Antigua Mexican Grill (Crystal Lake) — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

Best Mexican restaurant in Crystal Lake- no question. They’ve handled the covid situation like professionals expanding their takeout and delivery services (including margaritas) to survive this new normal, and have even continued their previously planned internal expansion despite all the new obstacles they’ve faced that they could have never foreseen.

We’ve eaten here more times than I can count, and the food is so good I don’t have just one go-to item. I would say, though, their carne asada (steak) dishes are my favorite. They have a whole section with Asada steak meals, and you also cannot go wrong with the steak in tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. Carnitas are also fantastic, and I wanted to give a special shoutout to their Tortilla Soup that I tried on a whim as an app but could easily be a lovely light meal with all the delicious toppings and tender chicken during cooler weather.

For cocktails, they keep it simple and clean and their margaritas taste as such. Tonight we had strawberry margaritas, and they taste like summer in a glass. Their new bar offers draft beer in addition to bottled...but I can’t attest to any of those since I stick to margs when we go.

I’m a tiny bit torn in writing this, if I’m honest. I always want to see a quality local business succeed and support them however I can, ESPECIALLY in these trying times... but the best kept secret in Crystal Lake is quickly becoming less of a secret every week, and a lady must also protect her taco supply, right? ;) Sigh... I suppose I must consider the greater good here and promote this deliciousness for all to enjoy. Try it- you’ll be...

Usually I do not give harsh ratings. However I will have to make a rare exception here.

First the good things- good bustling atmosphere. Good menu offerings. Good salsa.

Now the not so good things- we ordered vegetarian tamales and the server said “what do you mean by vegetarian”. We explained - no meat or eggs or chicken … only the poblano and cheese. He nodded his head and said ok. The food appeared and when we asked the lady who was putting the plate down “this is the vegetarian tamales right?”…she took a look and after a thoughtful pause culminating in a realization said “ let me take it back and bring you the vegetarian as this looks like chicken. “….. so we waited. The second plate came through (this time again reassured by server that it was indeed veggie tamales) and we deconstructed the first one to ensure it was indeed vegetarian. And then to our utter surprise … the second one was chicken.

I wonder how you can get an order wrong twice on the trot. If it’s a training issue … then the kitchen staff should take mandatory training. If it’s an issue with definition of “vegetarian tamales” then why put it in menu as “poblano and cheese” and then serve chicken?

This ruined our dinner outing and also made us feel nauseous - a serious health hazard.

And I can tell you (you can also see my reviews for other Mexican joints like Mago Cantina or no manches)… that ordering vegetarian and getting the right food is not a rocket science. If other restaurants can do it… why not you?

The manager did waive our check off for the evening… however this place needs training on serving patrons with...

Went there with one of my girl friends the other day, the food was very tasty and authentic BUT THE SERVICE on the other hand had us a little disappointed. We sat at a table across from the bar and ordered 2 drinks mine was a mojito and hers was the horchata with Malibu rum in it. My drink was fantastic but they got my friends drink wrong and CLEARLY put fireball in it instead of Malibu. We weren’t upset that the drink was wrong we were disappointed because our waiter was awkward and didn’t offer a new one when we said it was made wrong and tried to play it off as it was the cinnamon in the drink. Definitely not the case. THEN when he asked the bar tender (in Spanish which We are both familiar enough with to know what was said) if she put fireball in it she looked right at us with a guilty look and straight up lied and said no! We are drinkers and know our liquor especially from drinking fireball straight no chaser back in high school! There was absolutely no doubt it was fireball in the drink. Honesty is big with us so not sure if we will go back due to the dishonesty of the staff. We are not picky people and don’t normally make a fuss it is just the fact that she lied when fireball and Malibu are clearly two different flavors. Malibu rum is not spicy! ATLEAST they didn’t charge her for the drink though! All I can say is work on the honesty because lying gives your restaurant a terrible reputation. Especially as grown adults it’s important to own up to your mistake. We didn’t care that it was wrong, just the fact the bartender was dishonest about her mistake. We did get a good laugh out...