I got to try their al pastor taco at the Lakeview taco fest this year and it was soooo good I went back the last day to get one more taco. I only knew of their one place next to Jewels but I'm so glad to have discovered that this place is right on Addison off of Ashland. I've been searching for a good taco place near my apartment and this one I fee serves one of the best tacos in Lakeview. I was served right away and customer service was genuine and pleasant,!cant wait to come back. read more

pretty good sm location patio nice & cozy second time visit this location i order coffee and machaca con huevo taco service nice friendly on point see you soon again read more

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This review is just for the tacos- which they don't offer at the Southport location I usually go to. I tried the pork belly and the pastor. Pastor was just ok- acceptable but overpriced. The pork belly tacos were laughable - they're incredibly small you get like a thick bacon Strip worth of meat in a single piece - less than half what's in the pastor despite them costing extra. I also asked what came on them prior to ordering and was told just cilantro and onion but the pork belly came with some very tasteless beans on them too. It took awhile too- one of the guys working noticed how long I was waiting and threw in an extra taco so the 2 stars is for customer service atleast doing what they could. I had a to go order and some limes mightve made a world of difference but were not offered. I thought this place would be a quicker /cheaper alternative for lunch tacos on my work break since the other taco places nearby are sit down restaurants but its unfortunately its pretty much just as expensive and not much faster. I'll probably be sticking to the empanads in the future read more

Ordered here based on a recommendation of mine of my closest friends. I ordered chefs choice of 3 empanadas, a chicken verde taco, and, a pastor taco. The chicken one didn't come when delivered , so I can't review that one but the pastor taco was incredibly delicious! The meat was tender and juicy and the taco was soft and warm. This taco reminds me of the best street tacos. The empanadas were a spinach cream cheese mix (I'm guessing by the texture and flavor), a ground meat and veggies, and a bean and cheese one. The crust was similar to that of a crescent except more doughy in texture- soft, warm and delicious. All three were delicious! I love finding hidden gems like this in our neighborhood! Thanks, Cafe Tola!! read more

So happy that Cafe Tola are open at this location. We LOVE the coconut ice coffees, all of the empanadas (GREAT vegetarian options always), and are so excited to explore more tacos and burritos on this expanded day menu. There is a small patio and indoor seating options. The shop is clean and orderly, and the service is attentive and kind. This place is a cross between fast casual and casual. You have to go up and get your own food but the employees are happy to help I.e., point you to the water, explain the menu, and offer suggestions. For food we've tried the breakfast tacos (they all come with scrambled eggs and various cheese/meat/bean/veggie toppings) and be normal tacos. The tacos are HUGE portions. You could eat one and be full for a snack or small meal. Btw-my friend is vegetarian and LOVED the veggie tacos and thought the carrots were unique and delicious. Keep on keepin on Cafe Tola. read more

Awesome empanadas and coffee. Fast service, clean store and friendly, prices are reasonable. Plenty of seating indoors and outdoors for a quick bite and drink. I'll visit again when I'm back in town and looking for a quick bite. read more

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This place is inexpensive, quick, and yummy. Horchata - 10 out of 10 For the meat eaters (according to my boyfriend) Get the OG taco - skirt steak - ask for xtra onion and cilantro. Al Pastor is good - a pineapple garnish would put it over the top. Pork Belly very yummy (no beans please!). I had the veggie empanada of the day - potato, cheese, and poblano - it was to die for. I could have passed on the boring burrito I got which was filled with lettuce. Wish they had refried beans instead of boring pinto. read more

The empanadas are so yummy, but a little on the expensive side! I got the spinach and cheese as well as the poblano, potato, and cheese ones. I absolutely loved the poblano one! It had big chunks of potatoes and peppers, both cooked to perfection and served nice and warm. This was a great place to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch. read more

Cute small neighborhood joint. Stopped for my first time and the staff was friendly. I got a chicken mole empanada and a chicken Al pastor taco and both had yummy fillings. I am doing low carb so I didn't eat the empanada crust or the corn tortillas so I can't comment on that. I was impressed with the amount of chicken in my empanada. The taco filling amount was standard. Salsa was delish! Definitely will be back when I'm in the neighborhood. read more

Cafe Tola #3 - Chicken Al pastor taco, it was delicious! - Tacos Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Yummy! Amazing empanadas. Plus the people who work here are super nice. Very small place so more take out than eat in. There are a few outdoor tables yet cold in the winter. Very recommended. read more

Hit or miss sometimes the pork is absolutely delicious, sometimes it's chunks of uncooked pig fat you can't chew!! When it's good I love it they season everything so good !!! I will keep ordering, my husband eats it regardless he is not picky. read more

I really wanted to like this place. Based on comments I was really pumped about going there for lunch. I ordered 2 empanadas and 2 tacos. The tacos were priced on the high side which I don't mind paying if they are nice sized and taste good. Al pastor was I believe 3.50. Very high for al pastor which is usually the cheaper at any taqueria maybe a $2.50 Taco. The meat was not very juicy more on the dry side. Portion was average just like any taqueria. The second one I enjoyed because I never seen at taqueria before. It was a pork belly taco. Price $4. Good but what would have made these better is a homemade salsa verde or roja. What taqueria sells tacos with no salsa. All they had was bottled hot sauce. As for the location. Then have very small low metal chairs. Kind of uncomfortable. Oh almost forgot as for the Empanadas they were really good only thing is they forgot to give them to me so she made up by giving me two extra as I left. If you want to pay 3.50 to $4 for a average taco w/ no salsa this is your place read more

I walk past going two Jewel one day and decided to stop in I am glad I did. Every now and then I stop by and get 10 empanadas just so I can try all the different ones good place read more

Always had a good experience here until yesterday my sons empanada had a band aid in it! He went back and they refunded his money but it was like no big deal. That's a big mistake and you have to wonder how clean the kitchen is. Very disappointed read more

So it came to pass. I needed steak tacos and steak tacos I was going to get. Come heck or high water. Now cafe tola has a few other locations, and they make a mean empanada. But it was tacos I required, so to the Addison location I meandered. I had a chapped area of skin near my nose from seasonal allergies plus wind , plus strange luck with these types of things. I brushed my hair in front of it and set out, on my quest, channeling the daughter in The Incredibles 1. I had ordered in advance so I was able to slink in, pay and slink out, with minimal inquisitiveness from the people who work there and the other patrons. I ordered a bunch to supply rations for my home fries, too. That's the kind of captain I am of my ship. So we had many OGs, as they are deemed at Cafe Tola, and dusk fell, leaving me with concern that I had overeaten, but , well, yum. read more

This taco shop has some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced, and the vegetarian food here is horrible. If you have any dietary constraints I highly suggest avoiding this restaurant. We ordered 3 meat tacos (which were perfectly fine) and 3 "seasonal veggie" tacos. They told us the tacos were on corn tortillas-but the came out on flour which we were willing to let slide. However, they had given us the wrong tacos- the breakfast egg tacos instead of the veggie ones. When we politely pointed this out the server clearly decided to take things out on us. They "replaced" the tacos with veggie tacos-but with chunks of meat and gross fat gristle strewn throughout all of them making them inedible to my vegetarian partner. They also served them in 3 separate baskets(one for each taco) so that she couldn't carry them-when we had gotten our tacos to go. It was rude and humiliating, and my partner left in tears and without anything to eat. Seriously? If you aren't going to respect vegetarians, and willfully put meat in their food-why have a vegetarian option at all? To top it all off the veggie tacos would have been gross anyways-there were massive chunks of carrots, undercooked brussels sprouts that were cut in half so they were too big to fit in your mouth, and boiled broccoli... no onions, no cilantro, nothing vaguely Mexican at all. In short, nothing that belongs in a taco in the first place. This isn't rocket science people, we would have been happy with sauteed bell peppers and onions or just beans and normal taco toppings. If you are going to charge $3.50 a taco, give us something other than brocolie and carrots. read more

Cafe Tola #3 - "Seasonal veggie tacos" served with chunks of meat in them. Never coming back. - Tacos Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is my favorite burrito place in Chicago. There is another one in River North & both are equally as good. Highly recommend

Always the best, but sometimes even beyond. Thanks for staying late for our catering order pickup, had the wrong time down (my error my loving family reminds about often). Can't believe you waited after hours. Unbelievable! And awesome empanadas in top of it all! Everyone needs to go to Cafe Tola they are the best! read more

This is by far the worst of their locations, and none are by any means amazing. The meat is always incredibly fatty, which gives the impression they use cheap ingredients. On our most recent visit, they were spraying rat/insecticide right next to where we ate, and the vapors were overwhelming. If you must visit any of them, go to Southport, but I'd give them all a hard pass, especially with 5411 Empanadas close by, which is exceptional. read more

This place feels like your quintessential small neighborhood cafe. The empanadas are to die for and the vibe is incredibly personal in a wonderfully chill way. Additionally, this place has a pretty constant flow of the friendliest dogs you'll ever meet. Definitely check this place out. Get an empanada, drink some coffee, pet cute dogs. 10/10 experience read more

Great Star Wars themed cafe! Very solid empanadas and tacos made with high quality ingredients. The Biggie Smalls comes with a free grape soda. read more

It's so good to have a great little taco place in the neighborhood! Very authentic, simple, perfect.

Huge fan of Cafe Tola. Great tacos and burritos. Hot sauce can be very spicy, but flavorful! Glad they have stayed open throughout the pandemic, they are a great addition to the neighborhood. read more

Amazing!!! We loved the food and the horchata latte. I got it iced and we tried several different empanadas (our fav were the bean and cheese and the ground beef). Also recommend the carne asada burrito and pork belly breakfast burrito read more

great customer service. i made an error in my order and it was fixed immediately for free. amazing food. so so good.

Love the quality of food here! Very friendly staff to greet you and take care of your order. A different twist on a quick breakfast! Highly recommend! read more

Empanadas are good sized,delicious and most surprisingly well stuffed inside. Tacos and burritos are pretty good too but I definitely will return for empanadas read more

I'm going to keep this short and sweet; there are not a lot of places open this early that are offering breakfast tacos and burritos. And people, these fine cats are offering absolute fire here. Got the Chorizo and the Biggie tacos, both were absolutely killer and super flavorful, I wish I had gotten a couple more but honestly, depending on your appetite, two of these tacos will fill you up because they aren't skimping out on serving size. Oh and the red salsa that came with the tacos was the best I've had since moving from the west coast. They were out of horchata, but were kind enough to call me (as I ordered from Grub Hub) to substitute it with a couple bottles of soda...which you really can't beat a Jarritos and bottled Coke. It's the little things like that, that go a long way. I'm sure to be back as I live super close, I'm sorry I haven't visited sooner! Hopefully they've got Horchata next round! read more

We love this place, however we just picked up our lunch and one empanada and one taco and the taco was missing..

Tiny little spot with a lot of personality, good empanadas, but I'm a sucker for their simple cheese quesadillas. They're like $3 and super delicious. read more

The guy in front was very rude not sure if he was having a bad day but he had an attitude problem didnt.even listen to my order right. Denied me an extra expresso shot I wouldve payed for it. Instead he said I should've told him while he was at the register. I'll take his job and do it way better. Now I have to go christmas shopping all drowsy shoulda went to staryucks. But my latte was good read more

I love cafe tola empanadas but this review is specifically about the tacos here- they are absolutely gross. We tried the al pastor, the pork belly and the og and the meat was rubbery and under seasoned. Stick to the empanadas such a disappointment read more

alright... first things first, Sharon is extremely dramatic and her partner seems highly sensitive. this is an establishment with great food and service, one i would highly recommend to anyone. my parents came to town and this is where we went to celebrate my graduation. the servers were fun and accommodating, welcoming the celebration. although we were a big crowd they were very efficient and everything came out together and tasted delicious. they were very attentive and kind; a great contribution to a wonderful evening. thanks for such a great experience! read more

This place is our go-to for a quick bite no matter what time of day it is. Perfect for breakfast with tons of coffee options (Horchata Latte is unreal). read more

Honestly, It's good but like any Mexican restaurant in a good/ affulent neighborhood, it's pricey.

Following up on my previous review: I still go about once a week, and they haven't been out of any items since my last review. Also, the portion sizes have been comparable to when they first opened. The egg/chorizo/potato taco is almost like a mini-burrito. It's a sizeable portion and well worth the ~$4-$-5. Staff is always friendly as well. read more

I love this place! It's my go to spot when I'm on break for work since it's literally around the corner. The staff is so friendly and the place is nicely decorated. The OG tacos with the Horchata is so good read more