Taqueria El Chorrito

amazing place. there are some of the best tacos you can get in chicago. the cochinita taco is always good… and the service is just great!
I always like this place late at night after I’ve been out drinking. But I also take friends there for lunch when we wan’t something quick but satisfying. I love the fact that when you go there for lunch you get a cup of soup.
very very good service!

Good God, some of these whiny reviews are just awful. It’s a simple, no frills place — if you go at a busy time, expect to wait a bit and don’t cry about it!
I’ve come here many times and always left very satisfied. It’s very affordable, delicious Mexican food. The waitresses are so friendly and love to chat when it’s slow. The only downside is if you go late at night, some of the clientele can be a little… interesting.

As of late February this place has been close for remodeling. It would be nice if they noted that on their site. Today is March 26^th and no signage on door giving any date for reopening.

The only good thing about this place was the actual food. Lemme give a break down:
Chips and salsa:
The chips were SO BLAND. Literally hard and old looking with no flavor or salt. It was served to us in a basket with two napkins laying on top of it and the waitress also brought out the green and red salsas… but in bottles. How on earth are we supposed to dip our chips in bottles? So long story short the chips were gross and the salsa was difficult to eat with them.
The food:
I personally got a chorizo taco and 2 corn tortilla steak quesadillas which were absolutely amazing. My friend got 2 steak tacos and said they were very good. The tacos were relatively big and came with many toppings (although we ordered them almost plain). Overall, no real complaints about the food.
The service:
So. Horrible.
The waitress was okay most of the time but was very short with us. Towards the end my friend and I were going to pay but I had a question about the check and the waitress just decided it would be easier to have separate checks. The waitress said «Oh so you’re paying credit?» before leaving the table. We had a bus to catch so we stood up at the counter to pay and when I tried to hand her my card and she said «oh, we don’t take credit, only cash.» Are you kidding me? Why wouldn’t she bring that up while she was at the table, she obviously recognized we were paying by card before. I just handed her cash and we walked out.
The physical restaurant:
It is tiny and pretty shabby. The menus and just up at the counter and you have to get them yourself. There were probably a total of 4 tables and 4 chairs at a counter, probably all of which could use tightening. Everything seemed kind of dirty and out of date.
Overall, I really wanted to like this place. We put in a lot of effort to get there and were severely disappointed as soon as we walked into the tiny restaurant and were served the bland chips. The service was so horrible that it doesn’t matter how good the tacos were, we will absolutely not be returning.

I am getting annoyed at this place… On a Friday and Saturday nights, this place does well from its bar patrons next door… Taqueria El Chorrito needs to appreciate the amount of business that we bring in your doors…
That late night server girl can be quite rude and indifferent. How about a smile and waiting on the tables and bringing some chips out? Are you going to go bankrupt putting out a small bowl of chips? Seriously… Maybe we should pass a hat in the bars and take up a collection for you.
While the food is very good, your attitude has gone south. Don’t be too surprised when the boys walk over to the new restaurant in the works across the street.
Wake up or you’ll loose your clientele and business!
You’re not that special, honey!

Holy MOLE!!!
Wow. Just finished work and lo and behold, Taqueria El Chorrito has come through and made my day/​night/​morning/​whatever this time is! And boy did I need it.
After hearing rave reviews tonight, I finally decided to give this place a whirl. Why had I not before… Friendly and fast service, affordable, and unique! I sampled… am still eating most of, no judgement… the chicken mole quesadilla, a steak super taco, and a lengua burrito. SO FLAVORFUL! The lengua is cooked perfectly, totally tender and juicy — fresh vegetables, creamy goodness, and, although I am not a mole expert, a very pleasant peppery (but not overly spicy) quesadilla. I *was* hoping I’d get some more of the ripe avocado and lettuce that I saw piled on other folks’ plates (there was some in my super taco but I think they may have left it out on the burrito though I asked for it?), and the burrito’s tortilla, 15 minutes in, is falling apart in quite a melty way… but whatever, it tastes great and I am happy THANK YOU T.E.C whoooo! And nope, not drunk. =D

Didn’t care much for the thin charred burrito, but the taste and tenderness of the beef was on point.
Was upset that online and here it said they’re open late/​24 hours on Friday, but when we came back for more at 5a, they were closed. UPDATE TIME PLEASE.

I would give it negative stars if I could. I came here after a few drinks and decided to have some food, The girl behind the counter was rude, could care less about customer service and obviously didn’t want to be there. When we finally got out food it tasted good and half way thru a cockroach fell from the ceiling into my food. When notifying the waitstaff or yet again Girl who was behind the counter she didn’t look my way, didn’t care and kept doing whatever she was doing. She was basically waiting for us to leave. There was only 2 other people in the restaurant and I could have made a scene as they looked like they were enjoying their meal, but I just sat there waiting for some kind of interaction with someone who would say sorry or anything, she finally grabs the plate throws it in the dirty dish bin and throws my money at me on the counter and walks off. No Sorry, NOTHING. If you like rude customer service and bugs falling into your food then please come here and eat.

This place has some of the best tacos I’ve had in Chicago. The lengua and fish tacos are especially good and don’t cater to banal American tastes.

Good Mexican food right on my block. Very clean place. I had a burrito and it was great!

Been coming here since the 1990s and lately (last few years) the quality is pretty consistent. Carne asada tacos range from good to phenomenal when the chef is on. Taco dinner with 2 tacos rice and beans is only $ 7 and change. Open 24 hours!!!

One of the best pork tacos in the city.

went here the other nite & had 2 steak tacos with onions and cilantro. my friend got the super tacos but unsure as to what kind. however she enjoyed her food & i did as well. he steaks were flavorful and they werent stingy with the meat in each taco. the place itself is pretty small but we ordered it to go anyway. it seemed like we waited for a while before we received our food but i think somebody else took our food order instead of theirs so they had to remake our food. no big deal to me since i wasnt in a hurry. if im in this area i would definitely stop by here for some good cheap eats!

5 stars.
For a taqueria, these folks point for the fence and slam it home. Every time. Great food, decent service.
Ambience is meh, but its A TACO STAND, not the four seasons, what did you expect?
Recommend: guac. Chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. Horchata, of course. Steak tacos with grilled onions and cilantro.

A fantastic taqueria, El Chorrito satisfies my Al Pastor cravings. $ 2.25/taco and two will easily fill an adult up. Sublime salsa verde, and open late. $ 10 credit card minimum. And the large horcharta is HUGE and a steal.

I always get 2 steak super tacos and it always always hits the spot. They are very generous with their toppings. Like, you have to pick at it with a fork before you can pick up the taco and take a bite. I just don’t understand why it’s so good. I just keep coming back.
I have tried anything else on the menu, but my friend like the quesadillas. I think how they cook their steak is delicious so anything on the menu with steak will probably be good.
I know it doesn’t look like the cleanest place, but that doesn’t matter. You go there for the food. If you go for 2 steak super tacos, I guarantee that you will leave saying «the spot was hit.»

Yummy!
I had both the pastor and chicken super tacos here and I thought they were DELICIOUS. They’re also open late, so that’s a major plus. I found the food to be incredibly filling and the ingredients, for what they were, to be fresh. This is not the place to go for a nutritional meal but it’s great tasting, delicious Mexican fast food. FYI, seating is very limited and if you go on a cold day, like I did, cold air will disrupt you meal every time someone opens the door.

Great breakfast burrito.
I like the lady behind the counter. She laughed at my stupid joke :)

A disclaimer: I’ve never patronized El Chorrito sober, and likely never will. That said, it’s a great late night drunking burrito place; everyone has to have one. Though dollar for dollar, The Little Mexican Café blows it out of the water, its hours, speed, and good humor make it great for when I’m frequently drinking next door at Norse.
I’m giving it a 4 star pendant on being drunk and looking for food post 1 AM.

It’s literally the closest taqueria to my apartment in a land of a million taquerias. But I dont go here out of convenience, I go here because it’s pretty good! It’s the standard taco stand fare plus limited American food (why) selections. I’ve never had anytihing other than tacos and orange juice but that’s all I really get at these corner taco joints. They have one of those fancy machines that cranks out the fresh orange juice. It’s fun to watch!
On my last visit they let me bring my bike inside and didnt make a fuss about it. Nice!