve had in the area. The chicken quesadilla was nasty. It literally tasted like chicken out of a can, and it smelled like cat food. No joke. My buddy got the chicken tacos and thought the same thing. Do not get the chipotle chicken here.
They have a little hot sauce and accessory bar where you can get limes and onions with jalapenos, which I thought was pretty cool. You can go up and snag those whenever you’d like.
I ended up ordering flan to go which wasn’t very big for the price, but it ended up tasting delicious. Overall, there’s just way too much Mexican in Columbus for me to stop back here again. At one time it may have been one of the top authentic Mexican places in Columbus, but there’s no way that that’s the case anymore.

Free chips and salsa. The chips are thin and crispy.
The burrito grande is huge. It feeds two people. The horchata is also great.
They just got new menus

I’m a sucker for delicious tacos, and Cuco’s provides those quite easily. I’ve been there twice so far, and I’ve tried the steak, carnitas, al pastor, and brisket tacos. They’re all tasty, but I’d have to say that the carnitas tacos are definitely my favorite. And with each regular taco being less than $ 2, every meal is quite affordable. The service is always great here, and we always get seated and get our meals pretty quickly. I will say that I wasn’t impressed by any of the salsas in the salsa bar, but the one that they bring to the table does the trick.

In terms of a food experience alone, Cuco’s provides a good and very satisfactory meal. The menu is the generic Columbus, Ohio Mexican restaurant lineup – all the safe offerings that won’t offend the masses and be attractive to pretty much everyone.
In terms of a value proposition, Cuco’s gets deserves 5*. A friend and I from my office recently had a lunch meeting at Cuco’s and ended hi paying about $ 13 for two persons with a generous tip included. Cuco’s runs a M-​Th weekday coupon with a 2-​for-​1 lunch entrée. It’s literally cheaper than eating at home.
If I need a quick, inexpensive lunch and I’m in one of those moods where I want to feel like I’m getting the upper hand in the marketplace, then I’ll return. You probably won’t say «wow» because of the food but if you order the lunch special with a coupon you’ll be impressed.

THE BEST MARGARITA in all of Columbus.
The one I like is one of their upscale margaritas — I can’t remember exactly what they call it — but it’s a few bucks more and the one made with fresh squeezed lime juice. You’ll see it on the menu. Look
for the fresh squeezed lime juice. This is the most authentic margarita (like in Mexico) I’ve found.
Find it, ORDER THE JUMBO, and you’ll thank me (the jumbo about $ 11 dollars of liquid goodness, and worth every penny!). This is the best margarita in Columbus, and I’ve probably consumed a few too many margaritas in my life.
Cuco’s is very authentic. It feels like you’re in a casual restaurant in Mexico. Really.
Food is really food. Chips and salsa are very good. Service is very friendly.
Not fancy. Inexpensive. One of my favorite, and most authentic, Mexican restaurants in Columbus.

While I kept my New Year’s Resolution to actually take out and use my workout gear I always seem to pack but never use, I still managed to trash my any benefits from such a workout by following it up with a chicken burrito, a bowl of chips & salsa and a beer at 9:00PM.
Place is a tiny place hidden in the corner of a small strip mall, inside it felt fairly authentic with some tables, booths and a bar with a TV.
I ordered the Chipotle burrito and even though I inhaled it — I have yet to meet a burrito I do not like — I wasn’t overly impressed. The chicken was luke warm and made to seem even cooler with the sour cream inside along with rice, beans and guacamole. The burrito wasn’t «tight» as the best burrito places I found seem to do but more along the lines of quickly thrown together and that was essentially soup IPO cutting into it. All of the ingredients seemed to be in equal parts as well which was a little odd since most place have majority of the burrito whatever meat you choose.
Long story it was decent, but I’m sure my inhaling it was due to eating at 9PM and after a workout and their sloppiness in the burrito was a result of coming in close to closing time.
Chips and salsa were good, server was nice and responsive and whole meal was a whopping $ 12.
Would I come back again? Yes, I’d give them another try based on the other reviews and likely will come at regular dinner hours as well as order something besides the burrito to see if either/​both provide a different experience the next time around.

In terms of food quality, I think Cuco’s is one of the better Mexican restaurants in town. Overall, their dishes are better than El Vaquero. Delicious tacos, burritos, and tortas. One really nice thing about Cuco’s is that they have a salsa bar with some super spicy salsa and a very tasty pico de gallo for those of you who, like me, can’t handle super spicy. On the flipside, their menu isn’t quite as extensive as El Vaquero’s. They also do not have outdoor seating. Based on what I’ve said so far, Cuco’s is a solid 4.5 stars.
My reasoning for the 3 star rating is that for a Mexican restaurant, this place is slooooow. On my most recent visit, we were told that it’ll be a 20~25 minute wait… which ended up being 50 minutes. It wasn’t really for a lack of empty seats as there were 5 empty ones around us when we were finally seated. I suspect they don’t have enough servers to service all the tables properly. After being seated, it took 5 minutes to get our chips & salsa (but the chips guy wouldn’t take our order), and it took another 5 minutes for our actual waiter to arrive. It literally took us an hour since our arrival to get our drink orders in. Unfortunately, this wasn’t our first time with slow service here. It was a similar situation when I tried them last, back in October of 2013.
Considering that I can have my entire meal, pay my check, and leave El Vaquero in that same 1 hour that it takes for me to get a seat and be greeted by the server here… Even though Cuco’s has the better food, I don’t think they’re that much better to justify blowing an extra hour of my life. It would be awesome if they could expand their restaurant and hire more servers to improve upon the wait time. If that were to happen, I can see Cuco’s beating El Vaquero in my books.

Free chips, spicy salsa and a salsa bar, enormous margaritas, very good food, friendly fast service and astonishingly reasonable prices make me a big fan of Cuco. Like dinner entrees for $ 10-​ish including mex rice, black beans, guacamole and extra tortillas. Oh plus 8 taps too, does that seal the deal for you?
Labeled a taqueria but has the full complement of burritos, enchiladas, chimichangas and quesadillas in addition to a bunch of interesting tacos. There’s a bar where you can sit a while, the taps included Thirsty Dog ale, Corona light, Negra Modelo, Modelo Especiale, Pacifico, Dos Equis, Deschutes IPA and Blue moon. Pretty darned respectable for a suburban strip-​mall restaurant! Only one gripe: there’s precious little tequila in those enormous margaritas.
Oh if the regular red salsa doesn’t do it for you, don’t forget about the little salsa bar, it has another half a dozen choices.
I tried the daily special, a generous portion of carnitas, slow-​cooked pork topped with green salsa, used the accompanying 3 hot soft fresh corn tortillas to pretend I had fajitas and made soft tacos, yum. Rice & beans were good but nothing gourmet, really liked the (small) portion of guacamole salad. And only $ 12.
Vegetarian rating: 4 stars, options include spinach enchiladas, guacamole salad, veg burrito, veg fajitas, cheese or ‘shroom quesadillas, and mushroom tacos.
Has a small wall of dry and canned Mexican food supplies like chipotles in adobo sauce too, gives a whole new meaning to doggie bag I guess :)
Delightfully quiet inside, perfect for adult conversation. It’s a plain place inside, I definitely think of this as a date-​nite place but I’ve been married a long time lol. For a first date? All depends on your date :)

So I tried Cuco’s some years ago and hated it. Within the last few months, however, I gave it another try and fell in love with their mushroom tacos. Seared mushrooms, diced red onions and cilantro on corn tortillas. Simple but ridiculously good. And considering how difficult it is to find vegetarian tacos, I appreciate Cuco’s for catering to varying dietary preferences.
Great chips and salsa. Delicious burritos… even without meat and dairy.
Nice staff and attentive service. Pretty cheap too!