Moved to Columbus this Spring and got many suggestions to be sure to go to Garcia's when it opened for the season.
So I was very disappointed with a typically American version of a Mexican menu. Â My meal was bland. Â My husband indicated the same.
Still scratching my head as to what all the hype was about.
Not your typical Mexican restaurant  Unique food and hours. Not spicy. Lots of cheese.  Cash or checkbook only. The sauces come in ketchup type squirt bottles and they are thin.  One sweet and one hot and both are terrific. The tostadas are great.  Closed on Sat and Sun and winter but worth the wait.
Review Source:People flock here for the tradition, but there is absolutely nothing special about this place. The burritos are something you can make at home (as stated in a previous review), and I think I can achieve their sauce by squirting French dressing onto a tortilla chip, because they hand you a plate of chips and NO salsa (wtf).
Review Source:This place has to be the the worst restaurant in Columbus. After hearing locals rave about it my bf and I decided to give it a shot. We had to wait almost an hour to be seated, which we thought was a good sign. Â We finally get to order and the waitress is beyond rude and messed up our entire order. When we get our correct food it was beyond awful. I ordered cheese enchiladas and not only were they flavorless but they were stuffed with American cheese! the tortillas were stale and the sauce on the outside was indeterminable but you could tell that it came out of a can. I tried to liven it up with some sauce in an unmarked bottle that was on the table. Imagine my surprise when it was not hot sauce, but french dressing. The owner may have been Mexican and some point, and maybe it was good then, but whoever is running it now should be fired. If this is what the local people call "good authentic mexican food" Â then they need to get their heads checked. Save your money and go to tapatios. Oh wait, you can't because they are closed. Smooth move Columbus, I guess you dont deserve to have good food if you dont know what it is.
Review Source:To be fair, there was a lot I liked about Garcia's. The food was very fresh, it tasted good, it's certainly MUCH higher quality than most Mexican food joints, and the staff is very friendly and accommodating. But let's be honest ....the place is really weird. Basically, I think you need to know what you're getting out of Garcia's to truly enjoy it.
The biggest issue I found with Garcia's is that it's rather expensive for the very small amount of food you get. My boyfriend and I dropped over $20 on lunch and still left hungry. Everything is small, small, small, and you have to pay for refills (really). Also there isn't a ton of variety so you get the bare bones of Mexican dishes (but good Mexican dishes nonetheless). The whole set up is rather odd as well. It's not a sit-down, get serviced type place. Garcia's is strictly an order-and-get-up-to-your-food-when-the-number-is-Âcalled-type joint. The hours are also completely random so you must call before you come.
At the end of the day, I wasn't blown away and it'll never be my favorite restaurant. BUT if you're looking for a place that's different and serves some quality Mexican food, I would recommend that you check this place out. I would just suggest you come prepared for weird and come either not terribly hungry or loaded with more cash than you'd typically expect you'd need for a filling meal (note: they only take cash or check).
Garcia's is a local Tex-Mex restaurant with simple fare, but excellent food. Â It is closed for a good portion of the year, so locals tend to go here a lot while it is open. Â Their hot sauce is some of the best I have eaten and their chimichangas are to die for. Â They are open from Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner. Â It is a small restaurant so there is a wait at times, especially in May when they first open for the year.
Review Source:My favorite Mexican restaurant in Columbus, or anywhere close, for that matter. Very small family-run with good service. Very clean. Â Food is freshly prepared, always tasty. This is not a cookie-cutter Mexican restaurant where everything tastes the same. Open lunch and dinner hours only. Closed Sun and Mon. Closed during winter months. No alcohol.
Review Source:Garcia's has been around since the 1960's, I think. Â It started out near Seymour and moved to Columbus in the 70's. Â It was in Columbus before any of the other Mexican Restaurants. Â
Joel Garcia, the owner, is Mexican, and his recipes are entirely his own. Â Those of us who grew up on Garcia's think it's the best in the world and make it a point to go whenever we are in town. Â It may be an acquired taste for out-of-towners, but the locals line up outside and wait gladly for up to an hour to get in.
Hours are quirky, because it's family owned: Â Lunch and Dinner Tuesday thru Friday. Â Closed Sat, Sun, and Mon. Â Also closed in the winter until the owner feels like reopening. Â What a life! Â During the weeks to months they are closed, locals go through withdrawal and drive by every so often to see if they have opened back up yet, and when they have, the word travels fast.
To sum it up: if you are going through withdraw during the months when garcia's is closed, just buy a can of refried beans, dump it on a paper plate, sprinkle SAMs club cheese on it, nuke it and then walk to the bathroom and pull out your wallet so that you can finish off the experience by flushing 6 bucks down the toilet. Â Nothing authentic about this place.. There are more Mexican cooks at Texas roadhouse than there are here.
My top Mexican pick in this town is Riveria Maya for sure
While the ambiance of Garcia's blends in with so many other Mexican restaurant, the food is one of a kind. You will be pleasantly surprised with the pure and simple ingredients that are merged together to form a unique and wholesome meal.
I recommend that you leave any expectations of what Mexican food should be and open your mind and mouth to an awesome meal. Â Every time I leave there I love it more and more. Â The only downside to Garcia's is that they are not open for business during the winter and weekends.
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