Inexcusably bad service. After messing up our order, which left two of our party of four without dinner, no attempt to rectify the situation was made. In fact we were ignored for the remainder of the evening. Too bad. The food is good. The atmosphere could be improved, especially the noise. It's very loud, even when there are only a few people in the restaurant. read more

Went here on a whim, and thoroughly enjoyed this establishment. We ordered the birria pizza, along with a strawberry mojitos. Drinks were and not watered down. The staff were very attentive. Wonderful experience. read more

Nice ambiance, friendly staff, and great presentation, but a tad too slaty and overpriced. The guac and roasted butternut squash are solid. The pescado entree was way too salty that I couldn't even get through half of it. Prices are a bit high, but consistent with what is available on that stretch of Lake Street. read more

Amazing food, fire drinks. Good service, cozy ambiance. Priced accordingly. Not too large of a restaurant so intimacy takes center stage. Most definitely would come back again. read more

Visited with family for a birthday party! Was immediately greeted by the host. Had such an amazing time. Great Food!!!! We did try a couple of appetizers not pictured but must try guacamole, queso asado and tostada de pulpo (for the octopus fans) read more

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I love this restaurant. The bartenders are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The drinks are the best in town. Food is phenomenal and definitely worth the price. This restaurant reminds me a lot of their sister restaurant Rustico vibes. I highly recommend going here as it rivals a lot city restaurants. read more

A fabulous addition to Oak Park dining! We stopped in for a drink and apps. Once we learned of the special we dove in - whole red snapper which was excellent. Top notch service. Will definitely be back soon. read more

Hoja Santa - Whole Snapper - Bars Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Oak Park has long lacked a high-end Mexican restaurant. That wait is over. Hoja Santa clicks all the boxes. I have been there twice so far and expect to go back as often as possible. From the first part of the menu, smaller plates (labeled "Bocadillos Y Ensalatas") include the usual guacamole but consider stepping out of your comfort zone for their Calabaza (roasted butternut squash, salsa macha, skinny fries and roasted cashews) or Brusellas (crispy Brussel sprouts with tamarind star anise reduction, almonds, serrano pepper, cilantro, mint and roasted cashews. Also there is usually a special soup of the day which on my two visits was very good. For main course: I've so far sampled, and enjoyed, the grilled pork tenderloin with mole rojo, butternut squash puree, sauteed arugula, saffron pickled onions, and also the fried chicken breast, black bean, corn and avocado medley, cucumber relish, chilaca pepper aioli, frijoles charros. But the real epiphany for me was the Mexican wine they serve. I'm too old a dog to be learning new tricks but I had long ago consigned our south-of-the border neighbor country to the ranks of beer-and-tequila land. No more. A number of whites, roses, and reds from producers in Baja California, Mexico, will please any lover of good wine. I have not yet sampled any of the restaurant's pizzas or desserts. Service is good, and as a bonus certain servers can also be very informative about aspects of Mexican cuisine and viniculture. The ambience is fine. (You don't have to worry about roving mariachi trios playing for tips.) While obviously priced higher than a taco joint, it is no more expensive than any other high-end Oak Park restaurant. Highly recommend. read more

My husband and I had lunch on the patio and this is pretty much as good as it gets in the suburbs! Tuna Crudo (diced raw tuna, cilantro-lime soy sauce, avocado, Mexican crispy rice, tomatilla avocado salsa). The tuna was super fresh and a much larger portion than I expected. I'd eat it every day. Birria Pizza (beef shank and short rib, scallions, cilantro, cheese, jalapeño aioli, radish). This pizza has been on my mind since the first time I saw the menu a few months ago, and it lived up to everything I'd built it up to in my head. The birria itself was great, lots of flavor, and the crust had a great texture. It's very rich - we squeezed the lime from my drink on it, which I'd recommend doing. Pescado (pan-seared black sea bass, sauteed shrimp, roasted red potato, spinach, chile chilaca sauce). Again, a bigger portion than I was expected - a nice big piece of fish. Everything was super flavorful, both the fish & shrimp were perfectly cooked. Our only criticism is that everything was on the salty side, but delicious enough that we could get past it. We were on a time crunch during my husband's lunch hour and they were easily able to get us in and out in 45 minutes without sacrificing the quaitly of food or service. We'll definitely be back soon to explore the menu more - we have a long list! read more

Took three friends for a celebration. We all shared the molcajete to start and a couple of drinks. I ordered the fish tacos for my entree. The rest of the group ordered the pasta, the sea bass entree and the pork with mole. I took a bite from both the pork and the pasta. Within an hour of the meal, I started to experience fierce abdominal pains. Was up literally all night with the effects of the worse food poisoning of my life. My friend that had the pork/mole had a similar reaction just not as severe. I called the restaurant the next day to alert them. Was told a manager was not available and that they never really knew when she was in. I left my information. The chef called me back and was very apologetic. Did appreciate that. He said he would get together with his partners to see what they could do to make up for us getting so sick. Never heard from him. Instead the manager called me a day later offering to have us come back and have a better experience. There was no way I would ever eat there again. She then offered to check with another partner to see if they would refund the almost $300 we spent. More than a week later have not heard back from anyone even though I called again to follow up. Getting so sick was bad enough, with the effects lasting more than two days. But the fact that they really didn't even care was even more disappointing. Really wanted to like this restaurant unfortunately something went horribly wrong with the food safety. read more

Innovative menu in a comfortable environment. Try the cocktails! Service was helpful and friendly. Next time I want to sit at the bar to watch the kitchen staff at work. read more

Loved the food here. Delicious with lots of herbs and spices and beautiful presentation. I am vegan and found plenty of delicious options. The wait staff was very nice and the outdoor patio was very pretty with lots of plants. I recommend it! read more

Our experience was a bit of a 'Tale of Two Cities'. The quality of food, drinks and atmosphere was a solid 4. We had the pulpo and guacamole appetizer and the chimichurri skirt steak and callo & nopales for dinner plus a few cocktails. The quality was good albeit the portions were rather skimpy for the prices (total bill was $171 before tip). Where our experience went south and what I believe will ultimately be the downfall of this place is the service. It is obvious that the women there (the waitresses and hostess) are all friends and are more focused on socializing with each other at the hostess stand rather than providing attentive service. Everything from placing our drink orders to placing our appetizers & dinner orders required us to sit for long stretches and try to make eye contact with one of the girls socializing at the hostess stand. When one of the girls finally noticed how annoyed my wife and I were, they would tap our waitress on the shoulder so she knew to 'get back to work.' I felt like rather than customers paying a lot of money for small portions, we were more of an annoyance who kept interrupting the crowd of 20-something girls during the Saturday evening at the club. So on the basis of food quality, menu selection, and atmosphere I give it 4 but price per portions and service is 1-2. read more

Been wanting to try this place, and I finally went tonight! I had the tuna appetizer, cod, and my husband and scallops. They were very accommodating regarding his gluten allergy, and checked with the kitchen to make sure nothing he got had gluten in it. I also had the churro ice cream. Excellent food and wonderful service! read more

I went to dinner here for the first time a few days ago. It was amazing! We were able to sit outside and the service, cocktails, food and ambiance were all excellent. Can't wait to go back, it was one of the best meals I've had out in a very long time! I would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Met friends at this restaurant for Friday evening dinner in downtown Oak Park. Impeccable and speedy service, excellent & delicious food + presentation, and overall great ambiance. I'd definitely recommend dining there. read more

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We were impressed from the moment we walked in. The decor is fantastic. Very rustic, warm and inviting. I had the Carne y tuetano which I ordered medium rare and was presented perfectly. It' was an amazingly prepared skirt steak with fantastic presentation. So good. My wife had the "Pork" on the menu which was actually a grilled pork tenderloin with a mole rojo and butternut squash puree. She went on and on about it. Loved it. She would not share but from what I could see it was absolutely perfectly prepared with a slight pink to the center. At one point I joked with the servers because we had 3 people around us. One was pouring water, another was removing plates and another was presenting the desert menu (which btw try the guava sorbet). Service was obviously a team effort here and it showed. Thank you for a fantastic time out. So great to have yet another great place to come back to in Oak Park. read more

Hope the menu evolves a bit as time goes on.....nothing that just grabbed me. My husband had the octopus tostada which for the price could use more octopus or maybe there should be two? Will give it another try though as love it's Rustico roots read more

Really good food! Scallops good, fish tacos and charred lettuce salad both exceptional. Service good too. Will go back!

Food was very good. Love the large portions. Solid cocktail menu. My wife got the scallops, though they were very tasty, the grey color of the sauce was a little bit of a visual turn off. read more

Food was 5 stars and the service was put standing. we took their recommendation and nothing disappointe.

Food was overpriced and mediocre. The Sangria was too sweet and the baked cheese dish was downright awful.

Everything was excellent here. Service was great. Ambience was very nice. Same team from Rustico from what I understand. Ordered 4 items and everything was fantastic. In particular the Queso Asado was amazing. I'll be ordering that any and every time I come back. read more

This place has an underwhelming menu for the prices. We really wanted to like it, but we had overly salted food, slow service, and nothing that grabbed us to want to go back. Just meh. read more