El Carrito

we have been going here since they opened… amazing food, super cool environment, make sure to try the green salsa if you like spicy!

The food is excellent. Very fresh and not salty. I usually eat 3 tacos and there was so much meat in each, that I could only finish 2. Excellent value.

This is definitely my first review of the year. Without a doubt this is by far the best Mexican restaurant in town. I’m very skeptical about trying Mexican food in places that look somewhat Americanized, just because the flavor is not always good. However not only does this place look very nice on the inside, but the food can be consider authentic Mexican food. The service is exceptional from the lady at the register to the waitress that brings your food out, to the guy that cleans up ur table name Phillip. Oh and it’s BYOB! My new favorite spot. I highly recommend it.

For a North side Taco spot, it was delicious! My coworkers and I ordered 3 carne Asada tacos. The steak was well seasoned as well as juicy. Tortillas were cooked well not soggy.
The Mango Juice drink a little pricey $ 3.99, but worth it… It was thick and not too sweet.
Pambazo looked good, didn’t eat it but my coworker couldn’t stop taking about how yummy it was.
Veggie quesadilla for my other coworker and it was delicious I took a bite!
Delivery was on time and quick!

Today would mark my 2^nd visit to El Carrito and this time I went for lunch with a friend. This place was worth the positive Unilocal reviews and I highly recommend ordering food from their lunch menu as lunch is easier on your pockets versus dinner; where everything is purchased a la carte. With their lunch menu, you get your main plus choice of one side dish. I got the two carne asada taco meal with chicken tortilla soup and it was absolutely yummy! The soup hit the spot on a cold Chicago day and was very much flavorful with shreds of chicken at the bottom. My friend ordered the Chicken Flautas and she told me that she’s been to several Mexican restaurants but never had Flautas as good as this. I knocked off one star because dinner can get expensive and for four people you can easily spend $ 50.00 not including your dessert!
The tacos are a bit small but their carne asada is seasoned well and was good. Your basic taco comes with onions and cilantro but extras like sour cream, avocado and cheese are 55 cents extra for each ingredient. Also I’ve visited twice in the past month and every time I order the churro dessert, they never have the cajeta (Mexican caramel) dip on the side. Only the Nutella. Bummer. I asked why is this and their employee had mentioned that they get their caramel delivery from the south side and the owner didn’t have time to get it. Boo! I would have wanted to try that but I’ll keep on trying. Perhaps better luck with the cajeta churro next time.

I saw the reviews and was excited to give this place a try. I have mixed emotions about my experiences here. The décor was really nice and visually appealing. Clean, spacious, and airy. When you walk in you place your order and pay, then go sit and wait. We ordered carnitas quesadillas, mole fries, elotes, a carne asada torta, torta chilanga, and churro bites.
The cut of the mole fries was fantastic and they came out crispy and hot. They had good flavor, although the mole was nothing to be excited about.
The quesadilla were extremely greasy, making them inedible. We had 2 orders of these and ended up throwing them out.
The Elote also was nothing special, and for 2 dollars more than the street vendors sell quite a rip off.
The carne asada torta was tasty but needed more spice. The meat was fresh but was unseasoned.
The torta chilanga was tasty and filling, and I feel like the only reason I didn’t have to add salt was due to the ham and chorizo.
The churro bites were my favorite. Nicely crisp on the outside and soft and hearty on the inside.
As a family who eats Mexican food a lot we felt the flavors lacked Mexican Authenticity. We left decently full but not that satisfied joy we feel when we eat authentic Mexican food. I think the aim is to be elevated Mexican street food. Unfortunately in my book they missed the mark.

Heard great things about this place, so we stopped in when we passed by the strip mall. I had the chicken flautas, which was a bit dry, the horchata, which was average, the churro bites, which was just right, & the steak tacos, & the steak blew my mind. The meat was seasoned amazingly and charred to perfection. I can’t wait to come back & try the steak in taco form to see how it is. Also can’t wait for warmer weather to try their fried ice cream!

Might buy a car just so I can trek up here more often. I’m only half kidding.
Horchata? Smooth, just the right amount of sweet — delightful. Perfect compliment to the food.
The fish taco with slaw and chipotle aioli? Thrillist was actually on point about something when they named this the best new taco. And once it’s not new anymore, it’ll claim a spot as just one of the best tacos around.
The crazy big and beautiful torta chilanga with barbacoa, ham, chorizo, eggs, beans, mayo, jalapenos, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avocado? Three little pigs went to market in my mouth.
The fried ice cream? Fried ice cream? Is that even a question?
Even their housemate ceviche and guac are stellar.
You can tell that everything — from the sauces to the tortillas — are made fresh, made with passion, and made well.

This place has a great vibe! Kind people, top quality, and tasty food! These guys are going to be on the map I’ll be stopping in again. Highly recommend the steak tacos.

I’m sad to write a poor review of this place because I was actually really looking forward to eating here. I heard so many great things through various social media platforms, but perhaps I expected too much.
Everything I tried was average, if not worse. Except for one thing, actually, but that was their horchata.
I didn’t think there was anything special about the tacos at all. The fish wasn’t as crispy as I hoped it would be. The slaw wasn’t very fresh and the chipotle aioli flavor was weak. I thought the steak could have been better too. It was just lacking something. At the very least, none of the meat was greasy/​too oily which I find can happen at some taco places. I appreciate the fact that the tortillas are made from scratch too, although it didn’t make up for my subpar experience of eating these tacos.
The most disappointing part of my meal was the mole fries. Granted, I’ve never had mole sauce before so I didn’t know what to expect for that, but so many people have ordered this and recommend it so I thought I would enjoy it as well. Apparently not. I absolutely hated the taste of the sauce. The fries themselves were good and freshly fried, but the sauce ruined it for me. I ate what I could and threw the rest away, because it wasn’t even worth taking home the leftovers. I despised the sauce so much I regret ordering the fries. It feels like I wasted my money on this appetizer.
Oh, and both the mild and medium salsas were really sweet. Not what I hoped for in a salsa at all…
Sorry El Carrito, but you did not live up to the hype!

This place is between 3 to 4 stars. Proximity plays into my review because it’s not that good where I would drive the distance again, but if I were in the area it would be a decent spot. I went with the mole fries which were just okay. It looked like it was going to be sort of like a poutine, but the semi weird taste of the mole throws it off. I like that they give you big steak fries though. I also had the carne asada taco. I love that the taco’s come Mexican style (cilantro & onion) versus American style (lettuce, tomato, cheese). However, the meat wasn’t that flavorful.
My favorite part of the meal would have to be the churro bites. You can either choose caramel or nutella dipping sauce. I of course went with the Nutella and it was yummy! If I come back I definitely want to try the paleta.

My review is based on a delivery order:
Terrible. I placed an order through Grubhub thinking I’d try something new. Never will I order from them again or dine with them. I ordered a «pambazo» which came obviously burnt. As soon as I opened the container, I got a whiff of burnt bread and of course it also tasted terrible. Yum for burnt bread and chorizo, carrots and potatoes weren’t even cooked throughly. How can you send a food item that you know you messed up? The churros were nothing special, I actually ended up tossing everything in the garbage. Worst $$$ spent, waste of money through and through. $ 5 delivery charge on top of it.

I have been wanting to stop by this place driving by on Lincoln Avenue a few times WOW am I glad I did the food is authentic real nice atmosphere very surprised very happy definitely be back again

The first word that comes to mind when I think of El Carrito is Fantastico!!! I’ve been passing by this place for months and today me and the boyfriend finally made it in. All I can say is thank you!!! I’m impressed

I decided to go with a steak torta and a barbacoa taco. I am not bragging but I have had tacos in Mexico as well as other countries in South America and I am not kidding when I tell you tacos here are better than some I’ve had around the world. Can I also mention that the hot sauce provided is phenomenal! Like can they just bottle it up and sell that stuff please?!? I would totally buy it.
This really has to be my new favorite Mexican restaurant. Not only is food perfection but the people who work here are sooo nice! Great food and awesome customer service don’t always go hand in hand in this city, but not at el carrito! Also, this place is spotless! If your a germ-​a-​phobe like myself you will really appreciate this place.
Side note– I realllllllly wish they had margaritas! I know it’s b.y.o.b but I have a feeling the people at el carrito could make a «slap yo mamma it’s so good» margarita!

I finally found a new favorite taco joint by my hood. Large portions (hence the deserved mark-​up in price per taco) with some great flavors. I see a lot of people giving a bad rating to the lack a flavor in some of the meats. I can’t entirely disagree with this comment, but at the same time I am not a fan of shredded pork (carnitas). But the rest of the tacos, especially the carne asada had great flavors and the amount of meat that they give you in this taco is a meal itself. I also ordered the elotes in a cup which I thought was great. I even added some of it in a few bites of my tacos which enhanced the flavors even more.
Will definitely be coming back and spreading the word on this great place for tacos.

You really can’t beat good street food that’s served up in a fun, modern, clean and classy way! You can tell that so much of the chef and the owner’s heart has gone into every detail of El Carrito… the menu is simple but so delicious! the portions apparently designed to feed the village and the service makes you feel at home. They definitely don’t kid around with portion sizes here, but you’ll want to eat everything on the menu, so bring an appetite! The quality of the steak and the homemade sauces is evident in every bite. you really can’t go wrong! Make sure to leave room for dessert because the chef does amazing things in that kitchen back there.

Live very close to El Carrito so my boyfriend and I decided to give it a shot. He’s Mexican so he’s always dragging me to the newer Mexican spots around town.
Once you order, you sit down and wait for them to prepare your food. When it is ready, they will call out your order and you pick it up at an opening near the soda machine. Our food was not prepared all at once so we had to get up a few times.
My boyfriend got tacos al pastor and I tried the carne asada torta. We also ordered mole fries, salsa, elotes in a cup, and churro bites with Nutella sauce.
According to him, 90% of the food does not taste authentically Mexican. It’s more of someone’s take on Mexican food than what it’s really supposed to taste like.
My torta sandwich was okay. I wasn’t digging the flavor of it as a whole but the meat inside was good to eat with the fries. Salsa was good but the chips were thick and hard. Churro bites were good but I’ve had better & they could’ve used more sugar.
I don’t really like mole so I can’t give a fair assessment on the fries but the pieces that didn’t have mole tasted pretty good. I thought the elotes was pretty horrible and something I never want to try again. My boyfriend wasn’t a fan either and it was what he was most looking forward too. It was just way too much mayo and not an equal mix of corn and spices.
We spent about $ 30 in total which is reasonable considering all the food we got. I wasn’t really in love with anything and this probably wouldn’t be my first, second, or third choice for food.

Very good street like food!!! Nice ambient.
I ate the steak torta lunch special: steak very taste and tender and juice. Come with side of rice and beans Orchata it will need a little more taste. Over all ok. Little pricey but ok.

I have driven by this place so many times and I keep trying to go in and try it out and I must say it was worth the wait. I ordered the tacos de asada which were actually good, I also ordered the elote in a cup which was a tad small for $ 4.00 but it was good… However the star of the show was the mole fries
Never would I have even though that it would be as good as it was I started eating them right away so I could not even take a pic. Overall I am going back again and eating in !

In the time leading up to their fated opening, the neighborhood was abuzz with excitement for a fun Mexican street food experience! From the signage, that was all anyone knew about them really.
Someone must have put a lot of thought into this space, the interior is a mesh of modern & rustic styles infused into Mexican street food. That’s how I perceive it. Lots of wood (which I hope is «reclaimed, recycled, reused.») Exposed brick walls and roof, wood beams and extension rods used to support décor and track lighting. When I think about the local «elotes guy», his cart looks nothing like the food cart they modeled into their serving counter. (It’s cleaner also!) A cool accent which ties their theme together. Much of the space is well thought out, down to minor accents like the plumbing used as a foot rack for those seated at the high top counter along the windows. Even their washrooms are nicer than most and nicely decorated to add comfort. (Boy, do I love good usage of glass tile)
For the weekday lunch hour, the place was pretty busy. Probably about 70% full and most dined in. There was a floor guy pacing back and forth, keeping the area clean and stocked with necessities. The guy wore a polo shirt with an advertisement for the liquor shop next door, which made me wonder if Foremost had money invested here. (Per articles online, they do)
Their menu is simple with many popular options (tacos, burritos, tamales — weekends only) and a few «food truck favorites.» During the week a lunch special is offered. I think I spent about $ 11 dollars for a (2) taco combo that came with choice of a side soup. I added on a taco and a bottle of water.
So the food: It looked pretty and it’s nice that the tortillas are handmade in house. Before you bite into one, take a look at the expertise in its creation. It is just thick enough to handle the ingredients stuffed into each taco and able to endure the stress of any sauces or wetness. Unlike the store bought stuff served at random taquerias around town. (And in many cases, two corn tortillas are needed to house most tacos because otherwise it breaks easily)
So I ordered 3 tacos with choice of proteins and each style came topped differently; tinga pollo, veggie (fresh herbs, squash, zucchini, carrots, portobello mushroom, red peppers, lettuce, chihuahua cheese) and some kind of pan fried pork (al pastor). (Check Unilocal photos, I posted a nice photo with indications.)
You know, something I can’t stress enough which I think would be second nature of any expeditor working a food counter would be to insure that food is served HOT and not cold. 2 of 3 tacos were cold. Now, had the order taker mentioned that their veggie or pork taco were a cold offering, I would not have ordered it. The veggie mixture was cold to touch and the pork could have been prepared earlier but forgotten until the tray was about to get served. When anything is hot and enjoyed, it’s easier to taste its flavors. I won’t waste anymore time talking about this but clearly you understand, I don’t have a pressing desire to run back and try their food again. Twenty-​five minutes of wait time should dish up hot food in my humble opinion. The tinga pollo taco was sublime. The chicken was flavorful and I wished I’d had two more. I’ve had many kinds of chicken tortilla soup (in the past) but never so runny, like this was. Which was more water based than heavy with milk or cheeses. It was hearty enough, tasty and filling.
Despite the few reviews claiming that it’s a solid 5 star experience. I didn’t get much of. Give it a few months to work out kinks and get used to working a «rush.» Hopefully management reads reviews. Maybe it was a fluke. I dunno. There are some menu items which I’ve got interest to try (i.e. Mole fries) but I’ll wait till more people talk highly about it before going back.
If you caught the DNAINFO article about El Carrito, it has some input from the owner which, as it says does own the liquor store next door. Per the article, I think he said «food around this area kinda sucks,» which is why he wanted to bring something good here. Sir, it isn’t that food in this area sucks; it’s that most people like to eat cheap and crappy food which causes the better places to close. (Like the Chinese buffet on McCormick which is utterly disgusting, yet still in business a decade plus) Also, there are a number of awesome eateries here that you’ve probably never dined at and I’m not talking about your competition across the way, Chipotle.