Guanajuato

I have been eating here with my wife 2 – 3 times/​month ever since it opened and have never had a disappointing meal. Frankly, I’m mystified by the 1– and 2-​star reviews. I can highly recommend the enchiladas poblano featuring a complex mole. The snapper Vera Cruz is truly amazing — it’s a whole fish that’s been deep fried and served with poco de gallo. Last, I love this place because (in addition to having great food and a very friendly staff), they have an extensive and thoughtful list of beer and ale. Salud!

Just ate here. It’s absolutely awesome.
The food: I got the chicken El Molcajete. It was incredible. Might be the best Mexican dish I’ve ever had. Wife got the duck enchilada. I was not a fan of the mole — too chocolatey, not enough spice — but that’s why I didn’t get it. The salsa was really interesting, in a good way.
The drinks: Best Margarita I’ve had since the closing of El Jardin Del Norte. If you like Margaritas that are sweet (all lime juice and simple syrup or sweet+sour mix), you won’t like it. If you like the flavor of tequila, you’ll love it. I got the one with the Grand Marnier and my wife got the house Margarita. Both were absolutely awesome. This is going to be my regular spot to get a drink this summer. Might be the best Margarita I’ve ever had.
The rest: We were seated right away. They had crayons for my toddler and the staff was very friendly. Waters were refilled regularly, the food didn’t take long, and the atmosphere was pleasant.

First the good… Nice family run restaurant. Good salsa and they will
Give you a very spicy habanera upon request. Nice wine selection. Live music when we have come on the weekend! The bad… $ 16 for three cheese enchiladas is pretty insane (and the waitress would not ask the kitchen if I could mix up the sauces with 3 different cheese enchiladas)… It was worth an ask given the price!

Easily my favorite Mexican restaurant! Lunch menu is perfect… inexpensive, large portions and freaking delicious! Friendly and attentive staff keep me coming back:)

Can’t figure out some of these reviews. I go here probably twice a month and never have a bad experience. The margaritas are awesome and so is the food. It can be a bit pricey with drinks but I expect that. Don’t let the negative reviews stop you. This is one of the best Mexican restaurants in the city or suburbs.

Live in the City surrounded by dozens of fantastic Mexican spots, but this may be the best Mexican in the city or the north shore. The el molcajete is unreal. Had almost everything on this menu, and never been disappointed. Shocked by such negative reviews on here, but you also have to understand the neighborhood it’s in, most people in that area are hard to please… if you know what I mean.

Best Mexican in the North Shore!!! Friendly service, excellent margaritas, the best guacamole of anywhere! I am very picky about fresh avocados and they are always fresh here. Also, the fish is amazing here:) I have no complaints. My daughter has a dairy allergy and they are extremely accommodating. Great place for the whole family or a casual date.

Best mexican food on the north shore. Great service and great prices. You can’t beat Guanajuato!

I eat here about once a week. There is a lot of love that is put into this place. You can just tell. As a vegetarian, this place just hits the spot. Chef Giovanni is a genius when it comes to unique savory ingredients and hearty flavors. Not only is the food really good, the staff/​management are excellent as well as the cozy intimate atmosphere. They have always been accommodating towards my vegetarian diet and helpful with my options. I’m from the SW, so I am pretty critical of Mexican food and this place does it for me like no other. Chips and salsa are always fresh and to die for. The Grilled Veggie Burrito is possibly the best I’ve ever had of it’s kind. The Tacos and Tostada del Campo are pretty amazing as well. They also have a complete bar menu with several great bottled beers and several tequilas on hand.

Soooo I’ve been avoiding this Mexican restaurant, which is conveniently located down the street from our house, for years due to the average Unilocal reviews. When a friend booked it for a recent moms night out I silently cringed, but said I’d attend since I’m not one to pass up a GNO (and margarita).
There turned out to be no margartias on this particular night, but there was sangria. And while it wasn’t the best sangria I’ve ever had it sure beat putting the kids to bed.
As for the food and service I’m going with 4 stars. The shrimp tacos I ordered were good, although not quite as good as those at the nearby Taco Nano*. But yes, I’d order the shrimp tacos again. The staff at Guanojuato kept the food coming and made sure our glasses were filled with sangria. The owner happened to be present that night and a fellow mom mentioned she find the service to be better when she’s around.
I’ll be back… perhaps next time with the husband (and even kids) in tow.
*

The food here never disappoints. If you think that mediocre Tex-​Mex is authentic Mexican food then don’t come here. The food is delicious, fresh and authentic
.

The worst Mexican food in Chicagoland. Poor quality presentation, ingredients and taste. Drinks are great at the bar. Bartenders are great. But, sorry food is slop. There are so many great authentic Mexican restaurants around who needs to pay the over inflated prices for a bunch of beans.

This deserves higher than a 3.0 avg rating I feel. I imagine it is tough to please people in this community though.
They have a wine selection that is simpler/​smarter than many restaurants that purport themselves to be winecentric. It would be in their interest to maybe include some other cocktails in their drink list. It is clear though that the mission is to be very tequila-​forward. I found the quality of the House Especial margarita to be quite good.
The salsa is pleasant, little heat but nice freshness. Chips are not particularly ambitious, but well salted.
Guacamole was not noteworthy, not to say great or bad. It was of a very ‘soft’ make. Lacking acid and salt a bit for me, but clean and fresh. I liked that the guacamole is available with jicama/​cucumber/​radish.
Though they don’t display such, you are able to get items (goat taco in my case) a la carte. This is hugely important to me, but I find it better to not have to ask. I understand the reasons, but getting people to try more things is excellent business.
Our server was a pleasant, sincere guy. I was brought the wrong soup even after we had double-​clarified. I didn’t mention it though, as the Tortilla Soup looked great, and it was very nice.
The goat taco was very good. Juicy, hydrated, healthy (but dead, no worries) it was not stringy or dry or gamey. It is much like a light barbacoa, which is what they call it.
The steak special tonight was good. Hangar steak, well cooked. The only bit about it to take umbrage with is that a special should be divergent from a standard every-​day menu item, or with a price-​incentive. There was neither.
There was an overall positive vibe here and Chef came out to speak with tables, seeming very enthusiastic and genuine about his food, fresh ingredients and their bevy of tequilas. Appreciated the passion without pretense.

The hubby & I were on our way to the Wilmette Summer Fest where we were volunteers in the Beer & Wine Garden (that was total fun!) and decided to grab a quick dinner at Guanajuato (please don’t ask me how to pronounce it… IDK).
Sat in the bar and were greeted by the bartender telling us he «would be right there». Wished I kept the bill, I think his name was Thomas but, whoever he was, he gave us great service!
I ordered the white wine Sangria & the hubby his usual coke. Thomas told me to take a sip of the Sangria which I did. It wasn’t so good but, I tried not to be so picky. So, I said it was fine. Thomas said he didn’t make it and if I wanted he would make me HIS white wine Sangria. After another 3 sips, I beckoned to Thomas, the original Sangria was undrinkable. He said no problem «let me make you mine».
OMG! Honestly, one of the best white wine Sangria’s I have ever drank! Bursting with vibrant flavors: orange, lemon, apples, and yes… I could taste the wine along with fresh mint. Wish I could’ve ordered a 2^nd one but, we were off to Wilmette’s Summer Fest. Volunteers cannot be late.
We ordered the Nachos a la Mexicana with a side of guacamole, delicious!
Hope to return for a relaxing meal where we can take our time and I can enjoy that 2^nd Sangria!

Tasty. My husband always eats the goat taco. He’s always talking about the goat.

This is the best Mexican restaurant we have found on the North Shore after looking for the last two decades. I am surprised by other reviewers’ comments about lack of authenticity. My wife grew up in Mexico, we both enjoy the food there in the places that don’t cater to tourists, and the food here makes us both feel we are back there again. It is certainly not the Tex-​Mex style that many Americans might view as «authentic Mexican», although they do offer mainstays like fajitas that seem to be a north-​of-​the-​border obsession.
The fresh ingredients that Guanajuato uses in their homemade salsas make them so much better than the canned alternatives. If you are looking to really spice things up, ask them to bring one of their more robust choices — I like the one made from chile de arbol. The seafood dishes are especially good, but I often can’t resist the steak choices or the goat tacos. If you can resist the cliché of margaritas (which are excellent), try one of the wine choices. I personally find that the zinfandel goes well the spice palette in the meat dishes.

Excellent. I would go with the tortilla soup and the carne asada. Don’t forget the margaritas! Excellent selection and variety. Skinny margaritas are excellent. We often come to relax and enjoy after a tough day.

One of my favorite places in the area. We do dine in and carry out all of the time. Try any of the seafood main courses or specials and you will not be disappointed.. . authentico…
They also have a straight habanero salsa, which is pure heat, but amazing.
They have a lunch special which is hard to beat as well — like $ 5 burittos or tacos.

I didn’t listen to the other mediocre reviews because I thought, «This is the North Shore so I’m sure these rich peeps have deluded expectations.» Oh how judgmental and wrong I was.
The quality is minimally palatable for the price. I also lived in AZ for four years so I feel like there are some basic standards for Mexican. Not met here.
Staff is super friendly and attentive, but unless they change chefs or the prices, we won’t be back.

The place: music playing, welcoming staff, decent sized place, but then again, these are the suburbs — space isn’t the same commodity that it is in the city. The staff is attentive… almost to a fault. One server came and refilled the water, and not 30 seconds later another server poured water literally up to the brim… I hadn’t even taken a sip, and didn’t really need my water to almost spill. Also one server started to grab my utensils when I was still working on my plate, I just put them down for a moment. That was a little weird.
The taste: decent, a little overpriced. The taco salad is served in a large shell that was fun to eat, but a little tricky too. I like mixing all of my salad ingredients, but with this layout, you have to eat layer by layer, or take things out… so it tasted good but was a little more challenging. We also got some tacos, that were really tasty.
My face: The damage — around $ 32 for 2 people. Not terrible with no drinks on a Friday night. Would try it again because the flavors are good, but I probably wouldn’t order this salad again.