The tortas de Milanesa de pollo, are top tier! Thin crunchy chicken and right size for a torta. I always pair it up with a strawberry drink! The service was decent. The other staff were nice too. I did notice they trap you into tipping with every transaction tipping culture has gotten out of control. Always tip accordingly. read more

Overall this place is nice. Lots of vegetarian & vegan choices & all the classic taqueria options, too. I got a chocolate malt that wasn't very malty however. Prices were fair & service was available. Brush up on your Spanish before going in. read more

Very nice experience. Clean restaurant, fast service, and good food. A side of beans is vegan but the rice is not vegan. All of the tacos were good with the favorite being the pastor. Guacamole was incredible. Nice, simple, and clean food. Would love if there was some more sides, but this is a great spot. Reminds me of simple vegan food from back in the day. We have come a few times and will continue to return. Great vegan options! read more

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LONG STORY SHORT: You love tacos but someone else in your party doesn't eat the essentials: steak nor pork. So what do you do? Well you take them to El Faro, of course! SHORT STORY LONG: Walking in this place may look like a bakery with a dine-in area, very minimal. However, if you look closer you may find tiny menu books on the table. In there you'll find tons of food options both meat, vegetarian & vegan (yes, there's a difference!), juice shakes and desserts. Between me and my picky eater, we ordered the: · Consome de pollo (chicken soup) · Chile relleno (stuffed/fried poblano pepper) tacos · Al Pastor taco · Pollo tacos · Tres Leches cake Most, if not all tacos have the option of Cilantro & Onions OR lettuce & tomatos. .... I recommend the Cilantro & onions, it's the authentic way to eat them. Honestly, this was one of the most satisfying meals we had. Firstly their average taco costed just under $3, they were larger than street tacos and they used 2 good quality corn tortillas. The soup was a little on the liquidy side but still tasty and the Al Pastor and Pollo were just perfect. Not too chewy nor salty! Additionally the vegetarian-friendly Chile relleno tacos were ginormous (see pics). For context, these are poblano peppers that are stuffed with cheese and then deep fried. I didn't expect to see such massive ones but they are totally worth it!!! (If you're vegan... They may have a alternative to cheese, but I'm unsure). 2-3 tacos will leave the average customer full and satisfied. Oh yeah and the trés leches cake was tasty and didn't feel overly sweet (like some). But that said, it was on the drier side. I would definitely try it again! FINAL VERDICT (TL;DR): El Faro is suitable for meatheads, vegetarians and vegan diets alike (which is very hard to find). You will be dazzled with the variety for each type of diet and even more so will your bellies after eating here. They are a great pitstop on the way to Midway Aiport and so I urge you to try their Al Pastor, Pollo and Chile Relleno tacos! read more

El Faro Restaurant - Awesome food both vegetarian and chicken. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My favorite restaurant in little village. The vegetarian options are delicious. Try the Arroz con vegetables. The staff is always welcoming and kind. Please support this place ! read more

For Vegans. I looked up vegan mexican and this place came up. I ordered Taco de Soya Asada. It seemed like people were raving about it. It had to be the worst taco I ever had. The soy beef was the worst. Guacomole was ok but bland. The mango freezee --- no big deal. I think its good they had vegetarian and vegan options. And that's why I went there. No need to go back. read more

This restaurant has amazing tacos, great service, the staff is so friendly! They also have vegan options

This place used to be good years ago. Now the servers don't care and the food quality has changed. Cooks don't wear gloves and you see them scratching their face or head because it's an open kitchen. I just hope they wash their hands when going to the bathroom. Breakfast eggs taste very low quality and salsa was very sour. read more

Son unos wevones no contestan el teléfono la comida esta buena pero el patrón tiene q chekar a sus empleados yo llame varias veses y no contestan .Ni que fuera el restaurante Atotonilco ellos si que saben de tratar bien a sus clientes.. Me molesta que tenga darles una estrella si pudiera sería 0 read more

Went after seeing a TikTok about this place. So good! Went on a Saturday around 2 and it was raining but almost every table was taken. We got one though. We got a quesadilla, burrito, juice, slice of cake, and dessert empanada. Everything was delicious and it tasted like they made their own tortillas! Definitely have to go back read more

El Faro Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food here is what's the best aspect. Vegetarian or vegan or regular meat diet are accommodated. Very tasty! I love the black beans and consider them to be the very best in the City of Chicago! Street parking is usually available. read more

El Faro Restaurant - Ensalada de Frutas (fruit salad) granola and honey on side - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Since our Favorite Mexican restaurant closed a few years ago this has become our favorite real Mexican food restaurant. It is a family friendly place. Casual and very consistent. Parking is always the hassle but its worth it. I would always get the Special Dinner and it would make my day! However they are also known for vegetarian food! After recently watching What The Health on Netflix, I am trying their Vegetarian menu and it was better then I expected! I had the Soy al Pastor taco and the Soy like chicken taco with cactus! They are my go to from now on! read more

El Faro Restaurant - Taco de Soya estilo Pollo con Nopales y Taco de Soya de al pastor - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was not good. Steak had no flavor. Tacos had lettuce and tomato. It's a Mexican restaurant meaning the tacos should be served with cilantro and onion. The waitress never gave me the option. I'll never go back. read more

Me gusta el servicio, la comida es buena si lo recomiendo para una comida económica para ir con la familia.

Limited menu, half of the items isn't even available. And our waitress, forget it the rudest person on the face of earth!

Great food. You might wait a while for a person to take your order if the place is full but the food is worth the wait. Many options available, from Mexican dishes to vegetarian options, any choice you make will be a good one. read more

Worse wana be Mexican restaurant ever, they don't even know how to make chicken soup the Mexican way then they want to charge you for chips which they don't even make there, it comes out of a bag and that is hard as hell for your teeth. It's amazing how many people go here and they don't realize what kind of restaurant this really is the pricing is ridiculous with the type of food you get these people don't know how to cook Mexican food at all. read more

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Authentic and healthy Mexican food. Never seen a menu with soy or tofu on it in a restaurant this genuine. It was a welcome and inclusive sight even though I ordered the steak which was extremely well flavored and a good size portion for a very decent price. This could easily become one of my go to staples for real Mexican cuisine in the city. read more

Still the best on Earth. My Dad took me here on Sunday after we rocked our Amazing Race season six tryouts (can I name drop this anymore?). We got 2 each of the soy carne asada, soy pollo, soy pastor, and soy chorizo (all vegan), and a Torta Veggie Cubana... it was fan.f*cking.tabulous. This visit was my first time trying one of their famous fruit/veggie drinks. My Dad and I decided to split the Super Frutas drink which has like 13 different crazy fruits in it... I took one little sip and then one really long one, passed the drink to my Dad, and ordered a second one all for myself. It was the best beverage I had ever put into my body. It was sooo cold with floating pulp bits in it and oh so tasty. It's going to be hard to not stop here on my way home from work each night. read more

Do you know how hard it is to find a Mexican restaurant with vegetarian options ?! Most importantly a veg/Mex restaurant where the food actually tastes good?! I am now sad I live no where near this restaurant because my experience and meal was so good. After checking out the Mexican Fine Arts Museum located in the Pilsen area, I was in the mood for authentic Mexican food. After using my Yelp app to narrow down some of the top choices, El Faro definitely stood out for its vegetarian menu and positive reviews. Our waitress was upbeat and pleasant, she brought out chips and salsa as my date and I glanced over the vegetarian options. We quickly settled on a vegetarian burrito, a quesadilla filled with asada de soya (soy steak) and a side of rice and beans. Everything was brought to the table in what felt like 10 minutes, this by the way really impressed me due to how busy the restaurant was. While the burrito and rice/beans were a decent size the quesadilla was humongous and I ended up taking half home. Everything was flavored well and our total came out to about $13, seriously you can't beat that! read more

El Faro Restaurant - A quesadilla with asada de soya (soy steak). I added hot peppers/carrots and sour cream on my own. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Trying to find parking around this neighborhood is a pain in the booty, but when you do, El Faro is a goldmine of a find. Cheap food, cheap drinks and everything was sooo delicious! My favorite is the burrito de carne asada. Whatever they do to season their steak is heavenly! They have great fresh squeezed drinks. I tried the pineapple fruit drink and it was creamy and tasty. My little girl ate great too. A torta de frijoles (beans) and a drink was only a couple of bucks. Everyone working here was friendly and I enjoyed the service. Everyday has a unique special so you can come here 7 days in a row and be able to try something different. You like menudo, green pozole, enchiladas? Come on down! Whenever cheap and tasty are words to describe a restaurant, I'm sold. El Faro is CHEAP and TASTY. On your way out, buy a few of their empanadas. They offer different flavors and taste like a fruit filled butter cookies. ::drool:: read more

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I've tried to love this place but a few bad experiences have kept me away for life. I'm always looking for a vegetarian restaurant where I can get a good salad for work and I worked really close to this place for years. I had gorditas de frijol con queso y aguacate. They were pretty good and I really did like coming here and having a sit down meal with friends. And they have these pastry empanadas at the register filled with apricot and cajeta aka caramel. These empanadas are pastries that should be eaten with milk, they aren't the meat filled emapanadas. They're sweet and go with coffee or milk. Anyway, I started ordering salads over the phone, would pick them up and take them to work. Well, I noticed once that there was an eyelash in my salad. I figured it was mine, Went back the next week and another eyelash (after I called my order in) in my tofu salad. I thought, it must be me, falling eyelashes. Nope, went back a third and fourth time, more eyelashes. It can't be me. I was so grossed out. You know that Spanish saying" lo que buscas, encuentras" in other words " Seek and you shall find". Well, no more El Faro for me. I was so grossed out and can never go back. Had to put it out there. read more

I'd give this place a 3.5. I honestly didnt think this restaurant was all that great, given the fact I drove almost 40 minutes to get here! Where are all these 5 star reviews coming from? First, they didnt give you any free chips and salsa like most restaurants do. I guess for me thats a good thing since the stuff is pretty fattening to beginning with. But still, a Mexican restaurant without complimentary chips and salsa? Thats like a Chinese restaurant without rice. Its just WRONG! Second, I didnt find the flavors to be so outstanding to the point of being obsessive. Maybe the vegetarians have not had meat for so long that the soy substitute served at this restaurant tastes so close to meat that its heaven? I can tell you that as a meat eater, and a soy lover, I did a taste test of the actual chorizo taco, and the soy chorizo taco. Surprisingly, I didnt notice a difference. But I didnt think the taste of either tasted better than other chorizo tacos I've had. Third, whats up with the high reviews on the Super Frutas? My friend and I had read the reviews raving about this drink. We order it, we taste it, and gave each other the "Are you serious? This is the super frutas? But it tastes like crap?!" look. We even had to ask the waitress if the drink she gave us was the Super Frutas just to make sure this crappy drink was the correct crappy drink. We were pretty bummed that the drink cost more than our meal and we hated it. The Service here was great though. We definitely couldnt complain about that. Nor the price of the food. The food is cheap but the price of drinks is high. They serve a complimentary spicy pickled carrots, onions and jalapeno pepper dish thats addictive but spicy! I dont think I'll be back here anytime soon. I'd rather visit Pilsen or Ukrainian Village for something better. read more

Started work in the Little Village area so naturally I had to check out el Faro. 12:30 on a weekday and this place is packed already with families and teens in the area. I came with a pretty big group so we had to all split up to sit down at once. I tried out the Bistec a la plancha (thin steak with avaocado) which was mighty tasty. The steak was seasoned well and tender and all the flavors on the plate worked well together. Nothing too unique about the experience but it's definitely a solid meal for under $10. While scrolling through yelp, I noticed a lot of people raving about the black beans so I had them. Definitely some of the best I've had (though I wondered to myself how good can black beans get?) although they are in great need of salt. Service here was friendly and our server came to check up on us a bunch. My friend really enjoyed the horchata so maybe that's something to try next time. Solid place for some grub! read more

El Faro Restaurant - Thin grilled steak and avocado - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I just ordered through grubhub today 4 steak tacos onions and cheese and a side of gaucamole and chips. It came with veggies on the side carrots and peppers. Everything was so good so tasty i'm in love. This will be my new mexican restaurant. Thank you happy new customer read more

Best lowkey Mexican food. I've been coming here for years and have had a taste of their entire menu. They have some healthier vegetarian options too with soy chicken and soy beef and they're pretty impressive. Their consomes are my favorites. read more

we dropped in for a quick lunch. I had the 2 quesadilla special. It comes with a coke, two well stuffed corn or flour tortillas (plenty of meat and cheese!), rice and beans. All for $7.50 as of this writing. yum.. tasty and filling! read more

I've had this place bookmarked since '08. I remember trying to come here once before, but went elsewhere when we couldn't find parking. So, we decided to give it a try in the afternoon and got lucky with parking right across the street. Pineapple Drink - This was okay, but think I'll try the milkshake next time. Guacamole - I thought it was pretty bland and chips just came out of the bag. Tacos - I got a steak and al pastor taco and while they don't skimp on the meat, it was just okay to me. Didn't have much flavor to me. Chile Rellenos - My guy got this and seemed to enjoy it. I guess my expectations were high from all the reviews. Maybe it's really a better option for a vegetarian, but I'm a meat eater. I would like to come back to give it another try. Maybe a milkshake and dessert next time. read more

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Unfortunately, this place gets a low grade. The food was not good. We had several different items and were disappointed with almost everything. We went way out of our way to go here and it was not worth the trip. The food did not have much flavor at all. Maybe this place is great for vegetarian items, which we did not try. We had beef, chicken and lengua tacos. And we had the guacamole, which was okay. Maybe our expectations were too high based on the reviews we read, which was influenced our decision. But we have had tacos at so many other places, and they are never like this. Maybe it was just a bad day at this place. But with so many options in this neighborhood, and throughout Chicago, I will not be back. I am still confused by all the positive reviews and think this place may have potential, but we did not see it. read more

This is my jam. I go there weekly for years. It's so hard when they take a break every Christmas time. But I respect it because everyone gets a vacation. Now they aren't open for take out during the COVID 19 lockdown. I miss them so much and hope they will be back in business when the city opens back up. El Faro, te amo mucho. Quiero estar en tus brazos otra vez. read more

Stopped in for a lunch, and got serenaded by a live band as a bonus! :) Food was good, fresh, high quality and made to order. The place itself is setup like a diner, and it is quite large so you should never have to wait too long for a seat. Prices are very reasonable, selection is very good, including salads, fresh made juices, tacos, burritos, soups, and more. Loved the fresh made guacamole!! Portions are generous too. Best part is that my vegan and vegetarian friends have a lot of menu items to choose from to. Definitely stop by the bakery across the street afterwards for some fresh breads, cookies, and desserts! read more

El Faro Restaurant - Being serenaded at lunchtime by a live mariachi band! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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El peor burrito ever!!! Never going back again Worst burrito ever I never going back again Plus I asked the waitress if the burrito was good read more

Everything was so good, I mean delicious and I loved the Jamaica drink too. They were so nice there. Love that place. read more

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So many choices! The have many good vegetarian options. They have a bathroom as well. The waitresses are always super nice and in s good mood. Always busy and it might take a few minute to get you seated on the weekend but there is great customer service and the food is always fresh! read more

This restaurant is vegan friendly, their soy tacos & juices are vegan. Just remember to ask for no cheese & cream on your tacos. Unfortunately,the rice is made with chicken broth. The beans are refried with oil that is used on meat . The tacos were great but for some reason one taco didn't have tomatoes, maybe they ran out? Anyway, Service was fast,cheap & courteous! I ordered 1 asada taco, 2 al pastor & a juice. They were all great except the asada taco tasted a little salty. read more

El Faro Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great food and service. They have some great Mexican and vegetarian dishes. Only downside is that certain dishes are daily specials. So make sure not to confuse your days to get your favorite dish. read more

This is the spot for Vegetarians and their meat eating friends!! El Faro keeps it simple and their services is speedy! read more

El Faro Restaurant - a rainbow in the sky - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Being Vegan and Latina do not mix very well. BUT SINCE I LIVE ON THE SOUTHSIDE AND MY PARENTS LOVE MEXICAN FOOD. This is the perfect spot for me. They have a vegan menu and vegetarian menu, I usually get the Asada tacos (Tofu), they are so good. This restaurant also has a regular menu for my parents who eat meat. This is my favorite Latino vegan food join this far, I highly recommend. Did I mention the prices are reasonable? read more

Great delicious affordable food but the service could be a little better and also good luck with finding a parking spot.

Wow. El Faro has to be one of only 15 or so Mexican restaurants nation-wide that serves mockmeats and also unusual vegan dishes. We're not talking about a tofu burrito; the food here is far more sophisticated, and authentic, than that. You wouldn't guess it from the outside. El Faro is in the middle of nowhere, far from the city center; it's a predominantly Hispanic area with auto repair shops, warehouses and then, suddenly, one Mexican grocery store, bakery, and El Faro itself. El Faro is a diner (think Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks"), so there's a ton of counter space and friendly service. The clientele was almost entirely Hispanic, and mostly families with young children. The first two pages of the menu are entirely vegetarian and vegan with helpful descriptions of each dish. They even have tofu scramble with soy chorizo! I had one "carne asada" taco ($1.75), one "pollo con nopales" ($2.25), and one nopales platter ($7) which comes with rice, black beans and tortillas. "Nopales" are dried cactus leaves, which is something I have never encountered at any other Mexican restaurant in the US. El Faro is extremely smart and clever to market nopales as a vegan item; they have crunch and the texture of bell peppers, with a slightly tart taste. The tacos were both wonderful and cheap. The carne asada was served exactly the way you'd find it at a street vendor in Mexico: open-faced, with just the soy beef, cilantro and onions. No cheese, no cream, no beans. They give you some green salsa on the side. This was an extremely rare treat for me; there is no other Mexican restaurant in Chicago where you can get something like this. The soy beef was high-grade and had great texture and flavor. The pollo taco was also excellent and the soy chicken looked and tasted completely different from the soy beef (which is nice, as at many restaurants, they blend together). The nopales added a nice tart crunch to the tender soy chicken. The nopales platter was good on a whole, but I got bored of making taco after taco with the tortillas they provide. I got extra avocado with it ($0.95) which added a fatty, mild element to counteract the acidity of the nopales. El Faro is a gem. It's also an in-the-know place which can make you feel like a smart local. While it's a long trek from the center of Chicago or the hip North Side of the city, it's worth the trip, and you'll be hard-pressed to find anything else like it in the US. read more