Authentico Mexican Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Lake Forest

This use to be my favorite Mexican restaurant. I had a reservation on Open Table for 4 at 715PM. We arrived 15 minutes early and requested to sit outside. The hostess said would add about 10 minutes to the reservations. We said fine as your two other quests had not arrived yet. AT 7:15 I alerted the hostess that all parties were there. She said no problem next table outside was ours that there we a bunch to open. 45-50 minute later still nothing when I noticed she was sitting a group of four at a great table outside with a fire pit. I went up to the hostess requested an explanation. She said there is nothing they could do the client that got seated at that table had a reservation and did not like their inside booth complained so they had to give them our table. I requested to talk to a manager who came over and I told her she needed to do something asap that I had brought our good friends to Lake Forest just to experience my favorite restaurant. She ended up giving us a table in front and telling us she was going to send a guacamole over for our troubles. Or problems did not end then. They only began. We ordered a second appetizer Queso Fundido. This did not show up for another hour after the waiter checked on "US" three times to see if had arrived. Never did he ask if we wanted another drink. When it did show up it was wrong. It was to have flour wraps not corn. Second, it should have had a least 4 wraps due to 4 being at the table and it showed up with three corn wraps. Then dinner arrived and I ordered Steak Ffajitas medium rare and well done veggies. Mine arrived well done steak and hard veggies. The Enchiladas de Barbacoa de res arrived medium to cold. At this point I did not even bother to complain. The other guests at the table ordered the same and they too were medium to cold in temperature. While this is all going, on the waiter is at the curb on facebook on his cellphone. The tables around us were having the same problems sending their food back and complaining. It will be my last visit....

Update- 5 years later: We visited Authentico on Cinco de Mayo with our teenage sons. We were seated within 20 mins and given menus. The menu features a wide variety of Mexican dishes, including tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas. We ordered a variety of dishes, and everything was delicious. The tacos were made with fresh, flavorful ingredients, and the carne asada con mole was perfectly cooked. We also enjoyed the margaritas, which were made with fresh lime juice, mango, and tequila.

The atmosphere at Authentico is lively and fun. The restaurant is decorated with colorful Mexican decor and paintings, and the music is upbeat and festive. The service is friendly and attentive, and our server was great. One downside, prices are very high. $162 for a family of four with two cocktails. 😳

Overall, we had a great experience at Authentico. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was lively, and the service was excellent. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a great Mexican meal, but be ready to spend a pretty penny.

Here are some pros and cons of Authentico:

Pros:

Delicious food Friendly service Lively atmosphere Authentic Mexican cuisine Great margaritas

Cons:

Can be a bit loud Can be crowded on weekends Very high prices Parking can be limited

Overall, I would highly recommend Authentico to anyone looking for a great Mexican meal. The food is delicious, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is...

I will warn you, it's pretty expensive. We knew that going in, though. The portions were large. The food was authentic and delicious. However, they changed the menu prices on their cocktail and liquor and failed to inform us or update their menu. Their Monday special for Margaritas on the menu says $7 plus $1 if you would like a flavor added. However, when we got our bill they charged us $10 for each one. When I spoke to the server she claimed she informed us but she gave us so much information at the beginning that I didn't remember that. When I spoke to the manager, she said that she couldn't really do anything about it, liquor prices have gone up and that I don't understand the process of updating a menu. I informed her that there were several other ways to go about it and she treated me like I didn't know what I was talking about even though I have worked in 4 restaurants that were forced to change their prices post-pandemic and still managed to update their menus before charging customers the new prices. We ended up being comped for one of the margaritas but the manager basically told me I didn't know what I was talking about. I was very irritated by how she belittled me even when I shared my years of experience. It's very unlikely that we...