El Paisano Taqueria Review not the attached market:…read more This gets five stars because as the California native Mexican, my biggest fear was no tacos. Thankfully, this gem gets me by. I'm addicted. It's the best in Souther Illinois I've experienced. I would not drive to Cobden for Taqueria Pequena ever again as I was severely underwhelmed. They have great prices, multiple options, and honestly, the 1.99 margarita deal is great. The chips and salsa are flavorful and sometimes I get full on that before I even get my food. I recommend the steak and al pastor tacos. But give other things a whirl too.

The food and service was really good. The server…read morerecommended the frozen mango margarita and it was tasty. They offer a number fruit options. My entree was good and it was so much meat. The shrimp was one of favs but all of it was flavorful. I would go back if I'm in Carbondale.

An unassuming little eatery at the back of a Mexican grocery store. Dona Camila means showings of…read morerespect to the owner Camila. She took care of the entire store and restaurant all by herself. The restaurant is very tiny, but the food is delish. The restaurant was empty when I arrived at 1pm. She put on the Mexican music when I arrive. Service is fast. The owner explained the menu and provided good recommendations. I tried 4 tacos of different meat: birria, lengua, steak and carnitas. All are served with onions and lime. I love birria and lengua the most, followed by carnitas. I picked an authentic Mexican soda from their fridge. I love all the drink options available.

Checked out this Mexican cafe and grocery store in Carbondale. Dona Camila looks like it wouldn't…read morebe a good place to eat to be honest. It looks like a simple family owned grocery store. However in the back there's a dining area. They make tacos and tortas. After looking around a bit we found where to order at. It's got a window in the back. There's a small menu of a few authentic Mexican items and the choices of protein. Mostly it's tacos of course. These are pretty easy to make. It's $4 each. Protein choices include beef, chicken, or get beans and vegetables. Got us a couple of tacos with the beans. These were topped with cilantro and onions. Small but full of flavor. The store has drinks such as Jarritos, and you can get big ass cans of beans so you can make tacos for later. Good place to get authentic Mexican food. It's located on West Jackson Street at Illinois Avenue in a building that looks unassuming from outside. There's taqueria is located in the back, and you order at the window.

Let's start with the chips and salsa, standard free appetizer fare at every Mexican restaurant in…read moreAmerica. These chips are fresh and crunchy and amazing. So good in fact that I needed to ask, "are these made fresh?" They are and the difference is noticeable. The salsa fresca is awesome. If you're brain washed into thinking that thin flaky chips and thick pasty salsa is good, you're in for a shock. After lunch, my wife and I went back for dinner because of the chips and salsa. Other bonuses: The margaritas were good. Strong. A** kickingly strong. The food was tasty, but I don't know if it was exceptional. The service was a little slow. I wish they brought more than 2 flour tortillas per meal. Candidly, the chips and salsa are so good that everything else came in second.

The issue with this place is that they don't know anything about the cheese dip being liquid we…read moreordered a bean dip it's not like what you find in the south. It's not that good soupy goo. If you stick your spoon in their bean dip the cheese will come out like strings of mozzarella. There should be no stringiness in the cheese on the bean dip. I'm quite serious about this. In California and out west all you find is the mozzarella stuff. That is the same for this Mexican restaurant. I promise you want the liquid not the stringy stuff. It was fine otherwise. I don't think I'll come back to this location.

BEWARE HIDDEN BACON! I ordered a Hawaiian quesadilla, described on the menu as: Grilled chicken,…read moresteak, pineapple, and cheese. Cooked with bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and guacamole, with cheese sauce on top. Nowhere did it mention pieces of bacon in the meat mix. I asked the server if I'd misread the menu. After consulting a guy in Spanish, she said "sorry" and sent it to be fixed. The "new" plate looked no different. I spent a few minutes weeding out more chunks of bacon. She stopped to ask us (4 in party) if everything was good. I told her NO! Still have bacon in my dish! Pointed out that 2 of the others asked for changes; no sour cream on the taco salad & no mushrooms on the veggie quesadilla. Neither request was honored. I eat KOSHER, so no pork! To have it HIDDEN in the dish is offensive. She asked if I'd like something different. I told her I don't trust you anymore. No one item on their menu lists bacon. What about someone with ALLERGIES? Other than saying "sorry" repeatedly, she did nothing to improve the situation. No apologies to the others for her mistakes. No discounts. She did remove my dish from the bill. I still paid for my Pepsi. I should have taken pictures of the pork-fest and asked for the manager but didn't think of that until later. I did leave her a tip 2 cents!

Absolutely worth it! The birria pizza is huge, packed with flavor, and every bite is delicious. The…read moremeat is tender, the cheese is perfectly melted, and the flavors are bold without being overwhelming. You definitely get your money's worth--the portion size alone makes it more than worth the price. Everything tasted fresh, well-seasoned, and made with care. If you're a fan of birria or just want to try something different, this is a must-order. We'll definitely be back!

By far the cleanest Mexican restaurant I've been to in Carbondale. Margaritas for a dollar that are…read moreactually good. Very friendly service. This will be my go to Mexican restaurant from now on. I've been to all of them in town and this is the cleanest, friendliest, and best priced. Keep in mind this is typical tex-mex, americanized Mexican food. It gets a four instead of a five because in my opinion a five is reserved for legendary destinations.

My partner and I did a little tour of Carbondale to relive our our college days and we were excited…read moreto go tres. We were shocked when we looked at the menu and there was just fajitas and nacho chips with cheese dip and guacamole, but we're told this place is no longer a Mexican restaurant.. I don't know what to say about that considering the history, the name, and now it's a sports bar? I don't know. I think they're having an identity crisis. We're really sad and ended up going to quatras for pizza to at least get a little bit of food and added nostalgia.

I went in a few months ago on ST Patrick's day with my fiancé. We were looking for a sit down…read moreMexican place and all the pictures looked so good! We showed our server a picture of what we wanted from their reviews. Turns out they didn't serve ANY Mexican food anymore. Our server said "we have queso and fried jalapeños!" Who wants that when they are looking for food... especially actual Mexican food... she definitely saw we were disappointed and barely helped us after that. After paying we left and got don taco.

The nachos are to die for! All the toppings you want mango salsa, black olives, Queso, jalapeños…read moreand more. Open late, affordable, right down from SIU. Would definitely return to this joint.

Beard hair INSIDE the burrito and the loser at the register wants to argue instead of refunding me…read more Never eat here unless you like hair in your food. Insane way to run a restaurant.

Checked out this fast food Mexican restaurant in Carbondale. Don Taco is better than it looks. It…read morecertainly is better than Taco Bell and that kind of shit. Has a lot of good values in the combo meals. They of course have tacos, along with burritos and nachos. Basically this is order at the counter fast food. It's got a pretty good size dining area so there's plenty of seating. This also boasts of being the only fast food restaurant with outdoor seating in town. Either way it's pretty good for the cost. This gives you a lot for not a lot. It's about $12 for the Tacos Combo. This also includes the vegetarian tacos. Comes with a drink and tortilla chips. The hot salsas gave it most of the flavor to be honest. Good place if looking for some basic Mexican American food. It's located on East Grand Avenue at Wall Street. There's plenty of choices for both meat eaters and vegetarians.

Ordered 2 beef tacos. Said 2 beef tacos. Receive my food and get handed 2 chicken tacos. Their…read morepolicy said I had to reorder and pay for (another $9) the 2 tacos I actually wanted. First time in years I've ever had a problem here. I get they are open late and get their fair share of obnoxious drunks demanding to remake messed up food to adopt such a ridiculous policy as to "get what you get" not on us but you as the customer to make sure you spell it out for them and reread the tiny screen in front of the register to confirm it's correct... on a slow Monday afternoon the manager can't do anything for me but charge me more for the food I wanted from the get go. All in all, 2 stars for great food but the poorest of customer service I've ever received in my life! Not sure how long it'll take me to go back

Killer burgers (and other food) in the most classic Carbondale bar! The super crispy smash burgers…read moreare some of the tastiest I've ever had. PK's is rockin' these days - proper updates, nice and clean, great entertainment, real people, reasonable prices, real fun!

For sure this is one of the legendary places in Carbondale. It has been a long time favorite for…read morecheap drinks, food, and music. PK's is popular with both locals and students. A surprisingly good amount of stuff on the menu including plant based. This place may be a dive, but it's better than it looks. A lot of history in this bar. It's known for the cheap ass happy hours. There's also the cheap ass weekly specials. Be sure to check out the list in the bathroom. It's $2 for whiskey on Wednesdays. Among the many cheap drinks. Burgers are most popular among the food options. The food menu also has a lot for vegans. It's $6 for the Impossible Chicken. This comes on a bun topped with lettuce, onions, and pickles. Has to be one of the places you go to when visiting this college town to check out the local flavor. It's on Illinois Avenue at Walnut Street. There's lots to get for meat eaters such as burgers, and there's also healthier options, including many things for vegans and vegetarians.

Great pizza, crispy edge deep pan pizzas, the sausage and beef are premium tasting, along with the…read morecheese and crust/sauce, one of my favorite places to go. Service is always quick and friendly, remodel of the gift shop is really cute and the extra seating is nice.

Quatro's is a Carbondale staple. Very well known for amazing pizza, but don't sleep on the…read moresandwiches and salads too! Their ranch dressing has to be homemade, and it's to die for. On the most recent visit we stopped in for lunch, after a golf tournament. They were busy, but you are always seated quickly, and receive fast, friendly service. Most of the employees are students, and they do a great job. We had salads, and split some garlic cheese bread with red sauce. Everything was delicious!