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    El Molcajete

    4.1 (50 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order El Molcajete Takeout or Delivery

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    Steak and chorizo burrito and added rice
    Miguel A.

    This place is a hidden gem. We stopped by after a night baseball game in Joliet. We walked in and they were cleaning up after a big party had left but they fix us up a table right away and we sat down. They brings chips and salsa. The salsa's are pack in individual containers which is a smart idea. We had to use the QR code to look at the menu. They have specials everyday of the week. They took our drink order and then we ordered. My son got the Doritos walking taco with steak. I was like really we could have gone to Taco Bell for that but I underestimated it. The walking taco was so good I had wished I had ordered the same thing. My other son got a barbacoa burrito and it was delicious. The meat was soft and cooked perfectly. I ordered a steak and chorizo burrito with rice and it was really good. The steak has great seasoning and the chorizo is really tasty and not greasy. You will not have grease running down your hand. We also got two taquitos one steak and one Al pastor. The Al pastor is good and a bit sweet but the tortilla over powered the flavor a bit. The steak was really good and non of that fatty parts in the meat like other places.The tres leaches cake is not to sweet which was really good. Great service from the girl working.

    Dining area 8 regular tables and two larger tables that are combined for that extra seating.
    Jr F.

    This is one of those Mexican restaurants hole in the wall places you wish you could shout from the roof tops to everyone about!! The food is delicious as close to home cooking as your gonna get here in Joliet. Taco dinner fresh & hot, Cheesy fried birrea tacos the bomb! Oh, don't forget the flavorful juice that comes with it! Breakfast Mexican steak and egg's wow off da chain baby!! That's it I'm gonna leave it there but if your at either location your in for great food. Service is great as well. Remember fresh food takes a little longer to make so be patient in the end you will thank yourself. Horchata is the best!!

    Daniela R.

    This place is a bit small, but none the less, the service was great! And food didn't take too long to come out. While visiting my father in law, I wanted to take him out to eat some great Hispanic food. I'm so glad I choose this place. I was a bit nervous, but we had an amazing experience. We were a big group and they were able to still accommodate all 8 of us, with no wait! I loved the music playing and how colorful the place was. The food was delightful. We ordered a large platter of tacos, a molcajete, huarache, and 2 tortas. It was a lot of food but none went to waste. Those leftovers were still very delicious. I love tacos and those were the highlight of my day. They were amazing and everyone loved their food. So I was glad! 10/10 no long waits and amazing food!

    Sope de asada
    Martha C.

    We are from Texas and was passing by, looked up "Tacos" and came across this small restaurant. Food was delicious, the girls were super friendly, clean atmosphere! Definitely recommend!

    One chicken and one carnitas taco w/guac and chips
    Chevon W.

    The first time was a catering order at a client's office. The presentation of the taco trays was really nice and almost irresistible. The chicken and carnitas tacos were delicious. The guacamole was also very tasty. The next day a colleague and I returned for a lunch order for three. I order the chicken tacos on corn with cilantro and onion only. It was not a hit. The shells tasted old as they hardened almost immediately upon opening the foil. I also tried the chicken tamale. It was huge, like two meals worth but I didn't like it. This could've been an off day so I'll give the tacos a third try.

    Menu
    Lakesha W.

    My first time stepping out my comfort zone and ordered the birria tacos. These were so delicious, tender and amazing. I love this place!

    The best tacos north of Mexico City

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    2 years ago

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    10 months ago

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    2 years ago

    Friendly staff. Best Al Pastor in the area. You know it's good when you see construction workers eating lunch in there.

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    2 years ago

    We absolutely love this restaurant!! Great quality Mexican food..... we love the staff too!

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    2 years ago

    They take like 20 mins for 3 tacos to come out. Do not recommend. Waited in the restaurant for more than 15 minutes for my food.

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    2 years ago

    Good affordable food close to Joliet Junior College! Always good and fresh this place is a hidden gem!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    It has a mom-and-pop ambiance, food is flavorful and delicious. However, wait times is kind of a stretch. Service can be better.

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    3 years ago

    Service was great. I asked for a recommendation and it was great. Even had Jarritos which I love!

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    2 years ago

    The food is great, the waitresses are promnt and courteous. The margaritas are awesome and I highly recommend this restaurant

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    3 years ago

    food is SO good, especially beans and the burrito asada. Highly recommend

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    2 years ago

    Being from Texas I was surprised to have a taste of home. Good food is created within these walls

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Taco's are awesome! Order in advance if you are on your lunch hour because it can be a long wait.

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    3 years ago

    Good food. Fast service. Season the steak very well. Prolly really only good tacos on west side of Joliet.

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    El Primo Mexican Restaurant

    El Primo Mexican Restaurant

    2.8
    (12 reviews)
    4.5 mi

    Hay una razón por la que este lugar solo tiene dos estrellas. Somos nuevos en la ciudad y…read moredefinitivamente nunca volvería a pedirles. Fue tan malo que las comidas que pedí a través de Uber Eats se dejaron caer y solo terminé con un pedido final de guacamole y una soda por $27; los chips estaban rancios. Así que, ¿estás cobrando $27 por chips rancios y una soda? Adios huevona There is a reason why this place has only two stars. We're new in town and I would absolutely never order from them again.. it was bad enough that the meals I ordered via Uber eats dropped off and I only ended up with a final order of guacamole and a soda for $27, the chips were stale. So you're charging somebody $27 for stale chips and one soda.

    El Primo was one of the spots we tried while visiting from California. I must say, I didn't have…read morehigh expectations because I'm used to some of the best Mexican food in California, but I was open - I ordered three tacos two carne asada, one chicken and they were not horrible, but also not incredibly delicious. I didn't even take pictures because the presentation was quite basic. The carne Asada was not seasoned well and the chicken had us a bit perplexed as to how it was prepared. It was helpful, adding the salsa, but I can't say I would return here if I was in town. the service was was just OK at one point our waitress left and never came back. The ambience was very casual with plenty of seating in the restaurant for big and small groups. I'm always glad to try new places and it was good to try Mexican food in another state to give some perspective.

    Photos
    Their 2nd location
    Their 2nd location
    Big jalapeño if you dig
    Big jalapeño if you dig
    Complementary chips and salsa

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    Complementary chips and salsa
    La Mex Restaurant II

    La Mex Restaurant II

    3.0
    (208 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    It gets the job done - the Burrito had some excitment, but the rest of the experience left…read moresomething to be desired. I'd ordered a Steak Diablo Burrito and a Margarita. Chips and salsa were complimentary at the start of the meal. Before you come after me for looking a gift horse in the mouth: Chips & Salsa aren't technically free, the cost is baked into the meal on the back-end. That said, the quality of these was subpar. The chips were straight out of a bag, the the salsa resembled a thick tomato juice with stuff added more than something deserving the name "salsa." I also did not love the Margarita, for it was too sweet for my taste. I can't say for sure, but I have the unfounded suspicion that these are pre-made in large quantities. The main event was the Steak Diablo Burrito. True to form, the Diablo sauce brought the heat. If you are one for whom Tabasco sauce is at the upper end of your limits, you might want to skip this one. My heat tolerance is such that I needed a little extra water, not a side-order of sour cream. The filling did not skimp on the meat whatsoever, and the protein was tender to boot. While not 'S' tier, I would put it solidly in 'B' territory, with a pinky toe into 'A'. A good test is that I couldn't finish, and happily devoured it cold the next day. The interior is large, and has mostly amber lighting with splashes of color, and some traditional-looking architectural elements. The service was friendly and reasonably fast. Final verdict: If you're itching for a great burrito, while perhaps not the greatest one in the world, La Mex can deliver. However, This comes at a cost of a too-sweet Margarita and chips and salsa leave something to be desired. Recommended? Yes, as a general-purpose Mexican spot. Would Return? Yes, but would skip chips, salsa, and margs.

    Friendly staff. Seated quickly with immediate chips & salsa.. great start. Kids ordered nachos &…read morechicken tenders. Addicted to Al pastor tacos, I had to get the dinner plate. Vegetarian plate and chile relleno ordered by our table. All tasty food. Glad the salsa verde was a few notches higher on the heat chart. Just what I needed. Dimly lit dining room, colorful light splashes the room corners. We'll be back.

    Photos
    La Mex Restaurant II
    Combo Fajitas (Shrimp, Steak and Chicken)
    Combo Fajitas (Shrimp, Steak and Chicken)
    This is how my drink looked the entire time.

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    This is how my drink looked the entire time.
    El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant

    El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant

    4.0
    (175 reviews)
    6.4 mi
    $$

    Love that this place is close to home and the food is authentic enough. It has been able to stay…read moretrue to its roots, that it has a great mix of patrons. From workers to celebrating families. They just got a new menu and prices of course have gone up but that's understandable. What I'm taking issue with is that the owners need to embrace that this place is a "mom" restaurant that's got a homey feel. They added another screen advertising drinks, etc that are too big and obtrusive for behind the counter. Bring the tone down. Instead of spending money on electric signs, spend your decorating dollars on making the place cozy so pictures in Yelp look more inviting. We had birria burrito and carne asada with a large guacamole and horchata. Everything was great as always. Normally we get their margaritas which are also very good.

    The food is good, and I'll always give credit where it's due. Unfortunately, good food isn't enough…read moreto make me come back. Long story short, our order was repeated back correctly, yet we still ended up with a missing salsa and an incorrectly made burrito. Mistakes happen. Every restaurant gets an order wrong from time to time. The problem wasn't the mistake. It was how such a small issue was handled. Their reaction honestly took me aback. We weren't asking for a free meal or trying to take advantage of the situation. We simply called to ask for a credit for the missing salsa, which was about $2. That should have been the end of the conversation. While I was on the phone, we opened the rest of the order and realized the burrito had also been made incorrectly. Instead of listening, the employee repeatedly insisted it had been made correctly without even seeing it. Then another employee got on the phone and, in a very aggressive tone, told us that if we wanted a refund, we had one hour to bring the food back or we wouldn't receive anything. We didn't want a full refund. We simply wanted the missing salsa and for the burrito to be made correctly. A sincere apology, a $2 credit, and an offer to remake the burrito would have completely changed the experience. Instead, a minor issue was escalated into an unnecessary confrontation. I even spoke to the staff in Spanish, so this wasn't a language barrier or a misunderstanding. The issue was the attitude and the complete lack of professionalism in handling a simple customer service situation. Wanting to understand whether this was just one employee or reflected the culture of the business, I called another location and asked if I could speak with a manager or owner. I was told they don't give out names because they receive death threats. Whether that's true or not, that's an incredibly strange thing to tell a customer. It naturally makes you wonder how previous customer complaints have been handled if that's the response employees are instructed to give. As a fellow Latin American, I genuinely want to support Latino-owned businesses. That's why this experience was so disappointing. Success isn't just about serving great food or opening multiple locations. It's also about treating customers with respect, accepting feedback, and knowing how to resolve small problems without becoming defensive. More than anything, I was embarrassed for them. This entire situation could have been resolved in two minutes. Instead, they chose confrontation over customer service. The food is good, but it isn't good enough to make me overlook how we were treated. Customer service matters just as much as the food, and unfortunately, that's where this restaurant fell short.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Steak torta that I got for my birthday, hence the birthday candle
    Steak torta that I got for my birthday, hence the birthday candle
    Cantarito

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    Cantarito

    El Molcajete - mexican - Updated July 2026

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