bakersfield otr

absolutely great food and drinks! awesome service, both at the table and at the bar, but expect a long wait. highly recommend the fish tacos

great margaritas, tacos were very tasty! best guacamole i have had, also loved the smokey flavor of one of the salsa's. will def return

pretty damn good tacos and beer. enough said. great music

it was probably around august of last year when i first spotted the sign in the window of a vacant spot on vine street. i had no clue what bakersfield otr was going to be at the time, but for some reason i was excited about it. fast forward some months later and bakersfield finally opens, a unique little restaurant serving up "mexican influenced street fare" and a diverse drink menu featuring beer, whiskey, and tequila. needless to say my interest and excitement level rose and i was getting pretty antsy until brett and i finally witnessed the "bakersfield experience". you've probably read this on every other cincinnati blog , but bakersfield is exceptional. honestly friends, i'm not kidding...bakersfield otr is as great as everyone is saying if not better. our entire evening was a delightful experience with impeccable service, a beautiful and unique atmosphere, and delicious food (especially those crispy, fresh, hot right of the fryer chips paired with salsa. this means something comin

tasty, great service ...loved it !. we had about a 15 minute wait, but luckily we had a space and seat at the bar whilst we waited for our table so it was fine. we had the chips and salsa...loved, loved, loved the salsa. we had a mixture of tacos, all of which were fantastic, the server was excellent, very friendly and all round a great afternoon. we will be back soon, we both really enjoyed it.

on a saturday afternoon, bakersfield otr can be a quite pleasant place. a margarita, two tacos, chips, and chorizo queso came to $20.30. not too bad for a light lunch, especially compared to some of bakersfield's neighbors.

nothing to not like here. since i live so close to northside i have already eaten at tacocracy and django and i really like both of those places and plan on eating there again but i have to say this place more than lived up to the hype from here on the spoon and from friends. we got lucky and were able to walk in and sit at the bar and they had a good friend's favorite western on once upon a time in the west so that was cool.

we started with the house margarita and it was very tart but also pretty dang good. we also ordered the queso and chorizo and it reminded me of a version i had down in merida, mx last month with a lot of cheese and ample chorizo and the portion was pretty large for us to split. we just hung out and enjoyed our drinks and i about finished off the hot salsa which was pleasantly spicy.

after a bit we ordered and the two tacos i had were both top notch. the pastor couldn't have had more meat on it had they tried, this taco packs in so much flavor i get it whenever a restaurant has it on the menu. i only ordered one other taco and it currently is not on the menu but it blew the pastor out of the water it was just fantastic. it had mole sauce and that was about all i can remember but it was a great addition.

i can see why there is a wait since it is like most places down here not a lot of room and this is one place that could probably afford to expand. oh yea the barkeeps were both great very friendly, quick and made a great suggestion on that second taco.

otr balance. as otr becomes more and more gentrified, it's nice to see a place that is still a joint, and not like some pretentious east or west coast wannabe that live both across and up vine street. yes, hipsters and yuppies still lurk, but bakersfield otr is real, real on food, drink and service. the bartenders are some of the most competent and friendly that i've seen in years. sit at the bar, if you can get a seat, and let the excellent staff serve you. and while the bartenders and drinks are awesome, the stars of this joint are the guacamole and the fried chicken sandwich, both of which are the best i n the city!

great food, good price, great atmosphere. top 3 best restaurants in cincy right now. must try!!

be ready for a wait to be seated. but, while you wait just head to lackman and have a beer and wait for them to give you a call on your cell phone. then pay your tab and go get some great grub.

food:

every taco on the menu:
~ pricing: cheap $3
~ food: best taco in cincy
~ portion: perfect size

chips & salsa
~ salsa is dead on authentic mexican salsa
~ i also got the ghost pepper salsa for $3 (only finished half, but was a great experience)

margarita
~ pricing: reasonable
~ portion: perfect
~ quantity: perfect


atmosphere:
simple, relaxing, family friendly or great place to just grab a beer.

customer service:
great every time i have gone but once. there was just one time a female server was a b**** and if that was my first time there i would have never gone back, but i know other servers there are kick ass. hopefully she is fired for having a horrible personality.

in the course of only a few short years, cincinnati has gone from taco-starved to tacos out the ears. multiple choices now abound, including taco trucks, authentic and not-so-authentic taquerias, highbrow tacos and lowbrow, hole-in-the-wall tacos. authentic mainstays like la mexicana and taqueria mercado now compete with the likes of taco azul...

totally awesome!. we are from the lexington area and love this bar! every time we cross the river we stop in. love the loud music, love the old westerns playing, love the fact that it is packed all the time! it's a great place with awesome tacos and a bar that meets all our needs. their selections of bourbon is the best we have ever seen. if you want it, it's on their bar! it's a super fun place to hang out with friends and have a good time!

...this place was worth travelling the distance. i live over an hour away. i highly recommend this place. you will not be disappointed. booking is essential. lunches only from 12pm mon – sun. for those who like to go all the way, d’arry’s verandah does offer a degustation menu.

taco brunch is one of the finest inventions. ever. ann and i went to bakersfield for some margies and tacos before drunk shopping in otr. do yourself a favor when you go. get the pitcher. you will not be sorry. a 64oz pitcher of prime margaritas for a very fair price. and my friend, you will be tipsy after. chippos and guacamole came. bakersfield was recently voted the best guacamole in the city and i would quite agree. i am partial to the django but bakersfield gives them a run for their money.  when you order your tacos you will get them like this. it's very pretty and very overwhelming looking. look at all of them. we ordered the huitlacoche (corn smut), short rib, chicken and al pastor. my favorites of those are the short rib and al pastor. i am not a huge fan of a lot of taco toppings and they do it well. you get a little garnish of some salsa or other topping in addition to some yummy mexican cheeses. bakersfield is a delicious, delicious, delicious place.  

come on really? waited 30 minutes for a few small tacos. hipsters and suburban soccer moms. i miss otr.

i really don't get all the hype. ok, decent tacos but small and $3 is a bit much. certainly not worth the wait. if this were a taco truck or stand and they charged $2 i would say pretty good. but it is what it is just a taco. get over it hipsters haha