El Cochino — Restaurant in Lake in the Hills

Summary: El Cochino has great decor, ambiance, and service, but the food is lackluster, which is the first priority for a restaurant. Go elsewhere for tacos.

There is a hip vibe - casual, but fresh. Upbeat music plays. There are a ton of outlets under the bar, and hooks for purses. There's a sort of throwback, retro, steampunk vibe, complete with dramatic lighting and a cool old cash register. The service was attentive the whole meal. Several times I was asked if I needed anything. And everything was brought to the table quickly. The issue is what was brought.

The sign just after walking in advertised "The Best Cheese Curds". Yes, odd for cantina, but being this close to Wisconsin, while quite a claim, I wasn't surprised. Sadly, these weren't even close to "The Best" by quite a distance. The curds were saturated with grease, and had all melted misshapen together into one clump of a mottled blob, made from two colors of cheese, laying despondently in the bottom of a tray. The breading was very light, but had submerged into the mass.

Then the tacos came. The tacos are prominently featured when you walk in, and on the menus. They are the staple of this place. And that's where things tank. They were out of carne asada - unexpected, because that's the staple of tacos - so I had ordered others. The shrimp tacos were one shrimp, with tail, lightly breaded, in a off-colored orange mango salsa that lacked a citrus brightness in flavor. Jarred peach-mango salsa would have been an improvement. The chicken tacos were dry and again unremarkable, being severely underseasoned and bland. The jerk chicken tacos had little in the way of flavor to separate them from the regular chicken, and were not recognizable as any jerk seasoning I have had. And the corn tortillas used for the tacos are obviously store bought, and at over 3 dollars a taco, I had expected handmade ones.

Two salsas (red and green) were on the table. Neither had a fresh, bright taste. The green had some basic vinegar/spice flavor, the red was smoky and was an attempt at a chile-based sauce, but needed more roasted chiles added to carry any flavor at all. Neither of them was as good as most "comes with chips" salsas at existing Mexican restaurants in the area.

Other small nuances, like the fact that water that is served in keg party plastic cups has an off-taste, just rounded out the dismal experience.

El Cochino is designed and decorated to have potential. It's just that while it's a feast for the eyes, it's a travesty for...

El Cochino - A Must-Try for Fresh, Flavorful Mexican Food!

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of dining at El Cochino, and we were absolutely blown away! From the incredible food to the incredible service, it was an experience we won't soon forget.

Food:

• Shrimp Tacos: These were hands-down some of the best tacos I've ever had. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, the tortillas were fresh and flavorful, and the toppings were just right.

• Shrimp Burrito: This was a massive and delicious burrito, packed with fresh ingredients and bursting with flavor.

• Guacamole: This was the perfect starter, creamy and full of avocado goodness.

Service:

Our server, Brooke or Gianna (we apologize if we don't have the correct name!), was absolutely fantastic. She was friendly, attentive, and incredibly helpful. She went above and beyond to accommodate our dietary restrictions, even going next door to get us lard-free chips! This level of service is truly rare and made our experience even more enjoyable.

Atmosphere:

El Cochino has a vibrant and lively atmosphere. The music was great, and the restaurant was full of energy. It's the perfect place to relax with friends or have a fun date night.

Overall:

We cannot recommend El Cochino enough! The food is fresh, flavorful, and delicious, the service is outstanding, and the atmosphere is fun and inviting. We will definitely be back for Taco Tuesday next week and will bring the whole family soon. We've already told all our friends about this hidden gem!

5 out of 5 stars!...

I get new restaurants may take several weeks to get organized and for a team to figure out how to work together.. I tried not to show frustration as it took over 30 minutes to order our first drink, and then after that it took over an hour to get 4 (good) tacos. I was hoping they would own the fact that it took so long by maybe giving us the salsa for free.. or at the very least apologizing for the wait. Neither happened. Same issue happened to two couples next to us who ended up walking out after being ignored. While checking out.. the bar tender was insulting "come on guys, it's not that hard" when I was trying to figure out how to pay when they handed me the POS. Also- you should serve water when your customers ask.. multiple people asked and everyone had the same, taken back, reaction when the bartender pointed to the front of the restaurant and said "self serve". Those machines require you to enter a tip.. don't make your customers walk for water and lose their spot at the bar. Pros- the cooks were really nice (seemed to be working more than folks behind the bar) and the atmosphere is very cool. I probably won't...