The Pink Chihuahua

Great service and great food.1−10 would say a 10. Great small restaurant and great quality food for the area! Def will return!!!

Perfect. The food exceeded our expectations was brought out in a timely manner and the presentation was awesome. Cloth napkins and good wine! Great food. What a fantastic experience. I highly recommend this place.

Found this place and thought it looked like fun! Eclectic atmosphere. We came at 3pm, but it looked like it would be more fun at night. Got 3 small toppas plates. All very good unique foods. Mango Brie quesadillas were my favorite.

Great, and more importantly unique atmosphere along with equally great and unique food. Went as a double date and we’re able to try several foods off the tapas menu and do entrees without breaking the bank. Everything was awesome with the stand out being the goat cheese and fig flatbread, awesome!

We were traveling from Peoria to Rockford and found this gem through Unilocal.As we walked through the doors, we were charmed by the comfy chairs and eclectic décor. The menu contained an overwhelming number of choices, but our waitress, Kari (daughter of the chef and one of the owners), was helpful in making our appetizer and entrée selections. The Samosa bites had an interesting blend of spices and favors. Interesting spices were a common theme as even my ranch dressing was unusual and good. My husband chose the man cave grass fed Angus burger, one of 24 burgers on the menu. He said it was delicious, but as always, I chose better. I had the pumpkin Alfredo chicken and gnocchi with mushrooms. The gnocchi melted in your mouth and sauce was out of this world. Total bill for all this and two glasses of wine was less than $ 70. We will definitely make the drive back to try more of the enticing options.

Tucked in to the down town area of Lasalle this is a hidden gem.
I have never been to a tapas bar. So the menu was a bit overwhelming. They have the tapas stuffs. Which my husband and I made a meal of four items. And then the regular menu.
My husband is a burbon man. They had a Montana mule. Made with burbon. He was in heaven.
Had crab cake tapas. They were a bit mushy and I like mine a little on the crispy side. but the flavor was good. Bang bang shrimp were delicious as well. The husband got a pulled pork quesadilla that had a spicy pepper jelly. OMG. It was huge and yummy and spicy. Then he ordered the crowning glory. It was a $ 18 plate of salami and procuitto and tomato mozzarella and onion and salami and gherkins and just meaty and basalmic vinegar goodness. My kids loved it too.
All in all it was a neat place. May leave the kids home next time as they are a tad impatient when it comes to food arrival but when it got there they proclaimed their burgers delicious.
Will definitely return for a date night !!
Oh and the owner on the way out the door thanked us for coming and asked how we liked the food. How neat is that !!

Stopped in on our way from Chicago to the Quad Cities. The restaurant is definitely worth the stop. It is like a restaurant that you would find in a big city but located in the downtown of a small town. Most unique menu I would ever expect to see in a town of this size. The food and service were unbelievable. It was hard to choose since there were so many good choices. The atmosphere was perfect. We also spent time talking to the owner and exploring their art collection.

Really cool ambiance, great service (thanks Stacey!), eclectic and expansive menu. We shared a number of dishes all over the map. Fun, flavorful. Look forward to going back!

I was extremely impressed with this place. I was in town visiting the nearby state parks and was looking for a dinner place that had vegetarian options. They had SO many to pick from my only worry was which to go with. We ended up splitting several plates, including the mango quesadilla, the fig and goat cheese flat bread (you guys were right– that is boooomb!) and a few others. Everything was quality and tasted homemade. We also tried a couple cocktails each and were really happy with everything we got. The ambiance here is cozy and the owner came out twice, once to say hello, and again to see how we liked the food. The entire meal was a great experience from beginning to end. I will most definitely be back when I’m in town again! My only complaint? I wish this was near my house!

Pleasant décor, ambitious menu, spotty execution. We were in the area visiting family, and wanted a dinner that wasn’t diner– or fast-​food. The duck breast was very tasty and cooked perfectly. The accompanying mixed vegetables were a terrible disappointment– cooked to mush. The Mu Shu duck was ok except that is was extremely salty, which drowned out most of the other flavors. I don’t think we will be repeat customers on our next visit to the area.

My son had the steak burger yummy. Imperial fried rice double yummy. Wifee had Thai chicken flatbread she loved it. Nice little restaurant and very family friendly and awesome wait staff. If you going north or south on I-​39 come off and enjoy this little place if you are going to LaSalle make this a stop for a great meal!

I was beyond impressed with this restaurant. My boyfriend and I were celebrating our 7 year anniversary and wound up at this restaurant after having a very unpleasant experience at a fine dining restaurant down the street from this place that we used to love. We honestly were just walking by and thought to give The Pink Chihuahua a shot. As soon as we walked in the door I knew we were going to have a fantastic time. There was live music and it was mellow and relaxing. Even with the live music we were able to hear each other perfectly and carry on our conversations with no problem. The walls are decorated with colorful décor that gives the room lots of energy.
The service was exceptional. Our server was extremely nice and friendly. She kept us informed of how our food was coming along the entire meal. The best part was, we never had to ask nor did we have any worries as to when our food was coming. Her proactive approach to keeping us informed showed that she cared.
For drinks I had the Cosmopolitan and it was made perfectly! It had a kick but was not overwhelming. My boyfriend has a 7 & 7 and was very happy with it.
The food, oh the food is so unique and delicious! I am a vegetarian and boyfriend is not, and I sometimes have a rather difficult time finding something to eat at places, but here there were so many choices for both of us. I had the Mediterranean Tapas Platter and the Falafel Bites. Everything from the stuffed cherry peppers to the marinated feta cheese was fresh and full of flavor. I can’t forget to mention the soft naan bread it was served with. The Falafel Bites were the perfect size to accompany my Mediterranean Tapas Platter and came with a very tasty cucumber chive sauce. My boyfriend had the Pork Belly Sliders and he was quiet the entire time after the food came until he was finished because it was so good he could not take a break!
To top it all off, the owners came by near the end of the meal to see how we liked everything and to genuinely thank us for stopping by. That meant the world to us as we do not see that personal touch when we go out to eat at other places.
I am grateful there is a restaurant with such unique dishes to choose from in the LaSalle/​Peru area. You could tell from the moment we walked in that lot of time and care has been put in to this place to help people escape from reality and enjoy a relaxing meal that to us was out of the ordinary in a great way.
We now have a new favorite restaurant in the LaSalle/​Peru area. We are already talking about our next trip to go hiking at Starved Rock and how we have to stop at The Pink Chihuaha.
All in all, one of the best dining experiences we have had in years!

I had lunch at the Pink Chihuahua. The atmosphere was cozy and the art interesting. The seating is versatile. You can sit in lounge chairs, a table, or at the bar. The menu was diverse. I had the hummus and naan for an appetizer. It comes topped with minced garlic and kalmata olives. The nana is hot and a little crispy. The noodle bowl with spicy hot Raman and beef was excellent. The beef was sliced thin and just the right tenderness. It was spicy and not overwhelming. The Thai veggies were perfectly crispy. The menu says it comes with a spring roll — but it is a fried dumpling filled with pork. Stills delicious, just not exactly what I was expecting. I will go back here the next time I am in town.

They are trying hard here, Wanted to like this place more. They were so nice to me and the interior was decorated with flair. Huge selection of interesting menu items.
Unfortunately, my Kobe burger was burnt & charred beyond recognition as Kobe or even beef. I was excited to have Kobe beef since it had been a while, but alas, all I could taste was completely carbonized meat.
The Kangaroo pot stickers tasted fine, if somewhat greasy on the exterior.
I couldn’t bring myself to order dessert, not having confidence after a lackluster app and a ashen entrée.
I would elaborate further but I must go wash the ashes of my tongue.

Nice cozy little place, great spot for date night! The mussels and bruschetta changed my previous negative opinions about mussels. The menu is very large (a little too large,) so I haven’t tried very much else on the dinner menu. The bar is small but provides a nice selection of cocktails. If you are a lover of Moscow Mules as I am, you will be very happy as they have copper mugs and good strong ginger beer! The live music on the weekends is a wonderful touch. If you are a foodie like me, I think you will find something you will like at this restaurant.

I’ve been here several times for both lunch and dinner. This place has a great atmosphere and an impressive menu. I can’t say enough about the food. There are so many unique tastes, and I try to order something different every time. There’s not another place like it in the area, and I recommend it to anyone looking to try something new.

I was not quite sure what to really expect. There is nothing quite like this place in the Illinois Valley and I’m not quite sure just how much they would allow that singularity to influence their menu and execution.
Thankfully, I was quite impressed. Our party was not of quite the same palette across all three members, so we opted to try from their many burger offerings. We each got a different burger and were all very happy with our choices. The offerings were quite a range and rather unique from each other.
What keeps me from giving this place five stars are the prices. They are a little high and while the food is creative, I do not think they truly command the prices they are given.

Impressively cultured and diverse menu with east coast undertones. I was very pleased with the food, the selection and the service. This must be the best place in Lasalle.

Brought a date there. First time in the area for dinner. I made the reservation over email and it was immediately responded and booked. Great first impression even before I got there.
We stuck with the tapas menu items. And we weren’t disappointed. We were really hungry so we had a number of items. My date doesn’t eat pork, but there were plenty of delicious items.
First, the fried calamari is like no other I have had before. I was a bit surprised when it came out because they look like fish sticks. But it was the best way I have ever had calamari. I talked with the chef and was told they slice the bodies long to get the calamari just so. Delicate and delicious.
My next favorite dish had to be the Buffalo chicken samosas. Fried? Yes. Tasty. Definitely. The cole slaw was a perfect complement for the spicy samosas.
The last thing I will go back for is the wild game platter. It’s not on the menu. However, once we knew we could get bison, elk and boar meat, we had to try it. Again, my date doesn’t eat pork, so they happily subbed in bison for boar (just to be safe). We had it cooked rare and it was excellent.
We did have many other items. Falafel, fried green tomatoes, panko crusted brie (a whole wedge of brie– giant portion), and other things I know… The chocolate cake for dessert was rich and we couldn’t finish it. And the house chardonnay was a perfect complement.
The wait staff was also incredibly friendly.
I’ll definitely go back, but not go so crazy next time. There’s always the dinner menu.

Stopped in for lunch. Had the Cuban burger which was fantastic. Also tried the Fig and Goat Flatbread which was so good it could be eaten as dessert.
Small friendly place with some interesting artwork on the walls.
Above average beer selection with some nice porters and stouts available.
Not inexpensive but not outrageous. Definitely worth the money and I look forward to visiting again.