El Jardin

Management doesn’t have any idea of how to run a restaurant.
I meant if you own a restaurant and you’re also the manager PLEASE learn how to treat a customer because «manners matter» GURL this is Lakeview not a Mexican Hacienda where you’re la Patrona and you feel the right to be Rude with everybody.
Lemme tell ya something your business is sinking like the Titanic because is listed like a 4 stars and seems like a an Amish Butcher shop. Yesterday was my birthday and I was looking forward to have a good time with my family instead we got there and they have a couple of chiks promoting Jack Daniels and I was wondering from which corner of Clark st they hired them lol c’mon it’s a family restaurant or that what I thought… Thanks once again for the kind service and for the owners guys go back to college for business management.
The food «meh» almost taste like Chipotle at least they serve fast but like I said it taste like frozen meal.
Thanks for nothing!
PS. You guys seems like an Apple Store many waitress for 3 customers I guess you guys pay them for see each other’s faces, my waitress was really lazy.

Come here to drink margaritas. Period. Chips are awful (taste like cardboard) and aren’t salted. Food has never been good in my opinion. They know people go there to drink so the quality of food ingredients is, shall we say, a gross margin play…

I have been coming to El Jardin for years. Within the past year the prices have gone up and the quality has gone down, I will never be coming back. First of all, $ 12 for the margaritas? That is crazy. Second of all $ 8.50 for a SMALL guacamole, also crazy. So when our bill for 3 margaritas, one small guac and one cheese quesadilla was $ 60 I finally said I am never coming back.
You lost a good customer. Change your menu back to when it was not so limited (Need the milanesa, ropa vieja, etc.) and make your prices reasonable again for the mediocre mexican food and I will think of coming back, otherwise, avoid this place and go elsewhere. Not worth the $$.

I have been coming here for years, and have always loved it. I discovered it when I lived a couple doors down on Clark and loved the convenience. However, recently, the menu has been getting smaller and the prices have been going up, which makes me sad. I can’t believe their steak burritos are $ 17.00 now, and I miss the larger menu a lot.
Their margaritas are the strongest I’ve had and they are probably the best part of the place. Also love their (spicy) salsa and chips along with some guacamole. I was never crazy about their meats other than the steak, which is yummy. Recently I’ve been sticking with the steak quesadillas, which are an appetizer — they used to be $ 10.00, now they are $ 12.00.
I will always have some loyalty, but now that the prices and menu have changed and I don’t live as close, it’s just not the same. I miss the old El Jardin!

Really difficult if you come here in a group. Apparently they have really strict policies about splitting checks and how you pay.

My favorite Mexican place in the neighborhood. Although the margaritas are a little pricey, it’s totally worth it given how strong they are. It’s classic Mexican food without any of the crazy, unnecessary frills. Don’t go in expecting to be astonished with insane dishes; it’s classic and that’s the way El Jardin wants it. They have a GREAT outdoor patio and nice décor inside. Sometimes if you pay your bill in cash they’ll even give you a tequila shot!

Great Beeritas and a sunny patio! A little slice of mexico in Chicago. Love the food, especially the guac and the fish tacos. Excellent patio for afternoons and margaritas! They’ve got tons of flavors just ask for the dinner menu for all the marg flavors, beerita might not be on the menu but ask for it by name…

Sometimes you really want Mexican food. Sometimes you really want a margarita. Well I got a margarita here (which definitely packs a punch!!!) so that was checked off my list. But the food? Well, I was underwhelmed and even a melted cheese queso dish fell short for me. The chips were also not the greatest in the world, but the margaritas and the outdoor seating is the reason to come here.
I think you get some nachos or something and a margarita and you grab a table outside and you can easily watch all of the cubs fans walk by on game days which leads to great entertainment and people watching! The service can be a little slow, but with how strong those margaritas are, you definitely don’t want to be pounding through too many of those at a time! They are not the cheapest margaritas in the world either, but you know they are packed with tequila so makes it worth it in that sense.
So if you want a margarita, this is your spot. Enough said.

El Jardin is part of my Cubs game day routine. I love it and go here almost every time I go to a game. Why? Two reasons: 1) sitting outside in the spring and summer is awesome, and 2) the margaritas will knock you off your chair. Doesn’t that sound the definition of a Cubs pre-​game ritual?
The primary issue? The food isn’t the best. While I love the chips, salsa, and guacamole, most of the rest of the food is marginal at best. The menu has been trimmed over the years too. So… don’t go here for the food… but also don’t overlook the this place’s strengths.

The margs were great, albeit overpriced. No pitchers, though? Really?
The food was good but nothing to write home about. But an extra $ 1.75 for melted cheese on my enchiladas? Really?
You can only pay with at most two credit cards? Really?
$ 50 (with tip) for two margs and one of the cheapest entrees on the menu? Really?
I’ve been had. Really.

Margaritas were delicious. Service was good — although quiet on a Friday so that would be expected.
Chips and salsa wasn’t the greatest. Tacos were decent — ground beef wasn’t good at all, sentiment shared by the rest of my table. No one was really excited or pleased by their meal.
And then my stomach the next morning… Something that never happens to me. I’ll be staying away from now on.

Went here with some friends before a show at MCL. The margaritas are perfect. By this I mean not too sugary and sufficiently strong. The food was not as good. It lacked flavor and, unusually for a Mexican restaurant, was insufficiently filling. Fortunately, the salsa is good/​spicy and a sufficient amount is available to season the food. We ordered the special combination and the cheese enchiladas. Except as noted, they were good.
The service here is good and the primary reason to go here is to drink. That reason is good enough and I will be back.

What the hell, El Jardin? We’ve been coming here for YEARS. Where did the pitchers go? When did $ 12 a margarita become acceptable in a divey Mexican place on Clark. Also, the margaritas aren’t as strong as they used to be.
Somehow 3 of us landed with a $ 140 bill for 2 margaritas each, no appetizers or dessert, tostadas, and two people had meals off the appetizer list.
Super thrown off by this last visit and sad it’s no longer going to be our go-​to.

This place used to be great. Now, menu is quite limited and seemingly more Ameri-​Mex than truly Mexican.
Great location. Always fun.

Wow, omg! Best chicken enchiladas ever and I’m from San Diego! I can’t even begin to describe how spectacular this rice, chicken, and everything else I’ve tasted… extremly fresh

We have always loved coming here, but last night hopefully was just an off night.
Normally the guacamole is excellent but this time it was soupy with huge chunks of avocado that we had to break up.
The margaritas were served in plastic cups and tasted like they were made for a college crowd. All tequila with no other flavor.
Our entrees were great so it’s good that that didn’t change. I’m pretty sure they shrunk their menu considerably since the last time we were there. I also think they raised their prices.
If this had been our 1^st time there, we probably wouldn’t go back. But since we know it can be better we will give them another shot.

Great Mexican food that really hits the spot, especially if you’ve been enjoying other Clark Street establishments earlier in the day. Nice, sit-​down, candlelit dining with good service. Chicago has a lot of places to get Mexican food, but I’d have no trouble coming back to this one.

Used to love this place… menu has changed and shrunk considerably. Seems like the focus is on the bar. The guacamole remains great but very disappointed that old favorite enchilada potosinas are gone. I have been coming to EJ’s for over 30 years. Ordered flan at 7:30 pm on a Friday evening and it was «out». Very sad visit — had to ask for chips, then ask for napkins, and finally more water. It was following a Cubs so I will give it one more try…

So there I was, hungry on a Thursday night and knowing I wouldn’t have the energy to cook when I got home. Jimmy John’s was in my sight but I had that for lunch! Just so happens, I was standing outside of El Jardin. Oh what the hey, I’ll give it a shot.
Pros:
— Outdoor seating on a beautiful summer night is always appreciated. Too bad this summer night wasn’t particularly beautiful. Lame weather lately.
— Their salsa had a kick to it, but it wasn’t overpowering.
— We got our food very quickly!
Cons:
— Wee bit ovepriced, imo.
— It took us longer to get someone to take our order than for us to get our order. Servers were nice, but considering that this place wasn’t anywhere near packed, the delay was interesting.
— We got our food very quickly… very, very quickly. I know I listed that as a pro but honestly, I don’t know what that means! As many Mexican restaurants as I’ve gone to, that has never been the case.
— I got a chicken taco dinner. The tacos themselves were solid. The rice and beans… I can’t place my finger on what it was, but something was off there. They didn’t taste up to par, which goes back to my point about how quickly we got our meals. I tried to eat it, I eventually decided to stick to the tacos.
All in all, idk if I’d come back. Maybe to test out their margs only.

Another Mexican restaurant! This is my Lakeview based friends 2^nd favorite spot. They have the advantage of being open for lunch on a Monday which is when I ate there. The space was spacious especially since our early lunch meant that only a couple of other tables were occupied.
Since this was really my breakfast, I was happy to see huevos rancheros on the menu. My friends ordered tacos and menudo… but the menudo wasn’t ready yet for the day. So the chicken soup had to do. My huevos was delicious… a perfectly poached egg on a tortilla with my choice of red sauce.
I liked that it seemed very family run and the price point was excellent.