La Principal — Restaurant in Evanston Township

We decided to try them for my husband’s birthday. We were very disappointed. Service wasn’t great. The guy who’d come to get empty plates was more welcoming than the rest, all together. We get in, hostess doesn’t welcome us goodnight, just says: three? But well. We are about to sit down, and she’s confused and asked us to move, and the waitress said it was the other people at the table next to us. They don’t really apologise by the mistake. We ask for appetisers and drinks. EloteS, Elotes means plural. Not one elote. Ugh. Waiter says: would you like that cut in half? And we say, OK, thanks. Don’t expect to get 1 elote and a half. It’s just one. Not plural. Fix that, please. Husband gets beer way late. Waiter says he’d forgotten about it. We ordered shrimp tacos, other chicken tacos, torta ahogadO, and a quesadilla meal for our son. I’m eating my shrimp taco wondering what that hard thing I’m eating is (second bite). I look at my taco and it’s the AVOCADO obviously not ripe! Well, I’m almost done with my 3-4 bite taco. Person who cleans the table asks how everything was, and I tell him about the avocado. He suggests I mention it to “them”. We were not ready to ask for the check yet, and the owner or manager comes to our table and asks why we needed him for, that he was told we asked for him. I tell him what happened with my avocado, and I also say I didn’t say anything when I was eating it, since I was almost done. He DOESN’T apologise, and he says all their avocados are hard, even their guacamole is hard. I even mentioned it was my husband’s birthday. He doesn’t even try to “make it up”. And of course, we get charged in full for everything. Disappointed. We raised an issue, and they just acknowledge it, and they don’t try to up our experience. It doesn’t seem in line with their prices and...

I was in the mood for tacos and noticed this place was close to work. I decided to give it a try based on the reviews. The staff were all super friendly and attentive. The place was clean and the ambience was great. There was even a live Three Piece Combo playing lovely Jazz music right outside the entrance to the restaurant. My only issues were that the wait time were a little slow. I waited over 25 minutes for a carry out order. I figured the food would be worth the wait. I finally got my food and was pretty disappointed. The food here is clearly adjusted and acclimated to the taste palette and culture of the primary clientele of the area. I ordered the fish taco, mushroom taco, queso fondido, and kids meal quesadilla (which also came with a churro and dipping chocolate) and extra tortillas for the fondido thinking that would be a safer bet. While the mushroom taco was just ok, the fish taco was a very bland hunk of fish. No flavor, salt or seasoning whatsoever. The queso fondido was made in the consistency of a cream cheese spread as opposed to a true fondue. It wasn't bad but not at all what I was expecting and it defeated the purpose of me swapping the tortilla chips for a side of homemade tortillas. The quesadilla was like something you'd make quick in a microwave... just melted cheese in a slightly hard tortilla. The only redeeming quality about my food was the churro with chocolate. It was very good. I'd probably visit again for the...

The experience at this restaurant was a mix of friendly staff but uneven service. From the start, the host was warm, welcoming, and set a positive tone. Our server was kind, but the level of attentiveness was lacking. After bringing our appetizer, the main dishes came out right away without the empty plates being cleared. With such a small table, it quickly became cluttered and overwhelming to have all the dirty dishes and new plates stacked together. It made things especially inconvenient when I needed to pack my leftovers—there was simply no space to do so comfortably.

In terms of food, the rice and beans were quite bland and didn’t add much flavor to the meal. While the staff’s friendliness was appreciated, there was no real follow-up or check-ins during the meal, which made the dining experience feel a little impersonal.

Overall, the restaurant has potential because of its welcoming atmosphere, but improving service attentiveness and adding more flavor to the dishes would make a...