Somehow, I managed to spend 20 years in Elgin without experiencing El Paraiso. Big mistake. This is the real deal- delicious and affordable Mexican food for everyone - but particularly the working person - whatever the hour. I gave it four stars because of my limitations- not theirs. The Al carbon burrito I had was huge and tasty - but I'm fairly certain there are other dishes on their extensive menu I will like better. The chile relleno taco was delicious and my wife's enchiladas were the best we've had in years. This is not a formal restaurant, so the decor is spartan, but the service was fast and attentive. I'll be back! read more

El Paraiso has the feel of a true late-night taco shop -- busy, energetic, and unapologetically authentic. The food keeps things simple and traditional, delivering the kind of tacos that hit exactly right after hours. Of course, with that comes the full late-night experience, crowd and all. It can get loud and a little chaotic, but for many people, that's part of the charm. read more

Went for lunch today after working I the area . Amazing and friendly service and staff. Food was delicious. I got the three taco dinner my brother got the taco salad. I also ordered chips and pico, which was delicious. I wish they offered chips and salsa for free but they don't but that's OK. This is my second time here. Anytime I'm the area I will stop by again. read more

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Picture this .... Suburban Illinois, you've been driving all day and everything nearby is closed... Ask the locals search highly referred this Mexican establishment, which reminded me of a "nicer" place to eat after hours. Per my style, hubby and I chose to dine in, and while I'm sure we looked out of place (weary traveler vibe) , I was so grateful for the little things that keep this operation running behind the scene. I observed, the woman who took my order advising me to order three generously filled, not overly greasy, added to egg next day Tacos (they are $4 each) kindly answering my questions about the spice level to help me make a choice, employees in the kitchen chopping up the ingredients, people happily eating around us, along with their holiday party chatter, brightly colored "flags" lining the wall and Latin music provided a momentary sense of comfort and familiarity after long travel day. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo but trust me, they hit the spot! read more

Did they get new owners? This is the second time they forgot an item. This time we counted and went straight in the last time we don't notice till we got home. I called no one answered I drove back the next day with the receipt and they gave me a hard time. They wanted to make me a sope that they forgot the night before. After arguing with them they finally gave me money back. read more

If I could give them zero stars today I would. We ordered 5 tacos to split among us, and with one can of soda it was almost $27. Got the food and they smashed all five tacos into one tray. I was sure they missed some but sure enough all five were there. Some of the steak tacos did not have the lettuce, tomato, and cheese that we ordered..AND there was about half as much meat as their usually is. The meat in the all pastor taco was very tough and chewy and in big huge chunks. Needless to say the usual consistency was not there and the fact that they charged us full price for half quality is very disappointing. It was busy, however as a frequent patron of this establishment this has never before affected their output. Also both The drive thru workers were very rude. I would not serve what they gave us today to anyone. read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Poorly made tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Their customer service is ok but the main part is when your eating they have a big staring problem each time you look up at the kitchen their all staring at you and makes you really uncomfortable plus their food can be good just depends if they actually put effort on it and their salsa verde isn't even spicy it tastes like straight water and if you ask for them to take something off like a ingredient off a burrito or taco they mostly leave it there overall horrible service they can do better hire better staff too because that staring problem while I'm eating is getting to me read more

They have really good food I usually get the steak burrito with onion cheese and cilantro also get some chips and salsa today I stopped there and with the burrito they gave me these little containers of salsa so I went back inside and ordered some chips and salsa and I asked for a bigger container that one of those little containers and she sold me a cup of salsa read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - This is a cup of the Verdi salsa because you need it with the burrito and you need it with the chips it makes it taste better thank you - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

This place just sucks !!! Took forever to get 2 simple tacos, like 12 mins at the drive thru. When I asked what's taking so long,the lady just ignored me, shut the window. The food, well the steak taco was a bunch of little tiny pieces of steak ( ?), over cooked and way to much cheese in proportion to the steak, tortilla was burn ! GARBAGE !! The Chicken taco was no better, a good amount of shredded chicken,with some weird seasoning, and also over cooked,very dry ! Again way too much cheese ... I can't see any reason to go back here and eat again, unless maybe for my dog, cause he seemed to enjoy my $10 dinner for 2 simple tacos. Do yourself a favor,and skip this place for sure!!!! read more

Absolutely love this place, every time we come here we are served super quickly. I've tried multiple dishes and they have all been good. Service is great and they're always polite and friendly. Ambiance is good, does seem to get packed on the weekends. read more

Such a bad drive thru took forever and forgot like 3 things on my order highly do not recommend.

We have driven by this place for years and said we need to go. Finally got there! And it did not disappoint. The burrito was huge and filled with so much steak. The tacos were also amazing. The steak had grilled flavor and the green sauce is tasty. So much food! It's our new go to! read more

I order a burrito with beans lettuce and cheese they just put meat and it's all grease and it taste bad read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Very tasty. The food came our super fast at 3am. Definitely yum. If you want fast plentiful food they are great even at almost closing. read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Zero stars! Ordered steak tacos and the next morning had the worst case of food poisoning I've ever had in my entire life!!!!!! DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!!!!!! read more

Best spot in Elgin for tacos anytime. Little busy in the evening but carry out works just fine.

Tacos are great, but $5.50 for a large Horchata is not. More ice than drink, order with less or no ice.

If you're ever in elgin and looking for Mexican food, this is one of the places everyone will recommend. I've lived in elgin my whole life and have been going here forever. I've had "Mexican" food in Texas, Arizona and many other states but they're never authentic tacos and wayyy over priced. I love their breaded steak tortas, taco meals and horchata. Their rice and refried beans are the best. Open late so that's always a plus if you work night shift or just out late and don't want to stop by any fast food places/gas station food. Prices are good. read more

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I ordered a burrito with everything on it and they just added tomato and al pastor! I ordered ahead but they still took long the lady was just talking with her coworker while I'm waiting! read more

Pretty good! My 1st deep fried burrito and chimichanga were great here! I even craved it as leftovers, which I had, for the next few days! I highly reccommend them read more

Decent quick little Mexican place to grab a bite. I've tried a few things here and everything has been good. They have a drive thru! Super convenient! They have tables inside to sit down or you can do take out/pick up. Prices are a bit steep but it's healthier than eating McDonald's and it's a family owned joint, so I don't mind paying. They are open pretty late as well, I believe 11 pm. Great place to grab a quick bite for lunch or dinner! read more

This Restaurant is not friendly nor is the food good either!!! I have gotten cold food and not tasty!!! Not going back to this place will go else where !!! read more

So I've been told to try this place it's really good!! Was in town and it was late & they were open. Now we did get there close to closing but the place was packed!! The lady was nice the food was super FAST!!! Quality of meat is AWESOME! Ordered steak tacos big chunks of skirt steak! But was lukewarm!! The food wasn't HOT!! Got a pico burrito Togo & I honestly don't know what kind of meat it was! I did NOT LIKE IT AT ALLLL!!! My husband ordered Al Pastore tacos he really liked but again they were just lukewarm not hot!! Now the horchata was VERY VERY GOOD!!!! I said maybe I would give them another chance not so close to closing time! Just shocked because the drive thru was wrapped around the parking lot and they was only one table open when we got inside. It was 3:30am! Will update after I try the steak tacos again! read more

Ive been coming here for years but the last 2 times ive been as been just plan bad. My vegetarian burrieto was literally JUST rice.again! It usually comes with beans, lettuce, tomato, etc. But by the time i got hope and opened it i was like wtf man? But i was too lazy to go back an ask then to fix it. The people that work there are nice, and probably would of but ... I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Vegetarian burrito was actually just a rice burrieto ? Ope. - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

I don't give too many 5 stars, but the food is delicious. Chicken not dry, steak tacos delicious, they're consistent. Please keep cooking with care, and you'll be in business for a long time. Also, the communication I've had with folks here has been pleasant. I'll be ordering again tonight! read more

I had the chille relleno with cheese and it was delicious! It's my favorite thing to get because it's such a labor of love to make! Does not serve alcohol but they had horchata!! read more

Chicken torta 10/10 Enchiladas with red sauce 10/10 Burrito 10/10 Tacos 10/10 Highly recommend. Best mexican restaurant I've had in ages! Refuse to go anywhere else. read more

Eat here at your own risk. This incident happened several months ago but I figured I let you know now. I ate inside the restaurant and ordered chiles rellenos. Usually not a bad meal (a lil greasy but overall tasted fine) but that day was different. My husband ordered a burrito and his meal was fine but when my meal arrived I was surprised but what I saw. I had a maggot yes a maggot appear in my Chile where the cheese was. Obviously grossed out I sent it back to the kitchen. The waitress comped our meal but she didn't really say much. I have never eaten there again, inside or drive thru. I never had issues before with their food but I'm not risking it so I do not recommend eating there. If you don't mind eating some extra protein in your food than by all means enjoy. But for me..I'll go to other restaurants. No Manches which is close by has better chiles rellenos anyways. read more

Stopped here on my way home from work around 1AM on a Friday night because it was the last thing that sounded good to me after not eating all day. I ordered a chorizo chimichanga, with a side of queso and a side of sour cream. The chorizo has literally the weirdest taste I've ever tasted, almost like Indian curry flavor? It was disgusting and left the worst after taste in my mouth. The side of "queso" was literally the same nacho cheese sauce you get with your nachos or even a big pretzel at wriggley field. The sour cream tasted exactly like Lays Sour Cream & Onion chips. The menu on the drive thru said a chimichanga meal came with rice and beans for $13.95. Yes, I did order a SMALL SIDE of "queso" and sour cream but my total still came out to $21.09 in total. The picture here shows beautiful presentation of the food in packaging and as you can see only two bites of the meal are missing because that is all my stomach would take of this mess. The flavors are totally off. Extremely disappointed. Would not recommend. read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Chorizo chimichanga- 0/10 on flavor 8/10 on representative 8/10 on crispy tortilla ZERO STARS IF POSSIBLE - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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I ordered one barbacoa taco and one asada taco. The food tasted really good, but I woke up with food poisoning the next day. My stomach hurt the last time I ate here, and now this time I got food poisoning. Probably going to avoid this place from now on. read more

Sometimes I am confounded by the rigidity of restaurant staff. This offers all day breakfast burritos. They also offer ground beef burritos and tacos. They told me at 6 pm that I I could get a breakfast burrito with steak bacon or chorizo. I said I wanted ground beef. They said it's not in the computer as an option so they couldn't do it. Now the cooks are literally 4 feet behind the order counter. All they had to do was turn around and say out in ground beef instead of steak. There is an enormous pile of ground beef on the cook top already plain for anyone to see. They then insulted me when I suggested this as an option. I said I would walk out and not come again and they said there's the door. The owner of this business needs to teach his staff to use their heads and to work with customers to give them what they want. I won't come back. There are too many places that work with customers to provide actual customer service. This was lunacy. read more

Best Mexican restaurant in Elgin! Hands down, maybe even Chicago I love the steak tacos. We can eat them everyday pretty much. And you get your food fast. Abt 10 mins or less read more

Steak burrito is absolutely 10/10 so good with the green salsa the steak is so flavorful and tender

My absolute favorite. Steak fries are amazing. Never fail, even though the service isn't always the friendliest the food never fails me. I love it here, I try to come at least every other week with my wife or a couple of my buddies and we meet there! read more

El Paraiso Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Horrible Git my tacos.....steak was burnt. Burrito for my girl..... she didn't even open it, and the pregnant girl living in my house, wouldn't even touch ut‍‍ read more

I love this place Food is so good the employees are so nice and they're open late so perfect for late dinners

3 stars is all they get wtf.They have the best lomo tacos.There meat is on point every time cooked to perfection.Matter of fact I'm taking a ride there now cause all this talking about tacos made me hungr.5 stars is what they get the place is packed every day obviously this place bussin. read more

El paraiso has been our go to taco spot for decades. They always have a generous amount of meat and prices are very reasonable. You have your options of toppings on your tacos. I always get the traditional onions and cilantro but my boys prefer lettuce and cheese. The interior in all locations are a bit run down and can use some remodeling. I never dine in and always pick up my order to go. It can take a while if you place your order at the drive thru. So I call in my order ahead of time and I suggest to do the same. You may get someone who doesn't speak English. It helps if you know some Spanish when calling in. I am not fluent but I can get by with placing my orders. Service here isn't exactly the greatest. But tacos are well worth it. read more

VISIT ONE: I feel a Little ripped off and definitely a lot worse for the wear. Dirty. Poorly trained staff. Communication issues. I do not understand how they stay open. Poor service. Slow. Go across the street to el faro. VISIT TWO: Been 3 years - went there today , had some guacamole it was delicious. And a fairly good value. I had chili relleno tacos, they were delicious. Remains a little pricey, definitely divey. read more

Lemme tell you. Everyone at the table got their food and she didn't even put my order in. Everyone got their drinks before my cousins. They got up and grabbed their own. Good food bad service. -if I'm going to be honest with their food, it was disgusting. They didn't even put avocado in my burrito as asked, my meat was burnt, the cheese was nasty. -it's up to you if you want to go here.. but I don't recommend. read more