BLUF: Delicious food. A must for flavor…read more Food (5/5): The totones took me back to my vacation in Puerto Rico. They were absolutely delicious and a must. The burger was flavorful and a great price for how filling it was. The chicken was phenomenal. Packed with flavors and you can taste each spice used. Spectacular food. Service (5/5): Service was great. Our server was nice and filled up waters when needed. He would come by when we were in a convo lull, just watching the COCOs drive around, park, wait, then drive off again. It was very entertaining. Ambiance (5/5): It had a clean vibe. Lots of plants to add to the vibe. It was very welcoming. We were seated at the window bar stools, though all the other tables in there were empty. The bathrooms were also very clean. It's in a very safe neighborhood, as someone left their baby stroller outside for an hour and no one messed with it. There is parking, but very limited since... city.

This place is amazing. I felt like I was back in south florida! Our waiter recommended the arroz…read morecon pollo - AGREE. it was sooo good. We were there on a busy Saturday afternoon but didn't have to wait long to sit or get our food. Bar was a little behind but - again- it was a busy Saturday afternoon. My family ordered Cuban sandwiches and the wrap and said they were delicious. Will definitely be back.

Food was phenomenal! I can't wait to bring my Cuban mom here when she visits next…read more Everything was delicious, authentic, and generously portioned. The staff was warm and welcoming, and the Cuban art, décor, and music made the whole experience feel immersive and special. Service was a bit slower, so it's best to come when you're not in a rush... sit back, enjoy the atmosphere, and take it all in.

Allergy friendly!! Thank you, 1492 Cuban Fusion!…read more I love that my kid can get a safe gluten-free/nut-free/peanut-free meal here, every time! And via UberEats too! I know this is one restaurant near his home where I can have a couple of meals delivered and I know he will be safe. I went for the first time myself a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the experience! The servers are knowledgeable and friendly, made us feel so welcome. Highly recommend ordering one of each of the flans for dessert, and sharing them! There were 4 of us sharing 4 flans, with enough for 5th person.

After a day shopping on Magnificent Mile north of the river in Chicago, we stopped at nearby…read moreCafecito on Chestnut. It was early Sunday afternoon, and we were too large a group to arrive without calling ahead. You walk up a lovely old half-flight of stairs under an ornate ceiling. After a short wait, half of our party went elsewhere, and the remaining four of us were quickly seated. The front area is mainly a café, with maybe 10 seats at tables for two. Farther back is a hallway and a larger room with seating in booths and at high-tops for maybe 40, and maybe 6 more at a small bar. The staff is quick and friendly. The food is delicious and fresh and hot! And the music is loud and festive :-) We had the thin-cut savory palomillo steak, a generous serving, pounded to tenderness, served with classic wet black-beans and white rice, sweet soft platanos maduros plantain pieces, and some greens and tomato. We had a lovely colorful medium-sized Mojo Shrimp in tart garlic citrus mojo sauce, with sateed red onion crescents, tomato chunks, and parsley. And we had the huge slow-cooked tender shredded-beef Ropa Vieja pressed sandwich, sauced lightly with slightly-tangy creole sauce, served with platanos maduros and black beans. All of their food delightfully authentic. We liked it so much, a few days later we ate at their South Loop location, too!

Cafecito had my favorite sandwiches in the city - all time favorite is the ropa vieja. It's meaty…read morefrom the steak and slightly sweet from the plantains - so delicious. Their shrimp and guava-q sandwiches are also other go-to sandwiches for me. The one on wells is perfect for a lunch in the loop. If you want sit down service, the gol coast location is decent. The location on Fullerton kinda sucks - service is just really slow there so if I get sandwiches from there, I exclusively go the take out route. But all in all, the sandwiches are amazing!! And the yucca fries are good too. Oo and the guava cheese pastry is nice if you want a sweet treat after.

This place was amazing!…read more Came in a few weeks ago to grab dinner with friends, and was easily able to get a reservation same day on a Saturday night at 7 PM. From the very beginning, we were taken care of very well. We were quickly seated when we got in, and our server was very attentive. The restaurant was jampacked too, I'm surprised we were able to get in so quickly! The food was delicious; for dinner I had the pollo a la cubana which was so good. Our server had mentioned to me that this was his favorite item on the menu, and I could not agree more. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and very juicy. Great vibes in the restaurant too, very upbeat feeling here. Everyone was very friendly, and the music added a very tropical feeling. Overall great time and would happily come back.

Delicious, a highlight of our stay in Chicago. Chimichangas and roja vieja are both very good…read more Server offered for us to use their private room to change our son's diaper (no changing table), itemized the receipt for us, and refilled our water as needed.

I have drive past this colorful place and finally go to try it. Sat outside on their dog friendly…read morepatio. Clean and spacious outside. Food is amazing. The empanadas were the best. The chicken one was great. The best one was the seasonal shrimp. Amazing and so much shrimp and the sauce was bomb. Service was good. Server came many times to fill water and all staff were nice.

Cute atmosphere. Greeted as soon as I walked in. Very clean. Outside patio was very inviting. Now…read morefor the food!!! Amazing! Flavor was wonderful and quantity was a lot. Will def be back!

I'd never had Cuban food before until I came here. I got a fried tilapia platter which came with…read morerice and a spinach salad. I genuinely cleaned this plate off. The spinach had a kind of sauce with it that when mixed with the rice and fish tasted absolutely divine. The plantains were perfectly fried. My friend got the pork sandwich which she also enjoyed. We also got two vanilla lattes which were very good. This place has both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for outdoor because the weather was nice but the vibes were good inside as well. They have a pastry counter indoors that looked good. I would highly recommend making a reservation because the place was packed on a Thursday morning! In the future I would bring friends and family here.

I saw this place was close to my hotel, so I decided to give it a shot. I noticed they had a lot of…read moregood options, but I decided to stick with the pollo chimichurri. My food was ready within minutes and while I was hoping for a mouthful of flavors, I got anything but. The chicken wasn't really seasoned. In fact, it was lukewarm and bland. The plate could have gone without the tomato's as it made the maduros mushy. The plate itself was rather meh and I was pretty disappointed. Also, I was expecting the chimichurri to already be on the chicken and not for me to have to add it myself, especially considering I didn't get very much. Maybe they had an off day or I just chose the wrong dish.

BBQ Skewers: tender chicken thighs and the perfect amount of sweet glaze…read more Lumpia Shanghai: the crispiness was perfection and the sauce was so good, it was like a slightly sweet vinaigrette Lechon Kawali: so crispy on the outside and the pork was juicy and tender inside, the sauce helps give flavor and softens the crispiness of the the pork Ropa Vieja: the shredded beef brisket was cooked to perfection but was very salty, eat it with the sweet plantains and rice and it reduces the saltiness taste, sweet plantains are black but not burnt, garlic rice is tasty Adobo wings: messy but worth it, delicious Saffron cream cheese flan: very sweet, but also had salt on top, texture is thick and smooth and melts in your mouth Halo Halo Banana Split: pandan ice cream is so good, loved the shredded coconut and the rice crispies to add the crunch, the fried banana lumpia was so good Hibiscus ginger cooler: slightly sweet and so refreshing, can def taste the hibiscus Pandan Mojito: slightly sweet and has like an aloe after taste Table reservations are for 90 minutes only and they give you a 20 min warning. Order quickly! You can sit at the bar if your time is up and still want to hang out afterwards. Highly recommend getting the $30 prix fixe menu (reasonably priced) and ordering one more dish from the menu for two people. We left feeling very full and satisfied if you're super hungry. Love the decor inside and very tropical with its palm leaves wallpaper. Latin music gives an upbeat atmosphere. There are two locations for Bayan Ko. One is a diner and the other place is for a more private tasting menu. I accidentally went in there instead of the diner place.

Had a delightful time at BKD! I went in a party of 3 for happy hour right at open (5PM). They had a…read morevariety of $10 cocktails (the frozen ube drink was an 8/10- solid) and $5-10 bites. We ordered the wings and beef empanadas and both were very good. The wing glaze was sweet and very flavorful- I recommend. It was also super cute inside! Good vibe overall. Where it fell short for me was the service. There were 3 staff members in FOH, and it was literally just us in there until 545, yet it was nearly impossible to catch our server's eye. He was perfectly polite but very much absent. We have to wave him down (by leaning into his path, lol) for a second round, as well as for the check. A few people had streamed in by the time we left around 630, and if it had been that busy the whole time, I'd have understood. But he did walk by our table multiple times, scanned it for empties (which were there) but blatantly avoided eye contact when it was clear we needed something. Overall, other than that clear staff training issue, everything was great.

First and foremost, I ate here this past Saturday. I was brought there steak sandwich. I had never…read moreeaten in the establishment before. I was thinking it wouldn't be promising cause I was thinking steak sandwich tuff, hard to chew, a piece of steak between two pieces of bread. Well I was duped on that thought. I received the stead sandwich, I opened the tray and was so surprised of what I saw. It was cut in half, and it was big. I took the first bite and let me tell you, it was so mouth watering I had to take a second bite. This steak sandwich melted in my mouth. It was all chopped up, into pieces, it was easy to chew, and swallow. It was seasoned just right, and I just couldn't stop eating it. I immediately asked where was this place. The sandwich came with a dressing, lettuce and tomato, on a French bread roll. I fell in love. I decided I needed to now go there, and get another one so I went there yesterday. I sat in the car in front of the place. I placed my order then went inside to get it. The restaurant has seating and lots of it for eating inside. They had tv's on the wall and a view to the outside. They had a public bathroom. There were patrons dining in when I arrived, and I walked up to the counter to get my sandwich. I informed hopefully it was the manager, that I had eaten the steak sandwich on saturday and it was mouth watering, and I just had to have another one. I didnt order fries when I made the order but I asked and they made fries to go with my steak sandwich. The fries too were just like I like them. Thin crispy and taste great. After speaking with the manger he wanted me to try another item they carried. It was an empanada, that too was delicious. The sandwich is so big full of steak, literally falling out the bread I couldn't even finish it. I had to save half for later that evening. This place impressed me. I don't know if they have self parking, I park in front, and ran in for my food and left. I was also told once they close the eat in dining for the evening they have a space next to the dine in that you can order for take out, and pick up till late night and thats a plus. I have to give this restaurant and awesome review cause it's rare to like everything about a business you frequent for the first time. The patrons that I saw eating at the tables looked happy and enjoying their food. I'm sure they carry more than the the steak sandwich, but that was my fav order. Thank you to the manager for allowing me to try the empanada free of charge.

Tried El Cubanito and also had their steak sandwich. I'd rate it about a 7/10 -- still good, just…read morenot something that completely wowed me. Service was quick and efficient, and the vibe inside was nice and relaxed. Solid spot overall.

My goal is to try 50 new Chicago restaurants in 2025!…read moreRestaurant: 51/50 Month tried: September Favorite dish: Pollo Al Ajillo Marinas is an unassuming spot in a strip mall that packs big flavors and cheerful service. Was so happy to discover this place. I tried to go back on a random Friday night recently, and they were completely booked up for the night, so definitely make a reservation!! Drink: La Playita - yummmm House Starter: Yucca fries and I believe some kind of guava dip? - This was SO good. I need to know exactly what that dip was and how I can get a jar of it. Starter: Queso Frito con Tamarindo - Fried cheese, how can you not love it?? Entree: Pollo Al Ajillo with rice and beans - This was so simple but SO flavorful. And a HUGE portion, perfect for lunch leftovers. I truly cannot stop thinking about this perfectly executed plate. Dessert: Flan - I have never in my life enjoyed flan, but they brought it for my friend's birthday, and I really liked it! Did Marinas make me a flan fan?? It took a bit of time to get our check. I had the feeling they wanted us to sit and enjoy more drinks. Next time I think I will do just that :)

We made a reservation since there were six of us. It is very small inside so plan ahead. My friends…read moretried to eat here on Sunday night, but they were told the restaurant had run out of food. So we tried again on Friday. The service was exceptional. We loved our waitress. Everyone enjoyed their food. The craft cocktails were also good. If you are looking for authentic Puerto Rican food, you should try this spot.

Steak Sandwich (8.5/10): very tasty. I was sad that they didn't have jibaritos. Omar suggested we…read morecome before 3pm before the plantains run out. Nonetheless, the sandwich bread was still good. The meat and cheese were fire. Sauces were great Ropa vieja empanada (8/10): tasted great, but too greasy. Sauce was super flavorful and meat was tender Lechon empanada (8/10): also too greasy. Loved the flavors, though Mango agua fresca (7/10): pretty good, but tasted more like smoothie than a liquid drink. Not mind-blowing enough for me to spend $10 on it Limonada agua fresca (7.5/10): better than the mango, but same comments as above. Omar is a legend. He's so friendly! The whole cafe area is awesome. There indoor and outdoor space to eat. Line gets pretty long around peak meal hours.

Had a great lunch with friends here yesterday . The spot is a little confusing when you first walk…read morein... there's a patio with a food truck and outdoor seating . You can sit outside or grab a menu and go inside . The inside has about 8 tables that fit 4 people each . Inside there is a table with utensils and water glasses as well for help yourself service . You order at the food truck window and grab a seat. They brought our food inside to us on a tray. We ordered the rope vieja, steak jibaritos, and flautas . Everything was very good but I especially loved the flautas with the consome. It was absolutely delicious and very unique, I drank the leftover consome because it was that good . Just poor everything in one big bowl . The flautas keep their crisp even when swimming in the broth . I liked the shredded Munster cheese on the jibarito and loved the green sauce . Sooo good!! The restaurant is byob and we brought mixes for bloody Mary's and some beers. It was nice to enjoy the meal and not feel rushed . I really enjoyed the experience, good music playing and kind service . Definitely recommend