Allende Restaurant

Had to give them 5 stars although I’ve only visited once. Had the steak burrito and fries following the recommendation of a previous reviewer. Fabulous. Now the place is very basic and they don’t have a restroom which isn’t uncommon for small restaurants in Chicago. But I came hear to eat and they hit it out of the park.

VERY GOOD FOOD, but the dining experience can be lackluster. I’ve eaten here 50+ times after work (not late night).
1. Again, the food is quite good; I love the enchiladas and the chips and salsa are good too.
2. The dining area has for many months smelled like bleach with a hint of sewage.
3. Some of the waitresses are very nice; but others will nickel and dime you on anything that you ask for after receiving your order.
If they got rid of that smell (which has caused me to go here twice a year instead of 30 times a year); I would bump this up to 4 stars. And if one of their servers stopped nickel and diming their customers, I’d bump it up to 5 stars.

My absolute favorite chicken tacos in all of Chicago. I go through streaks where I eat Allende 3 or 4 times a week for dinner. I had my first Torta here almost 20 years ago. Open late & always great anytime of the day. My favorite

Allende is the Jam! I live around the corner and have hit this place up for years for fast, inexpensive, and delicious food.
Goto menu items:
Steak burrito (no lettuce, add avacado) & fries :)
The tostadas are really good
The nachos are unique and delicious!
Awesome hot sauce too!

The Mexican Chorizo here is the BEST. Love the flavors. I would skip the chicken as it is usually pretty dry. Stick with the fattier meats — al pastor, steaks, chorizo. Can’t go wrong.
I usually swing in here as it is down the street for me for a quick dinner option and never am disappointing. I also hear its open till like 4am, which is just absurd. I couldn’t imagine what the clientele is like after 1am…
FYI, all the bad reviews here are from the drunkies — don’t let them stop you from checking out this hole in the wall.

We make a day of it. Stop at Allende, go to Swirlz around the corner, visit the Zoo. This is our favorite stop for tacos, hands down. Best in the entire North side of Chicago (that we have tried) and staff is always friendly. Can’t wait to stop in again, soon!

I’m not giving this place one star only because their horchata is surprisingly good (it’s called rice drink on their menu?), but that’s the only positive thing about this restaurant I can review. Also, this place has no restrooms so make sure you pee before coming! My friends and I stopped by here because we were tipsy and just wanted to eat whatever was close by/​open at 4am. We stumbled upon this restaurant. So Cal people know that after clubbing you either go for late night phở or late night Mexican food. The place was filled up so I figured why not. I ordered two tacos (carne asada and al pastor)…boy…was I sorely disappointed. The meat was burnt to crisp and the salsa was bland. I tried to look for any redeeming pieces, but found none. I couldn’t even finish the second taco. I definitely do not recommend coming here for late night drunches.

So so good, and can’t beat the price. Tostadas are amazing, tacos and nachos as well.

They don’t grill onions (WTF?), and there veggie selection taps out at guac, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, beans and rice. — Get some greens and grill ‘em!
Also a little dingy inside.

Best Chicken Tacos in Chicago, pretty good prices. This location on 2200 N Lincoln has better tacos than the location on 2400 N Lincoln. A lot of people think this is just drunk college student food but their tacos are seriously great & the best i’ve had in the city. They don’t have a public restroom but I go into several hole in the walls that don’t so that doesn’t bug me as an issue. There are 2 women that work the counter, one is nice and the other can be an asshole lol but i’ve gone so much that we have good rapport now

Not sure what everyone is talking about — I found the service to be quite friendly and the vegetarian burrito was not more expensive.
That was what I ended up getting, and it was exceptionally large and pretty delicious. The ingredients themselves were not exceptional — rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, avocado — but the house-​made hot sauce (that you have to ask for) was spicy and fantastic, elevating the dish.
The only negative thing about this place was a bunch of drunk obnoxious kids who stopped by after Lollapalooza and insisted on having a loud discussion about all their friend group drama, which is not the fault of the restaurant.
One thing to watch out for is there seem to be multiple locations near by on both Unilocal and Über, so our pickup driver went to the wrong place. Not sure what’s going on there.

Food is fine. Being charged extra money to have less food in your burrito is not. $ 11 for a vegetarian breakfast burrito when the meat option is $ 7?! Not ok. Thanks for the mediocre food, unfriendly service and for overcharging me.

There are two locations of Allende within like a 5min walk of each other on Lincoln Ave. Not sure if/​how they’re related. This one is near the Lincoln/​Fullerton/​Halsted intersection, and I can’t speak for the other one.
I can’t deny it would make awesome cheap drunk food, but I have definitely only eaten here sober, during daylight hours, chosen it over other restaurants that are still open… And it’s delicious. If I’m starving and need food asap, I’d love nothing more than a giant burrito from Allende. Al pastor or carne asada with everything. For like ~$ 5. Stuffed. Rice and beans, pretty standard. The only thing I wouldn’t get again is their lengua… a bit dry and flavorless, and it’s easy to find better versions at similar restaurants.
Personally, I’d rather take out than eat here. The ambiance is very hole in the wall. Booth seats, but most are so close to the backroom that it smells like wet mop/​cleaning supplies/​dirty mop bucket — not smells you’d want to inhale along with your food.
But the food is super yums and a great value.

A classic case of «our food is so good that we can be an asshole to you» syndrome. I read the other reviews and was a bit dubious, but I started coming here, and while the food is delicious and quite cheap, the claims of rude service are spot on.
Furthermore, they claim to not have a bathroom and get mad if you try to use it. Now, I get it, they want to dis-​incentivize drunk college kids from stopping by just to use their bathroom. But still, it shouldn’t be a struggle or even a conversation for a paying customer to use the bathroom. Hey Allende, by prohibiting the use of the bathroom, you’re in violation of Illinois statute 410 ILCS ³⁹⁄₁₀!

I am a student at Lincoln Park High School and Allende restaurant is one of my personal favorites for lunch! I usually order the two steak tacos with chips and salsa! The service is quick and the food is good! It’s inexpensive and convenient if you want some inexpensive Mexican food.

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!
I wish there was an optional for no stars.
I used to come to this specific location pretty often when I used to go to Lincoln Park high school. Allende had great mexican food with kinds workers at an affordable price, but I don’t know what happened to that now.
The lady that took my order was rude, ignorant, racist and was just a complete bitch for no reason. I asked if I can use the restroom politely so I can wash my hands since I paid with cash and she responded «NO! RULES HAVE CHANGED AND THE BATHROOM IS FOR WORKERS ONLY.» … okay whatever, so now I guess I’m stuck with eating my tacos with filthy hands AWESOME!!! You won’t believe what happened next. I asked for a to go box and she had the nerve to give me a brown paper bag to put my tacos in… OKAY clearly you’re mad at the world and live a miserable life. Never coming here again. Customer service is POOR. Mind you not, she was on her phone the ENTIRE TIME! Sickening. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE PPL HEAD DOWN THE STREET TO THE ALLENDES ON LINCOLN AND FULLERTON.

I love there nachos it’s so good and filling! They don’t skimp on the toppings! My boyfriend always orders the chicken burrito and he loves it… There food is good and prices are pretty decent as well.

Not only do the kind employees make a trip to Allende a pleasant experience, the food can speak for itself. Between its fresh ingredients and well portioned and priced options, Allende is a great option for quick affordable Mexican food.
My personal favorite are the carne asada tacos with a side of guacamole and chips. Add a little bit of their infamous spicy salsa and you have got yourself the perfect combination of meat and spices!

The only way to enjoy this food is by numbing your taste buds with a gallon of hot sauce.
By the way, the gaucamole was spoiled. I had to spit it out and rinse my mouth.
What a dump.

Pro’s:
–Convenient hours
–Food is made fresh when you order it (and fast!)
–The horchata is delicious
Con’s:
–None of the food I ordered has ever been that great
–They won’t make some modifications to the menu items (Why can’t I have a burrito with chorizo if you have burritos and chorizo??)