Delicious food which started with two different types of salsa, one was fairly spicy and one was mild. Great options for vegetarians and a mezcal cocktail that was the perfect blend of smoky and sweet. Staff was extremely friendly, would most definitely eat here again. read more

Well, the good news is that the food here is tasty! I loved the large crispy tortillas and the vegetarian tacos were excellent- my whole group eats meat but the veggie combos sounded good and they didn't disappoint. The reason I gave it three stars is because this is definitely a 'gentrified tacos' kind of place. You know what I mean! $13 cocktails, three bite tacos for $5 a pop. Usually the trade off here is menu knowledge; I asked about an ingredient I'd never seen in a drink and got a shrug. The timing was off too because we got our appetizers before we had our drinks. I sat with empty cocktail and water glasses for half the meal and neither another drink or a refill was offered. I'm not super picky about service. As a service industry veteran, I get it. Every place has a different vibe. I wouldn't care whatsoever if the servers didn't know the menu or were halfhearted about refills if this was a lowkey taco place with prices to match but if you're going to charge the same prices as Big Star, I wish the service was a little more hands on. Another weird thing is that two ingredient cocktails are the same price tag as their craft drinks; my friend was charged $13 for a Bombay Sapphire and tonic which, to me, is a lot for a taco place in Ravenswood. Not a bad place but I'm not tripping over myself to return either. read more

I almost don't want to hype this place up because I want to have a table whenever I need it. Great quality place for tacos and margaritas with a nice selection of tequila and mezcal. I appreciate that they have a good selection of food but unlike most places it's not overwhelming. Also no one talks about this but I will- I LOVE A GOOD GARNISH and this place DELIVERS. No, not crazy like a tropical bar but legit. If you get the spicy mango margarita it comes with a hefty spiced mango slice. Only weird thing I noticed is that the pineapple guacamole tasted effervescent- not saying it's bad but it was a nice little surprise read more

Food and drinks were exceptional. Great playlist and transitions to relaxing Spanish tunes to awesome nightlife reggaeton! Interior design is that perfect combo of contemporary rustic as much of Ravenswood lofts look. Parking is easy especially if you arrive earlier in the day. Totally going back for their ceviche. Delicioso! read more

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Was recently introduced to this spot by a friend. Came in at peak time and was greeted warmly and sat immediately. Service was personable and very accommodating. Wonderful folks all around. The food was more than able to keep up with the quality of service. Tacos come out on handmade purple corn tortillas warm and with many great options. Sides were all great! Had the elotes and beans and plantains. All fantastic. Amazing mezcal list also, some real heaters on there. Served properly with orange with spice and crickets and spiced peanuts. They even had raicilla which was a nice surprise. Will 100% be visiting again. read more

Rojo Gusano - Mezcal, Sierra Negro - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What a delightful atmosphere and great staff. Margaritas were a little sweet, next time I would ask for no orange, but still very good. We had salsas which were just the right amount of spicy and fresh made chips. The burrito was excellent. It came pretty cut and delicious - solo on the plate but I didn't need anything else. Definitely going back! read more

Rojo Gusano - Steak Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Pros-cocktails, patio, friendly staff Cons-small portions and overpriced First visit...has a paloma, guac, elite, fish/shrimp/steak taco. All good but there was nothing to them. First stop and probably last. read more

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Rojo is an eclectic mix of modern fusion and classic Mexican fare. You can grab carne asada tacos and a Korean bbq rice bowl,with chop sticks, at the same sitting. Mix that with some avante garde jazz and you will find yourself in Rojo. The guacamole and plantains are top notch and the variety of tacos and flavors keep you trying to decide on which to order. Huge menu for those over 21 with just about every libation you can imagine. Staff is very attentive and quick on the orders. Food is fresh and hot. Decor is very kitschy and cool and resembles the menu (eclectic). It holiday lights meets nautical theme mixed with Mexican artistry. Priced right at around $60 - $80 per couple with appetizers and drinks. It's your GO TO when in the area read more

10 dollars for rice and beans? $15 dollars for tacos? $4 for chips and salsa? I guess no more car insurance for February

I've had a fair share of tacos in my life and have to say these were pretty good. My favorites were the pork belly and fried shrimp (a little more on the salty side). Also get the elotes!! The reasons why I docked stars were although the tacos were delicious, it was a bit small for the price. Also found service to be pretty slow despite the restaurant not being busy. They forgot a shrimp taco for me and didn't come out until the end of the meal. Our waiter was super sweet but the slow service got to me. read more

Food and drinks were ok. Service was very slow despite their being only 3 tables occupied. Meat was overcooked, which made it tough. Overall, ok place for a bite if in ther area. read more

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Rojo Gusano has potential. It was a very warm and inviting atmosphere, which we loved. However, everything we ordered was way under-seasoned, think zero salt, so the flavor did not pop. Also, the tacos were too tiny and simple to be charging $5 a piece. read more

This is a review for the pickup. They have a nice online ordering system where you can place your order and specify a pickup time. Could not order delivery as this place is too far from me. They have a nice patio for outdoor dining. They wipe down the tables and chairs and the tables are spaced apart. The waitstaff wears masks. We had a restaurant week taco deal consisting of three tacos (skirt steak), guac and churros. We also ordered a pork belly rice bowl and a separate prime rib taco. The pork belly rice bowl was really good. It comes with peppers, onions and plantains and works as a meal in itself. The sweetness of the plantains worked well with the rest of the dish. The guac was good too - it came with pico de gallo and chips. The tacos - they were fine, nothing special. I also could barely tell the difference between the skirt steak tacos and the prime rib taco. The churro - also nothing special. Not too sweet, came with taco dipping sauce. If they delivered to my area I would probably order again. read more

While the food itself is rather good (for what you get, and the only reason why this review is getting 2 stars) the place is extremely overpriced for very skimpy portions. Plus we had a really bad experience when a party of us were trying to settle our tab. There were 8 of us paying, and half of us had cash (the check was split up nicely by person). Gratuity was already added to the check and all the cash payers overpaid a by a few dollars on top of that. One of us in the group took the time (with a pen) and organized the rest of the payments for the manager who then took everything and then proceeded to take over 20 minutes to process our 4 credit cards at the end of the night when they were about to and then had the audacity to come back and say "It looks like I'm still missing $15 from you guys." (despite him having more than enough cash and not to mention 4 credit cards he was holding) BEEEE. ESSSSS. We were all dumbstruck but also dying to leave at that point so we just gave him what he wanted and left. That was either super shady, or he's too incompetent to run a restaurant. Either way this place is definitely not worth a second chance. read more

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the city. For one thing, the vegetarian options for tacos are more interesting, exciting, and delicious by a country mile than anything else. No boring "bean and cheese" or whatever. Squash and pepitas. The hongos. Mole cauliflower. The meat and fish options are also top notch. The mezcal drinks are amazing. Service is superb, and the location is really fun especially if you sit on the patio on Ravenswood Ave. read more

First time coming here and I'm so glad I finally made it. I live within walking distance to Rojo Gusano and I've always wanted to try it, but the location is a bit hidden away and unfortunately I tended to forget about it as an option. BUT now with most restaurants still being closed and me having time to walk around the neighborhood more, I couldn't help but notice Rojo's adorable patio and that they were open to customers dining in again. The way things are working at the moment is that you order all of your food at the register inside, you pay and then head outside with a number to your table. Your food and drinks are then brought out to you. The system worked efficiently and it was an easy process. The tables outside are well spaced out and I thought service was great. I was very pleased with my tacos-the flavor and the amount of meat they put in them helps to justify the price of 3-4 bucks per taco. My drink was tasty as well and very reasonably priced (under 10 bucks I believe). My partner had an al pastor burrito and he said it was really good, as well. We all finished with churros (which I've been craving so hard in quarantine). It even came with chocolate sauce for dipping! Overall, I had a great time at Rojo. The patio is cozy and it was relaxing to eat under the strings of lights off of a quiet neighborhood street. I will totally make coming here more of a regular thing! read more

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We stopped in here yesterday because we attended something else in the neighborhood and walked past. The service was good and the food was wonderful. The inside was really nice. Clean and cute. Good variety in the bar, not just tequila. We ordered mojitos and everything was mixed on the spot and the mint was fresh. The food was good and also very fresh. And the space was conversation friendly. read more

Nothing like this anywhere as far as I am aware! Super interesting menu items. And a load of mezcal choices. Some of the cocktails are served with grasshoppers which taste sort of like cashews. read more

Rojo Gusano - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Always great food and great service. It's our go to Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. Order the Carne Asada burrito!

This place is great. The food is phenomenal and the service is excellent. I feel like these tacos don't need a lot on them, they're so satisfyingly delicious. I do wish they were bigger lol but this is my new spot for sure. The shrimp tacos are probably my favorite next to chicken. I also had rice and churros from here and it was all so good. Id recommended trying it out, to each its own but I will be back. They also catered a work fundraiser and did amazing. I didn't hear a single complaint about the tacos that night. read more

I walked past this place and was intrigued Ambiance the decor was full of color. The presence of couches were a nice touch. Great place to have a lunch meeting or a casual dinner. Great paintings adorned the wall. Staff I came in during lunch which was slower than normal due to the cold weather. Staff was patient , accommodating and polite. Food I only ordered the Mango salad which was perfectly balanced with sweet & citrus elements. The mango was perfectly contrasted with a citrus element in the dressing. Cojita cheese was a good touch read more

Rojo Gusano - Mango Salas - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I really, truly, genuinely wish I could give Rojo Gusano more than two stars here. My 2nd star to them is well-deserved, as it's because their food is delicious. But I don't intend to dine here in person again. For context, I used to visit Rojo Gusano fairly frequently. But the past three times I've been, the wait time between ordering and getting served have been unusually and unbearably lengthy. I'm not ordering anything slow or off-menu anyway - usually it's tacos, quesadillas, burritos, etc. On my most recent visit, my party of four waited - I'm not exaggerating - two hours for our meals to come out. This is after (well past the 1-hour mark) we said something to the waitstaff and not one, not two, but three different restaurant employees told us that our meals would be out shortly. You would think that at least part of our bill would've been comp'ed - it wasn't. Speaking to the food itself, and if I haven't completely deterred you, then I absolutely love their Coliflor con Mole Taco, Hongos Taco, and Papa Gratin. (Pork belly is usually a favorite of mine, but I'm not a fan of their Pork Belly Taco.) You may arch your eyebrow at their guacamole containing pumpkin seeds and pineapple, but it's well worth it. That said, I'd try these as takeout rather than dine-in. Their cocktails are overpriced for what you get. read more

Cute neighborhood restaurant that looks like a Mexican restaurant and a tiki bar had offspring. Server was nice, but overworked so getting anything was a wait. Husband's and daughter's food came out, but my order was not entered - I asked about my food and the server apologized after checking and said he didn't out my food order in. He apologized profusely. Hubby offered to leave and I said I'd really like to get the meal I ordered - I was hungry. Few minutes later we got our bill, so i asked about my meal. (Maybe it was a separate order or it was being comped for the long wait.) Nope. Order wasn't put in. Ok then. Got to drive home hungry and eat leftovers. Husband and daughter liked their tacos, though. Small but tasty. read more

Terrible service. We had to go grab our own water pitchers and fill our glasses ourselves. Food was small portioned and made with little care. It's a Mexican place that doesn't know what a quesadilla is. Don't go here. read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Brunch option needs work. Hopefully it's just growing pains? $14 is steep for a mimosa anywhere in the vicinity, especially when it was obviously mostly OJ. Our meals were very tasty, but totally drowned in sauce. It felt like we were eating soup after 10 minutes or so. Could not finish. ($75). The space is lovely, and the servers were great. But, seriously, tweak that brunch offering, please! read more

Ravenswood is one of mine and my boyfriend's favorite streets in Chicago, and while driving we came upon this place. It's actually pretty small inside, we came at 6pm on a Saturday and it started getting packed around 7 . It was not what we expected. The restaurant is a big narrow rectangle. You walk in and are escorted to an open long narrow rectangular room with tables to seat 2-4 people. Our waitress,Ana, was awesome and fully explained our menu. She seemed really passionate about the food, which is a mix of Asian, Mexican, and Puerto Rican flavors. They are BYOY (for now), huge plus in my eyes! Anyways, we started with their elote style side. It was served in a small Chinese take out box and pretty decent. After, my boyfriend had the ceviche since I don't eat seafood. He said it was tangy like a sweet and sour sauce and very fresh but the portion was very tiny for the $9.50 that it costs. Seeing the size of the ceviche, we opted out of the guacamole. We ended with ordering 3 tacos each. I had the short braised rib, Korean, and pork belly,. From what I remember, the short rib was very tender, the Korean was my favorite, while the pork belly had a good heat to it and had a tang from the slaw. The pork belly was also very smokey FYI!!! I really enjoyed my tacos. My boyfriend, on the other hand had the al pastor pescado, the shrimp one, and the steak. He didn't enjoy his as much as I enjoyed mine. We both agreed that the portions were small. The ceviche was tiny and the tacos definitely smaller than normal size. In all, I thought the total price was decent, check came out to under $40 not including tip. I really enjoyed this place, but I would only consider coming back if they stay BYOB since you save money on bringing your own booze. Otherwise, the food portions are too small for the price. read more

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After attending an event where appetizers were only served and none that would go well with a vegetarian diet, decided to stop here , they definitely exceeded my expectations, will definitely return read more

Rojo Gusano - Veggie empanada, quesadilla and veggie taco - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The ambiance, service, tacos, margaritas, pineapple guacamole, and ceviche are very good. I wish they had a different band play... but overall good experience. read more

Good food, very nice staff. Dog friendly outside, there was live music when we came by which was really cool

SON OF A BEACH That's what I found myself saying - for the second time in two days - after our original restaurant turned us away due to electronic payment issues. So as LeAnn P and I once again found ourselves scrambling for an alternate dining choice, lo and behold we stumble upon this trendy Mexican cantina. Rojo Gusano touts themselves as having "beach inspired digs" (ahhh, there's the title tie-in!) and with all the surfboards, driftwood sculptures, and chill music, you'd be hard-pressed to disagree with them. The interior has appropriately dim lighting and tables spaced far apart, which sets the tone for a perfectly relaxing, romantic evening. When we stopped in, they hadn't yet acquired their alcohol license so they were operating on a BYOB basis. A quick trip to a nearby liquor store saw us with +2 bottles of tequila which we added to the margarita mixer provided by the restaurant. Hopefully their mixer was some top shelf sh*t, otherwise charging us $2.50/glass was egregious. Our server was nice but her heavy accent made communication somewhat difficult. On a few occasions, LP asked me "wait, what did she say?" to which I'd reply with a shrug. She did a good job overall. The food front was decent, but I've experienced better. Our ceviche starter ($9.50) was an ample serving of octopus and shrimp with red onion, cilantro, and toasted corn in an aji amarillo-tamarind leche de tigre (citrus-based marinade). It was tasty, though I typically prefer the whitefish variation of ceviche due to its milder, less fishy flavor. LP got a pair of the house tacos, specifically the chicken tinga and the arrachera (steak). The former came with crema, farmer's cheese, radish, and chiles while the latter came with relish, onions, and morita salsa. Tacos are either $2.95 or $3.75 depending on the choice of meat, and you have a dozen to choose from at Rojo Gusano. I settled on the queso fundido ($7) which was melted deliciousness consisting of oaxacan & asadero cheeses, topped with pumpkin seeds, chorizo, and served with tortillas. It got congealed pretty quickly but at that point my tequila-to-blood alcohol ratio meant I stopped caring about tastes, textures, or temperatures. The highlight of the meal was easily the ESQUITES ($3.50), served in a delightful takeout container. I didn't realize this at first, but 'esquites' = 'elotes', which I know (and love) as fully loaded Mexican corn. Rojo Gusano's version has sweet corn, cotija queso, lime-mayo and piquin chile powder arranged in sort of a 4-layer salad. Bread = 4 Circuses = 3.5 Maya del Sol in Oak Park still has the best 'nuevo Latino' food I've ever had, followed by Del Toro in Pilsen. But Rojo Gusano makes a strong case to be included on that list, and I for one would like to return again (if for no other reason than to re-live that splendid 'esquites' dish). RG has some great things going for it, not the least of which is their nicely laid back atmosphere. The music and lighting is totally zen; I do appreciate the ambiance they're trying to cultivate here. Oh, and never forget that life's a beach......minus the sand in your asscrack. read more

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Great new addition to Ravenswood! The space is actually pretty large! Tons of indoor seating, as well as a patio for warm days. Service was superb; everyone was attentive, informative and cheerful. (Shoutout to Vivi!) My BF and I decided to split the "Chef's Selection," which is a combo of salsas, tacos and sides for $27. Salsa: actually, it was guacamole and "chips" aka tostadas. The guacamole had big chunks of avocado, which I love, but was missing a little salt. Sides: -Elote: perfect buttery, cheesy mess -Sweet plantains: quite possibly my favorite dish of the night -Tamale: the masa was SO DRY, and there was barely any filling; the only miss of the night -Empanada: this was given to us by accident, but we ate it up. Big chunks of shrimp and delicious pastry. Tacos: -Arrachera: I'm a total sucker for arrachera. This was phenomenal. My fave taco. -Korean BBQ Beef: Very authentic Korean flavors. My BF's fave taco. -Chicken Tinga: Shredded chicken. Slightly dry, but the leftover guac from our salsa round was perfect here -Pork Adobo: Neither of us cared for this one... it wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special. -Spicy Chorizo: Not like your typical chorizo. This was only slightly spicy, but very flavorful. -Braised ShortRib: A close 2nd fave for both of us Dessert: churros! These were overpriced at $7, but they were so, SO good. Perfectly doughy, and both the raspberry and chocolate sauces complimented it amazingly. I'm not sure which I preferred because both were great. We walked out of there STUFFED even though we didn't even finish everything. Totally worth the money. We will be returning very soon. :) read more

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Very friendly staff, nice warm room, great tasting food; big drink that went down quickly....

Guacamole with pineapples was amazing; didn't love the live jazz band playing. Drinks were great too! Tacos felt a little lackluster in flavor. read more

I have been here twice now. Once when they initially opened up and had no liquor license yet and then more recently. On my recent visit three of us wanted some margaritas. As most reviewers mentioned the space is nicely done. There's outside seating. It is located on Ravenswood across from where the Metra rail runs and within close distance of businesses, small factories, distilleries,etc. The night we went there were only a few additional patrons, it was mostly empty. The waitress was nice, but service was on the slow side given the restaurant was almost empty. In addition portion size is too small. The salsa is tiny as is the guac. We had to ask several times to get more chips. The tacos are good but for the price points I expect bigger portion sizes. When we got the bill it added up to more than we thought it would. Overall too expensive for what it is and its location. read more

Amazing food and drinks! Get the ceviche! We had 6 different tacos they were all amazing the best were the mushroom, pork belly, Korean bbq & the fish taco! I've never had a mezcal margarita and it was perfect not too sweet and I could still task the mezcal. Call to make a reservation they'll find you a table :) read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Delish tacos and drinks. The food was delivered quick but the tables were sort of sticky - they said it was the paint. Though I trust the staff, I think it would be better if they did another coat of some other type of paint. The place is definitely worth visiting. read more

This was a nice little hidden Mexican restaurant not far from the Dovetail and Begyle Breweries. The prices were $4 a taco, which I found about a dollar too steep, however, the authenticity, clean new cutlery, ambience and presentation of the tacos in a blue corn tortilla allowed me to overlook the price. I had two carneasada tacos and one al pastor. Both were really good, and reminded me of the tacos I used to have at home in the Southwest. The chips and salsa were really good as well. You can tell that the chips were the homemade kind that you can usually only buy in a Mexican market, and the two kinds of salsa were flavorful, with a nice bite to them, but not too spicy. The peppery, earth taste of the green salsa was particularly good, but the bite the habenero salsa had was something that you could put on your taco with a splash of lime. Delish! I recommend accompanying it with a nice cold Modelo or one of the Gin-Jamaica cocktails that they offer which also was refreshing. I did not get to try any of the Tequila or Mezcal cocktails. Next time, perhaps. The interior is minimalist post-industrial with colorful Mexican furniture and art on the walls. They played a lot of Mexican alternative rock music from the 80's, 90's, and early 00's which set a unique vibe as opposed to the ranchera or Norteno music one often hears in traditional Mexican restaurants or take out places. A little pricy, but well worth it for the authenticity, location, and vibe. read more

A great little taco spot hidden on ravenswood. Super cute interior and a great little patio space out front. The food is made fresh and has great flavor. The food is awesome but the service is a little slow. I think it may have to do with the Covid employment challenges so we understand, but just don't expect to pop in for some quick tacos. read more

Rojo Gusano - Fish taco Daily Empanada Al pastor - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What's not to like? Margaritas, first rate. Tacos (garlic shrimp, pork belly, fish) were spot-on. Guacamole and empanadas, really nice. Friendly, attentive service. Definitely will go back. read more

This place knows what hospitality means; great service & food. My wife, my 19 months old daughter & myself went for dinner tonight & we were impressed with their great service. Their food is so flavorful & fun in our mouth. Our daughter who has been in several high end restaurants in the last 9 months, she loved their tacos meat & had fun with our server Valeria. Thanks Rojo Gusano, we are coming back for your coming up event Mezcal vs tequila. We can't just wait, my wife is not the biggest fan of Mezcal, however, I'm pretty sure she will love this event, hoping you can play some salsa music in you playlist that night, we might dance that night there. read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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