Frontera Fresco

This was my second visit to this location. Seven on State is just a magical place full of great food and great views. I also happen to love Rick Bayless. His appearance on Top Chef Masters was wonderful. He’s so put together, and he truly knows Mexican food.
Everywhere here gets crowded quickly at lunch. I recommend coming early, if you don’t want a long wait. Frontera Fresco gets particularly crowded.
I ordered the Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla without onions. It was awesome. The chicken was super flavorful and juicy. The quesadilla was literally dripping. The quesadilla was also crisped up, which is not something that one usually finds at a restaurant, much less a fast casual restaurant. I could do without the salad on the side. I never eat it. I also asked for a side of tomatillo salsa. This one is better than the red, in my opinion. It’s spicier and not smoky.
The service is always wonderful at Seven on State, in my experience. They’re always willing to grab you a refill, take your tray, or help find whatever you may need.
My only complaint is that I wish the quesadilla was bigger. Especially given the price. I could have easily eaten two. With that said, I would not hesitate to come back.

this is at the Macy’s food court on the 7^th floor, pretty good lunch spot for people working in the loop, the line is a bit too long and the food is just average, but given the food choices in the loop during lunch hours, i would give it a 3-​star

This place disappoints. The draw is a famous celebrity chef. The risks are mediocre food and service. On a recent visit, the guacamole was oversalted, so much so that I believe it was unhealthy to eat and left half. Tortilla soup had a burnt taste, so I didn’t finish it either. Roast chicken was OK, nicely smokey in flavor. The quesadilla and salad were ordinary.
Something else I didn’t enjoy was the service. Long line, of course. Very hard to personalize your order, like «hold the cheese» is a foreign phrase. And instead of asking, «What can I get you?» and letting you speak, the servers recite a list of questions you have to answer: «Would you like chips with that?» «Can I get you a beverage?» «Would you like to add dessert?» Of course Rick hopes to increase your check by an item or two, but to me it’s annoying to keep saying «No thank you» over and over.
With Latinicity now open just across the street, I will give this place a miss in future.

Food is okay, but the portion size is really really small. ($ 4 for one taco!)
I ordered one steak and one shrimp taco. The steak is very taste and no so tasty. The shrimp on the other hand is quite tasty, and fresh.
The major letdown is the price and portion size. This is a $ restaurant but in my opinion it should be a $$. The size of taco is way too small. I’ve been to Velvet taco which also sell expensive fusion taco and I like theirs better.
Also they sell «just fried» chips but this is not true, the chips and salsa is old.

Great food and fantastic staff. From the first appetizer that came across our table, ceviche on a cucumber through the main course of carne asada with refried beans and plantains. Everything was very tasty. My husband said the margaritas were some of the best he had ever had … And he loves them. We were there with a big group and service was still great. I purchased a Rick Bayliss cookbook. This place is a must if you like Mexican food.

Delicious and quick. Rick Bayless exceeds expectations with this fast casual restaurant in the Macy’s food court. I over indulged, but no regrets.
My order for lunch was a mushroom taco, sweet corn and green chile tamale, and the chips and guac. Obviously took some to the office for the rest of the day, but the taco and tamale were on point. The salsa’s are flavorful and the food is quick to come out. The chips were a little stale, but I got over it because the guac was delicious.
It’s a good thing I don’t work too close to here, because I would be coming way more than I need to.
Overall, a great stop for lunch!

The food here tastes amazing (sometimes), and I love all the options. However, the service and food preparations is a huge letdown.
The line gets pretty long during lunch time. I understand that they are usually super busy, but that doesn’t mean they can slack off and rush all of their orders.
Every time I get my food to go, there is something wrong with my order. Today, the bread on my torta was completely burnt and inedible! I saw the cook look at it and try to scrape the burnt areas off, but obviously, that didn’t work. If I am paying $ 10 for a torta, I better be getting my money’s worth. Other times, my torta, quesadilla, or taco is thrown together in such a sloppy fashion that when I open it up it completely falls apart. Don’t get me wrong, the flavors are great (pepito & cochinita pibil is yummy!)…but there’s no point if it isn’t put together properly.
I’m really disappointed because I love all of the Rick Bayless restaurants, but this place is overrated and not worth the money for service like this.

I was expecting more flavor from the food. I like the creativity of the menu and flavor combinations, but I wouldn’t want to spend my money here again. The juices are really tart by the way

This place is amazing. My friends and I were in a silent foodgasm while eating here. I had the Chipotle chicken sandwhich, I think the picture speaks for itself.

Go here a little later for lunch to avoid the long lines. I have found the best time to be around 1:30PM.
I head to Frontera for lunch every once in awhile on my lunch break. I usually get a fully loaded guacamole to share with my coworkers and then either the taqueria salad or the grilled steak tacos. The food is pretty tasty and for the amount of food isn’t too expensive. It’s also nice to sit towards the middle and people watch the different floors of Macy’s, or sit by the northwest corner and watch the Joffrey ballet practice.

I love visiting big cities and finding random little restaurants in the oddest locations. This restaurant is located in a Macy’s on the 7 th floor in a food court. Who would’ve thought I could find amazing Mexican in a food court!
I ordered the chicken and shrimp tacos and tortilla soup. The shrimp taco was okay, I thought it needed more toppings but the chicken taco and the tortilla soup were amazing! The tortilla soup had a really unique flavor and was filled with different flavors and it had avocado slices in it. I would definitely come back here and try something different next time. The tortas also looked amazing.

I have been going to this location for about a year now because although the food is pricey it was amazing. But after not going for 6 months. I decided to go and it was a major let down. Not sure if its the change of staff or what.
But anyways I ordered a shrimp taco and what used to be my favorite, the Corn and goat cheese tamale.
The shrimp tacos was small and the shrimp was flavorless, so i drowned it in salsa. The tamale consistency was of mush, hot mush which didn’t taste as good anymore.

I would like to thank previous Unilocalers for pointing out that this location is on the 7^th floor of Macy’s and that the express elevators will take you right there. As previous Unilocalers have mentioned the airport Frontera is a little better quality, and the line seems to move faster.
I suppose it’s my own fault for bringing people to this location at prime lunch hour on a Friday, but we only had 1.5 hours for lunch from a conference at UC’s Gleacher Center (a bit of a jaunt on such a warm day). The food was fine, and the jamaica agua fresca was wonderful. I deducted stars for: the length of the line & wait, and because I was a little less than blown away by my Queso Fundido huaraches (perhaps I was expecting a bit more cheese?).

This is a must see in Chicago.
The service is simply outstanding and they know their business well and they are trained well, very well.
Always on a wait, not only the Restaurant show in town, but it’s a happening place.
Make reservation before you get to chicago and then experience great Mexican food like you have never had.
The Treo is a must. The drinks are awesome too.
Guac and other dishes are amazing and done well.
The tamales are different and good.
My favorite new place in Chicago while traveling.
Make reservation though.
Great

«It’s better at the airport,» said no one ever… until now.
I have a love/​hate relationship with O’Hare airport. Namely I hate everything at O’Hare. I hate the airplanes, I hate the lines, I hate the delays, I hate… well, yeah, you get it. I hate everything about O’Hare EXCEPT Frontera.
Which, readers, leads me to this review. Was Frontera good at Macy’s? Absolutely. And as you can read from other reviewers here, you’d be remiss in not going. But it was nowhere near as good as the exact same thing at O’Hare. Was it the juxtaposition of the utter despair I feel at O’Hare? Perhaps due to the 3^rd delay in as many hours? Perhaps due to the fact I would then find out my plane would be cancelled from a case of the «we’re United and we do this kind of stuff to people because we can»?
Who knows, maybe it’s because it’s the only good thing in my life when I’m at O’Hare, but it just tastes better.

Holy moley these chicken tacos are SO SO yummy. I get 3 bc 2 is not enough!!! I literally could eat here everyday –twice a day!!!
I daydream about the chicken tacos all day and night. I’m like addicted!
Why is there no taco emoji!!!
They move pretty fast (made for you on the spot) and the ppl are nice. It’s inside of Macy’s on State on the same floor as the Oak Room.
Guacamole is legit but totally a separate item that should not be put on the tacos bc these tacos are PERFECTION
I Literally think about them daily and want to eat them everyday.

4 for the tortilla soup ($ 3.95 for a bowl and more than well worth the money!), but unfortuantely 1 for the huaraches ($ 7.95 for the chicken). I couldn’t find the express elevator since I entered on the wrong side of Macy’s (?). Well, they had convenient escalators all the way up — so it wasn’t too much of a delay.
I think my mistake was getting the huaraches. The masa was dry and not very good/​tasty. In turn, the toppings tasted poorly. I got through about half before deciding that it wasn’t worth it, then scraped off the toppings and ate those. On the other hand, the tortilla soup was fantastic. I would have ordered a ton of that if possible. The cheese and avocado they add are perfect little surprises at the bottom of the bowl.
If I worked in the Loop, I’d be here all the time. The service was fast and friendly. There are a lot of great selections of food from chefs that cost you a lot more cash otherwise (Rick Bayless, Marcus Samuelsson, Takashi Yagihashi).
Hint: make sure to get the stamp card, you can get a free meal after purchasing 7 in that food court.

I’m a big fan of Rick Bayless’ cooking so I had to try his restaurants. I usually get the chicken torta. The chicken is spicy, crispy, and hot! There are also black beans and a little bit of the green salsa inside the torta as well. The last time I went here I got the shrimp torta which came with black beans, salsa, and arugula. The bread is nice and crunchy, but not too crunchy that you hurt the roof of your mouth biting into the torta. Chips and salsa are always a good idea too!

Great front end for Rick Bayliss light meals. The guac and chips were superlative and the tacos were fresh and dreamy. Yes the corn tortilla soup was a knock-​out. Please come here and enjoy delicious food that is accessible and affordable!

I called yesterday afternoon to find out what time they closed. The lady was nice, but unfortunately gave me very inaccurate information.
She said «well…I know I get off at 3 o’clock, but I’ll have to check what time we actually close.» After a few minutes on hold, she let me know that they close at 8pm.
So… With this information, I continued with my plans to meet with friends before going to a performance. Unfortunately, I found a deserted 7^th floor at Macy’s. None of the restaurant were open. They were completely shut down. We had to scramble and run around the loop to find something to eat before our show. What made it worse was this caused us to be late for a show that we spent a lot of money on.
I was there, but never had the opportunity to try the food that I craved (after seeing the photos on Unilocal). Therefore, the one star has nothing to do with the food.
I will post a photo of their hours and, hopefully, spare this frustration for others.