Cafe El Tapatio

This is some really solid Mexican food. It's considerably better than the other Mexican options in the area. It's not changing lives, but it's a good option. The salsa they give you with the free chips is hot fire. It is so damned good and it will set your tongue aflame. I had the taco salad in a tortilla bowl. Good stuff. The service was excellent. The ambiance was fine minus the standard annoying music.

Such good food, such horrible service. We got in and stood at the host stand at noon at a mostly empty restaurant for 10 minutes. No host came to greet us and the bartender didn't even turn around. We finally sat down on our own, grabbing the nearest table.There were only two other tables in a very open restaurant, we still had to flag our waitress to bring us water and menus.She came back with three waters, some chips, and a single napkin. The food is truly great, but we have to flag her down again to get our order in. After giving our order, which she did not ask us for any drinks, she never refilled our chips. We had to for more napkins, at least one for every person. The order came up quickly, and she delivered it. For the next 30 minutes, however, she never checked on us, never refilled our waters, never checked on the food or offer more chips. She did nothing. Eventually, we had to get the bartender to give us our bill.I have not had this bad of service in many years

l will start by saying I have been going to this place for 25 years. Its a few blocks from my apartment. As a neighbor and someone who has worked in the restaurant industry for 30+years I always give any establishment the benefit of the doubt and then some...(especially during and after the Covid shutdowns)..and over the years I have given some HUGE benefits of the doubt when orders are messed up or checks are wrong or service is terrible....but in the end I choose to support local businesses and I am a notorious over tipper regardless of the circumstances. That all said....my partner and I sat on the patio today. We were the only people outside and one of 3 tables in the whole place for our entire stay. We had to ask for a happy hour menu.....which always draws Grimaces from the server or bartender.....like its a drag that I chose to come there specifically for happy hour on my day off at 4 pm...when no one else is there.....looking for a deal and to spend some money. Their menu states that they have 6 dollar Palomas all day, some food specials and that they have 6 dollar Corazon tequila drink specials for happy hour. Great....we order 2 palomas....we have a bite....we get 2 HAPPY HOUR margaritas.....(believe me if I could have gotten a 6 dollar tequila soda instead of the cup of sour mix I got I would have GLADLY)..ordered one more paloma..ordered churros from their new expansion and then we get the bill. It is almost DOUBLE the stated price on the menu. I go inside and ask if there is anyone I can speak to and I just get laughs and oh sorry thats just not what the price is? Keep in mind that they state they have a happy hour online....they have had a happy hour for like....ten years now?...It seems they were empty from 4-6 today because not one person who works there tells anyone they have a happy hour. There was no manager on duty and when I asked for a card or contact info for an owner I was met with rolled eyes and some fumbling around before of course there was no info available.....could not find a card. The end result was 8 dollars being taken off our bill. That left the tab still way more than it should have been based on the menu I had in my hand. All said we had 5 drinks total. Not one of them was the right price and the Palomas were two different prices in places on the bill....neither was right. We were not looking for anything free....we went there and were overcharged and no one was willing to fix the issue. That is theft. Its nice that you have some Pride flags up on your patio this year but there was clearly something that said it was ok for some of your staff to literally shrug and do nothing and treat us with such blatant disrespect. I have zero fond feelings for yelp.....I was left with zero recourse to do this to at least help warn others and to contact my bank to dispute part of the charge. FYI Fernandos is around the corner on Lincoln.....its sad they don't have a patio.....but they have a better happy hour when it comes to drinks and food options and we have never been overcharged there.....because.....its computers.....it should just match the price on the menu for whatever time it is. signed....your neighbor who will never spend another dime there.

Food is amazing. Service is hit or miss ambiance is loud, fun, tight quarters. I love the food, but they gotta get their servers on the same page. I ordered the RR marg. It says Jumbo size. I get a regular size marg. I ask for the RR marg and they say "that's it." Nope. I have had the rolls royce marg. It's not small. Waitress said "we gotta charge you for it. You ordered it." Nope, i didn't order a small one. I ordered a Rolls Royce. Anyway. Check your tab. Make sure you get what you asked for, or drink elsewhere and xome and eat here.

Ugh, taking off two stars because here is yet another place nickel and diming the customer. Food was great, but the prices on the menu do NOT match what they charge you. The shrimp dish was listed as $20.95 on the physical menu, but we were charged $24.95. The bill ended with a 4% "transaction fee" for no reason at all. So not only are they charging fees instead of adjusting menu prices, the menu prices are misleading. The house margs are premade and poured from giant jugs, so upgrade to a better margarita if you want something good. Just like all of the other restaurants charging bogus fees, I won't be returning until they get rid of it.

Fun and festive Mexican restaurant in Roscoe Village. They have a HUGE outdoor patio so it's a perfect spot for summer. Dog friendly patio, too! We loved the tacos - your choice of 2 or 3 with rice and beans. The sangria was homemade (not too sweet) but definitely strong. Large portions. Fast service and attentive service - multiple different people checked in on us including the owner. They are connected to Churro Parlor so of course we had to order some. Don't miss out on the churro guava sauce. We will be back to try the fajitas and quesadillas!

Coming from CO we don't have many authentic Mexican restaurants; however, El Tapatio restored my faith in the Northern American version of the cuisine. Been wanting to sample a Birria style taco for a bit and found one at El Tapatio. Located on a corner in Chicago is serving up some serious southern, spicy, and innovative cuisine. With an attention to detail they bring a higher level of standard to street tacos, tortes, and burritos. The quesabirria came out lava style-hot, full of beef, with a side of consommé hinting on sweet and savory notes.

We enjoyed a nice birthday dinner with friends. Good food and pitchers of margaritas. Service is good and the chips and salsa sides are great! I loved the plantains and all the entrees were quite delicious. Love the nice touch of singing and sombrero I had to wear with surprise serenade of a birthday song at the end! Fun night!

Café el taparlo is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Chicago. Everything the offer is delicious. Even the chips and salsa are very tasty. The servers are very nice and helpful. Great place to come work friends for brunch, lunch or dinner. To celebrate a birthday or just to have a good margarita and Mexican food.

Want to love this place so much because it's close to my home, I love Mexican food, and they have outdoor seating. I didn't inspect the reviews but decided to pop in because the stars were reasonable. It's super cute inside/out and it's clean. BUT, first impressions are everything, particularly when it comes to server interactions with customers. The way the staff greeted us was as if they were being bothered. Both servers sat at a table and directed us with a finger to a table. The bartender/ waiter ( Edwardo) was super condescending not only to me (about how I ordered the food) but I heard him speaking to a fellow at the bar the same way. Frankly, it was odd who he chose to be friendly with. The other waitress/food-runner shrugged off my request for a side item. ‍ After I left, I read all the reviews and no suprise to see the staff is why the reviews aren't higher. Come on people, be kind and appreciative that customers want to visit your restaurant. Consider the alternative... Tacos were delicious, fresh with quality ingredients. Margaritas were ok. Posting in hopes they take it to heart and do better.