Carnitas Don Alfredo

Home made tortillas and great carnitas!
There are a handful of great Mexican restaurants in Melrose Park and this place is one of my favorites! This place was packed today, but there’s a smaller restaurant adjacent to this one you can also venture out to, which unfortunately for me, was also packed. But the wait is worth it when you try out their carnitas!
I recommend: carnitas taco, asada taco, and chorizo taco with a coke!
Tip: CASH only!

It’s going to be so hard for me to try all the Mexican restaurants down lake after eating these tacos. They were GOOD! So much so I ended up coming back the next day. (Can’t get enough of your love baby! — Good food will have you singing and dancing.)
Although I usually don’t like going with the flow. I went ahead and got the Carnitas. and 1 chorizo (had to be a little different). Poured the salsa verde on my tacos, squeezed the limes and for 20 minutes I was HAPPY! Got a chance to try out the chicken enchiladas. Good but not great as the tacos.
Things to know:
Cash only.
Open to 10pm and not 6pm like Unilocal is currently suggesting.
Order meat by the pound
3 restaurants on Lake Ave are all the same. The restaurant on the corner on 25^th and Lake is the EXACT same place… AND it’s the exact same place on 1^st and lake connected to the citgo in front of McDonald’s. Main reason to come to this one is you can sit down and have more people in the kitchen.
FRESH homemade tortillas

Super good place to get carnitas.
Also love their taco de barbacoa!

.Illinois.
Period!
Blows me away that this place has not been featured on any TV shows. My thought is owners have probably turned down requests. If that ever happens, this place will be chaos. It is already crazy busy so I cant imagine adding to the already large crowds. Personally, I think weekend/​Sunday carnitas at this place are better than weekday carnitas, but that’s just my opinion.
The red salsa is FIRE… delicious fire!
Homemade tortillas are ridiculous! 5 for $ 1 may seem expensive but well worth it, buy extra!
Dont forget to get the plate of cilantro, onions and limes!
You now have a perfect taco!
If you go on the weekend, the parking lot is a shit show so just an FYI!

This was one of my favor places to eat but now they need to work in their customer service and also in the quality of the food. Last time I had their food was about a month ago my secretary went to pick up the food and she told me how nasty the ladies were to her, I did not believe it until now, I place an order over the phone and when I got there I added some more food to my order, the girl who took my order was nasty and the lady who gave me my food was nasty as well, they acted like if they were doing me a favor or giving me the food for free, I order the Mole De puerco for 6.99 only to get to the office and find out they they literary gave me 3 pieces of pork, yes 3 small pieces of pork, you can buy a pound of pork at the same place for 5.00 so why would they give you 3 pieces for a dish that is 6.99? I am never going back, I know this place has been there for a while but if they continue that way they will loose a lot of customers like me, and I will make sure to tell my friends about my experience.

So good! Best tacos I’ve ever had. If you want tacos near melrose park, this is the place.

My parents are from Michoacan, Mexico and my family makes carnitas for a living over there and I have to say this place is the most authentic thing to it. This is a true mexican taco spot and for anyone trying to order here for the first time and don’t speak spanish it can be a little tricky. The people taking your order don’t speak english very well and ordering carnitas you kind of gotta know what you want. First time if your ordering carnitas by the pound which I always do you should try a mix of pork skin and fat with the meat and tell them to chop it up so you have a nice mix of everything. I grew up never really liking the skin or fat but this place has melt in your mouth carnitas which is so good. I would never bring my family to eat inside on the weekend because it’s so packed and you can barely fit anywhere. On sundays there’s a guy playing guitar and singing which is really good and we actually got him to come out to one of our parties to play for us for a while. Big plus you can order handmade tortillas which are freaking great. They give you all the little extras limes, onion and cilantro, great salsas. They have all kinds of other good stuff too menudo, and steak tacos etc. This spot is sitting right next to the old spot but there both open and there the same. They have another location sitting in a gas station on 1^st Ave and lake it’s the same thing. Hands down best carnitas I’ve tasted in the Chicago land area.

I had almost an identical experience as another Unilocaler (Jill M.)! Lol
Guess I should have read more reviews. Ok so this will be a quicky. I’ll just reiterate.
Cash only, First come first serve Carnitas, Steak is awesome, al pastor is pretty good, Tortillas are world class and made to order, the burrrrito is good (I’d take one or two to go incase you need a fix later) and CHEAP! Menu is in Spanish only so it would help if you know a little. Plenty parking and seating.

Stopped by for dinner last night and they were out of Carnitas (screams). Rallied valiantly and went with two carne asada and one al pastor tacos. The pastor was pretty good, the carne asada was spectacular. Now I have my emergency options… Or I can just try to get there earlier in the day.
(Note to self… Is now good? Grabs car keys.). PS it’s cash only and they mean it.

Tried this place last night for carnitas tacos. Have to admit they were good indeed, but not as great or fresh tasting as the ones I’ve had from their location on 1^st avenue in the Citgo station. Not sure why that is, maybe later in the day so the carnitas were not as fresh. Got them the same way as I did the other place– with extra juice and skins, yet they just were not as good.
I’ll still be back, but will try to get to the location on 1^st avenue before it closes which I think is around 6PM.
Good auténtico food!

Went to this place on a Sunday morning and that was a mistake. This place was overly crowded. The carnitas and steak taco which were great. Also ordered rice and beans, which were so so. They server Pepsi in a bottle which uses cane sugar instead of corn syrup which is the way I like it «old style». We had to wait a few minutes in order to find a seat after getting our food due to the crowd. Next time we’ll try a weekday and hope that the crowds won’t be there.

The best fried pork in the city! That’s what «Carnitas» are of course. This place has been my go to spot since I discovered it a few years ago. The meat is nice & tender, not dry @ all like other places. Their tortillas de maiz r made in house, talk abt freshness. Sure u can get ur meat mixed with skin or pure meat, jus say «pura carne». Their agua de horchata is also really gud. For a gr8 deal, get the 2 taco dinner (any meat choice) for only $ 4. Definitely must try the carnitas tho!

Came here based on the reviews as carnitas are my wife’s favorite. I tried making them one time and they were a soggy mess. After that I was told not to try again.
It is a little weird that they have 2 locations in the same parking lot but we went to the newer location as we were parked closer to it (lazy!). We looked at the menu and we found the price per pound of carnitas was lower then what we pay at the Mexican supermarkets! I think it’s literally cheaper than making it yourself. I felt ripped off from all the other places I bought carnitas from. So we bought 2 pounds, rice, beans and a churro (my son wanted it) for less than $ 20.
First off, the rice and beans suck. If your doing take out, canned beans and microwave rice is better than what they served us. The carnitas were amazing! Put the green sauce on top of the carnitas and you’re in heaven. I think I had about 5 tacos filled with meat it was so good.
Highly recommended, I think I might add this place to my weekly shopping list.
PS I went on a Tuesday night and it was dead. I don’t want to know how busy it would be on a Saturday or Sunday.

After all the great reports I love the carnitas also but I’m writing today because I want to tell people to ask if the food is fresh now before you order.
We had a birthday celebration and order carnitas over 10 people got sick 4 of us are still fighting this very sick.
Be careful I don’t want other people to suffer like I have been for the last 5 days

I have to say I was very disappointed with the service. My sister, her boyfriend and I came here after leaving another restaurant due to horrible service. I really had a taste for carnitas and was really looking forward to trying them from here because I’ve heard they are the best.
When we got there, we began ordering tacos of carnitas, to which we were told they had run out of. So we decided on something else. While we were deciding what to order the second time the lady taking our order gets a personal call and answers it in front of us. When she finally finished taking our order she basically threw our order at the cook. Upon receiving our food we sat at a table and the same waitress who took our order comes out and commences to put up all the chairs in the restaurant. So we asked what time they closed; which was half an hour from that time. I thought that was pretty rude. When she finished with that, she started mopping with a VERY strong solution. We decided to get up and leave; luckily my sister and I had already finished eating, but my brother-​in-​law walked out with his taco in hand.
I have to say that I probably won’t be back.

Found this location while driving by one afternoon looking for something to eat. The lengthy line waiting to get into both locations gave this local jewel away. There are two locations here flanking either side of a shared parking lot. The signature carnitas were outstanding and even more so when accompanied by the freshly made tortillas that came with them. Washed the meal down with a Coca Mexicana and my mission was accomplished. I have been back and several occasions and am always pleased.

Ummm, Becky. They don’t have hard shell here?
I asked for lettuce, cheese, and tomato on my tacos, and by the time they called my number (quattro, I believe I was) — I ended up getting a big steaming pound of some meat in a cardboard tray? WTF! Where in the heck is my shredded cheddar, lettuce, and tomato? Becky, this pork meat has big ass hunks of skin in every bite, and this hot sauce is a bit more piquant than Fire Sauce. Oh well, I guess I could get used to these hand made tortillas, perfect onion and cilantro chop, and green sauce. You know what this is like? Pulled pork from the heavens, cooked by 40 virgins slowly stirring a stainless steel pot with a unicorn tusk. I like carnitas, and I cannot lie.

Apparently, this place runs a couple of locations, two of which are in the same parking lot. I pulled in, and walked up to the original on the corner (not knowing the other location was right next door) only to find it closed on Mondays. Got in the car all disappointed, drove around the parking lot, and then saw the newer location in the strip mall right next door, as open.
I usually have to get a basic steak taco to rate a taco place, but decided i needed to try the namesake carnitas, or fried pork, tacos.
Hand chopped pork overflowing the hand made tortillas, with cilantro & onion. very flavorful hot sauce. Traditional coke in a old-​school glass bottle.
Yum. I’d likely go out of my way to get here again.

I feel compelled to write this whole review in Spanish!
Listos? Cuando entras a Carnitas Don Alfredo te pega el riquisimo olor de carnitas. JUST KIDDING! I’ll translate. When you enter Carnitas Don Alfredo, you’re hit with a delicious aroma of carnitas. I kid you not, my mouth was watering.
Now if you don’t know what carnitas are, you don’t know what you’re missing. :) So here… en​.wikipedia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​C​a​r​nitas You’re welcome.
We went up to the counter where they have their daily specials and guisados (Stews/​Casseroles). We opted for the carnitas, OBVIOUSLY! That’s why we went there.
Tacos were $ 1.79 a piece, there was NO extra charge for the homemade tortillas. Take note other Taquerias, this is what consumers are looking for. They came Mexican style, Cilantro and onion as the only topping, with a side of lime of course. We also got a tamale which was just ok.
Their salsas were were just how I like them, homemade, spicy and flavorful. I also got some chiles toreadoes (Grilled jalapenos) but they weren’t that hot.
Cash only and you pay when your order number is called. Seating is limited, there is plenty of them it’s just that so many people are in an out. Luckily we got seated. The place is open and they run around keeping it clean. Worth the drive FO SHO.

There are a few locations that appear to be seasonal, or just closed, or we just had bad luck, but this strip-​mall location is right behind the old corner location and seems to be open on a normal schedule.
Man, is this place great, nothing fancy, just great food at reasonable prices. If you like carnitas, you will not be disappointed. Worth the drive out from the city.