Mucho Gusto Barra + Cocina - Chicago — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

I probably would've waited longer to come here, but our friends suggested it. Nothing said or pictured about the restaurant talked about it's food, just annoying accounts of the vibe and experience. Fortunately, this was overall a more positive experience than I was expecting, but not without a couple of hiccups.

When we walked up, we saw several open tables on the patio and were excited. Because it was insanely loud inside and we didn't have to go to our plan B. When my friend went to the host, we were told it was reservations only that night otherwise it would be an hour wait. Odd, considering the sign on the door said walk-ins welcome. So we stood just outside the door, opened OpenTable, booked a table and were seated immediately.

Fortunately, the rest of the night improved. Somehow we were given bottomless chips and salsa, which was nice, but made it hard not to ruin our dinner. The chips were good, but the salsa was pretty mid and lacked any heat. The ceviche was good, not the biggest portion, but a little sweeter on the front with a little spice on the finish. For our mains we got the Camaronea Nayarit, Cochinita Pibil, Chile Relleni, and Enchiladas Mole. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food. I would've preferred the tails be removed from the shrimp and a little more heat, but overall it was tasty. Service was also very attentive. I drink a lot of water and the woman covering the water was on it.

For drinks, our friends ordered mojitos, husband a spicy margarita, and me a non-alcoholic tamarind margarita. Husband was impressed by the spiciness of his drink, which is a huge compliment. My drink got mixed up and I ended up with an alcoholic strawberry margarita, which was promptly corrected. It would be nice to see more NA options featured. I didn't even catch the part on the menu where it noted cocktails could be made NA, it was very discreet. I would also be nice to offer some NA beer options like Corona.

Overall they did a lot to update the interior to be a place people want to Instagram. I think all of us photo bombed someone trying to use the bathroom. I'm hoping they tone down things like the shot parade with their blaring whistles and the rotating lights that made it feel club like. The food is good, but that was a...

This review isn’t meant to be disrespectful, but intended to help management make this place better because I truly feel it has potential. Walking inside was my favorite part of this place as it is very well decorated and lively. They served us chips and salsa as an appetizer, however the chips were very old and stale. We told the waitress about the chips in which she replied that’s the only ones they had. We started by ordering a mango margarita and a Cantarito. Both drinks tasted terrible, beyond watered down and just had no flavor whatsoever simply tasted like watered and alcohol. We ended up returning the cantarito because we felt bad returning both drinks. We started off with the mixed sopes which tasted decent, nothing special. The chorizo sope was the best one out of the 4. I ordered the carne asada, medium. When the entree came, the carne asada was burnt to the 10000th degree. Tasted very dry. It was accompanied with plantains , cheese , guac and beans which were very dry and flavorless. The second entree we ordered were the green enchiladas which actually tasted pretty good but the beans it came with and rice were mediocre. We waited 37 minutes before our food was served, in addition to waiting 20min before even being greeted by our waitress. We heard several people around us complaining about the food and service. When I asked for the check, the waitress acknowledged me and didn’t come back, as I had to go find her after almost half hour. Overall the environment was pretty nice and very aesthetic. In my opinion I give it a 1.5/5. Would I go back? Possibly but in about 6 months and hopefully...

Don’t get me started . We went for a birthday dinner our reservation was at 8pm don’t get me wrong we walked in at 750 she said “let me set your table up and I’ll find u I promise I won’t forget “ it’s 803pm and at this point we had to go find her and she like “oh let me check on your table” she forgot. she went found a spot and had just started to work on it .

Okay cool we sat down waited for a server she came , we wanted to order food and she said” I’m only taking drinks right now “ okay rude . Like um ok?

The drinks took about 25 mins to come after placing the order . I got my drink I didn’t like it I asked her if I can change it she said “what’s the problem” I said I don’t like it she like okay called the owner and manage to my table . Wasn’t that serious . I had told my server give me the drink my sister in law had she brought me a whole opposite drink at this point I’m like okay whatever. We order food 20 mins later it comes COLD ASFFF! definitely not over exaggerating I couldn’t believe it . Steak tacos had so much fat in it and shrimp taco couldn’t believe how cheap they were only 2 shrimps in the taco all cabbage . First time I write on review on a restaurant because it was that serious . This restaurant seems like they rush not knowing what to really do . It’s literally just a show ! It was a terrible experience and I asked to speak to the owner and he’s like “I’m sorry I’ll take 30% off the bill” Mind u we retuned back most of the food to the kitchen . But yeah this is a no go ! I won’t...