Taco Joint

Taco Joint is my favorite place to eat in Chicago. It has amazing tacos (there’s something for everyone, even our vegetarian friends) and the Black and Green Beergarita is to DIE for. Keep it to less than four and you’ll be able to get home, but they’re so good it’s hard to stop at two or three. The music is always cool and matches the low lighting but cool vibe of the place. There are not a lot of seats and the seats aren’t the most comfortable, but honestly, none of that matters once you stick one of these tacos in your gob. Seriously. So good. And the staff is super nice and walk through the restaurant often to keep tabs on you.

My rating is for food, margaritas and overall experience
I was so excited to come try this place and I just wasn’t impressed.
Definitely not authentic Mexican food. The food just wasn’t that great.
The Salsa was not flavorful at all, it tasted watered down.
The taco: steak and pork were very salty with no real flavor
The service and the margaritas was Great!
I may come back again but just for drinks.

Grabbed a couple of braised pork tacos to go tonight. The gentleman that helped me was very friendly, and the tacos were great! Different than your run of the mill tacos for sure. I’ll definitely be back!

The guac is to die for! Just thinking about it my mouth is watering!!! Its a great spot, especially for drinks and to meet friends. Great neighborhood too! I recommend the chicken tacos too.

Great tacos that run you about 3 – 4 bucks a pop. Came here on a Thursday night and we were seated at the bar so we only saw the front. It’s a very cool place, dimly lit, and modern. The tacos might look a little small but 3 – 4 of them will definitely be enough for a good meal. The generous portion of fish in the ceviche taco was very fresh and delicious but could of used a bit more lime juice. The barbacoa taco was also amazing.
Margaritas are tasty but I like mine a bit stiffer. I’d pass on the guacamole, the sun dried tomato doesn’t really work in it. It’s worth your time.

I loooove taco joint. Delicious tacos, awesome margs and guac, amazing flautas. I love that they give you more than just chips with the guac too. Makes great take out too.

I am exactly the customer a restaurant hopes to attract with a Groupon — someone who initially visits with a discount special then plans to return full price.
The small bit of food we had here was outstanding, some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. The Rajas was soooo good and just spicy enough and oh-​so-​creamy. I ordered just one of these and next time I think I’ll make a meal with only these. I also ordered the Cochinita and the Chicken Tinga, both equally delicious. Also had the guac, which was very good and they make a nice margarita.
I don’t give 5 stars based on one visit, but I’ll be back and may update.

Great spot! The wait will be long on the weekends but there are other bars and shops along the road to occupy you while you wait.
We started the night off right with a great deal they have. A beer and tequila shot for $ 5!
The prices are pretty average. Single tacos are $ 3-​$ 4. They are very unique and the potion sizes are smaller than expected so you can eat more than you think. I had the guacamole which was awesome. Unfortunately, you have to pay for chips and salsa.
Overall, great experience and service!

We’ve been to Taco Joint about 10 times. It’s one of our favorite casual dinner and happy hour spots. Tacos al pastor are the best tacos. Margaritas are excellent – and strong! The cozy atmosphere is a plus, too. Although, the small space does cause a longer wait for a table.
4 meows out of 5!
0 hisses
–Mowgli

I’m Mexican and I love this place!
They have a really unique twist on Mexican food while keeping true to it’s roots.
The flautas are so mouth watering that my vegan friend almost ate one.
I do not think that this is a «let’s go have a family dinner» kind of place, but it is great for having one of their many flavorful margaritas, a couple appetizers and I really great time.
There is something about the atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re hanging out in your early 20’s with your best friend.

I’ve been to the Taco Joint in River North a couple times and finally got around to the location in Lincoln Park. Have to say, I think I prefer this one on Halsted.
It’s a smaller restaurant, little darker with a small back room. I really like it — it’s more homey which fits with Lincoln Park and is better for more casually meeting friends for tacos or drinks. I’ve stopped in for drinks, for dinner, or even for a midafternoon snack. Just grabbed one taco for a couple bucks and move on.
Taco Joint has some good tacos. I think the ones listed on their regular menu are good, nothing really mind-​blowing, but the daily specials are definitely the best part of their taco offerings. I’ve had some truly great brisket tacos and pork belly tacos. Oftentimes I just wish those daily specials would be the regular menu items. I always get one or two of the daily specials when I go.
The margaritas can also be a good deal. I really like the bourbon-​based one, very strong but has some really cool flavor to it. That one isn’t available in a pitcher, but the others are, and, if you’ve got a couple friends, pitchers are definitely the way to go.

Really great Tacos. Stopped here on a Saturday, had their daily special taco which was the brisket, meat was well cooked and had a smoky flavor. Some of my other favorites were the Al Pastor (Chicken) and Barbacoa.

More of a 3.5 (same rating given for RN location).
Came Sunday evening around 8pm and we were seated promptly, although place was still quite busy.
We got the traditional guacamole to start and I got the cochinita taco and the taco del dia which was pozole. Everything came out wicked fast which was nice.
I noticed right away the discrepancy between the amount of guacamole and chips. While I liked the mix of chips including plantain chips, there was just way too much to suffice the amount of guacamole. I didn’t mind the size of the guac but it didn’t make sense to me to have that many chips. Anyways, aside from this minor annoyance, I was disappointed in the lack of flavor of the guac. I thought it was bland and basic. I definitely can make better guac than this.
Now, on to the tacos. I enjoyed the cochinita more than the pozole. Both were decently tasty, but nothing was amazing and all that memorable.
Overall, our service was great. Food came out very fast, waters were refilled, and our server was delightful. However, think there are better gourmet taco places around.

I think I’ve become a taco snob. I tried 4 different tacos here, the guacamole, and the queso fundido and I thought everything was just ok. The tacos were pretty standard and I was hoping they would be more flavorful. I was excited about one of the unique taco flavors — the Sweet Corn and Truffle — but it turned out to be my least favorite. The service here was great but I was unfortunately not blown away by the food.

My rating is on overall experience with taste and service.
Food is ⁴⁄₅ just because the flavors are really unique and tasty. I never ever complain about having too much meat but taco joint really put too much meat in my taco for such a small tortilla! Had the time Tuesday which offers 3 tacos for $ 7. Pretty great deal for al pastor, barbacoa, & cochinita (chicken, beef & pull pork). All three tacos had its own unique taste which was great. The chicken taco stand out the most because it had a sweet tangy pineapple mix into it. We also tried some street food like the corn and it was amazing! We also had guacamole which was not traditional and I wish we got the traditional but our waiter recommend the other one and I was not a fan. The chips that we use to dip was very unique. At first it was a hard acquire taste but you get use to it.
Service however was more like ³⁄₅. The food came out really quickly which was good because we were so hungry. But we weren’t too fond with our waiter. We overheard a conversation that made us really uncomfortable. A customer was asking for condiments like hot sauces and etc and the response he gave to the other guest was not really polite. He basically tried to convince the guest to not use any additional sauces with the taco because the spices were seasoned to ‘perfection’ but everyone’s taste bud is different so he had no right to make that decision for them and in the end, they didn’t even get any sauces.
I mean I would come back because the food is really amazing but their customer service might need more work!

This place rocks tacos. Went at lunch on a weekday so getting a seat at the bar was no problem. Service was swell. Ordered a delicious ceviche taco containing bay scallops, avocado and cucumber in a hard corn shell. Delish! Also took a chance on the «soy chorizo» taco since I wanted something vegetarian for lunch. Mock meat is always IFFY but this taco was not bad at all. The chorizo was covered in a great tasting sauce and came with cheese and slaw. Nice! A side of green rice with corn was super along with refried beans. The mango cheesecake looked pretty but tasted not so pretty so no, this is not a dessert joint.
The restaurant is long and narrow and you MUST sit at the bar – the back dining room is crowded and noisy, and the narrow tables in the corridor are ridiculous. Can you even place tables along a corridor in a restaurant (fire code and all that??) Who knows, I just know the tacos are super delicious and I’ll be back for more.

Taking two stars off for a couple reasons.
1. Every time I go, they’re packed (with good reason), and I have to sit at one of those awkward, inconveniently located side tables. So uncomfortable, too much traffic.
2. They removed the michelada taco from the menu. I understand the menu is seasonal, which is great, but don’t remove your best seller and replace it with an inferior version.
Again, I love this place and will definitely continue to dine here.

I don’t know why I never ate at Taco Joint until this past winter. I am so glad I met my friend here on a really snowy night. It’s become a regular place to go when we want tacos or margaritas. My most recent visit was last weekend when I had a friend visiting. The restaurant is fairly small so get there early or prepare to wait. The margaritas are good! Lots of flavors to choose from. I think we’ve tried almost all the tacos. They have a daily special taco too. Last weekend we tried their guac of the day which was mango based. I love all things mango! Service is great too!

Taco Joint’s unassuming name doesn’t do it justice — they really should consider changing their name to ‘The Best Damn Tacos in Chicago’, or something similar to that. These are the dankest tacos in Chicago by far.
My friends and I went here for dinner on a Friday night and we were starving. It was crowded, but we somehow managed to get seated at the last open table of 4 (the food gods obviously had our backs that night). We sat down, quickly perused the menu, and ordered our food and drinks (the Paloma Negra is on point btw). We ordered:
–Rojo guacamole: pretty good. It was on the creamier side with nice big chunks of avocado for some added texture. It comes w/​tortilla chips and plantain chips, so be sure to try em both w/​the guac (I love salty things, so I prefer the tortilla chips)
–Queso fundido: amazing. We ordered it w/​the chorizo instead of the grilled corn. The queso was heavenly and had the right amount of gooey-​ness, and the chorizo was perfectly seasoned.
–Carnitas taco: SO GOOD. The carnitas was tender, seasoned beautifully, and had a perfect amount of crispy/​charred pieces to give you some texture w/​each bite. The tomatillo salsa topped it off great. Note: eat this taco at the end because the adage «save the best for last» definitely applies here! I did not heed my friend’s advice and ate this taco first — which lead to me ordering another one immediately after I demolished this one, and before I even touched my other 3 tacos… whoops
–Cracklin’ duck tinga taco: there is so much going on in this taco (just look at all the ingredients!), but that’s what makes it so good. The duck was tasty and the slaw and pieces of chicharrón added a great crunch
–Steak jalisco taco: another huge taco that was delicious. The sirloin was grilled to perfection, and any time you give me chunks of avocado you’re doing great in my book. The chili was a nice touch — I think this was the first time I’ve ever had beans in a taco, and they were a surprisingly welcome ingredient.
–Camaron taco: the taco of the day. 5 huge pieces of buttery shrimp goodness. I wish this was offered every day because this would definitely be one of the tacos I would get every time I come in to eat.
My friends also got the barbacoa, al pastor, and cochinita tacos. I didn’t get a chance to try them but they all said that their tacos were amazing as well.
Service was excellent — everyone from the hostess to our waitress to the busboy was polite and kind. I’m definitely coming back here multiple times so that I can try every Taco Del Dia; Tongue ‘N Cheek taco, I’m comin’ for ya

Taco Joint is definitely a victim of it’s hip location combined with it’s own success. It’s freakin’ noisy and crowded!
I walked in and was immediately confronted with a wall of bodies and noise after struggling to find parking. It’s dark and looks like a bar and ONLY a bar. Nothing about my first impression indicated that it could possibly be a restaurant and serve tacos.
We used the app to track the readiness of our table while we enjoyed an adult beverage at the bar next door. It took a solid half hour for a «table» along the hallway wall with the kitchen door swinging and breezing our backsides. Waiting guests leaned along the edge of our table and didn’t move when we were seated. It was absolutely shameful.
The alacrity of our server, our sweetly refreshing house margaritas and scrumptious tacos redeemed Taco Joint. The Taco Joint Margarita was served in a tall, skinny glass with an option of either being on the rocks or frozen. We chose rocks. It had less lime and more agave than other places; however, it went down easily.
These were our tacos:
Conchinita — the server’s favorite. The shredded pork has some flavorful heat that is immediately cooled and complimented by the slaw on top.
Al Pastor — probably my all-​time favorite chicken taco but not my favorite taco at Taco Joint.
Steak Jalisco — Delicious and well balanced. A little hard to eat because it had so many components that could fall off. This was very different and FAR superior to the version at their Ontario location.
Crackin’ Duck Tinga — MY FAVORITE. It was crispy, flavorful, and rich. I loved it. I loved it as duck oils seeped out of it.
Camaron (Taco del Dia) — M had this one and she kept it all for herself. I can only report that she would not share.
These tacos were really delicious. All of them had interesting flavor combinations, good textures, and quality ingredients. They were well-​balanced and distinctly different from one another.
Even though Taco Joint was slammed our server didn’t rush us to pay or leave. He allowed us to sit while we conversed and M nursed her second margarita. We genuinely appreciated him and he admitted that serving is one of his callings. We agreed!