Great food. Tapaquena plate was excellent and the carnitas burrito looked like a NFL football. Beer was cold and service was friendly. Definitely coming back. read more

I did the take away and was very happy. The carnitas were great! The pork was tender and very tasty. After they weighed out my order, they added on a little extra salty bits, (i.e. skin & extras) which were amazing when added to my tacos. The service was excellent and extremely attentive. I highly recommend Don Rafa read more

The best Mexican joint in the Plainfield/Joliet and surrounding areas. I'm addicted to the steak tacos but I've tried numerous other items on the menu. Tamales are fantastic but only available on weekends. I've never been disappointed in this place! Quality food at an inexpensive price and super friendly service. You can't go wrong! read more

Great salsas, good guacamole in huge portions, fresh chips made in house. My enchiladas were great. They also do a big takeout business.

Chicken tacos are disgusting. Al pastor is even worse. Customer service is horrible. Wasted my hard earned money here. I ordered the, "street taco platter." It does NOT state that you can't choose between the meats, so I specifically told the cashier, I wanted them all "asada." The cashier said it was fine. $43 for one of the worst taco platters I ever tasted. The tortillas were so crunchy & oily. They gave me carnitas, chicken, asada, & Al pastor. I specifically told both of them "asada" and they said it was fine. I go back and this girl claims, " I never told her asada." She goes and tells the cook the situation and the cook is yelling. At that point I knew I'm never coming back to this stupid place. Ruby your restaurant is trash. Money hungry & Greedy ass manager never gave me a refund or offered to give half the portion of my tacos "asada." A small business like this will never flourish. read more

Love the food here. My favorite place for carnitas. The service isn't as good as the food, but pretty close. If you love tacos... You will love Don Rafa's! read more

The food is very authentic Mexican food. The portions are large for the price. Pork is their specialty. I'm glad I found this place.

Fast service, authentic and just all around good food. Steak was tender, pork was flavourful and the salsa wasn't watery like most places. Definitely recommend to anyone passing through. read more

How can you pass up a place called Carnitas? 2224 Plainfield Rd. Crest Hill, IL impression: the website was pretty sophisticated and the menu looked great. Walking in, I was surprised that it had a bare-bones fast food feel to it, not that's a bad thing. Upon sitting you get a carnitas and barbacoa sample which is a nice touch. Online, I was impressed by their beer/drink menu. Unfortunately, for reasons I still don't comprehend, they don't have a current liquor license. Most of our party of seven ordered carnitas. They were excellent. I ordered Carne en su jugo soup which didn't come out until most of our party had almost finished their menu. I was on the verge of canceling the order. But it was worth the wait, rivaling the excellent same dish at Cenchos's in Homer Glen. On a Sunday evening, they were very understaffed and accounted for a number of ordering errors. But these are small issues. I can highly recommend their food. Oh yeah, their salsa verde had a great kick to it. Not too much or too little. Worth the trip. Authentic...and that's hard to find. read more

Small place but the staff is extra friendly. Got some carnitas and menudo to-go on Saturday. The food was excellent so I took a coworker (since I wanted his opinion being that he's Mexican and he recommended Sabas Vega) the following Wednesday and he said the food was legit. I'd recommend. read more

I love this spot. Carnitas are great. If you don't want fat then ask for the non crispy. Barbacoa is perfect, cactus salad is spot on. The service is also great. Perhaps the reviewer that had to wait went there on an off day? I've tried almost everything and have never had a bad meal. read more

FANTASTIC!!!! The Carnitas here are SO good. Most authentic flavor in the area. The staff is friendly and the portions are fair. Once i tried the "sample" (which was very generous) i didnt need to order anything else. The Carnitas are great by themselves but Don Raffas provides a Red & Green Salsa that compliments the Carnitas too the fullest. I highly recommend this place. I will definately make the trip...at least once a week! Cant wait to try the tamales...only on Sundays :( but im sure its worth the wait! read more

Great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner, small cozy location so beware it is in a small plaza but you won't be disappointed with the food or the portions. read more

Food is absolutely delicious and at a great price as well!!! One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Joliet. The service is good, food is great, and price is even better. Great place to get breakfast lunch or dinner. read more

Great carnitas. Servers very accommodating. Authentic Mexican food.

Dined in last night and it was so not what I expected. I gave it the extra star only because the one taco I ate was great but otherwise here it goes- I waited at least 5 minutes before someone even walks over with menus. The girl may have been new but seemed totally awkward and not very knowledgeable of the menu. They tell us we'll get chips soon- I really wish we hadn't gotten them. The chips tasted like bad stale oil- rancid and gross. I ordered the combination of one enchilada (it was ok) a quesadilla (my 6 year old could've made soemthing better with more cheese and bigger tortilla), and the pastor taco which was the only palatable part of my dish. The rice tasted pre-made and old. The beans were canned for sure. Maybe their carnitas (which I did not try) are the reason this place still operates. read more

Carnitas were horrible, was like I was eating a piece of pork tenderloin a week old, don't know if they just messed up but they were worse carnitas I've ever had. read more

I have been coming here a couple times a month since they have opened. The last few visits have been rather disappointing. I was not happy with the tacos and the carnitas had way way way too much fat on them. It's a shame because they used to be delicious. This place has gone downhill. If you want great Mexican food try Yolis on Broadway. read more

Pretty Good!!! Certainly not as bad as the experiences that others have posted here. The food was good. The place was clean and the service was good. I would definately go back. It is a small business that we need to support. In time they will get better and better. I would rate them as 3.5 stars out of 5. read more

Super delicious! Get the taquitos for an appetizer! Yum! Ordered chimichanga and it was really good. Had the michaeladas with tecate! They have margaritas BOGO 1/2 off on Friday and Saturdays! What?!? No one has drink specials on the weekends! We will be coming back for that! read more

I absolutely love this Mexican restaurant. The best one in town! Pretty inexpensive too. I recommend it to all!

I give Don Rafa a 10 out of 5 stars. The food was absolutely amazing. By far the best Mexican food I ever had. The steak was actually real steak and tender. The carnitas were very tasty and moist. WOW! I cant wait to try everything on the menu. I will dine here often. I don't care what the place looks like or how the service is, the food is definitely worth it. I cant say enough about this place. You got to try it. read more

I have been to almost all of the mexican restaurants in the area and this is the best! My husband and I went there on Friday and almost went back Saturday but was to embarrassed. We have been on a mission to find a good Mexican restaurant and now we have. The service was excellent, the server recommended a sample plater appetizer which was excellent. The steak burrito and carnitas were amazing. read more

Carnitas Don Rafa on Plainfield Rd is the best in town. The menudo on the weekends is amazing and the carnitas are my favorite. The Nopales and Chilaquiles Don Rafa are a must try. The service is so friendly and welcoming, which is very hard to find in this city. Whenever we come in to dine there is a young lady who is the first to greet us. She is tall and wears glasses. She makes us feel like we are family. I didn't catch her name but she is doing a great job. No matter how busy the restaurant is, whether we are dining in or getting to go she always makes sure to say hello and touch base with us. And to top it all off, their Micheladas are delicious! Carnitas Don Rafa is a great place to take the family! read more

The food is always delicious and the waitresses are always great. Friendly atmosphere and prices are in range with most every Mexican restaurant I've been to. My dad always said you can tell if a Mexican restaurant is good by its beans & their beans are fantastic. Highly recommend! read more

If you like your mexican food with a spicy kick, don't snob this place. Their tasty food wakes up my taste buds every time. It's definitely a better alternative. read more

I went on a weeknight and the place was empty only one other table. The folks that said the decor was beautiful and exciting were mistaken. Half of it was set up like a cafeteria or catering. It was kind of awkward in there. I was happy that I could get carnitas on a weeknight and they were pretty good. My wife had the 3 tacos which were just ok. The rice, beans, and salsa were just average at best. The service was good though they were very friendly. There is a carry out Mexican joint next door which had many more people going in and out. It didn't really blow me away. I probably will not go back unless I want carnitas on a weeknight. read more

Garbage. Food is not edible. The $7 cheese dip broke the chip. Rude waitress. If you want good mexican go to Friacos on essington.

Food was good. Friendly server. Chips a bit too salty for my taste. Guac not bad, strong lime. Had burrito. Chicken was really good. Not dried out like many other Mexican places. Wife had enchiladas with green sauce, liked them a lot. Horchata was excellent. We'll come back. Good job Don Rafa. read more

Very good. Carnitas were wonderful with beans/rice and nice cactus salad. Carne asada was tasty - large steak cut. Margarita special - buy one/2nd half price. We'll be back again. read more

First time there tonight, wife had chimichanga dinner and I had chicken tacos, food fair , rice & beans were good. Margarita were terrible! Was not very crowded, took 15 minutes to get chips n salsa.......scale of 1 to 10 we rate it @ 5. read more

This is a favorite spot for Sunday breakfast. This is Mexican Sunday breakfast at it's best. The service is always friendly and food delicious. read more

This post is regarding the location at 45th and Kedzie. I love Don Rafa's fajitas with steak and chicken mixed. I also love their guacamole. It is not too oniony like the guacamole at Pete's Market. Rafa's Guacamole has just the right amount of cilantro and their homemade tortilla chips are my favorite. They have very reasonable prices and the flavor of the food is outstanding. I look forward to trying their tamales on the weekend. Go when Rudy is working. He is great! Their service is wonderful! Since they weren't too busy when I came in towards the end of the night tonight, they gave me a sample of carnitas! Add it to the list of delicious options! Everything I have tried here, I approve of. Flan! Tacos! Seriously, everything is delicious. Can't wait to try the tamales. They only have them on weekends. It would be so nice if their Kedzie location had patio seating! It would be a great place in the neighborhood to sip margaritas outside on the weekend! read more

First time here... We were happy with the food and the service was friendly and very good. The restaurant was quaint and comfortable, plus the prices were much better than at other Mexican restaurants in our area. read more

I have been a customer for a while, I have notice some changes specially on chips and salsa they used to provide them as soon as you seat now you have to wait for them like 10 mns even more if the waitress its busy.. margaritas, ok.. not that bad they could be better, I will be going just for carnitas to take home.. read more

I decided to try Don Rafa based on the positive reviews but I will never go there again! As we walked in, 3 people behind the counter looked at us but did not even greet us. The waitress seemed anxious to retrieve our order so i explained that this was out first visit and we needed to review the menu. She brought out the carnita and barbarcoa samples, which were lukewarm at best. Not a good start. Next we placed our order and after waiting 15 minutes, our waitress returned and asked if we wanted our bill all together. I looked at her in shock as we never even received our food. She apologized and said she must have been there too long that day. Really?! We were one of two tables occupied in the restaurant. There happened to be a private party wrapping up in their "party" room. This seemed to take most of the servers attention. After waiting another 15-20 minutes for our food I must say I was not impressed at all. Their salsa verde which is served in a plastic squeeze bottle was very watered down. The beans were puréed and the carne asada was not impressive in taste or size. I felt as though they were thinning out the salsa and beans to save money. The waitress reappeared with our bill and said she included 20% for the wait. This affirmed my suspicion that our wait was due to her not putting in our order until she offered our check and found out we we never received our food! From beginning to end this was an awful experience. I will stick with our usual place, Casa Maya in Shorewood. At Casa Maya they're consistently great; the food is authentic and the staff is friendly and professional! And finally, that 20% off was in the form of a card for a future visit. No chance of that happening. Don't waste your time or money! I would have given "0" stars but that is not an option. read more