I'm in love with this restaurant. I love coming here. The atmosphere is quiet and chill. Did I mention the food... it is amazing.. my steak is always cooked perfectly.. I'm so full when I leave here ... I want to go today... read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - I love going to this restaurant.. the food is oh so good .. - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Aweful food. Carnitas tacos where extra crispy what tasted like pork rinds. 20+ min still did not get replacement dish. Told them to keep it. Not coming back read more

Good food with very bad service. We came here for my mother's birthday. They didn't serve our party of 6 entrees until an hour after we were seated. And our table had two waiters! When we were done, it took more than 20 minutes to get the check after we asked multiple times. We came here for the chocolate pinata, which was delicious. But we won't come again. The salmon I had was good but my mother says her Ahi Tuna was mediocre, just like the service. read more

Really good experience! The ambiance is perfect for date night, lunch, dinner night! I love Julio's and the drinks are a must to try! read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

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To start, the food is good! It's not great but it is good. The reason I do not think it is great is because compared to so many other authentic Mexican restaurants in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, this is not the best. Also, the food is WAY too expensive. I paid more than $20 for a small portion of fajitas. The meat was tasty, but was not extremely fresh. My meat was a bit stringy and I constantly had to pick off strings and fat in order to enjoy it. The chips for the starting chips and salsa are awesome! However the salsa is not my favorite. It is very thin and hard to stay on the chip and not super flavorful. Overall save your money and go somewhere else. But if you are not concerned with the money and are looking for a good atmosphere and good (but not great) food, then you may enjoy this place. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Steak fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

We recently visited and sat out on the patio, and were friendly towards my dog sitting with us on the patio. The service was efficient and friendly. The food was tasty, but in my opinion a bit overpriced. I think that goes for any Uncle Julio's in general. It seems to be overpriced Americanized Mexican food but we were very happy with our choice to eat here and all finished our meals. The menu was also a bit limited but that was probably because of covid. We would eat here again. read more

One Star! This location in Chicago is very bad! I don't care that it's Covid, your menu is boring! Your drinks have no alcohol and you give other Uncle Julios a bad name! Clean your act up and get servers that like what they do! Your Rice was raw! Your beans was cold! It's terrible! I wasted my $ paying your $10 valet fee! read more

So so. I really expected higher quality food and better tasting. The tacos and enchiladas were ok. The place was cold. I realize we went on a bitter cold day but the restaurant should have had space heaters for their patrons. read more

I rarely do this, but we loved this restaurant and started ordering the family pack once a week through Uber eats. 3x in a row items were missing, typically the guacamole. We took a break and tried again a month later. We even left a note for the Uber driver to confirm all items were there, and of course, items are missing. Sadly, we have to move on. read more

My dish was really good! I got the chicken and beef fajitas and the margarita of the month! It was really good pineapple is my favorite fruit of all time! But u guys need to bring back the chicken tortilla soup! And the Desserts aren't good sorry to say. Why can't you guys have flan?! I would rather go to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and the food is good. read more

I agree with most of the reviews about the service!! It was about 8:30 PM on a Friday night. My friend and I decided to have an appetizer and dessert on the patio. We only had a 10 min wait. That was good. We were then seated. And waited for the waiter. He can over and asked us what we wanted to drink. Then he disappeared for a bit. The chips and salsa came and we didn't get plates. Still no waiter. Someone finally brought water. Then the waiter came back to take our order. We then ordered. The dish came. Our water glades were almost empty. The waiter filled my friends cup, which wasn't a full glass. Then literally a trickle was left in the pitcher and he was going to give it to me. But it went right on the table. He didn't even come back with another pitcher to fill our glasses. I had to ask again 15 mins later for more water. The appetizer was ok. Not spectacular. But the dessert was delicious. I had the cajeta which was ultimately a scoop of ice cream with a fried coconut shell. It was delicious. I'm glad I got the mini size. It was perfect. My friend had the coconut flan. It was a huge serving. And tasted good as well. I don't know about the rest of the food. But dessert is a must. Hopefully service will improve. read more

We love Uncle Julio's. I've been to this location twice, and both times the food and service were outstanding. They house make everything - even the tortillas. The homemade margarita mixes are delicious. Our server this last time was MJ. He was awesome. We will be back. read more

What what??? The nacho package for 4 was absolutely delicious. It was so fun and well packaged. We have had a few of their margaritas to go. The regular margarita is a little too sweet but love the options. Great to see people in the restaurant again and the staff was really pleasant. read more

Nice addition to old orchard mall and definitely better than the restaurant they had in this space before. I've been to the oak brook and downtown location many times but this one is walking distance from my house. The table side guacamole is a great starter. I had the taco salad which was somewhat of a nightmare. The ingredients just don't come together and it's very hard to eat. The dressing was pretty tasty. The fajitas here are always a safe bet for me. The chicken is usually on point and the steak is tasty. I'm intrigued by the bacon wrapped shrimp but I can't justify the price. Overall this restaurant is a bit overpriced. Nice to have a lively bar in old orchard for once. Champs was the closest we had and people seemed to be sick of it. It was always a ghost town. Cool place o grab a drink if your at old orchard. Overall a cool place to go if your in the area or want a nicer mexican place but there are better for less expensive in Chicago read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Taco salad - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Nice space and location. The service was good and food was nice, nothing special. Had the Guadalahara that comes with three pieces of jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon, some strips of chicken & beef, rice and beans, $23, and drink of the day, which was a watermelon margarita, $12. Both were nice. It was a bit hard to drink the cocktail because it's made from fresh watermelon and had ice in it so all the little particles would get in the way, and a straw wouldn't work either-minor detail! My friend had the swirl, which had a strong taste but still tasted good. An okay regular chain restaurant. read more

This place was an average chain type of restaurant. I came here with my sister,mother, and 2 young daughters. It was honestly between 2 to 3 stars. The pros are its a clean, nice decor, and kid friendly restaurant. Also we had a good waiter and pretty fast service for Friday lunch hour. The cons are the food! We got the queso/guacamole combo appetizer, nachos, steak fajitas, and chicken fajitas. We didn't get any special drinks just soda. It was tasted average. The best thing was the guacamole but it was served on top of lettuce I think they did that to make it look your getting more? The queso was like cheap yellow nacho cheese with cut tomato and onion. I can't believe I paid $9 for that appetizer. It was not all that big either. The chicken and steak fajitas were not that tasty and the onions and peppers needed more time to cook so they Carmelized. The rice and beans were just average. Nothing really impressed me. I mean altogether nothing was horrible but nothing had a wow factor. Also another con was the price! our check came out to about $65 without tip which is pricey considering we didn't really get special drinks, desserts, or kids meals. Overall I probably wouldn't come back because none of the food impressed me. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Nachos and chicken/steak fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Uncle Julio's is an unauthentic attempt at authentic Mexican food. The atmosphere is a Disneyworld version of a Mexican movie set. Food is very overpriced and I have no idea why people line up for a mediocre food. Go to Macy's for Fonterra Fresca Unlike Fonterra Restaurant, the food lacks flavor, character and it's a new version of Chi Chi's. With entrees around twelve dollars plus, the portions are fair and the presentation is decent. The taste is very bland and the restaurant wants to upsell you a very expensive margarita and a silly chocolate piñata. Avoid the extras at all cost. The beer selection is very limited and there is no reason to visit. read more

Descent place to eat but not great. Service is okay. The menu is pretty pricey. I like the guac and salsa here. I ordered the chicken and steak fajitas, it comes with corn or flour tortillas and rice, as well as sour cream, cheese, guac, lettuce, and pico. It was flavorful, the chicken and steak were cooked nicely. I think I'd want to try the chocolate piñata next time. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Chicken and steak fajita - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

the price for the quality and portion of the food doesn't do much justice. Small portions, tacos wasn't that great. Service was nice. I'm just not impressed with their food. I feel like cheesecake factory has better tacos than here... read more

I'm nicely full. And that's a good thing. My family and I went here for lunch today a Saturday afternoon. Not terribly busy, not terribly slow just right. We started out with the standard chips and salsa, but it wasn't standard at all. The chips were so simply fantastic. It's just a chip but they were just right. Light and buttery crisped. Yum. We ordered the table side guacamole. That was ok. We added salt to ours. Too bland. Our dishes were all satisfying and full plates. My favorite was surprisingly my son's dish of beef enchiladas. My brother ordered the Guadalajara (may be misspelled just as misspell may be misspelled). It came with some Mexican butter. .delish. I added it to my shrimp tacos. Nice spot. I will definitely go again. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Shrimp tacos - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

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Great selection of fajitas! I had the ? Guadalajara..3 different meats, one being bacon wrapped shrimp.Sounds great, but it was just ok and the steak was too chewy for my son (portions are big enough to share). I recommend the guac...it was crunchy bacon bits sprinkled on top, nice change from usual guacs read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Yay, Jessica's in town! Nice window seating - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

We have been frustrated dining out, the patios have been parking lots, sidewalks and the curb lane. We understand why and have been supportive of our local restaurants. Most will agree the total experience is often not what we expect. During these times we have been patient, understanding and supportive. That is the primary objective to recognizing Uncle Julio's. The service and the food both were extraordinary. Give them a try their patio is a patio. read more

This place hits the spot. I wouldn't go here specifically for the entree's but sometimes I get a craving for a good margarita and some chips and dips. This is really why I come here. I order some guac and queso in addition to the chips and salsa and I am happy. Queso was good and is typically hard to find in other restaurants. Guacamole was a bit bland this time. The platinum swirl margaritas were perfect - not too sweet. Entree's were a mixed bag - the Jalisco fajitas were tasty, especially the shrimp, but I had to wait probably 3-5 minutes for the tortillas to come out (which is a long time to stare at your food getting cold). They said they were "making a fresh batch". The enchiladas were simply ok. read more

Apparently Julio knows more than the CDC and IDPH, bc they are still enforcing masks. I had no idea they required medical degrees to work here. I hope they pay their staff well!! read more

I thought this place was great! We made a reservation and arrived after a baseball game with around 30 people. The staff was great and accommodating and the food was great! We loved the tableside guacamole so much, we ordered more. Would certainly come back when in town! read more

Ok so made reservations for 6:45 and had to wait 15 min to be seated. There were 3 people at the host stand and all 3 looked already flustered and it wasnt even 7 o'clock yet. Go on break! I know it's just 15 min but why not offer the guest to wait at the bar and get a drink or something while you wait. It means more money if we buy drinks at the bar, Hello! When finally seated we were escorted to some back room, but while walking there I couldn't believe all the dirty tables(at least 6) we past by. Was there a busboy strike or something? Not good. We started with the skinny patron margaritas which tasted way too sweet so our second ones we asked for less agave. We ordered the guacamole (not the table side one) and the presentation looked like green puke slipped over shredded lettuce. Seriously? Plus some waiter just plopped it down on our table and ran away. I ordered the carne aside which was cooked perfectly and was delicious! My friend ordered my recommendation of shrimp diablo which again was fantastic! I wish they could just get their act together on their service and presentation issues and this place would be a 5 Star place. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - The swirl margarita/sangria combo and the raspberry frozen margarita! Yum!! - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

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Beware of Bait and Switch! I had ordered takeout from the restaurant, my order was incorrect and I had called within twenty minutes from receiving order. The manager Trevor assured me that he would issue me a refund when I stop by and a few days later I stopped by and Trevor himself confirmed that he offered a refund. However he said that he can no longer do it and can only offer to replace my food. The food was old and cold and not cooked properly at all. I would highly recommend avoiding ordering from here especially takeout or delivery. The 3 out of 5 star average rating for Uncle Julio's is very generous!! read more

The chips and salsa are spectacular but, the steak tacos are absolutely inedible. The steak (supposed to be medium well) came out blue (raw), not medium or medium rare but, absolutely raw. Eventually, I discarded all of the stake, ate my tortillas with whatever veg was left inside, paid the bill and left. I've had better tacos at Taco Bell, lol. If you go here, eat some tortilla chips with salsa, have a drink, and leave. read more

We used to look forward to dinner here but after last night's mediocre meal while subjected to loud pop music, I pried my shoes from their sticky floor vowing never to return. Perhaps it was because we didn't have Margaritas, we were able to see how average this place really is. Because yes, the Margaritas are good. But the service was poor (they weren't busy), the dominant flavor of the chicken enchiladas was salt. The rice was cold and hard like it was scraped from the leftover bin. They removed some great menu items and have turned themselves into some place not special at all. I remember when they first opened and their flan (gone years ago from the menu) was delicious after a dinner of tasty shrimp tacos topped with a sweet salsa (also gone). The only improvement I saw last night was they put sopaipillas back on the menu but I didn't order them because I was too grossed out by having to pull all the TP off my shoes from the bathroom floor which was covered in it (did I mention sticky floors?) and had a broken sink. Ick. read more

Went yesterday with two friends. I didn't want to go, and I mentioned that I have heard only bad things about the place, but my friends said they always had good experiences there. I should have listened to my gut. Started out with chips and salsa and both had weird taste. Ordered chicken street tacos at the recommendation of our waiter. Food was served cold and no one bothered to refill water. My two friends each ordered the shrimp tacos. I ate one of my tacos and flavor was bland. Jalapeno was chopped into massive pieces but I removed it all anyway. Beans on the side were soupy and had no flavor. Rice was the same. Woke up this morning very ill with massive intestinal cramping and well, you can figure out the rest. Went downstairs to fridge to throw out the leftovers. Will never eat at Uncle Julio's again - unless I want to clear out my digestive tract. Absolutely disgusting food that is obviously not being prepared in a safe manner. Avoid at all costs. read more

I will never come back here. First time trying this place with my one year old son. We were seated a couple behind me were seated as well. My son and I only got served with chips and salsa. The couple behind me received their whole meal with drinks. The manager was apologetic but there was no excuse as to why we weren't served. I'm was willing to spend money like everyone else. I'm sorry but service sucked I will not return! read more

Not vegetarian/vegan friendly. The veggie fajitas are good, but it's enough food for 3 people. I didn't want to eat too much, so I asked for the same grilled veggies in the tacos and the waiter said they cannot put the veggies into taco shells... He said I have the choice of the tacos with just guacamole and lettuce OR tacos with just beans and lettuce, but I cannot have both beans and guacamole, but they serve beans on the side and I would have to put the bean in the tacos myself. He did not tell me that I would be charged extra for NOT getting meat... so I ate my cold guac tacos. Get your vegetarian dishes right and stop charging people extra for NOT getting meat! Other Mexican restaurants have more variety with multiple, delicious, vegetarian options. read more

Nice place. Good food. Friendly service. My only criticism is that the booths are a bit cramped for four grown adults, to comfortably enjoy a meal. read more

Just OK Mexican food. Also to go menu Fajita is too small!! Very disappointed. Only good thing is Margarita. read more

We went to Uncle Julio's for my birthday, mostly because we wanted the chocolate piñata. I ordered the fish tacos and the chocolate piñata. The fish tacos were okay; I think they would've been better if I asked for the tacos without the cabbage. They also offer tableside guacamole. The chocolate piñata was the BEST! It was $25 and once we cracked it open, it had churros and fruits stuffed with dips on the side and we really enjoyed it! read more

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Phenomenal service, disgusting food. I tried to finish my steak tacos but between the cold flour tortillas and chewy, bland steak, and what looked like scrambled egg? The queso is definitely made using velveeta. It was a tremendous disappointment flavor wise, and as a Texan, it's insulting to see this restaurant call itself "Tex mex". The bartenders were angels however and deserve the world! read more

First time trying this particular location. Service was attentive and friendly. It was so packed we had the option to be seated at the bar or to wait around for at least 20 minutes. We chose the bar of course. The waitress was really attentive no complains about her service. Food was so good. Gave it fours stars because the table was too wobbly. Overall, I love it. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Lobster and steak fajitas. - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Didn't want to make the trek to our usual Uncle Julio's in Kildeer so we decided to stop at the Skokie location. I wish we had made the extra 20 minute drive, this location is lacking in every department, the service was terrible, drinks got messed up, food was terrible. We ordered the same meals we've ordered in the past at the Kildeer location and the difference in quality is mind blowing. Skokie should be ashamed. Luckily this wasn't our first trip to a Uncle Julio's otherwise we'd have written off the entire chain. Bollocks. read more

Why do people make a big deal out of this place? I guess people don't know good authentic Mexican food. I ordered the beef enchiladas and I was expecting enchiladas not Taco Bell quality food. They were covered in Velveeta cheese. Seriously? They didn't even try. I was so disappointed. The chicken tortilla soup wasn't great. I wanted the chocolate piñata but wasn't gonna pay $25 for it so I passed. The only thing I liked was the mango lemonade. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

This is my new favorite birthday celebration spot! Their chocolate pinata is beyond awesome, delish and fun for all ages. Great service and atmosphere. read more

Uncle Julio's Old Orchard - Mexican Near Me - Skokie, Illinois