Fresco Mexican Grill & Salsa Bar

In and around River there are all sorts of taco places, big chains and local restaurants. When compared to the other taco places around, I would say this one is better! I love that they have the all sorts of choices for tortillas, flour or corn, crispy or soft. We went with the soft corn tortillas. I had the Fresco taco, the Barbacoa taco, and the grilled fish taco. All of them were simple, but done well. They didn’t have exotic ingredients, but I really think that made them better. The tacos came with chips to eat with the SALSA BAR! Generally, the chips and salsa is one of the best parts of going to a Mexican restaurant, right? Well this place you get many salsa choices and you get as much as you want. This is the best idea ever. I liked all the salsas, they were flavorful. I also liked that they had an interesting assortment of hot sauces to choose from. The place was clean and the prices were fair. They also have a happy hour which I did not partake in, but seems like next time that might be fun. We will absolutely be back. Yay, tacos!

This was my 2^nd time there. Each time I tried the burrito in a bowl. They do a great job of labeling gluten free on their menu, which is helpful for me since I can’t eat gluten. Had the Slimms Burrito this time with pulled pork. Its basically just the burrito minus the tortilla, in a bowl with chips around it. It was good, not something I would go bragging to my friends about though. Also, I have to mention that I found a bone (or cartilage, or something hard) in my meal. It wasn’t a big deal, I kept eating after finding it. But i could see this scaring others away.
The salsa bar had tons of options which was cool. The salsas that I tried were pretty average tasting though.
I have to mention that the service was awesome. One guy was running the register taking orders and bussing tables and taking out orders. This was when the place was pretty crowded at lunch time and he did great.
That being said, it’s a good switch up from Chipotle and I will definitely be back.

I have been here several times and love it! I often order the half size Chicken quesadilla with black beans, then hit the awesome salsa bar for some pico de gallo to top it off with. Had key lime pie for dessert on the recommendation of another customer, delicious! Knocked off one star only for this reason: I highly suggest they stay open until 9pm on weekdays — especially with a Planet Fitness in the same center, they are missing out on serving customers in that hour! There was a woman who came in at 7:58 and they graciously served her with a smile, but as we walked out at 8:04 there was a couple approaching the door only to discover it was locked… need to be convenient for your customers or they will go somewhere else.

This place was great! I will definitely be back. Get the queso and add the ground beef. It was really good. My husband’s burrito was not mixed very well, but still very tasty. I got the fresco cobb salad, which was also really good. Good service and all the food looked really good. Check it out!

finally got to check this place out. its been around for awhile so they must be doing something right, and they are. Sometimes its nice just to order an item with out having to pick a bunch of items. i ordered up and they served it to my table which was nice. While I waited they brought over some chips and invited me over to the salsa bar, of which i really enjoy. I like trying different salsas especially hot salsa (actually hot salsa) I also go a side of queso as recommended. I def don’t regret it! this quest is bomb! i got it in my burrito too, which i would caution because the cheese is strong and can over power the rest of the flavors. The burrito came, bake and wrapped. I ate it and enjoyed it. Chips are bottomless but i did not take advantage because i left more than satisfied.

I had higher expectations as our plan was to go to Barrio, but it was closed on New Year’s day. On the surface and looking at the menu, we were eager to see if we could get some yummy food from this new establishment.
We ordered one veggie burrito and one quesadilla with guac to start. You get lots of chips!!! These are pretty nice chips. Deep fried and lightly salted. The guac came out quickly and was a pleasant appetizer. Similar to something you would make at home (I would not have added as many tomatoes as the whole dip became watery). My girlfriend secured just about ever salsa that was available… this may have been the most disappointing part of the place. I think there was NO SALT in any of them! I wonder if they didn’t taste the salsas that day as they made them. All of them were really bland which was a shame as we had so many chips.
The burrito and quesadilla were equally bland and disappointing. There is a salt shaker and some sauces in the place and that helped save the meal a little, but this amount of rework should never be necessary.
My thoughts: maybe the meats and fish have lots of seasoning (SALT) and perhaps the entrees are saved with those ingredients. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make sense since the salsas were all bland as well. There is potential here. Someone needs to taste the food and salsas and make some adjustments.
I am not sure if we will be back. If Bomba, Chipotle, or Barrio are open, they are MUCH better choices.

This is a great, casual taco spot. Delicious food, friendly service and affordable. They have a happy hour too. Highly recommend.

First time here and we will be back! Great food, prices, service and overall experience

Shwappy food. First time here and my last. Save your $ 15 and go to Chipotle. My burrito was beans and lettuce, maybe 10 little pieces of chicken. Paid .50 cents for sour cream lol. All you can eat tortilla chips with your meal?! No way!

How bout some chicken ~ on the «chicken taco salad?» Had that yesterday and could have counted the cubes of meat, very very few. The salad look very pretty but all lettuce!

Ehh…
I really wasn’t impressed. Let me start off by saying that the food isn’t bad, but it also tastes not a whole lot different than any run-​of-​the-​mill cookie cutter Mexican restaurant. Their salsas are delicious, but to me personally the food was somewhat bland without it.
I ordered the low carb burrito as a bowl with the tort on the side + guac. The portion seemed pretty small for the price. I’m wondering if I got it as a burrito option if it would have been more appropriate because the amount of ingredients I had wouldn’t have been enough to fill the tortilla. I’m not a big eater, and I’m still hungry after finishing my meal. Spending $ 9 on a casual fast food entrée and still being hungry is a pretty crummy deal. I could have went to a sit down Mexican restaurant, spent the same, on the same food, and went home with leftovers easily.
I’m also really confused as to why my low carb burrito came with a ton of tortilla chips? They’re loaded with carbs. Tortilla chips are just deep fried tortillas… it makes no sense to have a low carb tortilla and then eat a normal tortilla.

Num num num! The food here is delicious, the service is great and I love the atmosphere. Think chipotle (probably not someone theyd like to compare themselves to) but locally owned and better!
The taco specials are great and my favorite is the poblano bites. The best part… no matter what you order, you get chips and an unlimited salsa bar. Salsa is homemade and changes every day!
For sure coming back! I especially love sitting in the little patio when the weather is nice.

Went there for a quick dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised — the service was quick, the food delicious, the atmosphere very youthful. I had the cheesy burrito — love that they grill their burritos, adds a bit of unexpected crunch. The queso was really, really good — highly recommend it. Will come
Back again for sure!

This place is a must try! The food is delicious and so is the salsa bar. If you’re a picky eater, which I happen to be, this is the place for you. I ordered a Fresco vegetarian burrito and will continue to order for the foreseeable future.
The staff is so helpful and friendly. The head cashier, Jesus, can help you pick something out of you’re undecided. Super helpful and welcoming staff… can’t stress that enough.
Side note: if you’re craving some pretzel bites, this place has some yummy-​delicious bites with homemade «queso»! Loved it!!! A+

I’ve been reading about Fresco for the past few months and have heard that there is a popular location at my alma mater, Kent State. I’ve been hankering to try it but my fiancé is pretty partial to Chipotle. Last Friday, I was able to convince her to give this place a try.
I actually liked how bright and big the restaurant was. I was kind of surprised that there was not a large menu above the ordering counter as we referenced a small menu to order. The guy who took our order was definitely a bit strange. I mean I have no problem with how some people dress and look but when you’re at work and you’re wearing a large bondage style looking necklace, it kind of rubs me the wrong way, especially with my 3 year old present.
After ordering our food, we decided to sit outside on the patio since it was a nice night, a great touch of the place. I went with an order of the 3 steak tacos, my fiancé went with the $ 5 dollar special of a Fresco burrito, and my son got the kid’s cheese quesadilla. To be honest, everything was just kind of bland. I really didn’t feel that much of anything we ordered was fresh and it didn’t seem seasoned at all, especially the super chewy steak in my tacos. The kids quesadilla was a joke, super small and surrounded by a bunch of chips. I did enjoy the queso in my tacos but that was about it.
Fresco also offers a complimentary salsa bar, which was cool but none of the salsa’s really stood out. They were all watered down tomato sauce; pretty disappointing. I had high hopes for this place and even though the other staff members were friendly in coming around with our orders, I most likely won’t be back. There are too many other Mexican options in the area, my opinion is to simply pass on this one.

I’m not a huge chipotle fan so, I hoping Fresco wasn’t anything like it. It’s not, it’s even better!
I got a burrito with ground beef, queso, jalapeño, & rice. The burrito was toasted which I really liked. The burrito was delicious! It was flavorful & you can the ingredients were fresh. For $ 6.99, you get a big burrito, chips, & unlimited salsa at the salsa bar.
The employees were super helpful & friendly. They kept checking up to make sure everyone was okay & see how we liked the food.

In the last year or so there have been so many taco places popping up on the west side. I feel that if they are going to keep popping up they need to stand above the rest and Fresco just fell flat for me. It reminded me of Moe’s with the salsa bar and Qdoba with the queso.
I tried 3 tacos a Steak, pulled pork and chicken taco and ordered a side of queso. The food was sub-​par and since there are so many other locations offering the same thing it is hard to say if I will return.

I noticed Fresco Mexican Grill when I was in the Beachcliff market square area for brunch 2 weeks ago. I finally made it out this past weekend for a late lunch after work and I really enjoyed the food and service. One of the employees who was helping me (first timer here), named Miranda, was SO nice and so helpful. She literally explained EVERYTHING to me — went into detail about all of the daily specials, explained the menu, etc. etc. She clearly loves where she works and got me so excited to try the food! Anything can be made gluten free (bowl) or vegetarian (sub beans, rice, guac, and cheese) which helps cater to different diets!
I got the Fresco burrito vegetarian style (basically added rice and guac since it comes with cheese and beans) with added fajita peppers and onions and the Cinnamon chips for dessert. Miranda said she could come check in on me a little ways into my meal to see when I wanted the dessert so it wouldn’t get cold and I could try it fresh — I really appreciated that! I definitely enjoyed my burrito — very flavorful and every ingredient seemed perfectly seasoned on its own (rice and veggies in particular). It came with a ton of chips and I definitely took advantage of the salsa bar– which is color coded according to level of heat which is super helpful! I didn’t try the spiciest (habanero), but tried a few of the others (salsa asada — decent but could use more flavor, salsa picanta — basic red salsa– delish, salsa verde — tangy and good, pico de gallo, and the seasonal — had some heat to it and was very good!) As far as the mexican chips go, I was pretty full about ½ way through my burrito, so I sampled a few of the warm cinnamon chips (basically sopapillas — fried tortilla pieces with cinnamon and sugar coating them) — absolutely delicious! perfectly sweet and paired with whipped cream mixed with cinnamon. I found myself liking it better without dipping it in the whipped cream and enjoyed the chips (AND remaining burrito) just as much served cold later at home.
Overall, I paid 11 dollars for my meal and I thought the food was definitely worth it. The friendly employees I encountered definitely made my experience immensely better. It was pretty empty when I went since it was for a late lunch, but I hope they are just as great when it’s busy! I’ll definitely be back to try more on the menu.

With all of the options in or around Rocky River for tex-​mex (Chipotle, Qdoba, Moe’s, the soon to open Bomba Tacos), I just wasn’t impressed with Fresco and probably won’t make a second trip any time soon. Don’t get me wrong, the food was okay, but I suppose I prefer food that tastes better than okay. I like the kind of food that makes you happy you have leftovers, the kind of food that you crave and think fondly of, the kind of food you tell your friends about. I didn’t get that here.
Fresco takes over the short lived Mad Tex Burgers N’ Mex in the Beachcliff plaza. Walking in you’ve got the standard set up and décor for fast casual dining. The place is new, clean, and the staff friendly, but unless you’re talking to the manager don’t expect them to know much about the menu as they are still learning it so be patient. Portion sizes and prices aren’t bad, you’re going to pay about $ 7 for a Chipotle sized burrito. They do have a salsa bar, but so does Moe’s in North Olmsted.
Now the food: I got the Fresco Burrito with the addition of sauteed peppers and onions. Although big, this burrito lacked flavor and left me disappointed. In addition to the rice, chicken, and sour cream, there was a very thin layer of refried beans, very little pico de gallo, MIA lettuce, MIA shredded cheese, and MIA queso fresco (those things might have been in there, but since I couldn’t see them or taste them, I’m saying MIA), plus the burrito was so dry inside that I had to break open my burrito and add a couple 1.5oz containers of the fresh tasting salsa from the salsa bar. If you’re getting this to-​go, word of caution, they dump the chips on top of the burrito in the bag so good luck with that.
I also sampled the Pulled Pork Tacos (3 for $ 8) which are labeled as award wining, but I didn’t see any information on what award was won? The soft tacos were better than the burrito, but I wouldn’t call the meat juicy or flavorful. In regards to the Fire Roasted Poblano & Jalapeño Bites (pretty much jalapeño poppers), they had a little kick and were good with the creamy cilantro sauce. You get 5 in an order for $ 6.
All in all, I hate that I can’t leave a better review for this family owned business, but the food was just basic and lackluster in my opinion. They are new so maybe I just came in on an off day so I might eventually try them again. Listen, I love food, and I have definitely eaten more than my fair share of dishes at hundreds of places, I just think there’s a lot of competition out there with similar offerings and if I’m going to spend my money then I want something that stands apart from the rest and is full of flavor. Sorry, Fresco :(
****UPDATE
The owner reached out to me in a private message that was very polite, addressed any issues I had, and offered to make up for a mistake in my meal (apparently I was given the wrong burrito). I greatly appreciate businesses that take the time to listen to customers and truly want them to have a great experience. Because of this I am raising my two star review to a three star and will definitely be back to give the food another shot (waiting a couple months so they can settle in a bit more).
As for the award, they competed with over 25 restaurants at the Grill for Good in Kent in 2013, to win first place for their pulled pork, all the while raising over $ 10,000 for the Coleman Foundation, based in Kent. They got the same award in 2014 for their barbacoa.

As I was running some errands today I noticed that there was a cool new place opening in my town. I made a mental note to return for dinner and visited on opening day.
Upon entering the setup is similar to a fast food restaurant to which you order at the counter but given a number and your meal is brought to you. Fresco’s interior features fun vibrant colors of green, orange, and red along with artistry from the Kent area. I noticed that there is a big blackboard above the registers that note the daily specials, however the only menu is in a booklet which you should read if you are new. I’d like to see a full menu in the near future instead though as it will help in the long run.
The menu features salads ($ 8-​$ 9), fajitas ($ 12), Tacos ($ 3-​$ 4 ea, 3 for $ 8), big burritos ($ 6-​$ 7), quesadillas (half $ 5 – 6, whole $ 8), Tortilla Soup ($ 3 cup /​$ 4 bowl, Black Bean Soup ($ 3 cup /​$ 4 bowl). From what you can see prices are quite reasonable.
Fresco features an amazing thing called a «salsa bar» which includes many (I think 8 or 10) salsas to choose from to take in a cup to accompany your chips. This is what makes Fresco different and alluring.
For my entrée I ordered a quesadilla which you can choose from grilled chicken, pulled pork or seasoned ground beef. I choose the half order of grilled chicken which came with refried beans, cheddar & jack cheese. You are free to remove ingredients in which this case I should have since I am not a fan of refried beans. Anyway I found the tortilla to be cooked perfectly and the chicken was not bad either but lacked a je né sais quoi.
Each entrée seems to come with a heaping amount of chips which will probably require 2 cups of salsa to demolish (just a fair warning) so go ahead and try two different flavors! I tried the pico de gallo which was refreshing, and a different kind which I do not recall but it was a mild thinner salsa that had a great balance of heat and flavor.
Features: Gluten free options, Vegetarian substitutions, Catering, Salsa Bar, Copious hot sauces to add for heat lovers
Better than chipotle? Oh yes.