Bomba Tacos & Rum, the new “premium fast-casual” taco concept from the folks at Paladar Latin Kitchen, is slated to open for lunch and dinner this Friday, April 17.

Brunch service will follow sometime this summer.

The attractive 4,000-square-foot space on Detroit Road near Linda Street features a large wrap-around bar that seats 25. A main dining room, four-season patio and additional bar and communal seating can accommodate approximately 100 guests. Bomba does not take reservations.

The menu is built for sharing, snacking and experimenting. A design-your-own guacamole section allows diners to augment a traditional base recipe with items like pickled jalapenos, candied pepitas, bacon and shrimp. Platters of queso fundido with chorizo, roasted chicken empanadas, and mojo pork tostones are designed for sharing.

There are 20 tacos at Bomba (compared to just six at Paladar). Each is sold by the item ($3 or $4) and is served on a hybrid corn/flour tortilla. Fillings range from the vegetarian charred corn and zucchini with cilantro pesto to the smoked brisket with pickled onion and aji verde. Others are built around crispy avocado, spicy shrimp, slow-braised duck and lamb barbacoa. All tacos are served family style.

A half dozen tortas – Latin sandwiches – offer up combinations like chorizo and fried egg, or the Cubano-style with roasted pork, ham, swiss and pickles.

Only three entrees are on the menu, each pulled from Paladar’s menu. They include the popular ropa viejo, slow-smoked pulled chicken, and rum-glazed Cuban pork.

Speaking of rum. Bomba’s bar serves up 60 different styles of rum, making it one of the longest lists around. The white, gold, dark, aged and spiced varieties can be enjoyed in mojitos, margaritas and rum flights. 

This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2015.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

2 replies on “Friday Opening Set for Bomba Tacos & Rum in Rocky River”

  1. Sounds delicious! And right in the neighborhood. Can’t wait to check this place out on Friday.

  2. Did not like the fact that the Bartender took $2.05 from me. My meal was a to GO meal. It should have been $9.95. I won’t be eating there again. The food was not that good either.

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