Let's start of with the fact I much more prefer the Garcia's on Lawrence and Ravenswood then the one in Lincoln square. The space is much larger *snaps for them.* My friends enjoyed two delicious pitches over frozen and house margaritas. Needless to say - we enjoyed ourselves. You can't go wrong with ordering fajitas, but I have to say the starters were bland. The salsa was very cilantro based. Tasted alright but could have used something else to balance out the flavor. The chips were crisp and fresh which is something definitely to note about. We ordered the guacamole, which came out the same time as our pitchers. The guacamole was boring. Tasted like just crushed up avocados, nothing more. Had to add the lime from our Margs and some salt to get things going. ** As I recall the guacamole and salsa was much more tasty at the Ravenswood location. Like, had to stop my self from eating to much before my main!** All in all, a good experience, I'd much rather head to the smaller,darker, more chill location! read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Dinner! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Garcia's is a great neighborhood spot. I live a quick 10 minute walk from here and try my best to stop by often. The margaritas are fantastic, and when you order a pitcher, they bring you a full pitcher full and a margarita on the side. That, my friends, is how it should always be. I've tried several items on the menu, and they never disappoint. Reasonable prices, and friendly service. Keep it coming, Garcia's! read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I wanted to get the 411 on this place since there was so much hype about Garcia's. Today (Wednesday), my husband and I went for lunch. There was about 20 people there at 12:30pm. The place had a nice ambiance with an authentic feel. For starters, they serve complimentary homemade chips and salsa, which was very good. Drink: horchata-pretty good too. Somewhat thick and milky. Chile relleno: way too oily/buttery and cheesy for me. Chicken enchiladas: pretty good. Steak: was ok with grilled green onions. Chicken breast sliced thin was very tasty. Rice: pretty good. Beans: average. Price: 2 people: $48 (with tip) I would definitely give it a second and third chance. But, for now, it's just good and not excellent. read more

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Been coming here for many years. I cannot find a better burrito besides la pasadita. I make my own Chicago's best. Double steak. No messing with avocado inside. Make it wet. Amazing. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Double steak Burrito Suizo Ranchero - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Such a classic Lincoln Square spot. Been coming here for the last 18 years, and I've never been disappointed. Back in the day pre covid, they would be open till 3 am and would be the best post bar place. Steak burrito, tacos and other Mexican classics are great. Chips and pico are a must (used to be free in the bad ol days). Veteran tip, get the verde sauce. It comes in both medium and spicy, but it's not really spicy if you can handle heat. Margs and palomas are top notch. If you can afford it, spring for better tequila. I like the don julio respasado but you can't go wrong with the classico too. read more

This place used to be good. Service goes down every time I visit the restaurant. We wait 10 minutes to be acknowledged and they never come to check on you once you do get the food. I have to flag down someone every single time and this is on non busy days as well. Food is decent, so I suggest just ordering out. read more

Service was great but the food was cold and no where near as good as it used to be. I will try again because I hope this was just a one off experience. read more

Oh my. Wow. There were some ungodly things going on in my mouth. The flavor was everything. The portions are amazing, service was great and the margheritas are really the champion. I ate the CHICAGO BURRITO...and man...I wish I lived here again because of it! read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Went here with friends over the weekend & were we glad we did!!! 2 of us ordered a combo plate. Chicken enchiladas, steak taco & tostada. Omgggggosh!!! It was soo much food. I took the tostada & enchiladas to go w/rice & beans. Great flavors. I want more as I write this. The other 2 ordered Chicago's best burrito. Let me tell you it was the BEST!!!! It had cheese melted on top with a sauce. Inside was steak, al pastor & I believe chorizo. It was a ton of meat going on, but it was full of delicious flavors. Pretty sure they'd both order it again. We also ordered a pitcher of frozen coconut margaritas. Wayyyyy too much!!! We struggled to finish it. They definitely don't skimp on the portions. This is a must go again for sure! It even smells delicious from outside. read more

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I work in the neighborhood and go to Garcia's often. With my online lunch order I also like to add the 16oz salsa (regular, not the spicy) and eat it over the next few days with chips or scrambled eggs. It's my favorite salsa - from anywhere. Recently I got the spinach enchiladas (split my order between those and steak ones). I highly recommend those as a healthy-ish vegetarian option! read more

Garcia's has good food, however their service needs improvement. Drinks are okay, not that great. Their margaritas taste like smoothies and way too overpriced. Been coming here for decades and their service has always been an issue. Our server was not attentive at all. Music in there was way too loud so she could barely hear us when placing our order. Gave us the wrong drinks and still didn't apologize about it. Not sure if I'll be going back... read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Steak taco dinner - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was great as usual, beans in our dinner were burnt tasting My Dequiri was great tasting Our server Sandra was absolutely amazing and attentive to all of our needs read more

We spent 178.00 for 5 people we had steak la tampiquena we had pina coladas we had guacamole we had chiles rétenos. I had chicken tacos they where good but the rice was no good it was expired. The beans where good but when I asked the girl why did you charge she said cause the manager said there was nothing wrong with my rice. I said but I told you it was spoiled. I will not be coming back to this place ever.The waitress also said she talk to the manager, but nothing was done. We still tipped the girl it's not her fault. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Piña colada - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is more relevant when during their more busy seasons, but setting a reservation doesn't seem like it does much- you'll be able to track how many parties are ahead of you online, but when you get to the restaurant, they'll allow other parties to sit down first even if you're the "first in line". So I just recommend going straight to the door. That being said, the food and drinks are great here, the portions are generous and you really can't go wrong with any other their frozen margaritas! read more

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The food and drink were good. However, the service was so bad. Our waitress (Jessica) was mean. I was nice to her and asked her how her day was. She didn't seem to comprehend the question, so I moved on. She asked me what I would like to drink, and I looked over the menu, and she said she'll come back with an attitude. Then she returned and took our order and was displeased when we modified our orders. I asked for another drink, the exact same one. She brings me back another drink in a smaller glass. My friends and I decided to dismiss it because we would still have a good time. Then the check came. My friends and I decided to stay and chat because we hadn't seen each other for a while. The waitress kept coming around to see if we were ready to pay. After her passing us several times, we got irritated and decided to look at the check as soon as I touched the bill to look at it. She came, I told her to give us a moment, and she stood there waiting. Again, irritated at the fact that she wouldn't leave the table. We just grabbed our cards. Again we asked if she would give us a second, and she walked away. My friends were trying to figure out the check because we were going to split it. So, the waitress decided to send her coworker over to ask why are we looking at the bill. We heard and saw her do so. After we paid, we asked for our receipts and were told the machine does not print receipts. It's 2022; all devices do receipts. Finally, someone came back with our receipts, which the machine supposedly doesn't print. Finally fed up, I asked for a manager and was told he was not there and so we complained about the waitress and her attitude and were told they always get complaints about her. If this is a repeated problem, then why is she still there? It was like the on-duty manager was minimizing what we were telling her. "Yea, um hm, the customer is always right." We could tell they were talking to the whole staff about us because everyone was staring at us from the kitchen. We weren't loud or disrespectful, but apparently, it's ok to treat customers like crap! read more

Great margaritas terrible queso. Ordered twice and came out like a 1 piece cheese tortilla. They clearly are microwave based with all their food and queso and nothing's fresh. So much potential and yet cut every corner... hope someone buys them for the sake of the square. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Cheese taco ... almost "fresh or warm queso" - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Always a great time here at Garcia's. Staff is super friendly and attentive to detail. Ordered Chicago's Best Burrito and by far one of the top dishes on the menu. The al pastor here is what took the dish to the next level. Highly recommend trying this massive burrito. Also if you are looking for a margarita, try their pitchers. Best "bang for your buck" and they are not overly sweet. You can tell they have perfected their homemade recipe. If you are in the area and looking for a solid Mexican restaurant this is the go-to must stop! read more

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I honestly don't know why this place doesn't have better reviews. I come here all the time because the food and margaritas are good. I usually get the steak torta (Mexican sandwich with beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream, and avocado). I've tried the banana and mango margaritas. The mango margarita is really good but I couldn't taste any banana in the banana margarita. There is plenty of space so it is great for large groups. I've never had to wait for a table when I come here. The service is okay...it's really a hit or miss. One time we were obviously being rushed out because they were waiting for our table to free up so they could seat another large party. read more

ALWAYS Great food! Great service! Was here at 8pm on National Margarita Day, Party of 3 not seated until after 9...The place was packed. I will come again AND endure the wait. It is so worth it. Nice size portions. $5 margarita that actually had liquor in them read more

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Since I have moved to Chicago 4 years ago, Garcia's one of the first Mexican restaurant that I ate at versus the hundreds in this city. I haven't stop going since then and this place has been my go to! Having one of the bigger spots in Lincoln Square, Garcia's has made a great name for itself (in my opinion). First off, they are open early and open late. Perfect for the late night snacks and morning wake up breakfast. Second, they have great margaritas. If you are with friends, GET THE PITCHER and share it! It's an amazing deal. I promise its worth it for a 4 person party. Their Chicago's Best Burrito" a monster of a burrito that is filled with steak and pork, along with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, suizo ranchero, AND avocados! All this for $11 and $3 more to make it a dinner. There was enough for a meal and more! Not pictured is their horchata! A must try! 7/10 read more

Looking for a cool neighborhood Mexican dinner? Look no further!! Garcias is a long time staple in LS and loved by all. Food is really good and their margs are, well, dangerous!! (Get the Cadillac and make sure you're not driving home). Couple that with friendly service and ideal LS location and you have the goods. Try it out and you won't be disappointed. read more

We visited today for an early dinner and ordered the fajitas combo chicken and steak$24... The flavor was so weak, steak was not carne Asada but tasted like pot roast pieces because it was sitting already pre cooked.... the fajitas it self looked like the came from la fiesta grocery market... Chili's has better tasting fajitas... Been coming here for years and now going down hill......wait staff was slow and hostess was to busy worrying about her phone and clothing looking good... asked 3 times for boxes to go.... was ignored 2 times...Don't know if it's New management but won't be back... they need to rework the menu.....mango shake was horrible and had no flavor..... only thing good was the horchata... spent $105 for all the food and felt like I didn't get my money's worth for mediocre food...not going back any time soon!!! read more

I've already reviewed their other location so this one will be short. I order carry out from Garcia's all of the time. This location is way bigger than the other location and it has better lighting. Garcia's is my go-to Mexican restaurant in Lincoln Square because they offer solid Mexican food at a very cheap price. Garcia's is one of the best "bang for your buck" meals in Chicago when you order their burritos. Their burritos are literally the size of your head about 1.5-2 time bigger than Chipotle. Their burritos and fajitas is where it's at. I ordered their tacos one time and I thought the tacos were only ok and nothing special. Their margaritas are pretty good too at $5/pop during Happy Hour. Service has always been decent and the place can get very busy at peak hours. But overall, Garcia's is a decent restaurant and remains as one of the best bang for your bucks in Chicago. read more

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The food was good and plenty, our server was nice but, the frozen margarita was everything to live for :-) #Delicious read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Excellent service good food nice restaurant nice presentation of food on the plate and great selection of cocktails

What happens when you try to go to the German Fest, but the sun and smell of drunken frat boys becomes overwhelming? You walk up the road to Garcias and have a margarita. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you should probably just go and not wait to be irritated by something else as motivation. So this review is based on drinks mostly since all I ate was the chips and salsa and guacamole. Drinks: My partner had a mango margarita (frozen) and it was splendid. I expected it to be overly sweet but it wasn't. It was just write and actually had a mango flavor. I don't know how they're making theirs, but they should let some other spots know. I had the ginger margarita...It was too sweet for me. I couldn't really taste the tequila. Based on a previous margarita I've had there (house margarita) they clearly know how to do it, so i'm going to say I simply made the wrong call for me on flavor. Chips and Salsa: REAL SALSA, not some tomato soup with a few onions thrown in. It was chunky, it was fresh, it was good. Guacamole: It was fine. Nothing to write home about. Staff: Super friendly albeit not always the most attentive bunch. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Bar area - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food is always decent here. Service was a tad off than usual. The server started off good but moved on from me once I got my order, no follow up until I was almost done. I could have used that 2nd drink before I finished. Water and tacos don't seem to mix well but a margarita does. Bathroom was clean. Kinda loud but not the worse. The decor is nice and it is spacious. Decent prices for the food you get. I recommend this spot, neighborhood gem. read more

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This restaurant is located right on Lincoln Square, great location, upon entry was seated right away, note I have been here couple of times by now, service both times have been mediocre to where the server was not attentive, and messed up the bill. Food is ok, not the best I've had. Their flan is great, prices are decent for what you get. Lavatory is clean. You would say if you want Mexican food but want to stay in the square then this is the place otherwise if say keep moving. read more

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I have been here twice and enjoyed both times equally. I've only sat on the patio during the summer, so I have no reference of the interior. The food has always been very good and the service enjoyable. read more

Have been to Garcia's several times with son and DIL on visits to Chi. Consistently EXCELLENT food and service. This was a fairly large group of 18 or so gathered for grandson's baptism the following day. Great experience once again. OUTSTANDING attention from waitress and staff. I had the sangría. Very nice. And the Chicago's Best award winning Burrito. Oh my! Simply amaze balls! If you are in the Lincoln Square area, I highly recommend you check out Garcia's. read more

Finally had a chance to check this place out for dinner and I am glad I did. Went around 10pm and we were promptly given a table. Place is quite large with alot of seats for dining as well as a bar area. Their menu was quite extensive from the classic tacos, burritos, tortas, Tostada, etc option with multiple meat options from carne asada, al pastor, chicken, fish, etc. I decided to go for the 3 tacos meal. There was an option with rice and beans, but skipped it for tonight. I decided to try an al pastor, carne asada, and a fish taco. The tacos were superb! The meats were fresh and well seasoned. The best for me was the fish taco. The portion of the fish taco was huge. It was a tilapia fillet which could have been good for 2 tacos. There is an extra dollar charge for the fish taco, but it is definitely worth it. My 3 taco meal with the fish taco upgrade was only $8.50 plus tax. Definitely happy with that! Definitely want to try their burritos next time. Place is well kept up and their service is great. Food took about 10-15 minutes, but it was definitely worth the wait! read more

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Gracias Garcia! Never disappoints. On evening weekends it like a festival here with vibrant crowds with mariachi music on the background. I've been a loyal patron since 2000 and they provide great flavor for a reasonable price. The ceviche is very good!! Get combination#3! Cons: parking no bueno. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been here multiple times and am never disappointed! A great spot for some fast and reasonably priced Mexican food. I appreciate the decor and cleanliness of Garcia's and the location makes it easy for parking. I recommend the tacos or the tortas! My favorite is the al pastor and the steak! Their complementary salsa is amazing and spicy, just how I like it. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We've been here plenty of times. The food is really good. The margaritas are great. Tonight we sat there waiting to order dinner as the waiter walked by three times. He talked to the people at the next table. Totally ignored us. Really a weird experience. We'll go elsewhere. read more

Very disappointed in the service and food. The steak nachos looked like they were prepared with beef lunch meat from Aldis cut in a small square, floating in oil. Also, the rice was pink colored and tasted nasty. Should have gone to Burger King! Maddy R. read more

When you're sick of your hole-in-the-wall Mexican standby and you want something slightly fancier than Chipotle, Garcia's is a good choice. We arrived on a Friday evening and the place was packed. It's fairly spacious, but all the seats were full. Even the bar was full. There's not really a good place to wait for a table, so we stood in the entranceway, getting jostled as people came and went. After maybe 20 minutes, enough seats had opened at the bar and we sat down for a bit. Quickly, our table was open and we rolled over to sit down. The ceramic tiles on the floor and the high ceilings make for a very noisy environment. This is not a good place for a date, but it's pretty good for a hang-out with friends. I had the carne asada burrito. For just $6, it was very large and very filling. The steak inside was good. I ate until I was full and kept eating until my plate was clean. As far as the complimentary chips and salsa, I prefer a much chunkier salsa than the watery variety that seems to pop up at so many Mexican joints. But the chips were good. At one point, I dropped some salsa off my chip and onto my arm. Without thinking, I scraped the salsa off my arm with a chip and ate it. Ridiculous, but I guess that's a sign that I liked it. Service was adequate. One server was dripping something from one of the plates when he brought it over, but it didn't drip on us. (Do I give him props for not dripping on us or dock points because one of our plates was dripping some kind of liquid on its way to the table?) Good value, festive atmosphere and good food bring Garcia's tres estrellas. read more

Garcia's Restaurant - Packed on a Friday night. - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Garcia's was definitely one of my top favorite restaurants but Since when do you charge $3 for chips and salsa when your menu says it's complimentary? For the first basket. Like really you guys have customers coming in spending over $100; and you can't give them chips and salsa for free ummm okay! Maybe try updating your menu; and letting customers know you've changed up some things read more

I'm can't believe this place only has 3.5 stars. This is the best Mexican food around. The steak is unreal. Also, you have to try a frozen blueberry/coconut Margarita toooooo goooooood read more

Everything Was amazing just the best food. Loved the queso fundito! It was fabulous!Just amazing the food was so good I couldn't stop eating it. read more

Great food ,great ambiance ,fast service. I had the sampler with the tortilla soup enjoyed all of it