La Donita

A great Lil spot colorful walls and nice décor not much in the way of drinks… pops and juarito only oh and corona. Ok the bad first menu is in Spanish kinda hard to understand and filled with corrections and spelling mistakes… that’s all… now the good… the food is amazing… the chicken wings kinda tasted like the wings from mama Mia next door. large portions for everything bring an empty stomach.

I have tried the tacos here and gotta say they are very tasty and good. Just the way I like them cilantro and onions. Salsa and chips, AWESOME.

Hidden gem! This place was awesome! We have been on the lookout for a new authentic Mexican restaurant since our last favorite place was bought out. This is not your typical cheap crappy Mexican food that you are used to. This is authentic food that you would actually get if you attended a Mexican family party, or if you traveled to Mexico. They have the most amazing plates with grilled cecina (thinly sliced grilled aged steak), marinated thinly sliced griiled pork, and choriqueso (chorizo with melted cheese). Their salsas are delicious, and the beans are authentic. We have found our new favorite place, and cannot wait to go back.

I will not return due to the fact that it is my first time here and the cashier tried to take me for 33% more for being a gringo. Little does she know I am fluent in Spanish and my two closest college friends were name Luis and Pablo. I have a genuine appreciation for the Latin cultures but people like this make me sick. Had to question about the bill twice and they still tried to screw me. Muy mala! If you don’t speak Spanish, you will get ripped off here. So I just finished eating and on top of all the other stuff, the food was mediocre at best. The guacamole was avocado pieces mixed with tomatoes and onions! It’s not even guacamole!!! What a waste, lots of other options in the near vicinity. No Bueno! Try Los Sombreros across the street.

We were driving around looking for a family run Mexican restaurant so decided to try it out.
The decorations? Hmm. It was decked out in creepy Halloween stuff but I don’t care about décor as much as food. But I was pleasantly surprised when the menu was in Spanish, not English. That was a good sign! I didn’t know if they offered a cheese enchilada dinner, but they were happy to come up with one when I asked. It was yummy! My friend had chile rellenos and loved it too!
Deducted one star because my friends food came out much earlier than mine, and people that came in after us, were served before my enchilada’s came out. But… it WAS worth waiting for!

Authentic, delicious mexican food. You won’t find much better. Done in classic mexican style. You won’t find lettuce, sour cream and other garbage stuffed on their food. Love the home made tortilla. Four stars because of the outdated décor. Try it. You will love it

The worse food ever! Besides the food being worse it’s the customer service! By the way not all Latinos like soccer, when I’m paying for service and I want to see the Cubs play then please put on the Cubs. Don’t give me crap and sprinkle sugar on it and call it candy!
Waste of money and time!

I agree that this is a hidden gem and a seemingly authentic Mexican one at that. A colleague of mine, from Mexico originally, mentioned it and said that when she went there, she felt like she was ‘back home.’ My wife and I went there and found that although it was not the greatest ambiance within the restaurant, a bit tired in fact, the food and the service made up for it. The mole sauce was literally to die for, the homemade tortillas were amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely return.

Amazing! What a hidden gem. I am a regular with the pork tacos for lunch. Spicy, flavorful, and authentic. They dont serve it with lettuce, rice, sour cream, guac, and all that mumbo jumbo (Of course you can get it all on the side), but this is authentic mexican cooking served with chopped onions, cilantro and a roasted jalapeño and green onions on the side. Delish!

Instead of getting better…
They will serve you your burrito with french fries.
Thanks, the Portillo’s is just around the corner and I can have french fries there. And it was sort of funny when they had the weird shaped fries, but lately i have been getting some saggy fat drenched potato. I expect something better from a Mexican restaurant, especially when I see Latinos sitting there all the time.
No beans? Ever since when you go to an authentic Mexican restaurant and don’t get your serving of the beans? Also, the salsa: I usually as for «additional» one”. The lat time I was not served any.
You guys need to pick up your act, you just might get busy.

Atmosphere: Quiet & Dim. Good place to get work done. Not sure if they have wifi though.
Something about the place makes it feel sticky.
Food: authentic. I always get their steak tacos and it’s authentic bc they only put cilantro on it and onions. For a dollar more– they can add lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Their chicken tacos are made the way i heard about it in Mexico–
Pulled off the bone– one whole piece.
Only flaw is they have a sign on the door claiming they accept all forms of credit cards. It’s false advertisement– they only take Visa/​MasterCard.

Excellent! Had a very unexpected surprise when out of the blue stopped at this place. The salsas are not mild, hot, but really good.
Had the freshly on the table made guacamole, to die for! Then the fun begun.. a molcajete, nopales, grilled onion, rice, arracherra, oh what a true delish!

The carne asada burrito and gordita were a huge disappointment :(! The meat tasted as if it had been sitting at the bottom of the frying pan for hours! The meat that wasn’t fried to a crisp was grizzly or just pure fat. It was so bad, that we couldn’t even finish our food. Not to mention that the burrito was more tex-​mex, rather than Mexican, with corn & carrots inside.
The only thing that helped this place get a star was the nice seating areas and music.

Food isn’t bad, slow but not bad. And you might have a good meal…
So long as you don’t believe any specials in the window.
Stopped for lunch. Hadn’t been here in in about 2 years, since they moved from across the street. Taco special in window, $ 5.99 with a drink. When I ordered the waitress told me «oh, it’s $ 6.99 sorry, and no drink.» Huh? OK, I said. When I went to pay, the taco plate was $ 10.99.
Food isnt bad but I wont be back. Too expensive for area/​what you get. If I want to eat in the area I’ll drive to Los Compadres in Mt Prospect, taco plate $ 7. Sorry I hate panning family businesses like this but that was a rub. $ 11 for a taco plate in a Des Plaines taqueria…

Love this place! Authentic Mexican food. Reminds me of my moms home cooked meals. Portion size is good for the price and flavor is on point. I always look forward going there.
1,000 times better then nasty Comales!

Surprisingly Great Food in a hidden location. These guys take authentic Oaxacan, they don’t claim to be anything else. The food is excellent! They also have some meals you can’t find anywhere else. Cactus in your soup — yes please!

I must say I was prepared for the worst but expecting the best after reading all of the mixed reviews, however…
I consider myself a Mexican restaurant snob having traveled many times out of my way to score some authentic tacos…
That being said, this place screams authentic. From the second I called in my order to the last bite of my taco dinner. And they try to satisfy everyone. Case in point, you can order the tacos «American style» or «Mexican style». I naturally opted for the Mexican style which came with cilantro and onion and their delicious salsa verde.
So if you’re in the mood and in the neighborhood, you should definitely check this place out as you won’t be disappointed. That is unless you frequent places like Taco Bell.

They moved, still @ Potter and Ballard just across the street.

Having read decent reviews on Unilocal,we decided to try this out. The flavors are authentic and taste good, but the food is very greasy. The service was slow, there was only one lady working and the restaurant was empty. It seems they might be popular for their Oaxacan dishes, but we got a taco dinner and chalupa. The tacos were okay, but the steak was so oily, same like the chips that came out when we first got seated. The chicken and lengua tacos were okay, again quite greasy. Although we like the authenticity of the food, we wouldn’t go back.

Love this place. It’s the kind of place I can see on food network’s DDD. From the outside, it doesn’t look terribly inviting. My wife of all people wanted to try this out, and she did good. This is a family run organization with delicious homey meals.
We’ve tried a bunch of dishes. We actually came here twice in one week. The ones that stand out for me are the chorizo and papas huaracha and the chicken enchiladas withe oaxacan mole. Both really awesome. You don’t see oaxacan mole too often. There are a lot of great options here. Home made tortillas, pastor tacos with pineapple, I can go on.
Good prices too. Seriously like sitting down to a home cooked meal.