Today is Cinco de Mayo. Here are 12 Akron area Mexican restaurants you should try

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you're in the mood for some chips and salsa, margaritas and Palomas, tacos and quesadillas or chimichangas and enchiladas, here are some Mexican restaurants in the area that are worth trying.

Note this is not an exhaustive list of eateries specializing in Mexican cuisine in Akron.

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Mucho Bueno’s Mexican Grill & Cantina

Mucho Bueno’s Mexican Grill & Cantina opened in Brunswick in 2006. Reporter Mark Price wrote that he and his wife Susie have been regulars for about 15 years.

Price wrote that he's tried the restaurant's enchiladas verdes, chicken mole poblano, enchiladas rancheras and the seafood combo while Susie's had taquitos, quesadillas, beef tacos and Mexican rice a la carte and other dishes in the past. During a late February trip, he opted for a No. 19 (bean burrito, cheese enchilada and bean tostada) and she went for No. 61 Yolanda's Enchiladas (three stuffed chicken enchiladas topped with cheese, lettuce and sour cream and served with a side of rice.

And don't forget dessert. The menu includes flan, churros and cheesecake chimichangas, but the Prices chose to split an order of fried ice cream.

“It’s fun to try new restaurants, but it’s always nice to return to the comfort of what you know,” Susie said.

Read on: Mucho Bueno’s Mexican Grill & Cantina in Brunswick is a feast and a fiesta

Casa del Mar

Casa Del Mar, which translates to “House of the Sea,” is an authentic Mexican restaurant on South Cleveland-Massillon Road just south of Interstate 76 in Greenridge Plaza. It’s been in business in Norton since 2013 and is a sister restaurant to Casa Del Rio in Wadsworth and Casa Del Rio Express in Fairlawn.

When Price visited in 2021, he found out that Casa Del Rio manager Raul Leon, who co-owns the restaurants with Fernando Hernandez and Rodolfo Montoya, are all from Michoacan in south central Mexico. Leon is a native of La Piedad, which is near Guadalajara.

Casa Del Mar features recipes passed down for generations, using a combination of traditional ingredients and spices, but the restaurant’s owners are always coming up with new ideas and new dishes, Leon said.

"Quite simply, this is some of the best Mexican food I’ve tasted in Summit County. My wife, Susie, and I had a fully satisfying dinner, and I do mean full," he wrote.

Read on: Casa Del Mar in Norton is a fiesta of deliciousness

Alejandro’s Amigos Taqueria

Friends Gustavo Munoz and Alejandro Enriquez opened Amigos Taqueria in Stow in 2022. Enriquez was formerly a cook at Munoz's Tallmadge restaurant El Tren Grill before they became close friends and decided to go into business together, reporter Kerry Clawson found out.

Amigos Taqueria focuses on the authentic dishes of their hometowns. That includes recipes perfected by Munoz's parents, who owned a taqueria in Aguas Calientes, Mexico, for many years, Clawson reported.

Freshness is put at the forefront, including guacamole made fresh tableside. Traditional agua fresca, or fresh water, is made daily in flavors like watermelon, lemonade, hibiscus and Horchata.

Another feature of the restaurant's menu allows for building your own customized entree. That includes starting with a taco, huarache, quesadilla, bowl, sope (handmade, thick corn tortilla), torta or machete (long corn tortilla).

Next, guests can choose from fillings including chorizo, steak, carnitas (slow-cooked pork), ground beef, al pastor, chicken, tinga (shredded chicken cooked in chipotle tomato sauce), lechon (Mexican-style pork roast), veggie or Birria. Finally, toppings include cilantro, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, fresh lime, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, jalapenos, refried beans, corn, onions and mayo.

Read on: Amigos Taqueria goes for Mexican authenticity in Stow

Tito's Mexican Grill

Tito's in Fairlawn has been around since 2011. Clawson had never been, so she and husband Steve finally checked it out last August.

She noted their extensive menu with variations of quesadillas, Mexican street tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and burritos plus 10 chef's specials, and that wasn't all.

After starting out with cocktails made with fresh-squeezed juices, a shrimp soup and chile con queso, Kerry opted for a lobster chimichanga while Steve went for the street tacos.

"My creamy chimichanga was the perfect combination with a sweet mixture of real lobster, scallops and shrimp in a large, fried chimichanga and topped with creamy cheese sauce," Clawson wrote. "I also enjoyed the light, delicate texture of the fried chimichanga tortilla that housed all that seafood goodness."

Read on: Dinner at Tito's Mexican Grill a feast you'll want to repeat

Town Tacos

Town Tacos, which opened inside Barmacy in Akron's Highland Square in 2022, specializes in street tacos. It's run by couple Tyler Robinson and Nadine Gheith, Clawson reported, who were encouraged by their friends to sell their taco creations.

From selling tacos to kids at the University of Akron to catering weddings in a food truck, the couple was approached by Barcmacy's owner. When the time was right, they made the move.

The menu features steak, chicken, pulled beef, tilapia or vegetarian elote street tacos; chicken or beef birria tacos with meat cooked for three to five hours and served with consomme broth; elote corn bowls; quesadillas and more.

Read on: Town Tacos cures your street taco cravings at new location inside Akron's Barmacy

Don Jose Mexican Cuisine

The new Don Jose Mexican Cuisine, which opened April 8 at Valley Centre plaza in Akron's Merriman Valley, specializes in the foods of owner Carlos Hernandez's family's homeland, the Mexican state of Michoacan. His parents, Jose and Josefina, even created the menu for the eatery, Clawson reported.

Amid the restaurant's huge menu of 42 entrees is No. 5. Enchiladas de la Casa, the restaurant's signature dish that's one of its bestsellers. Four enchiladas — chicken, ground beef, cheese and beans — are topped with a house-made tomato sauce indigenous to Hernandez's hometown whose distinctive ingredients are dried guajillo chiles, onions and cloves.

Other entrees include five types of enchiladas, flautas, sopes, chimichangas, tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, Mexican salads and appetizers and much more. During a recent visit, Clawson and photographer Lisa Scalfaro sampled the quesabirria, tasty double tacos filled with brisket, cheese, cilantro and onion and dipped in savory birria broth.

Read on: Oodles of noodles, tacos, pizza: These 6 restaurants opened in Summit County in April 🍜🌮🍕

La Loma

This authentic Mexican spot is located in Ellet.

La Loma’s most frequently ordered dishes are from the seafood section of its menu, the most popular of which is the molcajete — shrimp, octopus, scallops, crab legs, mussels and fish served sizzling in a mortar, reporter Tawney Beans found out in 2021.

“All the restaurants say they're authentic,” co-owner Blanca Saucedo said at the time. “Only when the customer will taste the food can [they] say that this is authentic. I know there are many, many, many Mexican restaurants, and even in their names it says authentic, but [our] food is seriously different in that sense.”

Read on: La Loma brings authentic Mexican tacos and more on the menu in Akron's Ellet neighborhood

La Fresa

La Fresa is Beans' go-to place when she's in the mood for fresh, fruity flavors that will cool her down.

They have numerous options for cold treats including house-made popsicles with flavors including coconut, blackberry and mango as well as more out-of-the-box popsicles are tequila, pico de gallo, pink and purple bubblegum, cereal, cheesecake, pine nuts, eggnog, and more.

La Fresa also makes their own ice creams and sherbets — which can be transformed into some lovely creations like their mangonada or banana split. For something different, fresa con crema (medium costs $9.99) is a cup filled to the brim with fresh strawberries covered in sweet cream and topped with whipped cream. I thought this was pretty fitting since the restaurant’s name literally translates to “the strawberry.”

"Dishes like fresa con crema, coupled with their complete dinner menu and attached piñata candy shop, are what make La Fresa a must-try for both ice cream and Mexican food," Beans wrote.

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El Papa's

El Papa’s originally opened in Dover in 2009. After a decade in business, it moved to Cuyahoga Falls on Howe Avenue and operated there for five years. Now the brightly colored eatery, sporting vibrant walls, curtains and banners, resides in what was once Domenic’s Pub on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls.

Domenic DiLullo still owns the building and Molly Brown's Country Café next door. He didn’t hesitate to Beans know how he felt about the new restaurant during our interview with co-owner Juan Rodriguez.

“Everything is made fresh, delicious,” DiLullo said. “Today is my sixth time coming here. Every time I come in, I try a different dish. Everything's super delicious.”

The most popular dishes at El Papa's are the California burrito, birria tacos, white enchiladas and margaritas, Beans reported after a recent visit.

Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant

At Los Cabos, a newer Mexican restaurant that recently took over the former El Rancho's in Wallhaven, was a good option for reporter Craig Webb and his wife Jennifer's recent lunch.

They started off enjoying warm chips and salsa, a flight of three margaritas while Jennifer went for a carne asada burrito bowl that came with a mix of greens, black beans, avocado, corn, white rice, pico and sour cream and Craig ordered sizzling steak fajitas.

"If I closed my eyes for minute, the smell of the delicious plate of steak and grilled onions and peppers at Los Cabos took me to a tropical paradise, or a Chi-Chi's circa 1982," Webb wrote.

Read on: Take a culinary trip to Mexico at Akron's new Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant

Funky Truckeria

Funky Truckeria in Norton gave Webb a taste of summer during a December 2022 visit.

After mulling the numerous menu options (I must have muttered "I don't know there's so many choices" a million times, Webb wrote), Craig tried the steak and chorizo campechano taco and a BBQ carnitas taco while Jennifer went for the fried grouper taco and the Birria street style taco. They also ordered the chorizo funky balls as well as chip with pico de gallo and street corn salsa.

"Truth be told, I have no idea what I ordered or even in which order I ate it. What I do know is everything was really yummy. And we were pretty full, too," Webb wrote.

Read on: Norton's Funky Truckeria offers food truck experience year round

Casa Del Rio

At Casa Del Rio in Wadsworth, Webb again went with his trusty go-to: steak fajitas.

"The amount of steak was generous, and there were plenty of onions and peppers and just the right amount of salty taste to make me hungry for more," he wrote.

"Maybe6 next time, I'll try something new," he continued. "Nah. Who am I kidding? I am a culinary creature of habit. The steak fajita alone is worth a second trip."

Read on: Casa Del Rio in Wadsworth serves up Mexican fare with family hospitality

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Today is Cinco de Mayo. Here are 12 Akron area Mexican restaurants you should try