gordo's pub & grill

hot, but not in a good way!. my first visit was friday evening, 5/28/10. our server was fantastic, but everyone should have been told that the air conditioning was not working at all. it was extremely hot & humid outside, about 89 degrees, and it was hotter than blue blazes inside the restaurant. i had checked the internet for info ongordo'sbefore we went. they only had four entrees listed, which i thought was a little strange. my husband and i decided to go with the short ribs. when we ordered, we were told they didn't have the short ribs, however, they were still on their web site and still listed on the menu. that left three items: a chicken dish, a salmon dish and a basa fish dish. we weren't thrilled with any of these, however, we chose the basa fish. the fish itself was okay, but it was on a bed of red cabbage, which i normally like, but this red cabbage was extremely sour tasting. it was covered with a poblano cream sauce, which was good. anything else was ala carte. no bread or butter served, etc. they do have an extensive list of gourmet burgers, but we are not burger lovers. to conclude, i would give this restaurant, out of 10, a 2. more entrees are needed, some with beef, pork, etc. and, for god sakes, put a sign on the door if the air isn't working. persons with breathing problems should not go in. the heat and humidity on friday was horrible.

on the quest for the best burger in cincinnati,gordo'smade  my list number three:

walking in the door early 11:00 am, sat at the bar and told them build me the best burger you can, it was thegordo'sburger it was delicious, you can weight the difference between the top 10, this will always be there, we will be back for more, the staff was great.

recommended.

i have been togordo'sseveral times, and while this is a place i really want to like, it just doesn't make the cut when it comes to the food quality

if you're going to go here and have not been here before, be mindful that it is kinda of hard to spot, in a building that is not very wide in the front, with less than obvious unlit signage.  inside and out, it looks quite a bit more like a dive bar that happens to serve food rather than a restaurant trying to also be a dive bar

they have a random daily soup, some appetizers and salads, some hot and cold sandwiches, and two types of seafood tacos, but the specialty here is the burger menu, and these are in my opinion the best things they make here

the burgers - about a dozen or so configurations - are thick pub style burgers.  they do offer to cook to requested degree of doneness, and to their credit they have hit the right mark in this sense (i prefer mr) 4 out of the 5 times i have ordered a burger here.  i don't know what they cook on - i dont see grill marks so i'd think griddled but then there is a certain backyard-bbq smokiness to these burgers that suggests they are cooked over a charcoal or wood grill.   they are very tasty and filling and served on a good quality bun, but my one issue is that they aren't as juicy as they should be for this style of burger, particularly at this price level ($10+)

i've tried several of the sides but none have been worth the 2 dollar upcharge to substitute for the unremarkable steak fries included with every sandwich.  from pictures i have seen online, it looks like they use to broil cheese atop the mac and cheese, but unfortunately they dont do that anymore

several other menu items i have tried that weren't a burger - the baked mushrooms in a thin and bland cream sauce, the pork bbq that wasn't really bbqed, the nanay egg rolls filled with unseasoned (possible boiled) hamburger - were all things i'd steer you away from
 
the one non-burger item that i can sorta kinda get behind is the pork belly nachos.  they use good fresh chips, plenty of cheese, and bonus they toss the dish in a salamander so the top gets melted and even lightly browned, like any good nachos plate should be.  the one failing is the main event - the pork belly.  there just isn't nearly enough of it to make its presence known and what there is is cut into tiny pieces about the size of half of the eraser on a typical brand-new pencil. i dont know if they'll honor a request for extra meat on this dish, but if you order this, i recommend that you at least request it

bottom line - stick with the burgers here

excellent all round, great burgers and sercvice. firstly this is the kind of place that should be titled " dont judge a book by its cover" . i would have normally driven past this place and given it a wide berth, it really doesnt look that inviting from outside, once inside though i was really surpised, nice bar area and plesant decor, nothing over fancy, but from outside to in, there was no comparison.
my friends has eaten at the other location near jungle jims and had not been impressed, they were told to try this one as its much better and has better food, i had never heard of the place and will give anything a once. we all had burgers, including the bpj,gordo'sand jean robert. all were excellent, cooked exactly as requested and no one had any complaints. the peanut butter and jelly would have been the last thing i woudl ever have chosen, my friend had it though and that will be my next choice next time i visit, it was so tasty, a great combo of salty and sweet.
our server was excellent, gave great advise and suggestions and was very attentive. the beer list was excellent and they had one of my fave drinks of all time, magners irish cider...i was in heaven. my husband tried several different beers they had on special and loved them all, especially the smutty nose ale. i will be back again, i really enjoyed the evening, food and service.

and for the person who said in their review that if you like this place you are either 1 ...an idiot or 2...never eaten burgers, i can state that i am neither i just had a great night and great food !!!

great burgers and beer.gordo'sis a very cool bar in norwood with great food, particularly the burgers and saratoga chips, and great beer. the burgers could be classified as "gourmet" in the sense that you can go and get unique items, such as grape compote or lump crab, on your burger. the beer selection is great, and they always have a huge selection both on draft and in bottles. it's a very cool place to watch a game.

great burger.gordo'sis known for its burgers. the gordo burger comes with poblano peppers and boursin cheese. this is an amazing combination! the restaurant is not very large and can fill up pretty fast on weekends or during lunch.

my only complaint is that sometimes it may take a while between ordering and receiving your food. other than thatgordo'sis one of the better cincinnati burger joints.

best burger in cincy. terry's is close, but just a notch below. about 50% of my burger mafia agree with this ranking. i cant fathom ordering another burger atgordo'sother than the jean robert. the goat cheese and grape compote really explode on the taste buds. the beer selection is out of this world, too.

i can appreciate the fact that during the summertime some folks will be uncomfortable in the dining area...it has been noticeably hot, hot, hot there on multiple occasions.

grape compote. trust me!

not going back. just got back fromgordo'sand thought i'd share my experience. i walked in and sat at the bar. there were only 3 other customers in the restaurant. two waitresses were sitting at the bar wrapping silverware in napkins. i was 3 bar stools from them. i sat there for 5 minutes and was not acknowledged. there was no bartender present. finally i walked up to the two waitresses and asked if they could take my order. one was surprised that i had walked up to her. the other took my order acting as if i should not have approached them. my burger was eventually brought to me. the waitress walked away while i was asking her for ketschup - she either did not hear or ignored my request. a few minutes later she asked me if everything was alright but before i could answer her she looked away and started talking to someone else. later when i asked her why the poor service she said they were busy folding napkins and had not noticed that i had walked in. in my world, it's her job to notice. the bartender was equally rude. the burger was tough and too peppery. but i was hungry so ate half of it and left. why bother eating at a restaurant where the staff couldn't care less about you and make you feel like you either stink or have three heads? i'd had good experiences atgordo'sbefore, but the food and service are inconsistent. after tonight, i will not bother going back. there are friendlier places to get a burger. places that at least pretend they care.gordo'sdidn't even pretend. btw, the bar closes whenever the staff decides they should close, not at 2pm as stated in most of the on line guides. tonight they closed at 10:30. they have a good beer selection but the humiliation isn't worth it. i wish that i had just stayed home. thanksgordo'sfor making me feel like nobody - i won't forget it.

the fact that so many people like this place means one of 2 things, 1 people are idiots or 2 they have never had a hamburger before. this was one of the worst burger joints i have ever been in. to start whenever someone left the bathroom you could catch the amazing scent of toilet bowl cleaner. on top of that it was hot enough to make you sweat. this was also true for the cooking staff who used their arms to get the sweat off their face. if that was not enough, the heat warmed my beer up in only a few minutes. now for the food, the surf and turf burger was nothing but a small lump of crab meat with a poor excuse for bearnaise sauce, it was most likely just butter and salt, the gordo burger was a bit better but it was still not as good as it could have been had it been made some where else. both burgers were cooked exactly as i ordered so i have to give them credit there. their "loaded" cheese fries were just not good and that is a hard thing to mess up. infactgordo'smay be the only place in the world to do so. they were made just like a kid would make them only the kid would have loaded it with toppings. their mac and cheese was the best part of this entire place, i wish i could have just got a large bowl of that instead of being disapointed in the rest of their food. to sum up what i thought ofgordo'si say this, i would not eat here again if it were free and they had a sexy nude waiting staff who fed the food to me. i wouldgive this place thumbs down but i am afraid i do not have enough thumbs.

i had never been togordo'sand was excited about it. i drove my cabirolet over on a weeknight and was really starving. it's a normal dive bar atmosphere. they have an excellent beer selection. i ordered their crab cake. it was really delicious. it was of the mashed crab cake variety as opposed to the lump cake. the salad with it was tasty and substantial. the cake itself was seasoned well and was not all stuffing. i then ordered the jean-robert burger which had goat cheese and grape compote. we all know how i feel about goat cheese. the grape compote wasn't too sweet at all and the soft bun made this sandwich a home run. the steak fries on the side could have been crispier, but i wasn't complaining. such a good burger. i was anxious at first. from reading their menu i didn't know what to think of their beef. they ground bacon and onion in their beef. my husband, the picky one might not have liked it unless i "scouted" it out first. i feel pretty confident that he will like it just as

good burgers, crappy customer service. if you enjoy a substantial beer list and good burgers thengordo'sis potentially the place you'd want to spend your friday or saturday night, but wait. . . not so fast. if you have lots of time to kill waiting for a table, enjoy being cramped like a sardine, and you don't place any value on even moderately good customer service, thengordo'sis definitely the place for you! while the food is good, the restaurant is disorganized; the waitresses are all over the place, the bartender takes his sweet time getting to you to ask what you'd like to drink, and there is no discernible hostess and no sign indicating you need to see someone to be seated. i went with my husband and after waiting for 50 minutes we finally asked the "hostess" when we would be seated (as she indicated we'd wait only 20-30 min. for a table), and she didn't even have our names written down (even though she asked for it when we arrived after we sought her out to take it down). later she said, "oh sorry, i accidentally crossed your name out." we will not be going back; while we were there, i couldn't help but feel that mr. gorgo has developed a reputation in norwood and his arrogance is getting in the way of valuing the very customers that helped make a name for him. flip daddy's in mariemont has excellent customer service, a comprehensive beer list and burgers that givegordo'sa run for their money--we will be going there next time we are in the mood for great beer, burgers, and a well-run establishment.

messy. but good. i have yet to go to terry's (and i have lived in cincinnati for my entire life, shocking i know) but i figured i should try every other burger first. we stopped atgordo'stonight and it didn't disappoint. juicy burgers and interesting combinations. some didn't sound too hot (ie. pbj burger?) but overall very good. bring good friends, eat great burgers and drink some great beer. what could be better than that?

you get more than you pay for.... i went a little after noon on a friday, the burger was done the way i asked. the food was great, but more than that was watching a waiter/bartender that knew what he was doing, was comfortable handling the customers and the house and just oosed (is that the spelling?) cool confidence doing a good job!

finding good food is nice, finding a good waiter is better, but then finding one that is cool and confident made the couple hours sitting there actually a pleasure.

i actually stopped him on the way out and asked his name! (lee!) and he was sort of surprised at me asking.! lol well how can you compliment a guy when you don't know his name!

actuallygordo'scould use a link on their website to send emails to the owner, or leave comments. that is what i wanted to do, and the best i could find was posting a review here. in my business i tell people to complain when they don't like something, but also to compliment the company when they do! this is my compliment to gordo's. lee was professional and just good to watch. he did a great job and never seemed pressured, part of a great afternoon was watching lee.

great burger, comfortable pub.gordo'swas a great deal more welcoming than i had imagined. i went by myself, sitting at the bar to eat my food, and i must say - it wasn't nearly as awkward as i had anticipated. the bartender, andy i believe, was polite and friendly. he greeted each guest promptly and paid attention to the people he was waiting on.
i got thegordo'sburger, which was pretty good. not the best in the city, but hey, for pub food this was fantastic. i really appreciate them taking bar food to the next level. when comparing it to its peers (such as arthur's), i thinkgordo'shas outdone the competition.
i will say that my burger was a little more pink than i was comfortable with. an earlier poster kind of left an elephant in the room here that i had to address and hopefullygordo'swill as well. i ordered my burger as medium and the center was definitely a medium-rare pink. however, it was done enough to eat and i found that the toppings were fantastic and made up for the cooking error.
not my typical place (bar) and i doubt i'll be back, but for a bar i was really impressed with the food and service.

really liked it, really. but.... 3 adults, 1 sixteen yr. old, 2 < 10 kids...

i had thegordo'sburger - cooked a perfect medium as ordered, with a bun that held up extremely well. the bacon was crisp, sauteed onions and mushrooms flavorful, and the goat cheese was warm but not runny. loved it!!! i give it an 8.5 out of 10...only because i want to allow other burgers a fighting chance if they so deserve it. 9.5 is as high as i go, only nadia gets a perfect 10...

my wife had the jean-robert burger. same rating...she loved it! the grape compote was an unexpected favorite.

everyone else in our party was a serious regular, and their entrees were of the high quality they rightfully expected. ok, one of them was one of the kids, but her mac-n-cheese was huge and awesome - love the broccoli florets !

however...

the side dishes left a bit too be desired. i opted for polenta instead of fries as my side, and i was disappointed. crisp on the outside is good, but dry throughout is not. it was more like really dry cornbread...
two others got the green beans as their side, knowing it has always been terrific, but somehow it was different tonight, and didn't like it. consistency is important.

food gets a a- / b+ it was very good.


service was well below par however. our server was very nice, but it was apparent that he was more than simply a server. my guess is that he was the manager on duty, and was waiting on us because no one else could. he was busting his butt overseeing the whole place, which i totally respect, but that doesn't cut it when basic table service suffers. i had to flag him down 4 times during our meal:

1 - my wife ordered a beer once we were seated and after 10 minutes i had to get some one's attention to actually bring it to the table.

2 - we have 2 under 10yr. old kids that would like to order off the children's menu. can we get one ?

3 - can we replace this side dish for another ? 15, yes 15 minutes later she got it. that's too long...

4 - after i stacked up all of our empty plates and put them at the far end of our table (sorry, but i'm all about pre-bussing tables) and the unrequested check showed up on the table, i got his attention to order 3 desserts, 3 coffee's and 2 after dinner drinks (a $34 addition to the check). that's well worth the extra 10-15 minutes of table time.

gonna give service a 7 out of 10 because i think he was really trying hard, and his table side manner was great - hey, 5 out of 10 is truly average, and it could've been a 9.0 (except for the east german judge), if he just had a bit of support.


mr. gordo - please shell out another $3.65/hr for another server on the dinner shift - it's worth it . perhaps a part time server xu student that would be happy with $50-$75 a shift...

look, i really like this place, and i love that rg stuck his neck out here. just a bit more attention to the service side and this place will be over the top! we will certainly be back very soon.

8.0 out of 10 rating. for what that's worth... :)