Mari's restaurant — Restaurant in Lake Zurich

I really don't understand why this place is not blowing up. The food, in my opinion is, a head above most of Mexican places around here. I can't say I have tried all of them, but I have sought out and tried a good number of Mexican restaurants around here (Lake County). I really like Hay Chihuahua's home cooked style including, of course, homemade tortillas. They often give me Ratatouille kind of comfort food moments. I really think they are something special.

My family and I have been coming here at least once a week for over a year. They have started offering breakfast recently which filled with joy. I try to come here as often as I can.

When you live in a place like Lake Zurich, it's rare if not impossible to find a place you would consider a "gem", and I feel like this is one of those rare occasions. As someone mentioned, the prices may seem a tad bit high, but I think it's because the place is still small and the expectation may be that the price should be cheaper. However, if you look at the price objectively from the perspective of the quality of the food, I think it's more than fair. I'm just glad we have a place like this...

Mari's restaurant (formerly Hay Chihuahua) is an instant classic that require little convincing to try. I regretfully have not tried birria tacos, but their other selection of food and portions will whet your appetite.

I had their signature burrito with flautas and a tamale and fell in love. The crunch from the flautas and the spice feels limiting in that the portions seem small, but each bite packs a punch. Their chicken enchiladas are very tender. You can pretty much guarantee that you'll order taquitos every time you come here, but their main dishes are hard to compete with.

My main gripe about this restaurant is its location. If you're on south rand road at the right time during rush hour after work, you may get blinded by the sun on the way over and exiting. The road is also a one-way, so bupkes for everyone else, right?

I think I'll have to ask them to up the spice on their tomatillo salsa. Extremely tasty, but it didn't quite egg me hard enough. Check it out....

When I tried the new Mari’s restaurant I was greeted by a very friendly and polite server named Danny. Not only did Danny take care of me and my party, he went above and beyond ensuring that we were taken care of.

The food: I ordered three steak tacos, with cilantro and onion of course and tasted some of the most authentic tasting tacos I had from my childhood. The tacos were just the right crunch and the desert I ordered, flan, tasted amazing. I cannot express enough that people should try this restaurant!!

The horchata was actually well balanced, and wasn’t too sweet, or too watery. The taste of the horchata was amazing.

The salsa verde was prime and tasteful with the tacos, I just wish it was a little spicier ( I enjoy very hot tastes) but other than that, it was the cherry on top to my meal.

10/10 experience and well needed in Lake Zurich since I’m tired of the other taco joints...