This is the first time I patronize this restaurant. Although I moved away from the Toledo area20 years ago. I spent most of my time growing up , raising a family in or near Toledo. All those years I never came here. It is kinda out of the way , but not that far out. I met an old friend, ( most of my friends are old) from high school. We keep in contact from time to time. We sat in the bar area which is self serve, no wait staff to wait in you. You go to the bar and order what you like. They do have the standard complementary chips and salsa as most Mexican restaurants do. They give you two tubs of salsa. X is the hot one which I liked the best. They do have specials every day at ridiculous low prices. I did not order any of the specials, too much food for me. I did have my fair share of chips and salsa though. I ordered two chicken tacos. They were good , meaning not the best I ever had , but I would come back here and have a dinner sometime in the future. The Margaritas here, regional famous. Small but very good , only $3.50 a glass. You can get other drinks and specials at the bar also. I had a few margaritas and yes . So here is what I think. I would come back. That pretty much sums it up. I do have to say the staff is friendly, the ones that I came in contact with. Quick service also. Food was hot when delivered. The place is deceiving, it has a lot of area. Parking , no problem. You could have a rock concert in the parking lot it is so huge. Give Ventura's a try for lunch. I think you would like it. Oh yes, they have been around for a long long time. The building and interior has a definite personality of its own. read more

Ventura's - Street sign - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

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I hadn't been here for a good long while basically because the location isn't convenient for me. However, it was a fun place to meet for a book club luncheon. The ambiance is typical Mexican. Our server was very attentive and helpful with questions; also very accommodating with separate checks. Everyone seemed pleased with their food. I ordered a Taco Salad with grilled chicken with a side of guacamole salad. The chicken in the salad was very tasty and flavorful. It came with various peppers and onions that I put to the side of my plate but others might love those sides. The guacamole was overpriced for a tiny side container and nothing to rave about. Salsa was very tasty. Overall, a great experience that I would recommend! Picture of my Grilled Chicken Taco Salad posted below. read more

Ventura's - Grilled Chicken Taco Salad... Delicious!! - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

Friendly staff and a very fun place to get the areas's best margarita! Hands down it's the place to be! The food is excellent!!

This place is good for drinks, appetizers, chicken wings, ribs and burgers. The Mexican entrees are not good. Now the margaritas are excellent and the appetizers are decent and worth eating. It's normally busy and usually a 55 and older crowd. You don't see many kids or younger people in here. I always feel young when I'm here. I definitely recommend going here, just expect anything spectacular or above average. read more

Ventura's - Regular W/salt - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

The food was cold and the quality has gone way down. Service was horrible. No manager on the floor. This restaurant has gone way down!

This place is right down the street which makes it a great place to unwind after a stressful day. The servers here are always busy but pleasant and helpful. The chips and salsa are always a great starter. Best bean dip in town in my opinion. The strawberry marg is my go to drink here. It's always consistently great!! We have never gotten a cold meal. Usually the food is served fast and hot. It's true it's an older crowd but no one cares. The people are very friendly and it's a fun atmosphere overall. read more

Consistent excellence - generous portions, reasonable pricing. Busy? Absolutely: busy for a reason.

Ventura's is a hop skip and jump from my home. I hadn't been there in years, decided after a nearby appt. to stop in for a takeout. I went in placed the order, waitress asked if I was going to hang out at bar, I said no, I was in a "to go" parking spot. She said, food would be 20-25 minutes, no big deal. After 45 minutes, I called, spoke to the same waitress & she said don't I have an order for you & I'm like yes, she checks & says we were just waiting on one more thing. A few minutes later, she brings out the food, apologies for the delays. I go home, less than 4 minutes away, food was stone cold. In addition, portions were very small. I always try to frequent small businesses, not sure if I will give it another try. read more

We wanted to try Venturas again after having trouble getting seated last year for my husband's birthday. Now, a 20th wedding anniversary, we, party of two, arrived at 5:30, was told the wait for the "red room" was 35-minutes. After one hour, a very helpful bartender said she would try to remedy the probelm. The red room was half empty. We were informed that the waitstaff was redirected to only wait on folks on the patio instead. The hostesses were oblivious. Why did they agree to seat us in the red room if it was not available? Who wants to sit on the other side with people traveling in and out to go to the restroom? Or sit behind a very crowded hostess stand? We could have ordered at the bar...but after customers (not waitstaff) used the same bar rag to smear margaritias all over the bar and bar tables (never rinsing it), I said I didn't want to eat with a surface all slicked up with stickiness. Not such a warm, enticing place to eat or drink. A group of gassed-up yellers in the bar was enough to leave without eating. The Mundt family has lost it's legacy, leaving the service to a bunch of kids. So Todd and Valerie, where are you? Want to get gassed up on cheap margos? Great place! Want to eat dinner in a comfortable place? It will never happen at Venturas. read more

Visited the other day day with a group of seventeen for a retiree luncheon. Everyone's food was cold. Bean dip was like cement. Service was poor. Was going to order a to go item for dinner but after the cold appetizer it was not a good choice. Left hungry. Ventura's use to be a place with hot to the touch plates and great food. Sorry to say that the quality of the food has really gone done hill. Sent a review on their website asking for a response. However, no response and that doesn't surprise me. Ventura's is NOT like it use to be with great food and service. read more

My first impression was that the place looks like your classic midwestern Mexican-American restaurant, nothing to write home about but you can tell it's locally liked and the vibe was good. They had a cool segment about the history of the location on the menus as well which added to it. My family arrived there at 1:20 for a Thursday lunch service, we were seated quickly & our hostess was great. We got great service out of our waiter as well, she was so kind & extremely quick to get us our drinks & requested refills. We got the regular chicken nachos as an appetizer and they were alright, chips were soggy though so I'd give it a solid 6/10 (sorry about the lack of photo there but I was hungry). My lunch special was just disappointing though. I ordered the "Cinco Lunch Special" which has two enchiladas (I got the chicken), rice, refried beans, sour cream, lettuce, & a side cup of onions. Enchilada-wise, I have NEVER had chicken that bland in my life & as a white person that grew up with a lack of seasoning that's saying something; the tortilla was just soggy and had a horrible mouth feel too. I had to add salsa just to try eating it & I just couldn't finish more than half. The rice was cold and the beans were watery for some reason too. Overall I'd give it a 3/10 because at least they used a hot plate. I hate the fact that I left a hardly eaten plate because food waste is such a big issue, but seasoning could go such a long way here. I'm giving it a 2 just because of the service because they do have a great team there. read more

Ventura's - #5 Cinco Lunch Special, Two Chicken Enchiladas with rice, sour cream, lettuce, cup of onion and beans - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

Service is fast, efficent and friendly. The food was just ok. I got a chicken burrito. Food was served on a very hot plate. Chicken tasted like canned chicken, cheese sauce was like melted Velveeta, beans and rice, just meh. Ambiance was lively, patrons get happy while drinking maragaritas. read more

I had the worst meal of my life in Toledo, Ohio at Ventura's on Bancroft yesterday. I took Dad there for lunch. I keep thinking about it, so I decided to post about it to get it out of my head. My worst meal originally had been a pizza I ate in the country Serbia, after the Kosovo war, in which they used ketchup for pizza sauce on a store bought pita but now Ventura's has beat that all time Serbian low. Dad's enchiladas were burned. It was obvious that the nacho chips and salsa were not fresh or homemade. I ordered the Mexican pizza and it was a tasteless, oily and fried tortilla with cheap uncooked tomato paste straight from the can smeared on it and canned mushrooms. Who puts mushrooms in Mexican food? The beef was not seasoned and the onions were poorly chopped and greasy with a cheap tasteless cheese melted on top. That was it. It was so gross that I think I am traumatized from it. Venturas had really good food twenty years ago. It's sad to see it go down hill. I have been sick for the last 15 hours since I had a few bites of that disgusting meal and have not eaten anything since. I should have complained to the waitress but it just wasn't worth the effort. It's not like the kitchen that served me that dried up turd of a meal would be able to do better. Why bother the poor waitress about it? She is forced to work in that poop hole for some unimaginable reason...poor thing. Ventura's reminds me of a possum that was hit by a speeding vehicle and about to be road kill but the margaritas in that place keeps nursing it back to life for the next buzzed up Camaro speeding down Bancroft street. read more

They for sure have the best margs around! My favorite thing there is the seafood enchilada. It's hard to find Mexican places that still offer seafood. We have always had great service, and it's always busy at dinner time, but we are seated quickly. The salsa isn't "authentic", but that's alright. I love going here! read more

Local favorite due to excellent service, tasty selections, and great margaritas. Relaxed atmosphere. Fun for families and groups.

We were a party of 4 and they sat us at a table that wouldn't even be comfortable for 2. When asked if we could move we were told there were no other tables available..... funny we saw several. We were sat under the ceiling fan and it was extremely cold and very breezy. The food was less than desirable to say the least. The only positive thing I can say is that our waitress was semi pleasant. read more

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant since we moved here! We heard so many great things and decided to order in. We have yet to actually go in and sit since it's always a full house, so we order in. I strongly recommend the chipotle chimichanga! read more

For several years I have eating lunch at Venturas every Tuesday, with a group of lady friends. We loved to sit in the back room by the big window with Mexican decor. This all came to an end when covid hit. Wed. April 10th. I took a friend to Venturas for lunch. I told her how good it was. It I told her it is one of my favorite places to have lunch. What a disappointment! I order nachos with shredded chicken, they lacked flavor, something was missing. The salsa on the table lacked flavor. I ordered my favor seafood enchilada's, again lacked flavor. I asked the waitress if the restaurant had a new owner? She said, the same family own it, but the daughter now runs it. All the recipes have been changed. I know a lot of restaurants are changing recipes to make more money by cutting the quality of ingredients in their recipes. I don't know when I will be back. You have lost a good customer. The waitress was excellent. Very good service. They need to go back to their original recipes, or hire a better cook. read more

It's close to my house, and the building has a cool history, but inspite of several attempts, I haven't been able to get a good meal there yet. We've barely been able to get a decent meal. The food is WAY below average for Toledo. I will say the margaritas are ok, but they are very small. I'll also say that it is a fun environment, and the chips and salsa aren't THAT bad. Maybe stop for drinks, but eat somewhere else. I find it very hard to believe anybody could rate this 3 stars or better. If it wasn't for the fun atmosphere, I'd give Ventura's a 1 star rating. read more

I was incredibly disappointed with the food. Terrible. The tamales are rubber and dry. The huevos were over cooked. The corn tortillas were crumbles. The restaurant remade the order, but it was still not good. I will never go back. read more

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Store bought salsa, queso and chips. Plenty of successful Mexican restaurants are capable of making and serving their own chips and salsa. They told me this was the largest they were allowed to serve a frozen margarita? Which didn't make sense as it tasted like juice, the people "voting" for this place must be very sheltered to culture. Very overpriced for the quality and quantity. If you respect Mexican food at all, or want even slightly authentic food do not come here. Taco Bell tastes better. read more

Ventura's - My two sip sized $5 marg - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

I'm sitting at my table as I type this review. I'm here with my wife & a few friends. We are extremely disappointed in the slow & inattentive service. The food is incredibly bland. They forgot one of our friends order completely. The only thing that was worth having were the margaritas. Needless to say we will not be back. We will go back to our normal spot - San Marco's where the staff are extremely attentive and the food leaves us craving even more. read more

Been going there for years and the service and food are still ahead of most restaurants,where "Cutbacks" are way to obvious. Great place to enjoy a nice meal. read more

Food is terrible...I can't believe they charge money for it! I wouldn't even call it Mexican. It was more like an experiment using Ortega packages. I nearly gagged eating my fajitas - they were that bad! The food literally tasted like something my seventeen year old son would make. All the decor in Ventura's is very outdated, and around the main bar it's EXTREMELY loud - 90 decibels on my smart phone. They should offer hearing protection at the door! The margaritas were good - the only thing this place has going for it. Other than that, this place is bad, bad, bad. I never plan on returning to Ventura's again. YUCK!! read more

Honestly everything was pretty sick.... legit dont know how it can get as packed as it does... basically gave me taco bell meat in all my stuff and the place doesn't even offer carne asada.... honestly would rather eat glass than to eat this place again read more

Ventura's - nasty ass food - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

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Ordered taco salad which is very disappointing. And paid more for chicken faijita meat and got plain old char broiled chicken--and not very much of it either. read more

I need to do a second review of Ventura's because I ordered a half rack of ribs to go. I am a bit of a rib snob and have never had "Mexican style" ribs. (If that is what they are.) Had the ribs wrapped in foil with sauce on the side. 2 days later I heated them up and I have to say.... WHAT A TREAT! I tried them both with and without the "Ventura's sauce". Both ways were excellent! These are not smoky ribs cooked on the grill until a bark forms. Rather marinated in their special marinate and then cooked until they pull away from the bone easily and cleanly. They disappeared quickly from my plate. On my next visit I can't wait to try them at the restaurant!! ! read more

If you are looking for a good margarita, look no further! Ventura's has one of my favorite margaritas in town. They be but small but they are mighty! So proceed with caution. As for the service, I have only had one bad experience. Normally, the service is well beyond average, but I decided to dine on the patio one night and was completely forgotten about. As mentioned, that's not the usual, so I continue to go back. I am pretty easy to please when it comes to food, so I have always been satisfied with their food as well. But let's be honest... I go back for the margs. Sincerely, Margarita lover read more

I've been coming to Ventura's for several years with my parents, and I don't understand why they have such a low rating, especially when they consistently busy on Friday and Saturday nights. Is Ventura's "authentic" Mexican food? Maybe not exactly, but it's better than the 'Tex-Mex' you'd find at Don Pablo's, Chili's, and Taco Bell (and hey, you're supporting local business, so why not?). One of my favorite things about Ventura's are the margaritas. While they are smaller than compared to huge drinks you'd get at other 'bar & grill' restaurants, they are stronger and taste fresher. Some restaurants' margarita's taste like a mix or syrup, but not at Ventura's. My second favorite thing about Ventura's is the wide variety of food... You can easily bring the whole family (or group) and find something they'd enjoy. Vegetarian? No problem! Plus most items can be ordered 'la carte' so you can build your own combos, or you can chose from their pre-made combination plates. My personal favorites are the shrimp tacos and crabmeat enchilada's. The next best thing about Ventura's are the servers and staff. Many of the waitresses have been with Ventura's for years, and many patrons are on a first name basis with their customers. If you keep coming back, they'll remember you. Yes, while the service can be a bit-slow at times, I have never been dissatisfied. They keep the chips and drinks full. Kristy, in particular, has always been awesome! And folks, for those complaining about the 'automatic cutoff' we have never had an issue as long as we have had a designated driver. The family that owns the restaurant makes it well known that they care about the safety of their patrons (and other drivers), and makes their policy quite clear in the menu. You should consider designated drivers anyways, as Sylvania Police have been known to heavily patrol the area near the restaurant on Friday/Saturday nights. read more

How do I put this nicely.... if I wanted to open a bag of Tostitos chips, a Jar of Pace "salsa", burn a slice of kraft single cheese over a slightly over done microwave mission tortilla... I could have stayed home. I'm pretty sure the cooks in the back spend most of the time opening the boxes of Uncle Bens rice then they do trying to fix the horrific food they try to pass off as authentic Mexican cantina eats. I mean I guess the beans were good... you can't mess up using the can opener to dump the beans out right? I pretty much tried to drown it all in sour cream. I was hungry ... that sour cream saved my life. Lol Basically I won't be back to eat... drink maybe but definitely not eat. Yuck Wait!!! That's the secret to peoples 4 stars , they were too drunk to realize it was horrible. read more

Always the best margies! Enchiladas are a go to, ribs will be next visit. A place to go that you always run into a friend!!

We love Ventura's. The margaritas are the best, of course, but we really love the Cajun chicken nachos. A little kick but not too much. Whenever we have friends or relatives in town, they always want to come here. The fiesta chicken salad is also great. read more

Ventura's - Fiesta Chicken Salad - Mexican Near Me - Toledo, Ohio

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Please don't allow dogs in the restaurant. It's disgusting. Food was good but the dog in the restaurant was inappropriate.

Lifelong visitor to this establishment since I was a child. Now that I have my own family we've gone here twice since moving to the area in the past 6 years. Both experiences were very unfortunate. Came in because, no one wanted to cook at home, and wish we hadn't. First of all, if someone requests something not to be put in their wrap, I'm pretty sure its for a reason. Whether its because they do not like it or simply have an allergy to it. Well unfortunately my wife cannot ingest seeds, so she asked for her wrap to not have tomatoes, and since this is not our first rodeo with asking for no tomatoes, we made it very clear she cannot have tomatoes. Guess what, came with tomatoes, instantly asked server for new wrap, and yes they took the wrap apart and "removed" the tomatoes. But left the remaining remnants of the seeds, awesome yeah?! No, not really. If they cannot take the time to ensure our orders are done correctly, and then when asked to correct it and they simply just picked the tomatoes out instead of making a new one. Yeah, we could have picked them out ourselves right? read more

Let's start by saying the queso dip was good. The beer was not very cold. The fajita taco salad was very disappointing. The peppers and onions were raw and not cut up. Any fajita taco salad I've ever had the onions and peppers were cooked like they are when you have fajitas. And there was barely any chicken in the salad. Won't be back for awhile. read more

Three words. Cajun Chicken Nachos. Get them...and make them supreme. You're welcome. Also, tip your waitress, she deserves it after dealing with all the drunken margarita muchachos at the bar. read more

We arrived at 5:30pm on a Friday night. We were told it would be a 45 minute wait and we were not seated until 7pm. Our food didn't arrive until 8:30pm. The food is typical Mexican, bunch of cheese served with lots of rice and beans. Go here if you have A LOT of time and are not in a rush. We won't be back read more

I consider Ventura's to be the restaurant that started my obsession with dining. Growing up, it was the event that I looked forward to more than summer vacation and faux sick days when my mom and I would take the day off to go see a movie. Ventura's, when it's busy, has an amazing vibe that's electric. The decor is what you'd expect a white person decorating a Mexican restaurant to pick out. But the food is simply tasty and definately worth a taste. We get the Super Nachos every time. read more

This is another one of those places that survives on people who have been going there for decades and do so for the socializing rather than the food. It's always crowded when I've been there, but the food is very basic and bland, Mexican in name only. read more

We went for dinner on a Thursday night. The margaritas were good. We ordered nachos with and without peppers. Both orders were cold. I ordered a chicken salad (new on the menu). The avocado slices were brown. I took them off the salad and called the waitress over. She said they were ok, just brown! I asked for different avocado slices and she brought back very nice green slices. Go for the margaritas skip the food. read more