I was a regular for this place twenty years ago when I lived in the area. The food was fantastic and the quality of the steak meat was juicy and tender. I haven't been here in a long time. Visited this place in the morning craving tacos. Walked in and saw that huge mountain of steak on the grill. It looked awesome. Got my steak burritos. The cook was operating like a chef. The delivery was a burrito that was fairly burnt. The meat was dried out. I asked for a manager to share my concerns for a replacement. He said "no". First class Customer service. What was more concerning is food handlers don't wear gloves. An associate mopped the floor during lunch hours amd I was welcomed with the smell of cleaning sop while eating along with other patrons. Unsanitary conditions. read more

Don't go to El faro in summit Service socks ass Gave 3 complaints on different days and nothing All I was told was that the owner Pablo Savala.. gave orders that its a mistake and sorry. Nothing to resolve or even change the problem MARIA THE ASSISTANT MANAGER NEEDS TO LEARN CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS Definitely will not recommend. read more

Old classic - great Tacos, Burritos and Torta's. You can not go wrong with anything here and extremely affordable!

Got a steak burrito and it was really good! I hate when burritos are too greasy and fall apart, but this one was just right. Thankful to have this place local! read more

Always pretty dam good stuff. Great late night eats. Tasty and fair priced. I would recommend trying them. read more

El Faro - Waiting for take out order - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

My fav spot to get tacos. I got this chorizo and egg burrito it was amazing. They're super fast and great food! read more

El Faro - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

Food is great! The burritos are huge and at a great price! This location is open twenty four hours, seven days a week. There can be a line at times, but they are super fast! read more

Nothing like a fresh steak burrito after some Heinekens-weekends starting at 5pm the line can get very long so if you don't wanna wait 1/2hr or so beat it!! read more

We eat here once a week and the food is always good and hot! The yelp site for this restaurant needs some updating especially with the hours of operation being correct. read more

What can I say? The best steak burritos in the state. I've been coming here for over 30 years, and usually drive more than an hour to get here. We'll worth it! read more

20 years later and nothing has changed, the best giant burrito in Chicago period! 8 bucks (before taxes) for a burrito, gets you a full stomach and a grin on your face. read more

Don't let the hole in the wall appearance fool you. The giant steak burrito was amazing. The meat was incredibly tender and juicy, and there was a generous amount of bean and cheese inside the burrito. Pretty filling. I had a hard time finishing my burrito. They give you sour pickled veggies and hot peppers (extremely spicy!) wrapped in foil on the side. This place is more of a takeout than dine in spot. The nachos are also amazing. I highly recommend giving the food here a try. read more

The go-to burrito place aka Burritoville since the 1980s. Huge burritos small prices. Any time of day or night. Legendary!

I love this place. Been going for about 6 years now. I don't live in Chicago area anymore but I always try to go when I'm in town. I still consider El faro's burrito the best burrito i've ever had. They are always friendly and quick. The food is always delicious and they always give complementary green sauce with the food. They tend to be very busy during dinnertime but move the line along well. They are also open late which is what got me hooked in the first place. The music is always great too. Overall I give el faro 10/10. read more

If you're looking for a good value and an alternative to fast casual Mexican choices like Chipotle, El Faro may be what you want. The counter ordering and utilitarian menu signage make it a good fit for this relatively industrial stretch of Archer Rd. You definitely don't come here for the atmosphere; you come for the food. You get an order of jalapeno spiced pickled carrots with your order, which in my case, was a steak burrito suizo and an avacado tostada. The avacado tostada was delicious and fresh, and the burrito, with its layer of cheese on top, was quite filling. The burrito, in particular, was a good value. The horchata was tasty, and offered either with or without ice. This wasn't the best burrito I've had in the area, but it was good. Depending on what you're after, El Faro might just be the perfect choice. read more

El Faro - Avocado tostada - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

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It was horrible..steak was all grizzle & probably sitting there on grill all day. Is it safe to serve people such food???

It's ok I drove over an hour to try it and I was disappointed r Not like what they say The place smells bad read more

Hours have been cut. Closed before 8:30 pm on Saturday. Good food. Good proportions.

Chile relleno tacos are the best. Even my family from California love it!!!!!

If you want to hold claim to a "giant burrito" on your menu, then maybe you should stop pulling the giant wool over your customers eyes. I appreciate that you're trying to hold down perceived cost to your customers...but to those who have paid attention since the 90's...giant shrunk to a midget! You have lost your soul while selling out to the principles of austerity. I won't be back. You lost my business by not adjusting your prices properly. I get that ingredient costs rise, but you failed to appropriate those to your menu while maintaining tradition. Sorry to see this happen, but you did this to yourself. read more

El Faro is the best. I grew up eating I when I lived near there and still go back whenever I visit my parents. Although there are other options, I always get a streak burrito or pork (marinated) burrito. Don't forget to ask for pickled carrots which are a great side. read more

Yummy. Took lunch for my class and stumbled in per referral. The food came out fast and also the cheapest tacos I've had in a minute. They were really flavorful and good. read more

El Faro - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

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Best burritos in town Hands down, Any time of day or night! Yes, they are ALWAYS BUSY and you have to wait in line, but it's Sooo worth it read more

We look forward to our trips to el faro. They always give u a nice size quality meal for the price. The restaurant is pretty run down and could use a makeover but the food has always been on point up until the last 2 times we came here. I have found the quality has gone down hill. They still give you an insane amount of meat in the overstuffed burritos but tge steak has been very gritty on our last 2 visits. The milenesa was good but just not what it used to be. It seemed smaller. My mother in law liked the chicken so if we come back I may have to try that next time. Side note my daughter said the bathroom was disgusting and made her gag going in there. read more

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This is the one place I can always go to, 24/7, and they will feed you with some of the best Mexican food around, and - big secret - it's cheap, too! THE UP SIDES: It comes right down to one thing - for at LEAST 25 years they've been selling a burrito as big as your forearm, maybe bigger. It has got to have almost two pounds of meat crammed in between lettuce, beans, tomato and sour cream, in a flour burrito tortilla (no corn for you lightweight "gluten-free" waah waah eaters). Add freshly made in-the-back green salsa, spicy carrots and jalapenos, and it's heaven... simply Mexican heaven. It's the one place I've taken people who aren't sure about Mexican food to completely convert them. They have the different versions as well - vegetarian, breakfast, lengua (tongue), pork (carnitas), ground beef and of course the wonderful steak. They also have tacos, tostadas, and almost every kind of Mexican food there. And don't tell anyone, but... the prices haven't changed much in those 20 odd years I've been going. Now, about the flavor of the food? Out of this world... I mean, what are they putting into the burritos, crack? It's SO SO SO worth the drive, and I am a regular there - I'm there almost every morning from 7 to 9am, just eating and relaxing, sitting with my back to the door as I eat my steak burrito and enjoy. Soda (RC, thank GOD, no Coke or Pepsi here), Jarritos and their special rice water (horchata) are a real refreshing treat too. It's basic, no frills, no waitresses, just come in and order, pay, eat and leave. I started going there in 1993, and as far as I'm concerned, there is no other place in the Chicagoland area that serves Mexican food with such a basic flair. It also was recently redecorated - it was a kinda pale yellow interior for almost the entire 20 years I've been going there, but as of April 2013 it's all now a hot red, new counters and all. The seating is ample, unless it's after hours on Friday and Saturday nights, and it gets a bit dodgy. When it comes right down to it, it's the White Castle of Mexican food in Chicago. NOW FOR THE DOWN SIDES TO THIS PLACE: Beware the bums and panhandlers (who are strangely mostly Black in an almost Mexican part of the Summit, but still very polite) who come around this place after hours - they even come in sometimes and just sit down and don't order anything. I think the owners enable them by letting them do odd jobs around the place sometimes. I've never heard of any crimes happening there - robberies, etc. Parking? A bit of a problem - it's right on the street, and Archer fills up fast. There are a few side streets, and they fill up too, so be prepared to park a bit away from it. After 10pm (and especially on weekends after 11pm) the place turns a bit more divey than it already is: drunk Polish and Russians (A LOT OF THEM) and their skinny girlfriends sit next to Caucasian-American families who were out late at the Sox game or a concert somewhere, the occasional Blacks wander in and order their "tah-cohs", but it's mainly the Mexicans (like me), God bless 'em, who order, sit and eat, while the Spanish jukebox blares out a lot of odd music - I mean, techno, dubstep, country, R&B and Top 40? The food is perfect and nothing has changed except the decor. Once you get past the sometimes long line (you order yourself), and lack of foo-foo seating (seat yourself, you big baby), the food at the end of this rainbow will be worth it so much you'll be back again. I've been coming there for over 20 years, and it is WORTH IT. As a personal note, did I ever tell you the story about how I got fired from a good job at the Argo Corn plant right down the street for ducking out one night to get a burrito? Just look for me sitting with my back to the door on the right there and I'll tell you... And then enjoy the greatest burrito in the universe. You'll see! read more

Outstanding food and service. We had a party of 9 and every order was spot on. The food specifically the giant burrito and steak nachos exceeded expectations. The only thing preventing the 5th star is the ambiance. The ceiling is leaking, there are water stains on all of the tiles, and the lights were off in half the dining area. Despite these issues the line for food was out the door and on to the sidewalk. Don't go here if you need white table cloths and silverware. However, if you want phenomenal Mexican food then this is your place. read more

We were in the area and decided to grab lunch here. We ordered a steak burrito and horchata. I definitely had better. The sauce they had was weak too, read more

El Faro - Steak Burrito & Horchata - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

Decent food decent prices. I can't quite give the place 4 stars because it's a bit run down inside but the food itself is pretty on point. There's also something pretty sweet about a 24x7 Mexican joint for those post concert / late nights when nothing else is open. Worth checking out. read more

El Faro - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

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For 25 years I've been coming here. Over the last 25 years nothing has changed other than staff. The food is consistently good and has had the same recipes! This is probably Chicago's best burrito! read more

El Faro - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

This place has become crap. I know they're trying, but really they're not. Just some tips when you go... Check everything! Check to see if the cooks are wearing masks, and if they are, is their nose covered too? Check your food when you get it, the last few times its been wrong, or half a$$ed, and their beef has been all cartilage. Lastly CHECK YOUR RECIEPT! if you pay with a credit card, don't just get a card slip, get the itemized copy too. They are infamous for sneaking in a extra buck or two to your card charge. Its super easy when they aren't charging you as you order. read more

I've visited this place dozens of times over the years. However, the food quality is below par. Went in about 830 am one day, the pile of steak was on the grill, a huge one. I ordered the steak burrito. The meat was fried out and full of grizzle. I went up to chat with the manager and expressed my concerns. He offered to make a new one which was very nice about it. I asked for freshly grilled meat. He said they don't do that or they would have to make fresh orders for everyone. Well, what does that tell ya?? Same issue with the second burrito. I ate half and threw it away. The steak meat was on the grill for a couple hours and was terrible. Never again. read more

It was bussin. The burrito slapped and the one thing I can say eat the carrots there mad slept on read more

El Faro - Steak burrito - Mexican Near Me - Summit, Illinois

Ordered here for me and my coworkers before work it was a pretty big order and it was done by the time I got there . I stay 10 mins away . It was really good . Only thing I didn't like was that they didn't label the tacos so we kinda had to guess which was which read more

It ain't pretty. But if you're in the area you'd be hard pressed to find a better steak burrito. This isn't the gum cutting steak you find in most hole in the wall taco joints...this is legit rock star stuff. read more

First, I think it is hilarious that Yelp adds the "L" to this place that is really "El Faro", but everyone says "Farol" anyway. I started coming here when I was at U of C and thought that it was amazing then to see the piles of meat cooking on the grill. Coming back now, I am impressed that they are still around, still making the burritos the same way AND have expanded the menu a bit to include tortas and other options. I LOVE their beans - I am sure they are laden with Lard, but I don't care. The addition of the cheese on top before they seal the cup up makes it all the better. Late night or mid-day, I adore Faro. read more

Well I could say a lot about this restaurant but this review will go on memory of my grandparents, yes their first date was at this location and my grandpa used to love this place because the quality of the food was the best and even tho we live in Winnetka we always do a roadtrip to come here for our tacos. The steak is soft, tender and tasty. The tortillas are good quality. The veggies are always fresh. The staff personnel and chef are always polite and my orders are always accurate even tho that they don't take any notes to take my orders which is amazing. The restaurant is always clean and the ambiance is family welcome. read more

I used to love El far and wouldn't go anywhere else but the employees there now are fucking idiots. Every damn time and i mean EVERY TIME we order they fuck up my food. Sometime go simple as NO MEAT on nachos turns into no beans and extra meat or no meat and still no beans. Today not only did they not give me beans and put extra meat they didn't even give sour cream they gave two huge scoops of disgusting look guacamole. It looked like something that would have been in my 9month old diapers. I won't be spending another penny here! read more

Food is not the same anymore... meat quality went down tremendously and prices went up.... ALSO PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU ORDER THEY WILL CHARGE YOU AN EXTRA $2/$3 FOR NO REASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cashier thought he was being sneaky but I knew what I ordered and was staring at the register screen the whole time! I called hun out and he acted like nothing happened and re did transaction and "magically" it was $$3.74 less hahaha place sucks read more

Best place to get a burrito in the chicagoland area. Their house drinks are pretty good, too. It's all authentic Mexican food that is inexpensive and will fill you up! read more

I love this place and am going to miss it terribly because the last 2 times I was there not only are they not consistently wearing masks while preparing food they don't enforce it for customers. I won't be back until either COVID is under control or they change their ways. read more