Angels & Mariachis

And… scene! They did finally shutter their doors.

Finally got around to writing the review for this place only to find out its closed, good!

It really makes me sad that this place doesn’t have more stars, but I really enjoyed myself and it’s just A-​OK.
My husband and I discovered Angels and Mariachis after one of our neighborhood favorites closed early for a wedding rehearsal. I got on open table and looked up nearby availability. I found A&M, it was starred low, but I thought it was worth a try.
We started with the chorizo fundido and green bean salad. I thought the fundido was okay – I just think melted cheese on a tortilla is odd and there just isn’t a lot of flavor there. The green bean salad was excellent. I love manchego cheese and crisp green (green bean, asparagus, etc.) This did not disappoint. I had the steak tacos and the special taco (it was a cactus taco). They were pretty good. The cactus was a little funky, but I’m glad I got to try it.
I also had a couple cocktails. One was a cucumber drink – it was a little yucky. It tasted very melon-​y and vegetable-​y all at the same time. And there was a lot of pulp – I wasn’t a fan.
The atmosphere was a little dark, but it was calm and quiet when we were there (Saturday around 6). We were able to have a conversation, even though we couldn’t see each other very well.
Overall, A&M isn’t a bad restaurant. I would come back and have a salad and some tacos – try a few more cocktails. It’s just not my favorite place.

I went here for a birthday party last weekend. It’s really not my favorite place. I like Mexican restaurants, and I like bars. I don’t know what this place is shooting for.
I’ll give them a star for the cool wall paper with murals of famous wild west characters. I’ll give another star for the bar allowing my friends to have vegan foods catered.
The cocktails were lousy, as was the atmosphere and music.

Is it ok if you want to wash your mouth out with soap after you somewhere!!! No, I think not…
Went here with a group when we were starving… first sign, there was only one table in the restaurant.
They had $ 3 margaritas… sweet!!! WRONG… it was the most disgusting margarita I have ever had… I didn’t drink it. It was sweet, no booze & horrendous! Blah!
Next up the food… eeehhhhhh! Chips & salsa were ok. Salsa was really garlicky. I had the ceviche, some of the lobster taco, traditional torta, & short rib taco. The ceviche was like salsa??? It was gross! A weird seafood mix when the waitress told me it was shrimp. I was totally disappointed. The lobster taco tasted like they took a seafood special from a cheap Chinese restaurant & threw it on a taco… yuck! Torta was so dry I had to take a sip oft beer (I just couldn’t drink the margarita!) to get it down. The short rib taco was bland, dry, dog food like. The dining experience here was disgusting!
I would NEVER eat here again… I’m sure any restaurant on the block would be better than this place… do not go for food. Maybe it’s a good bar scene but stay away from the margaritas! I think they were premade in a slushy machine! I had the traditional on the rocks & I even tried the strawberry… both the same… both disgusting

Not sure how I feel about the place.
Stopped in recently on a Saturday night, it was everyone’s first time in there. The room was mostly dead except for a few groups that all knew each other and looked at us awkwardly. A few typical, tall blondes in platform heels and skin tight attire were serving. One of the blondes was getting groped by a customer and his pal. I think she was cool with it since it went on sporadically through the night. Man. like dude was checking to see if the bread was fluffy enough. I hope they tipped well.
Their music wasn’t memorable and I couldn’t tell you for certain if there was any. Sports played on the boob tubes. Not much eye candy or people watching. Though our bartender was über effing cute, she wasn’t trying hard or dressing the part, she just was. Hello brunette.
Our group shared a pitcher of decently poured pre-​made margaritas on special for about $ 14 a pitcher. A sign outside read «Jameson $ 4». Although when it came to paying we were told it’s $ 4 only when taken as a shot. (Suuuuuure)
If walking the strip of bars this way, it could be a spot to stop in the future if I was already lit and looking for tequila or a decently decorated Men’s room. With that said, maybe a stop by on Cinco but other then that, it wouldn’t be a place I’d actively keep in mind to check out again.

The star is for the décor.
As far as the food and margaritas go… negative f’in 5 stars.
If you like your margaritas with more triple sec than tequila… then you will love their machine made, rose flavored vomit inducing, fauxgarita
The food? I got the steak tacos…4 of them… they were microtacos… with more fat than meat. mmmmm — BARF.
The best part of my experience was when I walked the F out of there.

We went out for a birthday party last night. We had reservations set for 8:45pm. By the time they sat us, it was already a quarter to 10:00pm. This was just the first of many problems to come. Someone ordered coffee and they served it ice cold (who does that?). It took them an additional hour to get us the rest of the food, which was lackluster at best. The waitress was a sweetheart, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for the rest of the mishaps.
I heard good things, all of which cannot possibly be true. Their efforts to buy us off with a free round of drinks at the end was not enough to turn the night around. If there was an option to give less than the one star, I believe this restaurant would garner it.
Boo.

$ 5 Rum Punch and delicious TexMex… YES!
We were TIRED it was our last night in Chicago and were STARVING. After aimlessly wandering for a bit we stumbled across Angels & Mariachis. The place was super cute and wasn’t to crowded early on a Sunday night. The hostess and waitress were super enthusiastic and attentive.
The drinks and food were just as we were hoping. Delicious! We started with the stuffed pepper app and it was great. Then had chicken tacos, yes they were small but it was filling. Thankfully the salsa was still on the table because this was the perfect addition. The BF got another chicken entrée and he really enjoyed his as well.

Wow! Went to this place on Saturday last weekend. Was dead, no one there! Service was great, sat outside and enjoyed this quite interesting neighborhood.
Here’s the story!
Short Rib Tacos and Fondidos are the way to go! The Fondido was unbelievable, especially if you like cheese!!! The flavors on the short rib tacos were great with a nice sauce.
Margaritas were decent, not necessarily $ 6 great, but good! Overall price of meal was conservative.
Check this place out. You’ll be satisfied!!!

Went here last year for a birthday party. It was pretty easy to make reservations for a group of about 6 people on a Saturday night. The service was quick. The margarita pitchers were plentiful, and the food was pretty standard Mexican fair!

ONLINE MENUS for the place are way, way, waaay out of date, so don’t repeat our mistake by expecting a decent variety of yummy options. You will be disappointed.
SUMMARY: Nice waitress, average drinks, food sucked SO BAD that I’m writing my first review in like, a year. NOT for kids, NOT for picky eaters.
So I’ve lived in the neighborhood for a couple years now, always walked by this place because the sign (yes, the sign) gave off a corny vibe. Others have described it as feeling very VH1 «Tool Academy» or «Daisy of Love», Ed Hardy/​Christian Audigier… the kind of thing that makes you want to ask, «Is this real?»
SERVICE: Our waitress, Natalie, was incredibly sweet. We really liked her. She was never intrusive and always available. The tables were not set, so unfortunately we did have to wait for silverware and napkins. We did have to ask for water refills, but they came promptly.
BOOZE: We went on a Sunday, half-​price margaritas (so we had several $ 18 pitchers for $ 9 each). They have a number of flavors available on the rocks, but only 2 – 3 frozen (strawberry, lime, and a swirl of the two). On the rocks, they had pomegranate, peach, mango, raspberry, passionfruit, sour apple, and maybe another 1 – 2 more. AVOID mango, it is nasty. Passionfruit is weird, but I think that’s more of a personal preference. The pomegranate and raspberry were best.
TASTE: Well, the food itself tasted okay, but nothing on the menu was exciting to even read about, and we were even less enthused once it arrived.
Our appetizer was mediocre — we went with the trio of guacamoles, consisting of your standard guac, extra-​hot, and mango. The texture was way to thin and even seemed watery at times. Texture-​wise, it was actually some of the worst I’ve had in all of Chicago. The flavor was alright, though.
My friend got shorted on his side dish, and they used the wrong kind of peppers when making his chile rellanos. (Uh, that doesn’t work if you grew up in California eating Mexican food.) Oh, and they gave him one, instead of two. Lame.
Bread pudding was fine. Nothing particularly special, but good.
PORTIONS: Okay, let me put it this way — we all went hungry, despite the fact that we consumed the following: free chips/​salsa, an appetizer, plenty of booze, and our main courses. We ended up ordering dessert, too, of which I ate most, since my meal was comically small.
The entire table laughed at the size of my salad, which would not even be considered a «side salad» by most standards, much less a starter or main. Like I can’t even think of a point of reference for comparison because it was literally so small. It was also presented all spread out on a large plate, which defintiely did not help matters… it only exaggerated the already comedic disproportion. To add insult to injury, it was about $ 15 — I ordered it with chicken, which doubled the price of the dish, and provided literally the only food on the plate. So, $ 15 for a piece of grilled chicken.
Sooo…yeah, there’s about a million other places we would choose to go to before this place. What sucks is that I REALLY did want to like it — I just want to drink, be fed, tip well, and be on my way. They have a great location and nice staff, but the MENU and FOOD just suck.

egh it wasnt first class but it didnt suck either
theyve got a bunch of flavored margs ready to go slushified or on the rocks
kinda tiny… dunno why i thought this place would have been much larger
also never really a fan of drinkin when the bathrooms are up or down a flight of stairs… im a klutz ok… and at 830pm they were already outta tp… boo :(
eclectic tunes

Wasnt impressed or dissapointed, but the décor and music were good. Intentions were for a small group fri night (lent) for some booze and some apps. Started off w/​margaritas on the rocks, they were decent w/​a good amount of tequila.
Chips and salsa were good… Roasted red and smooth tomatillo. The trick here is to dip in both! It actually makes a killer combo. I was really hoping the name was kinda how the salsa was going to be.
Started off w/​the scallops. The flavors were there, perfectly cooked, the plating was really good, I liked them but you seriously only get 2! Ok I obviously know the costs/​pricing for food. I dont mind paying more for pure exctasy in my mouth, but these 2 scallops for $ 9 dollars arent worth it.
Truffle Fundido. Yes truffles are getting played out a lil but seriously w/​melted cheeeeeese! (as I wipe drool). Served w/​tortillas. Basically I felt like it was something I would call make your cheese quesadilla. lol
Lobster tacos… Here is where I get confused on pricing comparing to the scallops. 4 mini tacos for $ 10 unless they are mixing the lobster w/​other seafood then just infusing lobster into that. Anyways they were definitely enjoyable and would go back just for them. Good seafood and veg options.
Really want to like tihs place more and prob will be in the near future to try other items as well.

/​cue Cielito Lindo music:
Ay, ay, ay, ay,
Canta y no llores,
Porque cantando se alegran,
Cielito lindo, los corazones.
Pájaro que abandona,
Cielito lindo, su primer nido,
Si lo encuentra ocupado,
Cielito lindo, bien merecido.
Why did I sing that (or type that, as the case may be)? Well, my mother taught me that if you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all. But… seeing that this is a review, I guess I’ll say a quick little something.
This place has too many bad qualities to mention without the risk of hitting Unilocal’s character limit for reviews (if there is one). First off, the prices are way, way out of whack. It was $ 50 before tip for two people. We shared an app, she had a salad, I had a sandwich, and we each had a drink. Now, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if A) the $ 10 drinks were stronger or tasted better B) the food wasn’t mediocre or C) the DJ wasn’t spinning music that gave this place a serious identity crisis. Unfortunately, this establishment failed on all three of these counts.
On the plus side, our waitress was really nice. Also, I do have to say that the guac and the chips and salsa were very tasty. However, this is Chicago. It’s 10 years away from being annexed by Mexico. You can get good chips and salsa and guac anywhere and much better food. It also doesn’t help that this place is on Division, and has to compete with several awesome alternatives.
They really need to step up their game. Maybe if they actually had mariachis singing Cielito Lindo and other great classics (instead of a bogus DJ) they would have something going for them.

Angels & Mariachis is a good place to go if you’re looking for a reasonably priced Mexican food joint.
We sat inside because the patio tables were filled to the brim on the first day of the Renegade Craft Fair. This put us in the back right by the service window, but I didn’t really mind that so much — the faster I get the food, the better.
The atmosphere of the place is one-​of-​a-​kind, apparently trying to go for the «dia de los muertos» look (do google it if you don’t know it). They nailed it pretty good, so I’m a fan.
Our party of 4 ordered a pitcher of margaritas to kick things off, and the restaurant comps you the chips and salsa. Chips and salsa were great, crunchy and modestly thick, and the salsa was pretty decent, too. Since I didn’t drink too much of the margaritas, I’m not sure how they were, but I had a little sip and it was sweet and full of lime.
The rum-​chada (rum + horchada) was an interesting exercise in combining rice, rum and sugar, but it’s designed to be put in cocktails and I would have it that way next time.
We also ordered the guacamole, which was quite good. Top quality avocados, good garlic flavor.
Our main meals consisted of three tacos for me, and a quesadilla for my wife. My tacos — ajillo shrimp, steak and fish, all in a crispy shell, with lettuce and sour cream — were pretty good. For starters, if you weren’t careful, you could find yourself eating 5 – 6 of them, they were so light. The shrimp one was seasoned well, the steak one was seasoned all right, and I remember tasting fish in the fish taco, but not much else.
The $ 1 beans + rice side is worth getting, as both come to you hot and well seasoned.
My wife’s quesadilla was awesome. I know, it’s hard to get a quesadilla wrong, but that’s what happens when you use sharp cheese in the quesadilla over tasteless cheese, and toast the exterior just right.
All in all, at something like $ 13-​$ 15 per person before alcohol and tips, this is a fine place to go for a night out.

Went here for a friends birthday on a Thursday night at 7 and it was pretty empty. The hostess was very accommodating for our large party of 7. Unfortunately not always the case in the city !
First off all bottled beer was $ 3, and this isn’t $ 3 PRB or miller light, its Corona Dos Equis ect. AWESOME. One lone ranger got a margarita and let me tell you it was well worth the $ 7 she paid STRONG !!
The complementary chips were homeade and fresh and all the girls loved the salsa.
Everyone seemed to enjoy their food, a lot of the girls got the Torta (just an FYI if you are naïve like us apparently all tortas come with ham on them even though its not listed on the menu!) which came with a nice side salad. Didn’t hear any raves reviews from the burrito girl. I tried the taco salad, which arrived in a nice a greasy taco shell bowl. I got chicken on top which was honestly over cooked, the dressing on the salad was delicious though some sort of mango I believe.
Over all the food was good, with good prices, the patio was a blast, and the servers are all super cute tattoo’d rocker chicks !
I’ll be back again for dinner and $ 3 Mexican beer !!

A group of 3 friends and I decided to give this place a whirl. Even though there are tons of Mexican/​Tex-​Mex places we could have gone to closer to our homes in Lincoln Park, we opted for a to-​and-​from cab to Wicker Park to try something new. We called in about 20 minutes in advance to check seating and make a reservation to make sure they could seat us, and whoever answered the phone told us the place wasn’t crowded and just to come in.
Naturally, when we got there, every table was initially full minus 4 seats at the bar.
Hmmm…
Luckily, a table in the front corner opened up and my friend dove in like a hawk and reserved the seats.
We got some menus and took a look. The design was pretty sweet; their designer needs mad props. It was fairly simple — not a ton of choices, so it wasn’t too overwhelming. The prices were pretty cheap, too. The waitress told us it was $ 3 beer night when we asked for the specials, but there was no drink menu attached or on the table. She recited the beers for us and we ordered a round. A few minutes later beer and chips/​salsa ended up on our table. The chips were a bit stale and tasted like something out of a bag from the grocery store; the salsa wasn’t too bad, but a little mild for my taste. We put in our orders — I ordered the cheese enchiladas and my friends ordered the burrito, torta, and a salad.
And then… that was pretty much about it for the next half hour or so…
Which gave us plenty of time to catch up, chat about life, friends, city living, books, stickers, music, TV shows, career moves, who’s married, who’s pregnant, who should be pregnant, how many stars were in the sky, what was going on at Edge bar across the street, how my friend keeps attracing Jewish men, and anything else under the. moon.
By the time our food came another round of drinks followed. My enchiladas looked more like an enchi-​lasagna, but pretty tasty. Tons of cheese, but I should have ordered the green sauce since the red was a bit sweeter than I prefer. No major complaints from the gang regarding the food, but nothing really to write home about either.
Overall the quick Mexican dinner took about 2 hours, which ended up working out fine since we were all catching up. The service was pretty slow but I think I only noticed 2 waitstaff so that may have been why. Although the tables were all full, the place wasn’t really «crowded». I liked the waitress, but the pace could have been picked up a little. The bill wasn’t too bad, and we had a 20% off coupon to ease on the wallet.
Lastly, if you have to use the bathroom, beware! It’s down a flight of treacherous stairs into the basement. Don’t fall!

I wasn’t that impressed with the food here, and our service was pretty sub-​par. Our waitress wasn’t attentive even though we were one of three tables sitting outside, and inside looked empty too.
When my boyfriends meal came out, it wasn’t what he ordered. After asking for it to be corrected, we had to wait another 15 – 20 minutes when we were told it would only be 4. By that time, I was done eating while he was left with an empty stomach. We weren’t offered any compensation for the inconvenience, not even apologies, until asking to speak with a manager.
It was nice to sit outside and enjoy one the last warmer summer evenings, and the $ 4 (weak) margaritas made it somewhat enjoyable at least.
Ok food & drinks. Probably won’t make it out here again, even though it’s in walking distance. Too many better options to choose.

NIce waitstaff and cool foosball table going on here.
Walked inside and did not know they had an upstairs bar/​party area. I asked the very nice hostess was there anyone upstairs. Doh! Thats exactly where they were.
I got a vodka lemonade and it tasted liquorless. I got the margarita frozen and on the rocks. Woooooo! That was good and they caused me to have a slight hangover the following morning. I did not have any food here, but maybe in the future I will. The margaritas alone are worth coming back!