El Fuego Tacos & Burritos — Restaurant in Algonquin

I used El Fuego to cater my daughter’s 1st birthday. The whole processes from start to finish were a disaster. STAY AWAY FROM CATERING. I called several times before the booking trying to figure out how much food I needed for 75 people. Each time I got a different answer it seemed no one that answered the phones were able to help with how much food was needed one person said a tray of tacos served 10 another said it served 15. One person said a tray of beans served 12 another said it served 30. Since I wanted authentic Mexican food I decided to order from them. I got twice as much food as I needed to serve 75 people. I rather have too much than too little but I feel I wasted hundreds of dollars on extra food because none of the workers could say approximately how much was needed for my party. I ordered the food to be delivered by 3:45 pm. My party started at 4. It did not arrive until 4:40. NEARLY ONE HOUR LATE. I called 3 times, each time they were on their way (I live 5 minutes away there was no way they had left yet). At that time I had a house full of people and no food. The food was not done being setup until 5 pm over an hour after my party started. I ordered chips and salsa and guacamole for an appetizer that no one ate because it was so late – thrown in the garbage. The manager made the delivery and did not really apologize for being so late. Instead he blamed me for placing a large order on the same day that he had a different large order. Isn’t it the restaurants responsibility to ensure they can fulfill their orders how am I to know what other orders they have that day? El Fuego even called that morning to confirm the order. They didn’t’ say there would be a problem with the size of the order or the timing. I was not offered any discount for them nearly ruining my party with late food. The food was ok. It didn’t have much flavor. It was not worth the money. I rented sternos and chaffers from them I was told that it would cost $72 and I would get $60 back when I returned them (pay for flames). When I returned them the employees were going to give me nothing back. Then they called the manager and offered me $50 back and said if I wanted extra $10 I’d have to come in and talk to manager but they didn’t know when he’d be working. So I left with my $50 not worth fighting over $10. They called 10 minutes later and asked me to come back and they would give me extra $10. From start to finish catering from El Feugo was a nightmare. I don’t know how you offer catering but employees know nothing of how to take orders, how many a tray of food serves or how to make the food on time. Do yourself a favor and don’t order from them. The food quality wasn’t that good in large quantity and it was so late my party was nearly ruined. Maybe next time they would be 2 hours late or not...

I have ordered from El Fuego on numerous occasions. After my most recent experience, I will never be ordering from them again. It was a cold and snowy night, so my husband and I decided to order El Fuego delivery. I placed my order through Uber Eats like I had done a half a dozen times before. Same order, same instructions each time. When we got the food, I was sad to see that part of my order was incorrect. I checked back on my order through Uber Eats to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake in my instructions. Everything was correct on the order. So I called the restaurant to inform them of the error. The manager I spoke with was extremely rude. After a few minutes of her sarcastic tone, she finally agreed to either refund the order or replace it. I understand mistakes happen and orders are sent out incorrectly, but she never once apologized for the error. Well, we still wanted the food, so I asked that it be replaced. She said she wouldn’t be able to deliver it though. Great. Just what I wanted to avoid the whole time was going out in the storm. Had I known what was about to ensue, I would have just taken the refund. I decided just to go and get the tacos picked up from the restaurant. My husband didn’t want me to drive in the weather, so he went to go pick up the food. As soon as he informed the manager that he was there to pick up the order, she began to get snippy and rude again. She asked for the tacos that were wrong. When I was on the phone with her, she never mentioned bringing them back when I came to pick up the order. I would have happily done so but was not instructed to. When my husband said he didn’t have the tacos, she got even more condescending and rude. She stated I know the ticket was right, I saw it myself. When he asked her what the order was, she couldn’t even tell him what it was that we ordered. So how are you going to say that you know it was right if you can’t remember an order I called about less than 10 minutes prior? She then accused us of lying about the order being wrong. I have never been so insulted in my life. The order was for four tacos. Do you really think I wanted to risk him driving out in the storm for four tacos? When he asked to speak to her manager, she mumbled under her breath and finally gave him the owner’s information. He spoke to the owner that same night, but nothing was offered or stated it would be done to rectify the situation. He simply stated that this isn't the first time he has had this complaint about her. To think that they would accuse us of lying over four tacos is beyond offensive. We typically ordered from El Fuego about once a week, but to have our character questioned like that is beyond repair. We will no longer give them any...

Dear El Fuego Management,

I am writing to formally express my disappointment with my recent experience at your Algonquin, IL location. I placed an order for pickup, and upon arrival, I observed a young male employee exiting the restroom, putting on just one glove, and then proceeding to pick items up from the floor before handling my food with his bare hands. Concerned about hygiene, I questioned his actions, but he did not seem to understand me.

When I raised the issue with the cashier, she kindly offered to remake my order, which I appreciated. However, another female employee, who was seated and eating at the time, aggressively intervened, yelling at me and stating that she didn’t need my business. She then instructed the cashier to issue me a refund instead of remaking my order. Her behavior was extremely rude, unprofessional, and completely uncalled for. I calmly tried to explain that my concern was about proper food handling and employee training, but she responded with further hostility and ultimately asked me to leave the restaurant.

This experience was both frustrating and disappointing. Food safety should be a top priority in any restaurant, and employees should be properly trained in hygiene and customer service. Additionally, no customer should ever be treated with such disrespect for raising a valid concern.

I hope you take this complaint seriously and implement better training for your staff to ensure cleanliness and professionalism. I would appreciate a response regarding how this matter will be addressed.

Respectfully, A long time Former Patron “Power concedes nothing without demand, it never has and it never...