Open Doors - Casa Nueva Review

Great, our favorite restaurant in town. We always eat at Casa Nueva when we are in town. Love that it's worker-owned too!

Great food whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. They have craft beers and delicious mixed drinks.

Great bar/restaurant. Pays their employees well. Foods a bit pricey and i wish they allowed you to tip the bartenders and waiters.

The food is good but its very expensive. $5 for your average taco. No thanks

Highly recommend! I had the chicken and cream cheese enchilada with blueberry salsa....life changing.

One of my favorite dinner spots in Athens ohio. You can tell just by the taste how fresh the ingredients they use are. Food is always excellent and very filling portions make this a must try spot of Athens. I always really enjoy how they take care of their employees who are paid fairly and tips are not necessary due to this (they make a donation if you leave a tip). This method of treating their employees as part owners is a model i wish i saw at more restaurants. Their entertainment is also very good and their bar is top notch. Their margaritas are delicious and wide choice of liquor and beer will have a option for everyone. Overall if you are in or going to Athens and havn;t tried it yet you are most defiantly missing out

Staff is very friendly! Also great salsa varieties and good selection of vegetarian options. Love that they're a no tipping establishment.

Decent lunch. Ok service. Kinda pricey for what you get. Small salsa portions.

Casa rocks. Great food, great model, great mission.

So nice to see a worker cooperative making money and providing such great contributions to the local community.

Food and drink are GREAT value for money.

Don't show up hungry if you want to eat in the dining room. There are often long waits. If you're hungry, just grab something in the Bodega. More limited menu, but quicker.

Excellent fresh food made from locally sourced ingredients. The Bodega is a great place to meet friends for an appetizer and drinks or you can move over to the restaurant for a full meal. Great atmosphere and friendly wait staff too.

Always, always an amazing food experience. I try to get here as much as possible.

Wonderful food and drinks and everything is local and sustainable

Really well done food. Remember when looking at prices that they don't take tips. Reading the menu, I thought that the prices were just a little more than I was used to but the food was good enough to justify the price. Then I saw on the bill that they didn't accept tips, so then the prices made complete sense. Would come back again.

It's rare for someplace to get 5 stars from me. Best restraunt coffee anywhere, caring staff, and amazing fresh local/seasonal offerings. Breakfast - huevos rancheros
Dinner - burrito / nachos
Ask for the face melter hotsauce!

Always great good, friendly service, a place to relax with friends over food & drinks.

An absolute institution in Athens . Mandatory visit when in the city.

Outstanding food & service... highly recommended!!!

Restaurants and Venues take note, this cooperative is a sterling example of how a business can be run!

I have enjoyed Casa's food for all of the nearly ten years I've lived in Athens.

My daughters and i love to go there when they come in town to see me. They come to Athens to specifically go there. They love Athens and everything Athens is about!!!...And they have to travel at least 2-hours to get here!..

It's between Spring and Summer so things are naturally weird. Still, the food is above average and the wait staff is aloof as usual.

Casa Nueva manages to make food that's both delicious and seemingly healthy. Lots of the ingredients are local. There are probably more vegetarian options than non-vegetarian ones. As for the bar, it's clean and very spacious. More than you could say for most bars in Athens.

Vegans rejoice!
There is great vegan food in the crazy college town of Athens Ohio. Casa Nueva is tucked quaintly in the downtown area but not difficult to access. The interior decor is standard college town bar/restaurant fare but don't let that deter you from eating here. Courtney was our server and a better server you will not find. Professional, knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. We started with Blood Mary's from the bar. The glasses were small but the taste was spot on. For the appetizer we had the tofu fries. Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside with a tasty soy mayo dip to compliment them. For lunch we had the Vegan burrito and a tortilla dish called the Hills Deluxe. Overly abundant portions and amazing flavors from both. We couldn't finish the burrito so decided to take the remainder of it, and our dessert a vegan brownie, to go. Suffice to say the brownie didn't last long while we were driving. The menu says they try to source most of their items locally and it shows with the freshness of the dishes.
It is refreshing to find such a fantastic, vegan friendly restaurant around Ohio University. If you are ever traveling to or through the area it would benefit you to stop here and have a bite to eat. You will NOT be disappointed!

PS.....their prices are insanely low for such high quality food and drink!

Always a great atmosphere because it's a favorite hotspot amongst the locals. Great food and kind service. Seasonal and locally sourced food, which provides great variety throughout the year.

Excellent food, drinks and entertainment but the service is typically slow when it comes to the food.

If I'm being totally honest, when I first moved here 9 years ago, I was pretty skeptical of Casa because it wasn't your run of the mill Mexican restaurant as I had anticipated it being. I started really enjoying their drinks (the infused vodkas are to die for) and eventually decided to try the food again, which was a great life choice on my part because it's absolutely delicious.

This may sound odd but I noticed that as my love for the Athens local community grew, my endearment toward Casa also grew. Casa uses local ingredients and gives their employees a livable wage (which is hard to come by in the restaurant business).

I definitely recommend Casa to anyone, my only advice is to go there understanding that it's not comparable to Gran Ranchero (so to speak) in terms of being a "typical authentic Mexican restaurant"

Great food. Loved that everything can be made vegan or gluten free. Quaint atmosphere and super service!

I would say that Casa is probably the best food in Athens. It stands up to a normal city as really good food =).

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, I don't care what you're getting, it's going to be good here.

On the bar side, it's a great place to hang out for some bloody marry's and margaritas as well. Usually have great bands playing, one of my favorite spots in Athens.

Good food and ingredients. Casa always serves up an original dish. A staple of Athens.

The food is wonderful and the atmosphere is great, however I think the staff is pretentious and can be extremely rude at times

I absolutely adore Casa Nueva and I bring all of my out of town guests here for at least one meal when they visit. It is a delicious and unique experience- the atmosphere is inviting and the food is always delicious. They use extremely fresh ingredients and as many local ingredients as possible. I recommend the chips and salsa with a house margarita to start! Tips are not accepted- check out their tip policy on their menu. I have waited to be seated in the dining room for an hour on several occasions, but the food is so good that it has always been worth it.

What was once great has gone down in quality and prices have gone up with nothing to show for it. Its passed its prime 25 years ago and now is more of a political restraunt full of sjw and not authentic Mexican food but wannabe mexican or as close as vegans can get to Mexican . Thirty years ago it was very good now it doesnt taste good or like mexican. Better off going to the Buritto Buggy or to Chipolte. Taco Bell has more Authentic Mexican these days then Casa.

Cultivated with love and local goodness. Worker-owned, fair, delicious. We drive from Columbus regularly just for this food.

I travel all over the country for work, and have never found another restaurant quite like Casa. Great for vegetarians and locavores.

Very slow service, decent food (good but not great), it is the sort of thing you could make at home, expensive for the quality but you don't tip. Always crowded. Most of the workers seem disinterested in making the experience enjoyable. Been here many times over the years and it keeps getting worse with every visit.

Delicious food and very friendly service. They have a nice selection of hot tea as well! The wait is a little long, but it s not much of a dealbreaker for this place.

I really appreciate the local menu and vegan options.

Went with a friend for an out of town lunch. Something in the flavors here reminds me of a place i used to eat when i was young. All delicious and amazing. If im ever in the area again this will be a definite stop. There is a sweet little corner surrounded by plants. I felt like a regular. Really great place.

This is my go-to in Athens. It's vegan-friendly, the people are awesome, and everything is delicious.

I love this place so much worth the experience and frequent visits

Love the concept and the food. I would definitely recommend giving this place a try.

Boyfriend really liked his food, I was honestly underwhelmed by my burrito, I didn't feel like it had a lot of good flavors going for it. But the salsas and guac we got were very interesting and tasty!

I love this place. Breakfast: The Deluxe with tofu and a side of bacon. Amazing selection of hand crafted infused vodka, no need to tip and the best possible bloody mary.

The service was superb and the food excellent. My portion and price was just right. Great selection of local beers. Best part is they all make decent wages and tipping is not required. Wish I could go more often, but it's a few hours away. Definitely worth a visit.

Food is just ok. Ingredients are fresh and there's good ideas behind some dishes but it lacks flavor. Table service is nice and the servers know the menu and give good suggestions and explanations.
In the cantina side the drinks are good but the service is not.

An Athens staple. Adore this place. Great food, great people, great entertainment.

not impressed. traveling threw on a motorcycle trip.ordered nachos and quesadilla. wasnt told we needed to pick up food at window....when we got the food it was cold and pathetic. looked like my kid threw a few things In the microwave..
quesadilla was ok but cold....

Their food is excellent, but the only problem is that we have about it is your not allowed til the staff

Excellent quality ingredients, very well prepared entrees. And JB makes the best Bloody Mary's in Southeast Ohio!

The "square" burrito was extraordinary! A very good place to dinner.

Get the seasonal quesadilla. Always try the seasonal salsa and make sure you also try the roasted garlic enchilada sauce Style salsa.

Everything was pretty bland for Mexican food. Good pticpr and portions, at least!

Its an amazing place. Good food and very friendly staff. Their house Margrita is amazing should try it. If visiting athens you should visit this place.

Service was very slow. Food was good with lots of vegan options. A variety of salsas to choose from which is unique. No pre meal chips and salsa served but you can order it as an appetizer.

We were in Athens for a conference over the weekend and happened into Casa Nueva when we searched restaurants in the area. They have a "no tipping" business model which was really interesting; we were very surprised the prices were so reasonable based on this! The food and margaritas were excellent, and we really loved the bar area. I would definitely stop by again if I were in the area, and I would recommend you do the same. They try to source locally and provide vegan and gluten free options, so there's definitely something for everyone!

They didn't want to clear tables and told us it would be 15-20 mins and there was many tables to sit at. Will not be going back.

Service is terrible and food is average. Not worth it.

Disappointed...at entree, prices were on the high side, especially given what it was and a college town

Very expensive... but well worth it. If you have the extra money to burn it's a great place to eat. All the foods organic, they have live bands, atmosphere is alright and the service (most of the time) good. Waiters do not accept tips. As for Margaritas I personally think they have the best in Athens. A pitcher will run you $20+ but when literally half of it is tequila you can understand why, very strong but mixed beautifully so you can rarely taste the alcohol unless you're a light drinker. One of the best eats in Athens, well worth the price.

Great place, friendly staff, and amazing food with local producers.

Employee-owned. Lots of locally sourced food. No tipping.

It's always a treat. I recommend their enchiladas. All of the portions are reasonably sized and priced. The food is consistently flavor, and there is something for everybody there.

I would argue to say that this is 'the' restaurant in Athens. Anytime you ask someone about Casa, they will have good reviews. I don't think I've ever heard someone say something negative.

Great food served by friendly and knowledgeable staff very popular so you're probably in for a wait but well worth it.

Honestly, it's my favorite place to eat in Athens. The food is always fresh and delicious. The drink selection is plentiful and the staff is always so delightful.

Great Staff, Food. Great Place. Bloody Mary's are delicious

It's pretty good but not as good as smaller authentic Mexican restaurants..they don't even have free chips & salsa