Love that this place is close to home and the food is authentic enough. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It has been able to stay true to its roots, that it has a great mix of patrons. From workers to celebrating families.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] They just got a new menu and prices of course have gone up but that's understandable. [[HIGHLIGHT]]What I'm taking issue with is that the owners need to embrace that this place is a "mom" restaurant that's got a homey feel. They added another screen advertising drinks, etc that are too big and obtrusive for behind the counter. Bring the tone down.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Instead of spending money on electric signs, spend your decorating dollars on making the place cozy so pictures in Yelp look more inviting.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We had birria burrito and carne asada with a large guacamole and horchata. Everything was great as always. Normally we get their margaritas which are also very good. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Burrio burrito - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

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The food is good, and I'll always give credit where it's due. Unfortunately, good food isn't enough to make me come back. Long story short, our order was repeated back correctly, yet we still ended up with a missing salsa and an incorrectly made burrito. Mistakes happen. Every restaurant gets an order wrong from time to time. The problem wasn't the mistake. It was how such a small issue was handled. Their reaction honestly took me aback. We weren't asking for a free meal or trying to take advantage of the situation. We simply called to ask for a credit for the missing salsa, which was about $2. That should have been the end of the conversation. While I was on the phone, we opened the rest of the order and realized the burrito had also been made incorrectly. Instead of listening, the employee repeatedly insisted it had been made correctly without even seeing it. Then another employee got on the phone and, in a very aggressive tone, told us that if we wanted a refund, we had one hour to bring the food back or we wouldn't receive anything. We didn't want a full refund. We simply wanted the missing salsa and for the burrito to be made correctly. A sincere apology, a $2 credit, and an offer to remake the burrito would have completely changed the experience. Instead, a minor issue was escalated into an unnecessary confrontation. I even spoke to the staff in Spanish, so this wasn't a language barrier or a misunderstanding. The issue was the attitude and the complete lack of professionalism in handling a simple customer service situation. Wanting to understand whether this was just one employee or reflected the culture of the business, I called another location and asked if I could speak with a manager or owner. I was told they don't give out names because they receive death threats. Whether that's true or not, that's an incredibly strange thing to tell a customer. It naturally makes you wonder how previous customer complaints have been handled if that's the response employees are instructed to give. As a fellow Latin American, I genuinely want to support Latino-owned businesses. That's why this experience was so disappointing. Success isn't just about serving great food or opening multiple locations. It's also about treating customers with respect, accepting feedback, and knowing how to resolve small problems without becoming defensive. More than anything, I was embarrassed for them. This entire situation could have been resolved in two minutes. Instead, they chose confrontation over customer service. The food is good, but it isn't good enough to make me overlook how we were treated. Customer service matters just as much as the food, and unfortunately, that's where this restaurant fell short. read more

Terrible food, terrible service. Taco Bell is better. Ordered a chicken burrito. Took two bites, it was dry & under seasoned. The server's response, " this is how we do it here. We served it to another table and no complaints." I'm sorry, the least you could've done is offer to remake it. We paid the bill and left. read more

Tacos are always good! Can't go wrong with the taco dinner and horchata. Service was fast

[[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was expanded at some point. I recall when it was just a tiny place.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]It has a very authentic Mexican restaurant feel. A neighborhood place like the ones in Texas.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I liked the staff too. They were helpful and friendly. Their tacos are very good. My daughter ordered carnitas. I had the menudo with patas of course! Their menudo is good but very red. It had a strong guajillo pepper taste. I did like it but I have had better. Don't let that keep you from stopping in and trying them out. I'm pretty sure you will enjoy their food. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

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Everything is pretty good here my husbands choice is always here when it comes to tacos

Food is Amazing! This is our favorite local spot for Mexican food. We order from here weekly as take out. My child asked for a drink and I said ok - she usually doesn't ask. That will be the last time we get drinks there. $4.59 for a medium soda?!?!!!!!!!. Never again!!!!![[HIGHLIGHT]]This is Plainfield, IL small family restaurant not a fancy meal in downtown Chicago or even a rip off beverage from the airport.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] This also means we won't be eating in the restaurant anytime soon. A large fountain drink was $5.89 per the menu (which I had never checked previously.) A gentleman ordered a bottled beer and that was $6.50. Fountain soda should not be anywhere close to the price of a bottled beer. We are a family of 4, but the food was only for 3 people with ONE medium soda. Sorry I can't pay $5 for a soda and give you a $6 tip. Do better El Mocajete. Very disappointed in your new pricing. I realize you have to pay for your new larger restaurant space but then I expect better service too. We'll never order anything more than entrees for carry out from now on. Speedway has fountain drinks for $1 and so does Thornton's. Yes they are loss leaders for them, but they realize that if drinks are affordable then customers will buy desserts and other extras. See bill below. $50 to feed 3 people. 2 adults and one kid read more

I ordered carry out for dinner on a Saturday evening. The restaurant was busy. I ordered the Saturday special (Gordita or sope and a taco with drink 10.99) a chicken gordita and chorizo taco with cilantro and onion on corn tortillas with a drink. I added a side order of rice. The food here is authentic good Mexican. The food was fresh and the flavors were on point! I loved the Gordita. You actually get a good amount of meat in anything you order. The 2 waitresses that run the show here are super awesome and hard working! Only negative of my experience was the fountain sprite was not good at all! read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Chicken 1 dollar tacos with a side of rice! 5 bucks ! - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

If I could put zero stars I would. I ordered a tray of tacos to send to a friends job and upon arrival the lady up front was rude dismissing me and then afterwards found out the whole tray was wrong it was nothing I ordered. And when confronted the same lady told me that I never ordered with her but how was that when I myself picked them up?she tried to lie and said I ordered at a different location even after she found my receipt. Then she puts me on hold and hangs up once she realized she messed up my order. I call back to try n get it fixed n tells me "send me pictures or it didn't happen" instead of fixing the problem. And hangs up the phone while laughing. I did a charge back because she never once admitted to her wrong and I'm out almost 70 dollars for some tacos I never ordered. Disgusting behavior from a Latina to treat her own kind that way. Pathetic read more

My friend told me she loves this place. So they've bn on my to do list for about a year now. I stopped by while I was in this area on my lunch. I walked in to order and was asked was I a call in, I said no, she took my order for 3 steak tacos. The cashier was very pleasant. The wait time was ridiculous tho! 30mins for tacos, not even fajitas, just tacos 30mins. No ma'am!!! The grade of beef used would be a B- and the tacos were good, not anything to write home about. I don't live near here and wouldn't break my neck to go back! The sauce was good and spicy. I see now why everyone was calling in! read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Steak tacos - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

We've been ordering from El Molcajete in Plainfield pretty regularly (weekly) for at least a few months, and I find myself wanting it more often. I'm a Mexican food junkie and this is one of the best around. The staff is super friendly and we have never had a bad experience. read more

The food is delicious and the drinks as well. Service is great and very attentive [[HIGHLIGHT]]it gets busy but clearly for a reason.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Totally worth the wait. read more

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The red sauce, the green sauce, the chili Rios tacos are what keep me coming back to this place. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I don't really care about the atmosphere. I don't care about the decor.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The food is what I come back for the people are very nice, but once you find something that speaks to you man, it's hard to give it up. read more

Called in to ask what kinda of material the Gordita was made of because it didn't look like regular masa dough. It was super hard to bite into. The lady I spoke with was very rude and hung up before I can ask another question. Wouldn't have made this review if I could at least get good customer service.. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Not authentic. The shell is super hard to bite in to. This is not how a regular Gordita should be served - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

Food is delicious , service is friendly margaritas are deep. It's our go to spot. Highly recommended

the greatest mexican food I ever had would definitely come back again this place deserves the 5 stars everything is so good would recommend

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Beware.. this was always our go to place.. it's very busy.. we always have gone and just been patient with the staff[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. On our last visit we asked for a printed receipt and discovered that they are adding 18% gratuity. Very disappointing because the service is not great - rarely does anyone ever ask now the food is, the food doesn't come out together and they don't give refills. Will be finding another Mexican restaurant. read more

The food is always good here. But it never adds up the prices in the menu and what they charge you at the cash register. You will never see a bill. They just tell you what you owe them. For today, I could not count for five dollars when I started thinking about it. read more

Torta scones with mayo instead of sour cream like every other restaurant. They charge $1.00 if you want sour cream. Online menu shows torta $8.83 it's $9.99 in restaurant plus $1.00 for sour cream. Ridiculous! Not coming back. $11.92 for a torta only. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - $11.92 - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

Be forewarned. This place regularly has incorrect prices on the delivery apps. And they will charge your card without asking and charge what they now say the price should be. So by the time you pick up your food, the price you thought you were paying is higher. They are also incredibly slow and their wait times are always incorrect. This is not a place to go to for a quick bite to eat or if you are in a hurry. They are also fairly high priced. A couple times I questioned if they gave me full size tacos when I paid for full size, because they looked like the smaller street taco size. We've stopped ordering from here because we just can't trust them all around. read more

my experience was a frustrating one. I ordered ahead of time to avoid the wait and was told 20 minutes. While at the restaurant I had to wait an additional 40 minutes for my order. At the same time seeing other customers order at the restaurant and getting their order before I did. All while the employees did not acknowledge my wait or apologized. In total it took 1 hour for my order. read more

One word: Bomb Al pastor torta... with a side of cebollitas and Jalapeños. My wife had the al pastor chimi. We also ordered a michi... this now, is my fav mexican rest. Pequeña pero deliciosa. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Al pastor torta... with a side of cebollitas and Jalapeños. My wife had the al pastor chimi. - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

Delicious tacos. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Cozy restaurant.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Take the time to stop in and you'll be glad you did. Friendly staff and delicious food. read more

We ordered the taco tray and a torta all steak. AMAZING! My new favorite mexican spot! read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - steak taco tray - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

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First time here and the food was absolutely awesome. The guacamole was dynamite and the gorditas were on point. They weren't overly generous with the meat but it was well seasoned. Only other issue is the place was understaffed as it was jam packed. Given the same and simple nature of the place I think it may be my new carry out. read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Asada and Al Pastor Gordita - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

horrible service, orders started pilling up but the two old elder servers (08:48pm, Feb 14th) prioritized filling sauces or stacking plates not acknowledging pick up orders. I had placed my order roughly between 07:45-07:55pm, I checked in around 8pm. She had told me it shouldn't be no more than a 5 min wait. 40 mins later, after trying to get her attention while she steady is ignoring pickup orders. I decided to stand at the counter, shortly a line started to pile up and I could tell she didn't want to speak to me but had to since I'm first upfront. I expressed the status of my order and she had shown the screen stating there's 5 orders ahead of me so it'll be a 30 min wait. Yet at 8pm, she told me it was 5mins plus the restaurant closes at 9pm. I requested to cancel the order and she smirked and stated I'd have to reach out to DoorDash. It seemed like she was intentionally causing the scene of the problem because there were a few other attempting to cancel orders. when ordering at this location, always expect to wait at least an hour. I'd recommend skipping this restaurant and dining at the location in Joliet. This Plainfield location needs to do better overall. read more

I eat lunches here frequently because they are close to my work. Their food is excellent and their service is equally excellent. Chicken tacos are TOP NOTCH!! read more

Once you walk in you seat yourself and you scan a barcode for the menu. The waitress asked us what we wanted to eat immediately which was fine but we haven't been here before so we're like, ummm we haven't scanned the barcode yet. They do give complimentary chips and salsa, which were really good. She never came back so we had to go look for someone to get our order. She apologized and said she forgot and was really nice. We still had to look for her after wards for refills and check. Food was literally average. Nothing to write home about. A torta de milanesa and steak burrito. Lacked salt read more

Food is good but service is terrible. Waited over 35 min for a total of 5 tacos until I got tired of waiting and decided to leave. The restaurant s was pretty much empty so there was no reason for this. read more

Nice employees and great Mexican food and tastes authentic. The restaurant is clean, and the food is fresh. They make their own salsas. Definitely will return. read more

Love this place they have the best food in town. Oh and make sure to get the guacamole u will be very please read more

El Molcajete Mexican Restaurant - Chicken Pollo Quesadilla, Guacamole, sour cream - Mexican Near Me - Plainfield, Illinois

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I've become I regular because I can't get enough of their delicious food! The tacos are so good, especially the steak and al pastor meats. The quesadillas are incredible! We've had rajas, a mild green pepper, and shrimp and they were both gooey, cheesy heaven. The $1 Monday and Tuesday tacos are small but SO good. We also love their breakfast food. read more

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Was so happy it was good. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Went for my birthday with family.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Didn't know what to expect. Everyone really enjoyed their food. I would def go again. read more

Last Tuesday Ordered 12 steak tacos (only cheese) to go. When I got to work I had 9 Steak Tacos with onions. so I said thought.... Obviously I got the wrong 'to go' order. Because only 9 tacos not 12. today I ordered the same 12 steak tacos only cheese & asked to please 'confirm the order' was correct. the cashier (manager) proceeded to ignore my concern & said there was a special Tuesday that's why they were different. So I said 9 never equals 12 even in a Special. so I asked why was there 9 tacos w/onions? I was only just mentioning the order was 12.... it was INCorrect 9 does not equal 12. I was only bringing attention that last Tuesday someone didn't get the correct order & I was one of them. other than communication the tacos were great. hope I got 12 tacos with only cheese. Cross your fingers. read more

Went here and got quesatacos (barbacoa tacos) super good! Had a great dipping broth and was pretty filling. The server recommended what she thought was the best and was really nice. read more

This little place is definitely one of the best in the suburbs. It has been 2 years since we moved out of the City and finding a good Mexican restaurant isn't easy. The servers are very friendly and pretty attentive despite being busy. All the tacos are tasty and fairly portioned. The taco salad is great and the shell is light, crisp and made to order. I wish it were closer to home, but it is worth the ride. Comer Bien! read more

They are consistently good! Love their food, great prices. TIP: do NOT order from Grubhub. El Molcajete no longer works with them. Grubhub doesn't tell you that and it's a PROCESS to get your money back from Grubhub read more

YUM-ohhh yes! The best friggen tacos ever. I LOVE this restaurant. Flavor is perfect and I usually order through Uber. Always packed nice, follow instructions, and arrives hot. Highly recommend read more

Great food! Been living in Joliet for a little over a year now, and we've tried several Mexican spots. Some good, some horrible. But mostly the good was inconsistent. This place is GREAT annndddd consistent! This is now our place now, no more trying anybody else. read more

Food was great but only had 1 person waiting on tables and bussing the tables, took over an hour to eat, we were only two people and sat down at a table right away. The need more help. read more