It gets the job done - the Burrito had some excitment, but the rest of the experience left something 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. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Exterior - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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Friendly staff. Seated quickly with immediate chips & salsa.. great start. Kids ordered nachos & chicken 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. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Tacos Al Pastor Plate - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Went in for a margarita and to get out of the heat. Greeted kindly at the front door where it was very cool and refreshing and dim lighting which was very nice. I knew we made the right decision because there was a sign saying "half price house margaritas," say less. Before we sat down, a gentleman brought us 2 salsas and chips and took our drink order. The margarita was good, and the chips and salsa were better. We decided to get a meal to share so we ordered: Carne a la Tampiqueña $18.50 1/2 portion of skirt steak alone with two cheese enchiladas poblanas, sour cream and guacamole. The steak was cooked perfect and tasty, and the red sauce on the enchiladas was fantastic mixed with anything on the plate. The reason I didn't give 5 stars is because the enchiladas were just cheese or I just didn't see or taste poblano. It was very, very good and the service was friendly. I will go back for sure. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Carne a la Tampiqueña $18.50 1/2 portion of our skirt steak alone with two cheese enchiladas poblanas, sour cream and guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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I do not like the hours. We used to go for lunch and now that's gone. They no taco specials ever and the food isn't as good as it used to be

Bland, bland, bland food. The blandest Mexican food I've ever had in my life. Also tastes like cheap ingredients. I had a chimichanga covered in enchilada sauce and cheese and yet none of it tasted like anything. The chicken inside had no noticeable flavor. Flavorless rice and beans as well. The restaurant is gorgeous and the ambience is great, but the food is just too subpar to return. read more

10/10 great priced food. Got the trio plate (enchilada, tostada and a quesadilla) definitely was bussin read more

La Mex Restaurant II - 1. Beef Quesadilla, Beef Tostada, Chicken Enchilada Combo - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Pati was inattentive and could care less about us. We asked for new chips and she was clearly irritated. Sit somewhere else if you come here. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - This is how my drink looked the entire time. - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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This place has some really good music that I could vibe to. Whenever I go to a new Mexican restaurant. I always order the taco dinner. If the tacos are not good then I really don't care to try anything else. These tacos were amazing. The rice and beans were so good. They taste super fresh. I can be snobby when it comes to rice and beans. This is definitely a place to go to. It's literally an hour from me, but I will definitely come back again. My husband had a margarita and he liked it. The service was really nice. The girl was very attentive. We will definitely come back and try something else. So definitely a place to come check out. read more

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Have been going there for years. Restaurant is always clean, food has always been great and the service AAA+. Would choose this cuisine over others. read more

Everyone else was so nice, but the waiter Stephanie was just mean for no reason. We were being so respectful to her, but she had zero kindness and made us feel like a total burden. She actually tried to take my food away while I was still eating, and then she just straight up told us, 'pay me, I'm leaving.' No apology or anything. We were just trying to have a good meal, but she completely killed the vibe. You guys really need better servers than that. read more

The food is very good, service is very good, very nice decor and priced well. We go there often and recommend it. read more

This was a great place several years ago that really slipped last week when I was there. The chips they serve weren't fresh and tasted like baked Tostitos. The salsa tasted like bland stewed tomatoes. The mole tasted like starch and water with no texture or seasoning. The worst Mexican food I have ever eaten. Will not return there. read more

Great service from Brandon tonight. Agree with previous reviews. Enjoyed the 1/2 price margaritas. Thanks to the reviews we read we had the beef enchiladas, chicken burrito and pollo poblano. Order the house made hot (mild) sauce. It had nice heat and flavor to it. We sat on the patio which also elevated our experience read more

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Let me just save you the trip, go there if you want GREAT MARGARITAS!!! I've been here about 5 times and the food was trash. DO NOT GET THE CARNE ASADA STEAK! Anyways I'll go back to the positive stuff, they have great and friendly staff and they are fast. Don't eat inside during beautiful weather, use patio. Also owner needs to brighten up the place, it's dark inside for no reason. STRAWBERRY MARGARITA ON THE ROCKS Don't forget to tip your waiters if you're reading this. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Food: chicken was pink and the burrito was stuffed with beans, barely any other ingredients. Food came out superr fast but was somehow cold. Rice tasted like dry sweet starch no flavor. Cheese dip got HARD after sitting out for 10 minutes, I had 1 margarita which was super sweet, came home and threw everything up a few hours later. Had severe indigestion and nausea the next day. Service: poor, waitress didn't come to check on us at all, only got us drinks, took our order, gave us bill, when we asked for more chips and never even received them. Worst part was getting sick, haven't felt that in a long time. read more

Food was just ok, not special. And how are you charging $6.25 for a bottle of Miller Lite??? That's just greed, first and last visit for us.

Always a good vibe. Mainly come for the drinks... food is okay just typical mexican food could use seasoning. never a long wait for seats or food even when super busy. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

The food here is Always great! When we have eaten here we are have tried several dishes but have settled on favorites! I enjoy the combo fajitas and my husband the steak Diablo! The adult beverages are good also. There is often a celebration going on or a party atmosphere in the spacious dining areas. We have been seated in most areas however not the patio yet. No matter where you are seated it seems like an intimate setting. Everywhere you look there is beautiful artwork. The hostess' are welcoming and the wait staff are nice. The only thing is having a slight language barrier when asking for pickled jalapeños. I seem to say it wrong and it takes asking other wait staff sometimes. () Other than that I would strongly recommend dining at La Mex in Joliet, IL read more

Came here for dinner the other night. The service was great and the food was tasty. I recommend the enchiladas poblanos and a pina colada. Yum. It was a little loud at times and the lighting was a little distracting to me, there was this green ambient light that made things look weird to me. read more

This place use to be very good don't know what happen now is Low grade meat very expensive Cooper Hawk is even cheaper.

This is only the second time in over 10 years that I've lowered a 5 star review. When we entered the restaurant we were not greeted and had to wait almost 10 minutes for the attention of the hostess to seat us. They were talking to a waitress and never made any acknowledgment that we were there. There were 2 hostesses and our issues were with the older one. Our waiter was horrible and never brought out water and our food took 55 minutes and they were not busy as it was a weekday night at 4:30 pm. The waiter also forgot our shells for our fajitas. We asked the same hostess to help us and not only did she not acknowledge us but rolled her eyes at us. When she brought the shells back she didn't apologize and rolled her eyes again. So by the time we got our shells it was 23 minutes after we received our food. I'm not paying for food with crappy service. No thanks! Would not recommend going forward. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

I told Virgilio I'd like to take him out for lunch today and he suggested we try La Mex Restaurant. We arrived at 1pm, it's Mother's Day so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised to see lots of cars in the parking lot and the restaurant well attended by guests. We were greeted with a friendly smile at the door and seated promptly. At the table our waitress Nancy took our drink order while another server dropped off nacho chips and salsa. Virgilio ordered a Top Shelf Patrone Margarita, it was quite tasty and definitely contained alcohol. I stuck with a simple ice tea which I'm happy to report had a good tea flavor, just the way ice tea should be. The menu has a goodly selection of typical Mexican offerings plus a nice selection of salads and other items making it a good option for mixed groups and families. The nacho chips were luckily not too salty and paired nicely with the tomato/cilantro based salsa. The salsa was quite mild while the flavor was quite enjoyable. Nancy returned with our drinks and took our order, offering Virgilio her suggestions on the menu. He ordered the Botana La Mex which is apparently an appetizer but also a full meal. It came with steak, shrimp, spinach quesadilla and avocado. He enjoyed it to the last bite. I got the Diablo Stake Burrito which was advertised as hot and the waitress warned was spicy. That's just the way I wanted it. As I chewed it was a bit hot and the heat built up a little in my stomach, which just seemed perfect for Diablo anything. I used a few of the nacho chips to chow down on the refried beans and rice. Nancy stopped back near the end of the meal to make sure everything was good and see if we wanted anything else. You really couldn't ask for better service, prompt, helpful, attentive but not overly so. We both enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant, cozy knocks and larger dining tables plus a good sized bar off to the side. The Latino music was fun, upbeat and a joy to hear over lunch. It would be perfect for a date or family gathering as evidenced by the many groups dining today. read more

Good food, ample servings and ok prices. Server was ok. Met family here and had a good lunch. Place was empty.

Great selection of Mexican dishes to choose from the servers are very great and hard working, the wait can be long but it's definitely worth it as the food is delicious, very nice family environment and I definitely recommend trying this restaurant. read more

We finally went to this place and have already been there twice The margaritas are great. We had a beef enchiladas and only which they wrote up that it came w/ geeen Chile. Scrapped it off and was great This last time we ordered steak n shp fajitas Great. Will go back soon Only issue is they have a small and go to extra large margaritas. read more

Drinks are good. The food has been horrible both times I've gone. The lighting is way too dim, I can barely see my food. I really really don't recommend this place read more

Only giving a 1 star because you can't give a zero first off I'd like to start by saying I firmly believe people only come here for the drinks the food is god awful no flavor the rice is bland n room temperature the margarita was given with no limes or salt they have no salsa verde or horchatas!! What Mexican place don't have salsa verde or horchata I'm absolutely appalled and on top of that the waitress must of forgotten we are here because we've only seen her 3 times the waitress also clearly profiled my white girlfriend and assumed she wanted beef tacos instead of steak who tf eats beef tacos gross the ambience is nice tho 0 stars read more

We returned for the 3 rd time. I had the spinach, mushroom, cheese enchiladas. I found out I didn't miss the meat. It came with rice and beans. I want to reduce carbs and processed foods so this was a good healthier choice for me. Recommend for anyone in that same situation. Healthy can taste great with this dish. Great service and a splurge of 1 margarita made it a great dinner out that didn't break the bank. read more

A recent trip here was my first here in probably 20 years, so that tells you they've done something right for a long time. Good food with a broad menu of Mexican comfort choices. Carne Tampiquena is a solid marinated skirt steak with cheese enchiladas. Chicken Jalisco has a creamy queso on chicken breast-everything was solid. Lively atmosphere and service is quick. read more

Hard to rate because the food and margaritas are very good. Everything we ordered was perfect. Their flautas are with corn tortillas so really are taquitos. We'd love to come back. The real issue here is the erroneous information the manager has given her staff about Service Dogs, and is setting the restaurant up for up to $150k in fines. If you go there with a service dog you do NOT have to provide any paperwork or other nonsense. Your dog does not need a vest but we have one on ours. Fortunately the staff did allow us to enter but it was unnecessarily stressful. read more

Great Margueritas served, and certain 1/2 price days. The food and service basic but reliable.

The host take us to seat next to employees table that everyone comes to seat on their break. It's very uncomfortable to hear all employees talks on the phones or watching videos. A lot of empty table but don't know why we have to seat in that area. We didn't get chips and salsa as usual, the food was okay. Not really impressed to have dine in dinners at La Mex. read more

Bff and I had dinner last night and were so delighted that their extensive menu, friendly service delicious margaritas, and perfectly prepared food was just as it was pre pandemic. The carne asada was just as ordered-- medium rare, combo plate item and burrito were spot on and out from the kitchen in short order! The sopapita dessert is deliciouness as was the coffee with a touch of cinnamon. Thank you for providing a perfect meal as we gather together with friends again. Forgot pictures. To hungry. read more

La Mex!!! I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. Delicious food and great margaritas. I like going on Thursdays when they have the enchiladas on special and the margs 1/2 price! You can't go wrong with the strawberry marg that includes fresh strawberries. The owner Izzy is great and definitely what keeps us coming back!! Mondays they also have a live mariachi band. And let me tell you- the patio is the spot to be in the summer! Lots of shade and authentic plants. Can't wait for summer on the patio with a cold marg!! read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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Food was good. Skip the cheese sauce. Service was ok, but slowed towards the end. Did not appreciate being charged for drink refills without saying anything to us. Margaritas were good. Will try other places when we go back. read more

I'll be honest, the only reason I come here is because of the proximity from my children's activities. I've stopped by twice hoping that something would resonate with my palate...only to be let down. From what I've experienced, however, the history and culture of the venue is the most appealing component of La Mex. Both times I've been in the place has been alive with chatter and groups of friends meeting to chat. Quick summary of my meals (w/ pictures already uploaded): Chips - standard; not made in house Salsa - watered down; little to no flavor Steak Quesadilla - not bad; great cheese Diablo Steak Burrito - not very spicy as listed, but steak was good Simply put: If you're looking for a family friendly place with great weekly specials and generously poured drinks to hang out, La Mex is for you! If you are a drive by patron looking for a great meal...keep driving. read more

La Mex Restaurant II - Steak diablo burritos - Mexican Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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I had previously visited this location with a friend of mine and had a decent experience. The food was good and the drinks were delicious. I called recently (Father's Day) to be exact to place a take out order. I understand that Father's Day is a busy day and now that IL is open without restrictions I understand how restaurants could be swamped. I guess this was the case on this day because the phone kept ringing and no one would answer. I finally was able to get through to someone and the person who answered the phone was very rude. After I stated I wanted to place a take out order he rather harshly stated they "were not taking orders at this time" and abruptly hung up the phone. He wasn't apologetic or anything... just simply ended the call. I think in the future businesses should look into putting an automated message in place to redirect phone calls or simply not answer at all. I wasn't going to leave a review but that phone call left a bad taste in my mouth. Initially I didn't think twice about visiting this location again but now I'm not so sure, I think I'd rather take my business elsewhere. read more

Definitely an entry level tex mex bar/grill. Chori-queso was mid and carne asada left much to be desired in terms of seasoning. Rice and beans were bland and salsa had no spiciness. Service is fine depending on time of day. Quantity over quality read more

The service is lacking, went back for the LAST time. First off, we go in and there are 2 guys using washing the stairs with a hose. OMG, it was 40 degrees out and when open! Come on, then he let go of the hose, luckily we weren't hit with water, then the hose was crossing by the door, DAH! We thought maybe good service, hell NO! There were other servers who were working hard, of course we get the bottom of the barrel. Only took order and delivered, no refills, no coming back, as we wait and wait. Then comes back to get check, just GOT it. Then we wait and wait for him to come back, had to flag down for the 2nd time. Don't get it, never going to bother on another failure in Joliet! Food isn't worth wasting your time WAITING! read more

Have been going to this restaurant for over 30 years and was always good service and excellent food. Not anymore. Service was terrible (not a smile in the place), food was lousy, enchiladas. Last time we were there had the steak tacos that tasted like pot roast. Apparently, according to the "manager", we were given an "old" menu, so what should have cost us about $55.00 for lunch, cost almost $75.00. I realize prices have gone insane, but for that kind of money for lunch, it ought to be outstanding. We will no longer be patronizing this restaurant and will not recommend. read more