I grew up in this neighborhood and I've been coming to Carbon since they opened. A tiny spot under the over pass of the express way and down the street from the mighty Ricobenes. The house specialty is the tequila lime marinated chicken breast. Beit a taco or burrito ( I'm loyal to the mammoth Mother Clucker Burrito) this thing is seriously packed full of the most delicious above mentioned chicken. Fire grilled and just an orgy of flavor. I add cheese and onions- comes with cilantro standard. It's juicy , its filling , you get a ton of it , and its freaking delicious. Now, I've had the fired grill steak , also just outstanding, the Fish Called William ( breaded tilapia) which is also just delicious. They have added Barbacoa, Chirizo, and fire roasted veggies. It's a simple spot, walk up and order sit and eat or take it to go. You can't go wrong at this hidden gem.. Well done Carbon , Well done ! read more

See all

Aw, Carbon. As you can tell, I'm an absolute diehard fan of Carbon. However, I do NOT recommend delivery. I only went for delivery here due to some credits I had but not a fan of the delivery. Low quantity and quality of the Horchata. Skimped and only decent Burrito Bowl. Sad! I won't order delivery again. read more

I usually get carbon via grub hub delivery... so this is for delivery only. I usually order a burrito or the steak and fish tacos. The burritos are pretty much always on point, not a lot of complaints there, I usually get the mother clucker and ask for no tequila lime sauce and they always get it right. The burrito itself is super good, lots of chicken, moist and satisfying. The tacos are also very good but usually when specifying no sauce or cheese on the tacos it is usually wrong.. I've come to learn that I have to call the restaurant directly and talk to someone to ensure my tacos come out A1. read more

Well let me just say, Chicago's best on WGN had this location on their show. Hence the reason for my travels. My wife and I tend to follow some of their reviews to see if some of these locations are as good as they say. We've had our goods and our bads with their choices. For example is this location. They raved about the Mother Clucker on how much chicken is in this burrito and give you the assumption that it is delicious. My wife and I had our own opinions on that. The Mother Clucker was not all it is cracked up to be. The chicken was kinda dry. And some pieces reminded me of one of those Chinese fast food locations that give you that chicken to where they are not concerned about what you think. On the other hand, The steak fajita burrito did put my taste buds into Curiosity mode. I found myself finishing the whole thing. The horchata was your typical horchata. The salsa was fresh and you could taste it. The staff., Friendly. Can I see myself going out of my way to come back here and dine again?., No. wasn't really impressed enough. The steak fajita burrito was better than the Mother Clucker. read more

See all

If you like fatty meat and food poisoning go there. They can't understand English so it's hard to communicate. I got deathly ill eating there read more

I took a chance on this place because I had a taste for Mexican. This was the blandest Mexican food I have ever had. The chicken was dry and tasteless. The sauce was the only flavor in this meal. I was so mad because I wasted my money on this fake tasteless Mexican food. Go to Taco Bell for more taste and less money. The worse NOT the best! read more

Journeyed to this place while at a conference at McCormick place. I roughed it out and walked to Carbon. It was a little bit of a walk, but nothing too crazy. Upon arrival, I was shocked at how small the restaurant was; however, it was a nice day and there was plenty of seating outside. We ordered and went to sit outside. The food came out pretty quick. I was hot and plentiful!! There was so much chicken inside. While the place is nothing to look at, the food is good and the people are friendly. I would recommend it to others who like to try new things. read more

Carbon - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Been to this place multiple time. I love their burrito it's enough to make you satisfy. Their chips are delicious you can have corn and flour chip. I would recommend my friends to come here for lunch or even dinner. I try their tacos before I like it. read more

See all

Came across Carbon and my first impression was that it appeared to be a hole in the wall restaurant which is fine because they often have the best food, but not in this case. I ordered a burrito and it wasn't great. It cost me like $13 but was very small. The ingredients inside were VERY bland, needed some seasoning. My meat eating friends said their food was okay or at least made it seem like it was better than mine. The place was also very dirty. If I'm ever in Chicago I probably will not return. read more

See all

Carbon tacos are ok, their not the best I've eaten however they were fresh with a different favor profile then traditional tacos. Chicago has soooo many taquerias to choose from I can't say this place was one of my personal favorites however it's a good place to tryout. read more

While this was a go to restaurant for me and my family initially, I had to cease spending my money here. The food is delicious, however customer service is horrible. I had an incident where grub hub never picked up my food and instead of allowing me to change to pick up and come get the food a customer service person named Dan decided to assume I wants the food free, and argue with me about how I could not pick my food up. I'm not sure who he is in their business and how he came to Talk to customers in the manner in which he spoke to me but he needs to do something else because his response to me showed it was clear he wants to hold power over people. So instead of me changing my order to pickup, they cooked and threw away food that night. Since that incident I haven't ordered from here again, I think I'll get my food from antique taco instead. read more

Updating review from 2 stars to 1 don't bother with this place. Just ordered on grubhub and they gave me a delivery time of 1 hour it took them 1hr 40min to deliver the food was cold and soggy already. So I called and of course 0 customer service, what did I expect I guess. read more

What has happened to this place. What is going on with the customer service And more then that the quality of the food. This is a very well known place in this area. But it's not the same as I write this review I'm thinking about the open kitchen should be updated and cleaned up. It was just to busy with a pot on the grill and chicken cooking on the grill all at the same time. No no no The Cashier just took my order she never even looked at me she took my debit card and then she said did you wont cheese because I forgot to ask and if you do I can just charge your card. Really. No thank you because that's not how that works. Not with my card. My food.. Just not good quality at all I didn't enjoy it at all. I was so upset at the fact that I had all this lettuce. (pictures) Big chunks of cheap lettuce at that. Well sorry but it's time for this place to go back to the drawing board. Us yelper's work had at what we do. And now a days Reviews are very important. I hope that you get this and reply I would be more than happy to point out a few things read more

Carbon - This is only half of the chunky cheap lettuce. Found in my burrito bowl The menu says shredded $9.25 - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love the chicken burrito! Most chicken burritos I've had are very saucy, but this one is just right for me. The chicken had a nice char smokey flavor and the staff were very nice. read more

Terrible service ruins the whole experience. Ordered online, picked it up. Get home & several items are missing. Call the restaurant and ask for a manager, Jamaica informs me that she can help...despite not being a manager. I let her know I'm missing items I paid for, she says she can have it delivered...for a fee. Despite it being their mistake. I ask how long it'll take and she says I can get a credit. I don't want to wait an hour for half of my order to be delivered. And a credit just means I have to order from them again...after then messing up my food. She says she can't help so I need to speak to a manager. She puts me on "holds which actually just hangs up on me. I call back, ask for the manager again and speak to David. I tell him all of the above and he says he can give a credit. I explain that I don't want a credit, I just want my money back for what I didn't get. He huffs and gets and attitude. I ask for a refund and say I'll be leaving a review because this experience has been awful and the service is ridiculous. He gets audibly upset...again! After leaving items out of my order, David and Jamaica are upset that I don't want a credit for a future order. After they messed up my order and we're rude and unprofessional. read more

The fish tacos are very good, and the elotes were a new experience for me. Lot's of flavor and interesting options. I'm told that these are healthy alternatives. Either way this is a very different taco shop. My experience was very similar to my visit to De Cero, pleasantly surprised. Chicagoist took a look at the place recently too... http://www.chicagoist.com/archives/2007/03/27/south_side_cheap_eatsfirst_look_carbon.php read more

Carbon - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The steak tacos and elote are super yummy. Love this place.

We really wanted to like this place because it's so close to where we live, but it was a bit of a disappointment. I ordered a burrito with fish and the fish was extremely fishy, I ended up not being able to eat it. I had also ordered chips and salsa that was over-priced. The chips were so greasy it soaked up the bag they were in. The "salsa" I had to pay for ended up being the exact same "hot sauce" they GAVE us with our burritos. That's ridiculous! Had I known it would have been the same thing I wouldn't have ordered it. My boyfriend ordered their tequila lime chicken burrito and they got his order wrong and it wasn't tequila lime flavored so that was another fail for this place. Sadly we won't be returning here. It was over-priced and not very good. read more

See all

This review is dedicated to Steve/n, the delightful dude who helped me out in customer service. I called Carbon twice today; once to confirm how many tacos there were in the menu (it was one-- and i talked to Steve/n this time, and he was also very nice), and the second after i placed my order. I saw on Grubhub (the platform i ordered from) that for orders over $35.00 there would be free chips and salsa. Alas, i did not press the button for that coupon. This is where Steve/n comes in. I called, knowing i had a group of friends who were ravenous for some chips and salsa. I told Steve/n about my situation, and he said that i would've had to press the button. Before i could ask him for this desperate favor, he said the magic words: "I'll give it to you though!" Bless you, Steve/n. Not all heros wear capes. read more

Carbon, why did you let me down? There is all these hype about Carbon having the best tilapia tacos in town. I came in prepared to be blown away but my order was quite the contrary. The Tilapia was a generous portion but it was nowhere near crunchy and a tidbit dry. Did they fry it and left it sitting? I had mine with cheese and salsa. The cheese didn't melt so I might just pass on that. I also wanted my order to be hot/spicy but my friend told them mild instead. That's not Carbon's fault but definitely worsened my experience. So despite my mediocre experience, I'm willing to give Carbon a second chance, especially because it's within 10 minutes of my home. read more

Carbon - Encrusted Tilapia taco - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Terrible service sat down wasn't greeted or asked if I needed anything got up and walked out after 10mins. Fuck this place!

Nothing particularly good or bad about this place but I won't bother coming back. Why pay $22 for an ok lunch when I can get much better for less all over town. read more

Seemed like the meat was reheated. The salsa was not fresh made, tasted like some kind of bottles hot sauce was added to stretch it out. Just not the quality that I had experienced in the past, even after the big cilantro sickness from e coli. I don't expect to go back... at least for quite a while as there are better options out there. read more

Their tilapia tacos are amazing and my all-time favorite. Its always made fresh but I can't say the same for their steak. Their steak is sometimes pre-cooked and kept under a hood. If it is made fresh, you can noticeably taste the difference. Its a hit or miss for the steak. If i'm feeling very hungry, I get a burrito bowl. It comes with elote which makes it more enjoyable. Some favorites to order are the tilapia taco, steak burrito bowl, chicken tortilla soup, elote, and horchata. My favorite salsa is their roasted red pepper (red and creamy). They are generous with their salsa and will give you as many as you want. When I first started going here, I went once a week for about 3 months. Then, their service dramatically went down. I have ordered tacos with cheese to go before and realized there was no cheese on ANY of the tacos. I called back and was given a credit for a guacamole for the next time I visited. But then it happened again, and I didn't bother this time. Overall, there are some items on the menu that I would come back for. But with so many other taco joints around that are cheaper and better, I find myself coming here less unless I'm in the area. read more

Carbon - Burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Haven't been in a while. Always great and today was no exception. Had the battered tilapia tacos. SO GOOD! My companion had steak tacos and enjoyed them. Guac and Mexican bottled Coca Cola. 2-3 of those tacos at a few bucks each cures a lot of ills. Will be back soon as the weather's getting nicer now! read more

I discovered this place while I was at the Taste of Chicago. Even though I live relatively close to this place, I would go to Ricebene's instead. I'm glad I tried them at the Taste, but when I went to the actual restaurant it was a different story. I tried their fish tacos and they were awesome. Their horchata isn't half bad either. I would go back just for the fish tacos, but they are a bit pricey. However, one time I went I brought two of my friends with me and I was served, but they ended up losing the tickets for my two friends. I guess it was because they got busy/ We waited over an hour for our food, but I don't understand why no one helped us since we were sitting down and not eating and just staring back at them. My friends got two horchatas for free. I didn't go back after this because it is in a busy part of the neighborhood and I felt like the taste of their fish tacos weren't going to beat the terrible service that my friends received from this place. read more

Greatest fish burrito I've ever eaten. I order the regular fish burrito(marinated tilapia) which they batter with crushed tortilla chips deep fry then put in burrito with cabbage, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and tequila lime sauce. I then pour roasted red pepper sauce with every bite. Man o man this only thing I miss from Chicago. Very busy place and I would recommend ordering online before coming. They serve beer and have limited places to sit. Takes about 15min from order to get food. This place has a place in my heart... read more

I've always seen this place and passed by it but never bothered to go in for food until now... To start off the location is very small, inside contain about 7ish table that can sit between 2-4 max and people standing in line would just be cramped along with them if there's alot of people. The service was fine they wait patiently while we order, but staring at the food made me so hungry. Upon ordering I had a steak burrito and fish taco. Mm maybe it was cause it was super hyped up before I had but it tasted very typical burrito and taco to me nothing really that special. read more

Carbon - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had the Tequila Lime Chicken and the Tortilla infused Tilapia tacos and both were great. I thought the Tilapia taco was exceptional. It's slightly crunchy texture wad great and I would definitely come back for one. I followed that with an elote. The fact that it was a little spicy made me love it. The spice made sure it didn't feel too heavy or rich. Great food overall with fast service and kind staff! read more

See all

COVID-19 has showed a lot cracks in well established restaurants and this spot was no exception. In a non pandemic year, the food was hot and super tasty. Not so for this moment in time. Lack luster steak tacos filled with more Cilantro and onion than steak and fish tacos over sauced with a lime flavored miracle whip...gross! The Star was the fish quesadilla because it was not Assaulted by lime miracle whip. The well protected young lady at the counter was nice and very polite and yet still got my order wrong. I must confess this is not me nor my family first taste of this spot and have had great experiences here, sadly this time was not one those experiences. 36 dollars plus for 4 tacos and a quesadilla, you need to stay up to par even when the world is shaking around you! Please do better! read more

I love love love their steak burritos, so when I had family over for the Bears game. I ordered $75 worth of food. I was so embarrassed, the burritos they sent were their steak fajita ones. I didn't order them and no one liked them. The rice was cold and bland. I didn't call because it wouldn't make any difference. I'll think twice beefier ordering again read more

Their steak taco was up to one of the best tacos I have ever had. Although it was just as simple as diced onion, roughly chopped cilantro, and tortilla, it is the well-seasoned and perfectly cooked steak which made the taco as a whole delicious and flavorful. The meat was so tender and chewy. The Quesadillas was authentic and tasty as well. A great place to satisfy Mexican food craving for the excellent and authentic food with such affordable prices. read more

See all

The location isn't the best but the food is amazing!! Love the steak burrito bowl. Recommend getting the roasted pepper sauce!!

Overpriced in my opinion for what it is. Seems overrated. The taste isn't bad, but that's about it. There are definitely much better choices in other neighborhoods. If you live in the neighborhood, and need to satisfy your craving for Mexican, this place could do it for you. It's convenient. read more

I would not recommend delivery, go there instead. Would easily be 5 stars review as the food is outstanding . We placed an order at 11:00 A.M for our crew of 10 working standby at the convention center approximately 1.6 miles away. We ordered 230$ worth of food and added 40$ tip. We gave the address of the building we were in. We were told an hour. An hour later no food we wait about 30 minutes more and call to inquire on the status of our delivery they tell us they subbed it out to door dash. After more waiting, we call the store and they said they will use their own driver to deliver the food. After yet more waiting he finally calls says he's there. We still didn't see him And after a few phone tags to simplify things we share location with him and he sends a picture back he's at a totally different building of the complex which is a totally different address which are not at all similar to each other. Inevitably we canceled it as the food was more than 2 1/2 hours Old from the time we placed the order. Their food is great. I would not recommend delivery it ruined the lunch for our crew of 10 people stuck working at a trade show that they couldn't leave. So if you see more than one review regarding this event, it is well warranted. I would've easily given five stars. I've eaten there for years with never an issue, but you're only as good as your last experience, and this one was horrible. read more

Excellent food... probably the best on the go Mexican food I've had consistently. I love their bowls... so good!

I agree with some people who say this joint is slightly overpriced...think Chipotle prices. But this place offers some nice touches, such as authentic beans and rice, than other burrito/taco places just don't have. I found this place at the Taste of Chicago last year and just had to try more shortly after. The fish tacos are really good, but so are the other tacos. Nachos and burritos are just OK. Tacos are the way to go here. This place definitely seems to be a Chicago police department hang out for some reason. The sit down area is small, can be hot due to the kitchen being right next to it and open air. In the summer, Carbon offers outdoor seating. While this place could use a couple upgrades, like a nicer soda machine and more spacious area to get your napkins, straws, etc., it will keep me coming back for more. read more

Carbon - Burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've tried 'taco places' all over Chicago and the suburbs and hands-down this is the best. If you want quantity over quality then head on over to one of the 300 different La Pasaditas on the North side. But for quality (still at a good price) Carbon has yet to be matched. Tried a mix of fish (tipalia), chicken, and steak tacos. All three were excellent and quite different. The elote was really good as well. My only complaint is the location, but not for the reasons other's have stated. I already do not eat in Chinatown often enough considering it's a few blocks away from our condo, but knowing that Carbon is only a few block further south may prevent me from stopping in Chinatown again :( read more

Came here for the third time since it's right by my house. This place was also on one of the FB buzzfeeds of one of the must try burritos in the US so I decided to try it. Buzzfeed recommended The Mother Clucker. It was pretty good and tasty. I had mine with wheat tortilla (ask for it!). In it was a lot chicken breast, cilantro, onions and that tequila lime sauce. Chicken was grilled very nicely--but it was also $11.50. Free parking with patio seating. Fresh and healthy. Serves alcohol but not a full bar. read more

Carbon - The Mother Clucker - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

The tilapia tacos are definitely worth the trip. The fish is cooked and seasoned perfectly and the slaw and sauce give them a uniquely cool and sweet taste that is addictive. The brownie is the best I've had---EVER. The only reason I didnt give them 5 stars is that I'd like some other sides that are less heavy/fattening---grilled veggies perhaps? And the chicken taco was somewhat dry and bland compared to the tilapia. read more