Congas Fine Latin American Cuisine

Horrible service! It took a very long time to order a drink. Understaffed to handle a large crowd; many people were complaining about the wait. Unfortunately, there was only one bartender to serve the people.

Came here for a friend’s birthday party (which Congas hosted for free and definitely had enough space to accommodate us all plus several other parties and walk-​ins). We had family style dining and the service was outstanding. The owner is a very nice gentleman and did whatever he could do to insure that our party was happy and well fed. It’s not easy satisfying a huge group of hungry Puerto Ricans. Congas serves mainly Peruvian, Columbian and Cuban cuisine. The food was good, however it could be improved and the prices need to come down. I’d love to see some other dishes on the menu.
The female bartender was awesome and really made our drinks like a bartender should. The dance floor and live DJ were great for shaken’ what ya mama gave ya. The atmosphere was good and the crowd is diverse in age and ethnicity, which I love. This is a great place to bring a date, girls night or have a party with Latin music and flair. The Northwest side of Chicago definitely lacks good, fun Latin spots, so I am happy they are here.
FYI: They host different events for holidays and themed parties. There is parking in the back and they do take reservations.

Where to start? Oh yes! I got it! New Years eve!
We made a reservation few days before, confirmed at midnight the day before, and re confirmed on December 31 at 3 pm, needless to say, We drove for 45 minutes to get to this place only to encounter all the sidewalk iced, but even though we managed to get inside. After that we encounter the «hostess», she asked for our names and told us our name WASN’T THERE!!! But, I’ve work in restaurants, so maybe there was a mistake or confusion, I just expected an apology and our table, but no. The «hostess» told us she needed to talk to the manager, then came back and told us that the manager was busy but we could talk to the owner, we agreed; he appeared with a half way open shirt (seems odd for a restaurant owner, but that’s none of my business). He told us that it is IMPOSSIBLE that I was confirmed because we didn’t pay in advance. Well, if he had told me that when I spoke to him at midnightI would have made the payment, so I went to be nice and told him I was the person that called at midnight (he answered at home), he insisted that tenths of people called him at midnight so I repeated my name, and I even played the voice message they left confirming my reservation. He insisted that it was IMPOSSIBLE, and told me that the person who left the mesaage was busy at the bar. So, he just justified the employee, whether is his wife, lover, or a random irresponsible, sb as him.
As I wrote before, I’ve worked in restaurants most of my life. I would have owned my mistake, apologized, and try to make it right, and if I couldn’t make it right, I’d be really humble to admit my mistake and take full responsibility for it. I wouldn’t hide, and certainly as a boss I wouldn’t take a defensive pose. I’m very respectful when I go to restaurants, I don’t like the concept «customers are always right», because that’s not always true, but if you have a customer that makes a reservation and you screw it up, at least admit it and apologize!
Anyway, I believe things happen for a reason. They had 2 security officers (which where very nice), and after we left I was wondering if they have those security officers because they have had troubles before. We called another place, they said they had a table for us, and we had a great time. Thumbs up for the other place. If I could give 0 stars or negative ones, I’d have done it.
PS: I try to don’t write bad reviews because I’m a firm believer that everyone deserves a second chance. But not this place. This place doesn’t deserve not even a try.

Very disappointing!!! Would NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone, especially to celebrate a birthday!
I made reservations for my moms 65^th birthday, 1 week in advance for 25 people. The manager on the phone asked if I wanted balloons set up and I said yes. I explained it would be for 16 adults and 9 kids. He said no problem and everything was good!
Well… On the day of, I decided to call to confirm my reservations and to my surprise they didn’t have it. I couldn’t believe it!!! The supervisor on the phone said whoever I spoke to didn’t write it down in the right spot… but he said don’t worry we will make sure to have everything setup for you.
Our reservations were for 6pm and when I arrived I couldn’t even get inside the restaurant because the front door was locked! I had to call my sister who was already inside to open the door for me. My brother and his family came after me and they experienced the same thing. I had to go open the door for them! Even after I complained to the hostess about this. Ridiculous!
My other family was already there seated and it was clear to me that they didn’t have everything setup! They quickly put some tables together to accommodate us but they didn’t care to dress the table up with white table covers and balloons the way they were setting up the rest of the birthday tables in the restaurant. When I asked to speak to a manager he was not very accommodating. Instead he said they didn’t have time to set everything up because some of the party guests had arrived 15 mins before the reservations so they didn’t want them to wait for their table and so they decided to sit them down. What a lame excuse! And how nice of him to blame my family for arriving there too early! My family said they were in no rush when they got there, in fact they even sat by the bar and had a drink while they waited to be seated. Which is when the waiters were grabbing tables and putting them together.
After we were all seated, the service was beyond slow! Waited forever just to get a glass of water and place my order. The food came out at different times throughout the night. We felt we didn’t even eat together. While I was having my dinner, others were still waiting for theirs. The food was not that good either. I didn’t realize basically every plate comes with French fries! I was looking forward to eating my steak with rice and beans… instead I got dried up yuca and fries!
Also, when I ordered a margarita, they said the machine broke down so I had to wait even longer for a drink!
Overall, It was a very bad experience. I was very disappointed!!! I am always trying to check out new Latin restaurant and I have nothing but bad things to say about this place. Never again!!!

I had an An acquaintance that advised me about on an event being held here on September 26, A live salsa band that i had been listening to for years i decided yo give this place another chance for my birthday so I called one week prior and set up a reservation for 10 guests I was celebrating my birthday I called 3 days prior to the date and confirmed my reservation I spoke to the owner and he had told me where I would be sitting at the time of arrival they had no tables left they had given my table away they try to accommodate me in a corner with a table with no tablecloths no waiters and waitresses this place is completely a loss don’t even waste your time coming there the music is horrible the workers are horrible the people at the door horrible the promoters are the worst they lie just to get you in the door and is just all just a place with no class just disorganized, never again come to the dump.

I was so excited to try something new.
Upon arriving on a Sunday at 330pm, which was supposed to be open 11am-​10pm, the front door was locked. We walk around the entire establishment trying to find a way to get in. Finally my husband called and they said «oh, it’s locked? Hold on.» Someone unlocks the door and we walk in. The entire restaurant was dark, just a few little lights were on. I asked many times are you sure you guys are open for business, but I kept getting the same «yes we are» answer. All the tables were dirty and the chairs were all over the place. Mind you I am with my husband and 3 small children. We wait in the dark for a table. We sit down and 1 person was there…1 fricking person working. He is running around trying to find us menus. My 2 girls had to go to the bathroom so we get up in the dark restaurant and head to the bathrooms. There is no lights in the bathroom. I tell the 1 employee and he takes 10 minutes trying to figure out how to turn the lights on while my kids almost pee their pants. Finally the lights are turned on and the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting. No toilet paper, no hand soap and no paper towels. After this I should have followed my gut and left. So we go back to the table to order. There are only 2 items for options for the kids. One of those items was salchipapas (which is hot dogs with french fries) and I was told sorry we don’t have hot dogs. Then I was told sorry we don;t have any chimmichuri sauce. Well the Salsa’s make or break a restaurant for me because they make or break the meal. So we order appetizers and when it comes we just sit there because he did not bring us silverware or plates or napkins. He didn’t come back until our dinner order was out and ready to eat but we didnt even get to enjoy our appetizers. So he is running around trying to find us plates and napkins… I won’t even get started on our drink order… which was all the same drink. Our food tasted and looked like it was from the night before. Not good quality or fresh. Our bill was over $ 100 for 2 adults and 3 kids but only ordered food for one. It was the worst experience I have ever been through at a restaurant. We were so disappointed that when we got home we just looked at each other like wow what a waste of money.

Went to Congas for a girls night. Our waitress left after taking our order and didn’t let us know that someone else would be helping us. Our food took 1 HOUR to be brought out. Not good when you’re hungry and looking forward to enjoying dinner… or EVER for that matter.
When the food was brought out, the orders were wrong or were over/​under cooked. I ordered the shrimp avocado salad. They literally put a can of peas and carrots, old shrimp, avocado, and a TON of mayo together and called it gourmet. Gross.
At this point we figured we wouldn’t complain and ate since we were starving. We did bring it up to the waitress’ attention. Any other well run, decent, normal establishment would have considered a discount or some kind of accommodation. Nope. She said that because we ate the food we had to pay in full. That it wasn’t her problem because she hadn’t put in the order.
Drinks were never refilled. And we were STILL charged gratuity for their HORRIBLE service.
I could understand being inconsiderate if your business was in downtown and the line was out the door. I doubt that will ever happen with the type of service and food served unfortunately.

We went to congas for my sister’s 40^th birthday. We had a reservation for 730pm we were a party of 14. We arrived before the crowd. There were literally two tables in the restaurant. We had two waiters and it took us 1 hour and half to get our food after waiting 30minutes to place our drink and food orders. We had to send several plates back, no refills on drinks. We asked for a manager. Waited over 20 minutes for a staff member to come out to tell us the manager was not on site. A short time after the manager magically appeared. He accused our table of ordering incorrectly, stated he couldn’t give everyone a discount and told us he was going to take this situation out on his staff! Completely unprofessional and poor customer service! I would give no stars if the site would allow it!

Great atmosphere, good food! Fantastic music to dance to. Salsa classes are fun. Good strong mojitos! I love this place! Best new salsa club in Chicago!

I tried Congas out a little over a week ago on a Friday night. The food was great, the drinks were great, the music was great, we had the most amazing server (Velvet) and the dance instructor was sooooo awesome! I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the reviews that were posted on Unilocal,but I’m so happy that I went with my gut and gave this place a try. I will be returning very soon. Do yourself a favor and stop by on a Friday night!

Wow! What an experience, a GREAT one at that! Yes, you’ve read the other reviews & you’re still hesitant to try the place. So was I, especially since it was a Father’s Day treat with family and I did not want to disappoint, I didn’t nor did the service or food. We went for lunch, had the place to ourselves but after an hour or so it was getting a good vibe. The service was good, very well attentive & sweet. The food was great, big portions & they all had great flavors. The only negative (4 stars) I would say is that once the place was getting more crowded our service declined & we waited a bit for our to go boxes & check. But it was understanding, since they only had one person on the floor. Hopefully another came in later cause it was jumping once we left. Will be going back for dinner. Many bands & great music was posted for the near future. My husband, dad & family had a GREAT time. You can’t knock it til you try it. I’m glad I did

Went here today to watch the Columbian soccer game. The place is pretty big and nicely decorated. The food is decent, some of it better than others. I would recommend the picado plate, ceviche, and paella. The salad and lomo saltado weren’t as impressive. The service was good and the waitress was friendly. I’m giving it an extra star to support my Columbian roots.

Came here to celebrate my daughter’s graduation. We had a reservation and we were seated promptly. The waitress was very attentive and I truly appreciated her service. The food was not that great there was seven of us and we all felt the same. The music was great and the drinks were good too. It’s just unfortunate that the food was not that great. They are very new so I hope the will make some changes to their kitchen. I would definitely go for the drinks and music.

Not sure what the service is like as we are here to taste the food and try a couple of the drinks. They are fairly new to the neighborhood so they invited us to give them a try. The food we tried was fairly good if you like food from South America… the ambiance of the place seems nice… its a little dark in here so hard to see how clean it is. The pistachio cake is very good. So is the Flan. The menu is hard to read. I was glad to see a good turnout from the neighborhood and hope this helps them with their business.

My ex-​wife decided to try this place to celebrate our daughters 21^st birthday. Once I knew the name of the place, I went straight to Unilocal to read the reviews. To say the least, I was shocked on the negative reviews. I almost called my ex-​wife to let her know how bad this place was. Instead of calling her, I decided to give this place a chance since it is a relatively new establishment. I like to make my own assessment of things.
Upon arriving at this location, it appeared to be not as bad as described in the reviews. Inside looked decent so it started off ok. Upon sitting at our table which was reserved for 20 people, I made sure to let my family know soda refills and water were not free which the waitress said they were. That was a nice surprise since the reviews said there was no refills on soda and you had to buy bottled water. Soda and water refills were given to us in abundance. We then ordered our food which came out at a reasonable time of about 25 minutes considering the place was just starting to get busy. The food was not as bad at all. My family and I would give the food a solid 3 out of 5. My wife is Colombian so I know good Colombian food. The cocktails were decent too. My family had Mojitos, Margaritas, Martinis and a few other drinks.
Finally, the music which my family and I truly love. The music was part DJ, part music band, and for a strange reason, a private Mariachi band for a guest. I can see where former guests have said the DJ speeds up the music from its normal beat. This was the case when the DJ started playing but after a bit of time, the music was right on. The music band played music which was nice but not the right music to start the night off with as it was very slow and soft. Later on, a new band came on and played upbeat music which got the crowd dancing on the floor. Initially, the restaurant allowed a private Mariachi band to come in and play for a private party. It was nice for three songs but the establishment allowed this private party to take over the music for about 30 minutes. This made the entire restaurant feel alienated as the Mariachi band was on the dance floor facing the private party. I hope in the future, the restaurant management only allows for a few songs to be played to a private party.
Lets talk about the overall service now. Service started off ok between 7:00 — 8:30 pm but once the place was full, serviced slowed down enough where we had to remind the waitress several times for things we ordered. I will tell you at no time was the staff rude or inconsiderate to us. I feel had the establishment had a few more servers and bartenders, this place would have been able to easily accommodate all the people.

The place was also a bit warm especially when everyone started to dance. The AC system needs to be on full blast.
Overall, my family and I were very pleased with the service, quality of the food, and music. I hope the owner of Congo reads my review and takes into consideration the good and the bad and makes any changes necessary to improve this place.
I was later told by a family member that a lot of people go to Congas to just dance. I can see where the establishment would charge for bottled water vice free tap water and not offer refills on sodas. A business would make no money if you come to just dance and drink free water. This is a business trying to make some money after all.
So would I return to Congas with my family? Yes, I would.

I live in Chicago for many years, with a habit of dining out, at least 2 to 3 times a week. In regards to price, service and management Congas gets: Zero, Zero and Zero stars!
Service: Went today to try the place as I have a friend that lives 2 blocks from there and I live 10 minutes’ drive to to/​from there, however the word I have to say is: DISAPPOINTED! We had a table with 4 people; the waitress forgot to place the complete order and 1 guest waited for nothing less than 1 hour and 30 min for her dinner to arrive. When it finally arrived, it was not even hot. Of course we asked for a box, the check and left with no intention to return or either my friend who lives in the neighborhood.
Management: After we have complained about the delay and asked for an explanation, the waitress has informed us the manager would personally come to talk to us; however it did not happen. The manager never came to the table, an explanation was not given, and not even a deduction was applied to the bill, as a courtesy for our trouble of having waited for over 90 minutes for a dinner plate.
Price: Be careful when ordering soda: There is NO free refill, l and each glass cost 3 bucks (I mean each ½ glass, because the other half is just ice).
Food: I am giving 1 star for the food alone, because at least what I have ordered was good. The overall experience is not worthy.
Chicago is a huge, multicultural and versatile city; go spend your money somewhere else. At Congas you over pay for the food and pay for a Greedy management and No customer appreciation! Do not waste your time and money there! Google for Colombian restaurants in Chicago and you will find better places within seconds.

Looks good from outside but inside after sitting down sooooooooooo disappointing. First, not organized at the front and NO place to place your coat and NO coat check so be prepared to leave your coat in your car.
Came later around 10:30 for the music and atmosphere but soon realized almost impossible to talk to people you are with. Why? Shrill extremely loud coming from very bad distorted sounding speakers. It never got better. Next, even though it is suppose to be Latin music, there is a very bad DJ, that destroyed all the songs by changing the rhytmn of all, yes, all the songs to a thump, thump or just generic boring house beat for all, yes all the Latin songs or this stange DJ sped up the speed of the song so it is racing. This DJ must not be Hispanic or is used to DJing at druggie places with screaming loud house or hip hop music.
We all came to dance Latin but eneded up not even getting up the music was so bad. It is a sin to so distort all these Latin songs. Yes, DJ did the same things whether the song was supposed to be Salsa, Bachata or Merengue or Cumbia.
We ordered drinks that came in thin, very thin, plastic glasses that pushes the drink out when you try to hold them.
Waiter ok but will not look at table and stands over by bar looking at the wall instead of at his table. Thus, service is hard to get.
Mentioned Congas to some of my Latin friends, who mentioned they went there and the bad thump thump and hip hop can of the beat annoyed them greatly and said they will not be back.
One friend who is from Columbia said she came to the opening now expecting good Latin music but instead go this bad bad streamingly loud distorted Latin songs either or both sped up so not able to dance to them or the bad hip hop thump thump beat which is not Latin and we are not talking about reaggaton.

This place doesn’t deserve a star. I would give the star to the DJ since this is the only attraction worth my while. The food was horrible and management need to treat customers with respect. I suggest he take some management class.
My friends and I came in and got a table. I asked for water since we haven’t decided what to order yet. The waitress said they no longer serve water, they only serve bottled water which we would have to buy. What type of restaurant doesn’t serve water? The waitress kept coming back and pressuring us to order. We noticed the manager was constantly eyeing us and kept sending the waitress back. When we got our food, it was so bland and dry. I would not recommend this place to anyone!

It is really hard to believe this place has bad ratings. I went last night and we were seated right away. The food is the best Colombian food I have ever had in this city. The live band was very entertaining, the staff was very attentive and the drinks were great. The prices are moderate, parking is found easily and there is so much space! Do not be fooled by these 1 star ratings, go for yourself and make your own opinion.

It was a great experience and great music. We are turists in Chicago looking for a nice place to hang out while in the city! Great service!!! A must!!! good Colombian food!!!