Cilantro Taco Grill - Wheeling — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

2nd time here…just as terrible as the 1st. The meat is inedible (esp barbacoa) & wait time in drive thru 15+ mins for your food with no one else in line. Not kidding — keep chewing & chewing & chewing until one must spit it out. Since no manager on duty either time, they won’t give a refund. They can’t even say when he’ll be in. Save yourself the money & trouble and go down the street to Ochoa’s who is 100% authentic, reliable but closed on Sundays which is only reason I even came to Cilantro. I thought maybe the 1st time was a fluke so would give it a new chance. Even tried diff meats…the picadillo is edible but flavorless. Pricy around $18 for a 3-taco dinner platter for subpar food that took an eternity to receive. Ochoa’s is cheaper and better quality and consistently delicious. Wont be coming back here ever again. Is a shame cuz it looks beautiful but looks deceive. Also, both times they didn’t throw in napkins for a to-go order (drive-thru etiquette 101). Coming from a Mexican food fan…this is the only 1-star I’ve ever given, so that says a lot.

UPDATE #1: I see the owner replied, with no mention of a refund. This is the 2nd time the meat has been inedible. I was the only car in drive-thru…not busy. The meat was over-cooked. I love barbacoa, but twice now it’s been inedible. I’d like a refund. Manager, maybe train your employees how to do a refund or find a way to get in touch with you as they said “he comes by whenever he feels like it. We never know when he’ll be here.” Also, this employee wasn’t new and only answer is to call and call and hope u happen to be there one day to get a refund? I might as well open a credit card dispute and report this business instead.

UPDATE #2: Finally got a hold of the manager who left me a cash refund of $15.50 at the drive-thru, but didn’t pay me the tax which was over $17. The guy at the drive-thru offered me tortilla chips to compensate which were stale. They offered me a new meal to try a different meat…the steak was horrific. Chewy and flavorless. The chicken was soft and shredded, but not enough to make me go back. The rice and beans are nothing to write home about. This was a major disaster that took forever to remedy, and even then didn’t fully rectify...

I ordered my food through the drive-thru. They were having some technical difficulties, but that wasn't an issue. I was asked to pull up to the window to finish my order. The steak was dry (old?) and sparse. The tortillas also seemed stale. This was extremely disappointing, especially with the high pricing. I've frequented some of the other Cilantro locations and am fond of their food, but this new wheeling location needs a lot of work. To add some positive notes, the salsa was good and is consistent with other locations in terms of flavor and body. Also, the woman working the window was friendly. If you want better Mexican food, drive a bit further south on Milwaukee to Los Comales. The pricing...

I gotta be honest the crew here is not trained or something I swear usually I got to the location on Melrose Park and they really nailed the service the guy is like so I order 2 quesabirrias right and he's like no u have to do the 3 I'm like okay then he's like anything else and like not he's ask multiple times and he takes my card he's like okay here you go is gonna take like 12 minutes Like are u serious I been to some of cilantro and they don't take 12 minutes for that that's the reason I come thru the drive thru next time like to be honest I get a better deal at taco bell for less price and a lot less waiting time Not coming back and the flavor is not worth it...