I'm always open to a new Mexican spot that's quick and casual and after writing off El Toro last year I've been looking for something to take its place. This spot is located really close to UC and adjacent to the Hampton Inn. The parking is paid, but the restaurant told me to push "5" then "2" and you get a free hour. The service was that good and helpful throughout. On a Saturday afternoon it was less than crowded so no wait which was a plus. We were quickly served chips and salsa which were very good. I did not partake in the house margaritas, but my husband had one and said it was just okay. However it was only $2.99 so I think it's worth a try. Overall my food (chicken salad bowl) was just okay. The chicken lacked flavor and the lettuce was wet. My husband had the Tropicana fajitas and I definitely had food envy because they looked delicious. I got a side of corn and that is a must have, perfectly roasted. I'd like to try something like a burrito or flautas before I write this place off to just a quick happy hour stop, but my first visit was just okay. read more

See all

Service 10/10 - quick, attentive and friendly Food 9/10 - fresh & delicious Drink 10/10 - fast & perfect We had chips& salsa ( fresh, spicy and delicious), Margarita and burrito Veloz. The service is amazing! Fast and friendly! The food was delightful. We'll be back. read more

El Taco Veloz - Burrito Veloz - so delicious! - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I've been here several times and it's always great. The service is always on point and the food is always very delicious! I love the margaritas as well! read more

Great option for whenever you are craving Mexican! Their chips and salsa is tasty, and the queso was nice too. Ordered the beef tips chimichanga and the burrito veloz (this is massive and has everything you want in it!). Food was solid, no complaints. Service was friendly, can get a little slow when they are busy managing their dine in and take out orders. read more

El Taco Veloz - Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Down at Good Sam and looking for a place to grab dinner. This place is fantastic. Very friendly and efficient. The food was amazing and portions are huge. I tried the burrito and OMG was it awesome. Chips and salsa were solid too. Highly recommend this place for good Mexican food. read more

El Taco Veloz - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Just to be transparent, I love Mexican. We chose this place due to it being across the parking lot from the Hampton Inn. What good fortune. We had steak tacos and shared the burrito Veloz. Honestly one of the best burritos I have had. It had everything, and I mean everything in it. From shrimp to pork to beef and throw in pineapple for good measure. It is muy buen! The tacos are very good as well. Everything is fresh and they give you a verde sauce with them that is delicious. The place was clean and the service was good as well. Home We will be back. read more

El Taco Veloz - Fajitas Tropical! - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Just got fajitas here on Friday night and they were fantastic! I really enjoyed the carnitas and shrimp fajitas. I forgot how good shrimp is in a fajita. I also got to try the vegetarian fajitas which were also on point. Paired with chips, queso, and the classic array of mild, verde, and spicy salsa, El Taco Veloz was a carryout win! There is a strong chance we will be ordering here again real soon. read more

Friendly service and good food. Also these guys are speedy. My favorite are the tacos - they are quite authentic and not your typical American hamburger tacos. read more

Great little Mexican dinner. They are social distancing inside but also have a nice little patio. My friends and I all enjoyed our meals and I took home an extra treat of flan! Yum!! read more

El Taco Veloz - Chips and salsa and queso - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Ronaldo was super cool to hang out with at the bar. Great margarita. Food was great. Beer prices seemed a little high but not a huge deal. Check this place out. read more

Slow slow service, food was mediocre at best. Salsa was tomato sauce and cilantro. No jalapeños or onions . Weak attempt at salsa. Don't bother going here. read more

Always stop in when visiting town. Good food, great quality. Wish there was one of these in my hometown

So before you struggle to find parking in this place, you will find it if you turn into the hotel that shares the parking lot, just be sure to get the parking validated. Very Leary on places that seem to change names fairly often, so we rolled the dice in Clifton last week. I hate cookie cutter Mexican menus and rarely pick this cuisine, however I browsed the menu online and found a street corn option and fajita servings in a halved pineapple appealing and worth a quick drive. Arrived and found place more spacious than what I expected and several drink options handily ready for that Margarita flare many people crave. Prices are comparable to others in the area, so don't feel like you'll have to mortgage the house for dinner. My wife always likes the open kitchen as you get a feeling of more careful preparation when you're accessible. Ok, so to the food review. The chips and salsa are decent. Salsa is house made and not just jarred and served. The rice is seasoned and not bland. The beans are business as usual. Meat is not just sitting under a hot lamp and prepared fresh and served violently hot, so beware. The corn was the jewel of the menu. Great tasting corn, seasoned and cheese layered to hit most of the palette sensations you'd expect from the photos. Food beat my expectations and at how minimal the menu is, I think they can focus on fine tuning the simple things, yet have enough variety to keep you coming back to try new things. Worth a try as the workers were very friendly and went far & beyond to make sure my daughter was taken care of! read more

El Taco Veloz - Street corn - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

DELICIOUS and fast! I've been waiting for this place to open for months... and I am NOT disappointed! The queso is great, the salsa is great, the chips are great. Highly recommend a stop here. Especially if you're visiting the zoo since it's just down yhe read more

El Taco Veloz - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Very good! We stayed at the hotel across the parking lot for a long weekend and actually ate here twice! The food is flavorful and the portions are nice. There are a few things on the menu that you don't necessarily see on all Mexican food menus (like tortas). If you like cream cheese at all, do yourself a favor and try Xangos for dessert. You'll be glad you did. read more

If a high rating is a factor of quality, value, and convenience, then El Taco Veloz hits high marks. It is located very near my place of work so I am so relieved that it is also delicious. Really affordable too, with $3 tacos and $3.50 sopes. They give the table chips and salsa, too ,which is great. The el pastor is my favorite, as usual, but I've also enjoyed both the carne asada and barbacoa, too. I love sopes and have been ordering them religiously on my visits, but I can't wait to also try the huaraches and maybe a burrito sometime. The only thing I wish is that they would put out the salsa verde for your use, like in a squeeze bottle, so I wouldn't have to ask for it every time. I also have asked for extra salsa twice in ordering to go and they seem a little miffed by it. Salsa for my tacos, salsa for my chips, that's all I'm asking! read more

El Taco Veloz - Sopes! - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Their margs are very strong but the food is just ok. Although I did get takeout which I don't think is always the most telling of a restaurant. They also forgot part of our order but were kind + helpful in getting it for us when we asked. I got the queso, plus 3 tacos--tongue, Al pastor, and chicken. The queso was very good, not too liquidy like at some places. The tacos were just ok as they didn't have all the toppings listed on the menu like we thought. I would definitely return for chips, queso, and margs but I think I will stick to tacos elsewhere. read more

My mother and I were looking for a new place to try and came across El Taco Veloz. The sign outside said now open so we tried it and we were not disappointed! I ordered the Horchata to drink and the Tropicana Fajitas! Happy to say we will be returning! read more

El Taco Veloz - Tropicana Fajitas, Flavored Water - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I was reluctant to go here because the location is so random. I drove past it for a year thinking it would close down like most of the other places that inhabited this location previously. Then.....a pandemic hit! I started supporting places I thought might be the hardest hit AND it was #tacotuesday . So I called, ordered 9 tacos, 2 tamales and 2 margaritas. The fact we live in a world where we can drive around with open containers ordered from local spots is fantastic. I waited to try the margarita until I got home but the fact I could get it to go was enough to bring me back again.....and again. The food was perfect for the occasion and the pick up was painless. 2 customers inside at a time. Just as it should be. Not so humbly submitted, Michael C. read more

This is a small place with a small menu but HUGE flavor!! Service is some of the best we have had in a long time! Parking is a little odd if you aren't used to downtown parking, but we easily found free on street parking less than a half block away. They have outdoor seating and inside has plenty of room even with "social distancing" in practice. Menu is easy to navigate, with options for everyone even though it is only 4 pages. Prices are the normal range for a Mexican Restaurant. Nachos were good, salsa is one of our favorites, which says a lot. Not too many onions or cilantro, just enough spice to be noticeable but easy for all to enjoy. Cheese dip wasn't watery or "plastic", like some other places. Beef nachos were warm, crisp and loaded, good flavors too. Shrimp fajita was very tasty, cooked to correct temp and not over loaded with oils or cilantro. Requested no lettuce and was given no lettuce :) Burrito Veloz was forearm sized!! Presentation was beautiful. Pineapple was fresh and balanced out the savory with the sweet. It contained chicken, steak, and shrimp which was a very nice variety. Was drenched in cheese which was perfect to have for every bite. Beer was cold, in a frosted mug and fresh as well!! All in all, so glad to find this place so close to the hospital as well! read more

See all

Ah. May. Zing. Stopped here because it was near our hotel and everything was fantastic. Service was good, salsa was great and the chimichanga, enchiladas and shrimp salad were fantastic. Well done! read more

Absolutely recommend for REAL authentic Mexican (not the chain restaurant type.) Beautiful plates of food for reasonable prices and great service. Not to mention, as the name suggests, the food was served very quickly but definitely not rushed. My new go-to for Mexican food, hands down. read more

El Taco Veloz - A little bit of everything (taco, corn, Huarache, burrito) - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

So the kid and I are looking for street tacos, something cheap, off the beaten path, I was just wanting to cram a few in my cake hole and get on the road. First place closes right when we walked up (of course) second place is a sit down joint, whatever at this point. Got watery salsa w/no taste, great value tortilla chips, ordered a torta, side barbacoa and 2 steak tacos for the kid. Order came out reasonably quick, torta was good but not great, they used a real fluffy bread for the sandwich that I liked but made it fall apart. Tacos were below avg, and were $3.25/piece, definitely not worth it. The damage/3 tacos, torta, two drinks, w/tip $32, if it would have been $25 it would still be 2 stars. Parking situation is funky too, I have to believe Cincy has better than this. read more

Before i get into the place, let me tell you what I witnessed with the encounter with a beggar. There was a guy, obviously made bad choices, and without saying he was high, he was around 40,000' without being in a plane. It was hot, and i was listening to my wife talk and observing this guy, stumble around and panhandle, he eyeballed some water on a table that was left outside by leaving customers. He walked over, stared intently at the water, and then took a large drink. He then wakes inside the restaurant and asked for something to drink, to which the waiter gave him a large to go cup with water and ice. Kudos mate... i was about to do it. Ok, now about the restaurant. The margaritas were spot on, and for $4 happy hour, we took full advantage. The chips, salsa and cheese were a perfect appetizer. The street tacos were exceptional! Get the el pastor, it is better than the chicken and steak. If we are ever back, we will gladly be back in. Instead of wakes, lets walk inside. Damn fingers. read more

I just ate there and got food poisoning within an hour. I knew something was off, as I had been telling my wife during the first few bites, because the pastor had a mealy texture. The beef nachos she got also had an off flavor. The salsa verde seemed to be a bit aged as well based on the oxidized taste and look (turned a bit brown and a bit bitter) but I've experienced that at other places too. It's a shame because they were so friendly and the food came out pretty quick but the taste was off and clearly caused some issue. I really think it was the pastor or beef...both seemed to have an odd texture and a very poor flavor. I should have stopped after the first few bites but was starving after a 7 hour drive. Hope the fam doesn't get sick too.... read more

This restaurant is a cafe sort of spot with really good Mexican food. I had the carnitas tacos & margarita which was delicious. Our order was on the table in no time at all, so if you're hungry like 'right now', this is the place. Restaurant is clean and our server kept chips & salsa and drinks coming without us having to flag him down. I recommend El Taco Veloz. read more

See all

An OK Mexican place to grab lunch. Food comes out very fast, the interior is OK. It is kind of a diner type of vibe, with these tall plastic water cups with straws (against the eco trend of eliminating them), cutlery wrapped in napkins, red baskets for chips. Nothing wrong with that, but beware it is not fancy date place, very casual. I was here for work lunch. Per recommendation of my colleagues I took the Chori Pollo, which is a grilled chicken breast with chorizo, rice and guac. It was very salty and on the greasy side, I would not order it again. For $10.99, it also did not feel like a great value for the amount of food. After tax and tip, it was an expensive and fast foody lunch. The good thing: the food came extremely fast, even for our 8 people table. Tacos were much more affordable, they had cheap drinks and chips & salsa were complimentary. I would not recommend it as a first choice Mexican. It is more of an greasy spoon chain. read more

Tacos were INCREDIBLE! Margs were refreshing And the service was amazing. Give this place 10/10. read more

El Taco Veloz - a woman sitting at a table - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Great place. Delicious food and attentive service. Tacos were wonderful with radish and fresh cilantro garnish. I chose chicken and chorizo. Hubbie said his taco salad was great- and huge- he finished it! Homemade salsa and chips so yummy. A nice walk from UC campus - too bad our son just graduated. read more

El Taco Veloz - TACOS Taco - Mexican Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

So good we ate here twice during our two-day trip to Cincinnati! I was not only impressed by the delicious food (loaded nachos and vegetarian burritos) but by the excellent customer service. They went above and beyond to treat us with respect and handle our order with care. It can't be missed, especially if you happen to be staying at the Hampton Inn next door! read more

5 stars for an authentic Mexican restaurant in Cincinnati! When you arrive, make sure you park in the section closest to the restaurant. Otherwise, you're in the hotel's parking. If it's a busy night, don't worry: you can get a free hour of parking at the hotel lot. We have sat both inside and outside. Our server, Ryan, was super attentive and accommodating. The margaritas are SO good - $8.75 for a (very) large size, in either frozen or on-the-rocks. They are so tasty AND so strong! They also have agua horchata and agua jamaica (traditional Mexican drinks and they're delicious), jarritos (bottled Mexican soda), beer, and soft drinks. Every part of the experience here is great... but the highlight is really the food. I have tried many, many things on the menu: - Tacos ($2.99) - in a variety of meats. Chicken, carnitas, and carne asada are my favorite. Served with handmade tortillas, cilantro and onion. This is the authentic and proper way to serve your tacos, with lime & radish on the side. Get the tacos, they're the best thing on the menu. - Vegetable quesadilla - Again, a handmade, thicker tortilla and the freshest grilled vegetables. So indulgent and vegetarian-friendly. - Camarones jalisco - Bacon wrapped shrimp, served with lettuce, refried beans and rice. Very good. - El salmon veloz - High quality salmon prepared in a very flavorful way. - Chipotle chicken - grilled chicken served with shrimp and a delicious sauce on top, with all the normal accompaniments. - Corn - served hot with mayo, chile seasoning, cotija cheese and lime. So good! Every meal comes with chips & salsa for the table as well. They do carryout orders, doordash, ubereats and grubhub - there are many ways you can get your El Taco Veloz fix ;) read more

Very kind service, they have very limited flavors on frozen margs however. Restaurant was clean and quick.

outdated menu, hardly anything on it, rarely saw server check on us, food is mediocre, you have to pay to park read more

If you're in the Short Vine area, this spot is a must. Specifically if you're staying at the Hampton. Conveniently located in the parking lot. Fast and friendly service. Fresh and crispy chips. Salsa comes out in a jar and with the perfect amount of spice. The Chile rejeno was soooo amazing and came out quick. The house special (lime) margarita ($7.95) was delicious. Spot was clean and friendly. And I may have gone back for a second margarita. I would stay at this Hilton again to have this easy access to a bomb ass food spot. read more

See all

Food looked good, tasted bland. Portion size good. Prices fine. Staff nice. Nice decor, skulls!

Pretty decent place for a good plate. I had the Texana Fajita and it was pretty good. The salsa was good with several bottles of sauces to add to it for additional kick. Next door to the Hampton Inn. So, it's pretty convenient if you are staying there. read more

El Taco No Goz. I was hoping it was true what the other reviews were saying: that this is Cincinnati's best Mexican restaurant. Alas, I found it expensive in terms of value for the $, not very fresh, and not especially authentic. They have tacos, sopas, burritos, and a few other entree choices--all very typical except for the sopas and huaraches. The sopa's thick masa tortilla was tasty, but it was topped with unripe tomato and light green iceberg (and my visit was mid August). The carnitas was salty, the rice and beans typical glop you get everywhere, and the guac came as a 3 tablespoon serving for $4. The tacos were just ok. The most inspiring things on the menu were the salsas: each was really interesting flavor-wise and none were too hot. The place seems clean and the parking plentiful. I'll probably stick with Taqueria San Marcos for tacos in the future. read more

The tacos are too small. Hardly any fish on the fish tacos. Seriously, one measly tiny piece of fish on each taco. Definitely not worth almost $4 a taco..... more like $1.25 per taco is probably more appropriate. All three pieces of fish off the three tacos could have all been combined into one taco, that's how small and measly they were..... they top them with only onion, cilantro, and a round piece of radicchio. I should have taken a pic to post so y'all can see what I'm talking about. The tacos could be good if they gave you more meat. The side of rice was not good either as the rice was dry, hard and crunchy in spots. I ordered 3 fish tacos and a side of rice and two sodas and my bill was $22 something.... They charge like $3.99 per taco, $3 something for the rice, and the fountain pop is over $3 as well so it can add up and start to get pricey. Probably won't be back. read more

Got this food in a snow storm and was not disappointed in the quality at all. Flautas and nachos were ordered and the portions were large. Very good! read more

Good food and authentic. I got the steak fajitas and I'd suggest you order it for two vs one as it's a healthy portion.