Hacienda Real — Restaurant in Vernon Hills

This is a new place taking over the old Chili's location in Vernon Hills. We made a reservation and that was a good idea as the place was fairly busy.

We checked in and the hostess brought us to a booth that was so cramped, so they brought us to a table in the bar area instead. The chairs are these green padded/cushioned chairs that are wide enough for Jennifer Lawrence to sit in, but anyone with a slightly wider hip profile don't fit. Thankfully they have wooden chairs with leather/faux leather seat cushions and back cushions that fit a broader profile and was quite comfortable.

As we settled in and began perusing the menu, a waiter came over and told us we had to move to a table that was the exact same as the table we were at due to a party that had reserved the table we were currently sitting at along with a larger table next to it.

So, we got up and moved to a third table. They brought our menus, chips, salsa, and switched the chair for me. However, with three people involved in the operation, you'd think one would bring water. Nope. We waited about 20 minutes for anyone to bring water. We had plenty of servers and bussers and the manager walk by our table numerous times, but no water was ever brought.

Our waiter finally arrived and asked if we wanted something to drink. We both wanted water and then asked to put our food order in as we knew we would be waiting an even longer time to order and receive the food.

We both ordered fajitas. My wife got the chicken and I got the triple combo. Steak and shrimp fajitas cost $23. Chicken is $21. A combination of two meats is $23. A combination of all three meats is $23. Weird that a combo cost the same as one meat.

My wife requested no refried beans, just extra rice. I requested no onions, pico de gallo, sour cream or refried beans. I also requested no tortillas.

Our food arrived and my wife had the beans. Mine was made fine, but their were tomatoes. It doesn't mention it on their menu, but there they are. I moved them aside and began to eat. They bought my wife a new side of rice and salad sans beans.

The rice was flavorless.

Next up the fajitas. My wife said her fajitas lacked flavor. Mine had some seasoning, but not a ton. And there was more steak than chicken or shrimp, and it was kind of tough.

My wife received corn tortillas. I had to flag down our waiter to swap them for flour tortillas. I was amazed he didn't ask us which we wanted. We also asked for more water as the glasses were empty and he never refilled them.

So, my wife and I finish our meals, and stack pther dishes and used cutlery on top of them. Our waiter stops by the tables opposite ours but doesn't say or take the dirty plates. A busser walks by three separate times, looks at the plates, and does nothing. Even the original waiter who swapped our table from one side of the restaurant to the other stopped and soke to us about potentially cutting our waiter some slack "as he is new."

My wife says, "technically, everyone is new since this is a new restaurant."

He replies, no, new to serving." And with that, he looks at us, looks at the pile of dirty plates, and walks away.

Then the manager comes over and asks, "food was good? Service was good, right?"

What do you say to that? Truthfully, the service from literally everyone in the restaurant was terrible.

I finally got the check (I had to ask for it) and I was able to pay via Apple Pay (the Toast app).

Oh, and in case you're wondering; the table they moved us from to the other side of the restaurant? No party ever showed up for the table we were originally seated. Ever.

Gotta tell ya, there are plenty if Mexican restaurants in the Vernon Hills / Libertyville / Lincolnshire areas and this I can avoid going to. No Manches and Tacos El Norte are way...

0 ⭐️ AS HACIENDA REAL RUINED MY 67th BIRTHDAY DINNER WHICH I WILL NEVER GET BACK!!!!!!!!

No apology from Hacienda Real, I can’t get my 67th birthday back. Thank you for spoiling my birthday and family reunion.

Skip the hype and Hacienda Real locations.......prices sucked, presentation and quantity of food sucked, service sucked, customer care sucked and compassion sucked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday August 10, 2025, I planned for a family reunion along with celebrating my 67th birthday. My nephew called for reservations for our party of 11 at Hacienda Real in Vernon Hills.

Once we arrived, our party of 11 were split up into two separate tables. Four at one table and seven at another table. We were NOT seated together. Roman didn't even try to move our table of four closer to the table of seven. That should have been a RED flag to us.

Next, our server David who waited on both tables was rude and combative. My niece ordered three tacos and asked for cheese. She has ordered her tacos with cheese at Hacienda before. He said it’s not possible. She asked, can you put it on the side then???? Imagine asking a server to PLEASE do his or her job?

My husband ordered three tacos and asked for beans and rice. David said NO that’s not possible. What the server should have said; that is another side and is extra for that combo. This server was argumentative about what could be ordered. Isn’t the customer right or the one being served? The server didn’t seem to understand the menu either.

My nephew ordered three tacos with cactus. The cactus didn’t show up. We had to send his order back. We had to ask for my niece’s cheese. We had to ask for more water, chips and salsa. The salsa didn't show up but we were charged extra for it. There was little to no taking care of our two tables.

Once our food arrived, all our food was served cold and the presentation was horrible!!! There was not one warm or hot entree. It was obvious that our food was pre-prepared and just sitting.

Next, we were rushed by servers trying to take away our food without even being finished eating. I imagine they needed the wooden boards that our tacos were served on.

Our start to end dine-in experience at Hacienda Real was horrible for our entire party of 11. Our reunion with our IL and AZ family was spoiled.

I spoke with the Manager Roman to take the tip of $55 off since we were not properly served. The manager DID remove the tip of $55. Even the manager Roman knew we were NOT treated properly. I paid the remaining $300.39 and left. I should have said I’m not paying the bill based on our entire experience and left.

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER CARE AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AT HACIENDA REAL VERNON...

I usually don’t write reviews but after trying this restaurant today I felt like I had to. While the atmosphere of Hacienda Real looks appealing, it really didn’t live up to my standards as an “upscale restaurant”. I’ve been to the Yorkville location in the past and enjoyed it as the fire dancers and DJ serve to make it quite an experience. Further, the building is lovely and the staff make it a vibrant experience. I do think, however that the Vernon Hills location is lacking and differs in terms of service / the food itself. The food itself seems more like what you can get at a casual Mexican-American restaurant and really doesn’t live up to the price. The steak was chewy and I looked at past reviews, and it looks like this has been a consistent issue. It’s about time the restaurant do something to address this concern. The only thing I was impressed by were the drinks so if I do return, it will likely be only for the drinks as I’m sure I can find better priced and quality food somewhere else.

In terms of the service lacking, what I meant by that is that while the servers are very attentive and kind, I think the restaurant staff as a whole should be more fast-paced/smooth if this is to be an upscale restaurant as I expect everything to move in an orderly fashion. Along with that, there are no dancers or dj. The staff are barely there except for the waiters who truly seem to be doing their best.

I came in today hoping for a quick and easy experience to check out the new place but it became a long ordeal — not what I was planning. I’d hoped to just stop in for some drinks and head right out but no, it became a slow process to finally get out of there. I understand that they’re trying to make this an authentic experience but here in America, all upscale restaurants move rapidly yet fluidly. I’m hoping the service will speed up as I’d like to feel attended to by staff. While a lot was slow, I did notice the front desk staff was very kind and on-their-feet helping which was a plus.

I give my review a total of 2 stars as I truly did expect more from this experience. Especially as a new restaurant, I’d have hoped they’d put better effort into properly training their employees. A lot of them didn’t look like they knew what they were doing and it didn’t look like they were receiving any sort of guidance so I honestly felt...