We go here several times a year when we want standard Mexican fair, no surprises. I always have 3 avocado tostadas. Husband varies between chicken tacos and veggie burrito. Recently, three of us ate here for $ 50 – including two adult beverages. Kid had child taco dinner. I don’t feel ripped off here, because full dinner is served. Chicken soup precedes entrees which come with rice and beans. Chips and salsa, meh. Best value on Margaritas are by the ½ pitcher. Large, spacious dining room, next to Healy’s. We like to sit by the window. I’m happy they’ve made a go of it since all my favorites have closed or left town – La Majada, Fuego Loco, Lalo’s and my most favorite, Las Fuentes.
Nektaria R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
This place is a hidden gem! They have daily specials and taco Tuesdays(or something like that). It was dollar tacos for beef otherwise, $ 2 for steak — so worth it! We had a chicken soup that could easily feed two people and steak tacos and the flan. Dinner was so delish. Plan on going back again for their other tasty dishes. The owner is kind of funny, reminds me of my dad. My honey and I enjoyed our visit. Will be back soon.
Giuseppe D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Oak Park, IL
I’m not here to bash on Cocina De Los Lobos but I can say with confidence that there are plenty of other Mexican restaurants in the vicinity that offer much higher quality food. It might have been a one-time experience, as I can see other people enjoy their food, but I couldn’t find one thing that I liked. One of the best ways to tell if a Mexican restaurant is authentic, or if it’s even going to be good in general, is the salsa and chips. Right off the bat I knew we were in for a subpar experience when the salsa came watered down and with a very bland flavor. There was no spice to either of the salsas, and laid out the foundation for a very average meal. At this point I knew I shouldn’t have ordered the mole, but it’s one of my favorite dishes to order when dining Mexican so I went with it anyway and ordered the enchiladas de mole. I barely ate even one of them. Coming from a guy who can sit at New Rebozo and eat the 8 enchiladas with ease, I was very disappointed when I couldn’t even eat one of them here at Lobos. The beans were fine so I ate those with some tortilla chips, but the rice was another no-go. My brother didn’t seem too satisfied by his burrito, either, as he only ate a half portion of it when we decided to leave. On the positive end, I like the setup, with the big open windows in front, and the bar area as well. And the service was fine, even though they had the bartender coming from behind the bar to serve us as well as the bar. I might return in the future to give Lobos a second chance, but for now I’d highly recommend another local spot by the name of New Rebozo, which is just down the street on Madison and Harlem.
Crystal W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oak Park, IL
Hidden Oasis.. . Started going for Taco Tuesday a couple years ago, it’s much to popular now. If you go I would suggest the chorizo and steak tacos. They are two bucks as opposed to the dollar ground beef, but the flavors are«off the charts». If you are a fan of flavorful spice(it’s spicy) ask for some special salsa. It’s made fresh on Taco Tuesday and is Deelicious. Never do fish tacos here, you get a breaded fish patty. Service is quick and efficient. Loved there Carne Asada, really tender and marinated in lime. There is a decent tequila selection. Stay away from the ready made margaritas, unless you like headaches«on demand». For a couple dollars more you can get a top shelf freshly made, with hand squeezed lime and lemon juice, it’s so worth it. Probably the Best Margarita in FP. I should tell you it’s never crowded except on Tuesday or Fridays, and that its located next to a funeral parlor. 3 stars bc of the location, that horrible ready made margarita, and the fish taco. Otherwise it would be a 4 star experience.
Jillian F.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Westmont, IL
Went in here over the weekend for my 2nd attempt. It was almost 90 degrees outside so when we walked in we were all hoping for a pleasant air conditions room. It was hotter inside than outside. The windows were closed too. We asked several times to turn the air on and the male workers seemed annoyed that we event kept asking. My sister in law had to fan herself the whole time with a menu. Then we all received our food. All was decent except my sister in law order Tacos with just the cheese, tomato and green sauce. When it arrived it had sour cream and lettuce and ect on it. So she sent it back, of course. When they brought it back(literally 50 seconds later) you could tell all they did was pick through it and remove the other ingredients. You could see pieces of lettuce and sour cream still on the tacos. Let’s just say we will stick with Lalo’s as our Mexican Restaurant of choice.
Jana M.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Chicago, IL
My boyfriend and his friends used to go to Cocina De Los Lobos weekly for Taco Tuesday. We all(a group of about 6 of us) decided to go on Cinco de Mayo for dinner, around 6:00. We entered the restaurant and my boyfriend and his friends were recognized by a waiter and he let us know it might be a minute before a table is cleared for us. Due to the holiday we expected it to be busy and we were okay with a moderate wait as we were looking to have a drink and socialize. Quickly, he sat us at a large table in the middle of the restaurant, we were very hard to miss. After about 10 minutes without menus we decided to grab a couple off of a clear, nearby table. I flagged a busboy down to ask for margaritas knowing he was underage and assuming he would grab a waiter to take our order. No one came. There were two couples that came after us that were sat in booths and we noticed that they had a basket of chips and salsa. We attempted to flag wait staff for the next few minutes and we kept getting passed. We let ourselves get overseen for the next 15 minutes and decided it was time to go as we weren’t even given water. As we left a gentleman from one of the couples that were sat after us got my attention and asked«Did they even approach you?» I shook my head and he replied«I’ll be sure to let them know that you were left unattended to». Needless to say, this restaurant lost 6 customers, four of which were weekly regulars. I am appalled by the neglect we experienced that day. As a former back of the house and front of the house restaurant worker I am offended by the poor service and attention. I didn’t have to eat the food to leave with a bad taste in my mouth.
Liz H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Cook, IL
The waitstaff is welcoming and the portions are sizable. Did not like the green salsa at all — watery no flavor! The red salsa is not your typical tomato based salsa — too much paprika!!! I had the steak fajitas with the trimmings. Didn’t like the melted cheese. If my boyfriend didn’t love this place, I wouldn’t return.
Mary M.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Oak Park, IL
The food is very authentic, very good, if you can get the attention of Gambino who is a waiter there. He doesn’t like anyone, his sneakers screech across the floor as though he’s in a gymnasium when he is required to actually serve a customer. He likes nothing better than to argue with the customers. That doesn’t stop me from patronizing the restaurant, I just hope I don’t get Gambino as my waiter. After all, he’s got a newspaper to read and I’m just an interruption.
Thomas G.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Chicago, IL
Had the carne asada tacos tonight. I was wondering why they don’t throw in some cilantro like all the other places I go to do. Have to say I like the new red hot sauce they have, it’s nice and hot. Otherwise some of my dinner guests said they thought the tacos kind of flavorless. That’s too bad. I’ve been going there about 13 years and I thought they were ‘okay.’ Maybe because I like more hotsauce ;)
Royce B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Bellwood, IL
awesome service and the food was also pleasant suprise
Sam D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Chicago, IL
Sub par food. Red salsa was okay, green lacked flavor. I’m no chef but the guac needed salt badly. Chicken enchiladas needed more sauce or perhaps flavor, I dunno. I’d sooner get TBK take out and plop in front of my DVR.
Tania T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 River Forest, IL
Honestly the best Mexican food I’ve had since I’ve been in the area! I’m from Mexico and have been homesick ever since I got here This place brings me back home and tasted as authentic as my mothers food! Amazing!!!
Jordan K.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Forest Park, IL
This place is neither good mexican food nor bad mexican food. Pretty generic. This is coming from a hispanic from the south. Had the chicken grande burrito for dinner and a beer. The burrito had little flavor, the chicken was boiled and stringy, and they sides weren’t much better. It got the job done and the service was fine without being too expensive.
Jamie D.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Northbrook, IL
I really enjoy this place. My boyfriend and I always sit at the bar and get excellent service. Margaritas are great, salsas are fresh, food always tastes really good. Tuesdays are $ 1 tacos for beef and I think $ 2 each for steak or chicken.
Kim L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Very cute place! Chicken soup and chips and salsa are on the house appetizers. I order 3 dinner tacos. The steak taco is good, chicken taco a little bland, ground beef is good, not a fan of the rice. Homemade salsa are delicious and good margaritas. Over all good experience.
Andy M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Elmhurst, IL
Good Mexican place connected to Healys Irish pub in a great community. The chip sauce was incredible and drinks fairly reasonablely priced. Bar cold be a bit bigger and have more seating area to people watch downtown Forest Park
Jerry L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berwyn, IL
This review is purely for the margaritas. My wife and I stopped in for a couple of drinks, and had the best margaritas we’ve ever tried. Great flavor that can’t be beat. We’ll be back for the food soon. I can’t wait!
Peter J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Hickory Hills, IL
Ate here Friday 4⁄4. There’s a reason not many people were in this place, the food was terrible. Yes the Chicken Soup was great, however the Garlic Shrimp tasted as if the shrimp was pulled out the fridge and had Garlic Powder tossed on top. My wife ordered the Spinach/Cheese Enchiladas, and was told by the very apologetic waiter that they were out of Spinach. My beer glass had a huge crack! I see all the great ratings for the Margaritas. What about the food? I think the nice, apologetic waiter we had understands what is going on.
Luaunna H.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Franklin Park, IL
Went to Cocina Lobos tonite, we were saddened to see so few patrons on a Saturday nite. we were a party of four and only one other table had people and a few at the bar. Wait staff was attentive. Someone else mentioned the marinara style salsa but we liked it. Margaritas were good. We had the chorizo quesadillas for an appetizers and they were fabulous. One of our guests had the bread tilapia and when he asked how spicy it might be the waiter indicated that a garlic and onion sauce was available he chose that. He loved it. I had veggie fajitas and they were very good. steaks were had by others and they said it was pretty good. We had a seat by the window which enhanced our experience. I would recommend it for a nice evening out in Forest Park.
Claire M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Forest Park, IL
This is probably more my other half’s review than it is mine because he was like, blown away by this place — or at least the particular dish he ordered. We had our first Cocina de los Lobos experience at Summerfest when we tried their DELICIOUS tacos(they were so kind as to make mine vegetarian). We decided that since them tacos were so good, we’d have to try the restaurant which we did for a late dinner tonight. Chips and salsa were good. m I preferred the red salsa to the green which is pretty par for the course for me. They serve Coke products which is a MAJOR bonus in my eyes. We ordered the queso dip which made me crave a visit to the gym after I had my first bite. Very tasty, though. I are more than I should have. Other half ordered the Hungry Wolf steak and eggs or something which he thought was absolutely delicious. He said it smelled like real Mexican food(and he’s Mexican) so make of that what you will. I’m just the messenger. I had the vegetarian combo or something. I honestly don’t even remember what it consisted of. An avocado burrito, chile relleno and a cheese enchilada I think? It was good. I liked it. I didn’t eat much though because I was pretty full from the chips and queso dip which(was served with tortillas so I felt especially full). They also brought out a cup of their chicken soup which sadly I couldn’t eat. I took it to go and gave it to my aunt who raved about it after she ate it so I guess it’s tasty. I behaved myself and didn’t order any beverages of the alcoholic persuasion so alas, I cannot offer an opinion on that. Our waittress was very sweet and very attentive. There were only 3 other occupied tables while we were there so it was also more on the quiet side which is nice. I actually don’t know why that even matters to me because we don’t talk much when we eat but whatever. The other half said he would definitely go back.