South Of The Border Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Rogers Park Township

I can tell there was some effort given to the presentation of the food, and I appreciated the variety on the menu. It is a good mix of standard Mexican fare with lots of yummy surprises based on other types of cuisine (tostones, arepas, and a Cuban inspired sandwich). Looked like they had a few interesting cocktails too. The food was okay. The best things on the plate were the sides of black beans and arroz con gandules. The tostones were dense and barely warm. Definitely didn't taste fresh. The arepas were better texture wise, but still not hot. That said, they were stuffed with a kind of shredded chicken salad that was cold on purpose, I'm pretty sure. So maybe they were supposed to be room temperature? The dish was confusing. Tasted ok. Didn't blow me away. My friend had fish tacos that she enjoyed on different visit Service was friendly enough, but inattentive and slow. (I.e. took a while for my order to be taken even though restaurant was only medium busy, took a while to get the check). Nice neighborhood joint ambiance. Would give three and a half stars if I could. Based on other reviews will definitely be back to try other stuff...

The food here is very good! Expect a motley of latin cuisine spanning Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican dishes with a little bit of Anglo American mixed in. All the entrees my group had were affordable, fresh, and tasty: the fish tacos, chicken burrito, and ropa vieja. And I can't forget to mention how AMAZING the Spicy Watermelon Margarita was! It was maybe the best margarita, and definitely the best spicy margarita, I've ever had! Very well-balanced.

The only disappointments experienced here the two times I visited were slow, inattentive service and stale chips accompanying the salsa. For the first half of the time spent there, we were one of two tables. Despite training a server, there is no reason why our first round of drinks took over ten minutes (two cans of beer and that margarita) and the empty glasses of beer went unnoticed for ten minutes until I flagged the servers down. Attentiveness, in my bartending experience, always garners you more money than not, and we would have drank more had they have kept up with us. They are very friendly, but need to step up their game to...

Went here before a show at the nearby theater on a Saturday evening. Atmosphere is comfortable and casual, we were allowed to pick our own seats so we sat by the window. Service arrived in good time, but we were not ready to order as we were not in a hurry. Made some drink and appetizer decisions and flagged down service. Drinks were served, my margarita was made with mescal and was good, but no evidence of smoke. Our mistake evidently was to order appetizer and meals together, as one of our meals showed up first. Sent the ropa viejo back not recognizing it as a main course, we found out later when it showed up again and not warm enough. Appetizer was the Cuban Empenadas. Simple and good. The Ogden Brisket Mole was quite good and unusual, and beautifully presented. I would order it again. Not so much...