Tacos El Norte

I’ve eaten here plenty of times with my parents and other family. The service is usually slow but at least you get some chips to munch while you wait.
The food is just okay, you won’t be returning because of your taste buds if you do.
The atmosphere is what makes this place so attractive. Sitting outside next to the water truly removes you from the normal day-​to-​day.
Back to the food, I won’t be returning because of my experience, but I don’t want it to sour yours. I found three small rocks the size of my pinky fingernail in my burrito. I almost chipped a tooth on one. When I showed them to the manager he said,
«That happens sometimes.»
I asked again why there are rocks in my burrito and he said,
«It comes with the beans.»
I finally had to ask him if he thought it was okay for there to be rocks in the food. He finally conceded and didn’t charge for the burrito.
Regardless, everything about this place seems to be trying to cut corners, and it’s probably because you’re not paying for the food or service, you’re paying for the location.

I’ve been on the search for good Mexican food since I left California. This is one of my favorite places to have Mexican food.
Upon arrival you get chips and salsa. The chips are delicious but the salsa is ok nothing impressive. The margaritas are my favorite drink this place has to offer. I particularly enjoy the purple salt on the rim of the glass.
The food is great. I enjoy their Mexican rice, it’s flavorful and tastes authentic. The portion sizes are big, so you’ll have lunch for later.
The outside seating area is peaceful and they have heating as well. On a nice day this the place I like to visit for lunch or dinner.

Charge for EVERY side???
2.50 for jalapeños and carrots.
2.00 for shredded cheese.
2.00 for rice
2.00 for beans
You get the idea.
If you order a 2 item combo with all of the sides every other Mexican restaurant includes, you’d put out close to $ 20.
Crazy expensive!
And, the food is pretty bland!!!
Will NOT be back.

Just visited and found a great deck
The service was good. We visited
This restaurant a while back and
It has a new menu, however the
Prices have increased way above what
They were, the quality of the food
Was ok while the portions were very
Small. The drinks were very small
For the price. They have serious
Competition from On The Border and
Uncle Julios both have better priced
Menus and drink specials .
Taco el Norte need to look at the
Competition and offer a more reasonable
Menu. The only thing they have going
Is a nice deck.
I hope someone from the Restaurant
Reads Unilocal

Great location — and will be even stronger when it is warm enough to sit outside — BUT — this place is just mediocre. In an area where you can get very strong Mexican food (most of Mundelein), some places downtown L-​ville, etc. — Tacos El Norte is a disappointment. Definitely down market.

Gave it three chances. Not Authentic. NO seasoning. They will charge a 15% gratuity tip without your knowledge until you get your bill, only two people on tab, I ordered tacos. Waitress is not around on a non busy day. :/​I don’t like raising my hand, and holding it there till it falls off from feeling «ants» lol
Tip: If your not into a special Sport Day stay away on those days. I didn’t know and They WANT and will charge you if your seat is by the TV. And they will Charge by Person. My back was literally facing the TV and we ALL had to kindly explain that we were there for an Engagement Celebration Proposal that literally happened that day, not for Boxing. And that was embarrassing and an issue when it’s supposed to be a non-​worry happy occasion. Not to mention we had to move later after we went through all that.

I used to go to this place when it was in Buffalo grove. Food was very good then and service was good but place was much smaller. I’m happy to say food is still good but service is not as great. I think maybe because the new place is soooo much bigger and maybe wasn’t staffed as much as they should have been when I was there on a Thursday afternoon. Sitting outside is nice but they should really have the pond cleaned up. However food is good and that’s the main reason I go. I will be going back.

We came here for my mom’s birthday, the restaurant is under new ownership. The food is ok but not impressive, the horchata water did not taste good at all, prices are skyrocketed now, the menu is very hard to understand. We asked if we could have the fajitas combined and they answered yes they did not explain there was an extra charge to it. When we asked them they said it was on the menu but the menu is hard to understand. Also they went ahead and charged the 18% gratuity to our ticket without us authorizing it. We understand they may be able for large groups but when we asked them to modify it & about the fajitas they should’ve done something about it. Very bad experience altogether we wont come back under this ownership. Dont waste your money coming here. My review in spanish to come.

I went here for my birthday a couple of years ago. The place was very busy and food was awesome. Hugh variety on the menu. They must be under new management. The menu is very sparse. So is the clientele. I ordered the nachos with grilled chicken and roasted vegetables. Nachos are a finger food but the chicken was in long strips. Too many potatoes in it. I don’t like potatoes in my nachos. The high school looking jazz band was very good. The food wasn’t worth coming back too. Another favorite place that is now off my list.

I took my 2 very picky eaters to this place and my vocal 5 yr old was impressed with the window seat and when his food arrived said «this place makes really good food and the other places I ate were pretty gross»
He had a kids grilled skirt steak dinner. (He ate his entire serving of steak and worked a little on his sides but asked for a box to have it later)
I had lomo en chile add chile relleno.
I was so excited to taste the chile relleno and was not disappointed. I order a chile relleno at every Mexican eatery I visit and this was the very first time I actually enjoyed my relleno. I had a difficult time deciding on which to eat first my steak or the relleno. I believe I said «I feel like I’m in heaven» as I inhaled my entire plate.
My 2 year old is on a cheese and dip only diet right now (it’s all he wants) I ordered him the Nachitos kids plate and he loved it. We will definitely go back (my 5 year old won’t stop talking about how nice it was)

Came here on a Fri, two days ago. They have a create your own platter menu. I stuck with the usual suspects of the traditional Mexican menu of pork taco, chorizo flautas, rice and beans. The food was good, not great. They are a bit stingy with the meat fillings. It’s a nicer tacos el norte environment compared to the one in Highwood and Gurnee. They had a band playing. Consensus: Good spot to hangout with friends on the weekends.

I mean it is ok. But really meh. Maybe. Happy hour spot for the people working nearby? I only had an app but even that was pretty mediocre.
Also bartender couldn’t find makers when I ordered it. I had to point it out. I mean talk about a super obvious bottle.
So if you want a drink and meh food. Stop in

I wish this Tacos El Norte was closer to my home. I can’t tell you how much I love it.
This location is in a weird location, you have to drive into this industrial/​office park area to get to the parking lot. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. AND there is a pond outside with a water fall. On my most recent visit we sat inside at a booth right by the water fall. So peaceful.
The food is always good here. I have never ordered something that I didn’t like. My favorite is the shrimp cocktail. Shrimp, avocadoes, onions, jalapenos, and goodness. Yum.
I saw that some reviews say the service is slow. Okay, yes I would agree that the service is slow. This isn’t Chili’s. Plan to savor your time.

They have decent food. However, the fact that we had four adults a 3 year old child and a seven month infant and we were still charged 18% gratuity for a party of six, sours me on the idea of returning.
After about 8:30, all the sudden there were knats flying around everywhere as we were trying to wind down our meal and enjoy our margaritas we were fanning away knats.
That ruined it for me. They were all over, hovering around our leftovers.

Food was very good. Menu was much different than the one online. Love sitting on the patio on a warm evening.
The salsa was very good. Fresh tasting. Just the right amount of heat. For dinner I had a chicken with chipotle sauce entrée. Great flavors. Beans were done well and were not dried out. Enjoyable dinner.
Service was just «meh.» Server was not very attentive. Took a while to pay and leave, which is a HUGE pet peeve of mine.

Came here for lunch on a Tuesday. Service was very slow even through the restaurant wasn’t busy. Food was just okay. Portions were large.

Ate here a while ago. This place was very mediocre. Sitting outside is the highlight in the summer very average, service is slow.

The food here is your basic American Mexican menu. Some of the items are more interesting than others. The guacamole didnt impress it was bland and didnt seem very fresh. Perhaps asking for it spicy would be worth a try. The food in general was all pretty bland actually so might need to specify to kick things up a notch. The chile relleno was nicely done and so where the veggie tacos ask for plenty of avocado. The frozen margaritas are premade in a machine BOOO… ordered a specialty margarita on the rocks but the mix they use isn’t very good and it was pretty weak. The service was good until the end when I had to ask 3 times for the check. The patio is a reason to come here.

Wow! Amazing Mexican food! One of the best Mexican places to eat at ever. The food was fresh and the place was super clean. This location is huge. Lots of space for seating and the staff were super nice and patient.
I’ve only been there once but the food was completely memorable. I’d go back again for sure.

Not sure why this place is getting so much hate in the reviews; maybe because it’s a chain or maybe because it is situated in a pretty nondescript office building complex. It’s actually very lovely inside and the food is very authentic.
I’m letting them slide on the stacked baskets of chips, obviously not fresh, that I viewed as I walked in. Everything else, from the margaritas to my beef tongue main course, were extraordinarily tasty and good for the soul.
Service was excellent, salsa music was great and I left with a smile on my face. What more can you ask for?