El Nandú Restaurant — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

This is the neighborhood steak joint. The entrana with onions and mashed potatoes is one of the best meals I have had around here. I must admit that the mashed potatoes used to be better, one step down from the greatest is still top tier.

For the empanadas, just choose a few that sound the best to you and your group and get enough n/2 (n = party size) of each so everyone gets a half of each one. I like all of the empanadas except for the one with raisins, it just doesn’t work for me but some people love it.

I have to go with an orange soda for my drink every time I’m here, it’s nostalgic and hits different here.

I almost forgot that you need to order the SWEETBREADS. It is NOT brain, it’s the THYROID and is extremely tender and has a nice char flavor and when you put a little lemon on it it’s perfect. I once got 2 orders of sweetbreads and ate 1.5 orders of sweetbreads that night.

The desserts are delicious, the quince thing is a nice authentic Argentinian dish and it’s pretty good but none of the others fall short of the high standard the quince sets.

The bread is very good and is always warm and fresh. The chimmichuri and the light green sauce are phenomenal as well, honestly everything here is far above the average.

Even the paintings and overall interior are very nice. They usually play some nice little tourist films on Argentina and the joint has a nice atmosphere in general.

This place is great for parties, dates, and even lonely nights. Both carry out and dining...

Everything about El Nandu - the atmosphere, the staff, the customers and the FOOD are wonderful to experience. It's a very comfortable place - cozy and warm, great lighting. The ambiance makes you feel like you're in the heart of what's happening.

I've had the same waiter every time I've been there over the years. Knowledgeable, attentive but never trying to bother us, he's really top notch.

The Food? Let me tell you - authentic Argentine cuisine! Simple, nothing overstated - just fresh, tastebud exploding dishes with the right amount of seasoning and care. The empanadas are excellent, the chimchurri sauce addicting, and of course, the steaks are to die for. I'd eat two dinners if I could hold that much because you just want to linger and stay there. And then you get your bill. You think they undercharged you because you had all this food and drink.... Amazing.

My only regret? I don't live across the street...

I haven't been here in years, but on several occasions she smelled garlic when we drove by and agreed we'd visit. Last Friday was the night. We ordered four different empanadas. She had the steak and I had the chicken accompanied by a few beers. We were the only ones there which is never a good sign for. The service was good and the atmosphere was nice as ever. but the flavors in the food were lacking. The pictures look great, but only the spinach empanadas made the cut. Luckily the sauces were still on point. My chicken was a little dry and didn't have a lot of flavor. Her steak looked beautiful but also didn't taste like much. It could have just been a bad time of the day but the flavors weren't there for me even when I tasted them as leftovers the next day. It was $140 tab for a meal we didn't...