Hay Caramba Restaurant — Restaurant in Maine Township

Last Thursday, I came here to for a meeting for a meetup group. From the outside, you can tell this is a large place. It almost like a mini brick mansion from the outside, a gorgeous building. Almost impossible to miss while driving. The building draws your eye. Upon entering the establishment, you will notice the wide open dining area with the high ceilings and the full beautiful bar on the right. The building has wooden floors and clean white walls along with the large windows with the light shining in really creates an inviting space for gatherings.

The service was very prompt and professional, always checking in on us at numerous times during the night for drinks and serving our entrees. I eventually ordered the steak fajitas, something I normally order at these type of restaurants. The ticket time was about 10-12 minutes from the time we ordered. No one in the group ordered an appetizer. When my order arrived, I was somewhat surprised by the presentation. I'm used to receiving the protein, onions, and peppers on the hot sizzling skillet with the rice and beans on the side. However this came out together on the skillet. The skillet seemed hot, but not sizzling. The flour tortillas were kept warm and soft with a cloth. Then I got the plate of guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes on a separately. It was interesting that this didn't come with shredded cheese, also the portion of diced tomatoes was very small.

When I finally loaded up a tortilla with all of the ingredients and took a bite, I noticed immediately something was missing. The steak and the veggies seemed very bland, it could have used more seasoning. Also, it tasted like the steak and the veggies were overdone slightly. The steak itself kind of chewy. The meat could have used some more seasoning. All in all, the entree was okay, but not bad.

This restaurant seems like a great place to gather and have a drink with an immaculate building and decor with great front of the house service, however for what I had paid for, the steak fajitas were okay at best. Not a good value on that front. Regardless, I will give this place another chance. Perhaps it was...

Hay Caramba is a Mexican restaurant close to my home, and I’ve been coming here for years—though I stopped for a while because the service and food quality really went downhill. After taking a break from it, I finally decided to give it another chance, and honestly, it reminded me why I stopped going. The restaurant just isn’t what it used to be six years ago. The food quality has dropped significantly, and the service is pretty bad. The staff seemed rude and uninterested—they didn’t check in, and it just felt like they didn’t care.

I’ve tried many things from here over the years—chimichangas, tableside guac, tortilla soup—and while they used to be great, now everything feels mediocre. Even the complimentary chips and salsa were disappointing this time around. The salsa was watery, like watered-down tomato sauce, definitely not what I remember.

That said, the black bean and tortilla soup are still delicious—they’re probably the only things I’d consider coming back for. This time, we shared the combination plate, which comes with a mini chimichanga and a few other items. It was fine, but nothing special, and for the price, it felt overpriced for what you get. I didn’t mind paying more before when the food was good, but now, it just doesn’t feel worth it.

I’m not sure if I’ll be back anytime soon, especially with better Mexican spots nearby. If the service and food quality improved, I’d definitely give it another try, but as it stands, I think I’ll be...

What great Mexican food. Hay Caramba has a terrific outdoor patio offering great people-watching opportunities on a pleasant day at Park Ridge. I ordered the tacos de pescado, aka fish tacos, which consisted of three tacos. You had a choice of either salmon or tilapia, and I picked the tilapia. The tacos came with red cabbage, pico de gallo and chipotle sour cream. My server put the chipotle sour cream on the side, which is a perfect touch, as I usually ask for that stuff on the side. Fish was seasoned well, and the overall taco was delicious!

Meal came with complimentary chips and salsa. The salsa was a "2" on a spicy scale of 5. Chips were room temperature needed some salt, which the server gladly provided. I sat outside so I didn't get a glimpse of what it looked like inside, but from the pictures on their website, it looks massive. As far as the outdoor patio, they have plenty of seating, some on the adjacent sidewalk, the other more in the inwards of the restaurant. I sat in the latter, which offered just the perfect amount of shade on this hot Park Ridge afternoon.

Hay Caramba also had margaritas that I regrettably did not try, but will definitely do so next time! Server was good, food was good, and overall...