Garcia's Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake View Township

I am so sad, to have to come here with one star. this has been my go to restaurant for over a decade, my best friend and I’s weekend go to, and the food is so so so good….but I do not see how i can ever support this business again.

On two occasions now we were interrupted in our experience there by pushy photographers asking to take our photo. The first time was like sure whatever, it was late night and we were a little more tipsy and unaware of what was going on. Although it seemed weird and outside our comfort zone, we let the crazy insistent lady take our photos. She eventually got out of line and asked us to pose in manners that made us uncomfortable (to which we awkwardly declined). After she finally left us alone she comes back later with printed photos asking us to by them. We declined, she pushed, we declined more and left irritated by the situation. We didn’t return for a few months, and that visit was actually our return from a break that we took as a result of blatantly by a server on their dog friendly patio last summer, bc the server was scared of dogs!!! Up until these experiences u have always had a wonderful experience.

We finally went back a few weeks ago and were in the patio with the dog again and approached this time by a different photographer. “Can i take your photo” “No because we aren’t interested in purchasing photos” “Please? How about I just take a photo of the dog?” “Fine yeah, whatever (i just told you we arent buying photos).”

I immediately tuned him out from there but he was taking multiple shots for quite a while of the dog and definitely us and us eating nachos. My friend did not tune him out and got increasingly uncomfortable until he just said “lets go I'm not putting up with this.”

So we left. On our way out the server or bus boy asked if we were leaving to which I replied “yes we are sick of these photographers its ruined this place” to which he replied, “we have no control of the situation.”

What?! How do you not have control over a third party that is ruining your business?!

So i called and spoke to someone, aired my grievances to which i was told “some people like the photograpera and some people don’t. “We tell them if someone says no they cant ask again” and “the tourists love it”. With a dog and always in casual wear, sometimes even swim wear, we are pretty obviously not tourists. I was told a manager would call me and never did at least 2 weeks ago now. I was also told they were only there on the weekend, as if that was supposed to appease the situation.

Sorry Garcias. 3 strikes you are out. I will only dream about your delicious food and convenient location for the rest of my days as a Chicago...

Garcia's has had a special place in my heart for over 25 years. My first job was at The Davis theater & one of my favorite things was when we would all go to Garcia's after work. Their location has expanded dramatically since I was 16, but they always seem to keep the house packed, and for good reason.

The food here is some of the best Mexican food I've had. No matter what area or neighborhood I've lived in, this is still my favorite. Someone once told me you can tell a good Mexican restaurant by how good their rice & beans are, and Garcia's are always perfect, and that's just the rice & beans. I have had almost everything on their menu, and I've never had something that I didn't like. My go-to menu item lately is the combination plate, simply because I can never decide on one thing. I always get the combo with a pastor taco, a steak tostada, and a chicken enchilada with mole. I don't know what it is about their Pico de Gallo that is soooooo good, but the recipe has been consistently the same for all of these years. Their margaritas are the perfect mix of strong without being overpowering, and you can get them by the glass or by the pitcher. I've tried every flavor, and the only one I didn't care for was the Ginger margarita. It was a little heavy on the ginger flavor for my taste, but you get what you ask for! My favorite appetizer is their shrimp ceviche.

The staff are always courteous, helpful, and fast. The exterior and interior of the restaurant are both beautiful. The ceilings are tall, with beautiful murals circled with brick walls. Bright papel picado are strung from the ceilings, and there is always great Mexican music playing at an ambient volume where people can still easily conversate. They are great for an intimate date or for a group celebration. Bathrooms are bright, clean, and stocked.

They take cash and card. They take to-go orders, AND they sell their Pico de Gallo by the cup! The parking can be touch & go depending on how busy Lincoln Square is at that time. The brown line is one block away, and there is a paid parking lot next to the station, but it fills up quickly. Almost all of the street parking that I've utilized is also paid. Garcia's you will always have a place...

@Garciarestaurant This is was my favorite restaurant. I’ve been coming here for years! Always good food and good drinks but my last visit was extremely disappointing. After dinner, I left my wallet in the bathroom right before they were closing. I called back. They did not answer the phone so I had to go back to the restaurant. They said they only found my keys and the credit card that was attached to the wallet, but the wallet was missing. I asked to speak to the manager, and the young lady said he was at home and he would be back tomorrow. I discovered my AirPods were in the wallet and they were still connecting inside of the restaurant. I tried to go back to the restaurant, but they would not let me in. In fact some of the waiters pointed at me through the glass door and had a smirk on their face with a laugh. I then called the police and the police came and entered the restaurant with me but because there was a private party, they could not search anyone. The manager mysteriously appeared after I was told he was at home. The police officer asked the employees to please return my headphones so I could go home, but they act as if they didn’t know what we were talking about. The police gave me instructions on how to handle it and also gave me all the info I needed to file a complaint, but also reaching out to the Alderman of that ward. The next day, I called the restaurant back and spoke with Kate who was rude and claimed the exact same thing stating the cards were all they found and assured me there was nothing else . When I explained to her what the police said and how I should handle this incident, she called back five minutes later with a better attitude, and surprisingly, the wallet magically appeared with my AirPods and money. When I asked Kate, where was it found? She said she had no idea. This was so weird. I drove back to the restaurant and picked up my wallet thank goodness. I was just so upset and hurt because I really like this restaurant, but one of those employees had my wallet. Why would you steal? I never spend less than $60 in that restaurant and I tip very well. Was it really worth it because I will never come back there again. I felt so violated And...