It’s been about 20 years since I dined at Luchita’s, so my personal memories are about as crystalline as a well-blended margarita. When I moved back to Cleveland in the early aughts, Luchita’s was at the peak of its game, with a handful of locations scattered all over town. In addition to the flagship on W. 117th Street, the Galindo family operated restaurants in Mentor, Parma, Elyria and at Shaker Square, which was two miles from my home.
What I recall about those meals had less to do with the food on the plate than it did the company and surroundings. The Square was jumping back then and one of the best places to soak it all in was on the sidewalk patio in front of Luchita’s – at a time when outdoor dining was still relatively uncommon. Up to our eyeballs in margaritas, and three baskets into the chips and salsa, none of us at the table were scrutinizing the enchiladas, I can assure you.
Owing to soaring expectations, restaurant comebacks are always fraught with peril (I’m looking at you, Nighttown). Luchita’s, which is now called La Casa de Luchita’s, opened this past summer at Shaker Square, reviving a brand that had been dormant for three years but on life support since 2020. It is joined by Coyoacán, a fast-casual taqueria in the style of Chipotle. It’s a savvy pairing: diners can pop in for a speedy taco, burrito or torta lunch to go or settle in for a leisurely Mexican dinner.
On the Luchita’s side, a new menu format blends classic dishes like chiles rellenos, tamales, flautas, enchiladas and burritos with shifting seasonal features that broaden the kitchen’s range. Anyone who ever loved Luchita’s will bring to the table their own set of expectations, memories and taste preferences. Based on my recent experiences, those iconic Tex-Mex staples offer more bang for the buck than the regional specials.
Diners can still get lost in the giddy bliss of complimentary chips and salsa. The chips are thin, crisp and just salty enough to balance the sweetness of the red and green salsas. Few house blends possess any heat at all let alone the assertive tang of Luchita’s tomato-based salsa. Queso fundido ($15.99) arrives hot and melty, concealing a hearty portion of well-spiced chorizo. In addition to the chip garnish, the appetizer comes with a short stack of warm tortillas.
A wide bowl of chicken-based sopa Azteca ($8.99) was loaded with shredded chicken, rice, pico de gallo, and sliced ripe avocado. The soup’s only flaw was its temperature, likely tempered by the addition of so many cold additions and garnishes. Molotes de Xoxocotlan ($18.99) are crispy masa turnovers filled with a mild but savory chorizo and potato blend. The appetizers arrive on a thin, faintly sweet pumpkin-based sauce and are garnished with a crispy chapulin, or grasshopper.
The Tex-Mex delight that is a “wet burrito” has long been a Luchita’s menu staple, and the version ($17.99) revived on the Square has lost little in the intervening years. Diners have a choice of fillings (beef, pork or chicken) and sauces (red or green). It’s big, it’s hearty, it’s as satisfying as a warm hug.
Luchita’s introduced many a Cleveland diner to the intoxicating appeal of honest-to-goodness Puebla-style mole. The earthy, nutty and complex sauce is the signature component of pollo en mole Poblano. But as part of the restaurant’s new seasonal specials, additional moles have entered the chat. The mole pasilla that coats beef cheeks in the cachetes de res en mole ($22.99) is nearly black in hue, with a dark and toasty flavor to match. The long-braised beef is so tender that it breaks apart with a spoon.
An order of pulpo ($23.99) went largely untouched. The octopus was grievously chewy, bordering on rubbery, and lacked any observable char from the grill. It was paired with a local rarity, green chorizo, which is completely different from the familiar ground sausage. This version is bright, herbaceous, nutty and mildly spiced.
After waiting ages for a dish of salsa and another round of beers, we stopped a staffer to locate our server. He informed us that she had left the restaurant 15 minutes prior. It was an awkward and abrupt finish to our meal; we settled up and followed suit.
I experienced similar service gaffes next door at Coyoacán, a glitch that often takes the “fast” out of fast-casual. It took a staffer multiple attempts to steam the corn tortillas without tearing them, but I eventually departed with tasty orders of carnitas ($4.50), barbacoa ($4.50) and birria tacos ($14.99).
Coyoacán and La Casa de Luchita’s
13133 Shaker Square, Cleveland
216-528-0030
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