The 32 best Mexican restaurants in Chicago

Thick handmade tortillas, salsas made to order, cinnamon-laced coffee—you can get all of that here. Their only purpose, however, is to accompany this Bib Gourmand-rated restaurant’s signature platters of chopped roasted goat meat. As opposed to other birrierias, this goat doesn’t touch a consommé until it’s plated, when some of the tomato-based broth is spooned over it. At that point, a good dousing of the restaurant’s intricate hot sauce, and maybe a squeeze of lime and some onions and cilantro, is all you need for one of the city’s best goat tacos.

Open since 2017, this Logan Square restaurant puts a one-of-a-kind spin on classic Mexican dishes. Upon opening the menu, your eyes will go straight to the tacos (and you should order a few of those), but the antojos section is where you'll find chef Diana Dávila’s best work—discover an ever-changing menu of dishes like spaghetti squash "elote" style and braised pork shank in luscious mole.

A tasty homage to the streetside eateries of Mexico City, Taqueria Chingón is a partnership between Oliver Poilevey (Le Bouchon) and Marcos Ascencio (Bar Lupo)—two men with a shared passion for the classics. The tacos al pastor are a must, with tender bits of pork finding their match in creamy avocado salsa, sweet pineapple and flecks of cilantro; a veg-based version of the dish subs in portobello mushrooms and celery root to create a spot-on rendition. The restaurant recently enclosed its patio to offer year-round seating, rain or shine.

Chicago’s best all-around taqueria specializes in tacos de fritangas, or fried meats cooked on a wide metal stovetop called a charola. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, from the extra beefy suadero to the intricately spiced longaniza sausage. But the showstopper—and perhaps the best taco in the city—is the tripa. Order it crispy, and these little hunks from the cow’s intestine (not, as you would assume, the stomach) arrive as golden-hued and glistening crunchy nuggets.

Consistently earning a Michelin star since 2015, Topolobampo is the fanciest and most upscale of Rick Bayless’s Mexican restaurants. As with all of his restaurants, the products used here are local and seasonal. So whether you’re tucking into fresh oysters or ceviche or one of the beautiful moles, you know you’re eating the best the season has to offer. An ever-changing menu means it’s hard to predict exactly what will be on offer day to day—but because Bayless is involved, it never really feels like a gamble.

This Pilsen temple to pork attracts neverending lines on weekends and it’s not hard to see why. All parts of the pig are rendered in pork fat until it’s juicy, crisp and melts in your mouth. Order it by the pound and build your own tacos with the provided assortment of condiments and tortillas, or try the deep-fried brain tacos for a real treat. Just make sure to get there early—the restaurant closes once it sells out for the day.

Chef Carlos Gaytán, who became the first Latin American to earn a Michelin Star for his French-Mexican restaurant Mexique, continues to prepare the flavors of his native Mexico with haute cuisine techniques at this River North restaurant. The menu is full of extraordinary dishes like a perfectly prepared guajillo-roasted octopus and ultra tender pork shank served with pickled red onions and habanero salsa. While the crispy red snapper filet is recommended for two, it’s light enough that you can order if solo.

XOCO alum chef Alfonso Sotelo's dishes are delightfully comforting with just the right amount of personality. Whether you order a big plate of tacos (which won’t break the bank at $3.75 a piece) or our favorite, the warm and hearty green chicken tamal, you’ll feel welcome at 5 Rabanitos. Expect thoughtful plating (with slivers of radishes on every dish—hence the name) and potentially a visit from Sotelo himself.

At this tiny Pilsen storefront, regulars get special treatment (a.k.a. refried beans, not always on offer), newcomers just get blank stares, and everybody gets the carnitas. Ordered by the pound, the juicy pork is served to you on a platter with nothing but a side of corn tortillas and a spicy salsa verde so that you can concoct your own tacos. Not leaving any part of the pig to waste, the limited menu also includes fresh, warm, delicious pork rinds.

Longtime Maxwell Street Market vendor Rubi's has moved into a brick and mortar space in Pilsen, serving a menu of tacos and quesadillas featuring charcoal-grilled asada and pastor. Hours are limited and you'll probably want to order head to avoid waiting in line, but the generously-stuffed tacos and quesadillas are well worth the trouble—especially if you've missed digging into Rubi's signature dishes every Sunday on Desplaines Street.

Take a culinary journey to the Mexican coast for fresh mariscos when you dine at Baha in Belmont Cragin. Expect everything from ceviche and seafood cocktails to grilled whole fish and shrimp prepared in a variety of ways. Make sure to start your meal off with the Torre Sears, or Sears Tower—a picture-worthy stack of shrimp, fish, crab and mango topped with a spicy house sauce. Wash it down with a smoky mezcalita and you’ll feel like you’re on a beach next to the ocean.

On a stretch of Armitage Avenue, Topolobampo alums Brian Enyart and Jennifer Jones Enyart deliver inventive Mexican food like crispy chipotle wings and sweet corn tamale topped with a flambéed parmesan mayo. Pair your meal with a Dos Mezcal Old Fashioned—it’s only $9 during happy hour, alongside a number of other food and drink deals.

There are multiple reasons why this Logan Square taqueria is always bustling with activity. The chunky guac is accompanied by fresh-from-the-fryer chips sprinkled with sea salt; fish tacos sport a perfectly fried filet, crunchy cabbage, fresh pico de gallo and a hint of serrano aioli; perfectly-cooked carne asada graces the steak tacos and burritos; and you can get a cup of what might be the least saccharine horchata in Chicago. One thing you’d expect from a fancier taqueria that you don’t get here: inflated prices.

Reborn after being closed for two years due to a fire, this sibling spot to La Josie offers the same laid-back vibe. Start with an order of aguachile rojo then dig into an order of tacos with options including beer-battered pescado topped with chipotle aioli, cabbage and jicama or grilled skirt steak served with chicken, veggies and spicy shrimp. Previously BYOB, the spot now boasts a menu of more than 100 agave spirits including mezcal, tequila, raicilla and Bacanora.

Unlike many of Chicago's tamale shops—which favor a corn husk for the steaming process—Yvolina's cooks each tamal in a neat cocoon of banana leaves, which creates a slightly moister masa shell. You'll also find ingenuity among its fillings, which range from the classics (chicken with salsa verde or rojo) to the not-so-classics (tofu and green tomatillo, quinoa with lentils); both ends of the spectrum, however, are equally delicious, especially when drenched in the shop's mole sauce. Vegans and vegetarians will also be happy to note that many of the tamales are meat- and animal product-free.

If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, it’s hard to beat this Mexican seafood eatery. Diners are given complimentary ceviche tostadas to munch on (careful with the habanero salsa—it’s extremely spicy) as they look through the extensive menu. You’ll definitely want to bring a group because the massive portions are meant to be shared. Options include king and snow crab legs, stuffed lobsters, shrimp, langoustines, whole fried fish and more. There’s also a generous BYOB policy so come prepared.

You’ll find it all at this mom-and-pop operation in Archer Heights, from tacos and tortas to picaditas and enchiladas. The must-try, though, is the tlacoyo—oval-shaped discs of blue or yellow masa stuffed with beans and cheese and topped with ingredients like carnitas, cochinita pibil and even filet mignon.

You’re coming to this family-run joint for the birria—arguably the finest on the North Side—which is slowly simmered and then coated in chile paste before being roasted. Order it by the pound and make tacos you’ll dream about over and over with the accompanying tortillas and fixins’. Or for an east-west mashup, try the birria egg rolls. On weekends, specials like menudo are also available.

The name Leña Brava means “ferocious firewood,” a nod to the restaurant’s focus on classic wood-fired dishes such as the signature whole grilled sea bass. You can also build your own tacos with corn tortillas, caramelized onions, grilled chiles and skirt steak, lamb neck birria or pork carnitas. Pair your meal with beer from sibling spot Cruz Blanca.

Brunch at Rick Bayless’s casual River North haunt is damn near perfect, boasting a michelada with housemade sangrita and breakfast enchiladas featuring handmade tortillas stuffed with scrambled eggs and topped with creamy tomatillo salsa. Lunch and dinner are equally impressive, offering tortas filled with Baja chicken, golden pork carnitas and barbacoa. Finish your meal on a sweet note with a cup of masterfully concocted hot chocolate blended with chile and allspice and a pistachio-glazed churro.

The scope of the menu may not win you over at first—this joint serves only about half a dozen items—but after trying the delectable tongue tacos, the cabeza tacos full of luscious beef cheeks, the simple yet rich goat consommé or the goat tacos bursting with sumptuous meat, you’ll find you won’t want for anything else.

Specializing in traditional Oaxacan fare, this Uptown eatery serves more than just the standard array of tacos. Feast on tlayudas, tamales wrapped in plantain leaves, comforting barbecued lamb shank and rabbit stew with yellow mole. To start, skip the usual order of chips and guac and opt for the chapulines—crispy grasshoppers—if you dare. You can also save some dough with a $45 three-course prix fixe menu offered Monday-Thursday. 

With hundreds of Mexican joints to choose from, why do we love this one? Maybe it’s the Huatulco torta, a sandwich that layers housemade chorizo, caramelized onions, a slather of pinto beans and fresh avocado atop cecina, thin beef that’s marinated for two days and then grilled. Or maybe it’s the roasted Cornish hen smothered in Oaxacan mole or the crispy red snapper hiding under pickled red onions. Maybe there are too many reasons to count.

This 18th Street spot has only a small smattering of tables inside, but summers bring respite with an outdoor patio. Our favorite? The enchiladas with red sauce, filled to the brim with cheese or chicken and served with a side of addictive refried beans and rice. Order a cup of Jamaica, too—you’ll want something to wash these sauce-covered cheese-laden guys down.

The signage on this skinny counter-service taqueria touts its fare as the best Mexican food in town, and while the objective truth of that may be hard to determine, it indeed does some excellent things with pork. Tacos al pastor are tender and laced with rich adobo essence; others are stuffed with delicately flavored chicharron and slathered with fresh, chunky salsa verde. Weekends bring specials of menudo and birria, the latter featuring forkfuls of soft, mildly gamey meat in a smoky broth.

Owned and operated by the same folks behind Longman & Eagle and Parson's Chicken & Fish, Lonesome Rose is a hipster's paradise, complete with a sweet rooftop deck. The menu leans Tex-Mex, with crispy fish tacos, burritos and Truck Stop Nachos, which are piled high with black beans, queso, pickled red onions and crema. Share a pitcher of margaritas made with tequila or mezcal or order a sweet glass of horchata you can get spiked with rum or bourbon.

This cozy restaurant decorated with cacti, Mexican art and flowers is a popular spot for both date nights and family dinners. Warm up with a bowl of pozole sprinkled with dried chili peppers or enjoy a lighter meal of shrimp served in spicy tomato sauce with a side of rice. You also can’t go wrong with pastor or grilled beef tacos nestled served in warm tortillas and sprinkled with cilantro and onions.

The bustling sit-down Mexican spot (part of a local chain, with locations throughout the city) serves excellent tacos on fresh tortillas piled with fillings like spicy chorizo and tender steak, topped with onions and cilantro. Dress them with salsa served from squeeze bottles and spicy pickled veggies, including carrots and jalapeños, which sit on every table.

Mole takes center stage at this family-owned restaurant in Irving Park. They offer three different varieties of the sauce—rojo, pipian and verde—and you can try them all alongside chips and salsa before picking your favorite to top chicken breast or enchiladas. Come during summer to hang out on the lovely pato or visit during brunch for a hearty meal of chilaquiles or huevos rancheros.

Tacos seem like the obvious choice at this Avondale standby, and you can't go wrong with the taqueria's extra-crispy al pastor or carne asada. But if you happen to be in the neighborhood around breakfast, be sure to grab an order of chilaquiles—doused in a satisfyingly spicy salsa verde, this massive platter offers almost enough sustenance for two. 

Clementina Flores is a mole goddess, a woman sent from the heavens to create sauces so rich and complex, you’ll want to ingest them with a straw. Formerly the mole master at Chilpancingo and Ixcapuzalco, she now combines her mole with chef Carlos Tello’s food, and magic happens. For each season, mole-doused entrées take on new flavors. Try the signature borrego en mole negro, which matches an Austrialian rack of lamb with black mole sauce and mashed potatoes.

What this counter-seat-only birria joint lacks in size, it makes up for in flavor. The signature dish is offered with refried beans and handmade tortillas and you’ll also find other traditional entrees from Jalisco, such as breaded steak and pork leg served with sour cream, cheese, avocado, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and jalapeño. Late hours and dirt cheap prices make it a perfect place to grab a snack after a night out.