I visited UH about a month ago. The food had drastically changed. It was carry out enchiladas dinners. The enchiladas were much smaller and were not seasoned well. They started adding some sort of lettuce/tomato garnish to fill in the gap for the smaller enchiladas. They gave us a separate container for the rice and it was very small. Not sure if it was meant to be for one or two servings but it was super small. This use to be my favorite Mexican restaurant. I may give them one more chance but if it's the same I won't be going back. Also the front desk girls who go back to get the meals are different and have no customer service skills. Not friendly at all. Are they under ownership or management? read more

The restaurant was clean and looked very nice. My server was phenomenal; however, my food wasn't. My chips were extremely greasy, all of them. I thought maybe down toward the bottom it would be better but it wasn't. They looked wet the entire time. The salsa was good though. I used it to try to make my bowl taste better. I ordered the steak bowl for my meal. There was WAY more fat and gristle than there was steak. It made me gag a couple of times and I had to spit it out. It was really disappointing and I had to pick around most of it and just eat the vegetarian portion, or try to cut some steak off the fat/gristle. I ate less than half and didn't even want to take the rest home with me. To be honest, I really wished I would have gone to Chipotle instead. read more

We went here to celebrate my daughters 5th birthday and left disappointed. We made a reservation and were promptly seated. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and was clean. Our server came fairly quickly to take our drink order, the margaritas were delicious. But then things went down hill after that. Our table side Gauc lacked flavor and was very bland. Our chicken fajitas were pink on the inside and when we told our server he removed them and didn't say anything, which left us all confused to what he was going to do or day. At this point, we didn't want a replacement. I saw the manager on my way to the bathroom and told her to remove them. My fish tacos had a strong fish flavor and would not recommend them. Our server was nice however was not super attentive. My daughter spilled a cup of water and I cleaned it up but he did not remove the rags nor brought us new ones. When the manager came by ( before the raw chicken) she noticed them and removed them. Our waters were also never once refilled. We ordered the chocolate piñata and were hoping a birthday message would be written on the plate however, it was not, even after telling the host and our server. This was fun and delicious. So after my experience I would recommend to skip dinner and do drinks and dessert. read more

No longer have steak nachos, the chips were thin & greasy, we had one each of the steak & chicken fajitas & the meat was poor quality. The Chilli con queso dip was like cheese out of a can, the beans and rice inedible. The waiter brought 3 tortillas for two people, no plates, no straws, & the service was rushed including not cleaning up, but then asking if we wanted desert while still eating and giving us the bill while still eating. Shall I go on? Not a good experience. we've eaten at the one in Vernon hills and it's quite a bit better. Sorry to write this but we felt cheated. read more

If you like to wait a long time to be greeted and pay for overpriced luke warm food this is the place to come. If you like dirty dishes sitting on the bench next to you while you eat your over priced food then I would recommend Uncle Julio's. The food was average and the service was below average. read more

Uncle Julio's - Dirty dishes that sat on the bench the entire time we are. - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

Very disappointing post Covid. The servers were spread very thin, our server had 26 people to take care of. He said at 3 pm only 4 servers on. Yet hostess station had 4 people standing there. Vicente, our server was trying very hard and was very polite.The kitchen was not able to deliver food together. My wife's salad came 5+ minutes after my Carne Asada. The table next to us had to send four dishes back because of mistakes made by the kitchen. The sign on the front door says help wanted...translation: we are having major issues. Food was good (except for cold flour tortillas) but not worth $80 with tip, without alcohol or dessert. Ice Tea is $3.00. Won't be coming back for a while. read more

Food was great, service was great. So down to details. We tried one night last week to eat here, but the wait was an hour, so we went elsewhere. We came back at an earlier hour, and got right in. We were seated right away, and our server was very attentive. She really helped us with details of the food. She even brought me some extra spicy salsa to go with the warm chips. Be careful and don't mix up the salsas. They look the same, but one is spicier. the spicy had a nice kick. For dinner I had the Juanita's Platter with a beef enchilada, a chicken enchilada, a beef taco and a pork tamale. I liked all of them, except the tamale. I think mine had one small strip (and I mean small) of pork. The one small piece of pork was quite tasty. It just needed more meat. The creamy hatch chili sauce on the chicken enchilada didn't have much flavor. My wife's salsa blanca on her chicken enchilada was much better. read more

Visited Uncle Julios on Sunday for lunch with the family. The first thing I noticed about this location was its sheer size and the high quality of the interior and overall design. It took awhile to get seated even though it wasn't very busy. The hostess didn't give off a very warm or welcoming vibe. We started off with the grapefruit margarita special and guacamole. We were really looking forward to the guac as they made it fresh table side here but it never came out. I told the server and he was super prompt in letting his manager know. The manager came over to apologize right away and offered us something else instead. Props to them for turning a potential negative situation into something positive. I'm okay with folks making mistakes as long as they own up to it and try to do better next time. For our main course my wife ordered chicken and steak fajitas and I had the combo enchiladas. The portions were good and the food was cooked well. This is a good spot to fill your Mexican cravings especially if you are looking for a nicer trendy type environment. Definitely good for large groups as well. Based on my experience I would definitely come back! read more

Uncle Julio's - Combo enchiliadas - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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I will never eat at this place ever again. The prices have gone ridiculously crazy. They are charging you more and giving you less. Never again uncle Julio's your food isn't that good anymore. read more

Alex was absolutely amazing with his service and the drinks he made he was consistent friendly and very genuine

Good interior atmosphere to hang at this location, I actually like it better than the Skokie location. Julio and I go way back, even east coast days with Rio Grande Ballston Commons and Reston. I've eaten at Uncle Julio's in Virginia, Chicago, and Dallas. I like the Julio chain in Dallas as well, Mexican, Steak, BBQ, and Seafood. Are they all the same chain? Good question. In my experience, Uncle Julio, Pappasitos, and Rio Grande are all the same place. They all feature the swirl and they all pride themselves on their house made tortilla chips, smokey salsa, and fajitas. I once attended an all you can eat lobster night at a Pappadeaux in IL and the place was completely off the hook slammed with business, I'm pretty sure there was no limit. Has the menu become somewhat mass production? Yes it has. Are the tortilla chips still made fresh in house? Not sure, but they sure taste like it. Kudos to them though for letting me sub out my rice and beans for a fruit cup at no extra charge - nice touch. read more

Had reservations and were told we'd have to wait an extra 30 minutes after our time. Not impressed and will not return

Great food definitely comes with a great price tag. The food was absolutely delicious but definitely not sure if tacos and a few margaritas calls for $100 bill for date night. But service and food we're definitely spot on. read more

I chose to go to Uncle Julio's for my 21st birthday dinner & it was so beyond amazing. This is my second time going to this restaurant but it got even better than before. My family & I ordered their guacamole that they make right in front of you to your liking & I SWEAR it was the BEST guacamole I have ever had; I highly recommend getting it. I ordered the steak fajitas for dinner & the steak was cooked perfectly & tasted amazing; I just wish they had given more peppers- but it was still great! & last but not least, of course I ordered some drinks due to celebrating my 21st! I tried 2 margaritas, their grapefruit margarita was definitely the better of the 2 & I definitely recommend trying it if you're looking for a fun drink! Overall the experience & food was perfect, I can't wait to go back! read more

Uncle Julio's - Freshly made Guacamole - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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My husband and I cannot say enough great things about the care and execution of service from start to finish for our large party we had there last Saturday night. I called to set up the reservation about 3 weeks out because I had heard multiple times that they're crazy busy so I didn't want to miss my opportunity to eat here! I first spoke with Brittany and made the reservation with my special request to have them modify their Chocolate Pinata dessert for us. (We were announcing a baby gender reveal at dinner.) She immediately understood what I was asking for and made special notes for it in the reservation log. I called on Saturday morning and spoke to Veronica to confirm all was a go for tonight and to keep it low key so our guests would be able to be surprised with the pinata reveal. I was told Mallory was managing that night and to ask for her upon arrival to have it set up. Kristen served our large group (did separate checks without hesitation) and was easily able to help get the pinata ready and bring it out BEFORE dinner arrived so we could do the reveal and then eat dinner and the dessert (fruit & churros) later. Flawlessly executed. Our group loved it, my husband and I loved it. It was the most fun we had doing/seeing a gender reveal. I seriously, like I stated in the beginning, cannot say enough great things about the staff and their ability to take care of this special request and make us feel special too! The decorated the platter that the pinata arrives on with "And it's a..." (so cute and SO thoughtful.) The food is amazing, all made from scratch. The chips and salsa in the beginning are endless and I always make the mistake of eating too much of those first. And the chocolate that makes up the pinata is to die for (as well as those mini churros!!) Make a reservation and go to Uncle Julio's. You won't be disappointed. (Or host a baby gender reveal dinner here with your friends/family... you just have to order the Chocolate Pinata first!!) Thanks Uncle Julios.. we'll be back. Already craving the queso.. read more

Uncle Julio's - Our AMAZING Baby Gender Reveal Pinata!! Thanks to the Team at Uncle Julio's & especially Brittany, Veronica, Kristen & Mallory!! Thank you! - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

Overpriced and very small portions. I would never recommend this restaurant. There are too many good options in Naperville to waste your money here. $23.00+ for mixed fajitas. 3 shrimp, 3 small pieces of steak and chicken and a plate of onions. Overall, very dissapointing. read more

Really good white-linen Mexican restaurant. Fajitas with Filet Mignon. Need I say more?

I absolutely love uncle Julio's. Their complementary chips and salsa is so good. I usually get 3 baskets when I go. The frozen margaritas are really good, but a little pricey. The enchiladas are by far the best. read more

This was my first time to Uncle Julio's and while some parts of the experience were very good, others were just Ok. The good, with reservations we were seated promptly and the server brought us chips and salsa and then took our drink orders. My friend Don ordered the strawberry margarita, I ordered the Swirl a margarita and sangria concoction. Both drinks were very good. Because we stuffed ourselves on the chips and we decided to pass on appetizers and just order our main courses. Don ordered the Original Chicken Fajitas, while I opted for the Lobster Y Fajitas. The server was attentive and asked us if we wanted another round of drinks, and we both opted for soft drinks, deciding not to make a donation to Naperville's finest when driving home. When the food arrived, we both were surprised with how enormous the portions were! One large platter barely held the chicken Fajitas with another platter just for the cheese, salsa, lettuce and the usual condiments. The Lobster Y Fajitas was equally as large of a serving. The Lobster tail was well prepared, however some of the steak had too much fat and gristle. My meal was pretty good up until that point, however eating a fajita and getting a mouthful of gristle proves for an awkward moment. I was wondering what Emily Post would suggest doing in that situation? We didn't order one of those desert piñatas or any deserts, and just paid the check. Actually, Don paid for dinner as he was a co-conspirator with my wife, taking me out to celebrate my birthday. Little did I know that there was more to the story until I got home. It seems that Uncle Julio's dropped the ball, as my wife made the reservations online and even checked the box that it was a birthday celebration. It makes one wonder why they would ask if it is a special occasion, if they don't do anything to acknowledge it. Both Don and Connie were very disappointed, that I wasn't at least ambushed with a chorus of Happy Birthday. If a fellow Yelper wants to surprise someone with a celebration, don't rely on the Uncle Julio's online reservations. read more

We came for lunch and the service was fast and friendly. Loved the drinks it was delicious. I had the skinny guava margarita loved it! They make all there food in house from scratch. You can see the tortillas made in the middle on the restaurant. Free chips and salsa upon dine-in. My girlfriend had the chicken tortilla soup which is one of her favs here. It was the right consistency not too thick and creamy and not watered down. I'll definitely come back again and try more. read more

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Not handicap accessible for outdoor at lunch. And didn't make any special recommendations . Food was good though. Watermelon margaritas were excellent. Service was also good read more

This place is incredible. We loved the food and atmosphere at the restaurant, it was cozy and we were pleasantly surprised with the interior. Our waiter was great, he answered all our questions and he was right there when we needed him. Their guacamole is very good, we like that they prepared it in front of us, it was very satisfying to see the process. Food was great, it was fresh and tasty, we didn't have any complaints at all. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

The only things good in my order was the tortilla chips, salsa, and rice. The beans were super salty, and the steak, which they charged me extra for was full off clumps of chewy fat. Will not be coming here again..... read more

My family and I are regular Uncle Julio customers and the service and food quality has gotten worse and worse every single time we go. Today, we had our Easter lunch there and were treated so poorly. Our server accidentally slipped water on two members of our party and then proceeded to giggle about it before apologizing. She did not inform her manager about it, rather sneakily told her coworker to clean up her mess. Her coworker barely cleaned up the area while stating "I hate my job". While we thought that was incredibly unprofessional, we figured she would make it up with better service. However, that was not the case. She never came to check on us and when she did, she would never bring what we asked. Once we got our food, our steak was undercooked and it was incredibly chewy to the point that it was not edible. She didn't bring our sour cream/guacamole side for one member of our family and continued to say that she didn't know what she was doing because she was new. That is completely understandable, but it is not okay to not apologize and offer such poor service for a place that is increasing their prices tremendously- your service should match your prices. No manager came to check in on us even after I mentioned to one that water was spilled on us. It is so disappointing to see this happening. I hope that this feedback is kept in mind for future trainings! read more

Something has gone terribly wrong with the food at this location. It tastes like hospital food...no taste at all. Halfway into the meal I just stopped eating the dish I ordered and focused on the chips. The only reason I gave two stars was because the service was good. read more

Called for carry out not long ago and received a shorted order. OK, that can happen. We just chalked it up to a small inconvenience. When you arrive to pick up your order, they hand it to you in the middle of the "check in" area by the front door. Of course, on a Friday night it is crowded with people waiting for tables. There is NO place to check your order, except to open the bag and try and check. Tonight was our second order for pick up. Arrived for pick up the order. The hostess went to the bar and was handed the bag. My wife asked if it was all in there. She said yes it was. Got home, 2 dinners were missing! Went back and waited while the hostess and the Manager look for the missing diners. Sure enough, they were sitting on a very crowded bar! Put then in a bag and handed it to her. Nice and cold. Never again. read more

My favorite Mexican Resturant in the area. I decided on the steak tacos, the steak was cooked perfectly and a good cut of steak. My bf got the combo taco plate with lobster, chicken and steak. Great tacos! The prices are high for drinks which was a bummer and didn't have much alcohol in them. That was the only downside of the dinner. Other than that it was delicious! read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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My brother loves this place for some reason, but I wasn't exactly keen on it. My family went here on a Friday night with reservations and it ended up taking almost 2 hours to finish our meal. I know they were busy but the food that we ordered was pretty standard fare. My parents split an order of fajitas, I got the ahi tuna fajitas, hubs got the fish tacos, bro got the combo platter, and my niece got a plain quesadilla. We also split a tableside guac and a couple of baskets of chips and a chocolate pinata for dessert. The guac was excellent, as were the chips. I enjoyed my ahi but the veggie spirals that came with were so weird. The sauce that was on them made them slimy and inedible. I was looking forward to those too, since I love veggie spirals. Half of the fish tacos my hubs got were fishy-tasting (I know that sounds like an oxymoron but fish isn't supposed to taste fishy, y'all!). The rest of my kin seemed to enjoy their food (except for my niece, who just wanted to get the meal over with so we could get the chocolate pinata). Dessert was very tasty but there was so much of it - very rich and hard to eat after a big meal, but the churros were *chef's kiss*. No complaints about the service other than it was slow, but again, it was a Friday night so that's to be expected. But it was one of those things where everyone else that came after us started getting their food before us... which is always frustrating! read more

The only downside to uncle Julio's is that chips salsa are so delicious that you fill up on them before your meal comes. Food and service is always good and consistent across the brand. Favorite is bacon wrapped stuffed shrimp. Tortillas are fresh and best I have ever had. read more

Uncle Julio's has some great food and service. Their menu has an option for everyone and each meal is cooked to perfection! The service is impeccable, and the drinks will leave you satisfied. They have plenty of options and entertainment, in the table side preparation of guacamole, -321 drinks, etc. Highly recommended! read more

Delicious as always. Great atmosphere for the perfect lunch with co-workers. Meals were served hot and fresh tasting. Chips and salsa are amazing. (We all ate too many). . You won't be disappointed. There is something for everybody to enjoy. read more

Actually a 3.5 star - sadly yelp doesn't allow that. Nice ambience and good food. If you are looking for a twist to your local Mexican cantina Uncle Julio's is to go for. Your regular tacos, fajitas etc are all made in house and yes with a delicious twist. Their Mango Habanero actually has mangoes!! Being a non alcoholic I always like it when restaurants serve good virgin drinks, Uncle Julio's served us Piña which was a pretty good pina colada... They don't have a very extensive menu but what they have is pretty good!! You can always head out to a place like this for a change. read more

Very unhappy with the service. First off I have to be clear, I am not a complainer. But after waiting over 45 mins for a curbside order that never made it outside via a server or any sort of staff I'm very disappointed. I ordered 1lb of chips, a pint of salsa, beans and the quesa-Birria which is basically a Quesadilla withe beef. None of the things I ordered take longer than 10mins to prepare! I text the parking space number when I arrived which was prior to the quoted complete time. 15-20 mins after the order was supposed ready and after calling the to-go line and didn't get an answer, I walked into the restaurant to see my order sitting on the To-go rack as if it was a pick up order. And the receipt had curbside on it with the parking spot number. WOW! I assume this place is terribly understaffed because when I walked in the door the host looked as if she hated her job and people. But at least she put on a fake smile for the people she was seating. Got the food home and I had to reheat because it was literally cold! I live less that 10 mins away from the restaurant! This should have never happened! This the second time I've had not so great service here. And on top of that I tipped!! I tipped for crappy service. Needless to say I will never be back. And management was no where in sight otherwise I would have complained right then. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

We found the food to be good and was very much like other Mexican food restaurants. It is a little bit on the pricey side. We visited this place a couple times and was not something that made us come back very often. read more

I have previously written a review for the Uncle Julio's location in Lombard. My only experience deviates from my five-star review I gave to that restaurant. Here, my guest and I had a reservation, and had several parties ahead of us. When we finally got to the hostess stand, neither of us believe the staff are confident in doing their job. They did not know how to prioritize seating parties, nor were they friendly. Although I was not aware of any existing reservations ahead of us, there were tons of open tables in the dining area that remained empty while the whole waiting area was full of guests. Our server was nice, however, the food took forever to come out, especially when compared to the Lombard location at similar peak times. I would try this location again, however, if I had to choose I would try a different location - especially the Lombard one. read more

I visited this restaurant on a Friday night I believe and there was a delay with our food being served. However, the waiter was very attentive and refilled our chips as we waited as well. The booth I was seated in had a huge rip in the cushion. Not too pleased about that, however, it was not uncomfortable so I didn't make a big deal about it. My friend commented on how dim the lighting was, however, I didn't mind it since I prefer dim lighting for the evening. Now for the food and cocktails. I was hungry and ended up getting three chicken enchiladas instead of two. The dinner came with beans and rice as well. The enchiladas are a pretty good size, therefore, I personally didn't need three. Even if you are hungry if you plan on eating the rice and beans you may be fine with just two enchiladas. The food was great and the Patron Skinny was good too! It doesn't come with the fresh fruit used in the margarita of the day, however, you can ask for it and they will include it in the Patron Skinny! I love cocktails that have fresh fruit in them! Fresh raspberries were added to mine and it was delicious! This was my first Patron Skinny, however, it will not be my last! read more

Ah, eating Americanized Mexican food, what has quickly become an American past-time. When we went, we both ordered the Juanita's platter and it was...well it was just ok. For the price you pay, the food should be a lot better than what it is. The restaurant is clean and the staff are friendly, but that doesn't make up for paying premium prices for something that's not even authentic food. My girlfriend also ordered a frozen strawberry margarita that was absolutely awful. No margarita should EVER taste like straight sugar. read more

This used to be my favorite place for Mexican food because they used to make their fajitas much better with more meat. Today all you get is your run of the mill Chili's fajitas on the hot plate for over double the cost. Very sad to see the changes. If you are looking for good fajitas at a fair price go to Miller's or Chili's and save your money because Uncle Julios is no longer unique. Please fix so I can come back. You really wrecked an awesome thing when you changed it. In addition when we were there for my father's day event, the restaurant had many dirty tables and even the bathrooms were not very clean. I hope that this was just a off day for cleanliness because we never had a problem like this before. On a positive note the table side guacamole was very good and the salsa is also very good. read more

I have only been to Uncle Julios on North Ave. and in Skokie. This was my first visit to this location. Our service was not good, at all. We were here for a Birthday celebration. Only four of us. The waitress never came to our table. Each time we wanted to order, we had to ask for her. For drinks, food and the check we had to look for her. And she kept assuming what we wanted by finishing our sentence but she wasn't correct. She was practically ordering for us. She told my 10 year old that she would have a lemonade. Wtf. No thank you. I did not ask for lemonade. Do you ever leave somewhere after having dinner and you keep thinking about the bad experience and you can't stop thinking about it. As I write this, I'm feeling so pissed , and mad that I tipped her. The prices are steep for what it is and the service is lacking in a huge way. The food was meh. At the other locations, the fajitas come out literally sizzling hot and so good. I couldn't wait!! Wah wah...Ours were cold. The chocolate piñata was good but not $30 good. For the price point of $28 per person, I think that any take home should be wrapped up for us, not a box brought to the table. I would try a different location or go somewhere else. read more

Very mixed experience. We were greeted by some unfriendly people working at the front but our waiter was great. 6 out 7 of our meals were really good but we had to send back the fish tacos because the fish was so burnt that it was hard as a rock and tasted like charcoal. The replacement tacos came out quickly but were still just okay, I think they had too much smoke on the grill and the smoke was overpowering the fish. read more