El Alamo Mexican Grill & Bar

3 times in a row this place fucked up my carry out order.
1^st time order on grubhub. Call 35min later asking when i food will be here. Girl responds yes we got your order. Would you like us to start in now… Wtf no start it tomorrow or when your have the free time. Took another 30 min to get food when says 10min on delivery
2^nd time order torta with steak and guacamole. Gives me bread and guac… No steak! Wtf
3^rd time. Order 2 torta with 1 steak and guac other steak, everything & guac. When i pick up i went over order 2 times. Guy says yes that what you got.
OMFG no guac!!! Plus my order was sitting there for 10 min before they handed it to me.

Generous portions with respect to what your getting. Kind and considerate people behind the wheel doing a great job. The food is tastes very good and is a good place to grab a bite or stuff the belly. A+

One our our favorite places. Love the grilled pineapple with steak and shrimp. Always tastes delicious but sometimes they will forget to add some of the ingredients. Salsa is sometimes really hot. Love the shrimp cocktail also!
Manager Juaquim is such a nice guy.
We will keep coming back.

I came here on a Sunday evening around 5pm and it was pretty packed I must say. We brought the kiddos with us and with our friends so we had quite a big table that we sat at. It was a little loud as they have a music box where people can pay and listen to music. The atmosphere is definitely lively and overall we had a nice time. Our server was very nice and accommodating throughout the meal, she literally went above and beyond to try to make us happy which is always a plus. I absolutely loved the salsa that they serve here, it was spicy and tangy and the perfect consistency so I definitely enjoyed that. The chips were okay, not the best I’ve had.
The food took a little while to bring all our stuff, she mixed up one of my tacos so I ended up getting an extra one on the house which was nice of them. The actual food was so so, they have speciality tacos with the marinated pork and melted cheese that have a little extra umph that a taco really needs, coupled with their delicious salsa, now those are pretty good. The other tacos we had including the simple al pastor, the steak taco, the shrimp tacos were all kind of blah. They weren’t horrible but they weren’t amazing either. They were just mediocre tacos. The prices were average compared to all the places around, but I wish the food stood out a little more.
Upon leaving, I saw they has some fresh churros on the counter that I wish I had tried since I’m definitely a fan but I figured I consumed enough calories with all the Mexican food alone. I’m not sure that i’m dying to go back since there’s a few places around that I prefer more, but they definitely get a few stars for being super friendly and nice. That’s impressive by itself.

Love the El Diablo torta… Salsa is good (chips can use an upgrade)
Tried there dinner menu for taco and Poblano pepper… a good option to have. Or go for Fajitas… the best.

Went for a spontaneous lunch with colleagues and ordered enchiladas. The restaurant is nothing fancy but the food is very authentic and delicious. Also try their big glass of margarita for only 3.99. Overall, the quality of the food as well as the service was great. Will definitely return.

Great service. The tacos were a little small but it was lunch The price was excellent the chips and salsa was good price was right Have to come back for dinner. Try it. It was also very clean. I first look at the windows. If the windows are clean, generally the restaurant is clean.

This place is awesome! Very clean, friendly and great service. The steak torta was awesome! They even had the original Rocky on TV there. I will be back to this place without a doubt!

Not only is the food good, the manager/​owner is incredibly nice! We ordered delivery through a delivery service and they forgot our churros. When we called the restaurant to have them just credit our card back, the owner himself (since they don’t have a driver) came and brought the churros to our house! THAT’S stellar customer service. I’m glad I found a local Mexican joint I love! Will definitely order from here again :) PS the chimis are HUGE!!! :)

This place is awesome, but you’d completely miss it if you weren’t looking for it. We only found it because we moved to the area and saw how great the ratings and reviews were already!
We’ve eaten here about 5 times in the past 2 weeks, and we absolutely love it. They start you off with free chips and salsa, which is a great start considering they are some of the best chips I’ve ever had.
We’ve tried a variety of things already, but our favorites are the chorizo tacos, the chorizo burrito, the shrimp tacos, and the chilaquiles. Everything is so fresh and delicious and the prices are completely reasonable.
Oh, and the service is awesome too! The waitresses are so friendly and they always have a smile on their face. Even during the busy lunchtime rush your food comes out quickly!

Good Mexican joint in suburbs. The tacos and burritos are big and filling.
The margaritas are ok and are a little diluted with ice. Good ambiance and play loud music at night.

Food is alright… the carne asada is little sub-​par but tacos were good overall. The low rating is due to horrendous service. The servers are completely non-caring…and ALWAYS miss out on important items when we order take-​out. We ask them each time when we go for pick up, and they will answer yes and that they did put it in. The bag is tightly tied, so we just trust their words. come home… and find out something is always missing!!!
2 instances of no salsa, 2 instances of no tortilla, 1 instance of wrong tortilla, and 1 instance of no straws. We rarely got utensils… but we just use the ones we’ve got. 1 instance of wrong order and 1 instance of wrong number of order!
Seriously, don’t answer that you put it in without checking and recheck the order each time!!! I don’t think we have enjoyed ur food hot. It always becomes lukewarm by the time we go back to pick up stuffs.
We gave you enough chances in the last 5 months since we moved to the area. And you blew it each and every time. Shame.

dependable, good service and good food.
when i have those cravings for authentic mexican, the first and only option that comes to mind is el alamo.
came here on a weeknight with a craving for authentic mexican. i’ve previously had their tacos for take out and tortas. this time i wanted something different.
after looking thru their menu with tantalizing pictures, i decided upon their house special the mocajete mar y tierra which was a cornucopia of taste with shrimp, short ribs, and octopus cooked in a spicy salsa, served in what resembled a mortar for grinding spices.
impressive display and the tastes were great with just a squeeze of lime to brighten the flavors.
great for dipping with chips and sharing with 2 others.
satisfied craving. done. I’ll be back. next time… something new.
its a good place to take your family as the staff is patient and friendly. no rush, enjoy your time. salud!

I love this place. Really love it. As a person who has been in the restaurant and hospitality industry for more than 20 years, I can say that I’d rather eat here than some of the Michelin starred fluffy eateries I’ve been to. The seafood is great considering how far away from salt water we are.

Overall a solid place for a burrito, some tacos, or a good Mexican breakfast.
The place is cheap, fast, and authentic. While it is not as close as Chipotle to my house, this is my go to spot. What makes this place different than the hundreds of Mexican joints around Chicago that you already know and love? Well I really cannot think of anything other than its the best one that is close to my house.

Really great Mexican food– friendly service, the owner (I think?) served us and gave us a run-​down of what El Alamo was trying to do with their food. Lots of classics, but also lots of creative dishes! We opted for the creative, and we were impressed– Torta was great. More on the strength of the filling than the bread. I went with breakfast tacos with barbacoa and eggs, and the flavors were really well balanced. For about 8 $ for my plate (10 $ with soda and all), I was really well fed as the portions are generous.
Pro-​tip: when you’re dining in an ethnic restaurant, a good mark of quality is a lot of folks of that ethnicity dining in. El Alamo was about half-​Spanish speaking while I was there (thumbs up, bilingual servers!), so you know that they’ve got great fare :).

The rating is for the category: Coolest Mexican Chicago ‘Burb Dive
This is the Mexican version of a 50’s retro diner. The dining area is snug and very loud thanks to the heavy traffic flow and new age juke box in the corner blasting mariachi favorites. A guy in the table next to us was loudly and happily singing along. It seemed appropriate. Maybe it was because he was on his third humongous Michelada. Though we didn’t drink, the margarita prices were fantastic.
We arrived at 4:30 pm on a Sunday and by 5 pm the place was packed with happy couples and young people. My husband spiked my salsa with habanero sauce without asking and told me much later, so I originally thought it was just too spicy. Since I didn’t get to try it in virgin form, I can’t comment on it. Husband was reprimanded.
We ordered fish soup, shrimp tacos, and whole red snapper. The soup was great, a huge chunk (bone in) with chayote, zucchini, and broth. The tacos had a slightly sweet tequila flavor, and the red snapper was divine and the reason we shall return.
Then, it happened. A real mariachi came in at 5:30. They play three songs for $ 20. The table next to us ordered. It was phenomenal. Best Mexican restaurant experience in the area with a friendly staff that makes all the difference!
Brittney Tun
Food Writer and Culinary Enthusiast

I have to say I was quite impressed with this place. I came with my mom around 5 for dinner and the place was pretty packed, so I assumed this place must be a hit! We were told to sit wherever we pleased and we instantly found an open booth. The waitress was very friendly. I usually do not have very friendly servers at mexican restaurants. However, this server was very sweet and helpful. You could tell she was very knowledgeable on the variety of food on the menu. Also, she never made a mistake and, after taking our order, reassured everything was correct. Another plus was the food came out fast! My mom and I ordered the Enchiladas Queretaro and a Pina Colada (who could resist?)…Let me start by saying, it was the best piña colada I had in awhile. Oh and it basically the size of a sink so that made me extra happy. As far as the enchiladas, they were tasty and the presentation was very nice. It was not the typical, cheap presentation at other mexican restaurants. I think I would of enjoyed the enchiladas more if they were a little less spicy… but that was my fault! I did not read everything they put on it. There was so much on the menu so I failed to pay attention to all the components. This place is doing everything right! Way to go!

Pretty good place!!! I really enjoyed the fact that this place didn’t have the same mexican menu you see all over. Burrito, or taco and pick your protein, that is boring. This place had tongue and tripe taco, come on now were talking!!! They also had some good looking tortas, I can’t wait to try them next time.