La Cocina de Maria — Restaurant in Mundelein

What an amazing little find! My business just moved to Libertyville and I have been exploring the local cuisine. I have been to several of the Mexican Restaurants in town and haven't been impressed,,,, until now.

La Cocina is a diamond in the rough. The husband and wife that own it have to be two of the nicest people I have met in town and you can tell they care about what they are doing.

Attentive service with proper staffing so that people aren't waiting. They have enough people in the kitchen to get orders our right away. The quality of their vegetables is amazing and I love the fact they have a salsa/hot sauce bar where you can grab as much salsa as you want and take your pick from about 10 different types of their homemade sauces. AMAZING!!!

This place, by a far margin, is the best Mexican food in Libertyville so if you find yourself driving through the area and you are hungry,,,, YOU CAN'T GO WRONG HERE!

My favorite on the menu is the chicken tacos that I get with Onion, Cilantro, Avocado, Sour Cream loaded with Cheese.

Make sure you order the Guac and Chips as well. One of the...

Looking for a open taco joint after a movie...and we found this hidden corner strip mall gem at 10:30pm! The initial charm was the family-kids and all working the clean and tidy minimalist sparce space..you could tell the kid was so proud of the salsa bar and was really trying to be so professional- he was a charmer and so polite. But the big surprise was when our food came! The portions were appropriate for the budget charges- but what came shinning thru was the quality and down home fresh mexican kitchen taste! Fresh fresh fresh...sauce, meats, and the garlic flavor of the small rice portion was like my mexican sister from another mother. We will be regulars from now on..lol. and I promise that this positive review had nothing to do with the flan that arrived from the Momma when we went out of our way to compliment the food and the family friendly service we received- give them a try...and tell them DEBI...

We have tried several things on the menu and have loved every single one, but the tacos by far are their best item. The meats are perfect, and it's rare to find good carnitas like this place has. The quality is above any other mexican restaurant in the area and it is always consistently good. The previous mexican restaurant that was here was one of our favorites, but I'm so happy that this place is just as good if not better. The menu is very similar so that made the transition really easy I think. One of the best parts about this place is the salsa bar - this is a staple in most mexican restaurants in California, and I was surprised it wasn't common out here, but this place does it perfectly and it reminds me of home so much. The family that runs it are always incredibly friendly and clearly put a lot of care into every order. Very happy this place opened and has raised the bar for restaurants...