If you are looking for a Mexican restaurant located in the south side of Chicago, El Solazo is the place to go. I came in with a party of three on a Friday afternoon. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I felt casual vibe to it. I saw a huge menu. We all caught a glimpse of what we could order. The restaurant is relatively small, but it did not take anytime to get seated. That being said most of the time the restaurant is busy especially late night Fridays and Saturdays.
I looked through the menu and saw a lot of variation. There numerous breakfast dishes to choose from. In addition, they provide a number of classic/favorite Mexican dishes. There is also seafood, which many Mexican restaurants do not provide. I ended up ordering two carne asada/steak tacos and enchiladas suizas on top of that. To drink I ordered an medium agua de horchata. As an appetizer they provided us with tortilla chips, which are always very delicious alongside the sizzling spicy red hot sauce.
Our waiter was really polite to us. She gave us more time when we were not ready to order. As usual, it takes me quite a long time to choose what I want to eat. At most, we waited about ten minutes for the food. Whenever we asked for more water or anything we needed she brought it to us promptly. Overall the service was excellent, and I did not have one complaint about it.
As we waited for our food, I noticed they had TV's hung up in the walls. They were showing SportsCenter, which is nice as it helped pass the time. I also noticed that there was tables outside. Many restaurants only provide service inside. Automatically, I saw this as a plus. There are days where it is very beautiful outside. What a better way to enjoy it alongside some great food.
Our food arrived shortly. To get started, the agua de horchata was magnificent. There are numerous times where I go into restaurants and order an agua de horchata. Most of the times it is flavorless. I might as well stick to the water. However, El Solazo has the best agua de horchata I have ever tasted. I could definitely taste the cinnamon, and it was not too sweet. Great drink to have alongside my dishes.
Nevertheless I look at my enchiladas and one can already tell by the smell that I am in for a treat. It feels as if I can smell the cheese alongside the rice. I take my first bite of an enchilada, and it is exactly what I expected. The fury red hot sauce was not too spicy, and it went well with the tortilla. Not to mention the presentation of the dish was more than expected. It came with rice and beans. After I devoured the enchiladas, I went for the steak tacos. One could smell the steak and especially the cilantro. I poured some salsa on top of my tacos, and they were excellent. The tortilla was not soggy even after I left them sitting in the table for ten minutes. Im not a big fan of onions but the tacos were excellent. The steak smelled so good, it reminded me of when my family has a cookout in the summers. Great quality.
Overall, I found the place to be amazing considering the dishes are not ridiculously expensive. The atmosphere in the restaurant was great. It was not too loud. Sometimes there are restaurants which have loud music in the background, so I can not really have a decent conversation with whomever I go. However, that was not a problem in this case. El Solazo is a very good restaurant even though the place is small. When you think of big mexican restaurants in Chicago, you hear the names La Casa de Samuel, Nuevo Leon, or Big Star. While El Solazo is not as big, it still offers quality food. If you are ever in the Midway area, do not hesitate to try this restaurant out. read more