Longy tacos are my absolute favorite here! They're this creamy ground beef taco that takes almost deep fried its so decadent. I get them again and again, always with a side quesadilla. Love that the chips and salsa comes with 2 different types of salsa! Intimate atmosphere is perfect, yet it's usually easy enough to get a table! They are always decorated so cute for every upcoming holiday. I don't live in Wheaton anymore, but I make the drive for El Zarape! read more

We had the margaritas and the nachos. Very tasty, good, friendly service. Small place, but we look forward to going back soon.

New to the area and trying out different restaurants in Wheaton. Food was delicious and the wait staff was top notch and very attentive. Nice touch that the owner, Ed, comes around for a brief chat with everyone. We were all really happy with our meal and will definitely return. Thanks for taking extra special care of our little blonde Colombian toddler with his own personal bowl of salsa. He LOVED it. read more

I've been going to El Zarape since I was in elementary school and I'd walk dowtown to meet my dad getting off the train for dinner. About 99% of the time I get a half order of guac and some chicken tacos. Some times I'll get crazy and add an enchilada. The chips always taste fresh and I usually end up going through two baskets. The salsa has a little heat but I love love love the warm red sauce they give you for the chips. I wish they bottled and sold it. Lately I've been getting my orders to go during my lunch break at work and the owner is almost always there to chat with while you're waiting. Service is attentive and it's just a cute small Mexican place with amazing food! Whenever I'm out of town for a while this is always the place I have to go to right when I get home! read more

The food is good. In fact, I liked it so much that I went there 3 times in 2 months, but I immediately stopped eating there because my mom and I BOTH got food poisoning here. The thought of eating here again makes me feel ill. :( read more

We love this place! We have been going here for years! Great food! Fantastic service and cozy atmosphere! We spent last Sunday watching Sunday football! The owner is very friendly and we enjoyed spending the day, making new friends! Their salsa (hot) is fantastic and I loved my Steak Chimichanga!! Thank you for making our day special!! read more

From the outside this place doesn't look like much but inside you will get what I think, is the best Mexican food anywhere. Been here a lot over the years and each visit deserves five stars. Very generous portions. Staff is always friendly. Highly recommend. read more

This is a fantastic authentic restaurant in the heart of downtown Wheaton. The owner sees you to your table and manages the entire dining experience to ensure you have a wonderful setting and meal unlike any other. I highly recommend the pick three soft beef tacos with a burrito and an ice cold Tecate. Excellent service and dinner for two for only $30 With tip., read more

Wonderful food. I used them for catering for my son's high school graduation party. Everyone loved the food! They were very professional, provided ample food and charged a very reasonable price. A great restaurant! read more

Even though I prefer El Puente (same family) in St. Charles and grew up on their food in the 80's and early 90's at the Main in West Chicago, El Zarape is a gem. It's more Americanized than local taquerias, but has a solid menu with lots to choose from. Perhaps it's just a fuzzy, warm memory but I love the orangeish warm sauce which comes with the chips and is on the enchiladas. Simple, yes, but real good. The longy tacos are killer - you have to check them out. Good queso fundido as well. read more

Chicken enchiladas, fresh guacamole, fresh salsa, excellent service! Muchas Gracias! We love your food!

Love the mole! Always enjoyed the food and drinks here and highly recommend giving it a try for traditional Mexican cuisine.

My wife and I love this place. Quick service and quaint atmosphere. Has a very authentic feel.

Great food! Only somewhat neg. comment would be being charged for addl. chips and salsa. Only Mexican place I've ever encountered this concept. Otherwise, it's one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town! read more

Last night my boyfriend and I tried for the very first time, El Zarape in downtown Wheaton. I have passed this place many times and really only thought it was a take out place but I was pleasantly surprised. There are several tables, about 15 so and it is so cozy! They serve complimentary chips and 2 types of salsa. I had the steak quesadilla dinner that came with rice and beans. My boyfriend had the enchiladas with mole sauce. Both were delicious! The service was wonderful and the food came out right away, served hot! The manager came around several times to check and see if everything was ok and it was a very nice touch. If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, give El Zarape a try. You will not be disappointed. read more

Being new to the area we've been trying to find a good Mexican restaurant with no success until discovering El Zarape. I don't understand why there are negative reviews for this place! My husband and I dined here last minute on Valentines Day. Having never been here before we were a bit skeptical based on the Yelp reviews. The tables had cute heart tablecloths. We were pleasantly surprised with the fresh chips and we liked the hot salsa. Since we don't like overly sweet margaritas we asked our server for a recommendation. He suggested the Patron margarita and it was really good, smooth and not too sweet. Highly recommend! My husband had the veggie burrito and I had the special, which was cactus and zucchini enchiladas with a side of delicious black beans. We both loved our meals! I wish the enchiladas were a permanent menu item as they were really good! The service was excellent, I wish I could remember our server's name as he was really good! A manager stopped by to ask how our meals were, which is always nice. The only negative for us is that they don't have shrimp tacos. We'll definitely be back though as we had a great dining experience here! read more

Read the other 1 and 2 star reviews; it's entertaining. The owner is a peach. You can't make this stuff up. The only reason we were going to this place is because it's close and we wanted to support local businesses. But the food is mediocre, owner is surly and it's overpriced. In fact, the only thing we get is the fajitas because everything else we've tried is so bad. Tonight was the last straw though. We ordered "skinny margaritas" because their standard margaritas are too sweet. The waiter seemed confused but came back with tiny glasses and still too sweet mix. We just laughed it off and drank them anyways. But when the bill came we learned that they were $13 each and when I asked why they were so expensive we were told they were "hand made" and they used good tequila. Aren't all margaritas hand made I asked? Honestly it tasted and looked like their normal margaritas. The owner didn't even try to make things right. I hear a New Mexican restaurant is coming to Wheaton. Adios Zarape. read more

Several reviewers have commented on the burritos and tacos, but I must recommend the dinners here- the carne asada and especially the roast pork in green sauce are worth a trip. For tacos, try "el pastor" - the green sauce and onions are wonderfully tangy and not too heavy. For starters, the two salsa selections are both good, but I agree with other raters that it is an annoyance to pay for seconds of chips & salsa when you are ordering dinner and drinks. I wonder how much business they've lost since implementing this policy. If you are looking for a burrito (or chimichanga) you might like Front Street better, but for a subtly spicy main dish and a family-run restaurant vibe, I choose EZ. read more

We like this place as "comfort food" . We know exactly what to expect and get it every time. Home cooked food, good flavors, friendly family run store and margaritas we crave (gold.. kinda brown actually and that makes them GREAT) Skirt steaks, Mole, Ceviche, Salsa Fresca... mmmmmm Treat them like you are visiting family and you will have friends for years! read more

I went to this restaurant just last week and ordered a steak quesadilla. It was hard to decide what to get with all the delicious options on the menu. The food came ridiculously fast. It probably took 10 minutes, tops. The chips and guacamole were excellent and really added to the meal. The manager went above and beyond the call of duty. He was incredibly friendly and really made our meal enjoyable. Also, my water glass was always full. I always appreciate when the waiters keep refilling your water glass. Overall, excellent service and excellent food! read more

The whole family loved their meals, great chips ands salsas too. Cute atmosphere a place for real people I'm not a "points paid" reviewer.

Their food is good but service was soo slow. As a bartender and server I expect better. Waitress took forever for anything we wanted. Space case. read more

If you want Americanized Mexican food go somewhere else, this is true Mexican food, the best. I've eaten every kind of Mexican food from all the different regions as each place cooks differently. The El Pastor is the best! One of my fav places to eat. And for the decor, truly a down home Mexican restaurant and changed out with every holiday. Sweetest girl wait staff ever. read more

Killer top shelf Margaritas. Chips are incredible and selection of 2(3 are available) salsas included. Food is good and plentiful . You won't be disappointed with portion or taste but they aren't reinventing the menu either. Good value!! read more

I am reposting my original review because upon checking back a few days after I posted I've noticed that my review has been DELETED from El Zarape's yelp page. Once again, here is my review: Service so bad that I created an account solely to write a review. First off, they seated our family with a newborn 2 feet away from the extremely drafty front door on a cold December night- seems like anyone with common sense would at least ask if it was okay to seat here, but I realize that not everyone thinks like a parent. The real problem by far was the service. Our waitress completely neglected our table and forgot several items that we requested, from asking for water twice without receiving it, to side plates that never came, to a food order that never arrived, and not having our drinks refilled- absolutely horrible service. The only time we saw her after receiving our entrée was when she dropped off the check. But if this were the end of it, we would give El Zarape another chance and write it off as a bad night. However, after ending the night with a dispute with who was either the manager or owner, we will never come back again. You've lost not one, but 5 customers, El Zarape. read more

My gf and I went here last night because we were craving some good Mexican food and wanted to try something new. When we arrived it was not busy and we sat right down. It was a cute place and the decor was very cute. The service was pretty good also. We ordered a combination platter to split and a couple of non-alcoholic drinks. We also ordered some of their queso dip. The queso dip was very gritty and we were not big fans. The food was so so. We got a burrito and flauta. The fact that we spent over $20 yet they still insist on charging us for extra chips is absolutely ridiculous to me! I have NEVER been to a Mexican restaurant where they charge for extra chips, especially when the basket they come in is so dinky and small! Overall we were just not impressed with this place at all. We ordered a appetizer and split an entree and our bill was $25 which is crazy to me at a small little Mexican restaurant. We definitely will not be back because there are way better choices in the area. read more

The good, the bad and the ugly: The good was that their chips and salsa are very tasty. The warm sauce reminded us of Hernandez in Delavan, WI. The bad, they do charge you for more chips ($2.00), which we can live with that because they were tasty and addicting. The service is not very good and not one person that works there had a smile on their face (that generally flows down from the owner/management). The lack of friendliness tends to bring down the entire tone of the restaurant. The unfriendly service is odd as the restaurant is decorated very cute and cozy. We had the pork (carnitas) special, which was very tender and was seasoned very flavorfully (this came with a couple of flour tortillas). The other entree was a beef enchilada special, which was kind of heavy and somewhat over flavored by all the shredded cabbage on top and heavy on the potatoes. They do not appear to change their specials, as they were the same ones when we were in a couple of weeks earlier on a Saturday for lunch. The ugly comes in when we asked for two more tortillas for the pork dish we ended up being charged an extra $1.25 for them! I would have to say that we have been to over 60 Mexican restaurants and have NEVER been charged for little flour tortillas! When the owner was asked why would they charge a customer that just purchased $29.00 for two entrees and $22.00 for 4 tap beers to pay an extra $1.25 for a couple of flour tortillas, he was actually aggressive and stated other high end restaurants charge for extra tortillas. Well sorry to inform you Sir Owner, this is certainly not a high-end restaurant. The prices were on the high end, but realistically, that was it! We would have liked to come back to this restaurant as we did feel the food was overall very good, but with no one smiling and friendly, and the owner's non-concern for the customer; it leaves us no choice but to go spend our hard-earned-money elsewhere. Sorry.... read more

This was the worst food, drink and service we've ever experienced. The sangria was awful. The food was not edible. We had to repeat our order many times. They never came back to check on the food until they were dropping the check and when we said the Burrito was a sloppy mess and we didn't like it, they didn't take it off the check. Yuk! Skip this place. read more

Great place super friendly! They give you two types of salsa one spicy one normal and chips! I would 100% go back! Great margs!! New favorite Mexican best in burbs read more

Not impressed at all! First of all my husband and i got steak tacos which were not even cut into small pieces and the steak was tough and for the prices... need i say more. Ans im mexican so i always eat mexican food and i make WAY better tacos at my house I would NEVER come back to this place again. And the service sucked too. Like the owner was walking around like his s*** dont stink lol sorry but in my opinion if your gonna act like that u better damn well have some good tacos. If you want some really good tacos and awesome service go to la taqueria in hp or la campana in bloomingdale!!!! read more

If you like overpriced average food, lazy service, and surprises on your bill, this is your place. Might be the worst service I've ever had. Asked for two tacos. Plate came with two tacos and refried beans, I'm being generous when I say it was a small spoonful of beans. Bill came and I was charged for a taco platter. Said I just ordered two tacos. Owner barked out that I had refried beans too. I said I didn't ask for platter, clearly said two tacos, and he couldn't be seriously charging me 2.50 for an ounce of refried beans. He brings the waitress out, heavy accent and asks if I ordered the platter...she says yes, partially because I think she's afraid of him. End of story, I pay the bill. Owner is still trying to justify that I am wrong when I'm walking out. I said fine, whatever. and he lost a customer. I'm sure I'm not the first nor last. So many better options than this place. I'm sure you'll see similar stories to mine. Not worth the hassle or the bait and switch bill routines. read more

SERIOUSLY?! horrible service, incredibly rude manager, they probably would charge for refilling water cups if they could. Save yourself the time this place is the absolute worst. read more

Just finished our takeout meal. I could not stop eating it was so good. Maybe should have given them 4 stars because they made me eat too much. So good! read more

Very authentic Mexican food with good size portions. Whole family is very happy everytime we eat here.

Boy did they raise their prices! Dissapointed that there isn't a children's menu. $8.50 for a quesadilla and drink for a child is not comparable to NICER restaurants. Won't return. read more

Just came back from my last visit to El Z. I have loved Longy tacos since forever but have found the flavorless beans and rice at this place hardly worth eating. Now I find the tacos are no longer available a la carte, which means an $11 dinner is the only option for two tacos. French fries and a lifeless-looking plate of iceberg are offered as replacement for the beans and rice but who eats French fries with tacos? Add $2.50 for a soda, $2 for a little basket of chips and suddenly we are asked to pay $35 for a dinner that's not worth half that. Sorry, Longy - hasta la vista. read more

Our family of four went to El Zarape for a Mexican dinner on a Friday evening around 6pm. The first sign of trouble when we arrived was that the restaurant was half empty. We requested water 3 times and was told that our margaritas were top shelf liquor. They was anything but that. Completely watered down. One of our family members ordered steak fajitas and was served a plate of grizzle. The waitress was unresponsive. Finally, the owner came to our table when we questioned the food and drinks. We were told that the drinks were non-refundable. When we sent the food back, the owner said that it would be a blessing if we did not return again. Upon exiting the restaurant, the owner flipped us off in the presence of our children. Completely unprofessional, lack of quality, and possible health code violations. The owner was verbally abusive. Perhaps Taco Bell might be a better alternative. We will never go back again, neither should you. read more

My husband and I used to enjoy coming here for more authentic Mexican food. Lots of choices and reasonable prices. We visited about a month ago and were very disappointed. They changed their menu: increased prices, less choice, $2 for another small basket of chips, and what really got to me...I asked if I could still order a la carte items and she said no, only if I ordered alcohol! Wow...we went to one of West Chicago's great mexican restaurants and spent alot less for better food with less attitude! El Zarape is off our list. read more

El Zarape is an authentic Mexican restaurant off the beaten path in downtown Wheaton. I enjoyed a delicious, generous steak quesedilla for lunch. The service was attentive and friendly and my food arrived in 10-15 minutes. If you are looking for tasty Mexican in the western burbs, be sure to check our El Zarape! read more

I haven't been here for several years but was planning to go soon so I took a look to see if it's changed. Sounds about the same. It 's popular, especially on weekend nights, and you may have to wait a while for a table. But everybody is friendly so time passes quickly. Lots of good items on the menu in large portions. The waitresses always used to be friendly and efficient, refilling the chips and salsa quickly. Enchiladas are a good choice and the drinks and beer are good! read more