Alto Cinco

I’ve been here 3 times, trying to give them more than 3 starts but I can’t.
They use quality and fresh ingredients, but my overall food experience is just OK. I’ve had better Mexican, mostly cheaper, in many other places.
I’ve had different burritos and last time I had their Special Ahi Tuna Tostadas, which was spicy and the presentation was really good, however for $ 18 it should have more tuna on it.
The waiting time is tooooo much. and as soon as you’re seated, you’ll notice the inefficient use of space. While their bar area is packed with people who are waiting for a table, the other area has lots of non-​utilized space which they can put some tables, However, I’m not sure if their kitchen can support more people or not.
to summarize my review, Food is just ok, but overpriced, waiting time is long and their bathroom is as big as half of their waiting/​bar area.

It had a long wait line at Friday night. For just 2 seats we waited for more than one hour. And there is no enough space for people who should wait for a long time.
The waiter was a nice guy.
Although I eliminated jalapeño from my burrito, that was still so hot.

Alto Cinco, how I miss you… every time I am back in Syracuse I try to fit a trip in.
I love the people, the atmosphere, and most importantly, the food. The burritos are epic (try the barbeque tofu or the catfish). Actually, anything catfish here is pretty much guaranteed to be good. The jalapeño cornbread is some of the best I’ve ever had.

Only a few places serve authentic Mexican food and this place is one of them. Located on the university hill, this place is a gem. Loved the food, the atmosphere, opened late night. Everything about this place is perfect. Hope to visit again.

I’ve been going here off-​and-​on for 10 years and unfortunately the verdict is that when you head to Alto Cinco you are almost always in for a mixed experienced. I’ve been here when the service has been prompt and other times when it’s taken much too long to get our food or our check. I’ve eaten piping hot, delicious burritos and burritos that were extinguished by cold-​pickled jalapeños. I’ve been here when the draft list is incredible, and when it’s been overrun by ill-​paired heavy beers. Either way, Alto is too expensive for faux-​Mexican food, but benefits nicely from having a good location in a city hard pressed to serve real Mexican. I’m sure I’ll be back, but it won’t be my first choice.

Don’t let the 3 stars fool you… Alto Cinco is prettttty good. I had to remove a star because I have been there a few times now and the service is always pretty slow. I’m not talking about actually getting your food… I’m talking about getting the CHECK. It’s like the staff is up your butt every .3 seconds to see if your food is ok but when its time for the check there isn’t an employee in sight. My friend literally had to get up and stalk someone today. Like dude come on I just ate 3 pounds of taco I need to get home ASAP and nap. Also, today my waiter was a little too nice… to the point where it was kind of creepy. Like come on man, I didn’t even get a chance to look at my food yet don’t ask me how it tastes before you set my plate down. Also, when I ask for a napkin the «someone’s getting saucy» remark isn’t 100 percent necessary. ALSO, I have 2 fully functioning eye balls, you don’t need to waste 4 872 384 hours telling me the specials with every single ingredient in them when I HAVE THE SPECIALS MENU RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. Anyways…
Their nachos are underwhelming but their quesadillas are a solid ⁴⁄₅. My friend got the chicken jerk quesadilla and I got a chicken quesadilla with beans and peppers in it. Well guys the great news is they use real chicken. Unlike a lot of chains that offer quesadillas and you cant tell if you are eating chicken or a wet paper towel. It was a little soggy but that’s because I made a special request to add beans (BECAUSE IS IT EVEN MEXICAN IF THERE’S NO BEANS??) The meat portion was also very generous in the quesadilla, which was nice because usually I question if I even got meat in it because I can’t find any. It was very filling. And all of the ingredients are fresh. ALSO it was 11 dollars… like a tortilla and some cheese probably costs 89 cents lets be a little reasonable for the poor college kids. I will probably go back but only when I am third wheeling so the couple pays for my meal…

Brunch review:
Amazing. The jalapeño cornbread with vanilla mayo is really good it has the heat and warmth of the jalapeño tingling your tongue without having huge chunks. The chorizo is nice and smoky but not too spicy.

I adore Alto Cinco. I am getting hungry just writing about it! Delicious mexican food with fabulous margaritas (don’t expect something super sweet — they do it authentic with a little lime juice — fabulous!), a delicious catfish quesadilla, and a fabulous brunch (Try the cornbread!!). I miss living in Westcott when Alto Cinco was just around the corner but they have a hip younger brother downtown, called Otro Cinco, also worth checking out. Great late night music as well.
Alto is not to be missed on a visit to Westcott in Syracuse. Yum!

I had family visiting from out of town and wanted to go to brunch. Don’t go for brunch!
Our food took about one hour to come out and when it arrived, one of the omletes was burnt and cold. We had to keep asking for refills. It was just bad. The server said the head brunch chef was off and it was clear that no one else knew how to run the kitchen and get out good food.
I don’t plan to go back and that’s unfortunate because there aren’t many brunch places in Syracuse.

Every time I go to Alto Cinco, the food never disappoints. I’m not giving it five stars because of the consistently poor service, regardless of who is serving at the bar or at a table. Whether the place is busy or not, waitstaff are either friendly or aloof, and it took over half an hour and several requests just to get our water refilled. I always return for the food, and perhaps I should just order takeaway.

Always have a great meal when I go to Alto. The food portions are hearty, the beer selection is well thought out, and contrary to some reviews on here, I always get great service.
Don’t really have a go to when I come here. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing but I’m usually trying new things. The quesadillas might be my favorite. The jerk chicken is spicier than I expected but blends well. The «cinco special» is actually pretty standard for a Mexican quesadilla but doesn’t mean it’s not delicious. Extra cheesy.
In terms of the burritos, the jerk chicken is similar to the quesadilla. The California packs a mighty punch as well. The super vegan is better than I expected although I thought they could have added a little extra to it.
Recently went for brunch and had the huevos rancheros. Can’t complain about any part of it except that I didn’t get a second. Got a white sangria to finish it off. Great brunch!
Don’t really have any complaints about this place. They consistently serve me great food and are always friendly when I engage them. It used to be cramped but the new seating area has remedied that. All in all, one of the more unique places to eat in Syracuse.

Delicious and fresh ingredients. Had a burrito with chicken and thought it was a little plain, but this was fixed with a little salsa. We enjoyed sitting outside, but I think the service wasn’t great because of this.

I know a lot of people who really love coming here so I really wanted to love the place, but unfortunately I can only say that I think the food here is just ok. The first two times I had their food was through delivery, and both of those times the food was not so good. Part of that may have to do with my expectations vs. the reality. I was expecting Mexican food, which I know well having moved here from CA. However, the food really isn’t Mexican. For example, their rice is not Mexican rice, it is yellow Spanish rice.
Here are a few other things I didn’t like: The chicken tacos have this weird vinegar-​like sauce on them that is just overpowering; when you get anything topped with sauce such as a «smothered» burrito or enchiladas, the sauce is baked into the food (likely because they don’t put much on) which leaves it dry and without much flavor from the sauce; I find their chicken somewhat bland, and finally, they don’t have refried beans which I love to eat with burritos, tacos, and rice.
Because I have friends who like it here I have given them a few chances to redeem themselves after the first two bad experiences, and those experiences were ok, especially because I knew what to expect this time. I have liked their catfish tacos, and I also like their margaritas and cocktails.
I think their menu is slightly overpriced for the quality of food, especially for the Syracuse area. The service is good, and the staff are friendly. Like I said, I know a lot of people who love the food here. Perhaps it just doesn’t fit my personal palate.

I came here on a Sunday afternoon with my boyfriend and his mom. The food was above average and the service was just average. It is a funky unique vibe that’s unique to the area.
We started off with the chips, Guac, and salsa. The Guac was amazing, salsa was eh. The chips were EXTREMELY salty, we literally saw clumps of salt on them. We had asked for more and those were better but still too salty. We also had margaritas, which were a little too bitter, but not bad at all. A little pricey for the area.
My boyfriend and his mom had the shrimp burrito, which I tried and it was amazing. Pretty spicy. The shrimp were large and delicious. They were cooked perfectly. I had a shrimp quesadilla. It’s not on the menu, but I was in the mood for one so I had asked them to substitute it for the jerk chicken quesadilla. It was pretty good, the only thing is that I felt that the shrimp should have been cut up in it, rather than large pieces of it making the balance of cheese and shrimp uneven. I would order it again, the pineapple salsa was excellent. Overall the food was great.
The service was par. The food didn’t take too long, and our waitress was friendly. But, the host was very rude and the waitress didn’t really greet us correctly, or tell us their specials, which we found off putting. The bartender was really nice.
Overall, I would definitely come back when we are in town again!

85 degrees outside, get your bloody a/​c fixed, I one in particular don’t care for dining in my own perspiration, unless I’m at the beach. Now onto the reason why I came here. After reading the reviews I had to give it a go. With it being so hot out the Gazpacho sounded great, this is where it goes pear shape. The soup was of a consistency and color never seen before, actually the color reminded me of a really good brown roux. For the beginner «brown Roux» is used in Gumbo’s not a soup that comes from the southern coast of Spain. I was happy nacho chips were served along with this bowl of gloop. I call it gloop because it wasn’t soup and I was able to dip the nacho chips into it.
The Chicken Burrito even though it looked un appetizing on the plate, it was not bad at all. A ramekin of Pico de Gallo would have worked well with this dish.
Will I return? You will find out on my next review of Alto Cinco.

I’ve been here 5+ times now, so I figured it was time to write a review!
Alto Cinco has always been a win in terms of taste and quality. The portions are generous, it’s got the quirky vibe, and it’s always somewhere unique you can take people new to Syracuse/​guests from out of town.
Favorites include the burritos (particularly Chicken!), quesadillas (the alto cinco special!), and their chips/​guac/​salsa!
Their menu seems to be newly changed/​updated — for burritos, you can now pick your sides instead of automatically receiving their cornbread (which is very good) and their house salad (decent) — choices like rice and beans are now available, which I think is GREAT and gives you some options in case cornbread isn’t your thing/​you want to pass on the veggies ;)
That being said, the downsides would be:
1. Service is typically very slow — don’t go here if you are on a time crunch/​have somewhere to be! You could be stuck here for a while.
2. The restaurant tends to be packed, especially on Fridays/​weekends and peak meal times. If you have a big party, try and go early for dinner or pick a week day.
3. Related to #2, the service tends to be pretty scatter-​brained, since they are rushing around trying to take care of so many patrons.
…but overall the tastiness of the food and the fun atmosphere keep me coming back despite the downsides :)

I am someone who loves good service, but sometimes the food is prepared so well and is so fresh that I let bad service slip by. Alto Cinco is one of these places. While there is a big disconnect between the service staff, the kitchen makes up for it with finesse and skill.
I had the BBQ tofu burrito with a salad and cornbread. It is one of the vegan options, and I’m not vegan. But, there is so much flavor in this burrito that the meat is not missed at all. The BBQ sauce must be house made. The tofu was prepared well and only added to the dish– it was not mushy, under or over cooked. The texture in this burrito is amazing. From the crunchy lettuce to the soft beans and well-​prepared tofu, you are in for a treat if you order this burrito.
One negative of the food is the weird salad served next to the burritos. Everyone at my table had a burrito and each was served with a salad with mediocre dressing and was not well put together. It was far to bitter to be served with very little dressing and few other veggies. Maybe the chef wants to add some carrots or tomato to bring this salad up a notch.
The corn bread is not something you should forgo. Seriously, it is tasty.

I just heard that they are downsizing their menu!
But no worries — the catfish burrito will remain! I just had the bean and cheese burrito and it was delicious. They only 2 downsides: no refill for my ice tea (and u was sitting at the bar so it would have been easy to ask me) and they SILL give out those Jolly Ranchers. They might as well give away a ticket to a state fair ride.

Got the jerk chicken burrito upon recommendation from Alex L and others. It was delicious — you have to get it. But be prepared, it’s pretty spicy! This burrito is huge, and it’s served with plenty of rice, beans, jalapeño slices, and a sweet mango slices. Man, so many flavors in one burrito. You get the sweet from the salsa, salty & savory from the chicken, creamy from the cheese, and the fresh-​feeling from the rice. The beans give it that heartiness. The chicken… man… Usually with meats cut small and finely they can get lost in the rest of ingredients, but it was noticeable enough JUST to realize its taste. It was obviously marinated well, fiery, and fragrant, but there wasn’t any smoky flavor like I thought was a part of jerk chicken dishes. ⁸⁄₁₀
Like Alex L said, the corn bread was so good that I saved it for last. And yeah, it is better than Dino’s. Although I did miss some of that «corn-​feel» on the texture. But it was soft and spongy, so it’s good enough. I had this meal with the saranac prism white ale.

What is life if you can’t gorge into a burrito and make your entire face messy with bits of sauce, mayo and beans stuck to it? Meaningless, I tell you! Everyone needs to get burrito-​face every once in a while.
Alto Cinco is one of those hip places near SU campus that lets you do just that. They have lots of different beers on tap and serve brunch from 11 – 3 on Sunday’s. There’s a separate takeout window as well as indoor and outdoor seating.
After Danielle L’s profile mentioned that the «jerk chicken burrito» was her last meal on Earth, I knew I had to come back to Alto Cinco and try it. I was not disappointed. The burrito is huuuge and overflowingly filled with beans, rice, jerk chicken, cilantro and other goodies. It’s served with a side salad. The concoction was delicious, albeit very, very, very messy. My wife got the barbeque tofu burrito and was frustrated they put barbeque sauce on the outside of the tortilla (making it impossible to pick up with your hands without making an absolute mess).
So the final verdict: messy, chaotic — but delicious. Lots of vegan + vegetarian options here too!