Habanero’s

I had this pending in my Unilocal reviews to complete later on and I barely even remember anything about this place. The note I made to myself «guacamole is excellent!»
I’ve sort of pieced together some things Memento-​style. It’s in a strip mall. There was barely anyone there when we went.
I think that there isn’t much that is very memorable about this restaurant. It wasn’t good it wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. Their service was pretty good and their margaritas were pretty good. If you’re looking for excellent or exceptional, then this probably is going to be a disappointment.

Great food, excellent guac, cute atmosphere, and conveniently located across the street from my hotel. Service was a little slow but that’s the only downside.

Good food, slow service. Waited 15″ for a margarita that should have been poured in a glass and delivered, that fast. Had to ask for the check. Only Mexican restaurant open in my area on Mothers Day.
All the tables got a complimentary piece of cake for Mothers Day, very nice touch.

This is not the worst Mexican restaurant that my husband and I have ever been to, but it comes close. The tap beer was stale. The food was only okay, nothing special, but what really got me was the poor customer service. We only came to this place because we had a coupon for «buy one, get one free» lunch, and we asked as we ordered if we would be able to use it with what we were ordering. The waiter said yes. So we got our mediocre food (spinach and cheese quesadilla that was extremely overpriced, but hubby did like his steak fajitas). As we were finishing, the waiter approached and told us that he could only take half off of my dish, even though he had previously approved the coupon for it to be free. Gave some excuse that usually another person takes care of the coupons, so he didn’t know what he was doing. So we got completely ripped off in that regard. Also, the waiter was barely around to service the six or seven tables that had people. In order to receive the check, I witnessed every single table having to ask for it, including us. That’s ridiculous, especially on a slower afternoon (around 1:30pm) for lunchtime.
We will definitely not be back. This experience really made me appreciate our usual Mexican favorite: Tellos in Port Washington. They also feature a lot of «buy one, get one» meal coupons with the best food and service, so go there instead, and you’ll be much more satisfied!

The night I went there was only 2 other tables with patrons. Service was friendly and prompt.
The homemade (table made) guacamole is terrific and clearly their signature thing.
The food is just ok for the price. I had a steak fajita dinner and the hot plate came with the traditional sizzle. The $ 15 price tag didn’t match the balance of steak vs veggies. Hardly any steak at all. Big bummer. Only two tortillas served at a time and they are small, so you have to wait in the service to get more.

Almost passed on this place based on the reviews from other users, glad I didn’t follow their direction. The Carnitas nachos with chihuahua cheese was fantastic! Tableside fresh made guacamole is an option, and the drink menu was pretty good. This is a good authentic, non-​cookie-​cutter Mexican restaurant. I would highly recommend trying it out!

We went to this place a little over a year or two ago and the food was not a seasoned it was very disgusting. It was our first time, in there and they asked for us if we want some guacamole and we were unaware that there was going to be a charge for the guacamole. We thought it was free with service just like chips and salsa.
The salsa w/​the chips did not taste good and the food either. The service was okay but it would’ve been nice if they would’ve told us at the guacamole was a charge prior to coming to our table. We rather travel to our usual Mexican restaurant which is El Fuego on the southside and never come back to this place again.

Historically, I would have given Habanero’s five stars but the experience today has permanently altered my opinion. We had to repeat ourselves several times to the server — he would walk away and we’d think he was getting what we needed (morning major… Glass of water, extra tortillas — two is NOT enough for the fajitas, our bill) but he’d go MIA. The food was less than subpar. I read menus very carefully to make sure I account for it properly for my insulin and my order came out with a bunch of stuff not even listed. Still, after all that, did not complain. I actually hate complaining to another other than my husband (he’s a lucky guy). After waiting a long time for our bill, even though we even went so far as to actually ask for it, I went up front for it. I had to wait a few minutes and a person I’m assuming was the manager was there so I asked for the bill, he got the server’s attention and told him I needed my bill. The server said he had it right there and wanted my card. I said I wanted to see the bill. He kept putting his hand out waiting for my card and I repeated again and again that I wasn’t handing anything over until I saw the bill. That appeared to upset him but I finally got the bill closed out and stopped by the person who I assumed was the manager and told him that I’m not a huge complainer and I am usually a fan of the restaurant but my experience was horrible. After he ignored me, I left a subpar tip (which somehow I feel guilty about even though I really shouldn’t) and left. I won’t be going back.
I understand that it’s not the server’s fault of the food is bad and I get everyone has a bad day and I’m understanding if the person is new but when the food is bad, the server is rude and inattentive, the manager doesn’t care, and I’m looked at like a jerk for wanting to view my bill before handing over money, I’m done. Literally every employee looked like they were inconvenienced by customers being there. Super sad because they used to have good food and great service.

Conveniently located off Brown Deer Road in a strip mall, steps away from shopping and banking, Habanero’s has a knack for curbing your craving for flavors South of the border.
The staff is always friendly and I never have to wait for a table. I am always happy to see a number of full tables and folks at the bar also enjoying the great food and drinks here.
First off, they have great specials. Check the literature at your table or with your server to see what is cooking today. They also have great drink specials too, and even beer on other days of the week.
What to order? When the cart comes around, don’t pass up some of the best guacamole in the city. The staff prepares it to order at your table from fresh ingredients. If you are adventurous, opt for the habanero versus jalapeño for an extra kick.
My other menu favorites are the shrimp soup, street corn and the cheese and onion chile relleno. I am not a rice fan so I typically only have the beans, which have good texture.
Overall, I am always satisfied and have plenty to take home for another meal — all at a reasonable price.

Love the table side guacamole. Good food. A good option for the north side of town. Service is pretty good too.

This place is run by ghosts but the food is decently good. We walked in to order carry-​out and kept looking for a live soul to speak with. Finally, we did, ordered quasadillas, and were waiting outside in the sun. 15m later when we walked back in, still nobody there but a bag of food was waiting on a chair so we assumed it was ours.
For a middle-​of-​no-​food-​options place, the food tastes quite decent.

I ordered the chimichanga chipolte tinga which came with rice and guacamole and it was disgusting. First, aside from the guac nothing on the plate was fresh. But the «creamy» chipolte sauce they but on top of the chimichanga was really what did it for me… Has to be one of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten at a restaurant.
The service is also not very good. The waiter did not seem like he wanted to answer any of my questions and his patience ran out after two???

Really love this authentic Mexican restaurant!
Every time we dine there we’re greeted and served by talented friendly people. They serve the best guacamole — prepared to your specifications too!
Try their shrimp quesadillas — they’re fabulous!

The food was adequate & fast but for flavor I would rather go for taco bell. That says a lot from me.

I’ve had lunch here two times too many now. The first time I ordered one of their lunch combos and one of the options was a chicken quesadilla. Now you know how chicken tastes after it’s been reheated? That kind of off taste and rubbery texture? Yep. That was in my quesadilla. Gross. The other two things I ordered were just ok. Next time around I decided to order some sort of shrimp dish in the spirit of being healthy. It came with 5 shrimp. 4 circles of zucchini. A dish of canned pineapple. A little cup of canned mushrooms. And a small dry scoop of rice. It was bad. Real bad. There was literally nothing on that plate that was appetizing in the slightest. Overall zero flavor and super low quality ingredients. Never again.

I hadn’t been to Habanero’s in about a year, and while my previous visits were all great, this last one was not so much. :(
I wanted to try something new, as I have a tendency to stick to the «regulars» too often. Honestly, everything on the menu really does sound fantastic, so I thought I couldn’t really go wrong. I went with one of their chimichangas, which have the very first page of the menu (though not on their online menu) so I figured they’d be some kind of specialty. Unfortunately mine was just not very good. Outside, it was mushy and greasy. Inside, the steak was really tough and in huge chunks making it difficult to eat. Also in huge chunks were the jalapenos, which I wasn’t expecting and really didn’t enjoy. Finally, one of the avocado pieces had the skin on it, which was a nice surprise.
I don’t know. Maybe I just picked the wrong item on the wrong day. But Habanero’s used to be kind of special, in that my husband and I would go there to celebrate job promotions or take our visiting families and friends to, and now it just doesn’t feel that special after this last visit. I’ll give it another try some day because in the past I’ve really enjoyed myself there. Fingers are crossed for another update to add back a star!

Meh, I have experienced a LOT better. This is a one and a half star review. (Come on Rachel, use your suave dance moves and get us some half stars here).
I went around 1:00, so clearly missed the lunch rush by the fact that there was one other table in there. The lunch «specials» were not cheap at all, the cheapest being $ 11.00 for two enchiladas. I ended up getting that.
The server was irked that we only wanted water, and passed us off to another server. A little woman came over with her guac cart and wanted to know if we wanted fresh guacamole. Without asking price we said sure, and specified HOT. It was a decent amount, but not a lick of spice to the whole thing. Hardly any citrus or garlic, and only a couple tomatoes sprinkled on top. (we later saw it was over $ 8).
My meal was borderline inedible. The beans were literally sweet… gross. The rice was good, but just typical frozen veggie/​rice that they have at these kind of places. The enchiladas were described to me as «chunks of pork», which was accurate. The only thing she left out was «chunks of uncooked, fatty and chewy pork», I ended up picking out the meat and only eating one of the two. Just NOT good.
Two hours later now and I feel as if I ingested a live cat that is putting up a fight in my stomach.
I won’t be back, which is too bad because I liked the free salsa.

A Texan in Milwaukee trying out Mexican food; well, that spells a recipe for disaster. I don’t like to give bad reviews, but I really didn’t like their food.
First of all, the salsa was really salty. I love chips and salsa as an appetizer, but this salsa was an assault to my senses. On the positive side, the guacamole live was really good and perfectly fresh. The food was really quick to come out to our table, but when I got the food, I understood why it was so fast. My shrimp enchiladas/​burrito was cold in the middle, the cheese was’t melted, and the tortillas fell apart. The rice and beans were okay, but the rice (again) was riddled with salt.
It seemed like lots of local families like this place and all bring their kids here, so I would recommend Habanero’s as a family friendly place, but I won’t be eating here again.

BUZZ
— Guacamole
I TRIED
— Chicken Enchilada (⁴⁄₁₀)
— Chile Relleno (⁴⁄₁₀)
— Tamale (⁴⁄₁₀)
Several years ago, I came to Milwaukee and randomly felt like Mexican and had some of the best Mexican food ever! Now, I don’t even remember where that was, but considering that a Mexican joint was the most popular in Brown Deer (suburb of Milwaukee), I had high hopes. That… and I was also craving a margarita!
Several have mentioned their guacamole, but unfortunately, I didn’t get any. My napkin had some on it, somehow, but I didn’t have any. I got a combination plate that came with these 3 plus rice & beans.
CHICKEN ENCHILADA
Really not much to report here, other than the shredded chicken was a bit dry. Dry chicken aside, it’s about on par with what you’d expect at any chain Mexican restaurant. I’d say it’s meatier than average, but I wasn’t so crazy about the meat. There was something of a mole sauce that was drizzled on all 3, and it didn’t really help the enchilada.
CHILE RELLENO
Very bland and light pepper. To be honest, this may have been better, but it was my fault. They asked me what kind of meat I wanted in it, and I froze. I couldn’t remember getting meat with it, but I got ground beef. Now, the ground beef, was actually pretty decent, but together, this was a really weak. I wonder what it would have been like with cheese? Again, a little bit of mole and cheese on top (not used to that), and wasn’t thrilled about it.
TAMALE
Tamale was average too. Since it was also covered in the mole sauce, some of the subtleties were masked. Again, nothing really special to report.
WEAKSAUCE
If you took every Mexican restaurant I’ve been to, like real Mexican (not Taco Bell),
and take all the good ones out, and all the nasty ones out, average the remaining ones, and subtract a taco or 2, then you’d have Habanero’s. I didn’t give it a score, but the chips and salsa were the best and most flavorful things here. There is really nothing that stands out AT ALL! Wasn’t flavorful, wasn’t bad flavored, wasn’t salty, was bland, but not REALLY bland. It was just meh, and I don’t want to come back.

This is a frequent lunch spot for me and the people I work with.
They have a great «lunch» menu, which includes a variety of interesting Mexican dishes (those that you don’t normally see on a lunch menu) and the more traditional Mexican lunch items (enchiladas, tacos, burrito, tamale, tostada). There is also one surprise on the lunch menu — chiles rellenos.
On the traditional lunch menu, you can pick your proteins, including which include ground beef, chicken, cheese & onion, bean, shrimp, carnitas, or steak (the last three all have an additional surcharge) on a per item basis, so that’s cool.
They have one of those little guacamole carts that they wheel around the tables — and I have to say, it’s really good.
I hate to admit that I order them, but whenever I have a craving for chimichangas, they are really good here. Small enough to be reasonable and the dough to filling ratio is right… my mouth is watering at the thought of it My other favorites off of the traditional lunch menu are the chiles rellenos and the enchiladas. The chiles rellenos are a traditional stuffed poblano topped with sauce… and damn, it’s really tasty.
There is usually a sheet for «lunch specials of the day». I’ve tried an assortment of things off of this menu and have always been happy.
The servers are friendly and prompt, and the restaurant is nice and clean.
Why am I deducting a star, you may ask? I’ve ordered shrimp items here in the past, and I feel like the shrimp items aren’t awesome — the shrimps were small and a bit fishy. Same holds true for the scallop dishes. Lastly, their salsa is good, but not rock-​my-​world kind of good. I don’t like to nitpick, but based on those items, I don’t think I can give them a glowing 5 star endorsement. Now I stick to non-​seafood items here and I’m very happy.