Cemitas Puebla

I could eat tacos everyday. I’m a sucker for a good taco & this place has them. The steak is top notch and the Guac is to die for. Horchata is on point and the avocado hot sauce is a must. I even bought a bottle for home. We have ordered for work events and the food came hot and delicious. The atmosphere inside is very chill and I love that they have a out door area. Great for a quick work lunch or date night. I only wish they had their music up a little higher to set the mood.

Simply the best. Ever since we saw them featured on triple D, we come whenever we are in the city. Delicious fresh and full of flavor. Yummy! Don’t miss the Cemitas and the chalupas. Tacos are excellent as well, but the Cemitas steal the show. Super friendly staff and really cool ambiance.

Huge Cemitas fan. when I first visited their Humboldt Park location, I immediately wanted to order another sandwich after eating my first. With that being said, I had expectations that their Fulton location would be just as good as the original.
The design is sleek, and branding has definitely been focused on. It feels new and hip but still approachable. But looks aside, I was disappointed for a cold, dry sandwich to show up in front of me. Perhaps they are pre shaving meat to save time? I would understand if it was deep into the lunch rush, but it was a lazy Friday night with no wait. The boozey drinks are a welcome addition. Though my spiked horchata was far too cinnamon-​y, the price point was fair and I’m sure the other drinks have potential.
All in all, I think that if the urge to cut corners is minimized for the sake of food integrity, this location can be just as good as the original.

Wow… not much to say because the reviewer Annie below said it all perfectly well…
This is totally NOT Mexican food. it just has an identity problem…
in its attempt to cater to the non-​Hispanic clientele, Cemitas Pueblas at least this location, has managed to become a BLAND washed out version of what truly Mexican food is supposed to be.
The last time I dined at Cemitas Puebla. was when their North Ave location was still open.
I think there they actually would toast the bread a little. Here you get none of that. plus the meat lacks any flavor…
This place now ranks up there in the same category as the Taco Bells who think they sell Mexican food.

I used to go to the original location all the time and loved the authenticity of the food. This place is great as well, at least when it opened. I feel that they are putting less meat and less ingredients in the cemitas at this new location. I felt like i was mostly eating bread. At the old location it was pouring out with meat and I loved it. The most recent cemita barely had any meat. I will give it some more tries but if quality continues to to be subpar then I may stop going here. My only hope is my last visit was a fluke and the original quality returns as I used to love the food here.
On another note getting an order from grubhub is not nearly as good as getting it fresh.

Their tortas or whatever they call them called are delicious
The quesadillas are good too for a light snack
Location is convenient
Staff is nice

Took a trip to see the Bears play the Niners. Saw this place on triple D years ago… Always wanted to try it out! It was awesome!

Came here on a Sunday for an early lunch with a friend after church. We strolled in around 11:10 am and were their first customers of the day. It’s a bright, cozy little place down in the Fulton Market area. It’s not very big so I can imagine it gets pretty busy during other times of day. The people at the counter were very friendly and helped us through the menu and gave some suggestions. I went with the Al Pastor cemita (the cemitas are the giant sandwiches you see in the pictures). For $ 2.99 you can add chips/​salsa and a fountain drink which I thought was a great deal. Everything on the menu is very affordable, which is a nice change from the vast majority of places in that area.
The cemita was massive and really delicious. The bun is nice and crisp and they give a generous amount of their house cheese on the cemita (I forget the name for it). They give you three sauces at the table to try and all of them are pretty solid. I didn’t find any of them to be particularly spicy if you’re concerned about that. Lastly, the pork was well cooked and nicely seasoned on my sandwich. I also really enjoyed the chips and guac! You can definitely tell the chips are homemade. I would totally buy them by the bag if they sold them.
Great place! I wish they had a location in Lakeview!

Let’s discuss what makes a great sandwich. For me, it starts with the bread. Bread is so much more than just the transportation device that seamlessly shovels deliciousness into my mouth hole. You need both a decent bread to filling ratio as well as something substantial enough to stand up to the filling without overwhelming it. Next comes what’s in between the bread… I subscribe to the school of keep it simple. You’ve got me with quality ingredients in the right proportion to one another.
Cemitas could write a how-​to book on sandwich construction. The sesame rolls are fresh and hold up well even when you over do it with that insane chipotle sauce. The meat to bread to cheese to avocado to sauce ration is spot on. The Arabe I had today was loaded with porky goodness topped off with lightly melted Oaxacan cheesy perfection. Admittedly, I am heavy handed with my sauce use… but only because it is so good!
Long story short, if you’re in the West Loop with $ 7 in your pocket that you don’t know what to do with I highly suggest you 1) contact me and give me the $ 7 or 2) go to Cemitas Puebla and gave you a delicious bite to eat.

Been coming for years when it was on north ave. Much nicer atmosphere although I liked the pics of luchadors with the owner. The cemitas is just outstanding. Been branching out since they moved and really like everything bit get a cemitas first time. Great service

Great spot to grab a bite on the cheap before going out for upscale drinks nearby. The concept of this place is great… imagine a burger joint done with legit mexican food… rather than ground beef patties, cheddar cheese and day old buns this spot has Cemitas sandwiches stuffed with seasons meats like Al Pastor and arabe (spit roasted pork) and freshly baked sesame seed rolls. I highly recommend!

I know I should have actually tried the cemitas, but I was really craving tacos. I got the steak, chorizo, and al pastor. Of course I also had to get the horchata as well. Everything was really delicious and flavorful. Of course this is a bit pricier than some of the other local Mexican spots. I am pretty sure I will be back to try the cemitas. The staff was nice and service was relatively quick even though there was a short line.

It’s a real shame how far Cemitas Puebla has strayed from its original brand from Humboldt Park to become this incredibly unimpressive version I’ve experienced today.
I visited the new location on Fulton Market for lunch today expecting to get a slice of heaven in the form of a delicious cemita to fill a gap in my soul. But the experience turned out quite disappointing.
We ordered 2 tacos and 2 cemitas, in fairly standard variations like al pastor, carne asada… etc. To kick things off, our food took an surprisingly long time to prepare considering we were one of the only 3 groups that was in the restaurant at the time. Luckily, we also ordered some chips and salsa that kept us preoccupied for the 15 mins wait. The tacos came out first. With a squeeze of lime and some heavy handed salsa-​ing, they were actually fairly decent. I’m not sure if I was just too hungry to be well calibrated, but the tacos’ opening act actually got me excited for the main attraction, the cemitas…
Finally, the cemitas arrived looking like a million bucks, but that’s about where my good mood came to a screeching halt. At first bite, it struck me… the sandwiches were not hot, and also the sandwiches don’t taste like sandwiches. They had all the components to a good cemitas, but just without ANY flavor!!! The meats were a bit dry, flavorless, and worst of all… cold! That set the tone for the entire sandwich… the cheese never got a chance to get going and just also ended up sitting coldly in between the buns. In a desperate attempt to fix the situation, I must have unloaded an entire bottle of salsa in my sandwich, but things just weren’t the same. It actually became a punishment to keep eating, so we stopped and left half of the cemitas sadly in the cold tray to wallow in shame.
The wait staff was nice though… Sad to say, I will never return again. I will still keep the good memory I had about the original location in a safe place in my brain so I can maybe tell my kids about it one day… To do so, I need to not let these new locations tarnish it! So this is how Cemitas Puebla will no longer see one another. Good bye…

This place is spiraling down a deep dark tunnel into a mess of half-​assed bland «Mexican» food. Each visit has been progressively worse and I’m officially signing off for good. The main issue here is the quality of the food. Today I tried the carne asada cemita, arabe cemita, taco al pastor, and taco orientales. The food was just plain bad across the board — shockingly bland, lacking any seasoning, and lukewarm bordering cold. I’m not a picky eater by any means, but I couldn’t even get myself to eat half the sandwich.
The carne asada in particular was extremely disappointing. It just tasted like little chunks of mediocre steak and there was nothing carne asada-​esque about it. You can’t just slap pictures of skulls on your walls and menus and call the food Mexican. Cmon guys. Cemitas Puebla needs to step it up and do some quality control, especially with all the good eats around West Loop.

After years of wanting to try these sandwiches, we finally made it to the West Loop location. It was the perfect fast casual lunch we were looking for. Even though there were lots of great sounding menu options, but we came for the cemitas.
My husband and I ordered the al pastor and carne asada and swapped halfway. Both were really large and really good. The sesame seed rolls these come on are great too, rather than just being a carby afterthought. I wouldn’t hesitate to order either of these again. The sauces were a hit as well. The smoky chipotle one is obviously their thing, but I liked them all. We also ordered the large chips and guac. Big mistake in that the portion is so big, we didn’t end up finishing it all. Two people will definitely be fine with the smaller size.
They sell alcohol at this location, but I opted for the horchata. It was sweeter than I’m used to (not in a bad way) and ended up being a liquid dessert of sorts.
Glad we finally made it to Cemitas Puebla, especially since we were able to sit outside at one of their dog friendly sidewalk tables. Pricing was fair, especially with the a la card discount we used, and staff was friendly.

Quality depends on the type of cemitas gotten.
3: I was there a couple weeks ago, and had the beef tongue cemita. It was served cold, almost chewy and raw. Complemented by the green salsa. It was interesting but I would not be ordering it again. I wish it were better seasoned.
My friend got the Atomica and loved it.
Now they had a half priced promotion on Doordash. I ordered the maximum possible.
4: the Al Pastor Cemita was decent. It is a very large portion, the bread is soft and doughy, but most of all, the meat, cheese-​string patty, and some avocado are fried to a very nice combination. It’s definitely not quite Xoco’s level, but then again it’s a lot cheaper.
2: Milanesa Cemita. Very meh. The meat was not very fresh, and it did not make my tastebuds happy.
3.5: Veggie Cemita. Zucchinis, onions, green peppers, and button mushrooms. It is overall, done very well and will satisfy many a vegetarian. There’s the right level of umami goodness, and with the green and red salsas, it goes down very well.

Let me preface this review by saying that I did not order the tacos, chalupas, quesadillas, or ceviche. Go for their namesake, and get Cemitas here. Specifically the Cemita Atomica. That sandwich alone is enough to warrant the 5 stars.
So how do they make their sandwiches here? First, start with a sesame bun which is large enough to hold all the meat, while still being soft and flavorful. Next, a layer of fresh avocado, which brightens the sandwich and adds a healthy dose of fat and creaminess. Then your meat. Of course, at this point you’ve already decided to order the Atomica, which has 3 meats (ham, breaded pork loin, and grilled pork loin). And then top with Oaxaca cheese, the perfect texture between melted and stringy, and another bun.
You order at the counter, and then they bring the food out to you and clean up after you as well. They also provide you with 3 house hot sauces, which are all delicious. I like to mix the orange and red one, and spread it generously on my cemita as I scarf it down. The portion is also quite sizeable; you will not be hungry after one of these sandwiches.
Next time I come by, I think I’ll give the Carne Asada Cemita a try. Or maybe just stick to the Atomica again. 3x the meat, 3x the deliciousness.

Honest review: i saw this restaurant on check please and dinners drive ins and dives so i had to come here and see if it was better then rick bayless’s xoco it wasnt. So this is more of a u order u sit down and they bring u ur food i dont like this type of service cause it always ends up with them forgetting something or like we have to get up and ask for like to go bags and clean plates etc. the service was a little mixed they werent really helpful or gave good recommendations and they forgot something we ordered and we waited a really long time for a to go bag like nobody came by and was like hey u guys are ok? Which i found odd because they were just standing in the kitchen not doing anything if ur gonna be lazy then at least hide so i dont see u or pretend to work. One good thing though was they exchanged something we didnt like for something else with no additional charge which is good because some places dont care. Regarding the atmosphere its cute i like the skull aspect of the restaurant its really cool and modern i would say a total hipster spot for sure.
Ceviche: i was really disappointed with this. Im mexican so i had my share of ceviches in my life and this was nothing special like its basically a pico de gullo (spicy mexican tomato salad) with tilapia. It says it came with octopus and shrimp i didnt see any octopus at all like none and there was like the tiniest amount of shrimp. The actual taste of it was really bland needed salt alot of seasoning heat and lemon or lime. Then there was hardly any seafood in it. The chips were seasoned good but were old dont ever serve me old chips no eww not im not an animal and they were kinda greasy too wouldnt order this again
Cemita pata: pata is either chicken feet pork feet or cow feet in this case its cow feet. Ik ur thinking like omg why would u wanna eat that sounds gross like ewww i would never but the weird things always taste the best always try everything dont be afraid to try new things. Ive had pata before and its really good if done properly that means removing the hair yes sometimes it has hair and seasoning it properly. It tastes better on a tostada i was skeptical seeing it on a cemita and i should have just not ordered it but i did. My mom ordered it and took one bite and was like omg its horrible like she was so happy and excited because she likes this And she looked so sad like a child not getting what they want for christmas so then i tried a lil bite and was like eww no i cant. Something about it was just really off putting like there was no seasoning so it just tasted like straight from the jar which is not a good thing so we asked for something else and god was loving me extra hard today and the waiter gave us something else instead woot woot!
Cemita atomica: this was amaizing i was really skeptical about trying a cemita because i never had one before so this was a complete new experience for me. Picture torta bread with sesame seeds and just having a better taste to it like its not bland ver delicous. This cemita comes with jamon, carne enchilada, melanesa. Omg it was huge like literly i couldnt finish it was so much meat!!! What i also enjoyed was there wasnt any of ur typical mexican fillers lettuce, tomato, rice, or beans just all tasty goodness! They put so much cheese on here like if u try to squish the sandwhich all the cheese would be acting like a spring which will make u not be able to squish it. All the flavor combinations worked beutifully together like it was so good. The melanesa was cooked perfectly not to thin not to thick not greasy seasoned really well. The jamon was tasty not salty or processed tasting. Only complaints were there was way to much jamon like it was mostly that and i didnt see any carne enchilada (grilled pork loin)?? Just put less jamon snd more of other ingredients and boom best thing ever!
Cemita melanesa (breaded pork loin): when the pata was a failure we asked for this instead. Ok the problem is that the melanesa was really thin think like paper thin there were two pieces but for a big torta? Just the meat to bread ratio was off either put more melanesa or another meat or make it into a toco instead because it didnt work still tasty though just needs more meat!
Taco arabe (spit roasted pork and onions): be warned if u dont like spicy food dont order this! Because u might get a heart attack its not like omg u eat it and ur head explodes but it is spicy. omg this was heavenly. When i opened it up it didnt look appetizing but omg was it good it was seasoned perfectly not bland at all the grilled onions really enhanced the taco
Chalupa: This was not a traditional chalupa it was just 4 tacos covered in cheese lol the carne asada tasted amaizing but some of the pieces were completely burned
Cookie: i was expecting that typical dry flavorless mexican cookie polvoron but it was really good not the worst not the best the chocolate however wasnt so tasty tasted cheap
Ricecrispy not goo

I have been to both of their locations and I have to say WOW! they are both equally as delicious! I dont remember if the other has alcohol but this locations drink selections were on point!
The chalupas were a pleasant surprise as I was expecting some drive thru concoction lol but instead I got lightly toasted tortillas with onions and cheese (I also got meat for an extra charge) and their delicious sauces. it was a great appetizer!
I am partial to their taco arabe… my bf always gets the cemita which I was lucky enough to try.
point is, eat here! its really delicious… prepare to be stuffed and definitely try the sauces.

This is contemporary Mexican takeout. It’s very clean and chic inside. You order food from the counter, you seat yourself, and food will be served. Credit card is accepted.
Cemitas arabe: popular for cemitas which is homemade sesame bun loaded with your choice of meat. I chose the popular Arabe which is a spit roasted pork, which was very tasteful. The cemitas is like a size of a burger. The combination of oxacan cheese, avocado, special sauce on the tablet, and the warm soft sesame bun was full of flavor.
Quesadilla with chicharron: This is a jumbo size quesadilla that can cover your whole face. The cashier rcmd ordering with chicharron (pork rind). Sounds heavenly and ready for a heart attack. It was delicious with the chihuahua cheese and the crispyness of the pork rind.
Minus one star because I was only able to eat half the cemitas and half of quesadillqa. This is quite a heavy meal, perhaps would be a good choice for hangover.