Tourist sues Los Tacos No. 1 over spicy salsa, claims ‘severe’ physical symptoms

Suing because salsa is TOO spicy?

That was the case brought on by a tourist against popular taco chain Los Tacos No. 1, but in the end a judge didn’t see it his way.

According to court documents, the plaintiff, Faycal Manz, who went to the Times Square location during a vacation to the United States from Germany in 2024, Manz bought three tacos and at the self-service salsa bar “put hefty portions of salsa on top of three tacos: two receiving a “red” salsa, and the third a “green” salsa.”” The green salsa was at the center of the case.

Court documents allege that after taking one bite of the third taco, Manz “immediately began suffering severe physical symptoms. He alleges that his tongue burned, his mouth hurt, his face turned red, and his heart rate soared. He alleges that he suffered severe GI distress and mouth sores that lasted for days.”

Although Manz called his wife following the incident and took photos to document his symptoms, he never told anyone else about what happened, including the restaurant, and continued with his trip as planned, including attending the U.S. Open, the court documents say.

However, court documents also say that Manz claimed to have a pre-existing sensitive GI tract and “spice intolerance” — even undergoing a colonoscopy in 2010 and being advised to avoid spicy foods.

In his decision, United States District Court of Southern District of New York Federal Judge Dale E. Ho (known for presiding of the case against former mayor Eric Adams) said the “logic of parallel cases applies here” citing that as Los Tacos argued, Mexican food, including salsa, is generally spicy.

“In fact, when it comes to salsa, the spice is often the point,” he said in his decision.

The judge also notes in his decision that Manz did not ask anyone at the restaurant (whether employee or customer) the contents of the salsa or how spicy it was.

“A quick google search for “Mexican food,” “salsa” or even Los Tacos reviews likely would have revealed that salsa can be quite spicy,” the decision reads in part.

According to Los Tacos, as cited in the court documents, no one complained about the spice level of their various salsas until Manz.

In the end, the judge denied Manz’s motion, granting the judgement to Los Tacos No. 1.

According to the court documents, Manz also had another lawsuit arising from his 2024 trip to New York City. In another case, which was dismissed, centered around Manz’s claims of national origin discrimination because Walmart’s public Wi-Fi network required a user to enter a U.S. phone number. Manz also has a pending case against the NYPD alleging they denied him of his civil rights by not returning calls to foreign cell phone numbers.