Lalo's

I have been coming to Lalo's for at least 10 years. Yikes, am I old? Anyway, Lalo's became a staple for a friend and I to catch up over margaritas (particularly the frozen mango variety). Back in our youth, we could split a pitcher but we're a a lot less ambitious these days. While the menu has changed over the years, I have enjoyed my meals (usually fajitas or the occasional taco) and have consistently had good service. As long as the margaritas are strong, I'll be back.Also, parking at the nearby lot is some of the cheapest you'll find in the city - a rare find!

Haven't been here in a while, and I'm sorry I came in for lunch. Everything was horrible from the service and appetizers to the meal!! Waiter brings out my drink with a fly in it and doesn't even apologize, the nachos and meal were so disgusting I wouldn't even feed it to a dog, the only good part of the meal was the lollipop at the end!! They also have the nerve to add 18% gratuity to the check!!!Do yourself a favor and DON'T GO!!

Paid $20 each for a burrito and a two taco special, both al pastor. Meat was burnt, but decent portion sizes. Good service. Way overpriced.

Had a taste for tacos and was in the area. The ambience was nice. It was clean and wasn't too crowded. My server was very nice Helpful. I ended up ordering the shrimp taco dinner. It was a hit, did not disappoint. But just a heads up, they do not split checks.

Our most recent visit to Lalo's was definitely a step down. We've been going to Lalo's for years, maybe once or twice a year. Not frequenting the place, but definitely on my rotation. The restaurant is huge on the inside and they also have a decent covered outdoor space on the sidewalk. The tables in there are like one of those places where they're permanently sticky, but this time they had them partially covered with paper. The waitress was good enough. No major issues there.For food, right off the bat, they served the salsa warm. None of us liked that. The chips are also ok. Then we asked for a cold set of salsa and it wasn't much better. I think it just lacked a lot of taste. Mixing in some hot salsa made things slightly better. I will appreciate that they still do being out chips and salsa as a complimentary item, as many places have stopped doing it.Then the next major issue happened where we were ordering vegetarian dishes and the waitress tells us that the beans actually have pieces of chorizo in there. Things went downhill from there, because the veggie beans were so bland, that the food had no flavor to it. Beans are a critical part of a tostada or the sides. We addressed some of it by asking for fries instead of the beans and they accommodated. But just... Overall no taste. The cheese enchiladas were still good, since the beans are on the side only in that case. So, with that being said, no beans, no dice.

So I walked there today with my neighbor. Yes cinco de mayo...but only 1 table filled on patio and 2 tables opened in the restaurant and 5 spots at the bar open (besides the 2 we sat at). I ordered a glass of wine...friend water. After waiting a long time for this I said we wanted food. Bartender said give him a minute. He never came back. I found a girl to take our order. I ordered fajitas. The guy said I'll be right back with your tortillas Here is where it got worse. NOONE CAME BACK WITH TORTILLAS, NO ONE ASKED IF I WANTED ANOTHER DRINK AS MINE WAS EMPTY, NO ONE ASKED MY FRIEND IF SHE WANTED A DRINK WITH HER DINNER WHICH SHE DID!!! I finished my fajitas with NO tortillas!!! And no drink. Empty dishes...ugg. I asked for the manager who did not obviously get that fajitas are eaten with tortillas. He was like sorry it is cinco de mayo .....first of all....it was not packed.....no line....regular dinner rush. I said it doesn't matter if it is cinco, sies, siete or Ocho de mayo.....I ordered something that is part of a meal and didn't get it. He offered to give me another their cheap wine and forced my friend to have a margarita (which she doesn't like) and then came back with a shot FOR HIMSELF. Wtf. It is like if I ordered an ice cream sundae and only got the ice cream. So then we wait 30 minutes and I go back to this "manager " to say really no one still has checked in with us and no bill!!!! They then hand us the bill with an 18% tip added...for what??? not doing your job? For sucking? Unbelievable ! Worst service and worst manager customer service ever!! Food average at best! THEY OWE ME MONEY. I MIGHT CONTEST THIS WITH CREDIT CARD COMPANY@@

Good was great. Service was wonderful, very friendly. Drinks were good as usual. Bathrooms were very clean.

Although we tried so hard to like this long standing establishment, the food was just not good. We were so very surprised and disappointed as they have been a Chicago staple for a long time. The salsa was served hot both in spice and heat which was very odd! Salsa should be cool and refreshing and tasty. We ordered one of their more expensive dishes, the Huachinango which is a fried snapper dish and we were highly surprised as it was not prepared as we are used to. It was accompanied by salad-no dressing, a tasteless potato salad which we found odd and white rice with specks of corn and maybe other vegetables. The service was good. The restaurant was clean and the bathrooms were nice and tidy. They had sports playing on some screens and Mexican music playing on others which was a nice touch. Not sure what needs to change as far as the recipes but a recipe overhaul may help.

This is definitely not authentic Mexican food and it is food you can make at home easily I don't recommend service is terrible aswelll they do play music and people come here for drinks mostly it's alright by look but not when you try it !

The food was ok, the ambiance was great and clean, modern. The servers were nice, helpful and the service as far as wait time for the food was prompt being that the food was served fresh. My only two gripes was that my quesadilla was not as hot/fresh as I was expecting, everyone else at my table had the skillet which were sizzling but my food was not. Lastly, I ordered the 26 oz "Fresher" top shelf margarita for $30. It tasted good but that was it. Not strong, no kick, barely a buzz. This margarita is a glorified kiddy drink. Don't get it. Get the cheaper house margarita with the cheap "Cuervo". It might get you a better result.Overall, I'm not over-the-moon about going back.