El Faro

GREAT mexican food. Had their carnitas burrito and it was huge, delicious, and $ 5. Seriously can’t get a better deal. Also, it’s open 24 hours. #chipotleoutofbusiness

Great Mexican food in a kind of divey location. The interior is kind of divey I like that. The service has always been terrific the food is very good generous portions and great prices. Far superior to the Lillian Street location. According to the something I saw printed they are not connected but maybe they are.

Food there is always delicious, fast and authentic! I love their taco and burrito dinner plates and their salsas.

What happened to this place? I used to eat here weekly for over 20 yrs. aside from the rice and beans the rest of the food has turned to shit the prices continue to go up and the quality has gone down. fire the cook. In fact shoot him so he doesn’t try to make tacos somewhere else

Went here hoping it had improved and it has greatly! Amazing pickled veggies!

Just like El Faro 3, this place is authentic. Mexican cuisine. Tried Barbacoa taco meat for first time and it was very tender and seasoned perfectly. Tamale, on the other hand was dry so I won’t be getting that again. The garlic shrimp was so good. Shrimp was good sized and was served over the rice which flavored the rice with all that garlicky goodness! YUM! Place is bigger inside than it looks from outside and very clean too. Parking a little tough to find since it’s on State. St.

This is my favorite fast food Mexican restaurant. I have tried many other places and this one still tops them all.
Their tacos are the best (I get the steak and my boyfriend gets the tongue). Their burritos are huge and great for 2 meals. The also have fresh chips and salsa so done in whenever you can, but never forget the take out when you have a craving late at night. Their horchata is pretty good too.
My only suggestion is getting an updated place, it’s a little run down and a bit hard to get ok an out of since there is only one way to and from and you can only fit one car though at a time if someone is parked on the side (which never fails)

Very good food and great prices. They’re pico de gallo is excellent!!! My husband hates Mexican food but he ate everything on his plate and was going on and on abut how good it was! Highly recommended!

My new favorite Mexican restaurant! I am going to order today because it has been a while. The tacos and burritos are huge and inexpensive when compared to Chili’s or Pepe’s.

My original friendship with El Faro was the Summit/​Argo location back in the day. The notoriety was the Giant Burrito served 24 hours a day. This was the «late night» talk of the town. You could wolf down a tasty burrito and serve a dual action purpose absorbing your recent alcohol consumption as well. Oh yeah!
I have walked through the doors of the El Faro Elgin many times, never for lunch or dinner… breakfast tacos at 6 A.M. El Faro is open 24 hours on Friday and Saturday only.
The food is A-OK…especially for 6 AM. Tacos, Enchiladas and Tostadas… all good! The actual breakfast menu with eggs and stuff like that… NO!
The dining area is bright with neon lighting, the TV or Music is always too loud and bad pictures of Mexican Food Entrees line the walls. That’s just the way it is.
Hey this is a fun place to be in the early hours of the day. The lady’s that wait the tables are attentive, cute and always… always smile! They know how to leave an impression. They must be doing something right, one of them drives a Hummer!
Just sayin’

Catering?
The food here is fine, but if you put catering on the front window as a service you provide you should probably have catering menus that are up to date and that people can take with them. We are catering lunch for 55 people and will be happy to go with a business that actually wants the order.

I have been there for lunch a few times and give it high marks. Quick service, good food and a reasonable price. It is becoming my go-​to Mexican restaurant for lunch. It is nice to see a good simply Mexican restaurant as there are so many bad ones around.

One of our favorite restaurants.
Food is quick, cheap and delicious. My husband loves the carne asada tacos and I love the tostadas.
Took my son and he is a mexican food aficionado – he said it was one of the best finds in the area!!!

The tacos were just ok. Got the Carne Asada, El Pastor and Pollo. Ordered guacamole as an appetizer but had to send it back because it tasted strange. Atmosphere was very casual. Pictures of the food on the walls. Harry Potter on the tube. Friendly service.

It’s the middle of nowhere and I’m on my way to Madison. It was cheap, fast and mediocre. I ate it, I didn’t feel sick or think it tasted bad it was just bland. Bland but not poor quality. For the price and speed I really can not complain.

My absolute favorite Mexican Resturant, I live over an hour away and its always worth the trip. Reasonably priced, open all hours of the night, and great food and service. I have the same waitress every time I go, and I like that. Their chimichangas are amazing and are so big I always have half to take home. Nothing has changed since I started going there years ago, so i always know what to expect. I recommend it to anyone who loves authentic mexican for a great price

Two meals for under $ 5 (seriously, the burritos are the size of a dauchshund puppy)? Open ridiculously late to accommodate my night owl tendencies? Friendly and fast service? Good people watching?
I’m sold. My family has been going to El Faro since I was a little kid, and I love this place. Never gotten bad food or bad service, either.

I really really really wanted to love this place. Truly I did. But I didn’t. It wasn’t horrible. It just wasn’t awesome. I had the enchiladas suiza and honestly, it was lacking flavor and a little cold. My dining companion had the burrito with steak. While the burrito was HUGE, the steak was chewy. The rice and beans were good though. The waitresses were really nice though and the place itself was clean.
But I’m doubtful we’ll go back for the food. And so continues our quest for a favorite Mexican restaurant.

My favorite Mexican eatery of all time! This place has it all folks! Great food, great prices and they’re open late.
I’ve been going to El Faro since i was in high school in the mid nineties and it very well may have been my introduction to homes-​style Mexican food. I’ve been to many places since but no one seems to come close to the quality and deliciousness. The Portions are huge (giant gosh darn burritos!) and even the chips and salsa they give you when you dine-​in are excellent. To make things even better, they’re open quite late during the week and i believe for 24 hours on the weekends. So whether the bars have just closed or you just want a burrito for breakfast, I highly recommend El Faro!!!

Really, really good Mexican food. They will prepare the food any way you want as well. I like my pork tacos with lettuce, cheese, crema and salsa verde. One of the best tacos and tamales places in the area