CRĪO Bar and Restaurant

I really really wanted to like this place. The ambience is really cool and mellow. The music in the background was cultural and put me at ease. The art on the wall was spectacular and the scene was intriguing. However the service at this place was mediocre. They had 2 people for the whole restaurant. The bartender and a hostess /​server abs she got bombarded quick as the night went on. The lack of staff really affected or experience. The food to me wasn’t note worthy. Nothing really stood out to me. Plus I just felt the desserts were lacsidasical. i could have gotten that from a grocery store. Maybe this was an off night, I don’t know but my experience with them so far is. However I would be willing to give them another shot, for the art I’d anything else.

Our server was nice, the Chile relleno was good– so was the steak. However, I am having trouble giving 3 stars. The dessert we got (cheesecake and Panna cotta were not great), the appetizer empanadas were small and underwhelming. To top it all off there was only one waitress for the entire restaurant. Although she was kind, the service was really slow.
I would come back to try the fish tacos, they did look really good. Not sure if I would get the empanadas again and I definitely would not get the cheesecake or the Panna cottta

First time customer and was brought to the restaurant from groupon purchase. AMAZING food! Great service and I loved the décor and style of the restaurant. We had dinner, but will return to try the brunch! Highly recommend!!!

I live right next to Crio, so I have been there a good amount of times and have tried multiple menu items, and let me tell ya, this is a 5 star because it brings it every time. Fish Tacos, Chicken Tacos, Crio Burger, Steak, the Empanadas, etc, they are all good and reasonably priced. Went there last night with another person, under $ 40 w/​drinks. Definitely a good spot to go for a casual dinner or date.
Also– the Brunch is even better. Coffee is silly good, the eggs Benedict?! Oh man. And the breakfast burrito is also silly good.

I really like this place. The service was great both times we went. Brunch and dinner were very good and priced well. We had the empanadas and the chorizo burger. Wow the burger was really good and make sure you get some chimmichurri sauce

Swung by Friday evening for dinner with a Groupon (not valid with specials). They have a private parking lot, but street parking is easily available since this is a bit off the beaten path. The place was much more spacious than it looks. It was very inviting and vibrant. We were seated immediately. I was surprised that it wasn’t busier as it was maybe half occupied. They have a great drinks list and a full bar & a half so maybe it is more of a late night place.
We start with the loaded fries and a couple empanadas (braised brisket and the special of the day). These were all very yummy. The empanadas were a bit small but very flavorful, so I didn’t mind. The beer cheese and pulled pork for the fries were quite decadent, especially since the portion was rather generous here. It was thoughtful that they had mini tongs for the fries, in which many other places don’t have with similar messy loaded fries type of dishes.
I got the chile relleno for my main, as the boo got pollo poblano. I enjoyed the chile relleno very much but I thought the sauce could have been a touch more interesting somehow. The chicken was very good. It was cooked perfectly with a nice smoky char flavor. While the poblano sauce was good, I also felt like it could have used some kick or brightness to it.
We also ordered drinks early on, but our waitress simply forgot. She was very nice and helpful throughout and when we alerted her about his, she was extremely apologetic and said that the drinks were on her. Great service. I got the paloma and while it was enjoyable, I couldn’t taste the grapefruit.
Being even more indulgent, we got the coconut almond cookies with raspberry drizzle for dessert. These were very delightful and not too heavy.
When our waitress brought our check, she again apologized and said she even comped our dessert (in addition to the drinks).
Overall, there was a mishap in service but they went above and beyond to correct it on their own doing.
The food was great despite my nitpicking. While I tend to always want to try new places, I definitely want to come back here soon for dinner again or brunch. Prices are fair, and parking is easy. Great ambience as well! CRĪO is def a gem.

Came for dinner and was not disappointed.
As a starter, we got loaded fries. They had a very generous amount of yummy pulled pork on top (so much so that we ate our fries with forks). These were soooo good and indulgent.
Split the torta de carne (grilled skirt steak sandwich) and enjoyed every bit of it. The empanada I had was the real star! When you order an empanada, it comes with two and you can chose different two different flavor empanadas.
The only downside is that the menu is very small so there aren’t very many options. I do want to return to try their brunch. They have weekday specials all week which look like great deals!

The bestie and I decided to grab brunch after pedicure Sunday. The restaurant is in a non assuming area, that can be missed if you’re not looking for it. I must commend the staff for being very personable and attentive. The drinks are made well, which brings happy tears to my eyes. I had the veggie omelet with a side of avocado, crispy bacon and the must have house made salsa. I enjoyed my meal, but the avocado could’ve been better. They need to bottle the hot sauce – for real. The bestie had the steak skillet and wasn’t a fan of it. She’s weird. I would go back to try some other items that caught my eye.

We called the bar around 11 and asked how long the wait would be for 4 people. The hostess reassured us that it wouldn’t be a problem and we’d probably only wait 20 minutes. We showed up around noon and the hostess was nowhere to be found. There were a bunch of people waiting and no clear organization. Finally we saw the woman and got our names put down. She told us it’d be an hour wait for brunch. When we told her we’d called she apologized and told us she’d try to seat us sooner. This is why I wish places took reservations.
Anyway, luckily we were able to start drinking our bottomless mimosas by the bar while we waited. Clutch! They were super boozy and perfect.
After being there just about an hour, we finally got seated at a very small table meant for 2. She apologized and said it was the best she could do. We were hungry so took the table and ordered. I got the Chilaquiles and omg. SOOO GOOD. They were def the best I’ve had. A little spicy, a little tangy, and completely delicious. Kind of wish it had shredded chicken or something on it to put it over the top, but no major complaints. I also tasted the potatoes and they were scrumptious! Everyone really enjoyed their food.
We did have to wait a few times for our mimosas to be filled. They were busy but tried to be good about it. They were horrible at filling my friends bottomless bloody mary’s though. We would have to keep reminding our waitress and she’d come back after 5 – 10 minutes with it.
Overall, delicious and reasonably priced bottomless brunch spot! Highly recommended!

So I came here on Easter Sunday with my mom… you don’t have to tell us bottomless mimosas twice. I was expecting just a normal trip to another bar & wasn’t expecting to be truly wowed like I was.
Our bar tender was more than amazing! She didn’t let our glasses get lower than half full, even when it started to get busy! The customer service here is over the moon. That’s to be expected from a place that’s family owned I suppose. It felt more like someone invited us into their home for brunch than we walked into a bar.
The food here is… heh well look at that. My big ol’ mouth is actually speechless. This place is definitely a keeper. You guys should for sure try to work this place to the top of your «regular haunts» list. The best days to go here are days that end in «Y.»

Great food at CRIO but definitely one of those that will make you feel like you need to go exercise after a few hours of rest. We started off with the loaded fries with pulled pork which was super solid. Fries ended up pretty soggy but that’s to be as expected since it was loaded. Next up were the empanadas — I liked the fresh corn one and it’s honestly pretty hard to mess that up. The sweet plantains were also really good — it’s exactly what I look for in plantains and really brought me back to my visit to Nicaragua.
For the mains, I tried the Chorizo burger and the crio burger. The Chorizo was my personal favorite but it is definitely very, very oily and quite fatty. The choriza, salsa, cheese, and fried pork skins top the ground beef burger so you can see why it gets really oily and can be hard to eat. No matter, it was still delicious. The crio burger was a bit more manageable to eat but I didn’t love the flavor profile. I also wanted some more juice in the burger.
I wouldn’t hesitate to return to CRIO and try other dishes here.

GROUPON BEWARE!!!
One star well deserved!
Visited Crio for dinner and drinks friday night, a friend from Minnesota was in town and we decided to treat her to a new place.
Upon arrival we opened with the loaded fries and a pitcher of sangria ($ 12) who could say no?
We quickly ordered our food and service was up to par up to this point.
Despite our server not checking up on us, not asking how the food was or if everything came out fine she swung by and asked «do you want more sangria?
We ask for our bill and informed the waitress of our GROUPON, she rolled her eyes at us and stated «the sangria isn’t $ 12 if you have a GROUPON., it’s actually $ 26 per pitcher! We asked to speak to a manager because this really took out the value of our GROUPON,
STEPHANIE the «OWNER» walks up to the table and says what’s the problem, we explain how there may have been a lack of communication or a misconception when we ordered our drinks and meals. We explained how we felt that the error is on their end and its was ludicrous for us to pay more then half price for a pitcher of sangria because they are not clear with how they do business!
At one point the «OWNER» slammed the table and said that they don’t care to cater to GROUPONS because the majority of their tables all «full price paying customer and half off sangria is for them not you!» She rolled her eyes and yelled «listen pay your bill, leave and don’t come back here!» She tossed the bill at us and stormed away from the table to talk to her waitresses. They all looked over their shoulders and stared. The «owners» sap attempt to discredit us and embarrass us was successful. I pulled out cash and paid my bill, gathered my belongings and walked towards the door. As we left she laughed out loud and yelled across the room and said «bye», furious and fed up I told her I would be writing a review on Unilocal,she yelled again «I’m Stephanie the owner and I don’t care, don’t come back»
Obviously I will never return here, and sharing my experience with everyone I know.

I had been hearing really good things about this place. I’m so glad I followed my instincts and stopped in for brunch here. I had the Crio Burger, a couple of mimosas, and the Oreo French Toast. The staff are very friendly and attentive. The food was really good as well. Definitely going back again.

We went to CRIO for the bottomless Mimosa’s and brunch. I am unsure of our waitresses name but she was very nice and had good suggestions. I had the Chiliquiles, my friends had the Steak Skillet and my fiancée had the eggs benedict with pork belly. Nice little spot outside of where I usually head for brunch but I would definitely return. The steak was AMAZING that I had on top of the Chiliquiles.

I was here for the second time. I took my daughter for a valentines diner date. It was very quiet since it was a Monday night, but service was great, and food was delicious as the first time we were here.

If you are looking for delicious flavorful food. This is where you belong. The best brunch spot with bottomless mimosas or bloody Mary’s. This is a family owned restaurant that is run by the most sweetest people ever. They are very polite when you come in and always make sure your glass is filled. The location is easy to find and there is free parking everywhere. The art and decorations are to die for. I wish my house looked like this. Brick and red windows along with beautiful paintings and a fireplace. You will not be disappointed here. You can go and watch some football too :)

First time coming to Crio & I must say that the food was amazing! The atmosphere was mellow with beautiful art displayed & I was able to watch the NFL playoffs. But the one problem I had was the customer service. Their were different waiters walking around but it took our waiter 15 minutes after we sat down to give us water. After the water was given, I noticed that every other table had a jug of water besides ours. The water glasses were small. I had to ask the hostesses after 30 minutes can we have a jug? She did hurry to get it but by that time I was ready to leave… Needless to say, I came from the west suburbs of Chicago to taste the food at this location & I will not be coming back. If someone ask, I’ll let them know the food is great but it seems like they either don’t have structure or they prioritize «certain customers».

Very nice chill place. Got a table for 10 on a Friday night, which was appreciated. The food was good, I think I liked my sides more than my entrée though.
1. Loaded fries — We were probably just really hungry but we destroyed the fries. Cheesy, cheesy goodness.
2. Mac and cheese with andouille sausage — They give you so much! I thought I was just going to have it with my entrée, but this things is more than enough to share. Again, cheesy, cheesy goodness. Hmmmm… I said I think I liked my sides more than my entrée… maybe I just like cheese…
3. Pork belly sopa — This was okay, I think it could’ve been better. My sopa was kind of hard and I couldn’t really taste my pork belly at all. The jicama was a bit too tart. I would choose something else.
They have a very appealing menu and a great atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoy my meal here.

I’ve been eyeing this place for a while so I was so excited to finally try their brunch menu! Their food was great and the atmosphere was good too! Their side potatoes are amazing! The one con is our food took so long. But they were really nice enough to give us free mimosas because of the delay in the kitchen. Thankfully the food was definitely worth the wait! Service is pretty good, but because it was kind of all over the place due to high volumes of people coming in and out. Probably not the best place to have huge parties since it is a smaller restaurant. Definitely want to come back and try more of their menu!

The seafood are very fresh （delicious scallops and clean mussels）. Portions are big. Salad is huge and delicious.

Came here today for our 2^nd visit… our first was a year ago and I wish I did a review bc it was a 5! This time not as great. Favors were good for the most part. We started by ordering chips, salsa & guac. We never got the salsa but the chips & guac were delish! Guac is a small portion but good for two.
The hubs had the steak frites and described it as really well seasoned skirt steak reminds me of las tabalas. He was still hungry after noting the portions are not that large. I had originally ordered the chile relleno w/​o beef bc I had that the 1^st time & liked it so much I remembered it! The server said it could be done but after we finished our app he came back and said its pre made and they couldn’t do it. Disappointed bc they did a year ago! I ended up having the shrimp & it was tasty! We had the empanadas dessert & it was delightful!
The place is cozy & has friendly service. Street parking us free & easy to find. We may be back.

putting this on my indulge list…
THE best chilaquiles. i felt guilty for not getting in my greens (i was wavering between guilt-​free egg white veg omelette and «the place to be for» chilaquiles), so i half-​jokingly asked the server if she could throw some spinach on the chips to make me feel better. she said of course and out came the most perfect meal ever! the limey-​ness of the dish is the selling point. huge slices of perfectly-​ripened avocado and just the right amount of beans… i was in heaven.
husband loved his steak torta and he indulged in some of our son’s fruit cup bc it was delicious blend of papaya, mango and strawberry (chopped up and plated beautifully) and plentiful.
the woman that seated us seemed like she didn’t want to be there but our server and someone who seemed like the manager (lovely lady with a huge smile) made it a great brunch experience. will be back.

The atmosphere was okay but unfortunately we went when there was a party over at the bar area so it was very loud. I like that it was kind of dark and was lite up with a small candle on the table. The mussels were pretty good but the sauce was a but salty. The fish tacos were a bit bland but the steak tacos were good. It was a bit spicy which was nice.

This place gets an overall 5 stars! The vibe was great. The waitress was great. The food was great. The music was great. I will definitely come back. If it is your first time… try the empanadas as an appetizer!

My friend chose this restaurant to try, and I did my research on this restaurant as usual. I found out that there are $ 3 taco and $ 6 margarita special on Tuesdays. My girlfriends and I got tacos, loaded fries, and margaritas.
The restaurant has fish, beef and duck tacos. The tacos did not really WOW me. I had better in other places. But if I have to compare, the fish taco is better than the duck or beef tacos. it’s kinda pricey. You may think $ 3 taco is not bad but look at the pictures and see the quantity of the tacos.
Loaded fries were the ones that I would order again in that restaurant. The fries are good– pulled pork on the top of fries with cheese.
Margaritas– the BOMB! Not sweet nor bitter at all. They are strong actually that I got buzzed after ONE drink. maybe I drank it too fast, but regardless it’s good.
Service– our waitress treated us well but the hostess did not. I asked the hostess to take pic for us since I know the waitress was busy with other tables. The hostess said she needs to put down the menus first for the ppl who just came in. I didn’t mind and I thought she would come back to take pic for us after she was done with her task. But nope, she didn’t.
I know I will not come back for some tacos, but I will come back to try the Saturday brunch and more drinks!

Let’s talk about the most important part of the meal — the drinks. The margaritas were so delicious with enough kick! Was totally buzzed off of 1 drink & not complaining! I would definitely recommend the hibiscus margarita!
The food — I ordered the beef taco, shrimp taco, & duck taco. (The only reason I was able to mix and match is because they have $ 3 tacos on Tuesday, along with $ 6 margaritas!) The duck taco was a disappointment. It was dry and lacked flavor. Nothing special about it. The beef taco was tasty, but nothing out of this world. By far, my favorite was the shrimp taco. It was crispy and the sauce complemented the taco very well! For the $ 3 price tag per taco, I think it was worth it! I don’t think I would come back and pay the original price of $ 12-​$ 13 for 3 tacos.
Overall, I would give it 3.5 stars, but because I loved the drinks so much, they deserved the extra 0.5 star!

The only thing better than an excellent brunch is an excellently boozy brunch! I love brunch, it’s by far my favorite meal and a Sunday brunch at Crio really just solidified that fact!
It all starts off with their weekend drink specials, which include $ 15 all-​you-​can-​drink mimosas or $ 18 all-​you-​can-​drink Bloody Mary’s!
I ordered the Chilaquiles with steak added. It was a huge portion and was fantastic! The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare with a delicious chimichurri over top. Underneath this are tortilla chips, avocado, chihuahua cheese, an egg and black beans, which are delicious all mixed together in this dish!
My boyfriend got the Eggs Benedict, which were good, but not nearly as good as the Chilaquiles. He said based on his dish, he would have given this 4 stars… He was really pleased with his cup for Dark Matter coffee though! It’s nice having local Chicago coffee with brunch
Delicious and affordable brunch ($ 44 for the two of us, pre-​tip). Check in on Unilocal for 10% off your bill and get the drinks specials!

Crio had amazing service which is always nice. The place it’s self just has a very good vibe and the food was amazing. I had a chorizo burger and it was perfectly cooked how I wanted, I highly recommend this place. Did I mention it’s also a bar? I thank my girlfriend for telling me about this place.
On the other hand, I tried their brunch today and was highly satisfied by the Mollete’s, and the Stuffed Poblano Omelette, but the Steak Skillet was not too satisfying, everything on the plate tasted the same, you can easily tell that everything on the plate was all cooked in the same grease/​oil. Wouldn’t recommend the skillet.

Crio is off the path for sure but, worth the commute! Cocktails are delish and the food was yummy. We got the Nutella french toast to start. The French toast itself was cooked perfectly but a tiny too much Nutella on top. I’d ask them to go light on the Nutella and maybe get some on the side. Then we got the eggs Benedict, the egg was cooked perfectly and the sauce was lovely. The pork needed a little more flavor. Then we got the steak skillet. Wow, this was so amazing. The flavor of the steak and the potatoes were to die for. (Potatoes come with the eggs Benedict as well) We also asked for hot sauce and they gave us a homemade hot sauce that was perfection. We would’ve bought it off them we liked it so much.
I will return, and I’d order the steak all day. So good! I cannot wait to try their normal menu.

One of Chicago’s hidden gems.
Came for brunch around 1130, and it was surprisingly empty. Nice little spot with great music and excellent service.
$ 15 bottomless mimosas.
Steak Skillet was excellent. Will def will come back for this dish again. Also want to try the Egg Benedict.
Nutella french toast was good, but nothing extraordinary about it. Just good ‘ol french toast. But, thought there was a bit too much nutella on it.
If you’re looking for an easy, no wait, fun and delicious brunch spot for you and your group of friends… this is the spot!!! Plus 10% off when you check in.

We came in as a group of 10 for a birthday. Cool art décor on the walls and dark atmosphere.
Overall: 4.5 stars
Service: 5+ freaking stars. The service was great. I was actually very impressed at how it easy it was to get separate checks (and we didn’t even ask initially). After telling the waitress, each check also included the splitting of the birthday girl’s meal. ridiculously accommodating!
Food: 4 stars
–the loaded fries is legit. this was without doubt loaded with cheese and shredded pork goodness. the fries are certainly the best… just the perfect crisp and taste and not soggy.
–The steak frites was okay. the chimichurri sauce is awesome but the steak was bit chewy for medium done.
–the chile relleno — this was recommended by the waitress and it was not a let down. I would get again. The sauce had a kick to it and very flavorful.
They have a tempting selection of cocktails and drinks. it was hard to pick. I definitely like the vera mango over the mescal mule. the mescal was a bit smoky for me.
Wish we had a place like this in Old Town

I had a great experience at Crio. I had made reservations for 9 of us on a Wednesday night. When we got there, the place was pretty much empty. By the time we were finishing dinner, we were the only ones in there, which I didn’t mind because we were celebrating the holidays and had a White Elephant exchange going.
The food was good. It didn’t knock me off my feet (I mean I was sitting) or anything but it’s solid. We all shared appetizers (empanadas and loaded fries), the fries were the star of the night. I guess fries seem to be the star of any night with this group. They were topped with pulled pork, cheese and scallions. I ordered the tacos de pescado, which were ok.
I don’t know why I never get cocktails, they had a decent menu of them, but they also had a very nice beer menu too.
For the amount of people and food we ordered, the service was good. The waitress split our bill per PERSON at the end with out us even asking. Impressive. Gold star for her.
The atmosphere was great. The lights were dimmed, not too dark though and the music was nice and soft. The mural on the wall is gorgeous. This would be a place to have cocktails and appetizers in the summer. Just to wind down. I’d like to try the brunch too, it looks really good!