I liked it Food was great Servers were attentive Portions HUGE took a little longer for the food to roll out of the kitchen but I loved my company so worked for me Btw my rice was friggen awesome read more

My brother took me to this place and CLEARLY I see why he loved it so much. The food was INCREDIBLE, loved the owner and his stories and can't wait to come back. If you are anywhere near this place, GO!!!!! It is worth it!!!! read more

We highly enjoyed Chilangos in Highlands NJ! We have been to chilangos many times since it has opened in the late 90s or early 2000s and it's great every time. Highly recomend for great food, cool atmosphere and attentive service! read more

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August 2026 . We were a local group of 7 people, including three children and we sat indoors. Service was exceedingly slow and the feeling was that the wait help was overwhelmed. All the orders were written down by the waitress after a 20 minute wait. The 2 pitchers of Margaritas we ordered were loaded with mostly ice and we had to ask for glasses with salted rims. We were always re-asking for basic things on the table like plates, napkins, and kids drinks due to the limited wait staff that was not in sight during our meal. When the food finally arrived, it was plopped on the table quickly and even the sour cream for the tacos was missing and never brought. The food portions for adults meals were adequate, but I thought that on a busy Saturday the restaurant experience and overall hospitality was disappointing. read more

I was very disappointed in my order it was not as I was expecting. Would love to support local businesses but not with food that's flavorless read more

Wha a wonderful place, me ican food alwYs top notch and such nice people. Lovely inside but we ate out on the picnic tavkes wonderful drinks and he has a happy hour from 4 to 6 Great place the real deal read more

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I love the 3/$7 taco special on Tuesdays. Can't stand the server who works on taco Tuesdays. One woman with a leather skirt who always appears flustered and bothered by the patrons on Tuesday. I don't get it. Don't work in the service industry if you hate serving people kindly with a smile. read more

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Service, food, happy hour! Can't beat the food especially the fajitas!! Great bar...like a Cheers bar! Owner is super nice! We drive up from Wall fir this Mexican food experience...outside cool too on a warm day! Jim Brown read more

Chilangos Restaurant - Special chips and salsa and happy hour margaritas!! - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

Packed Saturday night in March. They were apologetic. Seated us in 15 minutes. Empanada tasty. Quesadillas simple but done perfectly. Fish tacos good. Fajitas juicy shrimp. Only complaint was rice overcooked and tasteless. Ambiance on Saturday night is loud bar but kids also welcome. read more

We love this restaurant and when Leo, the owner, pulls up a chair to talk about your experience it just puts it over and above! The chips and salsa are brought to the table right away! Chips are fresh and salsa is something special. The appetizer shrimp tropical was scrumptious! There is a secret ingredient in the sauce. Love it. Really pretty presentation. Fajitas come out sizzling. Fish tacos are filled with fish. Lovely! You just gotta go!! read more

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Great unassuming little Mexican spot - margaritas very good and quite possibly the best nachos I've had in a super long time. Friendly attentive servers. - dessert was tres leches cake and a little too sweet for my liking. Recommend! read more

Not sure whats happened here. Used to be reliable. Tonight something seemed off. On a beautiful summer Friday night the place was not busy at all. Used to be. Not now. Service was okay but the food took its sweet time coming out. Sure chips and salsa was quickly served. Main entrees took a long time. The place was not busy at all. Food was underwhelming, fajitas promised a half pound of chicken, was no where near that amount on the plate. Margarita and daiquiri was quite weak and full of sugar. We waited a long time for mediocre food when it should've been sooo good (again, it was not). We don't plan to come back read more

Chilangos Restaurant - a close up of a person holding a drink - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

HIGHLANDS: on Cinco de Mayo of all days, we stumbled upon Chilangos while exploring the city! They have a huge outdoor patio decorated in bright colors, picnic tables, umbrellas, a taco catering trailer, and outdoor bar! They also allow leashed-dogs! Delicious Mexican-style tacos with your choice of fillings and over 275 tequilas in house! Really friendly people, great food, and a fun environment are a perfect combination for a dog friendly outing! read more

Chilangos Restaurant - two people sitting at picnic tables - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

OK, not bad, not great. You can find similar menus throughout NJ, so it is pretty formulaic. Drinks overly sweet. Chips and salsa above average. Ample parking. I wish Highlands would finish fixing up Bay Ave, though! read more

I enjoyed my takeout experience with Chilango's, ordered over the phone and ready 45 minutes later. I have heard excellent things about the dine in experience, unfortunately it was raining and humid so I wasn't willing to eat outside....next time. The portions are tremendous and for the quantity and quality of the food it is a good deal. The nachos were a healthy portion with shredded roast chicken. The Beef Burrito was tremendous and included rice. The burrito comes with sauce on it, I recommend you take it on the side so the burrito isn't drowned. On the side was sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, fresh peppers and red onion. My least favorite were the chicken fajitas, the peppers, onions, rice were all fine but the chicken needed more seasoning in my opinion....another tremendous portion. I am looking forward to going back to try more specialties. read more

Chilangos Restaurant - Fish tacos to go - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

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Came here as an alternative to Casa Comida, which sadly closed. Unfortunately this place is not a worthy opponent. Decent atmosphere with friendly staff, however the drinks were sub par, likely made with a can of lime-aid and 1 shot of tequila for an entire pitcher. Food was also sub par. Chicken was dry, as other reviewers mentioned. No sauces available to help out the food, no queso available in the entire restaurant. Too expensive for what they offer to make it worth a trip. $18 for a bland/dry chimichanga and $32 for a canned, essentially non-alcoholic margarita pitcher. Won't be returning, and will continue the search for an authentic Mexican restaurant with a bar in this area. read more

Chilangos Restaurant - Dining room - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

This restaurant was AMAZING! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very relaxing. We got the Margarita and it was delicious, and I mean delicious! You didn't think it was strong by how good it was but let me tell you it was strong! For appetizers we got the chicken nachos, and the ratio of the toppings to nacho was perfect, there was no fighting to get your chip to have a topping on it as they were all covered with cheese! For dinner my dad had chicken and steak Fajitas! They gave a lot of food for the price and every thing was of course fresh and hot. I had the chimichanga with chicken in it, for my personal taste I thought the chicken was a little dry but that could of just been me. That does not take the fact away from how amazing the rest of the meal was. The service was a 10 out of 10 as she was super friendly and kept coming back to the table to make sure we had every thing that we needed. I am most definitely going to come back here a lot, and it's going to be a birthday dinner must! read more

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What an amazing find! Great authentic Mexican in the heart of the Highlands. My friend and I dined here on Friday and sat at the bar. Our bar maid was exceptional! Very attentive and made the best skinny margaritas! I knew this place was going to be good based on the chips and salsa. It was made perfectly. Not too spicy and not too bland. We shared the Shrimp, chicken and steak fajitas which were served on a sizzling cast iron pan. Seasoned to perfection and the meat was so juicy. You must visit if you are in the Highlands area. You will not be disappointed. I can not wait to return. read more

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We used to enjoy it. Last time they appeared to be short handed. Margaritas were watery. The food was still good but ambiance really not inviting. Last time we went there was a bus person/server parading around the dining room with a "F*** BIden" tee shirt on. Goodbye. read more

Let me first say that the owner Leo is amazing, and we typically get take out. We decided to go for an early quiet dinner being locals. We called ahead to ask if we could eat outside. The woman on the phone said no pretty abruptly so we head over to go inside. We start sitting down at the bar when a group comes in to ask if they could sit outside. The owner said they weren't busy (literally can hear a pin drop) and it wouldn't be terrible to accommodate. We didn't want to impose so we stuck at the bar despite wishing we just asked when we got there instead of calling ahead. I would soon regret this decision. There is one other couple at the other end of the bar who seem pretty intoxicated. They are talking loudly with the bartender and say how they have been out drinking all day, etc. We see the bartender take shot after shot with them, and they were so loud they might as well have been sitting next to us. It got so bad that I had to take food home and leave. The bartender who was clearly into her customers couldn't be bothered to check us out, she made the waitress going back and forth from outside close our check. If the owner was there to witness this, or even knew how uncomfortable this was for an early quiet dinner, I'm sure it wouldn't have happened. I think we'll be sticking to take out only. The food is good and remains authentically fresh, definitely got more expensive (as everything else has). read more

We were in Chilango's Lounge & Restaurant in the late afternoon for a spell, enjoying a margarita at the bar and eating Huevos Revueltos, an excellent dish of eggs, corn on the cob, beans and fresh cheese. Lana, our server, was cheerful and informed us of the popularity of the above dish we chose. I, of course, wanted mine spicy. The place was pretty well packed on this Saturday afternoon. We spoke to the manager. There is another Chilango's in NYC. Mexican music prevailed as well as a World Cup Fútbol game in the background. Street parking on the street is available. Restrooms are clean. It's good authentic American fare at reasonable prices. read more

We've been going to chilangos for a few years but yesterday was our best ever! We had 2 pitchers of cucumber margaritas and fish tacos. Hands down the BEST tacos EVER! The fish was super fresh and the the crisp of the batter was absolutely delicious! I've always been a fan of the cucumber margaritas so I always recommend but the fish tacos were to die for!! Run, skip do whatever you need to..get yourself some tacos!!! read more

Been coming here regularly for over 15 years. Most consistent restaurant in the area. We consider the crew family friends at this point. Leo will be sure to make you feel like a true guest in his home. You get so much more than just a good meal here. The best! read more

Omggggg! This place is so damn good! We ordered the empanada, chimichanga, and short ribs and it was all delicious. The portions are quite large. Best food I've had in a while read more

Love this place! There is a reason it's always busy. Great food and drink at reasonable prices. Service is friendly and quick. One of the few places in the area that serves (breaded/fried) codfish tacos. The regular (beef, chicken) tacos are excellent too, and so are the fajitas. Nice fresh chips and delicious salsa are complimentary. Guacamole is among the best. The owner (Leo) is often here. When he sees us, he comes over to say hello and does a shot of tequila with us. Been coming here for years and never once had anything less than a perfect meal. We live right outside Red Bank where there are at least 4 fairly well known and reputable Mexican restaurants but we make the drive to Chilango's in Highlands because it is the best. read more

Great food. Cold drinks. We went there on Cinco de Mayo and it was crazy, but the staff and service were Amazing. I had the pork burrito and it was fantastic. The menu was limited because of Cinco de Mayo, so we'll be back to get a taste of the full menu. read more

Go here if you want overpriced tacos that look like a meat sludge/sloppy Joe's on a tortilla. Don't mind paying more if it's actually good. Overall a disappointing meal. read more

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Great food and drinks best Mexican food!!! The margaritas are delicious!!! If you are around don't miss it read more

LydiaP(from NY) on Sunday,5/26 a group of seven went into this restaurant and we're told we had a long wait though there were tables and an outside area available. we said we would wait and the waitres, a women with black hair, pony tail and glasses could not give an estimate to how long we would wait because several patrons had just arrived. we asked about outside and was told that it's too hot and not available when clearly it was. my children come here often and we were disappointed that we had to leave. her attitude was terrible and not friendly. we went to an Italian restaurant across the street and we had a great time, food and service were awesome. it's a shame that an employee of this Mexican restaurant caused the owner to lose business. read more

The best Mexican restaraunt in NJ. The ground beef burrito is excellent. My favorite Mexican restaraunt in NJ.

The worst! Even the margaritas stink! How they're getting stellar reviews and a steady stream of customers is beyond belief to me. Never ever again! The first and the last tine! read more

I feel bad because my fiancé and I have really tried to like this restaurant a few different times. We've heard good things from many people so we kept trying. We have dined in, stopped at their food truck when it was open and ordered out. Every time the order is either messed up, cold, or just feels like an inexpensive dish that's over priced. For the quality and flavor of the food, I found their prices are very high. We ordered a full dinner recently and got a completely wrong meal delivered. Kicker was our name was on the receipt that was stapled to the bag. Thankfully it was all items that we liked and didn't mind the mistake too much but the wrong orders shouldn't be going out to the wrong families. Especially with the receipt stapled to the bag with the items it was suppose to have. read more

We went on a cold wintery night and was pleasantly surprised by the steady stream of customers coming in. There was only one gal covering the bar/tables and seating people. She did a great job. The food was good and the ambiance was cozy. We will definitely return. read more

We have been going here for years( our favorite) more now because it is also our daughter favorite place too now. The owners and the waitresses are always kind and the food is delicious and the drinks are always perfect! With covid they were managing groups of people better than I have seen anywhere else. We had to stand out side for a bit to wait to be seated but the owner plugged in a heating lamp for us to make sure we were warm. Checked on us to make sure we were ok and saw my daughter and I were the ones that were hogging up the heat lamp. He came out offered him a tequila shot to stay warm. His "birthday" after all. I got one too because owner and family are incredible host. . read more

Terrible service, mediocre food, high prices for a basic Mexican restaurant that's not upscale. The kicker was the 3.5% service charge for a credit card. Will never go back. What happened to the old Chilango's, used to be a favorite. read more

Came after the beach into the Highlands and a pleasant surprise to see all the restaurants in this town. We chose Mexican. Thankfully for the open sign or we would of passed by as it didn't look open. It looked closed and uninhabited from the street. Their outside patio is very plain closed in from outside making it look closed. Anyway we walked in and pleasantly greeted by the hostess and found ourselves in air condition environment but not too cold that I regretted sitting inside. The salsa and chips were delicious. Salsa had a nice kick to it so if you are into Mild this def wasn't it. I ordered a sangria.. Again delicious taste well made after suffering a hangover from crappy sangria the night before I would know. Entree I went for the tacos as I didn't want sauce drowning my burrito as all the descriptions stated. Taco was good except the most important part... The meat!!! We had chicken and beef tacos both low quality tasting meat. Chicken was rib tenderloin very chewy tasting and beef just didn't seem right even the seasoning of the meat couldn't hide it. Guacamole was just ok I can't say it's one of the best I've had sadly. I think this place has potential if the quality of the meat was changed. I'll try it again and eat something else but it's not a place of frequent unless it's to eat salsa and chips and sangria all day. read more

Chilangos Restaurant - Beef tacos - Mexican Near Me - Highlands, New Jersey

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I have been back twice since the pandemic. Service was slow, they kept refilling our chips to stall. The food was just okay when it came out. For the new prices on the menu, you should feel like you got a top notch Mexican meal. It has always been a little inconsistent, but my last meal was disappointing. read more

I ate there yesterday and am still suffering from gastrointestinal issues. I barely made it 3 miles home. The food was inedible. Will never eat there again. Ordered the pepper soup, it was disgusting taste like thick chicken broth. I wanted a vegetarian soup. Nothing on the menu said it was made with chicken broth. Returned that. Fish tacos were grey!!! Enough said there. read more

Friendly staff with great food and a excellent vibe. I'm from Texas and I'm often disappointed on the upper east coast but not this time! Fabulous food! read more

We enjoyed the food. Everything was very good. Each dish was $16 and up. I thought is was a little pricey for the area. The bill came to $115.00 plus tip for the four of us. No appetizers but we did get a pitcher of margaritas. They were very friendly and the food was very good. Very small space. Seats maybe 30 people plus a bar area. The bar was full of various tequilas. Huge variety. All in all a very nice time. 4 stars only because it was expensive. a chicken quesadilla was something like. $17.00. read more