La Luna — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

To be honest, I was excited for the restaurant to finally open. Granted, I attended a soft opening. I wasn’t going to leave a review because you have to understand it just opened and there are going to be kinks, right? So I sat on that idea, but here’s the thing. I can excuse average service. I can even excuse atmosphere. What I can’t excuse is bad food. You can undercook something, overcook something or even plate something as if you’re rushing and just trying to get it out. A lot of the tacos were salty and that comes from prep that happens hours before service. Therefore this is just how the food taste. It tasted that way today, it’ll taste that way tomorrow and so on. Great idea and combinations in theory... terrible execution. I’m almost positive they use El Milagro tortillas which is a great choice, but again terrible execution. They should use double tortillas or to be honest... if they really want to stick out.. incorporate handmade tortillas. They came out crunchy (meaning they were left on the flattop for way too long). The best taco they had was the shrimp taco even though it was too salty. Shrimp is already salty so they should have taken that into account when marinating. The guacamole was bland, the elote was cold and didn’t have a distinct taste whatsoever, their salsa was almost flavorless. Here’s the thing.. Pilsen isn’t wasn’t Pilsen was before. There are a ton of new upscale/trendy restaurants coming in and food like this won’t cut it. You can find more flavorful tacos at El Milagro or Atotonilco for less money. Trust me when I say, those places are far from my favorite. It’s not even about the money. The food here is actually reasonably priced. They could actually charge more and a ton of people would pay it too, but the lack of quality and flavor doesn’t warrant it. The server we had was awesome. He made suggestions and we took them. I actually ordered every taco they had just so I could figure out what I liked. The atmosphere... awesome. Great Wall art, exposed brick, and overall great decor. The music... 5 stars. This place felt lively and a place you want to bring friends or a date. The drinks were solid. Not the best I’ve had, but I’d buy them again. At best, I’d say they’re a little above average. I’d also incorporate different pastries. You’re in Pilsen... the heart of Pilsen at that. Include some type of chocolate tamale or guava concha. Something that shows what it means to be in Pilsen and is still moving the culture culinary-wise. Why? Something like that is different and it’ll separate you from the other restaurants around. This place didn’t cut it for me and it’s an...

Update:. Went there the other day to give it another try. My rating went up from a 2 star to 3 star mainly because of the good service and the very good torta! I happened to be here during happy hour, so I thought there would be good deals on margaritas. I guess there was but considering other restaurants/bars price their margaritas at $8 dollars normally, the happy hour price here was not so happy. Also it was not so good. I didn't even want another and actually thought, where else should I go for another? But the torta was very good. The menu was super limited. 3 different tacos. One torta. A few main dishes. I really wanted tacos but the only one that interested me was the cichonita pibil. But it's not my favorite, so I had their torta ahogada. It was made with breaded chicken and cichonita pibil as the meats. The bread was super good. And the sauce, while not very spicy, was tasty! The menu did say that the Fall Menu was coming soon, so I think I'll have to return for that. Maybe they'll have more track choices!

Oh my. I just drove by this place the other night and was excited to see it was open!! I read up on it and wanted to go to it soon. After a night out, I thought, let's go there for a night cap. I live 3 blocks away! I ordered their house margarita and a steak taco. The margarita was lacking in flavor even though it had the black rock salt. The taco really needed some juice as it was very dry. The red salsa I got as ok, but I don't really like roasted red pepper salsa. But I did pour it onto my taco. It really didn't help. The taco was still dry, and it needed more depth of flavor. The space is very nice! I really did admire what they did with the previous setting, a local grocery store. Great ambiance. Then I thought I would try the Borracho. A specialty cocktail. Ugh. Very bitter. I thought it would be much better but no. Maybe it's just me. I love that there's another place with taco choices but not sure I would come back here. I do need to try their other food soon, and I'll update this then. But...

Absolutely terrible service. I don’t normally leave reviews but this was some of the worst service I have received ever. I have lived in pilsen for 5+ years now and I have been a bartender for 7+ years now. For chips & salsa, one order of queseberria, a beer, margarita, and 4 shots, it was $180. The issue was I ordered 2 rounds of banhez mezcal shots, not knowing they poured us the most expensive mezcal shots without telling us. The bill comes with it being way more expensive than usual since we come here plenty of times. Instead of owning up to the problem, the server told us she mentioned it to us by saying we specifically ordered top shelf banhez, but clearly never did. When asked about the expensive shots, she claimed she had double checked with my girlfriend and I, if we were ordering the same shots as before ( again not knowing she rang i top shelf, she didn’t specify what type of banhez since they have 3 options). Instead of fixing the issue they just took a little bit off. I normally leave very generous tips being a bartender in this city, but I could not here. I understand mistakes happen in the restaurant industry but there was zero accountability and the blame was put on us. Very disappointing considering I am a very lenient person when it comes to this type of thing because I understand that things can happen and mistakes can be made. One thing that could have prevented this situation was to have clarified what type of mezcal we were ordering when she had 3 options to ring in for that brand. When you don’t ask for clarification and assume the most expensive type of mezcal, it is disappointing and a disservice. But to be told we ordered it and told we were wrong when we have been in several times and normally order the same couple of things is extremely disappointing. As industry folks to be super understanding of mishaps and for no one to own up to mistakes is so unfortunate. I will not be coming back...