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    El Llano Restaurant - Northcenter

    4.7 (65 reviews)
    ModerateColombian
    Closed 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    El Llano Restaurant - Northcenter Photos

    Business Info

    EL LLANO RESTAURANT - NORTHCENTER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - El Llano Restaurant - Northcenter

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    Ribeye Steak Special $9.95
    L L.

    This Columbian restaurant was highly recommended to me. I was in the neighborhood on an errand and stopped in. Their Ribeye Steak Special for $9.95 is a great value. The thinly sliced ribeye is accompanied by rice, beans, and salad. Their complimentary salsa verde (green salsa) is excellent and I poured it over my rice and beans as well. The arepas with cheese are fantastic!! I ordered three arepas to take home. I also enjoyed their Columbian coffee. Service is friendly and welcoming. It is BYOB. I will be back soon!

    carolyn s.

    Large portions, byob and good food and good service. Was here on a Monday and got all the attention. Will return

    Kerry B.

    When I lived in Chicago many moons ago EL LLANO was my go to spot for reasonably priced totally satisfying and delicious Columbian food. If you are looking for a 5 star culinary dining experience, this is not the place. If you are looking for great food at great prices, I would highly recommend El Llano. El Llano is small with about 11 or so tables and booths inside. There is no outside seating, but they do takeout and it must be pretty popular because there was a steady stream of takeout customers throughout my visit. The food is authentic and the steaks have a marinate that I haven't tasted anything similar in my culinary travels. All I know is I love the food here. The highlight of my visit was the steak which I mentioned earlier. I had a sampler platter with steak, rice with an egg on top, Chicharrones, sausage, avocado and an arepa. It came with fresh lime and a green salsa that was great for dipping the meat in. For dessert I had figs stuffed with caramel. Everything was both delicious, filling and totally satisfying. This is one of my favorite restaurants to visit in Chicago and I am happy to say the food has stayed consistently great.

    Bistec encebollado

    Im blown away .. the place is so cute I loved the decoration.. the painted doors on the wall I ordered empanadas both were good. Beef and. Chicken they are mixed with potato .. I got the bistec my plate was super generous I'm usually one to finish my food I have food for later .. my boyfriend got chicken and steak on a little sizzling plate with chimichurri.. an arepa and he ate it all !! So good first time for me and I'll def take the ride to get it again Gracias

    Justine C.

    Really good authentic Colombian food! You seat yourself and the menu is pretty straightforward with limited choices which makes it easier. I ordered the steak special and my fiancé ordered ribeye steak entree. All of the entrees came out very quickly! The food was delicious and the steak was tender and cooked perfectly. It was reasonably priced and definitely recommend checking it out!

    Alka V.

    Love this place and their Columbian food and superb taste Every time I come here and order empanadas with salsa My all time favourite here is Carneasada Excellent great grilled meat ( like thin steak) with beans ,rice and salad The service is really great too Love their menu And Yes they are BYOB

    Araceli C.

    I got lunch here With my friend We order empanadas and the special steak Salad Rice & beans 5.99 Really good See you next time

    Seating area
    Rosie C.

    This place hits the spot every time! I am particular to the carne asada lunch special which is the perfect amount of food to fill you up without being way too much at a ridiculously reasonable price. The staff is friendly and service is fast. The mango juice in milk is a super tasty smoothie and the empanadas are to die for. My Colombian friends insist this place is authentic and keep me coming back. If you love meat, check it out!!

    Pollo criolla and carne asada
    Emily R.

    My fiancé and I love to eat dinner here. The dishes are huge and an excellent choice when you want a meal high in protein. I usually get the garlic chicken breast, which comes with rice, fried yuca, mashed green plantains, and one small boiled potato. But last time I got the chicken breast in Creole sauce (tomatoes and onions) and it was killer. The dishes always taste nourishing and made with love. Plus, I like that they cut the chicken very thin. My fiancé usually orders steak, and that comes with fried plantains (maduros), potatoes, and yuca. I'm assuming there's no dairy or gluten in most of these dishes but ask the staff to be sure (they're very nice).

    Bandeja Paisa
    Brennan B.

    Looking to try out a new restaurant I went to Yelp to see what was new and exciting. The week prior I had seen an awesome picture of a "Bandeja Paisa", so I figured it only made sense to look for Colombian food! A quick scan brought me to El Llano, and the 5 star reviews left me pretty curious! As we neared the restaurant I noticed a sign in the window saying that they had a 5.95 special including steak or chicken, rice, beans, and salad! A typical meal in most Latin American countries. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted almost immediately and told we could sit wherever we'd like. The interior is bright and colorful, and the salsa playing in the background added to the overall vibe. There was a kind of weird smell throughout the restaurant, but nothing too pungent. A quick scan of the menu led me to what I had come to try! The Bandeja Paisa. Having not eaten for most of the day I decided it'd be a good idea to order a few side dishes to eat in the mean time so I wouldnt inhale my food. I ended up ordering and arepa con queso, and my mom ordered the special with steak! Within about 15-20 minutes the food was ready and it looked delicious! The chicharron looked cooked perfectly, as well as the fried egg, chorizo and steak! I had no idea what to taste first so I essentially just dug in and ate a little of everything. My favorite item on the plate by far was the chicharron haha. Crispy exterior and nice flavorful interior. My mom kept making mention of how tender the steak was, and how it seemed to disappear as she began to chew. I did agree that the steak was cooked well, and was extremely tender. Being obsessed with the chicharron I ordered a side order of chicharron and arepa and literally almost inhaled all of it haha. The waitress was attentive and consistently checked the table to see how we were enjoying everything and whether we needed anything. There was only one other group in the restaurant at the time, and they also seemed to be satisfied with their experience. The prices are reasonable, and the portion sizes are good! Overall it was a positive experience, and if I'm in the area again I'd definitely stop by to try out more menu items

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    2 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    10 months ago

    Staff here is amazing and food is so good! :) Really big emphasis on how nice the staff is, I'm always greeted with a smile.

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Best churrasco in town... not pricy at all and it's BYOB.... everything is very good..

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Excellent food and service ,Love the people there,never have I had a bad meal or experience here

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    George G.

    We appreciate your business and are glad that you enjoyed your visit!

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    I love this place! The service is fantastic, and the food is delicious. I would always come back

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    5 years ago

    Very delicious and great customer service! I recommend the Matrimonió with an arepa on the side. Best arepa I've ever had.

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    George G.

    Thanks John! We really appreciate your review.

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Excellent food, excellent service. So good. Better than I expected. This is my new go to for Empanadas

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    4 years ago

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    El Fogón de Elena Restaurant - White rice, avocado, Soup of the day, (Sancocho) and beef empanadas.

    El Fogón de Elena Restaurant

    4.7(60 reviews)
    1.8 miAlbany Park

    The food and service are amazing Thanks to cashier holder…read more Nice service The music too

    My lovely wife and I decided to have lunch at El Fogon de Elena on a very busy Sunday. This is a…read moresnug Colombian restaurant on Lawrence just a tad east of Kedzie. So our server stated that our first-choice food selections were not available (steak jibarito and beef arepa) so instead we then ordered empanadas (one beef, one shrimp) and the chuleta valluna. We noticed that the kitchen was slingin' some massive plates of food, so we decided to split the one entree and the empanadas. Well the server comes along and says they are out of shrimp empanadas. How can a restaurant be out of so many food items when it is barely past 1PM? We decided to do just the single entree and the single empanada. I also ordered a can of Inca Kola (good stuff, though I had to beg for the drink after our food was served), and we did get some ice water. The beef empanada was AOK, not bad. The chuleta valluna features a massive flattened breaded pork chop along with many items (rice, fries, yuca fries, tostones, yellow potato, salad). The menu mentioned this dish would also have sweet plantain, but perhaps the yuca fries were a sub for the sweet plantain. I gotta admit, the food overall is pretty good. The service from the staff was pleasant, but there was always something "off" during our dining experience. When the bill came, we were charged for the shrimp empanada that was not being served, so we had to ask for a corrected bill to deduct the missing empanada. Overall we had extremely mixed feelings about our lunchtime here. Perhaps it was just a super busy day here, but I am feeling overly generous with my three-star review.

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    El Llano Restaurant - Northcenter - colombian - Updated May 2026

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