I had heard many good things about this place so I decided to go with my husband to try it out for the first time today. We really enjoyed the food. We feel it's reasonably priced for the amount of food we are given, which were large portions. Our waiter was very nice and helpful, and the food was so delicious! We will definitely be returning and recommending to others. The reason I gave it 4 stars, instead of 5, is because of how small the location is. Many people go and unfortunately, there is no room to wait for a table. So you are either stuck waiting outside or by the door entrance which gets very cramped and looks unprofessional. Above all, it's a great place! But due to its popularity, don't expect to be seated right away. read more

I ordered the red snapper with garlic and a side order of garlic bread fantastic. Everything now is on the pricey side, huge fish. It took me two days to finish it really great the salad the french fries the garlic bread the fish alone they have other great dishes that I tried, which are really good. I highly recommend this place on the weekends their jampacked I went during the weekday there was nobody there but on the weekends, forget about it read more

Delicious damn goooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!! Great value , and attentive staff, BYOB!! read more

Mariscos El Veneno - Sea food piña plater Shrimp Ceviche Toatada Shrimp Ceviche Toatada Coctel de Camaron Y Pulpo Camaron Cucarachas Pina Rellena - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The waiter tricked me into spending 500 plus, he knew damn well he would get a good gratuity.

We were fortunate enough to find a table right away when we went. It seemed like a table they weren't planning to sit anyone at, but they offered it to us and since it was getting late and we were starving we happily accepted. The service did take for ever. Probably a good 20 minutes before we were able to place our order. It is BYOB and ordered a Michelada mix. A very decent sized glass ready for me to pour my Pacifico beer in it. It tasted delicious and was probably the highlight of my meal. They do start you off with a complimentary tostada de Ceviche along with a very very very hot salsa to go with it. It was tasty, but boy did it burn. I also ordered my usual Pina rellena, but was very disappointing. It's half a pineapple cut open with a mixture of seafood mixed with their crema sauce. On the side you get a very tasty rice, garlic bread, fries and a side of salad which I never ever touch. Unfortunately the Pina rellena had way too much mushrooms, cheese and imitation crab than anything else. Personally, I've had some that would blow this Pina rellena out of this water. Some have come with real crab legs, octopus, calamari, and mussels. This one didn't. Sadly, I won't be returning here. I really wanted to like it here, but their very slow service and their mediocre food won't change my mind. read more

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Overpriced for low quality food. They have very limited dish options compared to other marisco places. The ceviche de marlin had too many shredded carrots & it's not marlin fish they use some other cheaper fish alternative. It makes me wonder where else in the menu they're cutting corners using cheaper ingredients while charging full price. The breaded shrimp tasted weird as if they didn't devein them read more

Siguen conservando su buen sazón , buenos precios, ceviche, patas de cangrejo y langostinos son lo mejor .

En mariscos Simplemente lo mejor Una atención de primera Precio muy bueno Lugar muy limpio read more

BLUF: This place is BYOB and at least one member of the waitstaff is either racist or sexist. My coworker and I ate here on a business trip. The complimentary tostadas Cesar brought out were good, but the extra hot sauces/salsas were disgustingly hot. We weren't warned how hot they were and we weren't given any water for at least another 5 minutes. Even when I was coughing into my paper towel napkin. I tried to order a daiquiri and that's when we were informed that they don't serve alcohol (we didn't check Yelp first and went there on the recommendation of a hotel employee who didn't let us know it was BYOB). The menu says there are cocktails and shows at least one drink with a beer bottle, so I consider this deceitful. I said I still wanted the virgin daiquiri, but I never got it. My coworker left to find a gas station for beer and our food came out while he was gone. We both ordered a tomato-based soup that had crab legs in it. The soup was okay, but the crab legs were the reason I ordered it. It came out fast and hot. But I noticed that my dish had only had two halves of the crab legs while his had three. The utensils I'm used to for breaking apart seafood weren't brought out. I struggled to open the crab legs and pull out the meat with my fork and bare hands for several minutes. Eventually my coworker came back after walking six blocks and never finding a gas station with booze. FINALLY the seafood utensils were brought out after my coworker sat down. I guess I'm chopped liver. Since they for some reason don't split checks, I had to give my coworker cash for my part of the check. It was a good thing I had any cash on me since I sometimes don't. There was an item on the bill that we didn't recognize since the menu and everything else is in Spanish. I looked it up and we were charged for soggy garlic bread that we didn't ask for. I could get over the BYOB policy. I'm sure they would have a license to sell booze if they could. I could get over the no splitting checks policy, though I've never encountered it even on all the work trips I take and eat out in large parties. But the reason I won't recommend this place is the better treatment my coworker received over me. I don't know if it's because he's male and I am not or because he's mixed race and is sometimes confused for a Hispanic person and I am not; but he received an extra portion of crab legs for the same dish and the seafood utensils were brought out just after he sat down after I had struggled to sloppily eat the crab legs for nearly 10 minutes. The drink I ordered never came out, but I wasn't charged for it either. This experience was unacceptable. The only reason I'm giving an extra star is because the tostadas were good despite the portion I ruined with hot sauce and because the food came out quickly. For three halves of crab legs, the price was very good at about $18, but I only got two. Even if that racist/sexist employee is fired, I still wouldn't go here. read more

Mariscos El Veneno - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The best sea food I've been going here since I was little I am now 21 and it still has the best sea food! I love the stuffed Piña and the chapuzón. read more

...don't get me wrong, I LOVE spicy foods but this place is all sting & no bite! Everything they served tasted like raw celery once the ultra intense sting of their chili stopped burning & I do mean EVERYTHING! It was such a disappointment. I always see it crowded so I had to give it a try. I went to 2 of their locations twice for each spot (to be fair) & each item I ordered tasted like raw celery & super spicy & vinegary hot sauce . If I want spicy celery, I can eat that at home. Save your money or go to a better seafood joint! I'm not trying to be a snob but this is NOT worth checking out. Worse still was that whenever I asked the staff if they could fix my plate or bring me another since my food was clearly not edible, they just told me that that was how it was SUPPOSED to taste, as that is "Nayarit-style"! As grossed out as I was, I not only didn't take any of it to go, but I still had to pay over $40 for 2 dishes that I couldn't eat! I filled up on the side of french fries & went across the street to Huck Finn's for a Tuna Melt to fill my tummy with seafood! read more

When you come in, they serve you with a complimentary tostada de Ceviche and a really hot spicy salsa! But it tasted so darn good! I ordered Camarones ala diabla (the less spicy ones). I also ordered natural Orange Juice served in a Margarita glass.. which I thought was fancy.. this place is awesome. For the price of the food it was great! I was full already with just half of my order!! Customer service is amazing also!! The waiter was so attentive and so nice. They also have live music! The music is Mexican regional. And they played really good. Hopefully will be coming back to this place whenever I get a chance! read more

Mariscos El Veneno - Camarones Ala Diabla - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Good but not as good as the second location down the street. Some dishes are prepared differently and we were unpleasantly surprised.

Our food was delicious. We were in Chicago for the Soul yoga fest weekend and we heard about this place. We wanted something different that everyone could eat. OMG!!! The food is freaking AMAZING. We had the snapper, shrimp, salmon and crab legs which was more than enough food and everything was delicious down to the bread. The service was amazing and I'm so glad we found this place. read more

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Everyone had to wait in a long line to pick up our orders even though they were ready already! I'm glad I got ceviche otherwise my food would've been standing out for an hour all cold. A "BIGGGG" order of fish ceviche cost me $17!!! It's a small ass cup. Don't get me wrong it's tasty but not for $17. Robbing people out of their money... read more

Mariscos El Veneno - Fish Ceviche - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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They have the best horchata I have ever tasted. Also fast and great service from the whole staff. Big portions for fair prices, I ordered a small shrimp cocktail but looks like a large. Best thing of all it is BYOB! Only giving it 3 stars because my spoon was dirty but they replaced it with a clean one with no problem. read more

Mariscos El Veneno - Small shrimp cocktail, looks like a large. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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OMG! First! Let me say that I am NOT a seafood eating so, I was TOTALLY SCEPTICAL about eating here, since my HORRIFIC experience with "Hot N NASTY Crab in Tinley Park, IL. Here we paid $50 for crab legs that 2 can share, PLUS their crab legs were "DELICIOUS" and "FLAVORFUL". Unlike Hot N NASTY'S $75 for a bag of UNFLAVORED seafood! That place is DEFINITELY a WASTE!!! Once you eat here you will NEVER eat RED LOBSTER again read more

Let's just say that I have tried to like this place so much. I have been to this restaurant about 5 times and I have never had a good dining experience here. For this review, I will write only about the worst time here. I came here with 2 friends on a Sunday afternoon. It was packed and we had to wait about 40 mins to be seated. Once seated, we ordered water and a drink for each, 2 appetizers, 2 pinas rellenas (stuffed pineapple) and a huachinango al mojo de ajo (fish on garlic sauce). We asked the waitress that we wanted to receive the main entrees at the same time as we were there to have dinner together. She assured us that we would get them at the same time. Well, let's say that things did not go quite the way we had wish for. After about 20 mins that she took our order we got the drinks. The water on disposable plastic cups, mmmm not expected but all well. So this is where it gets interesting, after 20 more mins. a waiter (not our waitress) brought the huachinango (garlic fish), a few minutes later comes the waitress and apologizes. Well then, a few mins later we get the appetizers, yes we got one main entree before we got the appetizers. Oh, Oh but wait that's not it. so we waited a little longer for the for the other 2 entrees to arrive. I'm thinking relax, there she comes, there she comes. Everything should be fine now. Just relax and enjoy the meal with your friends. She gets to the table and places one, yes one, pina rellena on the table. So we asked her about the second stuffed pineapple and she tells us that she placed the order for only one pina rellena and that it would take 20 more mins to get the second one. We just looked at each other, stood up, and walked out of the restaurant. And if it was kind of rude to do that, there only so much bad service I can take. BTW, the food is not even good (my humble opinion) the actual seafood is over seasoned, and the side dishes are bland. This is not the cheapest seafood place in the city. For the money you pay you expect more than what you get. El Veneno. Bad food, worse service. read more

Absolutely love this place! Its become a weekend tradition for my friends and family now. The food is great, the service is (usually) great, its BYOB, AND there is mostly always live music, usually mariachis or norteno. You get a delicious fish ceviche tostada to start and the food comes out pretty fast, not too much waiting. Their Huachinango(red snapper) platter will leave you fully satisfied! Most meals come with a side of white rice (not the chinese restaurant kinds, its more like a chicken flavored vegetable rice) you get seasoned fries, and a fresh salad. Their Veneno salsa is HOT i wouldnt recommend it unless you are a salsa pro. It is made with pure orange habanero peppers. Enough said. If you BYOB they provide a bucket with ice to keep your beer cold. They even serve cups for Micheladas (think bloddy mary but with beer) that have all the ingredients, you just add the beer! If you dont drink beer, they have refreshing lemonade and Naranjada's which is a natural squeezed orange juice drink. But they are a bit pricey at almost 4 bucks each. As far as service, the waitors will treat you real nice, but sometimes the waitresses are snobby. If you go regularly though and tip well, you get treated like royalty! They will bring out samples of different types of oysters, crab legs, etc. free of charge! They also just opened up a new, larger location about a block south on Pulaski, so no more long lines on the weekend! read more

I came here with my family for Easter dinner, for being a Holiday occasion we got seated right away. As an Appetizer they have Ceviche Tostadas the size of Tortillas. As far as the menu I personally believe there isn't much variety but the dishes are fulsome. The only dish I wouldn't recommend is the "Shrimp Cocktail" because its not the traditional Shrimp Cocktail with the tomato sauce, it has more of a "Sea Water" flavor. The waiter service is excellent we even got greet by the restaurant's Chef (I guess because we were a large group) there is enjoyable music performed by Mariachis and other local musicians around the tables as you dine. Also the great things about this place are that it's B.Y.O.B (with free buckets of ice) and B.Y.O.F (mostly for kids) read more

Why does this place always have crowds of people outside? The food sucks! My BF and I went about a 6 weeks ago and we both got sick. I literally got grossed out by smelling the food. It was nasty, nasty! I had to ask the waiter to remove my food from the table because I was literally gagging at the smell. So disappointed because we were excited to try this new place out and in return we spent $60 bucks for the both of us and got sick! I'm sticking with my fav... LOS DELFINES! read more

I can sometimes be a snob when it comes to dinning for seafood so when I was first brought here I wrinkled my nose; now after a few visits I have to say I really like this place. Friendly staff, tasty food and huge portions at reasonable prices. But BEWARE---it can get incredibly loud at this location. They tend to have live mariachi or Banda. Wait times can be long on Saturday and Sunday evenings if you arrive at about 7pm They start off with complimentary ceviche tostada which is quite tasty. I always have the crab legs in garlic-which feeds about 2 for about $40 per tray. I have also had their fried red snapper (huachinango) and a seafood mix in a spicy red sauce which they call chapuzon. I will say, I always find myself adding Salt to their prepared dishes (but I do tend to eat on the saltier side). It is BYOB -just ask for a bucket of ice. I believe they do limit drinks to 2 per adult. My understanding is that they will hold and replenish or return leftover. Parking can be a challenge sometimes. I have tried the original location and another on Ashland by similar names but this one has them beat. read more

Please bring El Veneno to Los Ángeles California. I have not found any restaurant out here that is as good as el veneno in Chicago. I moved from Chicago to Los Ángeles about 4 years ago and I have not found anything that is as good so I really miss it read more

Im going to make this review short and simple.I dont want to waste my time saying anything that has'nt already been said.THIS is the first stop I want to make on my birthday.ENOUGH SAID!!!! OMG!!!!! JUST TOTALLY LOVED IT!!!!! I almost wanna cry!!!! read more

El Veneno, the "venom" in spanish, makes an ultra-hot habanero salsa its culinary venom and freely provides copious amounts for your dining pleasure. I have never had a bad meal here, at either Pulaski location. The best things I've eaten (or my favorites anyway) are the langostinos and the tilapia al ajo. The ceviche is also really good (generally, you get a small "taste" portion as a lagniappe). Live music on the weekends (usually mariachi, but sometimes not). A popular neighborhood place; expect it to be crowded, but wait times for seating are usually short. read more

I've never actually sat down to eat at this place because the lines are ridiculous. But my dad does being food from this ace quite often. Their ceviche is by far one of the best ones I've had. Their Caldos are spicy and delicious. read more

What a waste of money. This place is extremely understaffed and the service is slow. There appeared to be only one waitress for the whole restaurant. She forgot my boyfriends order so he settled for their ceviche since I already had my food. The ceviche was strangely dry and looked more like tinga. I ordered the coctel de camaron that came out room temp and not all that flavorful Definately not going back. There is a WAY better place up further south on 83rd and Pulaski. read more

If your a non-spanishing speaking person, then it can be a little difficult ordering. Most of it was in spanish, and there was descriptions in english, but still the menu is unorganized where it was difficult to read and navigate. Maybe its just me, but I couldn't for the life of me know what I was looking at. Anyways, they just need to redesign the menu, thats all. The food was good, the salsa is really hot, but awesome kick to it. The portions are ginormous, but you get what you pay for here. More like a three dollar sign I think. I could only compare this place to Lapalapa on archer. There is definitely more of a variety in flavors here though. read more

I've been to the location on Ashland and fell in love with nayarit style seafood. I now live too far south to head over their on my lunch..so instead I made the trek west to one of their other locations. Before going to Mariscos and living in Pilsen/Little Village, I was ignorant about Mexican cuisine, thinking it was just tacos, burritos and tortilla chips with salsa. No, not at Mariscos. Sure they have tacos(fish tacos!) But instead of the usual tortilla chips with salsa that seems standard at alot of Mexican places, instead you get FREE tuna ceviche with crispy tostadas and this phenomenal salsa. The salsa was burning hot but unlike some sauces that are just hot sans taste, this salsa was flavorful and had this crisp and clean taste to it. Give me that over tortilla chips anytime! (I wish this place would bottle up that salsa and sell it. I'd buy a case! The best salsa I have ever had!) I usually just get a tray of langostinos at the Ashland location but I didn't want to look overly greedy in front of my boyfriend, so I ordered the slightly smaller dinner portion. My boyfriend who was suffering a stomach ache prior to coming to Mariscos decides to pass on yummy prawns and ordered the fish tacos. The ceviche and salsa was just like at the Ashland location. Actually,maybe even slightly better. My langostino dinner arrived. The langostinos were delicious but didn't seem as tasty as the Ashland location. Don't get me wrong, they were excellent, but the ones @ the Ashland location seemed to have more of a kick to them. I'd still come back in a heartbeat though for these prawns! The langostinos also came with french fries, garlic bread and rice with veggies. I was so stuffed I could not eat one fry. The Garlic bread was good. The rice.... Horrible. Were those canned vegetables mixed in with my rice??? The carrots were shaped like squares just like in the cans. I would rather my rice been plain. Still, I did not come for the rice but for the seafood alone. The seafood is more than worth the so/so sides. My boyfriend with the stomach ache? His tacos were so good that he finished all 4 of them. Not a crumb left on his plate. This restaurant is definately worth the trek west from Hyde Park. read more

First time here, was referred by a friend. It was ok! The appetizer they bring out seafood tostado was really good, the orchata was good & the grab legs were good. Everything else we got was ok. the raw muscles were not cleaned good had rocks in it, that set the tone for the rest of the food. I got the shrimp cocktail it was ok but needed more flavor. It tasted like the plain shrimp you get from jewel with the shrimp sauce nothing fancy and it was expensive for a small $11. Everything on the menu was expensive. The shrimp was not devined so that grossed me & hubby out a bit. The salmon my kids liked, I didn't try it was also $25 but came with plain rice, few fries & American salad - no dressing on the side (Boring sides nobody touched) The place was really hot, music was way too loud we couldn't hear each other talking and the service is horrible. The atmosphere is very fast like, not a place I would bring a date or company for the first time too. We don't drink but it's a BYOB type place, saw everyone bringing in cases of alcohol. read more

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THEE BEST crablegs EVER, covered in the best red sauce Spicy or mild and its also BYOB and they'll even give you a bucket of ice for your byob . Staff is friendly read more

This Food Stablisment is really good, what I like most is the service that you received as the food you enjoy from the free appetizers as tostadas de mariscos, seafood tostadas, spicy salsas, the seafood is full mouth watering, please before you get there take with you up to three beers per person! overcrowded on weekends always, the new location which is more bigger that this one, and has more room for all your friends, price is right, remember that I love good food, I am the Examiner One : 0 Please enjoy the mariachi! If you get sick is because you have the e-coli from other stablisment. I am a regular customer of this High Quality Seafood Restaurant. read more

Best mexican seafood anywhere!! Crab legs and there red sauce is to die for. Empanadas are killer and love the fresh cerviche

I had called to place an order and asked for prices for a party tray of Langustinos. The lady told us 80-90 for $140. When I received the tray and got home I realized we only got half of the order and still had paid the $140. When I called to complain the second lady said a party size was 40-50 for $140. They need to get their prices and shit together! I am beyond pissed with the customer service and the lack of proper pricing of the quantities given to me. I give them a negative 2.489 star rating. read more

Came from California, and I've heard good things about this restaurant, and while my time in Chicago the food was really good and the staff was nice. read more

The best Mexican seafood dishes you can find. Also, BYOB. I've been several times. Most recently, showed up at 8:30 p.m. on a Thursday with 9 people. Was seated right away. Wine was iced. And the food was great. My favorite dishes are Camarones a la Diabla and la Pina Rellena. read more

Excellent Customer Service! Food is very good! We had the crab legs, Champuson & caldo and all three taste delicious!!! It's far from our house but it's worth the drive! read more

Amazing crabs and cucaracha. We are regulars for years now. Service can be slow but food is amazing.

This place is sooooo GOOOOOD! Been coming here for years and I might even go tonight. BYOB and they even bring you a bucket of ice for chilling what you bring. Langostinos are freaking amazing!!! I get two platters every time I go! You will not be disappointed! read more

Green salsa is the BEST!!! If you thought you've had real seafood you need to come try this Nayarit style mind blowing