I'm a fan because the food is excellent fresh and plentiful. Service leaves something to be desired. Maybe the waitress was having a bad day. read more

I've been eating here for the last ten years. Me and my high school friends would always eat here after football practice and it would always fill us up. Really enjoy the free chips and pickled vegetables with a special preference towards the pickled carrots. The burritos here are excellent and around five dollars. Easily the best burrito place in Elgin read more

Not impressed. The tamales were dry, had almost no filling and didn't even seem homemade...more like a frozen tamale overcooked in a microwave. Carnitas meat was plentiful but extremely dry. The chorizo burrito was tasty but not worth driving our of your way for one. Liked the extreme heat on both of their salsas but the overall flavor was meh. Most of the tables were dirty and the only staff on duty for dinner was an order taker and cook. Given their reputation I would give them another try but will lower my expectations. read more

It's your usual mexican fare, but a little on the pricey side. IAnd FYI when they say spicy, they do mean spicy. If you're in the neighborhood and hankering for a taco, go for it, but it's not something to drive out of the way for. read more

Authentic Mexican food made by the people who invented it. Well priced not badly proportioned. The flavor is pretty good.

This was the worst Mexican food I have ever had! The tacos were extremely bland. The service was insanely slow. To be fair, the other locations are much much better. read more

There are 3 El Faro locations. I love this one the best! The food is very authentic and place is very clean. It may be out of my way, where I can go to a closer location, I prefer this one. Everything is so good! read more

I've been eating here for over 20 years and you can still get a burito the size of your head for under $5 it's two meals for the price of one . And it's by far the best Mexican food northwest of the city. Try it you will get hooked. Oh there open really late too. read more

Great authentic Mexican food for a good price. Their horchata is great too, and they have plentiful servings of food. Restaurants a little small but this is the best El Faro of the three in my area! read more

Chicken enchiladas are amazing. Good prices, service is satisfactory, pretty clean. Hard to see from McLean but worth the hunt.

Gone are the days when you can enjoy a big bowl of chips & salsa and football size burrito. Visited El Faro's today and was told had to pay extra for the teensy basket of chips that comes with the drink (which doesn't make sense) and my "burrito" was basically a flour tortilla filled with sour cream. I wasn't sure if it came with sour cream so I ordered it on the side and was charged an extra $1. Mind you I ordered a Jr. since the old El Faro burrito's & chips were plenty for me-After paying $6 for basically a sour cream burrito Jr. I went home hungry and highly disappointed. I even mentioned it to the cashier and she had that "whatever" attitude. It'll be Taco Bell for me before I ever go back there again! read more

I luv El Faro. This is my favorite of the Faro's. Best burrito's ever, for the best price, open 24 hours all weekend. There's no way you can go wrong. read more

Very good food and great prices. They're pico de gallo is excellent!!!! My husband hates Mexican food but he ate everything on his plate and was going on and on abut how good it was!! Highly recommended! read more

Food there is always delicious, fast and authentic! I love their taco and burrito dinner plates and their salsas.

My favorite place in the area. Authentic, fresh, and delicious tacos. Fresh chips on the table with salsa. Love this little joint so much.

My absolute favorite Mexican Resturant, I live over an hour away and its always worth the trip. Reasonably priced, open all hours of the night, and great food and service. I have the same waitress every time I go, and I like that. Their chimichangas are amazing and are so big I always have half to take home. Nothing has changed since I started going there years ago, so i always know what to expect. I recommend it to anyone who loves authentic mexican for a great price read more

Best Mexican restaurant around! This is real Mexican (not taco hell). It is fast and reasonably priced and let me just say the guacamole!!! ohmygosh, so so good. The burritos are gigantic and I challenge you to eat the whole thing. This is a very casual place that you can eat in at if you want. I'm pretty sure you would have a server, but my husband and I have always just gotten our orders to go. If you are looking for a really good Mexican restaurant, go to one of the El Faro locations. Oh yeah - and they have always been so nice! read more

Catering? The food here is fine, but if you put catering on the front window as a service you provide you should probably have catering menus that are up to date and that people can take with them. We are catering lunch for 55 people and will be happy to go with a business that actually wants the order. read more

Burritos are fit for a king...and his army. I've been here a few times and the food is great, prices are low, and the portions huge. That equals value you won't find anywhere, and the food is way better than eating at a fast-food joint. The place is kind of small, so I've never eaten in. I always get the food to go. Steak burritos can't be beat, and if you're daring, try the lenguas (cow tongue) tacos, they are FANTASTIC. read more

Worst Mexican restaurant ever. Ordered tortas for lunch. Picked up food and went back to work to eat our lunch. My workers and I started eating and quickly realized something was wrong with our food. It tasted like there was some sort of cleaner in the meat. Called el faro to express our dilemma and all I got was attitude. Headed up there to show employees the horrible tasting food. Which quickly was followed with more attitude and the cooks and or cook started speaking profanities and insults in Spanish about myself and my co worker. Not realizing I speak fluent Spanish. Horrible horrible place!!! Never ever again! Do yourself a favor and stay away. If I could give it negative stars, I would! read more

Fantastic burritos. Very close in taste to my favorite from El Farol in Summit Illinois (I don't think the places are related). I've never found a place with this kind of burrito "recipe". read more

I just had their carnitas this morning, and wow! I know alot doesnt go into making them, however, the meat was moist, pico de gallo fresh, chile rojo wasnt to spicy, but it had a little kick, and they put two dozen tortillas on the griddle for me to take home, nice! I am shocked at a few comments about the price of the food, are you serious? This place is on the inexpensive side for sure, I was actually impressed with the prices! Maybe those that complain about price should hit a taco bell? Secondly, I saw a 1 star rating because "Bob" from St. Charles believes carnitas come in a sauce? Perhaps you're thinking about Mole, because carnitas do not come in or with sauce, unless of course you talking chile, pico de gallo, etc. I would also like to comment on the staff as well as the interactions I saw with a customer in the bakery. The woman at the front counter was awesome, very friendly. The baker(s) must have had a solid rapport with the customer I saw because they were joking around quite a bit (in english just in case anyone was wondering) I will definitely be going back! read more

Criminal. And I'm not just talking about the staff or the patrons. This food is so good it's criminal. The place is a little more than mildly annoying on a Saturday night but it's worth it. read more

if you enjoy sh!t taco's.... then you will love this place!!! i feel like 1 star is to high of a rating. the worst mexican food i have ever had. stay away!!!!!! read more

GREAT mexican food. Had their carnitas burrito and it was huge, delicious, and $5. Seriously can't get a better deal. Also, it's open 24 hours. #chipotleoutofbusiness read more

I have been going to this place for about 10 years.....the tacos that I order with cilantro and onions with that green sauce is by far the best tasting taco I have had.....I am a very picky eater...but this is my favorite place by far....the service is great and they are very nice people. I have to give props to the cooks....they seem to put alot of thought in how they prepare that food.....It really is a great restaurant!! It was wierd because I have always gone to this place for lunch.....it took me a long time to realize that this place is my favorite mexican restaraunt read more

And traditional Mexican fast food joint that has everything you'd expect. Al Pastor, fresh chicarones, massive burritos, and of course horchata. The food is great and conveniently within walking distance of the Elgin metropolitan train station. So if you find yourself with a little extra time until your train arrives this place is a no-brainer. read more

Racist establishment. I pulled up to this restaurant late night Open sign was on and could see people in the store. I was on the phone talking to my Girlfriend getting her order. I got out of the car to find the door locked and tried to ask the women inside if they were closed. I assumed they were closed got back in my car to pull off only to find out that they had called the police on me. I was driving a brand new car with work clothes on. Do they call the police on all of their black costumers? read more

This El Faro, in Tyler Creek Plaza, is my favorite place to eat. I love Mexican food, and I've been to every Mexican place in the area. This El Faro is the best in my opinion because the rice and beans are great, the service is good and fast, the food is authentic, and this place is very clean. If you eat in, they have self-serve chips and pico de gallo. They have awesome daily specials and everyday specials and are open till 11pm on weekdays. If you want to get a delicious burrito the size of a newborn baby, this is the place for you. The enchiladas are also legit, great mole sauce, but you can get verde or red. You can't go wrong with the tacos. Try a chorizo taco with onion and cilantro for brunch one day and you won't be sorry. I would definitely recommend getting something authentic, like tacos, enchiladas, burritos or tortas though if you eat here, not quesadillas, taco salad or nachos. read more

I have been there for lunch a few times and give it high marks. Quick service, good food and a reasonable price. It is becoming my go-to Mexican restaurant for lunch. It is nice to see a good simply Mexican restaurant as there are so many bad ones around. read more

Tried this place for lunch several times and been disappointed. The food just isn't...great. No real flavor in the refried beans. Tacos, chile rellenos were just passable. The kicker was when I ordered carnitas. Carnitas is supposed to be slow-cooked pork with some type of sauce. What I got was crusty slices of HAM cut onto little 1/2 inch chunks. Leftovers? Beats me, but I won't be trying anything else there. read more

The cheap price and variety make this a good choice. I prefer beer with Mexican food so I am disappointed that I can not have a brew with my patter. Otherwise grab it for take out and enjoy this at home with your choice of beer. Authentic with a capital A. Parking can be challenging but look across the street for the free lot. No reservations needed. read more

I had always heard good things about this place, and I was really disappointed when I tried it out. The food was fine, but nothing amazing. I don't think I would go back again. read more

Love El Faro! I've been coming for lunch here off and on for 3 years. I love the $5 burritos and the daily specials. Excellent place for both quality and price read more

My new favorite Mexican restaurant! I am going to order today because it has been a while. The tacos and burritos are huge and inexpensive when compared to Chili's or Pepe's. read more

The staff is rude I seen the guy on the grill cooking food and sneeze without turning or covering his face. I explained my concern and asked for my money back to which they replied the food has been made sorry no refund even tho the cook sneezed all over the food. There are also several other health code violations I'm surprised it's still open. read more

HORRIBLE! Tostados were not hardshell... just a soggy taco. Barbocoa meat was eh but tons of fat..tacos were bad as well as carne asada/steak. Ordered a steak chimichanga, received ground beef in it...they look big just loaded with lettuce..BAD! Tamales smelled spoiled were dry and not good. The only decent thing was the torta but really can't mess that up. Horchata really watered down read more

I've eaten at other El Faros with no problem, but there is something wrong with this one. Unless you know for certain that you will be within 10 seconds of a toilet for an hour or two, do not eat the food, if you know what I mean. It will ruin your day if you aren't. I don't know why I keep going back - perhaps I forget - but it has happened 5 or 6 times. Never Again. read more

I have been feeling like Mexican muchisimo lately and been making the rounds to lots of local joints to make comparisons, some new and some old. Its been fun/interesting/disappointing yada yada.... Just stopped in to this place today for the first time. I have previously visited the El Faro in Dundee. I was fairly pleased with them. Out of the other Mexican restaurants in the area I was content to make that my regular Mexican craving joint for weekly specials. That is until i found this gem. The food is a better value than Dundee and maybe a little tastier too (need to try more items). Service also seems better.... This Elgin location is a good bit farther away for yours truly (waaahhhh) but I am more than willing to drive the extra miles for their big burritos! So glad I gave this place a try. Been super disappointed with many of the local Mexican restaurants around me. They have been raising prices and shrinking portions all the time. If the place is a value like this one I am pleased to tip them every time I stop in for take out. Plan to definitely be coming back here often. Check them out! read more