After yoga I decided to check this place out. My friend and I were starving so we to walked in. We were confused because the waitress was just there staring at us. She didn't tell us if we should sit down or point out a table. She seemed very unfriendly. Lol. I ordered breakfast which was cool. It was about 8pm and I was craving eggs. I got huevos a la mexicana. While I was waiting she came by and mentioned something about the drink I ordered, brought me some water and walked away before I could ask her to repeat what she has said. I was slightly annoyed with her. Our food arrived quickly and it looked good. I liked the food but it was a little cold. I have issues with cold food!!! I hate when I order something warm or hot and it comes out cold!!! WTF! Cold beans and rice are nasty!!! Anyways, I also realized that they only gave me like a spoonful of the eggs. Not that eggs are good for you but still I expected more. The bill was low. Wasn't expensive at all. I doubt I will return to this place. Terrible service and cold beans, rice and eggs. NEVER!!!! Tee hee! read more

You took the money but never made the order. No wonder it's always empty. Don't bother with them, their printer "is out of ink."

A friend and I decided we would get some fast Mexican to go. Like the others have said there isn't much in the way of Mexican food in the area and we were also in a hurry. There was two other tables taken and am an at the bar and yet it took us over 25 minutes to get our food! I couldn't believe it. And then when she went to run my credit card it took another 10 minutes! The food was okay. I ordered the nachos and they were pretty good despite the stale chips. The guac was pretty good and my friend didn't complain about her tacos but we were also both starving. I was disappointed with the food and the service! I was really looking forward to some good Mexican food but this place definitely didn't deliver! read more

OK -- I really want to like Los Arcos, but it just hasn't happened. Every time I've been there, I just came away unimpressed. The food is cheap (as in price), but so seems the quality. Everything seems a little stale, over-ripe, too greasy, fatty or "gibbly"*. Sadly, there is not a glut of Mexican restaurants in the immediate Andersonville area. I would recommend Angel's instead. * "Gibbly" is Matthewspeak for any meat product that possesses the properties I associate with giblets (you know, those less-than-desirable meat and organ bits that are put in a little paper bag and stuffed deep inside the Thanksgiving turkey when you buy it). This includes gristly, overly fatty meats, as well as meats that just seem "off" and of poor quality. read more

This place has the worst beans ever. It's the powdered beans that you "stir with water," and voila. Insta-beans. I've eaten here twice because I work across the street. Each time I've had something different and sampled what my friends ordered because we always share when we go out. Burritos are as massive as your head so bring an appetite. I had the chilaquiles and the tostadas. The tostadas were alright, but damn the beans are just horrendous. The chicken on my tostadas was delicious though. I will give three stars to the chicken tostadas. I would say find another place on Clark St. Like Guadalupes at Clark and Lawrence. it's 100x better. and not too far away read more

I'm a fan of the service. They are very friendly and welcoming and I love that it's BYOB. I got the enchiladas and the chicken was a bit dry and not very flavorful. The enchiladas themselves were kind of falling apart. So unfortunately the food was underwhelming. Maybe it was a bad night for my dish because it seemed like everyone else enjoyed theirs at the table. The restaurant MIGHT consider toning down the Celine Dion music at full blast. read more

Me: [text] "Moving sale was a bust. I think I'm going to get a burrito." Matt: [text] "Do it!" I've passed Los Arcos for years now ...Usually opting to pick up a large horchata at Las Paraditas (now "Real Azteca") or further up at El Norte ...I'd spent the better part of my last day off from work, running errands throughout the neighborhood, stopping here or there + browsing a yard sale or two. My stomach started to grumble + having skipped breakfast, passed at lunch ...I decided why not have my major meal of the day a bit early. I was out, it was a nice day and well, you get the picture. I was surprised by the decor inside Los Arcos, which greatly outshines the exterior. It was surprisingly comfy + I quickly seated myself at far table. I was the second customer ...I glanced over to the other occupied table ...A Mother + infant, both covered in refried beans + spilled soda. Fantastic. I was soon greeted by my waitress, a basket of tortilla chips, two squeeze bottles of red/ green salsa + a small bowl of the refried beans that I had a preview of thanks to the baby nearby. Amusing enough, the beans resembled the wall color. Orange + rusty. Though given the sun shining through the front window, I think the walls were warmer than the beans. I ordered my usual: veggie burrito w/ no cream, no cheese + extra avocado, large horchata. I actually ordered this twice, since my waitress came back to double-check. Me: [text] "You're here in spirit." Matt: [text] "What am I doing?" Me: [text] "Ordering goat stew, amazed by the beans that come with the chips + wondering why I'm reading Hoy! when I don't know Spanish." Matt: [text] "I'm awesome. Why ARE you reading Hoy?" Me: [text] "I didn't bring a book + I'm all alone!" The first thing I noticed as my plate made it's way to the table were those all too familiar (by now) beans. My burrito was oozing with them ...Have you ever seen footage of the sunken Titanic? The decks, the mast, the various gadgets of yesteryear ...Corroded/covered in barnacles + discolored sea algae ...My burrito sort of looked like that. Me: [text] "Oo my this place loves their beans! Major beanage!" It was a good size, sort of Titanic-like, I suppose ...I took a bit + grabbed the salsa verde. All I tasted was pasty beans ...My next bite, I found some lettuce + onion. NO tomato, hmm ...And after a few more bites I found a chunk of avocado. I drizzled a little bit of red ...Which tasted like dirt (I was a champion mud-pie maker in my heyday so I can make such expert comparisons). I made it through half of my burrito, slurping down my horchata (which was the highlight of my meal) ...For the second half of my burrito, I decided to fish out the remaining avocado (I was paying an extra 30 cents for it, afterall) + eat it plain. That's as far as I could make it ...I tidied up my plate, finished my horchata, gathered my bag (I coughed a few times but my waitress was very intent on cleaning the beans off of the nearby table) ...I went up to the counter, paid my check ($8.20 + tip) + off I went. Me: [text] "Oo boy was it not good. What have I done!? It's times like this I wish I were bulimic." Matt: [text] "I'll avoid it. Bad burrito. No thank you." Me: [text] "I'm so bummed." Matt: [text] "It's ok. Next time, slugger!" I think from now on I'll just continue walking. read more

Same folks that own Taqueria Uptown own this joint. Being a fan of the Uptown store, I knew I'd enjoy this place when the wife and I stopped in for dinner last night. The specialty of the house is tacos al pastor. Being a fan of these, I order them and was very glad I did. My wife had steak tacos. The menu is mostly traditional offerings, nothing too exotic. Think Uncle Julio's on a tighter budget. If you like Chicago taquerias, this place offers that kind of food in a slightly nicer setting, without inflating the prices. I'd definitely go back and take friends. read more

I'm so disappointed this was one of my favorite Mexican places but after tonight never again :( the service was a nightmare. Server was rude and barely would serve me. I could understand if it was busy but it wasn't. Normally the food is very good for a reasonably priced place. Hope your luck on a Monday was better then mine. read more

Well, I think this is my first one star review. As Matthew G said, I too really wanted to like this place -- we have very little in the way of Mexican around here that I can walk to -- and I was very excited to try out Los Arcos. The decor is nice, too, which was very inviting and furthered my desire to like the place. Alas.... The chips were greasy and stale and served with bean sauce, which was weird, but the beans were hardly something to take points away for. They didn't seem to have any pico de gallo -- their only salsas were in those squeeze bottles like you find ketchup and mustard in sometimes (or used to). This is a problem for me -- I really like pico de gallo. The food was okay -- my husband and I had the vegetarian burritos suizos and my mom had the chiles rellenos. My mom even commented that the rellenos were good. The service was pretty bad. Our waitress took our order and pretty much never came back. We had to go get her for our check. This is particularly significant because we were the ONLY ones in the restaurant. NOW for the REALLY important part: I would have given this place 3 stars, probably. It wasn't horrible and if I had patience to spare, I would probably be willing to go here again. However, when I talked to my mom this morning, she informed me that she had been up all night with FOOD POISONING. For this simple reason, I could never in good conscience recommend this place, nor would I go back there and risk getting it myself. Yuck. Guess we'll have to try Angel's down the street, which looks very Tex Mex. read more

The best thing I can say is 'meh' The food and service were disappointing. Too bad because it's the closest place to our house and it would be great to have another local knockout like Tanoshii or M Henry. Oh well read more

We dined in once and did take out and delivery - I'm a fan! I think in this area, it's our go to spot for any type of mexican food. It's traditional and there are definitely no frills. I think the beans are kind of bland but they are nice and creamy. The pastor is kind of sweet for my taste buds (hubby loves it) so I usually go for the carnitas and steak. Tacos are solid and the torta is also a good deal. The torta bread was very fresh. Each time we had their guacamole and chips I've been happy with the amount and quality. Last delivery had a tad too much onion for my taste, but nothing egregious. read more

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We were pleasantly surprised! The place was empty, but the food was actually really good! The chips were chips... The salsa/sauces were spicy! We had the queso fundido with poblanos. Just the perfect spice... and a huge portion!! Our meals - VERY large!! My wife had the Combinacion - which was a huge plate of food. She couldn't believe how much food was on the plate! I had the tilapia - which was delicious - smothered in a crushed tomato and poblano mixture.... Again - so much food. They are in the entertainment book (save $6).... and we would go back! read more

This is a quick eat & run Mexican food place. They serve typical American's favorite Mexican food like taco, burritos, quesadillas and etc. they serve decent food and the service is excellent. The two waitresses are very friendly and attentive. They made me want to patronize their business. Keep in mind although this is not a fancy place, they do serve decent food with affordable prices. I strongly recommend!!!! read more

I haven't actually been inside yet, my boyfriend picked up take out. He loves the place. Says the carne asada burrito is a winner. I had a steak taco and a chicken taco. They're just like the street tacos you get in Mexco with just meat and lettuce. The steak was a tad too chewy, but the chicken was really good. Coming from Arizona, I have a pretty high barometer for Mexcian and this was decent. read more

This is a cute looking place, but for us, we came here because every other Mexican restaurant we tried to go to was closed - Riques, Cafe Frida, Ole Ole. Apparently very few restaurants are open for lunch midday anymore. And it was freezing cold, we were walking north into a head wind,and we said, aha! Mexican food! Life is good again. Like I said, the place is cute. It did have the ubiquitous TV running in the back, but at least the sound wasn't turned up high. There is a decorative balcony on one wall, interesting pictures, and even some old tools on the walls. The ambiance is okay. It took a couple minutes for us to get water, chips, etc., after we sat down. Certainly it wasn't because the place was so busy. Actually, it was pretty quiet, maybe only 3 other tables occupied. And I was hungry and thirsty. Along with the chips, we got two containers of salsa, one red, one green. They also gave us a small bowl of beans, which I really liked better than the salsas. That was a nice touch that I hadn't seen before. They do have a luncheon menu, which I also liked. Why pay the bigger dinner dollars, right? I ordered enchildas suizas with a cheese fillling. You definitely get a generous amount. There were 3 enchildas, with rice and beans. However, I have to say that the food was not that hot, and I mean temperature. Usually the server says, be careful, the plate is hot (meaning it's been microwaved). Not this time! The food was warm, not hot. It looked as if all the cheese hadn't melted. Did I do anything about it? No, I was hungry, and I chowed down. It was good, but nothing spectacular. My friend Mary O. ordered Bistec Mexicana. It looked like enough food to serve Santa Ana's army, but she was really hungry, too. She said it was delicous, but very spicy. (She had been forewarned about the spiciness, so no fault to the server there). She really liked it, but she had to blow her nose about every third bite, and eat the tortillas to absorb the heat. Again, she really liked it, just was a little blown away by the heat. Well, it was a miserably cold day after all, and having clear sinuses in February can be a good thing. I expected to have a check brought around eventually, but that never happened. My friend explained to me that, in Mexico, the customer is expected to go to the counter and ask for the bill, and that's what we did. To sum it up, it was a good experience, nothing special. The waitress was very pleasant, albeit, to my mind, kind of slow and inattentive. Oh well. The place doesn't pretend to be the Pump Room. For what it is, it's probably a good deal. If it were a choice between this place and one of the three places we tried to go to, I would go to one of the others. read more

Where should weary urbanites go for a quick, tasty taco? If you're in Andersonville, make it Los Arcos. Tasty tacos, fine burritos, good fajitas, and the chips are hot and fresh when they come out, good prices too! The atmosphere is relaxing and definitely more than we ever expected. We've been going here regularly for a year, and we don't plan on stopping. My only beef is that they could have a little more variety than just "letuce cheese beans and meat". It's a taco place, but with good prices style, and nice service, and the horchata was all you can drink last time we were there! read more

I really like this place. I first came her awhile back for their Mexican breakfast, and really thought it was one of the best I've had. When I moved to the area a few months ago, we decided to try out their dinner, and we still agree it is quite tasty. On top of good food, they have large portion sizes, very quick service, cheap food, and the free chips they bring out before the meal also comes with refried beans! I do agree with one of the other yelpers that said that they don't really acknowledge you when you walk in the door... but other than this, they have had nice service. I don't know too much about Edgewater, but in Andersonville, there really aren't many other good Mexican restaurants around - Los Arcos is definitely the best in the area, and I would recommend going to it. read more

We wanted to try a new Mexican restaurant today and this place came highly recommended through Facebook's neighborhood groups. IT WAS DELICIOUS! And this is our new Mexican delivery spot. We ordered the chicken flautas, carnitas tacos, steak burritos, and the cheese and hot pepper tamale - everything was delivered quickly, hot, and tasted homemade and made with my favorite ingredient as dad used to say - TLC. read more

Yummy. My favorite Mexican dish as always been cheese enchiladas. Theirs is the best. It's a small restaurant with very little atmosphere but you will be pleasantly surprised. The price is very reasonable and what you would expect for a little hole in the wall. They have a huge menu. Warning!!! they do not have AC in the summer. It's miserable in there when the temp is high. read more

Great food, great service! The waitress was extremely helpful and was making sure we had everything we needed even though the restaurant was busy. ROSA was amazing. I order the "enchiladas" the chicken was cooked properly and the sauce was spicy just the way I like it. We'll definitely be coming back . read more

Limited veggie options. Guacamole expensive at $7.50. Do have a kids menu. BYOB. Burrito was meat-heavy. Not exceptional food. Good service. Probably won't come here again. Wife thought it smelled funny. read more

We always pass by this place and want to try Tamales. Today we finally did....amazing! Really the best we have ever had. An absolute bargain at $2. They are super friendly and kind.....help them stay in business! Get some incredible Tamales to go....request extra green sauce...it will change your life!! read more

I must say this place has some aspects about it that are quite authentic and others that aren't. They have food that is pretty authentic, minus the taco salads. The two good things about this place is that there are fairly priced for a good amount of food and the location on Clark. I had a vegetarian burrito and it was pretty bland but the people I went with said the beef tacos and chicken burrito weren't bad. The reallly frustrating thing however was that they give you two salsa to use with your meal but both of them are quite mild. The only difference is one is verde and one is red. I really wanted some hot sauce to spice up my meal and they didn't have any. No hot sauce... that should be a crime in any restaurant. If you don't like any spice... this could be a good Mexican place for you. read more

3.5+ The atmosphere is just ok here. But I do love getting my steak tacos and horchata go to! = ) Nice staff and 4 blocks from me. = ) So, all in all, it does the job to get me my taco fix. read more

This restaurant has a little appeal to my 5-yr-old son and I: it is across from the jewel (easy) and it is filled with wagon wheels and old guns (the Spanish Colonial theme, perfect for families.) We have come here quite a few times. There are two dishes I like. The enchiladas suizas, and the chicken tacos. Today I was told they were "out" of chicken. How is that even possible? Edgewater Market is next door. The carne asada, carne al pastor, all that, is completely average. The salsa on the tables is the kind restaurants purchase by the gallon -- not fresh, all filler. The service is usually pretty bad. Not that the waitresses are unpleasant, but they get so enmeshed talking to male clients at the diner-style counter, it's hard to get their attention. It takes a cartwheel or mad waving of the arms, if that even works. Sometimes there are telenovelas interrupting our meal with gut-wrenching screams and acts of violence, as well. That's far from agreeable. It might dawn on them that possibly such inconsideration loses them business? Furthermore, there is a $10 credit-card minimum, which is so inconvenient. (And illegal.) Somehow, everytime I come here, a HUGE mexican family comes in to sit down for a joyous meal. And I can't help but wonder....What exactly are they ordering? Do they have a secret menu full of REAL Mexican food, especially for these patrons? In fact, almost all of the customers are Mexican. So I am very confused. Why...How...What? Where are all these Mexicans coming from and why do they keep coming back to eat this marginal food? Up in Rogers Park there are 10 places along Clark that blow this place out of the water. read more

I get that it's cheap but still not worth it. The meat was lowest quality and super greasy. I think I'll stick with Tacos El Norte a few blocks away. read more

If I'm in a cravery for local comida Mexicana, I stop here usually. I can't say I venture off the menu too much. I've had good burritos, enchiladas, guacamole, and their quesadilla con crema is great. I think their lunch specials are attractive in price and portion. However the service always blows whether you eat in or take to go. On the bitterest of cold days last month I braved the ice and DEATH to pick up an order I had placed twenty minutes previously. Ten of those minutes were taken up by carefully walking on the ice only two blocks. I still waited another ten minutes to get the food, and they forgot half the order after I asked 'esta todo?" The cook seemed like a goof and the waitress repeated at least 10 times the 5 ingredients in my quesadilla con crema (which by the way is chihuahua cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and tortilla fried to goodness) And when I returned unhappy but luckily too weak to strangle them, they seemed to 'tiene sorpresa'. Yeah, not too funny when my food was cold and wrong and my nose was purple. But, try 'em it's better than some of the other places I've been up and down the strip of Clark. read more

Picked up some tamales they had for sale to-go outside on a Thanksgiving Day. Holy crap, so good! Easy lunches for those working at home, freeze well, and cure any turkey fatigue. Highly recommend picking up as many as you can. Future you won't regret it. read more

Simply delicious Mexican food. Amazingly kind and attentive service. Have come a few times and the food is always delicious. Strait-forward but varied menu. It's byob and offers free WiFi as well. read more

My family and I have gone to the restaurant numerous times over the years! The food is delicious, extremely affordable, and the service is excellent!! I love their steak taco dinner, their steak fajitas, and their tamarind drink!! ...and the waitresses, Elvia and Rosa are beautiful!! read more

We stopped in at this place before the fourth of July fireworks. It was so good, I swore to my friends I would make me a Yelp account just to give Los Arcos this review. This is not a fancy restaurant. It was a little warm when we got in on the muggy evening. And the place was almost empty when we arrived. But I'm giving it five stars because of the delicious food (from a menu that is basic and very reasonably priced), the Jewel across the street (six Coronas for nine bucks), and the attentive service (our waitress was very pleasant and chilled our beers without charge, and she even cut up some limes and brought them over to our table). If you are in the area and looking for a place to sit and talk with friends, eat some good taqueria food, and have a BYOB beer or two, you can't beat Los Arcos. read more

Have been here a few times. It's not "fine mexican cuisine" near as I can tell. It's decent Mexican food as far as I'm concerned. I don't understand how they stay open, I never see people in here. Last night went in and had dinner. Started with a cheese quesadilla. It was not what I was expecting, but it was pretty good. Plenty of cheese and corn tortilla it was served on was nice and warm and kind of stiff. For dinner I had the Chicken with Mole Sauce. It was pretty good. The sauce was pretty spicy--- I love spice. I know mole is subject to change batch to batch and house to house, so that's great. I had a glass of horchata with it. Service was pretty decent (better than I've had before). Overall, its one of the better times I have been here. (Been 4 times before). Seems there is a bit more passion in the food than before as far as flavors and presentation. More attentive service than what I have received previously from here and priced well. I am giving a total of 3 stars on this one because of previous experience and their chips and salsa is not really my thing. I like chips and chunky salsa and these peeps do something closer to a picante sauce. read more

I am shocked at this low rating. Weekly, I eat here or pickup far more times than I care to admit. The meats are so flavorful. The tortillas are handmade. The guacamole is fresh. The salsa is spicy. The servers are so sweet and polite (and contrary to below reviews are all very fluent in english). A good barometer for me when finding a go to authentic Mexican restaurant is if you can see a grandma in the kitchen, then you must eat there. This is why I have morphed from human to carne asada taco. read more

This place is been in the neighborhood for years. Service tends to be good to above good. All depends on what day you go. Although I will say the quality of food has always remained constant throughout the years. The only thing people always comment is the fact that they don't itemize your bills. Keep that in mind when you go. read more

Reliable, authentic, no frills Mexican. I get the same thing every time because it's so good: chicken enchiladas verdes and agua de jamaica to drink. This is one of those places that gives you refried beans and just a few chips as a starter rather than a big bowl of chips, but you can get probably get more chips if you ask for them. I consider it a higher protein, lower carb alternative to the regular chips and salsa routine. They do have red and green salsas in squeeze bottles on every table. I haven't had any problems with service. read more

I used to live in the neighborhood and this was one of my go-to spots for quick, yummy, Mexican. The staff is always really nice, and the food comes out fast. My favorite is the torta and the huaraches. If you're in a hurry and don't want to get overcharged like at a lot of Andersonville spots- you can't go wrong here. read more

Stopped in for a Sat brunch and had a solid, tasty meal, served quickly, without drama, at a reasonable price with friendly service. I felt like I was in a haciendo bonanza set but I guess that is part of the charm. No hoards of Millennials outside texting waiting to get in so you can walk in and seated right away, which was an added bonus. read more

Food was great and large portions they don't start you with chips and salsa but when I asked for it I want charged for it. They have vegetarian beans and they don't skimp on the meat. Food takes a bit to come out but it's great. read more

This used to be one of my favorite places to eat at in the neighborhood. I noticed things changing a few months ago, menu changes, familiar waitresses now gone, smaller portions, things were just different. Tonight will be the last night we ever eat there. While eating my burrito suizo I pulled a long black hair out of the middle. Disgusted, I set it aside and lost my appetite. I had eaten a good portion of it, so I felt pretty grossed out about the possibility that I might have eaten a hair and not known it. I get up to use the restroom before we leave and as I look at the floor I immediately wanted to vomit. There, on his back in the ladies room was a good sized cockroach. I felt even more sick to my stomach. I hurry up to get out of there and as I leave the restroom I scan the floor to see if any of his friends were with him. I counted a total of 8 cockroaches on the floor in the back by the restroom. Three were severed from people stepping on them and a few were scurrying away. I'm sure there are worse things that have occurred while preparing my food, although disgusting, it's always a possibility, but this! This I saw with my own eyes and I can't in good conscious eat somewhere like that. If I could put zero stars I would. read more