Restaurante El Sol

Best mexican restaurant in the area! Great flavors and fresh ingredients. We knew it would be good when we fell in love with the salsa and guacamole. The enchiladas verdes were incredible, and my husband loved his burrito. Overall great service, very clean, and excellent food. Cant wait to come back soon!

Our new favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. All of the food was delicious and authentic. Salsa was superb, wish they offered it for sale. We had the burrito and enchiladas, both were top notch. This is a must try!

This place is fantastic! We ordered nachos, quesadillas and tortas from El Sol, which they hand delivered to Ortmans (fun, local bar) on actual plates, not paper. We all agreed the food presentation was great, portions were sizable and food was awesome! High quality and freshly made. Give this place a try you won’t be disappointed. Follow it up with Ortmans homemade ice cream shots, great choice of flavors.

The reviews are true… I’m married to a Mexican and this place and the store next door we frequent on a weekly basis. The restaurant OMG THE BEST SOPES EVER! The salsa omg amazing! Good homemade tortillas! The only thing I was disappointed in was they were out of shrimp soup don’t be afraid to go in from the exterior!!! You will be pleasantly surprised! The prices are the lowest in the area believe you me we have gone to every mex restaurant in the mchenry area. Go into the store great fresh skirt stk for the grill and on the weekends they have their hot bar w/​tamales, pork skins, carnitas and gorditas. I also buy a couple different supplements which are vitamin and weight loss kinda stuff and boy do I have results! WOODSTOCK RESIDENTS PLEASE GO IN YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!!!

The best authentic Mexican food I’ve had in a long time. Everything is homemade. Nothing is microwaved. The meat is tender and delicious. Chips and salsa are also homemade and really good. We ordered guacamole and chips and the guac was amazing. You must try this place!

Only 1 word DAMNNNNNN !!! Food was good have 2 kids & my wife & myself. there was so much food leftover for easily 2 days !!! From the outside you would never expect. I will be going back SOON

You guys. YOU GUYS.
Don’t be afraid of the unimpressive exterior, or the location, which is sadly just off the square in a low traffic area. Just go inside! Like the Tardis, it’s bigger on the inside, and not only that, but it is a very nice atmosphere as other Unilocalers have noticed. This is all good and well, and I hope you enjoy the inside, but what’s important about El Sol is the food.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the chips and salsa are the best in town. The salsa actually has some spice to it, which may not be great for those averse to spicy foods, but it’s packed with flavor. You may not get four salsa types like at Mixteca, but unlike there, you’ll get one good salsa. And just so you know, about half of my rating is based on a restaurant’s chips and salsa, where applicable.
The other food is amazing as well. So far I have had burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and fajitas. The fajitas were very similar to what you’d get elsewhere. Nothing to write home about. But the tacos with homemade tortillas are great, especially lengua ones if you’re down for that. The burritos are very good as well; they grill them, and the portions are perfect. But so far my favorite dish was the quesadillas; you get two, which are cut into quarters, and they come with sour cream and quacamole. The mix of cheese and meat is perfectly balanced. I have had both carne asada and al pastor of everything and highly recommend trying both. I have yet to try the enchiladas, but I’ve seen others get them and they look very good.
The above alone gets them to five stars for me, but beyond that, the staff are very attentive and very polite, the prices are lower than average for the area, and I don’t see enough people in there when I go. Last time they offered my group free dessert! And we couldn’t even take it because we had to leave! Go get that dessert.

Atmosphere is very nice, looks new and clean inside. Everything looks brand new– painted walls, tables, booths, tiled floors. Food was delicious, very fresh and homemade. I got the fish soup which was hearty, flavorful, healthy and freshly made. My husband got a veggie torta which he enjoyed a lot. Waitress was very personable and provided great service. This is a hidden gem in Woodstock, we have been to many other Mexican restaurants and this one stands out as unique and authentic. Will definitely return and recommend to our friends.

As my mother and I were standing at the front of this restaurant, grumpy from our touristy day trip to Woodstock, debating whether or not to eat here, an older couple passing us on the way out reassured us, «Stay and eat. You won’t regret it.» With fresh resolve, we sat down and ordered.
We didn’t regret it.
You wouldn’t know how special this place is from the décor, but everything here is amazing. If I had to single out one element, though, it would be the tortilla chips, which were indescribably delicious in that can’t-stop-won’t-stop way. If I could find these in my local grocery store, I’d never eat anything else. It looked like there actually was a grocery store attached to the restaurant, so if you’re local you might even be able to live my dream.
Eat here. You won’t regret it.

Yep it’s a 5!!! They even cater a variety of foods; Mexican, German, Italian– Ask for Manuel, the chef, when visiting.
THE BEST tacos and enchiladas in the area, the best tortillas, slightly toasted, the steak was moist, tons of flavor and a slight crisp on the edges, juicy, delicious! The beans and rice were perfect, home made for sure and you can tell!
The salsa is delish, best around, home made chips, warm and crispy, salted, yum! The Guac was perfect,
The plate was very generous and the place is very clean, very friendly, and we even spoke with the cooks, and told them how impressed we were that EVERYTHING we had, couldn’t have been better, absolutely perfect and cant wait to try new dishes!
We strolled through the Mexican Grocery next door and can’t wait to shop there too! Wow, the smells are just delish! Please try this place and keep them in business, They are the best in the area, and we need to keep them here! We do have a few good Mexican places that are ALMOST as good as this in town, but this WINS easily! The people are awesome here!

Great atmosphere! The food here is great and reasonably priced. Big portions. The interior is very nicely decorated and the service is fast. The chips with the meal are especially good and taste freshly made. Will definitely come back and would recommend to a friend.

This is a hidden gem, it seems like not many people know about it yet. Great food. I had the steak fajitas that has wonderful seasoning. The salsa that comes with it is really good.

Very good food. Clean. Pricing very reasonable. Service very good. Plenty of food. Will go again.

Went here for the first time tonight to check out the new Mexican place in town. Overall, we were satisfied with the service and dinner, and the price is comparable to that of El Niagara.
Specifically, the green and red salsas were excellent and flavorful with a perfect amount of spicy kick! The chips were fresh. The enchiladas, rice and beans were average but as mentioned the salsa was what set it apart.
The margaritas are authentically flavored with real fruit and have a salty tang. No sugar added here!
Personally, I’m still a fan of El Niagara (or Taqueria Las Cumbres if I’m in Crystal Lake), but this place is definitely worth a shot so you can decide for yourself!