Chicanas Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Elgin

1sr time there Wait staff was awesome! Clean place. Food is OK. Bit high for what it is, but in line with others. Restaurant chain Mexican food. * I've been spoiled with authentic so...and I understand the clientele their catering to. Will I be back? YES. WHY? Not a whole Lotta options around, it's close, folks are nice, beats Taco Hell. **I did just get tacos, so I should try some other things honestly before judging the food. I wonder what dishes THEY would recommend, I should ask.

2nd time there Again..Superior waitstaff! ❤️ Both times to go orders. My Tacos were FANTASTIC! Next time I'm going to bring a piece of foil to place on top of my food in the container, I live 5 minutes away, it's warm out, food was cold when I got home.Styrofoam doesn't keep food warm unfortunately, must be why other places wrap theirs in foil? Was saddened to see the place empty on Friday ar 12:20 lunch time 😲 3rd Friday of the month is a common pay day. Part of the issue unfortunately is the price. 16.49 for 3 steak Tacos. OUCH! That's like 5.50 per TACO! 😲 Constructive criticism is THAT is what is keeping people away, the price point. Especially in the current economy. I personally planned this guilty pleasure when my family WASN'T around to afford it, 😅 🙃 I have almost 20 years of restaurant experience, including management. I'm SO rooting for this place! They have a good product and concept, as well as superior staff. Just have the " feeling " it won't last long, sad to say. Hope I'm wrong. Till then, I will enjoy my guilty pleasure of 3 Tacos to go for 16.49 probably once a month instead of once a week.

Best of Luck to them, I WANT this place to make it! Cheering for you!

3rd Time doing take out ( Hey it's VERY tasty! ❤️) Food was again WONDERFUL; Staff FANTASTIC! I'm Hooked For Sure! 😃 only issue, they need to update their prices. ( completely get the increase, ALL the restaurants I know have had too) Though unintentional, it is misleading , and being charged more than expected ALWAYS will rub the customer the wrong way. * Take a piece of masking tape to the in restaurant menus and type it out online or something. Although NOT in anyway your intention, ( I understand the cost of new menus, expensive!) It comes off as " deceptive "..NOT an image you want. Can REALLY hurt you! EVEN a hand written sign posted as many places have had to do stating " prices have HAD to increase due to rising costs of products " will be fine! Just don't want people thinking your trying to trick them or rip them off.

Your doing awesome, don't get discouraged, all new places need to work some kinks out. Totally cheering for you!

LOVE THE FOOD AND...

Columbia literally has one good Mexican restaurant in town so I was really hopeful for this new place. Unfortunately, we won't be returning. We were excited that an authentic Chile relleno plate was on the menu, $12.47 for one pepper and rice/beans, but still...they aren't easy to make. We also got a green chicken enchilada meal and birria tacos.

It was Sunday at 1:00 so not too busy, but only 2 waitresses. The wait was long for our food, and there were a bunch of dirty tables, but that can be forgiven since you get chips & salsa. Also got guac...$7.27 is a bit much, but you can tell it's fresh.

Finally get the food, and an apology for the wait, but the relleno we were excited about...burnt. Take a bite in case it's just a char from frying it...nope, definitely burned. We tell Sofia who says she'll have the manager take it off the bill. The enchiladas we were gonna share became his backup meal. They were just okay, nothing special, and there are only 3 enchilada options. The birria tacos were great, and the only highlight of the meal.

Now comes the check, which you don't actually get to see, it's a surprise. You get a total. Its my fault for not making sure the relleno was taken off before I paid, but I was at least able to get a receipt. When I reminded her that the relleno was supposed to be taken off, she said she had to ask her manager. The other waitress comes over and looks closely at the relleno and proceeds to explain to us how they roast the pepper so it's supposed to be burnt. I pointed out that it was the egg batter ON the pepper that is burned. Clearly the kitchen is overwhelmed bc it took so long to get the food, but apparently they don't take criticism well either. My date spoke in Spanish, I'm from El Paso, I know what it's supposed to look and taste like. She comes back from the kitchen to let us know that the chef said that's how it's supposed to be. My date hates arguing so he just said forget it, and now it will be on my list of restaurants in Columbia to avoid. I was going to take a photo of the burnt relleno but she took the plate...

My daughter and I went last night 6/11/24. It was around 8:30. Closing time was listed as 9:00. Most places I frequent now, that you walk into so close to closing time, aren't too excited about you being there, however the owner came over and spoke with us for quite sometime before we even ordered. He made us feel quite at home, not at all making us feel rushed about getting out of there. My daughter had been to the establishment before, however this was my first time. She bragged about it often, insisting that I go sometime. So when she asked, I was all for it. At the same time, I was expecting it to be much like many other restaurants in the way of service and similar tasting food to many other Mexican restaurants I have been to before. But, I was pleasantly proven wrong! The food was delicious! I can't even compare it to other Mexican restaurants in the area. Not only was the food out of this world, but the portions are huge! It was by far THE BEST, Mexican food I have ever had! Well worth the money! We also asked if they could cook a steak completely free of any spice what so ever, thinking this would probably be something he could not do. Again, I was surprised without hesitation, at 9:30-9:40 at night to be told yes, it wasn't a problem. Even the Coca Cola was authentic and brought back memories of how Coke used to taste before they started making it with corn syrup as they do today in America. So to sum up the visit, it was the best Mexican food I have ever had, they were friendly, making us feel that nothing else mattered except to make sure we were happy with our selections and with the service given to us. The cook came out, and we were introduced to him. He was quite respectful as well. You could tell that although his workers were young, they respected the owner and in return he respected them. Overall, this restaurant was a breath of fresh air! I highly recommend this establishment. You will not be disappointed. We will...