Auténtico 5 de Mayo

This place is now closed, and after my second visit I understand why. While the food was still good, they had raised prices and it was some of the slowest least attentive service I have seen. Such a shame because the place did have potential

Found this gem in the Reader or other newspaper… stopped for breakfast and enjoyed the food and the crazy portions made my lunch for the day too! It is odd to be the only table in the whole place, but I thought it was because no one in Wrigleyville is awake at 9am on the weekends!
The food is good for the price, their menu is a little overwhelming but they are willing to make a picky eating child something that he will lick his plate clean!
Service is good, altho I have only had one waiter every time I we go there. I also love that they offer REAL coke in the bottle, made in Mexico.

This place is always empty for a reason. The staff is attempting to do something; however, it seems as if they bought pre-​made food from the freezer section of Jewel-​Osco, fried it halfway, then put it on a plate with some salsa. Sorry, not great food but it was very cheap and you received huge portions.

Very very poor quality of food. It took them several tries to get a simple order right. The food tasted bland. My hashbrowns were ice cold. They didn’t even know how to make an omelette, which didn’t have the extra bacon in it, yet I was charged for it. Never will be going back here.

I will start by saying that the food and service was excellent and remark that the prices were very reasonable, but the main reason I felt obligated to write this review is because I forgot my iPad at this restaurant and our waiter was gracious enough and honest enough to hold on to it for me until I called the restaurant about it the following night. Restores your faith in humanity doesn’t it??? Thank you again!

**Note: This establishment is no longer BYOB. They now serve margaritas and beer.***
I ate here for the second time last night. On my first visit, I had the chorizo burrito and loved it. It’s a nice sized burrito, packed with meat. You have the option of getting it with rice and beans or fries. On my second trip, I tried the steak fajitas. They were ok for the price point, but I think I’ll stick to simpler options (burritos, enchiladas, tacos, etc.) in the future. They also serve breakfast all day which I’m excited to try as well. Clean restaurant, nice servers, and good, cheap food — no complaints here.

Not open ²⁴⁄₇! Thanks for the false advertisement! I couldn’t hate this place more!

I was a little skeptical at first («authentic» Mexican food in the heart of Lakeview?) but once I tried it, I was very pleased. No, it’s not like eating in Pilsen, but the food here is very tasty and of good quality. It is not all gentrified and watered down like I expected… it is fairly good tex mex and comes with some great salsas. Extra points for being open 24 hrs! If I continue to have good experiences with Autentico, I will surely change my review from 4 stars to 5!

Great food, service, location! BYOB Recommended

Please don’t let the five star reviews fool you. This is not a five star restaurant. It is a decent restaurant that serves pretty good food at cheap prices.
The first time I walked in, the music was playing so loudly that the person I tried to talk to couldn’t understand me. I was the only non-​employee in the place, so I guess maybe they weren’t expecting any guests, so they were blasting music solely for the enjoyment of the staff, even though it was 1 pm? You’ll be tempted to think I’m exaggerating, but it was much louder than many concerts I’ve been to recently. Anyway, I couldn’t take the pounding salsa so I walked out. I wonder how many other customers have done the same?
I decided to try again last night. There was only one table occupied when I walked in, and all the TVs were turned to the Blackhawks game, and turned way up. I asked if the TV that was right over my head could be turned down, and was told no problem, but I never noticed any change in the volume. We decided to just eat as quickly as possible and leave, since the volume was so loud we could barely converse.
The food was mostly very good. I ordered the Mexican combo plate (I think it was called), which came with a beef taco, a cheese enchilada, and a chicken tamale. The enchilada was tasty. The beef taco was slightly dry, and it came on two corn tortillas, so it actually is partly authentic, but it also had lettuce and tomatoes instead of cilantro and onions, so it’s also partly Taco Bell. The tamale had clearly been over-​reheated in a microwave, because it was crispy and leathery at each end. The rice and beans were great.
Overall, this would be a fine choice for takeout.

This place is amazing — from the outside looking in, it doesn’t look extraordinary but it was PHENOMENAL. Me and 4 girlfriends went for a little Sunday funday action when it first opened. We were the only ones in the restaurant. Our waiter was cute as a button and SO NICE. He brought us all different kinda of sauces and salsas to try with our food. Half of us got lunch and the other half got breakfast. Everyone LOVED their meals. The menu here is HUGE and has possibly anything you can think of at a Mexican restaurant. Absolutely delish, and the best part — nothing comparable in the area, in my opinion.

I would given Autentico a 4 for dinner service and a 2.5 for breakfast, and here’s why…
For dinner, you are presented with three types of salsas and chips to start. These are awesome, and it would be great if you could just get a box of these for take out every once in awhile after work. All three are really good, but the dark red salsa has the most flavor. Their steak was cooked perfectly, and all of the Mexican food hits the spot just right. A warning: the menu doesn’t always list when there’s sour cream with a dish, so I ordered extra sour cream. A) Every dish I saw come out had sour cream on it, and B) the serving of sour cream is a grocery-​store container’s worth! The portions were huge, so don’t order in excess.
Breakfast– you still get the chips and salsa (still good, but weird with breakfast.) my omelette was huge, and there was a miscommunication between myself and the kitchen as to wanting cheddar cheese and getting Swiss. It was ok, but a weird mistake to make. My friend ordered a Venetian Eggs Benedict, and two minutes later, our waiter came back and asked what style of eggs did he want on the Benedict. Weird again, so he changed his order to the big breakfast. Both were okay, but the restaurant should probably stick to Mexican fare and not try to do so much for their American-​style breakfast menu.

Just got to Chicago for a mini vacation and after a night of celebrating out in town, we ran into this place. I’m a chilaquiles man, so that’s exactly what I ordered. It was a little different from the chilaquiles I’ve had at other restaurants. The eggs are not mixed in with the tortillas pieces, but set a a side, along with refried beans. I’m sure they can mix the eggs at your request. The food was delicious, the three salsas and chips were also very tasty. Our server was charming and very attentive. This place is open 24 hours a day.

I cannot wait to come back here! My girlfriend and I had our lunch here and we were both floored with how good it was, how cheap it was, how much food you got, and how nice the staff was. Yeah, good. Anyways, for a 24 hour «diner» place it’s very cute and looks like a «upscale» Mexican restaurant without the upscale prices. I had the burrito (yeah, typical I know) and my GF got the enchiladas and we got the guac appetizer. Very good, all of it was made to order and the guac was really really good. We came here with a
gift card, and I guess they weren’t going through
anymore, but they still gave us the $ 10 off ($ 10 for 20 deal) so we were able to get another gift card from
so I thought that was nice. This place is also so chill, no one bothers you. You just eat and relax, stuff yourself silly, take it home and think about how great it was! Our total before the coupon was in the 20 – 23 range with drinks so it is a GREAT deal! It does get loud in there (from the music), but the quality is amazing. I think I’m going to reopen my leftovers right now :)

I’ve waited awhile for SOMETHING great to open on Belmont that doesn’t involve crappy subs and fatty foods (although I do love the gyros), so I was floored to see a 24 hour Mexican kitchen open up. I was ecstatic when I discovered how tasty and diverse of a menu they offered.
Ordered guac with pork enchiladas en mole — both tasted fresh and vivid. One of the healthiest guac I’ve had outside of Nacional 27 and the mole sauce had me reeling.
The best part was the varying salsas you receive with the chips. All different flavors with unique styles, esp the salsa that had a guac vibe to it. The former fat kid in me could have eaten chips all night.
Basically, I can’t wait to go back and try something else — the burritos on the tables next to us looked phenom. What’s better, my wallet hardly hurts.
(By the way, the portions were in Crazytown and you’ll definitely have a meal for the next day. KO!)
Sub parenthetical: (Don’t ignore this place Lakeview. This one’s a diamond in the many, many dilapidated, closed down, vacated storefront roughs that line the lackluster Clark St.)

The service here is remarkable, its clean, and best of all… the food!!! We had some amazing chicken soup and I ordered chicken with mushrooms and my plate was ridiculous! It was a lot of food and best of all it was really fresh and good quality. I highly recommend coming here. If you need cash (its cash only) they have an ATM by the entrance. If its nice out theyll open the window and it feels like you’re eating at an authentic mexican restaurant in Mexico (hence Autentico!). Oh and I left with a major crush on the waiter!

Generous portions, reasonable prices, and attentive service. Get in before it gets discovered by everyone else!

I’m still sitting in the restaurant as I Unilocal-it’s that good. Saw the listing on Thrillist, decided to check it out, we’ll worth it. $ 20 bought enough food to feed a family of 5; 2 enchilada plates (they’re scary big) with rice and beans, chips and pico, and 2 bowls of soup. Cash only (but who cares when it’s this cheap), BYOB, open 24 hours. Really close to the red line and 22 bus. SUPER clean.
(couldn’t post from phone, visit was on 4÷16÷13)

Had a fantastic time. A friend brought me here and said it was excellent. Little did I realize how right he is. If you are in the area and want some great food for a great price. This is the place to go.

My wife and I ate here with our 17-​month old daughter on a Sunday evening. We both ordered Mexican food (which we shared with the baby).
In short: good food, large portions, and good prices — open 24 hours a day. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. We will definitely be back soon.