Emilio's Tapas is one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at. Normally I'm not a fan of small plate restaurants but this place blew my mind. The garlic potato salad was the most amazing thing ever. We also had the baked goat cheese, and bacon wrapped dates. We also had these baked crab meat in a pasty dough (I forgot what they were called) and those were to die for. I can't wait to get back here and try more items. read more

Stellar food and excellent service. We had a cold tap with veggies and herbed goat cheese, a choriza and potatoes casserole, a mushroom medley in red wine, scallops, and Spanish style tiramisu for dessert. All of it was exceptional. We will be back. read more

First time visitor. Vegan sister was my guest. While the vegan selection was not large, my sister enjoyed everything we ordered (she's very picky). The food was delicious and the atmosphere and decor were delightful. Background music did not overwhelm and sound level was acceptable. Will be returning again, have become addicted to the grilled artichokes. read more

Normally I would easily rate Emilio's 5 Stars. I can't say that tonight. My Pincho De Solomillo a la Pimienta was warm at best. I was seated a table away from the server station in the one room. It was early and I was the only diner in this room so my server Axel and another employee stood 6 feet away for me having a personal conversation for about 20 minutes. I found this rude and disruptive as I was trying to enjoy a quiet meal. Very disappointing! Fortunately, this is not the standard here but for $30 for one person this should NEVER happen! read more

Food is amazing! Would def go again, steak was cooked just as you order. Had an order of calamari as well which was perfect. read more

Emilio's Tapas - Paella a La Valenciana Emilio 's Patatas Bravas Solomillo con Patatas Fritas Pechuga de Pollo con Melocotones - Spanish Near Me - Hillside, Illinois

Excellent service and sangria and tapas menu are amazing. Everything is delicious! Highly recommend you try them out.

Great service but didn't taste as good as I expected based on the high advertisement...

Really something special, from tapas or to one large entree, everything was done with classical professionalism, and lovely attention to rustic beauty in taste and overall design. Spanish cuisine like this earned my RESPECT! Cheers! read more

I love love love this restaurant! Fresh food with real variety! It comes with a hefty pricetag so we usually go during special occasions. Totally worth it! Love tge garlic potatoes! read more

Not really impressed or wowed by anything, service was really slow took them almost 20 min just to bring out couple glasses of wine and waiter was not really waiting on us. Food was just okay it lacked a lot of flavor and slightly expensive for tapas. I am giving it 3 stars because my husband really liked the Calamares con ajo y limón out of all the tapas he tried he only liked that one he even asked for a second one. read more

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Our family favorite dining establishment. Tapas makes it fun to order a variety of outstanding dishes to share. Impeccable service and delicious food read more

I really enjoyed the food. I'm happy we have a tapas restaurant near my. We came in kinda later in the evening expecting to be seated but to our surprise the place was very busy and all tables were occupied - good for the business but I'd prefer to sit in actual restaurant and not by the bar. My son was with us and the table was too small for our party. So we had keep moving stuff around. I even dropped my drink cuz it was so tight. Other than that the food was delicious and we will be back soon. read more

Great restaurant, authentic Spanish tapas. Good wine selection. Amazing staff. Prices are reasonable.. Emilio comes out of the kitchen to talk to the customers. You will NOT be disappointed.! read more

Never fails, this place! Best tapas place in the western suburbs.

Very closed to home... But not the vest tapas, was here for lunch... not very authentic Spanish tapas. Sangria was Ok. I prob give it another try soon. read more

Amazing pulpo tapas!!! We had several plates and desserts, prices are very reasonable. Great outdoor seating filled with colorful flowers and the service was great, quick and extremely pleasant!! My husband and I shared a pitcher of sangria filled with great fruits. We will definitely go back! read more

Most close to home is Emilios tapas, couldn't have asked for a better service either, staff is very kind and attentive. The food is delicious, had an amazing time with my family. Quite felt like home so we got a little sentimental but in a good way. I'd love to meet the owner and master of this restaurant. Great amazing restaurant, the best I've had here since I arrived read more

Fantastic food and excellent service! First time there last week due to a recommendation from a friend. Highly recommend to check it out. Prices are reasonable. Try the garlic potato salad! I usually don't like potato salad, but I love this one! read more

I think my expectations were too high after reading some of the reviews. All in all, I did not think the food or service was bad, but it just wasn't that great to warrant higher. We started off with 4 different hot tapas from the patatas bravas, calamari, fruto del mar, and chicken croquettes. I felt like the portions were great for the price, but for all the items... I thought the food came out almost lukewarm. I like my hot food hot....and none of the food was piping hot. Just warm or mediocre in temp. We ordered one last item -the grilled beef brochette and that was both tasty and hot. I liked that the best actually. We had dessert too with bananas and ice cream and the one with the pear. Both desserts had a caramel sauce which was really good and it ended the dinner on a higher note than how it began. I thought the food was a solid 3 1/2 stars, but not really near 4 stars. Had the food been hot when it came out, it would have been a solid 4 stars. read more

I have been going here since they opened 32 years ago. The food is outstanding! I have tried every single item on their menu over the years and love their food so much. Emilio visited our table to say hello. We had the cod, which was made to perfection and soft shell crab for one of the tapas, which was to die for!!! Every item we ordered last night was delicious. Service was excellent as always. Can't wait to go back. read more

Emilio's Tapas - Cod on a bed of mashed potatoes in a lemon butter sauce. - Spanish Near Me - Hillside, Illinois

Went there yesterday at 5pm and had a great dinner with 3 family members. Emilio visited out table and thanked us for coming and then the dishes started arriving. Wonderful food. It was our first time out since early March. Great place to go during these crazy Covid times. read more

Having recently traveled to Spain, we had a hankering for tapas and knowing that this was one of the better known spots for this type of food - we decided to give it a try. I have been to other tapas restaurants in the Chicagoland area and this is the best I have ever had. The restaurant isn't huge and reservations are taken and recommended. Because tapas is an experience, dining can take awhile. We got a variety of things to try and everything was good and would be worth of a second order should the opportunity present itself: The dishes we had were the sauteed escargot, dates wrapped in bacon, grilled calamari and something they had on special that were venison empanadas. We also had the sangria, which was delicious and the baked pineapple dessert which was interesting. I would come back here again and again and try some new things as well as ordering all of this again. You won't go wrong with this restaurant. read more

I find the staff at Emilio's extremely friendly and helpful. I love many of the dishes and am really delighted at some of the interesting special/non menu plates you can order. This location seems a little off the beaten path but it's been there a long time and the location isn't truthfully even that far from most Chicago neighborhoods but far enough that you aren't going to get the wait or snobbery of some of the Lincoln park/Gold Coast tapas places will afford you. Prices are fair and affordable for a nice middle of the road cost but special feeling diner. A long night of small plate eating, sangria drinking, laughing and talking with friends in the fresh air of summer is what Emilio's was built for. Once you go, the family atmosphere and flavorful dishes will keep you coming back. read more

I live 5 minute away from this place and yesterday was my first time. We usually just order for take out, oh boy! Their paella was delicious! Anyway, we've ordered so many stuffs but my favorites are, potato goat cheese, lamb and the sweets with nuts that Emilio's wife gave us, I think she said "turon" (it was good!) I'm just not sure if it was part of the menu, because she just gave it to us, why? Because she's very nice! Interior was great! Oh! Sangria was good too! read more

Ended up here by accident the last time I was in Chicago but I do not regret it one bit. My family is big on Spanish/Tapas and this was the best I've ever had... mind you, I've had tapas a million times, all over the country, and this was STILL THE BEST! Definitely get the patatas bravas here! Also had escargot that was very good! 10/10 food, fun (but not fancy) atmosphere! read more

Everything I've eaten here has been fresh and delicious! Love the small plates! Service is excellent as well.

First time here. My moms been going here for years, it one of her favorite places to go. Decided to give it a try. Food was delicious, so many items to choose from. You really can't go wrong, with anything you choose on the menu. True authentic Spanish style food, with beautifully decorated atmosphere. There's a reason this place is packed all the time! read more

Hands down - best tapas I've ever had outside of Spain! This is a surprising little find in Hillside - I honestly didn't there was anything in Hillside, let alone anything good. Emilio's is soo delicious and yummy. The first time I went with my friend's family - the staff were very accommodating of our semi-large group. My friend's family know the owner (they go to Emilio's a lot) so the service was uber friendly and attentive. Our server was very knowledgeable and she suggested menu items that pair well with the sangria that we ordered. Since there were so many of us, we just ordered almost one of everything on the menu and shared. It was DELICIOUS. My favorites: Alcachofas a la vasca Pincho de solomillo a la pimenta Patatas Bravas Tortilla Sooooo delicious. Just be prepared: the prices are a bit high but it is worth it so bring your wallet. There's also locations in Chicago that are just as delicious. read more

Tapas are like dim sum. Only more expensive. And expensive is why Emilio's doesn't get five stars. I mean, Cafe Iberico seems like a bargain in comparison. This place, in summary, makes me feel like a teenage boy discovering manhood for the first time: surprising, explosive, and very -very- satisfying. Take a moment........Okay now back to my review. It seems like all the happy people in Chicagoland dine here. Yes, everyone does seem genuinely happy. That's the vibe this place exudes. Perhaps it's the sangria. Perhaps it's the tall, graceful and stunningly beautiful Spanish-looking woman by the bar next to her equally beautiful male companion half her height. Never mind. After enough sangria, everyone seems happy and beautiful and tall anyway. On to what matters most. The menu isn't as expansive as, say, Iberico's, yet the selections are carefully thought out. There's a [daily] specials menu so don't miss it. Here's what I'd recommend for a party of any size: Skip the paella. Get nothing but tapas. A few items worthy of your palate: * Garlic potato salad: So garlicky no vampire will approach you ever again. * Beef brochette: Coated with black peppercorn that will wake up your taste bud. Watch out for the mustard-flavored yogurt/cream on the side tho' - that sh*t will *really* wake you up. * Lamb chop: Pink on the inside; served with sliced potato and green bean. And it's okay to pick up the bone and suck it clean. Really. * Soft shell crab: 'nuff said. * Emilio's Catalana: A fancy name for creme brulee (which is also a fancy name). But watch out: if you're not careful you could totally experience culinary orgasm. That's my word and I'm sticking to it. Just pay attention before you order. The bill can empty your pocket. Use your TI, HP, or at least your cell phone calculator. read more

Nostalgia may be fueling my stars. I love Emilio's. I love the decor. I love the sangria. I love the bar. I love the tapas. I love getting blotto on sangria at the bar while eating the tapas on a quite Saturday afternoon. And finally, I love the banana dessert. Oh, and I love that the staff makes fun of the drunk blond girls at the bar sharing the very phallic banana dessert covered in nuts and caramel with a dollop of ice cream on either side of the banana. Well played kitchen staff, well played. I happily play into stereotypes for a good laugh. Cheers Emilio. See you Saturday. read more

Despite the fact that there was flooding in this area on the day that we were meeting friends here for dinner, Emilio's was open and providing excellent food and service! The menu is large and our waitress was on top of things, circulating busily and making sure we could order another round when we were ready. The food was really amazing. Among 4 people we ordered: - Datiles con Tocino -- Dates wrapped in bacon with red bell pepper sauce; we liked it so much we ordered it twice! - Patatas con Aioli -- a super-garlicky potato salad; DELICIOUS but my bf and I had dragon breath for 2 days! - Solomillo con Pimientos -- beef tenderloin in cracked black pepper with onions and peppers in a sherry sauce; excellent! - Atun del Cantabrico -- thinly sliced seared tuna with caramelized pineapple; this was a surprise hit with me. - Cazuela de Pollo Salteado -- a mini casserole with chicken, garlic, chorizo, mushrooms, and amontillado; a big favorite with everyone. - Mejillones a la Mallorquina -- mussels and rice in a saffron-scented broth; delicious, and another favorite. - Cangrejos Concha Blanda -- one very tiny soft-shell crab, which three people split; the taste was intriguing with an unusual almond sauce, but the size for the price was not worthwhile. - Champinones Rellenos -- mushroom caps with spinach and onion blanketed with melted mozzarella, on a bed of tomato sauce; not my favorite but they disappeared quickly. - Albondgas de Cordero -- lamb meatballs; I am not a lamb person so I didn't try this; these were two big wads of lamb, and these remained the longest so I think this may have been the least successful dish. The fruit-flavored sangrias (raspberry and mango) were excellent, and the profiteroles we had for dessert were the perfect cap on the meal. The only possible complaint was the unevenness in size of dishes and variance of prices thereof. It was never quite certain how many people a given dish might feed (especially after the minuscule soft-shell crab came out); where would be the best place to invest our money to feed everyone enjoyably? The place was half-empty on a Saturday night, though that may have had to do with nearby flood issues. There were still enough people there that a proposal took place at the next table! On the whole, a great place for a tapas meal! read more

Emilio's was like a great movie that you see in it's fifth week of release when for five weeks all of your friends have been telling you how great it was. It was indeed good, but the hype was so build up that I left a bit disappointed. Garlic potato salad...a signature dish. AMazing IF you love garlic like your first born and put it in everything including eggs and corn flakes. I might put it in eggs..so I really do love garlic...but it was so heavy in garlic that I could hardly take it. It was creamy and you had to adjust to the taste...overall good. I've just never experienced anything that infused with garlic. Not sure that garlic is that garlicky. Perhaps it was made with a reduction of garlic somehow. Bacon wrapped dates. Another favorite...four words Be Still My Heart Delicious. Still thinking of them a few days later as I write this review. Other notable things..... They were very smart to have a child friendly pasta for our daughter...nothing special...some pasta, some red sauce, some cheese. The four year old was happy...so were we. Started off bad when the waiter went to explain Tapas to us and said "This is traditional Spanish food, you won't be getting chips and salsa here/" Umm excuse me...do I need to Flickr my photos of my husband and I in Barcelona on my iPad mini for him? Has he been to Spain? WE seemed equally European. I nicely explained to him that though it was our first time at Emilio's, we have experience Tapas before. I later learned his name when he introduced it to a table next to us....as in...we never received the same courtesy. Yes - would eat there again. read more

Emilio's Emilio's, why is your food so delicious? I love to come to Emilio's to celebrate pretty much anything. I recommend the red wine Sangria as a start to spark your hunger for tapas. I have to say though that there is one item on the menu that keeps me coming back and asking for more. The cazuela de fideos con hierba buena is spectacular. The broth is not too fishy and has the perfect combination of rep pepper, saffron, and whatever else they put into this delicious and perfect dish. I dream with this cazuela and crave it when I think about it. The tapas are delicious, and the special menu always has some new fresh options to explore. read more

This is my absolute favorite new restaurant (new to me not a new restaurant). I love the bacon wrap dates and goat cheese dip....the best I've ever had!!! The sangria is also amazing....very strong!! They also always bring a small plate of something for you to try on the house which is so nice and much appreciated! The wait staff is also really nice and the price is right! I can't wait to go back!! read more

Went hear back in 2007 and was not impressed. In fact, my wife had food poisoning from the bad beef skewer dish. I doubt there will be a second try. Thank god for Iberico & Barcelona read more

The service was good and the food was great as well. I think the pitchers of Sangria are a bit small for the price. We tried a lot of things on the menu and would have liked to try some other items but I got too full. Emilio himself was there the night we decided to stop in. I always think it's cool when the owners take the time to mingle with the clients. read more

Oh-EM-GEE this place is freaking fantastic. People say it's expensive, but it's not anymore expensive than a crappy Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant and it's WAY better. Emilio still works at the Hillside location, and he's amazing. I don't think I've ever had anything here I didn't like and I've worked my way through a good portion of the menu. I would recommend the goat cheese, the garlic potatoes (although not on a date or 2-3 days before a date), the red peppers and asparagus with goat cheese and the escargot. I know, Escargot, serious just put it in your mouth I promise you will like it. Drinks wise, get the sangria, it's awesome. They usually have special desserts that are awesome. Once I had Pear Ice Cream with melty white chocolate sauce and this brownie. It was sick, I wanted to marry it instead of eating it because I was madly in love with it. Go here. read more

This place is a staple in our household for a close to home tapas experience! The atmosphere is very relaxed and inviting and on a couple of occasions have even been greeted by Emilio himself, love that! The staff is always super friendly and the service is very good. Some of our favorites are the Tortilla, Patatas Alioli, Grilled Calamari, Serrano Ham and the Bacon Wrapped Dates...seriously...the best. They are SO good here, you can literally lick the plate clean! Overall, a really nice place to get some tapas out in the suburbs, but I think the Sangria is a bit overpriced for how much you get. But that will NOT stop me from coming back! =]] read more

Nothing great here. Food is average at best. Owner had a lot of pride. Can't take constructive criticism or advice to save his own life. Terrible service. Dirty place. Yuck! Nasty! Why eat here folks when there are many other places to choose from. This place sucks!!!! read more

Despite living just down the street for almost a year and a half, I had never been to Emilio's. My wife had been to Emilio's many years ago and thought the food was sub-par. We recently met a couple for dinner and were delightfully surprised. The food was excellent. We had a pitcher of red sangria and ordered the garlic potato salad, bacon wrapped dates, pork tenderloin, beef brochette, grilled calamari, grilled eggplant and for dessert, the tres leches cake. All of the meat was excellent; the calamari was tender and all of the food was nicely seasoned. Only complaints were that the bacon on the dates was a little overdone, the sangria was not very fruity and the cake was a little dry - nothing that would give us reason to not go back! Perfect place for a relaxed dinner with friends. read more