El Mariachi Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Please, if you want to eat sanitary food. Don’t eat here. I walked in there and it was deceiving. It looked nicely set, the menu looked great, it wasn’t crowded, a “perfect” stop for my boyfriend and I to stop and have a bite to eat. Before menus were even placed on the table, the first thing I had to do was use the restroom. So (not thinking about it) I asked my boyfriend to hold my purse. The place was already small looking, so I had to walk through this questionable set of hall ways to get to the bathroom. I try and be quick, speed walking my way through. The bathroom did not look the most sanitary, which was fine. Some bathrooms aren’t, but on my way in I stepped on a smaller sized roach. And noticed another dead one next to the toilet. I thought to myself “Just relax, it doesn’t mean anything. Could’ve just been someone who used the bathroom prior.” So I wash my hands quick and walk out the restroom into the first hallway. ON MY WAY OUT was a NIGHTMARE! I let out a scream so loud, I know the employees heard me and didn’t even bother asking me what was wrong. There were like 3-4 more roaches on the door and more just crawling around. Keep in mind they were not small ones this time, they were fully grown like 2 inch ones. I had to wait until they cleared the door before I ran like a bat outta hell. My boyfriend was munching on the chips, I threw down some money (for the chips + maybe even some roach spray if they’re smart) but this place was infested. And the area where they make chips are sooo close to that hall way, that was the worst experience I ever had at a restaurant in such a nice neighborhood and in such a “well-kept” area. It’s appalling this even happen. I wanted to speak to the owner at the second chain right down the street but he wasn’t there yet.I can’t believe they allow people to sit and eat without informing them or allowing them to have the smallest courtesy. It’s sad. It needs to be shut down temporarily for fumigation or something before I report them to OSHA, the FDA, and whom ever else is in needed to...

It's not everyday that I feel I can write a review that I really hope nobody reads because I want the restaurant to have a table available for me. This is one of those times.

The food is absolutely delicious. It's flavorful and authentic, and everything has a high quality presentatio. You're getting Mexican cuisine not Mexican food. But it's also down to earth and The staff is super friendly and it has a chill neighborhood vibe.

I tried two of the different margaritas on the menu and they're both among the best I've had in Chicago. Strong, flavorful, balanced.

The chile rellenos are some of the best I've ever tasted, thick and meaty, while also tender and vegetal. The cheese is creamy and savory and there's just the right amount.

I also tried the camarones and one experience with them was not enough. I will be having them again at least several more times before I feel comfortable riding a review but it's safe to say they are delicious.

The tortilla chips, the guacamole, the salsa, all of them are amazing. My favorite is the fire roasted salsa, but you get a container of fire roasted and also a container of regular red salsa and I like to go back and forth between chips to get the flavors back to back.

When you add to that the open air front and the candles on the table, the atmosphere could not be more perfect for a warm weather Chicago night.

El Mariachi is a fantastic combination of family-owned authentic food and incredible ambiance and vibe. At least if you're into a gentle breeze, a candle flickering on the table before you, and an interesting conversation with your companion.

This place could easily fill up a space three or four times as large, so it's remarkable that there is ever a table available.

Next time I go I'm going to try the carne asada and one of the...

I'm not one to normally complain but this was one of the worst restaurant experiences I have ever had. I had a reservation for 1PM and called to let them know we were running a little late and OpenTable wouldn't let me edit the reservation time despite the app showing availability, was assured it would not be a problem. It was a HUGE problem. The hostess was beyond rude and stated they cancelled my reservation despite acknowledging that I called to inform them. I stated that there were many empty tables and she stated we could wait at the bar. Fine. We got 3 seats at the bar (there were 5 total seats) and were not spoken a word to for almost 30 minutes. The bartender was clearly overwhelemed but you could've said ANYTHING to us instead of ignoring us. We finally got asked what we wanted and we stated we wanted the bottomless brunch. Wrong choice. We recieved 3 mimoses in 1 1/2 hours!!! Are you kidding me? Our glasses sat empty longer than they were ever filled. And to top it off, it tasted like straight juice. After finally getting our meal, the food was lukewarm at best. While the bartender did apologize for being so busy whic, the experience was still...