Narrowing down the city’s best Mexican fare is no easy feat, especially when there are countless restaurants serving incredible dishes, some passed down through multiple generations. Our picks run the gamut from casual street tacos and elotes to modern Mexican featuring farm-fresh ingredients and nods to a variety of the country’s regions. Whether you’re in the mood to toss back a cerveza or two with a torta or savor complex mole dishes with a mezcal Margarita, these are Chicago’s top spots for experiencing truly authentic Mexican cuisine.
Mas Alla Del Sol
Edgewater
This family-owned and operated neighborhood restaurant has been preparing high quality Mexican dishes for more than a decade in Edgewater. Here you’ll find the family’s recipes perfectly executed each time, including a complex mole that will make you rethink what you know about the sauce. Other standout dishes include the tampiqueña (grilled marinated skirt steak) and the camarones al chipotle, jumbo shrimp in a creamy chipotle sauce served with rice and cactus salad. They also make a mean Margarita with rotating flavors each day of the week.
Frontera Grill
River North
Chef Rick Bayless launched his empire 37 years ago with the opening of Frontera Grill. Locals and visitors alike know Frontera is ingrained in the culinary fabric of the city with its ever-changing menu and standbys focused on fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Kick things off with a variety of starters, from ceviches and tortilla soup to masa boats with braised beef. Larger platters include red chile-marinated steak, wood-grilled shrimp in a red chile diabla sauce and build-your-own tacos housed in pillowy soft, housemade blue corn tortillas. The cocktail menu leans heavy into Margaritas, including a few seasonal specials like a spicy papaya option with coconut bitters.
Tzuco
River North
If it’s fancy Mexican cuisine you’re after, Chef Carlos Gaytan’s Tzuco will fit the bill. This stylish River North spot features cuisine from Gaytan’s hometown of Huitzuco, Mexico. Longstanding dishes include the roasted octopus with salsa macha, cochinita pibil served with black bean puree, pickled onions and habanero salsa, and shrimp aguachile with cucumber, avocado, chiles and lime. While your first instinct may not be to order a burger at a Mexican restaurant, we’re here to tell you the Tzuco burger is one not to miss. This umami bomb is loaded with oven-roasted tomatoes, Gruyere, pickled yellow beet, serrano peppers and black truffle aioli. Standout cocktails and pastry program (hello hazelnut sponge cake with salted caramel ice cream) round out Tzuco’s offerings.
Mi Tocaya Antojeria
Logan Square
Chef and owner Diana Davila’s food packs both fun and flavor, served in a warm and intimate dining room. Start with a few antojitos like the shrimp aguachile or tetelas, masa triangles stuffed with mushrooms and mole rojo. While the menu changes often based on Davila’s inspiration, one staple is the grilled skirt steak burrito loaded with local beans, avocado and banana peppers; another is the DIY quesabirria with aged queso fundido, hand-pressed tortillas and a rich goat consommé. The cocktail menu focuses on unique takes on familiar drinks, like the two-year-aged sangria with Mexican rum. Plus, there are plenty of wine, spirits and non-alcoholic options for all.
Birrieria Zaragoza
Archer Heights
Sure, you can call birrieria trendy, but this southside staple has been the G.O.A.T. of goat since 2007. The family-run spot specializes in goat birrieria, stewed goat served with onion, cilantro, made-to-order tortillas, limes, hot sauce and consommé for dipping. You can order it by the pound, as a plate or a taco and wash it down with an horchata or hibiscus tea. An Uptown location opened in 2023, giving northsiders an equal opportunity to enjoy the adobo-marinated meat.
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5 Rabanitos
Pilsen
This Pilsen mainstay serves colorful and fresh Mexican fare in casual digs near the Museum of Mexican Art. Here, the menu offers a plethora of recognizable dishes, from tortas and tacos to caldos and meat-heavy plates like cochinita pibil. Fun fact: each dish is garnished with radishes as an homage to the restaurant’s name (five radishes). In warmer months, a casual sidewalk patio is ideal for gathering to enjoy a torta and a cold cerveza, but don’t sleep on the variety of Margaritas, including a spicy pineapple mezcal version.
Carnitas Uruapan
Pilsen
If you’re on a mission for the crispiest, juiciest carnitas in town, stop by Carnitas Uruapan for killer pork tacos with all the fixings, which has been serving a family recipe from Michoacan, Mexico since 1975. Order carnitas tacos or meat by the pound and pair it with tacos dorados (fried tacos filled with potato and chorizo or potato and cheese), beans and homemade horchata. While the original location on 18th street is takeout only, a second location in Gage Park has a dining room. Plus, the team is planning to open its flagship third location in May in Little Village, complete with indoor and outdoor dining and a full bar.
Rubi’s Chicago
Pilsen
This OG taco stand got its start on Maxwell Street in 1997 and has since expanded to its own brick and mortar on 18th Street. Family recipes fuel the menu of tacos and quesadillas, and with so many varieties to enjoy, you’ll want to head there with a group. Try the al pastor, mushroom and steak tacos on handmade yellow or blue corn tortillas, and tack on a side of guacamole and elote topped with crushed Cheetos. On weekends, you can enjoy breakfast tacos like egg and chorizo or egg and salsa macha with peanuts.
Kie-Gol-Lanee
Uptown
This colorful northside spot specializes in Oaxacan cuisine, including tlayudas (large handmade corn tortillas topped with meat, black beans, cheese, tomatoes and avocado), roasted cornish hen with mole and sesame seeds, and barbecued lamb shank served with watercress, radish and lemon vinaigrette. Here you can BYOB or enjoy one of their homemade aguas frescas or horchata with cantaloupe and pecan.
Mis Moles
Irving Park
It’s no surprise that you’ll want to head here for incredible mole and strong drinks. This neighborhood restaurant features a great patio for enjoying several varieties of mole, including red, green and pumpkin. If you’re not sure which to order, each table gets a basket of tortilla chips and portions of each mole for sampling. If mole isn’t your thing, try the fajitas or quesabirria, and save room for crispy cinnamon-dusted churros served with warm chocolate sauce.
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