TastyPals
Login / Sign up
Taste ID
AboutMethodologyApp
GuideUpdated July 15, 2026

15 Best Mexican Restaurants in Chicago

The 15 best mexican restaurants in Chicago, sorted by rating and curated by TastyPals editors.

The best mexican restaurants in Chicago are Ayayay - Mexican Eatery, Matilda Restaurant, Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago, and more. Start with Ayayay - Mexican Eatery if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By James Whitfield•15 ranked picks•Published July 15, 2026•Updated July 15, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
Ayayay - Mexican EateryMatilda RestaurantCostera Cocina Tulum - Chicago
15 Best Mexican Restaurants in Chicago
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1Ayayay - Mexican EateryMexican • Chicago • value#2Matilda RestaurantMexican • Chicago • $$$$#3Costera Cocina Tulum - ChicagoMexican • Chicago • value

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated mexican restaurants in Chicago. The picks are sorted by Google rating and review volume to give you a reliable shortlist. Picks span Chicago, Pilsen and Logan Square.

Quick picks

Ayayay - Mexican Eatery
Mexican • Chicago
Ayayay - Mexican Eatery is a mexican restaurant in Chicago that is worth opening when you want a clearer read on the menu and the room.
Matilda Restaurant
Mexican • Chicago
Matilda Restaurant suits a night out when you want mexican that feels grown-up without getting stiff.
Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago
Mexican • Chicago
Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago is a sensible mexican call in Chicago when you want something that usually lands well.
Browse all Chicago restaurantsBack to Chicago hub
Editorial details
Published: July 15, 2026
Last updated: July 15, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. Ayayay - Mexican EateryView →
  2. 2. Matilda RestaurantView →
  3. 3. Costera Cocina Tulum - ChicagoView →
  4. 4. QuesaBirria Jalisco PilsenView →
  5. 5. La LunaView →
  6. 6. Momento CantinaView →
  7. 7. Mucho Gusto Barra + Cocina - ChicagoView →
  8. 8. MercaditoView →
  9. 9. Little Bad WolfView →
  10. 10. TzucoView →
  11. 11. Mi Tocaya AntojeríaView →
  12. 12. Giordano'sView →
  13. 13. Broken English Taco PubView →
  14. 14. BarrioView →
  15. 15. XOCOView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Ayayay - Mexican Eatery
Google
Ayayay - Mexican Eatery
Chicago • Mexican
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Tacos
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Matilda Restaurant
Google
Matilda Restaurant
Chicago • Mexican
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
$$$$
Best for
date night
Mood
Special occasion
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago
Google
Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago
Chicago • Mexican
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Tacos
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for QuesaBirria Jalisco Pilsen
Google
QuesaBirria Jalisco Pilsen
Pilsen • Mexican
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Pilsen
Mood
Pilsen

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

15 ranked picks

Get the App

Save these spots to your Chicago list

Keep the shortlist handy in the TastyPals app and find similar restaurants across Chicago.

Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist
Momento Cantina — Momento Cantina is not auditioning for the tasting-menu circuit, and that's precisely the point. At a dollar-sign-one price level in Chicago, it has apparently built a following by committing to Mexican cooking that prioritizes substance over ceremony — the kind of room, by all accounts, where drinks get ordered before anyone sits down and plates move around the table without anyone asking permission. That clarity of purpose is harder to maintain than it looks, and Momento seems to have figured it out. The menu is where the reputation lives. The Carnitas Gorditas in Salsa are consistently cited as a reason to show up — slow-braised pork in a format where the salsa reportedly functions as a structural element, not an afterthought. The Pulpo Macha is the dish that comes up most often when regulars make a case for the kitchen: octopus in a salsa macha built around toasted chile heat, the kind of preparation that tends to convert skeptics. The Mar y Tierra Molcajete is the table centerpiece — served in volcanic stone that keeps everything at temperature — and by most accounts it's the move for groups. The Cochinita Pibil, achiote-slow-roasted pork done in the Yucatecan tradition, is what makes the price point feel almost unfair according to diners who return for it specifically. And the Signature Abuelita Cake closes things out on a note that reads as genuinely nostalgic rather than calculated — reportedly the kind of dessert that reminds you why dessert exists. Practical reality: weeknights are reportedly better for conversation, weekends lean toward a full scene. The kitchen appears to reward the table that orders broadly and shares without a strategy session. Come hungry, come with people, and let the Cochinita Pibil make the case for itself. View restaurant →
Mucho Gusto Barra + Cocina - Chicago — Mucho Gusto Barra + Cocina opened in Logan Square in 2021 with a design concept that references the architectural warmth of San Miguel de Allende — cascading florals, hand-crafted textures, and a back room styled as a reimagined cathedral scene. The aesthetic is decorative with conviction, not whimsy, and by most accounts the room is one of the more considered interiors in the neighborhood. Friday and Saturday late-night extensions suggest the operators know exactly what occasion they are dressing for, and have calibrated accordingly. The menu works a line between tradition and invention. The Cochinita Pibil is reported to show real discipline — slow-cooked, properly acidic, not softened into generic approachability — which is the benchmark test for any kitchen taking on that dish. The seafood side of the menu is apparently where the kitchen takes its greater risks: the Pulpo Enamorado and the Camarones Enchipotlados are consistently cited as the items that distinguish Mucho Gusto from comparable contemporaries in the same bracket. The bar program leans on mezcal and fresh infusions and is, by multiple accounts, treated as a genuine program rather than a revenue afterthought. Pacing is reported to favor the party over the contemplative diner — plates move; this is not a room for slow deliberation. At this price level in Logan Square, the ask is relatively modest for what the space and the menu are attempting to deliver together. It is not a tasting-menu format and does not position itself as one, but the combination of a coherent cocktail program, a kitchen with a clear point of view, and a room that actually justifies the occasion makes it one of the more complete packages in that part of the city. Book a Friday table and open with the Pulpo Enamorado and Cochinita Pibil. View restaurant →
Little Bad Wolf — Andersonville's Clark Street corridor has developed into one of Chicago's most reliably interesting dining stretches, and Little Bad Wolf — open since 2014 — has a lot to do with that reputation. The room is compact and illustrated with wolf-from-Little-Red-Riding-Hood imagery, the soundtrack reportedly lands somewhere usefully chill, and the kitchen's entire premise is American bar food approached with genuine intentionality. No reservations, which signals exactly the kind of crowd-driven, walk-in culture the place has cultivated over a decade of consistent business. The Wolf Burger is the anchor and the dish most discussed in outside coverage — Time Out has cited it among Chicago's best, and the build makes the case on paper: three beef patties, bacon, American cheese, onion straws, house pickles, red onion, mayo, and a fried egg. That's a lot of components, and the burger's reputation rests on the idea that the kitchen keeps them in proportion rather than letting the stack collapse into chaos. The Mac and Cheese has its own following, known for a creamy, heavy preparation finished with honey-cured bacon, scallions, and toasted breadcrumbs — the kind of dish that diners consistently point to as a reason to return. The Steak Frites and Half Fried Chicken round out a menu that rewards people who want comfort food with some thought behind it, at a price point — squarely mid-range — that keeps ordering freely realistic. Over 100 beers and a proper cocktail list make Little Bad Wolf a natural landing spot for groups, and the no-reservations policy means weekend waits are a genuine possibility. Go early, plan for the line, and when you sit down, the Wolf Burger and Mac and Cheese are where most people start — and for good reason. View restaurant →
Mi Tocaya Antojería — Diana Dávila's Logan Square room makes its argument quietly, then refuses to let go. Mi Tocaya isn't a special-occasion temple in the usual sense — there's no procession of courses, no hushed reverence. What it offers instead is a chef working from memory and conviction, and the cheque ($30–40 per person) reflects an antojería rather than a tasting menu. That distinction matters: you come for plates that earn their place individually. Peanut Butter Y Lengua, braised beef tongue under a thick peanut salsa with radishes, is the dish people travel for, and the homage to her uncle reads on the plate, not just the menu card. The Espaghetti Con Crema Poblana — toasted fideo in poblano sauce with crab and egg — is the kind of personal cooking that explains the Bib Gourmand and the Bon Appétit nod from 2017. The room is small, colorful, evening-only, and warmer than the awards suggest. Service runs informal. This is not a blowout; it's a thoughtful dinner that justifies the trip on the strength of its ideas. Reserve, arrive hungry, and order generously across the table. View restaurant →
Giordano's — Let's get the obvious out of the way: Giordano's in Pilsen is not what you'd expect from one of Chicago's most culturally specific neighborhoods, and that's kind of the whole point. This is a deep-dish chain outpost dropped into a zip code defined by Mexican murals, taquerias, and community pride — and it makes no apologies for the mismatch. What it does offer is a $ price point that keeps it genuinely accessible to the families, artists, and weekend crowds who actually live here, undercutting most downtown deep-dish alternatives by a meaningful margin. It's not trying to be Pilsen. It's trying to be Giordano's, and on those terms, the room delivers. The menu centers on the Stuffed Deep Dish Pizza, which is the signature Giordano's format: a thick, butter-laminated crust engineered to contain a reportedly unreasonable volume of cheese, topped with chunky tomato sauce ladled over the top rather than underneath — the classic Chicago stuffed-pizza inversion. Diners consistently describe it arriving at the table still bubbling. The Meatball and Marinara Platter runs a complementary playbook — dense, herb-forward meatballs in a sauce that reads Italian-American Sunday supper rather than anything chasing novelty, which is entirely the right call for this kitchen. The Cheesy Garlic Bread is known as the table opener, and by most accounts it disappears fast. The Brownies & Cookies close things out on an unfussy, chocolate-forward note — low-concept by design, which after a gut-stretching deep dish is exactly what the situation calls for. The single most important piece of practical intel: call ahead for the deep dish. It takes roughly 45 minutes to bake, and walk-ins who skip this step end up anchored to the Cheesy Garlic Bread for a long stretch. Get your order in before you arrive, show up before 7 on a Friday, and plan the table around the Stuffed Deep Dish and the Meatball Platter. View restaurant →
Broken English Taco Pub — Broken English Taco Pub is not trying to be an authentic taqueria, and based on everything I can find, that's entirely deliberate. This is a taco bar built around pub logic — loud, unapologetic, priced for repeat visits, where the beer in your hand and the taco in the other are treated as equally important. Chicago has no shortage of spots that approach Mexican food with white-tablecloth reverence. Broken English is doing something categorically different, and for a Friday night with a group and no real plan, arguably more practical. It occupies the overlap between bar culture and taco culture and leans into that without apology. The Build Your Own Taco Pub — the BYOTP — is the engine the whole menu rotates around, and by most accounts the right approach is treating it like a serious bar menu: deliberate choices rather than a frantic free-for-all. The Chips & Guacamole are consistently described as a credible opener, reportedly seasoned well enough that people don't resent the upsell. On the sweeter end, the Churros have a reputation as a reliable closer — the kind of dessert diners keep ordering even after they've already eaten past the point of good judgment. Then there are the piñatas: the Boozy Piñata is what it sounds like, and it's reportedly the kind of shared spectacle a table of four needs by 10pm on a Saturday. The Piñata Con Dulces runs sweeter and more chaotic, and diners seem to find it more fun for it. The move here is straightforward: come with a group, skip the solo-dinner headspace, and go straight for the BYOTP plus a Boozy Piñata to split. At price-level one, you can order without running the math in your head. Book ahead on weekends — the room is known to fill quickly. View restaurant →

Explore next

AndersonvillePilsenLogan SquareMexicandate nightdinnerhidden gem

Related guides

Chicago dinner table and skyline
Google

Guide • chicago

Best Restaurants in Chicago 2026

Ten Chicago restaurants that carry the city's deep hospitality tradition and still manage to feel essential — from a Ukrainian Village Filipino breakfast counter to a West Loop Italian room, a Logan Square tasting menu, and the greatest bar burger in the Midwest.

Read guide

Guide • toronto

The 15 Best Date Night Restaurants in Toronto

The Toronto restaurants that make a date feel shaped, warm, and worth remembering without leaning too hard on cliché.

Read guide

Get the App

Save these spots to your Chicago list

Save these spots to your Chicago list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.

Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist