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 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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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

They have outdoor seating which is a big plus during this pandemic. We loved this cute lil place with amazing food and music. A lot of people have already written reviews on the tacos so I want to talk about this beautiful salad. I've always hated beets but this salad just made me change my opinion. This beet citrus salad is a must try! read more

Rojo Gusano - a person dipping a tortilla into a bowl of guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've been here 3-4 times over the last year and I don't know if it was due to Covid or just non busy season, but always had great food and service. I don't leave many reviews, probably 5 over the last 5 years, but the service wee terrible this evening. Like one of the worse places I have eaten at in the last 6 months. It took 2 minutes for them I sit me, then 25 minutes to even get a glass or water. From then on, if I wanted anything, I had to get up out of my seat to find my waiter to order. Literally one of THE WORSE service dinners I have had in the last couple years. I will have recommended this place in the past, but I will NOT be coming back for the foreseeable future. Waiter gave very little care as well. SMH. read more

Good good, fun ambience. The amazing menu is easy to pick and choose different items to explore.

Sit outside and enjoy a Mezcalita while the sun is still out. The adorable patio seating abuts the sidewalk allowing for ample people watching while enjoying a cool drink. While the tangy lime was certainly refreshing, the Mezcalita lacked quite as much smoke as we were hoping for. Similarly, the Pastor empanadas fell short of our expectations, with larger cuts of meat than anticipated, and a less than stellar sauce. As refreshing as the elotes was, it didn't bring it all together. Overall a nice experience on a great day, but not the best aroundo read more

Very nice inside and a western exposure patio. I am assuming it could be a little loud when the trains go by. Food was very tasty, high quality, and good portion size. Having a beer while my takeout order was prepared delightful. Didn't even finish the beer before the order was ready. Waiter/Host very nice and knowledgeable. read more

FANTASTIC food and service!! Such a good vibe on the patio, very friendly waitress, and very well-priced pitchers and tacos! Since it's on Ravenswood blvd the patio is a little quieter and more peaceful than other patios in the area. I'll be back here any chance I get! Felt like a little oasis in the city. read more

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

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Food was up to my expectations. However, service could've had been more attentive considering there wasn't as many clients read more

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Absolutely love this place. It's a hidden gem. Excellent cocktails and food. Highly recommend

The service and ambiance are great! The food is good, but not for me as I prefer more authentic flavors vs fusion. My friends loved the food thoug. read more

I had placed an order for pickup. Portion very small for what you paid for compared to other Mexican restaurants. Also, only single tortilla for tacos so each taco was falling apart and watery. They should use two tortillas per taco. The place was empty on a Saturday night. I had high hopes for this place but will sadly not be returning again. read more

Amazing food, service and atmosphere! Friends took us here while we were in town and I know why it is their favorite local restaurant. Will definitely be going here again next time we are in Chicago. read more

This place has a food ambience but the service was bad. Our drinks took about the same amount of time. The table behind us got here an hour after us and there food came out before our food did. Our meal took about an hour to come out. This is by far the worst service I have received. Have your manager send me a message. Please hire people that can be organized and attend people correctly and in the amount of time a person us in the restaurant read more

My husband and I have tried to go here three times in the last month and a half, all on different days, and each time... the restaurant was closed. The restaurant needs to update it's times on yelp and on their website. I'm very disappointed! read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Pros: Great outdoor seating with concerts on Thursday, fabulous strong cocktails, friendly staff, corn (elote) was fantastic. Definitely some great creative menu options at first glance. Cons: I think even from a non-American point of view, the tacos and empanadas are WAY too small for the price. I'm not usually one to complain about portion sizes either, especially at a place where I know they're going for a more upscale vibe. I also didn't think the uncut tortillas chips were great either. If you're going for small portions, at least have the quality be fantastic! Chicago is a city with fantastic Mexican food options of all kinds and price ranges and unfortunately this place didn't bring it. I would recommend coming here for just drinks and the outdoor seating. read more

We had a birthday dinner and we pretty much tried all the cocktail and mocktails on their menu, taking full advantage of the freedom of wanting to experience good drinks. This restaurant is the best example of doing productive living by enjoying their food and their drinks. read more

I came here for first time last Friday, I just loved just about everything & believe me, I can be a bee och! The watermelon margarita was sensational. The mushroom tacos & the skirt stake tacos were very tasty. We tried 2 of the salsas, Arbol , amazing. In a long warehouse, outdoor seating that is dog friendly! A couple played the guitar & a violin. Pretty amazing! read more

Wait staff is amazing, food is fantastic, not tons of options but what they do have is delicious. Have only been twice and plan on going again! read more

We went back, and everything that has already been said in previous reviews happened to us. I won't write a novella to reiterate what's already been said, but I can't decide if the worst part of the night was when the waitress admitted (unapologetically 30 minutes after we ordered our food) that she lost our ticket or if it was when we thought the manager was giving us a round of drinks to say sorry but then tried to add them to the bill before we left. There's so much wrong with what happened last night, but it's clear that this place is run by an incompetent family unit that refuses to take responsibility for anything. All of us can't wait to see what this place becomes next! It's a shame though because the food is good. Maybe be better. Or don't. I don't care- that's their attitude right? read more

Excellent flavors all around; reasonable prices; friendly service--the owner's daughter is a server there and she acknowledged us coming in a few times. Presentation is like a four star restaurant with only a $ price tag. We've tried almost everything on the menu during several visits and we've never had any leftovers!!! They advertise Saturday brunch, but we're closed when we tried to swing by at noon a few Saturdays ago; need to update dates/times on Facebook/website/etc for consistency. read more

Rojo Gusano - Taco-side menu....much more in the other side. BYOB! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Food and drinks were very good. Nice decor and music. However, when it's 90° outside, turn on the A/C. Sweating during a meal makes it much less enjoyable. read more

Was in the area and thought we'd stop for a quick bite. Drove past here and thought it looked inviting. Saturday night 10pm - live music good atmosphere. It's a nice place. Medium sized, nice decor. Cocktails tasted watery, tacos were decent - shells looked "home made", but a little on the small side. Guacamole was tasty but really small - probably 1/4 of an avocado in it. Had to get napkins off an adjacent table and silverware too. May be good for the area but when you're used to big star or taco joint.... read more

Delicious food menu, the tacos & spicy pumpkin seed guac are *chef's kiss* ...the decor, ambiance and overall vibe of the place are wonderful. Very aesthetically pleasing and tasty cocktail options too. I drove past this place on Ravenswood countless times and finally decided to stop in one day. So glad we did as it's become a go-to spot for me now. The staff was lovely as well. Highly recommend! read more

Food was excellent! I cannot wait to come back when the patio is open. The service was great, very friendly. It's a casual vibe and great for date night and is sure to satisfy your cravings for Mexican food. I had the pico de Gallo guacamole, cremosa salsa and the short rib and cauliflower tacos which were all ON POINT. Very satisfied and happy to have checked out this new spot in the neighborhood. read more

First time here. Love the atmosphere and the outside seating was perfect. Finally a restaurant not taking short cuts. The food was fresh and flavorful, the shrimp on our salad was a generous portion and the service was great. We will back for sure. read more

We ordered via Doordash, and were given an estimated delivery time of an hour. About 45 minutes into our wait, and after our card was charged, we receive a notification from Doordash that the restaurant has cancelled our order. The reason given via email was "the restaurant is now closed." We got this notification at 5:45- which makes zero sense. Did you close at 5:45? Did you not realize when our order got to you 45 minutes prior you couldn't make it? We will not be returning in person once able or ordering again. read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Just a perfect experience. The location is tucked away on Ravenswood and the interior is attractive. The service was fabulous. The food is served in small doses, which is great because you get to try so much more that way. I wanted to have one of everything on the menu, but that would be rude...and gastrointestinal suicide. Something that really solidified this as a memorable experience, though, and makes me want to go back again even more was the musical act they had: a violin-and-guitar duo that played a brilliant mix of music that was the perfect accoutrement to the ambiance. That was the coup de grace for the evening for me. Looking forward to more of those delicious fish tacos. read more

Wanted to support the local business, but experienced the worst service. Waited more than an hour for a pickup. They kept saying that our order was being prepared. After an hour, they said that our order was canceled. So unprofessional to keep us waiting when they were not preparing our food. Will not order from them again. Will see whether they refund our money. read more

Great spot. Noticed the place a while back walking back from Band of Bohemia. GF and I must have tried 4 different tacos and all of the Guac options and the Salsa options. The Guacs and Salsas were really good. Could use a few more chips (taco tortillas) for the amount of the sause/guac that is given. If you do not get anything else, get the mixed mushrooms tacos, they are THE BEST! The Churros with the sauce were pretty darn good too (really sweet though). The servers may have some problems with your order as English may not be their first language. Possibly the reason why one of the tacos we received was not what we ordered and the side of black beans never came. Make sure to stay on top of that. The decor is a little confused but there is so much one can do with the space. They are still BYOB waiting for a liquor licence I believe so bring your own drinks. The tacos are really small for their price, so just be aware that you are unlikely to share (no more than 2 bites). The prices are also quite steep (comparable to tapas places in River North). read more

Rojo Gusano - Churro with rasberry sauce....yumm - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I think the place is beautifully decorated. It reminds you of an island breeze or maybe Cuba or the Philippines with the elder lady smokin a spiff & the plants. If you like picture ops this is a def place to go too! Aside from that, they have a very tight happy hour menu consisting of only two drinks (margarita house and mojito) and two dollar mini tacos. I didn't taste any flavor on our tacos (cauliflower, chicken tings and cohinita- pork) and these are the only three happy hour priced one. I hope in the summer tho they have a better menu option! Also, they are the only "Mexican" restaurant that don't offer chips & salsa! But I really don't know how authentic this place is with the Asian fortune cookies. read more

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

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This is the newest and the third branch of ROJO GUSANO. Food is always exceptional! Guacamole, salsa, taco and their rice bowls are superb. Tacos are hand made and authentic. At the moment they are BYOB, and the parking is very easy. They have patio seating too, so enjoy while the weather is nice. read more

Rojo Gusano - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This was our first time visiting Rojo Gusano. Cute little date night spot tucked away in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. Food 4/5- The tacos here were really good! Highly recommend the Arrachera (skirt steak) taco. Also tried the Baja Fish taco & Korean Bbq taco. Tacos ranged $3-5 each for a street taco size, however the protein size was generous! Drinks 3/5- I tried the Mezcalita and my husband tried the Paloma. Personally, I've had better mezcal drinks at other places, but I like really smokey-bitter drinks. This one was a much more mild mezcal drink than others I've tried. However the Tajin rim was delicious! Atmosphere 5/5 - Loved the atmosphere! Very bohemian-chic, lots of large artwork, & beautiful Edison light bulb lighting fixtures. Almost appeared as if this restaurant belonged in Wicker Park, West Loop/Fulton Market area. Also, there was an amazing guitar/violin couple duo. They started close to when we were leaving unfortunately, would love to see them again! Service 5/5 - Our server was very helpful to our allergen related questions, and very prompt with service and refilling water! Allergen-Friendly - The menu isn't labeled with gluten free or dairy free items, but the tacos all come with corn tortillas. Overall would definitely recommend! Try to come on a Friday for the live music after 7:30ish (not sure if it's every Friday). We came in the winter but the outdoor patio looked like it would be lovely in the summer! read more

Guys, the formula is simple: Good service. Stiff drinks. Decent Food (doesn't even need to be that good). Service: Failed. Complained about our drink and still had the charge on the tab, checked with the waitress and was told they couldn't remove it off the tab because they needed some kind of a card (??). Manager never showed his/her face. Didn't replace the drink neither offered a solution. Stiff drinks: Failed miserably. Didn't taste the alcohol whatsoever. It was like drinking sweet juice for $11!!! Decent Food: Tacos were good and flavorful, small portions. Guac trio needs a looot more seasoning and flavor. read more

This place is good. I can't give it a 3 and I can't give it a 4, but I stuck with a 3, even though 3.5 sounds more like it. The food is good, the drinks are fresh. They also had a really good live band playing inside. I would not come here on an empty stomach. I think you pay too much for the portion size. But the quality is definitely there. The location is nice and quiet until you have some jag flooring it down Ravenswood. I would be back but I definitely would have a meal beforehand. read more

Rojo Gusano - Chorizo taco and fish taco - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Atmosphere: 4/5 Very trendy, well decorated restaurant. My date for the night said it felt like they were trying too hard to be trendy, but I liked the decor. No live music as it was a Wednesday night, but they had the speakers going with a music selection that was more distracting than anything. Service: 4/5 Only had one server. She was nice. Took her a while to come over initially. Again, it was a Wednesday night. Food: 9/10 Taco's were delicious. They're a little small but every bite was amazing. I had the Korean BBQ and the Calamar. Both were great! We also had chips and guac, which was average, with nice plating, but extremely small portions again. I also had a Mezcalita, which was pretty good. Value: 2/5 The food was all delicious. Some of the best tacos you'll eat, but for $5 the tacos are very small. There was hardly any guac, so the aesthetic plating was more annoying than appealing. Overall (3.8/5) this place is trendy, a little try hard, with small portions. They make up for it with delicious tacos. I will probably stick with my go-to local taco spot in the future. Not a bad date spot. read more

I shared this experience privately on FB to them as message, which was read but which prompted zero response. Also posted this story on their wall this morning. My family went to the new location on Ravenswood last night. We've been to the Lawrence location before and are fans. When we asked about the specials (there were two conflicting deals with the happy hour pricing and the free tacos), and our waitress was confused. She did say that they couldn't be combined, which we said we understood. After a good meal (although the rest of my family was served fairly quickly, my own 3 tacos took well over 30 minutes, with the waitress coming back to apologize literally 3 times and blamed it in part on the system recognizing the pricing) and even some discussion of hosting a school event there, we got the check. As I said we didn't expect to combine the deals, which (and call me crazy) I assume are designed to entire guests and not alienate them, three free tacos were indicated and the rest were all charged full price. When my wife went up to ask if they could please ring it up the other way, with nothing free but everything priced at the regular Mon-Thurs 5-7pm rate, she was berated. With everything the disparity was significant. As always the food was great, and despite the rough service in actually getting the food to the table, we were pretty happy until this pretty shabby service both at the time and in response to some messaging later. Right now with so many other fantastic options, we will probably steer clear and I'd recommend others do the same. read more

The food here is delicious, however the service was confusing. Also, it was very overpriced for the amount of food you are given. I came here in early fall and it was beautiful enough to sit on the patio. When I came to the host stand there was already a queue of people waiting to be seated but only a few tables inside were occupied. The patio outside there were about two free tables. When I told them I wanted an outside seat they said here would be wait. It was fine since we brought our dog and really had no choice but to wait. As we were waiting a different waitress comes by and asks if we've been helped. We tell her we're waiting on an outside table and she sees there are the two free tables and seats us right away. Once seated she tells us another server is going to help us. We order the cremosa, three tacos, queso fundito, and a cocktail which came out to almost $40. Mind you, the cremosa was ridiculously small but a bunch of chips. You end up with more chips than dip. Also, it's something that could've been served as 'free bread' before a meal. Lastly, the cremosa was very bland. The avocados really drowned out all the flavor. While the tacos were delicious I felt they were really meager considering the price for each taco. During our meal nobody really checked on us until we were ready for our checks. We had to flag down another server since we couldn't find our server. I think this place has a lot of potential, the food is there but delivery could use a little work. read more

Mixed feelings. Pretty sure I awarded the Lawrence location 5-stars, but the Ravenswood spot needs some buttoning up. Service - spotty. Server missed part of an order and forgot a drink. Ambiance - really well done. The interior is beautiful, though the tables are so close together you actually have to squeeze into your table so someone behind you can get into theirs. The volume of patrons hardly warrants the amount of tables. Food - good, but portioned small, and not particularly hot or fresh feeling on this night. Last, there was a Flamenco "troop" performing in the restaurant. I say troop as it was literally a dozen people, some playing guitars, others with percussion, and about six dancers. The dancing was fun to watch and very interesting, but the music was pretty loud and didn't always seem very well rehearsed. Moments felt like we were watching them practice. It became hard to hear conversation at the table it was getting so loud. I hate having that feeling of "I'm ready to leave" during a dining experience. Like I said, mixed feelings. read more