La Cuchara Restaurant & Bar

First time visitor! We visited the restaurant on a Saturday evening at 5:00…we had a party of 16. When we arrived we were asked about a reservation… I called and was told the restaurant doesn’t accept reservations on nights when there is an event at the United Center. Ok…12 members of our party were on time and seated. Four members showed up late. The original 12 we ordered our entrées and drinks and got them in a timely manner. once the four additional guest arrived we let our server know immediately they had joined the party. The server took their orders and disappeared. The four late comers waited almost an hour and a half before they received tacos! The manager apologized repeatedly for their orders not being put in in a timely manner nevertheless it didn’t make us happy and they offered no concessions for the inconvenience of sitting there for such an extended time! Hence the three stars otherwise the good is five star and the Margaritas were amazing… must try: Jalapeño Margarita and believe it or not the Cucumber Margarita!

Brilliant front house manager very young but very clued up. Good job kid.

Food was decent for the price. Service is super slow on a Saturday night. Took them 45 mins to bring out appetizer and almost one hour and a half for them to bring out tacos dish. We bought groupon to try the place. We wouldn’t come back here on a Saturday night again. We wouldn’t mind the slow service if we didn’t have the show to catch at united center.

I was craving tacos and I’m sure glad I called this place up. I ordered delivery because I was too lazy to go out. The food came surprisingly fast. It said 45 – 60 minutes for the wait time but the food came within 30 minutes, so that was super pleasant.
From what I’ve tasted, it’s delicious and I wouldn’t mind ordering from them again. I ordered the Arrachera, Picadillo, and Pescado tacos. All of them super tasty with just enough cilantro, not overpowering nor underwhelming. On top of that, I ordered the Arrachera burrito and scarfed that down in just about under a minute. The meat was tender, it was cheesy, and if you add the red sauce it comes with, it gives a smokey flavor with a subtle spice at the end.
Delicious food and it sure beats the hell out of TBK.

Tortas are amazing! I also loved the deconstructed corn! Yum!

We came all the way from Evanston to get here around 6:45pm last night to find them completely… closed. No sign, nothing on their website, just closed. During the time we were sitting there in shock over the fact that we traveled 30 minutes to get there for no reason, we saw other potential customers come and go to the door and sit in their cars in the same state of shock. I could understand if it was a holiday (like NYE, Christmas Eve, or even the day after Thanksgiving) but to close early on Jan 2 with absolutely no notice anywhere absolutely sucks.
Shame on you La Cuchara. Get it together.

Hidden gem located in a strip mall.
The margaritas were delicious and I loved that they had some vegan/​vegetarian options. The avocado tacos were delicious !! Soooo good that I can’t wait to go back … Battered and fried avocado in fresh tortillas with all the fixings !

Visiting Chicago from New York city and used to the big diverse of good food, came to Chicago to get to know the city and i got very disappointed with the restaurants i visited until i found this small joint by mistake, which i ended up been very happy for taste of its food and such good drinks, specially the jalapeño margarita and the horchata martini. Give it a try, wont regret it !

Came to La Cuchara after purchasing a Groupon – servers were very friendly and gave great suggestions. Food was good, especially the gringa taco and the queso fundido with mushrooms. The margaritas were huge and strong (a great thing) but the wine pours were really small (less than 4oz, easily). All in all, I would return to this place to try some of the other items on the menu – everything we had was delicious. The Groupon was an awesome value.

First impression wasn’t great because there was a homeless guy in the parking lot waiting to ask us for money the minute we parked the car. I honestly considered leaving right then and there. I’m glad I stayed though, the restaurant is very clean, the servers are friendly, the menu is diverse and the food is delicious. We tried the guacamole, Mexican corn, mushroom quesadillas, an avocado taco, skirt steak taco, fish taco and gringa taco. Everything was delicious. The gringa taco was especially delicious! We probably wouldn’t order the avocado one again though, the menu said it was beer battered but it had a very strong beer flavor that was a bit too much for me. The best part is that the total bill was only $ 30! What a steal! Good food, friendly and fast service, and low prices — can’t wait to go back!

The service, quality of food, prices, and portions are outstanding. Came to the restaurant searching for a new Mexican restaurant away from the Pilsen area. Las Cuchara’s ambience and food are great. They definitely gain new customers from the area.
Plates ordered: Chilaquiles and Steak w/​bacon Shish Kabobs «Alambres»
Margaritas are great and strong!

Had a groupon and opted to check this place out, its not the best mexican food but its not the worst. Fish and shrimp tacos each had refried pinto beans and the beans clashed with the lime and salsa I put in the tacos so my stomach was hurting. Service was outstanding which is why I couldnt give less stars, will go back and try something else (not seafood). They play good music, this place has a nice ambiance but last call was at 8:45 so that was a bummer, they should stay open later.

Best New Mexican «fusion» in Chicago.
1) amazing margaritas. Fresh take on classics? How about cucumber & tamario kind!
2) «sandwitches» aka tamales with bread … just delicious. iFilled with Caramelized onions, ingredients, etc. (I had cubanito. Rico!)
Even quack is different fresh
Great service, they got full bar & the grilled green onion was my «cherry on top»

This place is super close to my job, fairly priced, and absolutely delicious. I’ve had two of their entrée specials and have yet to be disappointed. I can’t wait to visit during after work hours to grab a drink.

What the hell happened to this place? When they first opened, not only did the food taste great, but it looked beautiful. I went there today for some of their specialty tacos togo, and they were all smashed together. It looked like someone threw up and then sat on my tacos. The ground beef one was alright, but I remember the fish being amazing, so I was excited to scarf that down next. The fish taco tasted like cheap frozen tilapia. The third and final taco, the avocado one, was the worst of all. After the first bite my stomach started to hurt. I tossed out most of the tacos after starting to feel really ill. I kind of feel ripped off for paying $ 3.50 for each taco. I’m just gonna stick with my local Las Asadas steak tacos. Pretty sad, this place had so much potential in the beginning.

We had the nachos, Pepito Torta, and Chicken torta. The nachos had few ingredients, which we expected. But there was barely any cheese on them. It seemed as though it was a bunch of beans and jalapenos. Wish I took a picture since it didnt compare to the picture posted on Unilocal.The Pepito torta was supposed to be served open faced, but they closed it — guessing they didnt want to use the proper container for takeout. The steak lacked salt and the chiptole mayo was too sweet. Coupled with the grilled onions, the sandwhich lacked spice you expect from a chiptole mayo. My boyfriend didnt like his chicken torta and we had no desire to try each others food. We will not be going back to try anything else on the menu. I gave it 2 stars because the place looked set up well, wish the food matched.

The food here is descent, but not the greatest. It’s close to my office, so it made sense to frequent here often with a friend that lives close by too. If you’re in the neighborhood and need to grab a quick bite, then this is the spot if you’re craving mexican food. I used to eat here quite frequently, until they became dismissive of the fact that they would screw up my order ‘every single time’! This is not a joke people. It literally happened 8 straight times. Their solution for customer service is offering me an apology and a soda on the house. Really?! That lets me know that this place may be doomed in the near future. The owner is cheap, and doesn’t understand how to truly serve the customer, nor how to problem solve with his staff.
People don’t mind a wait staff making mistakes here and there, but to make the same mistake with the same person over and over again is a little unprofessional. But it’s okay, because I’ll never be back to this place again. There are much better mexican choices in the West Loop! Be sure to seek them out! Cheers.
PS — One last crappy thing about this place, is that they only show soccer. They are only 2 or 3 blocks away from the United Center, and they refuse to play local sports on the TV. Oh, and they play trashy european club music ALL DAY LONG. Yikes!

Not bad. I ordered delivery and it arrived fairly quickly. Ordered the guac and salsa and they were ok and good size. The steak burrito was a nice size, and that tasted ok as well.
This place is in-​between. It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst. Would I order again? I would. It’s hard ordering delivery from a mexican restaurant and expecting delish food.

I went here for drinks one day while staying a weekend downtown. I love creative/​original cocktails and this place really impressed me. The jalapeño margarita is a MUST try, as well as the horchata martini. The only minor complaint that I have is that the drinks took a little long… I understand that specialty drinks take longer to make, but considering the very small amount of customers that were there, it was a little lengthy. Regardless, I can’t wait to go back to try their food and other drinks! If you want to try cocktails that you haven’t had anywhere else, come here :)

Great location, I decided to try this place on my way to visit my parents. Loved the fact they are in an area I can park and quickly get my food. I ordered a bunch of stuff, one of every soup, cilantro green salad and dinner enchilada special. Everything was delicious. I enjoyed the cilantro soup a lot! I will be back :-)