Irazu

I loved this place! I ran here after seeing them featured on an episode of Triple D and HAD to try the Pepito sandwich!
I had the avocado and shrimp appetizer which was heavenly! It was a HUGE portion (see picture), served on a bed of lettuce. On the lettuce was a mixture of tomatoes carrots avocados and shrimp. It was like the Salsa from your dreams! They were many generous pieces of avocado but disappointingly maybe just 3 or 4 shrimp.
After I devoured the appetizer it was finally time for the sandwich. I had the Pepito sandwich with sliced Rib-​Eye, melty cheese, hot peppers and avocado. You MUST try this sandwich because it was stunning! Loved every bite and it was only $ 7.
Every fiber in my heart wants to give this place 5 stars but I simply can’t. One reason is the lack of shrimp in the appetizer and it pains me to say this, the other reason is the slow service. I had to ask for a napkin from 3 different severs and ended up having to get it myself. Also at times out server just went missing.
I am definitely going return, Irazu. And when I do — I’m confident that the service will be much better and the shrimp and avocado appetizer will have more shellfish. I know you can do it, and I want to do everything in my power to update this to a 5 star review.
So to summarize. GO. Get the Pepito Sandwich. They have outdoor and indoor seating and are cash only!

Cash only! Must try the oatmeal shake, chifrijo and pepito sandwich. Delicious!!! F*** what u heard the pepito is well worth the price. Get it! Four stars only because ive had an oatmeal shake elsewhere & was expecting better.

Loved their food for years. Now use the Unilocal ordering feature for takeout and it works like a charm. Highly recommend it.

We had a lunch birthday party for 20+ people in Irazu’s party room, and everything about the experience was exceptional. We met twice with Henry, the owner, to plan the menu and all the details. He was a pleasure to work with, and he understood exactly the kind of food we wanted, and the type of experience we wanted to create. He also went over to the party room and helped us figure out the table and buffet arrangements.
The meal was served buffet style. The food was exceptional, and everyone raved about it. Appetizers were shrimp & avocado cocktail, whitefish ceviche and Costa Rican Salad with avocado. Entrees included chicken in mango/​salsa marinade, flavorful ribeye steak, spicy seasonal veggies, gallo pinto, and caramelized sweet plantains. Beverages were limeade and BYO beer and wine. We had flan for dessert.
Our server, Justin, provided extraordinary service, ensuring that everything ran smoothly.
We had never been to Irazu before we discovered it for our party, and we’ll certainly be returning. Most of our guests were also first-​timers at Irazu. They all raved about the meal and experience, and will be returning as well.

I was such a big fan of this place once upon a time! We’ve been on a streak of revisiting some old favorites and are surprised at the lack of consistency. The service and food were so mediocre — I ordered veggie tacos and my fiancé got a platter with shrimp. The taco were very average and the shrimp was flavored well, but the rest of the platter with rice, beans and veggies was just okay. The empanadas were stuffed with too much cheese and barely any spinach.

We came here for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon with a large-​ish party. The waiter was great about coming to our table frequently for drink and appetizer orders as remaining members of our party trickled in. We sat under a chalkboard with «Irazu’s top 10 places to visit in Costa Rica» (picture attached). I thought this was cute. Other signs about the various appetizer options and about the restaurant being cash only (pay at the front) and BYOB (no corkage fee) also adorn the walls. Great ambiance with super chill music.
Ok, enough about that, on to the food. My maracuya (passion fruit) shake was delicious. Friends had great things to say about the iced Costa Rican coffee with horchata. For an appetizer, get the chifrijo! We filled up on that and chips/​guac, so for my meal, I got three empanadas, and in order of tastiness they were: 1) chicken, 2) spinach and cheese, and 3) chorizo and potato. Chicken was by far the most flavorful. The empanadas come with a little thing of pico de gallo. Friends had leftovers of their enormous burritos.
To sum it up, excellent place for a midday meal. Comida riquisima!

My fiancé and I had dinner here to celebrate the six-​month countdown to our wedding in Costa Rica. We were informed when making reservations that it was cash only and BYOB, much appreciated to make sure we’re aware of those important details!
To eat, we had the patacones with garlic oil as a starter, steak casado, and the chicharron. Our server was great, and the food was quick and delicious. We definitely had another meal’s worth of leftovers. The mojo wasn’t my favorite, it tasted too roasted or something, a little too intense for me, but my fiancé preferred this sauce to my favorite one at the Jibarito Stop, so personal tastes.
We weren’t drinking this evening, but there is a fridge in the dining room where staff will store the rest of your six-​packs to stay cold while you eat. They also offered pitchers of fruit-​flavored mixers if you bring in your alcohol of choice, which I think we’ll take advantage of next time. My one critique would be that we were seated right next to the wall, which was just a slab of wood and pink insulation that occasionally were cracking loudly in the wind. Less than romantic. I’ll be happier to go back when they open the space up for the nicer weather. Pura Vida!

Mad average but it works.
I struggle with calling Irazu a restaurant because the entrees are just okay. It’s more a pregame joint, all hail the BYOB, where you can have some real good appetizers. Bring your poison and order a large chifrijo and large guacamole and you can’t go wrong.
I’ve cruised the entrée list and it just lacks a bold flavor. The most popular sandwich, the Pepito, is pretty good but it lacks a fresh crunch. Go for it though before you hit either the Wicker or Logan strip since Irazu serves as a fine middle ground. Location is definitely something that makes it work.
The restaurant itself is tiny but the fairly year round proof patio is a savior. I credit the staff for being pretty live and upbeat and will also note that I’ve never had a bad experience here.
Maybe I just missed the memo that Costa Rican food isn’t that flavorful or maybe I’m still harboring the cash only resentment. But for a few minutes when I have a chifrijo I mind less that is until the server asks for my entrée order and I ask for the check.
It’s a cool spot though environmentally.
Check it out.

I’ve been to Irazu several times and each time my experience gets better. For the first time we catered and they were early, accommodating, and the food was on point. We ordered, chicken pepito, steak sandwich, extra large guacamole, and of course the CHIFRIJOLE!!! Honestly, the best staff ever! Thanks Tony for perfecting our order!

Cash only, love that it’s BYOB, would be back for the oatmeal shake, empanadas were good, but main dishes were bland.
Ambiance: It felt very similar to that of 90 miles Cuban. Patio seating when you first walk in and indoor seating in the back. Latino music playing the background, loud enough where you can hear it and somewhat too loud that I couldn’t hear what my friend was saying half the time.
Food:
HIGHLIGHTS:
Main dishes averaged about $ 15 a plate, apps $ 8 and dessert $ 5
App: Beef and potato, chorizo and potato and spinach and cheese empanada
Side: Yuca fries.
Dessert: Oatmeal shake
DETAIL: BYOB no corkage fee. You get chips and green sauce to start. I thought the chips were fresh seeing as they had oil on them and looked like they were just fried. But after seeing them bring a big bucket of them to the front I am guessing they just reheated them in the deep fryer. We ordered empanadas to start and while they are nothing amazing, they were still pretty good and I personally like to try empanadas where ever they are offered. Each one is big enough to share and you have the option to get them in 3, 5, 7 or 9. As for the main dish I got the Casado and my friend got El Tico both with beef which are essentially the same dish. The only difference is that the Casado has a fried egg with no bell peppers and El Tico has bell peppers and no fried egg. The fried egg was too cooked for my liking, I was hoping it would be a runny sunny side up egg, but it was almost like a hard boiled sunny side up egg. Both dishes were both bland, no flavor, or anything. I had to add a little bit of green sauce to make it taste like anything. My friend got the yuca fries as a side and they were pretty good. Nice and crispy and came with an oil based garlic sauce. As for dessert I got the oatmeal shake and it was delicious. It was like a rice pudding, horchata milk shake. I would definitely be back to get it. Overall, I can’t say I have a desire to go back and try their other dishes.
Service: It was quick and our server was super helpful. They were able to tell us the exact differences between certain dishes and knew which ones tailored to what you may be craving. We made a reservation for 6:15 on a Saturday night, but it wasn’t needed, it wasn’t too busy or crowded. However the weather was rainy and cold, so not sure if it effected it at all. Around 8pm it started to get crowded and busy so I’d recommend making a reservation if you plan on going around that time and if they allow it. Great for groups. They also offer private party rooms that are BYOB.

These guys… so awesome. I was getting this delivered at home once a week at least when I lived in Logan and was completely heartbroken thinking we had to breakup when I moved to Gold Coast. But surpriiiiiiise! They’ll deliver all the way out here! All is well again.
I get the veggie plate! It comes with plantains, rice, and beans and they’re all fabbbbb! Their steak taco with pico on it is ahhhhmazing!
Comes fast and they’re always awesome about keeping me updated on times or questions on the delivery. Love love love!

I came here for my birthday dinner tonight and definitely made the right choice! This place is amazing in every single way! Amazing food, service and all around environment! The owner Henry even introduced himself and asked us about our experience. He was super friendly and definitely a Costa Rican enthusiast. Pretty much this restaurant convinced me that we need to make a trip out to Costa Rica!
We came late on Wednesday night and there plenty of street parking. For a Wednesday night they still had a crowd. Not too full but still a good amount of people. The restaurant isn’t a fancy place but it’s definitely casual and clean.
My husband and I ordered oatmeal shake, guacamole, black bean soup, cheese and spinach empanadas, palmito salad with shrimp, and the vegetarian burrito with mushrooms.
Everything was delicious. I can’t even choose what I liked most because it was all good. The guacamole was the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant. But I’ guess I’m still dreaming of the empanadas! They were cheesy and warm and the best I’ve had! There’s a ton of vegetarian options so that was awesome!
In terms of service it’s amazing! Our waitress was the sweetest lady and gave us great recommendations. Our food also came out quickly which was great!
In terms of pricing it’s definitely super affordable! It’s on cheaper scale for the quality of food. I’m so glad I found this place. Definitely a new favorite in Chicago! I just wish it was a little closer to my house but that won’t keep me from coming back soon! So make sure you try it you’ll be happy you did!

I ordered a dinner plate called «Casado» to share with my husband. The food was delicious and it reminded me a little bit of Brazilian food.
I chose steak as the main meat and it was so soft and tasteful! :)
We also ordered some empanadas (chicken, mushrooms, spinach and cheese) that were really good!
This place only takes cash for payment so you need to be prepared to have some cash on your pocket before coming in.

I probably won’t be back. For this kind of food, I think there are dozens of other places in the city to get something just as good, if not better.
We arrived and didn’t have a waiter come around to greet us or take our drink orders for more than 20 minutes. (It was 1pm on a Saturday with horrible weather – wasn’t too crowded.) No one really came by to check on us after we got our food. The service overall was pretty nonexistent. Also, it was freezing outside, and they didn’t have the heaters on. This is important because their dining area is basically in a tent. So it felt like we were eating outside in the middle of winter.
Pass – there are other places to get good steak sandwiches.

Soooooooooooooooo good.
I got a burrito to go and it was incredible. Will definitely be back to try their other menu items! Service was also very friendly.

So yummy! Everything was amazing.
Steak was so flavorful and tender. The ceviche was awesome!
Our waitress was adorable, so nice, so happy, such a pleasure to be around.
I’ll be back for sure!
Oh and the oatmeal shake

Irazu Is a Costa Rican casual dining experience which is sure to satisfy anyone’s tastes. Restaurant is very popular with the locals and tourists and the evening and weekend crowds keep this place hoppin. They are a cash only establishment with a conveniently placed atm on the side. Fare is competitively priced, delicious and affordable. Modern and contemporary Latin music along with top English hits plays in the background. They have indoor and outdoor seating decorated in colorful paints with traditional artwork hanging all over the walls. Their outdoor patio is covered during the winter months and have heat lamps to keep you warm and toasty from the drafts which is nice. The covered patio extension is much needed as the interior resto is rather small and could accommodate at max 20 people.
How’s the food? To sum it all up in one word…“Amazing.” Usually when I go to a restaurant and try a dish that turns out to be a winner, 95% of the time I stick with the dish and never try anything else for fear of disappointment. And the dishes I found to be top notch were the Casados which is a plate of marinated steak chopped thin and grilled laid on top of a bed of seasoned yellow rice (I like to order the upgrade and get mine spicy) topped with a runny fried egg, and a side of beets and a salad. Both my husband and I enjoy this dish very much and we order them with the Patacones (Tostones) app with ground black beans with garlic and oil sauce. One bite and OMG, the combination of these dishes were so tasty and addicting!!! I’m already looking forward to a future trip there! The oatmeal flavored shakes are worth a try too. They taste very similar to your standard horchata.
Side Tip: The summer months get pretty busy here and the wait times can challenge the most patient of people. Just make sure you check in with the host/​hostess and get your name in.

I can’t believe I lived in Logan Square for so many years and failed to review Irazu until a brief business trip back into town made me consider only my best options for nourishment. I thought I would merely be updating my former review, but no.
So here it is.
What I like:
Fried plantains
Black beans in the rice
Oatmeal chocolate shakes
BYOB (and they are so nice that they will bring you a pail with ice!)
What I don’t like:
… that I moved so far away
In the winter there is a heated patio and in the summer an open patio. You really can’t go wrong no matter the season.
We have had a blast with big group parties (10-​ish people) and also had wonderful dates here.

I had been wanting to go here for years as i would pass by sometimes on my way to work, and finally I made it. I had the potato flautas with mole and guacamole; plantains, and passion fruit juice. Everything was seasoned to perfection! I don’t know why I hadn’t stopped in before. We found out that they deliver within a certain geographical area, and if I lived closer I would eat there all the time!

I had chifrijo, a mango/​pinapple shake and the chile relleno with plantains.
The tropical décor and food is really good to beat the winter blues.
Absolutely amazing chile relleno, affordable and great service from a nice young man.
I almost had the oatmeal shake, but changed my mind. There’s always another time!
Of all the places I ate in Chicago, this was my favorite.

My Costa Rican soul was homesick and Irazu gave me a fix better than anything else could… besides a trip to Central America.
This is a small but welcoming place whose atmosphere makes like you feel like you are in Costa Rica. It serves truly authentic, delicious food, from the stereotypical tico breakfast gallo pinto to delicious dessert like plátanos and the empanadas were great too– everything I tried made me feel like I was back in CR. If you are looking for an authentically Central American meal or if you have a homesick Costa Rican heart– go visit Irazu for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They don’t accept credit, so remember to bring cash and Pura Vida.

Irazu is a great restaurant with very kind personable service one hopes for when they dine out. It is important to note that Irazu is BYOB and cash only, so be sure to have some cash on hand but there is an ATM if you forget cash. I loved the authentic ambiance and especially the restaurant’s top 10 sights to see in Costa Rica.
I can’t recommend the Oatmeal Shake highly enough — our waiter told us that it is not made with ice cream so it’s much more liquidy — and you have the choice of soy and regular milk as the base. The shake costs $ 4 but you can add two flavors for $ 5. This made it a much more unique «milkshake» of sorts, and the cinnamon dashed on top of the oatmeal (I went for the single classic flavor, oatmeal) makes it so delicious. I wish I could have ordered another one! As well, if you take a picture of yourself with a wooden cutout at the entrance and post it to your choice of social media you get half off your shake, making it a great deal!
I ordered a burrito because I always love starting off at a new Latin American restaurant with this, my favorite dish. It provides a great benchmark for comparison, and Irazu does not dissapoint. For $ 7 you get your choice of meat and I added avocado for only $ 0.50 (a literal bargain compared to the likes of Chipotle and other restaurants). I also added the hot peppers for another 50 cents, but they were nothing special. Overall the food was excellent and had fairly reasonable prices, although I wouldn’t say the portions were large. The free chips and the very spicy tomatillo salsa rounded out this very nice experience.

It was good. Tried the Chifrijo, the Pepito and the chorizo burrito. The Pepito was outstanding, the Chifrijo was not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate how well the flavors worked with each other (if you like chunky salsa’s and avocado, you will love it). I hated the chorizo burrito, it was leaking grease and veggies were all limp and it just didn’t taste good (in my opinion). That being said, I am absolutely coming back for a steak burrito because the steak on the Pepito was INCREDIBLE!
Overall, really enjoyed it and I will be eating here again.

I had a great dinner at Irazu after a long train journey to Chicago. This restaurant is a perfect fit for the neighborhood serving Latin American food including their famous oatmeal shake. The layout is mainly a large open patio with the kitchen inside the building. This is probably wonderful on a nice evening, but may be a bit intense when the weather is less than perfect. Irazu is BYOB and cash only, so hit the ATM and wine cellar before heading over.
We started with chips and a side of pico. The house sauce was very nice, but having the pico de gallo was a great alternative. I ordered the Steak El Tico which was a large platter of grilled steak with rice, beans, and plantains. The flavors were very wonderful and explosive which was refreshing after eating boring food for several days. Dessert was forsaken due to my nearly falling asleep into the plate.
I would absolutely come back here, even with some of the challenges. My friend knew the staff, but they seemed good and helpful. Personally, I do not like waiting long for food, so my experience might be different on a more busy night. However, the popularity of the place tells me that enough customers are willing to sacrifice for that oatmeal shake!

I don’t usually set high expectations when trying ‘Triple D’ joints, but Irazu totally blew us away. Make sure to bring cash but if you forget like we did, don’t fret because they have an ATM on site.
We took the CTA blue line here from downtown and from the Western stop it was only a 5 minute walk. Once we sat down and were brought freshly made chips and a green salsa, it took us right back to all the places we love eating at in Mexico. I know it’s a Costa Rican restaurant but it truly has an authentic feel is what I’m getting at.
I was extremely impressed with how many vegetarian choices they have. We ordered fried yucca with garlic mojo to share as an appetizer and to say I was obsessed with it was an understatement. If you’ve never had yucca it’s a lot like a potato but with a more unique taste. The garlic mojo was the perfect companion as was the green salsa they already had for us on the table.
If you come here solely to try what you saw on the show, they have the Guy Fieri special for just that and it’s $ 17. It comes with the pepito sandwich, a small chifrijo, and a 16oz oatmeal shake. For the shake you can choose any milk you want such as soy, regular, vanilla, or even chocolate and they dust the top with cinnamon before serving.
My husband went for it feeling adventurous. They first brought out the shake and the small chifrijo which is fried pork, rice, black beans, fresh pico, avocado, and a traditional Costa Rican sauce. Both were perfection and by the time his sandwich and my vegetarian plate came out, we were already pretty full.
The veggie plate comes with their vegetable of the day (it was spinach and peppers that day), yellow rice, beans, sweet plantains, and a cabbage salad. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of each item, but we loved it all.
My husband fought through being stuffed for the pepito sandwich because he said it was too good to go to waste. It had rib eye steak, cheese, beans, sautéed onions, Costa Rican sauce, and bread that is delivered fresh to them each morning. He added peppers to it for an additional $ 0.50.
I’m bummed that we didn’t know about Irazu when we lived there as we would have easily been regulars. You must put it on your to try list if you are in town!

No le daría ninguna estrella si hubiera posibilidad. La comida malísima sin sabor a nada, pedí unos tacos de pescado, venían con gallo Pinto y sólo sabían a comino ;(de verdad q no se como le dan tantas estrellas porque luego de vivir 4 años en San José, CR este lugar no tiene «Nada que ver»

4 stars for food. But there’s so many other things that bring this place down! You HAVE to scroll to the end if you wanna skip the rest. I made a reservation through Open Table ( Unilocal says they don’t do reservations.) It’s the kind of spot that will make you wait until the whole party is there before seating you…
And the staff really isn’t very friendly. Because we had a questionable number of people for our table (3 with a potential 4^th) we slow-​rolled our order.
The chifrijo was really good! Beautiful presentation, but very skimpy on the amount of meat/​chicharron and avocado that’s in it. A great started to share.
30 minutes after our appetizer, we order our entrée. After 45 minutes, we still didn’t get our order! the waiter was not apologetic, and seemed angry when we inquired. We got a, «Duh! I’m already working on it!»
We ordered a ceviche (You don’t even cook that! it’s marinated!), a shrimp and avocado salad (6 shrimps, which was 10% of the entire plate. cheap and deceiving! $ 12 plate over red onions and cabbage. pff.), and the Pepito Sandwich.
We expressed our concern over a 45 minute wait on 2 appetizers and a sandwich. The waiter said, «I’m sorry, there’s 4 tickets ahead of you.» Which felt sooo shady because tables seated an hour after us were fed, boxed, and out before we even got our entrée. No apologies from the server.
We did try the epic oatmeal shake. Just think horchata with a thicker consistency.
Anyhow. The ambience was great, but the service was horrible. The waiter was nonexistent. We arrived at 7 and didn’t leave until 9:30. The food was seasoned and flavored well, but don’t expect much protein. They’ll nickel and dime you over a pretty presentation.
For a spot that’s featured on Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives, i expected more. At least better hospitality. I’ll never come back with how rudely we were treated.
OH!!! and to top it all off, there was a –**!!PUBE!!**– on the styrofoam to-​go container.