San Gabriel Mexican Cafe

This was my first time and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and taste of the food. The service was excellent, we came on a Thursday evening and there was no wait — honestly the place was no where close to full.
The tables had white table cloths and white cloth napkins — yet the dress code was pretty casual, everyone was dressed in their work clothes or jeans.
The free chips and salsa kicked us off. The chips were so warm (but unsalted.). We started with the $ 5 nachos (no meat) they were easily a meal for 1 person by themselves. I had the fish tacos and my husband had the steak fajitas. No, our entrees were not cheap — but mine came with spring mix for the lettuce and my husbands had romaine lettuce. You could tell everything was nice and fresh. The flavors were great — get the nachos!
I will be back!

The food quality here is very high. Fresh ingredients, great staff, nice atmosphere. The only thing is that the prices match. We paid over $ 100 for 4 people, so I feel the prices could be lower, especially when compared to other nearby Mexican restaurants. They have a very nice party room for rental as well.

The food was ok. I think that I got sick from having a strong drink from here, which did not make my meal fun. They do have great bathrooms so that was a plus. I would go back again if in the area otherwise not worth the treck out there.

If you really don’t know the difference (or have never had) AUTHENTIC Mexican food then you’d consider, like some Unilocalers who have raved about this place, a good experience, but don’t be deceived by the few decent reviews.
Our intentions last night were not to have Mexican food, we were actually aiming to eat at Dogout but as its apparently just my luck I can never find it opened. We then decided to walk over to San Gabriel as heck we were already there.
Upon walking into the establishment you can feel somewhat a Mexican feel to it then again not quite with the tacky card boards on the wall wrapped in Christmas paper.
After a quick glimpse of the place we were then seated. The place looked nice and clean and looked to be somewhere that actually had the potential to serve you some decent food. eh turned out to be only wishful thinking. I can’t speak for everyone when I say this but I actually think the kitchen staff and cooks belong in the KITCHEN, for some reason one of the Mexican cooks or so I think he was, kept walking in an out the «dinning room area» I’m uncertain as to what business he had but I do not think that was very professional of him. Our waitress didn’t seem very professional either it wasn’t even a busy night there were only 3 other couples beside us in this good size establishment, she dropped stuff twice one of the times successfully shattering a fresh bowl of salsa. As for the menu I think they got it all wrong. Think about «fine dinning prices» when you think about this place. I’ve been to upscale restaurants throughout the Chicago area and where its definitely fine dinning and I wouldn’t imagine paying these prices for some foods but here it’s like a slap in the face! Who pays $ 10 for guacamole? $ 15 for a taco dinner? (we did which we waited too long for), tacos served to you on a metal taco holder (talk about authentic) a little scoop of rice and a tiny bowl of beans (not to mention the lack of seasoning the food was tasteless!) $ 20 for fajitas? And the list goes on. You won’t get anything cheaper than $ 6 (rounded off here) and it would be a bowl of «broth» with a few shavings of fried corn tortilla 2 tiny slices of avocado and a smile of sour cream. All in all, unless you «got it like that» don’t waste your hard earned money dinning at this place there’s better ways to squander money. It’s not worth it. I wouldn’t waste time to write a review if I honestly didn’t think that way. Summing it all up, as we were leaving said establishment my partner says to me, «take a last look at this place. I responded why… Because this will the the last time we step foot in here!».

The best part of my meal at San Gabriel? Definitely the guacamole. I could’ve eaten that and only that and been perfectly content. My entrée was good too, but man… the guac. And it was free (a promotion they were running that day.)
We were a bit rushed for our dinner the night we went to San Gabriel, so I basically picked the first thing on the menu that jumped at me and ordered it — the Carne Asada.
It was not what I was used to — it had a creamy sauce of corn, onions, and poblanos smothering it, which was very tasty, but made the skirt steak even richer. I ended up scraping the rest of it off after a few bites and just focusing on the flavorful steak.
Sides were pretty meh, but I’m not too big on rice and beans.
It’s nice to have another Mexican place in the rotation.

I celebrated my birthday there with some friends who had never been before. Their food is amazing! We tried everything from the amazing guacamole to the chile rillenos to the seafood and fajitas. Everything was excellent ! The staff also gave us free desserts for the whole table as a gift for my birthday! We all agreed we would be back. Amazing food and service.

Service was extremely attentive and friendly and just all around happy to see us.
We only tried appetizers for our meal and it was very fulfilling. Plus we ordered the guacamole which came out in this huge stone mortar. Try the spicy though because even the medium didn’t have any kick, to me. The chips were warm but a little over cooked.
The food was fresh and very tasty. Recommend the crab cakes and the chipotle marinated shrimp. Pass the chorizo sope as there was no real flavor to it.
The lighting was too bright, they could dim the lights a touch to create an ambiance.
Cloth napkins all over, even in the «bar» area added the fine dining touch.
Recommend going back several times to sample everything on the menu!

I dined there recently for my birthday. They have a fabulous new dessert called Lava Cake. It’s to die for. The staff sang me happy birthday which was very unexpected because I had no idea my husband secretly told the staff it was my birthday. I had a candle on the cake and it was wonderful. I had the steak special which included rice, beans and a small enchilada. I notice they have more specials to pick from. That night there was a special that if you buy two entrees, you get free guacamole. I definitely took them on that offer as I love the guacamole there. They no longer bring the cart to the table, but I noticed that Nadia, the guacamole lady, still makes it very nice as usual. I had the red organic sangria which was incredible. My son had a margarita made with Tesoro tequila which he said was very good. All in all, I had a wonderful birthday dinner and highly recommend this restaurant.

For me the guacamole was the highlight. We came in for a quick lunch and had the skirt steak lunch special. All of the food had a pretty strong citrus taste but wasn’t bad and it wasn’t good. The beans I would say avoid at all costs. Nice ambiance and fair service. I don’t think I would come back. There are just better options in the area.

The restaurant has a nice layout and seating options. I was greeted at the door at led to my seat, but after I received chips, salsa, and water the servers disappeared! I waited about 10 minutes just to place my order (mind you the place was essentially empty)
Had it not been for a nice older lady to come check on me I’d prob still be waiting to order!
Once I did get my good it was decent, not at all worth the wait. Then my beer was warm. Just not worth the time or effort to find good Mexican food :/

We dined at San Gabriel Café on Father’s Day. We had been there once before and had really enjoyed our meal. The food was excellent, just as we remembered. My mom, dad and I all had the enchiladas, but each had a different sauce. I tried all three (the tomatillo, the mole and the red sauce) and all were delicious! My husband had Cochinita Pibil («Oven-​roasted juicy shredded pork spiced in achiote. Served with black beans, pickled onions, habanero salsa, and homemade tortillas.») It was AMAZING! Highly HIGHLY recommend this dish! My dad’s margarita was delicious as was the white sangria. The service was excellent.
I am deducting one star for two reasons: Half a star since I felt the beers were sightly overpriced. Another half star since we ordered the guacamole assuming it would be prepared table-​side (as stated on the menu) but it was prepared in the kitchen. Darn tasty guac, but for the price we had anticipated a «show.» Still, I would give San Gabriel four stars and we will try it again!

When I heard San Gabriel had a new managed, I wanted to go check the place out.
First of all, the place looks brand new. New TVs, new paint job and just feels a lot more open and welcoming. They have tables outside which were not there before and it works out really well.
The menu looks different and taste different.
The skirt steak was so tender and so delicious that I could hardly believe it was the same restaurant.
The bar looks so well stocked and you can tell the owner didn’t skip any expensive to make sure it is perfect.
I highly recommend trying San Gabriel out.
ORDER THE DUCK TAQUITOS!

One of the best restaurants I been to, great food and good service, love the guacamole !!! And really good margaritas, on Saturday nights they have mariachi

Best Mexican restaurant in the North suburbs. Great food. Happy people. Nice mariachi music on weekends. Try the fresh red snapper or one of the steak specialties.

We have been coming here on and off for years. Right now, we are off because they are off. Off their game!
The guacamole here is really good. They used to make it table side from a cart… but no more. While the guacamole is still good the serving size is really small and it’s $ 10 per order! Super expensive for the size of the portion — not enough for a family of four. We asked for it medium spicy but I don’t think there was any spice at in it. It was super mild.
For dinner on our most recent visit I had the scallop fajitas. They were okay but really expensive for what they were. Our daughter had the tropical bites, they came out cold. They wanted to microwave them to reheat them. Microwaved grilled calamari and scallops — yuck! We said no no no. They took them back and put them back on the grill top. Who does that? Why wouldn’t they make a fresh one? While it was better than being cold, it certainly wasn’t good or worth the price. The son had the molcajete, with steak which was probably the best dish on our table.
On our last visit the service was atrocious. It took forever to place our order and two eternities to actually get it. Then as mentioned above, one dish was delivered cold and then the problem not taken care of appropriately.

One of the Best Mexican Restaurants in the Northern IL Suburbs!
I don’t know why there are some negative reviews of this restaurant. I have gone to the San Gabriel now on several occasions with my family and we have always had great Mexican food and friendly service. All the waiters and waitresses there are very attentive and we have NEVER have had slow or bad service.
The restaurant is very family-​friendly as have two small children under 6 (very well behaved to by the way) and they always offer them crayons and a children’s menu to color on. The restaurant is always pretty busy on the weekends, so highly recommend that you make a reservation 24 hours in advance to avoid not getting a table. The ambiance in the restaurant is nice and lively, but not overly noisy. They also have two guitar players that sing table side on the weekends (which my kids also enjoy listening to).
San Gabriel has fantastic margaritas and the house special that is made «straight up» and shaken in a martini shaker is the best! They also have a wonderful lady who is there every weekend, making fresh guacamole, table side, anywhere from mild to super hot/​spicy. Hands down the best tasting guacamole around.
My favorite dishes there are the Grilled Sea Bass and the Carne Asada. I also really enjoy the Red Snapper Vera Cruz style.
I highly recommend this restaurant!

I LOVE that they do guacamole tableside, and I really, really enjoyed my grilled scallops entrée. It was so flavorful, the scallops were perfectly cooked, and all the sides went together with the protein so perfectly. Truly a composed dish.
I do wish they had more vegetarian options… I’m just glad I’m a pescatarian! The other less-​than-​perfect thing was when they brought our entrees, they took away our guacamole despite the fact that it wasn’t empty! We immediately protested, but by the time the waiter brought it back, it was clear that it had begun to be emptied… Or it was someone else’s! They should have comped the guac, not brought us back one that had started being cleaned in the kitchen.
So… hold on to your guac and enjoy the scallops!

Definitely pricey but so good. Don’t go here if you’re craving cheap, delicious and authentic Mexican food. For that you can be satisfied for about $ 5 elsewhere.
I had the fish tacos which were pretty good. The fish wasn’t perfect but it was good and it was generously portioned. On each of my three tacos were full small size fillets so it was really nice and helped cure the seafood craving. The guacamole was delicious and they make it right in front of you on a cart. They have an excellent selection of tequilas including flights in the event you want to sample different ones.
Everyone else said their food was great and i definitely believe it. The bean and rice sides were absolutely delicious too. My gf ended up throwing up after half her burrito and her stomach was messed up all night, though i think it may have been her eating too much too fast but i figured i should mention it in case anyone else had an issue.
We also went on a night that was buy one get one meals… so that made it very worth while. If you have the money and are in the area definitely try this place out and Unilocal it since i keep hearing this place is hit or miss. Ill try it again though.

Meh pretty much sums up my experience with San Gabriel. I appreciate what they’re trying to do here, but it’s just not working, especially when you take into account the steep prices of their menu items.
I stopped in for lunch with a friend and we started with one of their specialty margaritas. Our waiter informed us that the person who knew how to make the kind we ordered wasn’t there yet, but he could make us a regular margarita… so we agreed. It was ok, but nothing special.
We started with guacamole and their roasted duck soft taquitos. The guacamole was really their saving grace-​made fresh table side, very flavorful, love the fresh lime juice. The taquitos on the other hand… a bit of a joke. They were incredibly flavorful, but calling them taquitos is a bit of a stretch. They come in large, soft flour tortillas, not fried or anything, and not skinny like I usually envision a taquito. I would say they were more like duck burritos but in half. Also, it didn’t come with the grilled pineapple that was listed on the menu… kind of a bummer.
For my main dish I ordered the pork (al pastor) tacos. The pork seemed like it was quality meat but I was just not getting much flavor at all-​which is especially weird for al pastor which is usually full of flavor. These also did not come with the pineapple that was listed on the menu. I suppose they might have been out of pineapple that day? Odd thing to be out of on a Friday afternoon and they could have at least told me about it, but whatever. Also, the beans that came with it were just terrible-​all watery and not at all the type of refried bean I like. Maybe they work for some, but not this girl.
Overall just a lackluster showing and a pricey lunch bill, I won’t be returning.

The best part of the meal was listening to the other customers and their conversations. «Can we have 4 pates to share?» said one woman. Her server, who obviously spoke excellent English said «yes, I’ll bring them out right away.» She proceeded to tap him on the back when he was walking away and said «ummm… Platos por favor». He responded with a «very good». It was easily the best scene I could have asked for when going to a Mexican restaurant in such a heavy old money white community.
Later on this same lady, who probably had a few too many, starts asking the other couple that they are double dating with, «Have your kids decided where they want to go for summer camp? We were thinking of going somewhere for our 20^th anniversary and would like you to come with. Honey, we could sponsor all their meals if they join us. I just want to go somewhere tropical and stay in the hotel for like a week and eat and be drunk…» This kept on going and I kept on listening. When the server came back with her four sharing plates she said, «I ordered a chicken quesadilla, but this looks like a fajita chicken quesadilla. I don’t want the fajita, just chicken quesadilla.» She then proceeded to hold up her empty wine glass and say, «another chardonnay».
And people say you need to be in the city for good people watching. This was pure gold.
What would bring me to this establishment for a Mexican meal when Highwood and Wheeling are so close by with their plethora of Mexican eateries? A Groupon, you know homie don’t pay retail. $ 35 for guacamole, margaritas, and two mains all for $ 35. And for that price I would have given this place an extra star or two. But there was just too many things that didn’t line up.
So we get there, and we see a nice unassuming bar. But then there is one really cheesy Corona blow up hanging from the ceiling. One is way too much if you are trying to be a classy Mexican restaurant, and one is too few if you are trying to give a party atmosphere.
Regardless we sit and are immediately given chips and salsa. The salsa is solid with nice chunks and a little heat. Then come the margaritas followed by a question of how spicy we want the guacamole. Being that this is Bannockburn (not very ethnic), and my love for heat, I ordered it spicy. It came at a level that would barely be considered mild in most circumstances. But the chips were good and the avocado was fresh.
To wash them down we had our margaritas. These were made pretty decent. They were a little overly sweet and a little too harsh of a tequila for my preference (the extra sugar was probably to mask the cheaper tequila). But it was full of lime which was good.
So for mains I ordered a molcajete filled with cheese, shrimp (maybe jumbo as they were big), cactus, green onions, and chili pastes. It was served in a molcajete that was radiating heat from the cooking method. I am not sure how authentic (if at all) this dish was as I thought that the molcajete was a cooking tool for mashing things. But it was full of flavor and satisfying. My wife ordered the seafood platter. It had scallops, shrimps, calimari, and a jicima salad. She enjoyed the fresh scallops and the sauce. Though she did comment how the sauce tasted pretty much like a chipotle ranch dressing.
Overall I would come back if someone else was getting the bill as it would have been nearly $ 90 for the two of us (and there are plenty of better Mexican, seafood, or even Mexican Seafood (
)).