El Jardin

Ho hum in every sense. At least the guacamole is good, but the stale chips make me want to curl up in the fetal position and rock back and forth. Places like this are a dime a dozen and it’s pretty expensive for what you’re getting. You’re basically paying for the cost to rent in the glen, but really, you can’t even make a taco taste less pedestrian?

Amazing mexican food. Best I’ve ever had for the price. It’s a shame that it isn’t rated higher.

This place is a pretty typical middle of the road Mexican restaurant. The food and drinks are ok, so is the service. Nothing special. I like Salsa 17 much more in Arlington Heights.

We’ve been there about a dozen times a… Its one of those places that I never get excited about, never plan or think about going to, but end up there anyways.
The service is just fine… never had an issue. The drinks are good… usually prepare a killer margaritas for us. The food seems really typical mediocre food from all the other Mexican restaurants we visit. Overall its pretty pricey for Mexican food for just an average experience.

Margaritas were great but food was lousy. Not worth the money. The service was good but it can’t make up for the crappy food.

This really is not a good Mexican restaurant. The food quality is on par with the 24-​hour Mexican restaurants all over the city. This restaurant is in a great location and it’s fun to sit outside in the summertime on the patio. The margaritas are weak, tacos are weak, the chips are weak the salsa is weak. Without it being in such a prominent location this place would be out of business.

Decent food, garbage service.
— I’m not sure if getting a drink refill is possible. I never got one, even after asking. The «waiter» seemed to be inconvenienced that I was thirsty. Speaking of refills, cherish those chips, you’ll never see the bowl refilled again.
— Would not split checks. Okay. Would not divvy between credit cards for less than $ 15 on each though their lunch menu is about $ 10 a person. Go fist yourselves El Jardin.
— Why does it take so long to deliver our food… given we were the only people in the entire place. It’s not as though they’re making gourmet meals here.

Everytime I have been, the service has been slow and the servers have been rude. The food isn’t anything special either but you’ll end up spending almost $ 20 without even ordering a drink. I don’t think I will ever go back for another meal.

The margaritas are good but the food could be better. I don’t eat meat so I ordered their combo. I picked 3 bean burritos. They came with nothing but beans and the tortilla… no lettuce no
Cheese, NOTHING. Disappointing.

We went to El Jardin when the Glen was first built, and it’s taken that many years to forget how bad it was, which is why we made the mistake of going back again tonight.
If you go I suggest you drink several margaritas, because only when you’re half in the bag will you not care about the WAY overpriced food that doesn’t even measure up to Burrito House for taste or quality. $ 32 for three skimpy enchiladas and a cold burrito filled mostly with iceberg lettuce is Glen-​worthy.
We had about 4 waiters and 2 busboys taking care of our table and it was still the worst, slowest, most forgetful service we’ve experienced in a long time.
One of the above 2 stars is for the salsa, the only redeeming part of the evening.
If you’re looking for a decent meal in the Glen, try the new Curragh Irish pub across the street.

I’m really surprised this place has gotten unfavorable reviews. I’ve been at least 10 – 15 times and the food was always great. Albeit, I normally order the same dish, Steak Fajitas. The Presidente margarita is my drink of choice here. Its delicious and they don’t skimp on the liquor! The servers are always attentive and friendly as well (maybe because I frequent the place). I’ve also sang karaōke here, but I dont think the have it anymore (probably because of my horrible singing!).
The atmosphere is casual and comfortable and I would recommend it.

I’ve dined at El Jardin several times, and it’s never been anything spectacular, but I haven’t had an issue until last night.
With a group of four friends, I ate in the bar area. We were there to watch the Blackhawks game, but all ordered drinks and food, so it’s not like we were being cheapskates about it. The waiter was kind of creepy and possibly drunk; he dropped his pen upon taking our drink orders and took quite a while locating on the floor, then brought out the wrong food initially. The food was fine, but not really worth the prices they charge.
When the bill came, we asked if we could split the tabs. The manager indicated that they don’t split tabs, but could take multiple credit cards. So we wrote down how much to charge on each card, which is understandably a bit of a nuisance on our part, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary. Our waiter then said he could only split the bill evenly two ways, so we asked again to speak with the manager. He gave us the same excuse, even though a friend I was with works in restaurant management and recognized the POS system as capable of splitting multiple ways. The manager’s words were along the lines of «we haven’t ever split bills, and we don’t plan on ever doing it. I’m just an employee, it’s not my decision.»
In the end, we were so frustrated with the experience that I put the whole bill on my card. Though tempted not to leave any tip, I opted instead for a meager one. I certainly hope the owners will invest time and effort into upgrading the level of service and courteousness afforded to El Jardin’s guests. Until then, though, I will be steering clear.

This was our first visit to El Jardin Norte with a WE DEAL coupon…& it may or may not be our last. The décor is very dingy and dark and not inviting. The crêpe paper streamers, plastic flags and fake flowers cheapen it and no doubt harbor dust… this place could be so much more inviting with bright yellow paint and new lighting. On to the food, the salsa and chips are just wonderful! I had to ask for seconds and even wanted to buy some but our server appeared not to understand our request. I had the steak fajitas. Kind of pricey… they give you a base price of just vegetables and you add $ 2 – 4 depending on what kind of protein you want. Very odd pricing. My husband had the steak tacos and enjoyed them as well. Service was sketchy. The restaurant was half full and yet the service was slow. Overall, I enjoyed the meal but this restaurant in The Glen could be so much more.

Not sure why this place got only 2.5 stars. Maybe I got lucky, but the food I ordered was terrific. I would give this place at least 4-​stars, but out of principle, these people charged $ 1 for giardiniera hot peppers when I asked for jalapeños. An extra buck for some oily non-​mexican peppers? Me thinks not.
Upon dine in, you do get lukewarm chips and salsa. The salsa was runnier than I liked, it reminded me of ketchup, and not the chunky pico that I love from mexican restaurants. It was somewhat bland. As far as the entrée, I ordered the chicken fajitas (of course) and they were delicious. The meat was well-​seasoned and everything tasted great.
BATHROOM REVIEW: The bathrooms are located near the kitchen. Inside, it was kind of dingy and had one urinal and a stall. It wasn’t super clean, nor was it dirty like the places in Chinatown. Sit or Squat? Squat.

This place is decent, way better than Mi Mexico (that is for sure!). I expected this place to be a little over the top because it’s in the Glen and all the restaurants in the Glen exceed expectations. However, this place was very average. I ordered the carne asada, which was okay, but it came with minimal flavor, so I had to request habanero sauce. Also, the portion size of the rice/​beans/​pico de gallo is very very minimal. Usually you get an abundance of the sides, so it was weird to see a lot of Carne Asada left and no beans or rice.
Unfortunately the heat wasn’t working when we came in, so it was freeezing! All in all, I would only come back if someone was celebrating a birthday here.

I had a nice lunch here with my mom after scoring BIG TIME on a Craigs List find.
I had the taco salad, it was nicely layered with crisp lettuce, in season veggies and seasoned ground beef. It was filling but not overly so.
The prices are a little high for Mexican fare…

Is El Jardin run by Denny’s?
After an afternoon of shopping, we decided to stop at El Jardin for a drink and an appetizer. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, only three people in the whole place. We walked to the bar, sat down and the bartender says «can I get you something to drink?» I reply «water.» (It was 90 degrees outside; water is usually standard. Didn’t give us a water.) Asked to see a menu. After a few minutes of perusing the menu and deciding what to order, I again asked the bartender for a water .
The bartender looked at us, walked away and didn’t come back!!!
Well censor #!!!#$#$% that!!!
We left and went next door to Ted’s Montana Grill. Upon entering Ted’s Montana Grill we received a nice greeting, good service and water.
By the way, Ted’s serves a really, really good strawberry margarita!
Skip El Jardin. Based on the other reviews, I’m glad we walked out.
This place is really on the skids. We had dined here a few years ago and at the time the place was o.k. This is no way to run a restaurant, I can see why the place was empty.

Sometimes, you just have to throw caution to the wind. I know this place doesn’t get great reviews, but I have to say, I’ve eaten here twice during business trips, and I don’t think I’ve ever had better Carne Asada anywhere!
Is it overpriced? Yes. Is the wait staff a bit aloof? Yes. But, the Carne Asada rocks and big enough to feed two. Plus, Glenview is a cool area to walk around and you can sit outside and people-​watch while you eat.
I haven’t ordered anything but the Carne Asada on my two visits, aside from Guacamole which was good, but I’m a believer.
Good luck!

This place epitomizes the word «meh» which only means that when it comes to Mexican food, this place is horrific.
I knew it would be the moment I sat down and read; «first round of chips complimentary ONLY» next to the listing for the taco plate, which was listed at $ 16.99.
Immediate fail.
This better be a DAMN GOOD Mexican restaurant to charge me $ 17 for tacos and in addition to chips. Sadly, it wasn’t.
The food was flavorless and the service was mediocre. I’ve been to hundreds, maybe even a thousand different mexican restaurants and I would say that this place is a top 10 disappointment.

Don’t bother. Went for a Sunday night date. Granted the day after cinco de mayo, but to me the place seemed dirty and disorganized. Sat at the bar, bar tender was new guy and had to ask about everything. Willing to cut him slack for that, but not fun to endure.
Prices were lacking — as in how much is this, how much is that, and no one seemed sure.
Prices were not the only thing lacking, food was too. Split the fajita dinner burrito and that was nothing to write home about. blah blah blah
Gold margarita special was not special at all, a watery concoction in a pitcher under the bar.
Tried the beer margarita too and that was a bust.
The only thing somewhat decent were the jalepeno poppers, not bad.
Overall, found myself regretting my choice and wished we had parked elsewhere.
Sorry Jardin, won’t be back