El Molino Restaurant
| Address: | 2112 Elgin Rd, Carpentersville, IL 60110, USA |
| Phone: | +1 847-551-1602 |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 12–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 14
LA
Larry Kriz
Yeah... not good. Have been here quite a few times over the years, Used to be one of the better Mexican restaurants in the entire CVille, Algonquin, Elgin area. I dont know what happened (maybe a change in management I dont know). Went there last night with a group of 10. Made reservations for 5 PM. Service was awful. The water in the water glasses smelled bad and tasted funny (everyone in the party made similar comments). Strangely, the water in the pitcher didnt have that same problem (weird - maybe they didnt wash the glasses properly before pouring). I didnt touch the water. Dont drink the water!! lol Our party didnt all arrive at the same time. The remaining members showed up within ten minutes after I got there. For some reason the one lone waiter in the whole joint was prompting us to place food orders before all the drinks had even been ordered/served. Eventually the place started filling up and more waiters (kids really) arrived to take up some of the slack. Of course none of them knew what order belonged to which customer so now were trying to sort out who ordered what. One of the orders was incorrect and had to be returned. Generally, no real complaint about the quality of the food. It was delivered fast (almost too fast really - we had little time to commiserate before the food arrived). I just got the feeling they were trying to rush us out of there as quickly as possible. With every miscellaneous server hiccup I was mentally deducting from the tip. Oddly, they chose to fill in the tip amount at the end of the meal (15% which would have been reasonable for great service). Im not used to places filling in the tip amount ahead of time. I find that to be in poor taste. I wont be back any time soon. Too bad. Used to be a really nice place.
A
A Private User
Ordered the Carne Oxacana. Woo man, thats a spicey-hot sauce! The skirt steak came covered with melted cheese and the Oxacana sauce, with sour cream, and a chicken compote-like mix with lettuce, chips, tomato, and a side of tortillas and rice and beans. That is a lot of food. The steak was ordered medium-rare and came red in the middle--perfect. The flavor of the steak was juicy and smokey, the perfect compliment to the fiery Oxacana Sauce. My wife had the Chicken Quesadillas and liked it. We also split a half-pitcher of sangria--fruity and flavorful! I had a Bohemia beer with my steak--the perfect compliment. Let me reiterate--the steak was not just good, it was an experience--one I will repeat and soon. The Ambiance is terrific! The furniture in the restaurant looks Spanish, and the decor has a rustic, authentic feel to it. I felt like I was in some nice place in Mexico. The price was fair, the service was adequate. Our server was at the table when he had to be, but didnt really seem to care much. The hostess was very interested in our experience afterword.
BR
Brandon Ervin
Food was not as authentic as I would have liked, which is sad because there are so many fine Mexican restaurants in Carpentersville. Everyone in this restaurant was pretty much a non Hispanic person including waiters and patrons. My party joked about all the middle aged white men in golf shirts drinking corona and came to the conclusion that in this predominantly Hispanic part of Carpentersville this is where all the Yuppies come after golfing to eat kinda Americanized Mexican food without actually having to interact with erm Mexican people..... I think in the future Ill stick with La Alcancia and Los Burritos Mexicanos.
ED
Ed Vraney
I have not been there in years and always enjoyed it. But our experience was one of the worst we have had. It started with the server getting the drink order wrong and then ignored us after taking our food order. I had to track him down to get the bill, which he promptly dropped on the table and disappeared. We had to pay at the desk.The food was nothing to talk about either. It was hot, but lacked seasoning. I did like the red salsa for the chips, it was a little too hot but had a nice flavor.
CA
Carrie Colby
The staff is polite and I love the decor. The food was beyond disappointing. There was nothing authentic about the meal. I ordered the queso fundido and was very displeased. It was not warm and the cheese was like rubber; flung back into position if pulled up by a fork. The fajitas werent sizzling when brought to the table either and the horchata had granules from the powder it was made with. The restaurant wasnt all bad, however if you want true authentic food this is not the place.
RI
Rick Yorke
Wow it was very good. Amazing service. I came to visit my cousin on a Friday afternoon. When we walk in the very nice young blonde hostess took us to our table we ordered our drinks and meals. And within 10 minutes our food was done. It was delicious. And they came by often to make sure we were doing well. The outdoor decor was nice even in late October. Overall it was great. 5/5! I will make sure to come again when I visit my cousin next.
RA
Randy Burch
Been going there since day one food and drinks are great. Gustavo and his wife are fantastic owners and hosts who still work there and are very personable people....I took my fiance there on our first date... I used to drink.. Had a lot of margaritas at the bar.. Great specials too Cantina style atmosphere.... Nice
KA
karla gonzalez
Its a real cute place but ... You can not possibly think that im not going to notice that the food that was served was taken from a can n just heated. The orchata was made from flavor powder which was not good. Waiters were nice but this is just white people trying to sell mexican food .
AR
Ariel C
The food is alright, Its not amazing... but its Ok. They have decent drink specials every day of the week which is nice. The building is in desperate need of an update though. It needs a good scrubbing, and the bathrooms are super dark its almost hard to maneuver around.
RO
Robert Axen
El Molino is the best Mexican Restaurant Ive been to so far! My fiance and I live close by and always enjoy grabbing food to go. The atmosphere while dining in is a great pleasure. I recommend making this one of your regular go to places for the best Mexican food around!
FR
Fred Lechuga
I know some people love this place, but man I do not get it. Maybe I went there on a bad day, but the food was extremely disappointing. I would rate this as a 1, but I gave it a 2 because the service was good. However, for authentic mexican food...I would not go here.
PA
Paula George
So sad this place used to be so awesome, tonights experience not so much. Even heard the bartender say he didnt know what he was doing making drinks when we complain about ours. So we were not taking a chance and cancelled the dinner order and went some place else.
TA
Tammy Lombardo
Very disappointed! Margarita was weak. Fish tacos tasted like the fish was microwaved. Meal was brought out 5 minutes after we ordered, which was concerning. The waiter even commented that he couldnt believe how fast it was ready. Dont waste your time or money.
JO
John Rodriguez
Though the servers are nice, the food was not appealing at all. Very disappointed especially since we were starving; and whatever you do, dont drink the Agua de Horchata. The salsas were not the greatest either.
