Such a great neighborhood gem! Has a fun atmosphere with all the colors and Halloween decor. The food is great as well as not badly priced. I got enchiladas with the ranchero sauce. Definitely the stamp of approval! Authentic taste, nice sized portion with plenty of sides (beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, etc). I also tried the Queso Fundido SO GOOD. That might have been my favorite dish. So much cheese, complimentary tortillas. I literally do not have words for the Queso Fundido. They also provide you endless chips and salsa, which is something I never complain about! And lastly, their margaritas. The size is huge and boy do they make them STRONG. My boyfriend was feeling buzzed after a few sips! I thoroughly enjoyed this neighborhood find and plan on coming back much more. read more

Went here and had a great server who was attentive and thoughtful. However, the prices are a bit ludicrous and the chicken did not settle well with my stomach. Also, it was a bit confusing how the servers were wearing their masks but the manager was walking around without one. Will update review if the next time I dine here is a better experience. read more

I officially have missed out on the BEST Mexican food of all of Chicago for the last 5 years of living in Lakeview/LP. Food: award winning brisket tacos, great tomatillo enchiladas, Guac and margs. Atmosphere: super decorated and perfect for the holiday season. I've never met staff so loyal and dedicated to their jobs. never going anywhere else again, this place totally rocks. read more

Had been trying to go for 2 years but never made it. Had an awesome experience on a weeknight. The owner was very nice and accommodating. The prices were very reasonable for upscale Mexican food. Will 100% be going back! read more

We popped in truly because my little wanted tortilla chips so we came here. First and foremost it was completely empty that should've been a sign but I forgot my glasses this day so shame on me. The chips and dip were good, your average salsa ranchera. I ordered the steak flautas (they served me some beef concoction) my husband ordered steak tostadas and a plain cheese quesadilla for the little. The "steak" beef flautas were awful I couldn't even take another bite, they had so much cumin in them and no other flavor, the rice was seriously uncle Bens 1-minute orange rice and the beans well the beans had an oniony fatty taste to them so I could not eat them either. The steak tostada would've been tolerable however they put the same beans on the tostada. Little took one bite of the quesadilla and left the rest. The best thing about the meal was the order of guacamole and chips. So if you want guacamole and chips definitely come here anything else, you've been warned. read more

This has to be one of the worst restaurants I have been to in Chicago. Came here with a group of 6 on a Tuesday night, service was extremely slow (which we actually did not mind). However the food was miserable, I do not mean flavorless, I mean it smelled like it was cooked from old and spoiled ingredients. My stomach turns at the prospect of eating here again... stay away. read more

Que Rico has a fun and festive atmosphere, and they serve generous portions of tasty cocktails. We got the guacamole & chips starter that was delicious, and I got a steak enchilada and my wife got the tacos bistec. I thoroughly enjoyed my entree, but wife thought the tacos were okay. The restaurant has a second floor for dining, outside dining, and the first floor extends way back. read more

The food here is pretty good, the service is good too, other waiters actually, ours didn't look like she wanted to be there. Anyway, I've been here before and it's always been a good experience. A couple of weeks ago I went back, and as always the food was pretty good, I did notice their sign saying there is an extra charge for meat, due to meat shortage... my order had meet, so they slapped the $4 or so extra charge. When the bill came, I noticed they are charging for refills on soft drinks, between two of us we had 5 drinks, so $17.50 on drinks. At the end of the day, what should've been a $43 or so bill for two, turned into a $65 bill. I don't like places that try to nickel and dime customers like this, your food is good, but not $20ish of extras good. Probably won't be going back. read more

I live in the area and decided to try it out. Very pricey, but big portions so that earns a few stars. However, felt like whitewashed Mexican food. Authenticity was not there and flavor was lacking a bit. I like to support local small businesses, but I was just not super impressed unfortunately. read more

Had an amazing dinner here. My boyfriend and I have tried several Mexican restaurants and this one tops it all. Better prices (especially for margaritas) than Tuco & Blondie. He had beef brisket tacos which had phenomenal taste, and I had enchilada picosa which was incredibly good. It's our new favorite Mexican restaurant in the area for date night and I can't recommend it enough. Service was also great. Can't wait to bring my friends here! read more

Que Rico - Enchilada picosa - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Mixed review of Que Rico. To start, when we showed up (a party of two) we were ushered straight into the back and sat by the noisy ice machine. A quick glance around and we saw that the area we were in was also the holding pen for all of the parties with wild. squalling children. Since we had seen tables open in the front, I walked up and asked if we could possibly be seated in the front. The waitress glanced around and then said it would be no problem, just a second. Well, that second turned into 20+ minutes of standing in the entranceway, scooting to the side every time someone needed to get through, because they refused to sit a table of 2 on a 4-top. If we hadn't had plans at the Atheneum later and no where else to grab our meal in time, we'd have left. The food was okay, the margaritas pretty good and strong. I actually forgot a scarf here and was able to call him and come back a week later to pick it up - so the staff was very nice about that. Still, I don't expect to be back unless I'm seeing another show in the area. read more

Third table in the restaurant, watched 3 other tables get seated around us, and order/receive drinks. On what we considered the final walk around our table to get to others from the bartender/waitress my wife made eye contact as to say we are ready to order and was still snubbed. Now 40 minutes after sitting down we got up and left, something I have never had to do before in my life! We are new to the neighborhood and this woman clearly knew or had at least seen the other patrons in the restaurant before because she was very attentive to them as they began their evening. I'd go so far to say that it was because we had 2 young kids in a stroller that we were not welcomed but one of the 3 tables being attended to also had a stroller with kids. Clearly they are doing such a bang up business with 6 tables (soon to be 5) that they didn't need our patronage. Sad really... We will not be coming back to try again nor will we be telling our neighbors and friends to try your establishment. Boo! Meanwhile the Italian restaurant on southport just 1 block north was LOADED... I bet they like new patrons! read more

I hate to give anyone a 1 Star review, but dear lord the ground beef tacos were GOD AWFUL. I ate one taco and immediately felt nausea. We went on a Tuesday and the service was pretty good. However, I would never recommend anyone going here to get the food. Maybe it's just the ground beef, but it was terrible. You also have to pay for sour cream on the side.. it's not included with your tacos. Additionally, I didn't think anything of it until after I got home and read other reviews on here, but 99% sure they overcharged us by $10.00. Not a huge deal, but very frustrating considering we paid almost $80 for two meals and a pitcher of decent margaritas on a Tuesday. Ps. My stomach is still very upset from the ground beef tacos. Let's hope we don't get food poisoning from this establishment. read more

Did delivery on a Saturday night-- Timing of delivery was good. Food terrific and hot. Much better than typical neighborhood Mexican. Reasonable pricing. Will get delivery again. read more

we left after 1 hour, waited 25 minutes after being seated for server to take drink order so we placed app order at same time. drinks came right away yet at the one hour mark we left $20 on table for three drinks and walked out. server said thank you on our way out not even knowing we never got apps or even placed order. staffing issue needs to get fixed ASAP read more

I would have preferred to have submitted this privately to the restaurant, but since they do not appear to have a website I have no way of contacting them, so here I am. I stopped in last night and was very excited to try it. Before sitting down, I went to use the restroom and found that the soap dispenser had been watered down (likely for cost savings). This alone made me question the restaurant's sanitary practices - if this is the standard for patrons then what is the standard in the kitchen? The overall restaurant felt unclean and unkept. The restroom issue just put it over the top. I left without ordering and have no plans to return. read more

Love the food here. Affordable food and friendly staff. Like the Halloween decorations in here. It's a fun atmosphere in the lakeview area. Really like the chicken sizzling fajitas. Highly recommend it. Like the Mexican decorations and of course great margaritas. read more

Que Rico - Bar - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A friend invited me to eat here. The service was super slow. I think they had too many take out/delivery orders. We arrived at 7:00 and we ordered appetizers guacamole took 30 minutes to get. Then we ordered a rice and shrimp dish & grilled chicken which took forty five minutes to get. Food was okay, nothing special. I give it 2 stars. 1 for the decor. Very cute. I also enjoyed the music so that's 2 stars. Guacamole 10.00. Entrees 15.00 and up. I think that's too expensive for the quality of food. Will not be back. read more

This place is a ripoff! If I could leave a review without giving them a star, I would. Food is bland, drinks are expensive and prices are way too high for the portions they serve. Don't order the fajitas. We ordered fajitas and maybe got 5 pieces of steak and the rest was all vegetables. After complaining, we got 4 more pieces of steak, which were over cooked and dry. All for a $29.95 charge. A pitcher of Margarita is $39.95 and a mixed drink is $14.99. We went there with a large group and of course, which we expected, tip was automatically added. Did not expect it to be added at 20%!! After paying the check, one of the couples decided to order a pitcher of margarita and they added another 20%tip to that check. They ended up paying $52.13 for a $39.95 pitcher of margarita!! Definitely not worth the price! For the prices they charge, you're better off going to a nicer restaurant! Will not be returning!! read more

Awesome neighborhood restaurant with good food, super friendly staff and ownership. We love it.

Solid Mexican venue. You can order meal kits from them. They have been around for decades.

Que Rico! Loved the way they seasoned my chicken. I loved the chimichurri chicken and chicken fajitas. The chicken flautas are awesome! Like the complimentary chips and salsa. I like the fun atmosphere. Great decorations here for cinco de mayo and Halloween. Like all the mexican calaveras! read more

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Such a good neighborhood find!! Great atmosphere, lovely staff, and incredible food! They definitely space everyone out which is nice, and all the employees were wearing masks. Reasonably priced food and drinks and the food came out quickly. They also gave us a free dessert for Valentine's Day - which was super thoughtful and delicious. Will definitely be back!! For reference we had the pollo chipotle (one of their specials) and the carne a la cazuela with some margaritas. read more

A tasty and local treat! The salsa that came with the chips (free) was great. I ordered the chicken empanadas, and they were very tasty! My boyfriend ordered the alambre, and it was great! It was a lot of off food and came with rice and beans. The staff was very friendly and the restaurant with cutely decorated with Halloween and día de los muertos (day of the dead) decorations. I would definitely come here again! read more

Really like this place in my neighborhood. Great ambience, and a fun venue for a pitcher of margaritas and some apps or dinner. The food is pretty good Mexican - solid quesadillas and guac, and I'm always happy with the overflowing-with-cheese chiles rellenos. My husband left his credit card here once over the summer and the owner lady (I believe?) was sweet and helpful. Great service, too! read more

We went here for Cinco de Mayo, with a reservation. There were 9 of us, so a larger party. We had to wait 1.5 hours for our table. They were not well organized and gave away tables that they told were for us. So after arriving at 7:30, we finally were seated at 9pm Once we sat down, our expectations were pretty low. We ordered food at about 9:15, and didn't get anything until after 10:30pm. My tacos were burnt, and my other friends food was not good either. We got the bill and it was pricey for not getting very much. With the horrible service and at best mediocre food, I would advise against going here. There are so many other great Mexican restaurants in Chicago. This one is not worth it. read more

Que Rico is delicious, authentic and flavorful. One of my favorite spots. Vegetable empanada and shrimp fajitas are my favorite. The salsa also has the just right amount of spice. Will be coming back for years! read more

Que Rico - Empanadas - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Que Rico!!!! Interpretation---sooo gooood / very delicious! Yes it is!!! Decided on Mexican for dinner and stopped into this place because I know everytime I do, I'm going to have a really good meal. It's a hidden gem tucked away about 150 feet north of Diversey and back off the street just a little. Looks small from the outside but when you walk in you're stepping into what would remind you of an authentic grandmothers Mexican kitchen setting. There's an outdoor patio in front for/during the warm months, and a beautiful huge dining area in the rear for large groups or when the place is really packed and they even have an upstairs dining area too. So along with the complimentry chips and salsa I started with an order of guacamole which is always freshly made and one of the better tasting guacs in the many many restaurants around. Really , something about the right amounts of diced onion and tomatoes and cilantro that makes this better than others. A must try and portion to enjoy. Washed it down with a killer Margarita on the rocks ( I order mine and like mine with Don Julio tequila) This drink is not for the weak drinker. It is potent, Always has been and ,well, if you're looking for just drinks after work and want a really good Margarita, then you must try the killer margaritas here. For my dinner I had their dinner top steak- The " Carne deliciosio"- interpretation-delicious steak. Thick, well marinated size of skirt steak covered with a light coat of melted cheese, yello rice , beans and shredded lettuce. The steak- truly juicy and tender. The yellow rice- very well cooked and moist. The refried beans- perfectly prepared and seasoned . Que Rico has a romantic ambiance, and the Mexican tile, decor, and vibrant colors take you into the beautiful country of Mexico. Great place for date night, or with a group/family , has ample seating in 2 separate dining areas on the main floor. Prices are what you expect for this side of town & pricier neighborhood, ( a bit higher than most, but very justifiable and definitely worth it). Food is fantastic here. read more

Que Rico - Killer Margarita on the rocks with Don Julio tequila, very potent. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Food was very bland, 'spicy enchiladas' had an overwhelming lemon flavor. Wife's meal was made incorrectly. Eating inside was sweltering hot... just not a good experience. Won't be going back again. read more

Que basura! I did not enjoy this place at all. I went for dinner after the wait at tuco & blondie's was way too long. Fortunately no wait here but I should have heeded some of the other reviews here. I ordered the queso fundido with chorizo and it came out way late after our entrees despite ordering it with drinks as an appetizer. It was also one thick wide chunk of cheese over oily chorizo with no way to mix them together for deliciousness. I intended to eat it with the chips but that was impossible. It did come with flour tortillas so with knife and fork I cut slices to be placed on the tortillas. Ridiculous. For entree I ordered the nachos. Boo got the beef chimichangas. The chimichangas came out as 3 mini chimmis instead of one big one that you'd expect. Boo said they were ok. I got the nachos. The nachos were freaking insane. Described as: "Crisp tortilla chips, layered with refried beans, melted chihuahua cheese, guacamole, sour cream, chopped onions and tomatoes." I got them as 10 individual chips with beans & cheese on each chip with a light red tomato sauce poured over the top of each one. There was watery substance in the bottom of the basket making the "crispy" chips soft and mushy. The guac and sour cream were thankfully on the side. Overall worst nachos I ever had. Garbage. Never again. read more

This place is phenomenal. The staff and the food is stellar every single time and the specials are to die for. We love this place so much and couldn't recommend it highly enough to neighbors and out-of-town visitors! read more

I have been to this restaurant many times and every time I walk away disappointed. The margaritas are not very good and the guacamole is underwhelming, two of the most important menu items at any Mexican restaurant (in my opinion). The staff is not very friendly or welcoming and the main dining area feels crowded and stuffy. However, the shrimp fajitas were pretty great. read more

Well, I didnt have the problem with bratty children like some of the other reviewers (thank you lord), but that didnt make up for the bland experience we had. The entrance is a nightmare. The door is down a skinny passageway. In order to be seated, you must wait in the doorway which is smack in the middle of a very busy traffic pattern. The wait staff must go by you to get to the outside patio, the upstairs, and the bar & kitchen. Very congested and bottleneck-y. A certain recipe for disaster. We were seated in the large back room, which was just lovely. But apparently this night was "pretentious Trixie night" as everyone who came in after us was primped and coiffed to the nines. I found this to be a tad strange, since my first impression of this place was that it was a laid back Mexican restaurant....not Alinea. Food was astoundingly bland. The Queso Fundido was a flavourless glop with virtually non-existent chorizo. The steak tacos came with cilantro, which may as well have been parsley, for all the interest it gave the dish. Salsa was primarily tomato with zero heat. There is almost nothing authentic, stimulating or adventurous about this cuisine. After witnessing the Parade of the Trixies, it became readily apparent that Que Rico! is nothing more than a see-and-be-seen type of a place, where it is more important to order neon blue drinks and be pretty and where food is a very very secondary afterthought. read more

Good thing the Margaritas here are strong because I think I would have knocked myself in the head if they weren't. Or maybe downing tequila shots would have been in order. Something. Anything. To get that sound. . .that horrifying sound . . . of bratty, screaming, unsupervised CHILDREN. Who knew parenting in public was so passe? Now, I have a low tolerance for children, it's true. But my boyfriend who has volunteered his career to teach them (little ones even) couldn't even hack it. Un. believable. First off I asked to be moved far away but the best the host could do was to put us in a corner. I do know the children thing isn't Que Rico's fault. I am just warning you of the atmosphere on a typical Saturday Night. The set up of this place is so cute and great and I want to LOVE it. I do! I just CAN'T and here's why: -Food entrees are WAY overpriced. For a bland, mediocre, medium-sized Mexican dish, $15 dollars is a lot. I don't remember the prices being so high back in the day. My boyfriend had the chicken fajitas. . .they were OK but the fixings that came with were teeny. I ordered a Mexican crepe that sounded delicious and the waitress assured me it was a good pick. In all, honestly the "red sauce" tasted like spaghetti sauce and the cheese on top had zero flavor. Where were the poblano peppers? Seriously lacking any and all spice. A bottle of Tabasco would have been helpful. . . -The guacamole is bad. It is very pasty and has ZERO spice. -Service is so-so. Our waitress was really nice but my water glass was frequently empty. -There are no SALADS on the menu. No taco salad, side salad, etc. Lettuce? Forget it. Que Rico falls into the category of places that frustrate me to no end. It's close to me and cute but it just doesn't deliver on any level. The ritas were really good but if I were to go somewhere solely for those, I'd hit up Cesar's instead. read more

There's one reason I have been going to Que Rico for so many years - and it's not the food or margaritas. It's the free parking next door. I have put up with the beyond mediocre food. The disproportionately rising prices. The dried food stuck to forks and napkins. Just because it's centrally located to meet people and parking couldn't be easier. But if you are going to drop cash on dinner (plan to spend around $40 for two drinks and a dinner per person) shouldn't it be good? And more importantly, shouldn't you feel like they are happy to have you there and want you to come back? I don't know, call me crazy. But I actually think I might be a little bit slow on the uptake on this one. In retrospect, I've noticed that it's been a ton easier to get a table. In fact you can ALWAYS get a table. And, I haven't seen them seat anyone upstairs in a long, long time. Perhaps everyone has had a similar experience... It's 60 degrees out and we are sitting below one of the huge window in the back room. The waiter comes over and starts to open it. We ask him to keep it closed as it was windy and blowing right on us. He does. 20 minutes later, I overhear a woman who is like the manager/owner telling him to open the window and that she doesn't care what I have to say. So he comes back over to open the window. We ask him not to and he looks at her and she screams at him OPEN THE WINDOW. I was almost finished with my dinner and we both had full margaritas. But, we asked for the bill and left. But, before leaving, I asked to speak to this woman who was now standing behind the bar. The bartender went and talked to her, she went into the kitchen, and he said that she was busy. Nice! So I waited a bit and saw her come out the back. She could have cared less. She said that four people thought it was hot. And I said well you had two that were cold and most likely the two behind us would get cold. And then she said, you should have asked to talk to a manager (at least she has a sense of humor). To which I said you were five feet away when we were asking to keep the window closed and without making eye contact with us to demanded that it be opened. And then when I did ask to speak to you hid in the kitchen. I asked her if she was happy with the way that she handled the situation and she said yes - I would not have done anything differently. ENOUGH SAID. It's an end of an era. Good bye Que Rico. Money is too scarce these days to waste on someone who doesn't care if you are there or not and serves crap food. And this doesn't have anything to do with the bitch that owns/manages the place, but if you want to hang out with a bunch of kids on Friday night - head to Que Rico's back room. It's like romper room. One of them pulled the table cloth on our table and spilled a full margarita. read more

I came here with a fairly large group and was more than satisfied with the customer service! Patricia was amazing along with the other waitstaff and employees. All the staff were very friendly, attentive, and accommodating to our table! The food was delicious! We ordered a range of tacos, chimichangas, burritos, etc. and had no complaints! The house margaritas were also amazing! I will definitely be back here!! Great food and staff!! read more

So my family and I went here after seeing the Nutcracker down the street at the Atheneum Theatre. I originally made reservations elsewhere, but my wife was not feeling the Italian food thing and wanted Mexican instead......should've went with my reservation, but a pregnant wife is Chief when it comes to meals. Let me start with the few bright spots here. First, we walked in at 4:30pm on a Sunday and was greeted be a waiter who advised they weren't open yet. He didn't make us leave, he just asked us to be seated and wait to be served, which was fine with us. After a half hour wait the restaurant officially opened for business and we were served the drinks we ordered. The previous review about the service didn't show its ugly head here. There was hardly any people in the place, so our service was good. It's Xmas time, so the decor and ambiance was really nice. They played holiday music, but it was the same songs just looped......and that's where the positivity ends. We ordered guac as our appetizer. The problem with that is the waiter told us the cook wasn't in yet, but could get our guac. Should've known better. He proceeded to bring out the worst guac known to man. It wasn't fresh and was basically paste and had no seasoning. I and my daughter ordered tacos and my wife ordered chimichangas. The rice and refried beans was pretty tasty, but again, the meat wasn't seasoned well and our tacos were dry. Had to ask for sour cream, lime, red sauce and green sauce; just to help things. My wife's chimichangas were terrible. They were small, not flavorful and just had meat in them. It comes with three and they're about the size of egg-rolls. Basically, we're never going back. The food is horrendous. Elgin, IL is where I'll continue getting the best Mexican food in the state. read more

The menu says you only get one free serving of chips and salsa per table (which is Lame-o McLamersons), but our table got a few extras at no charge, which was nice. Nothing beats a pitcher of margaritas on a crapola Monday, so that's what we had. They were quite tasty and didn't put me out of commission this morning--perfect for weeknight drinking. The food was good and everyone enjoyed what they had (enchiladas, empanadas, steak tacos dressed with onions and cilantro - yum!). Service was not as good as the food--not rude, but pretty slow. I would come back to sit on the patio and enjoy some more margaritas, but Que Rico isn't my first choice for Mexican. It has good food and is a nice spot to meet up with friends on a week night, but I don't think I'd make a special trip to eat here. It's probably best left to folks and families in the neighborhood. read more

Came here for dinner on a Friday night and sat on the patio. My raspberry margarita was quite tasty but not really very strong. My camarones el ajo were fine as well (though a little overpriced and the beans portion a little scant). Fine is the word. Not bad, not great, but okay. one note to the owners if they are reading this: please stock your ladies room . Seriously, you weren't even crowded, so you shouldn't have been out of tp in one of the stalls and you should have had paper towel for the sinks. I am deducting a star for that. read more

Nice and spicy Salsa get brought to the table right away and then it's dwon hill from there..... It's right down the street from my place and I've been hoping this place would turn out great but it hasn't. I've eaten there twice and both times the food was OK and the Margaritas were strong (Yeah) but not very good. They have the option for "Bomber's" or regular when ordering the Margaritas but I can't tell the difference, they both seemed pretty strong so it might not be worth the upgrade. The place itself is nice and well done and has alot of upside if the food was good. I mean if they can't get the food right atleast the drinks could be good, right??? I'd love to be able to get my mexican food and tequila fixes here, unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. read more