Best al pastor tacos I've ever had. Killer pozole too. Incredibly kind staff. Our family will be back!

This is our go-to spot for Mexican food and margaritas! We love the food and the people. They have always accommodated a vegetarian diet. The chips and salsa cannot be beat! We've had two parties catered by La Penca and everyone loved the food. We keep referring our neighbors, friends, and family to go to La Penca. read more

Seriously, this is the most amazing authentic Mexican food that I've had for years. Even the kids scraped their plates clean. Everything is fresh, hot and delicious. Chicken tacos and chicken nachos were outstanding. I so wish that this place was closer to home. Even the salsa was perfect. Wouldn't change anything. Cant wait to think of a reason to come back! read more

Everything ive ever got is always amazing. My boyfriend and i go here at least once a week whether its dining in or togo. Servers are always very nice. Food comes out hot and fresh and this has got to be the only mexican food place where the steak is NEVER fatty. We also get the chicken tortilla soup every time and it never disappoints. read more

Overpriced and overrated!! We ordered steak tacos and gorditas. The gorditas were hard and soggy with the beans and sour cream on top, this made them hard to chew! I don't know what kind of meat was used, but definitely not arrachera! For what we spent, could have gone elsewhere for "real steak." Also, very stingy with recycled salsa and chips. Will never return!! read more

La Penca is pure GOLD to our family. We eat here at least once a week and absolutely everything is terrific, most especially the margaritas, the fresh salsa, and the familiar, friendly service. The owner Massimo is regularly here and he cares about his crew that have worked here forever. Emilia and Maria are rock stars! read more

Been here a few times and for the most part the food is good for the price range. I've had tacos, carne asada, and fried quesadillas to name a few. The staff is friendly and attentive to your needs most of the time. I would recommend and will go back. read more

Great mexican food! Fresh ingredients, delicious salsa and my husband loves the pozole. We have two small children so we need 'family friendly' restaurants and they are so nice to us there. We've only had good experiences with the waitstaff. I like that there are almost always one or two couples and one or two other families dining whenever we go there. Personally, I don't like empty restaurants! The atmosphere is not fancy but it's comfortable. Clean bathrooms. Oh, and it's great that they have liquor license. Sometimes I need to have a beer or cocktail after a week with the kids. read more

Nice clean place, food is very good very authentic, service can't get any better. Owner comes around making sure all is ok. Was 8 of us, we ordered all over the menu. Not one complaint, all enjoyed everything. Great place we will be back for more. read more

This place is so close to my house and I want to like it for convenience alone BUT I just can't. I have tried this place numerous times and they just aren't worth the money for the quality, customer service or authenticity (I don't even think the owner is Mexican). As a vegan, I never get cheese or sour cream; When I ask for none of the above, and asked to substitute extra beans instead, they up-charge me $.25 EACH taco! They charge $.35 PER TACO to add cheese to their veggie tacos (almost all taquerias do) for vegetarians, and they never put avocado on vegetarian items without an up-charge of $.50. Vegetarians are already not getting meat and vegans aren't getting meat, cheese AND sour cream, yet you are going to charge for adding extra beans on the taco/burrito? Get out of here! Never going back. La Penca, you lose our business because of your cheapness, inability to read the consumer & your lack of authenticity. read more

We come here pretty often from work and it is always excellent, service so friendly and they remember our orders! Live this place. It is in a small strip mall and it is on the small side. Come early for lunch because they get crowed. read more

Might be more like a 3 1/2 but the affordability factor helps. Read good reviews and decided to stop in for lunch. Had chili relenos and a margarita. Chips and salsa was pretty good as was the margarita (cheap). The chilis relenos was good but not great. Beans were kind of ho-hum but the rice and "salad" were excellent. I'll be back to try something more basic like some tacos to see how those are. read more

Ehh...I've had better. The price point was certainly good, but I think I had too high of expectations based on the other reviews. The tacos were okay, as was the quac. The sope was better than the taco. But the best thing they served was the salsa...which shouldn't be the best thing. And the chips were terrible. But the servers were nice and the price okay, so I could return if in the area. But given a choice, I'd head further east (Cicero or Pilsen) read more

Food so good! Sopes are amazing. Lengua tacos great. Horchata best I've had. Service was quick and attentive. We were there at 130pm on Sunday - there were probably five tables filled out of twenty. Best Mexican in the 'burbs. Seriously the sopes - individually delivered and topped - beats any $7 dollar sopes starter in fancy city Mexican places. read more

We went there not knowing what to expect...we thought it was going to be typical Mexican restaurant- not very authentic. Turns out it was really authentic. The waiter was super friendly and quick. The food came within an half hour of ordering- which was great! I'm definitely going to come here again! One downer is the food was a tad on the spicy side. read more

I live around the corner from La Penka and it is really good. I've only had carry out but you can't go wrong with the steak taco dinner and horchata. I will definitely be going there for many years to come. read more

I don't think this place can make anything bad. I just had the Milanesa Steak (breaded steak) Torta, super yum-o!

Where can you find a great bowl of menudo and decently made micheladas in Chicagoland? Look no further than La Penca... great menu, great service, great food. read more

Ok, hands down, this is the best Mexican restaurant I have ever been to in my life. Let me explain why. I ordered 2 tacos rice and beans once. Another time I ordered steak nachos. Now I got one chicken taco and 2 steak. The steak meat was so tender. You know how you go to some of those places that have too much fat on the steak meat and gristles? No not here. The meat was nice and tender and it had no fat or gristles. It was seasoned well and had a nice amount of meat on the shell. The chicken wasn't dry and plain either. It was seasoned well and sooo tender. It was also marinated in some kind of red sauce. The rice was well made and the beans was good just kind of thick. I usually like mines a little looser. Other then that this place is nice and clean and has great food. I will return over and over and over again lol. Just my honest opinion. read more

Was in the area and decided to try this place based on the other reviews. It was cute and clean, service was great, food was very good and prices are cheap! If I lived closer I would definitely come back. read more

Legit my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. Food and service is consistently good, and prices are super reasonable.

I was really looking forward to this place after seeing it featured on Chicago's best. Needless to say I was so disappointed with the customer service. I walked in to order a pampazo (what they are known for) ordered a pambazo with chorizo and an ice water. It being my first time there I had a few question about the menu and was just given a sassy response. Very disappointing. Once I was about to enjoy my meal. I come to see that my ice water is missing and my order was ground meat. I called to see what they could do. Yet again greeted with the sassy attitude of..... yes I took care of you and that's what u ordered. Whatever happened to the customer is always right? I mean would I really call to tell u my order was right? Then I also asked for the carrots in viniger and they wanted a dollar. I mean after ordering $20 dollars worth of food I would think they would just make an exception. Also seeing that I only had a credit card to pay with. I would have returned but with that terrible service I won't return nor recommend it. read more

I have enjoyed everything that I have ordered from this restaurant. The last time around, I had the chorizo torta which was quite tasty. The staff there is also very friendly and attentive. This is now my go to spot whenever I want to have mexican food. read more

Dang, was it good. Want for a quick lunch and had tortilla soup, the best I've ever had and a quesadilla. Normally, I don't eat the latter but that was great, too. Great service. Good prices. Friendly staff. AND best of all, authentic Mexican cuisine. That is hard to find! read more

Got the Al Pastor and Steak tacos and my wife got the enchiladas. Enchilada are hit and miss, sometimes you get a lot of meat, sometimes you dont. Everything was very fresh and the sides were really good. The salsa was fresh but tasted more like tomato sauce, needs a little more spice. The food came out quick and the servers were really nice. Price was a little high compared to the taco places in Cicero and Berwyn, but its close to my house so I can deal. read more

Went there because of all the good reviews....after all this is why we check out Yelp right??? Well.....for me I was disappointed and so was my husband. read more

There are times when yelp can really irritate me, and today was one of them. I was working in the area and craving some tacos and asked yelp to guide me. 34 reviews and an average of 4.5 stars!! Holy crap, this place must be phenomenal!! I have to go!! How I was disappointed! The fresh salsas weren't anything I couldn't get from a jar. Mild and bland. Got the taco dinner with 2 asada and 1 pollo (chicken for you gringos). Again, bland...even when smothered in their salsa. Everything seemed to be fresh, which is good, but the Mexican flavors that I love were missing. I think they've toned it down for the local gringo crowd which is apparently what works for the area, due to the high marks. I live out in aurora where I can find an authentic taqueria on almost every corner where spicy means spicy, and flavor doesn't mean they used salt. If you like your Mexican food fresh and bland, then yes, 5 stars. If you want authentic, not so much. read more

Great food, great prices, and great service. I had the enchiladas with green sauce, and a couple of beef tacos. Fantastic salsa, and I will be back several times! read more

Carne asada burrito and menudo were excellent. Very family friendly place. Too bad I togo-ed my meal. I would try this place again soon.

Awesome find in this neck of the woods. Authentic tasting food that rivals the local favorites. Try the the ceviche tostadas and fish tacos w/the habanero sauce, top notch! The wife's had the chicken mole enchiladas-very tasty. Service is quick, place is clean and very family friendly. read more

Very friendly service. We tired several items in the menu and it's not the best Mexican food I've had but it's very close. A bit disappointed with the green salsa because I love it when I find chicharron with green salsa. Sadly the flavor wasn't there for the salsa. There are many we did enjoy and even more that we want to try out. Will definitely be coming here again and again. read more

This is a really special place. Food is spectacular, service terrific and incredible value! We need to support great spots like this or we will have every street lined by the big chains that are serving our country junk. The owner is a gentleman and the staff kind! TRY IT! read more

Had a fantastic late lunch. Friendly staff, attentive. Salsa & chips were delish. Nice & salty. Enchiladas Dè Pollo were yummy & my margarita was quite tasty. Had some great sounding specials. Will hit them up next time. Would definitely return with family, though often so much more fun with a friend & a margarita! read more

My go to place for mexican food. Its typical "Chicago" mexican fare done really well. Not expensive and quick. Their chips and salsa are fantastic and free, i order them to go almost every time. The chicken enchiladas with green sauce is my favorite but my fiancé thinks the stuffed poblano peppers are the best (chile rellenos). Never had a bad experience read more

This place is friendly and fantastic. The steak burrito is the best. I wish I could live here.

This place is awesome!!! I would recommend trying the poblano and cheese gordita and anything with their al pastor (after all, pineapples are yummy!!!) The only slight disappointment was the ceviche tostada. read more

nice, clean place. excellent service, and good food. GREAT horchata. but if you're going to put cheese sauce on my nachos, instead of grated cheese, please warn me first. mention it on the menu. I don't like cheese sauce. read more

Food is great. Salsa is flavorful. Service is quick. Workers are kind and polite. What more could you ask for.

We've eaten here about 20 times and we've enjoyed every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Attentive, friendly service and it is very family friendly restaurant but also a great place for a quiet meal. We've eaten at dozens of Mexican restaurants and this is among the best and the prices are great. read more

Chicken Milanesa is very good. Tortilla soup ok they cheat you on the tortilla chips. Ordered an Avocado torta I got 1/2 avocado and very little beans so really not a good torta, very disappointed. The owner is Italian such a nice and humble owner, he is always there. If you tell him areas that need improvement he will work on them. Over all food is good. Best place around in broadview. read more