An unassuming little eatery at the back of a Mexican grocery store. Dona Camila means showings of respect to the owner Camila. She took care of the entire store and restaurant all by herself. The restaurant is very tiny, but the food is delish. The restaurant was empty when I arrived at 1pm. She put on the Mexican music when I arrive. Service is fast. The owner explained the menu and provided good recommendations. I tried 4 tacos of different meat: birria, lengua, steak and carnitas. All are served with onions and lime. I love birria and lengua the most, followed by carnitas. I picked an authentic Mexican soda from their fridge. I love all the drink options available. read more

Doña Camila - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

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Checked out this Mexican cafe and grocery store in Carbondale. Dona Camila looks like it wouldn't be a good place to eat to be honest. It looks like a simple family owned grocery store. However in the back there's a dining area. They make tacos and tortas. After looking around a bit we found where to order at. It's got a window in the back. There's a small menu of a few authentic Mexican items and the choices of protein. Mostly it's tacos of course. These are pretty easy to make. It's $4 each. Protein choices include beef, chicken, or get beans and vegetables. Got us a couple of tacos with the beans. These were topped with cilantro and onions. Small but full of flavor. The store has drinks such as Jarritos, and you can get big ass cans of beans so you can make tacos for later. Good place to get authentic Mexican food. It's located on West Jackson Street at Illinois Avenue in a building that looks unassuming from outside. There's taqueria is located in the back, and you order at the window. read more

Doña Camila - Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

I have worked in Carbondale for about 11 years now and I'm not from the area. I've tried all the other restaurants pretty much needed something different so I found this little Mexican grocery store that has a Taqueria in the back. I tried the tacos, the pork tamales and the chicken torta. everything was about as authentic as you could get if you were in Mexico yourself the lady working in there was by herself running the whole operation all alone she's very sweet and nice and very friendly and happy to serve. I will always be a lifelong customer as long as this place is open read more

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Manage expectations that this is a taqueria at the back of a Mexican market. With that out of the way, there is an excellent chef and we tried a huarache with carnitas ($8.50), pork tamales ($2.50 each), and five different tacos ($4 each). We'd recommend the lengua, cabeza, and tripa. Asada and pastor not as strong (bit dry). Realized the BBQ on there is probably barbacoa and we should have gone of those too. Carnitas is excellent. No horchata that day...so drink options were out of the fridge cases. read more

Doña Camila - Five different tacos: recommend lengua, cabeza, and tripa. Wondering about BBQ/barbecoa. Less hot about asada and pastor. - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

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Great food and service. Some of the best tamales and Carne Asada I've had! Don't let the grocery store fool you! A great selection of items in the store as well. read more

Cute lil staff. I feel like I'm eating at my friend's Abuela's house. Very nice people, food was top tier. read more

Doña Camila - Steak and Birria Tacos. Very juicy and delicious. - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

Don't be fooled by the exterior! This unassuming little restaurant tucked in the back of their grocery store is AMAZING and authentic. Owner cooks the food with love and pride. A true hidden gem! read more

Service was great. Food was made to order. I got a total of 5 steak tacos and 1 chicken taco. The steak was my favorite. It was so flavorful. The chicken was good I'm picky when it comes to chicken tacos so I would give it a 5/10, but I would recommend tasting for yourself. The wait was only about 10 minutes. Also, the price has increased but it's still not bad. $3.50 for chicken tacos and $4.25 for steak tacos. I'll definitely be back. Overall experience 10/10. read more

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Food was amazing - authentic! I had a chicken tamale and an asada burrito (medium). Service was quick and friendly! I never knew this place was here...definitely will be back! Gracias! read more

The place was as the other reviews mentioned. The beef and pork tacos were both very good. The red sauce was slightly hotter than the green, but both were good and not overly hot. I was there with the owner, her daughter and the grandkids. It was pretty neat. I want to try a chorizo burrito next. read more

Best burrito I've ever had! Everything was fresh, made fast, and affordable. Great small business, the owner was very caring and kind.

Food is absolutely amazing. I tried the birrilia tacos and omg just amazing. My husband tried the brisket sandwich combo and the brisket was very very tender. The fries were fresh and tasty as well. read more

The most authentic food from the little restaurant in the back of the store. Plus, large portions. The woman who works there is friendly. The store is full of authentic Mexican food & other items. read more

This place is great! Cheap and easy takeout, conveniently located near the strip in Carbondale. I've had chicken, al pastor, carnitas, and choriza tacos from here. They're $2 each and delicious. That, paired with the wonderful delights of a Mexican grocery store, make it a great trip for the whole family! Seriously though, they deserve more business for the quality of food they're serving up. The salsas are great too. Everything tastes homemade read more

Doña Camila - The restaurant section is at the back of the grocery store, it's pretty hip! - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

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The best authentic Mexican food I've had outside of the Central Valley of California. Fresh, delicious, authentic.

We moved from Southern California, so we're Mexican food snobs. This place does it right. We will definitely be coming back. It's a little cafe in the back of a grocery shop. The woman who helped us was wonderful. Very friendly! The menu is basic but she said she can make anything! Check it out! read more

Doña Camila - a blackboard with a list of food items on it - Mexican Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

Awesome food! Wish I had more time to go through their store. As good as this was I'll definitely be back.

Tacos 7 days a week Best secret in carbondale, the staff is lovely, the lengua/food is to die for. This is a southern Illinois gem, totally worth the experience! Stepping into a slice of authentic mexico read more

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Very non descript place , could hardly make out the business name on the outside. Walked in and pretty much a Mexican grocery store. As you walk straight back there is a wall with a simple straight forward menu. A couple own the olace. Asked for 3 Steak Tacos and a few minutes later I received my food. Absolutely delicious. Scarfed it down in no time. This is the way tacos should be. I'm from Chicago so I've been around all kinds of Mexican food. This is the real deal. Glad I stopped in. read more

When it comes to Mexican cuisine, far too many comfortably associate it with sub-par ground beef, ridden with still-cold shredded cheddar cheese on top a sour-cream walloped flour tortilla. To acquire a legitimate taste of Mexican fare, Dona Camilla, named after the heavenly chef herself, offers a healthy selection of dishes that can teleport any patron 1,700 miles away to the heart of Mexico. Often I am disappointed with Mexican restaurants' attempts to imitate the feel and taste of home cooking; however, Dona Camilla is on par with mi abuelitas cooking (don't tell her I said that). Every time I go, it's the standard: six steak tacos with cilantro and onion which comes served with her custom red & green sauces, only to be washed down with a Tamarindo Jarritos chilled in a glass bottle. I always take it to go, but every time I walk to the register, it feels as if I am temporarily walking through the markets of Guadalajara. Nothing here lacks authenticity and is very symbolic of Carbondale's wide spectrum of ethnicities. read more

I finally came across a an authentic Mexican restaurant. It's beautiful hidden gem in Carbondale will definitely be going back highly recommend. read more

This taqueria is the real thing - no place like it in the region except La Pequena Taqueria in Cobden. Authentic, home cooked Mexican food by a woman from Cheran, Michoacan, an indigenous Purepecha community. The store is neat and clean, with a wide variety of Mexican products, and the food is delicious. read more

Awesome authentic Mexican restaurant! Friendly atmosphere and great food! My son and I are vegetarians, and they made us a meat free burrito, chalupa and quesadilla that were incredibly good! We'll definitely be returning often. read more

The most authentic Mexican food in Carbondale. Delicious. Get the carne asada burrito.. (Warning! The large size is huge) my MIL is from Guatemala and this is the closest I can find to her cooking. read more