Whiskey Diablo — Restaurant in McHenry

We went for my birthday and were seated right away - restaurant was pretty empty at dinner time on a Sunday. Male host did not ask if we needed a high chair for my infant son. When the server Alexis came, she was very sweet and brought us a highchair after I asked for one. She got us water but then there were obnoxiously long pauses between her returns to our table. Don’t know if she was overcapacity or forgot about us.

There were maybe a dozen tables or so, and appeared to only be two servers. We were starting to get impatient, luckily my son was content. As a party of 2.5, we got our drinks (two margs) after the 6 top that came in after us. It took probably 10-15 minutes to get drinks, then 15 mins to get the salsa trio, which was underwhelming. And then our entree order was taken after about 20 minutes of waiting.

For one, paying for chips and salsa at a Mexican-inspired restaurant is comical, but okay, house-made (aren’t most Mexican restaurants’?), $5, let’s try it. They hardly give you any chips, but a ton of salsa, which all three were SO spicy. A carafe of water was not left at the table either, and the water cups are small. As a former server, whenever I go to a restaurant and have to ask for refills, it’s a big turn off. Once the margaritas finally came, someone (not our server) dropped them off. He couldn’t seem to differentiate the Pineapple Express from the Pepino. He mixed them up and The pepino had my pineapple garnish it, as they were out of cucumbers? So my husband got no garnish, because he gave me back the dried pineapple that was supposed to go in mine… Im still not convinced I got the right drink either.. The ice cubes were cute.. had a flower in it. But my drink (the alleged “pineapple express”) was pretty flavorless and underwhelming. It tasted pretty watery honestly. For a $13 margarita, I had higher hopes. I’ve made from-scratch margs at home with more flavor.

Entrees came, they were decent. I had the enchiladas verdes, which had a kick to it. No sour cream or garnishes were provided. (Pictured, and I asked for no beans, got more rice as expected.) My husband got tacos and liked the Diablo rice.

Our bill was $71 pre-tip for two margaritas, two entrees and chips and salsa.

The decor is festive and seemingly instagramable. Last thing I will mention are the bathrooms. They were clean, but the women’s smelled like sewer. When I got back to our table (which was right by the hall to go to the bathroom), all I could smell was the sewage and it was very off-putting and killed the atmospherics. The music was decent though. Oh and something did not agree with me the next morning. I’ll just leave it at that..

Overall, it was a pretty average, trendy restaurant. I can’t say we will never be back, but we...

McHenry is extremely fortunate to have a restaurant like Whiskey Diablo in our town. In an area with decent competition in the Mexican-inspired food market, Whiskey Diablo stands at the very tippy top.

Despite the restaurant only opening a week ago, the staff appear to be on very comfortable ground. We were here on a busy night and the wait times met - and at times even exceeded - expectations for a busy dinner service. The staff were also friendly, personable, and as excited as the customers are to be there.

The drinks were strong, creative, and very good! Their drink menu was a refreshing departure from what we are used to seeing at nearby restaurants, encouraging customers to try something new, because you can trust it will be delicious!

The atmosphere is very cool and modern with an open concept wrapping around a large central bar. From the color scheme to the decor and creative furniture (very jealous of those who were able to snag swinging bench tables!), to the mix of low-volume popular past and current hits for music; it had a Chicago-esque vibe that really catered to a fun, relaxed night out.

The star of this very strong showing overall was the FOOD. The menus have a prominent disclaimer that they are currently offering a smaller menu as they are in the process of testing their items. I hope I am there enough to try every single offering - if what we had is any indication of what's to come, I wouldn't get rid of a single item. Truly no notes. The tacos were large, filling, and had a depth of flavor that I haven't experienced from a restaurant in years. The birria was very moist and melted in my mouth - and that's before dunking it in that amazing consommé! Even the salsa trio for the $5 chips and salsa appetizer was so intensely and uniquely flavorful, we had to order more.

We were there for our anniversary, so we went all out and ordered a bunch! For 3 appetizers, 2 entrées (that came with rice and beans), 2 extra sides, and 5 cocktails, we spent $142 - which in the current climate for restaurant pricing felt like a steal for the quality of what we got!

Overall, this place is a true gem for our community. Our amazing server Lisette and her trainee Elijah can expect to see us back there very soon! I hope to see this place packed to the brim every time we're there, as they...

We came here last weekend and got there right at five pm when they opened and it was already busy. We loved the atmosphere and decor of the place.

The menu is not very big, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if you are looking to order tacos, keep in mind that they charge extra for adding a protein unless you order chicken tinga. So a plate of only TWO tacos, rice and beans, and your choice of protein is probably going to be anywhere between eighteen and twenty two dollars. Most places tend to serve THREE tacos.

We ordered a taco plate, the vampire tacos, and the quesobirrias. They were all very good, so no complaints there. I also ordered one of their specials.The watermelon basil margarita, and that was very, very good.

Some of the downsides for our group is that the water they serve in your glass tastes very weird and it was not cold. But the most disappointing part was when we ordered tableside guacamole. Normally in other restaurants, there is a person that comes with a cart full of all of the ingredients and makes your guacamole at your table. But at this restaurant, the waiter brings all of the ingredients and just makes it right at your actual table and stands there for several minutes. It was an awkward experience, but maybe it's because the waiter seemed to be struggling. He kept cutting the avocados into big chunks over and over again, and it never actually was created into a guacamole, just a bunch of chunky avocado pieceswith tomatoes, onion and cilantro. It kept going on and on so we told him it was fine. There was no seasoning, salt or taste to the guacamole so for thirteen something dollars, it was definitely not worth it.

The other wish shoe we encountered was that we ordered a side of the elote pasta salad. When all of the food had cave out and the side did not come out, we asked about it, and he came back and said that the restaurant was OUT of it and sorry. It was weird to think that the restaurant was already out of a side when it had just opened fifteen minutes ago. Later on, a manager came to check on us, and we told him about what happened with the pasta salad and he brought one out so that was appreciated. We think the waiter just lied because he might have forgotten to put the order in.

Also, women's...