La Cabana de Don Luis

Living in North Lincoln Sq, we have eaten here dozens of times. Dozens. I’ve lived all over Chicago and this place is hands down the best Mexcian spot in terms of variety, value, quantity, service, authenticity, you name it. And it’s BYOB if you want to eat there.
Our standard go-​to are the Chicken Enchiladas, which are amazing. We like how they grill and then dice their chicken breast as opposed to having pulled chicken. Tacos, burritos, etc, are all very good.
The overall menu is very extensive. For example, try the Camarones de Diablas, if you are in the mood for a really good spicy shrimp dish. The perfectly cooked shrimp comes in a spicy homemade habanero sauce. Tonight for the first time we tried the ‘7 Seas Soup’ which was also very good.
This is the type of place you can keep coming back to every week. And it always feels great to support the biz of the very nice Mom/​Pop that run it.

Absolutely love this restaurant
Close to home so I always take out. Always ready when I come to pick it up, and even when taking out it only takes 10 minutes tops.
Delicious authentic Mexican food with friendly service and very reasonable prices.
Their Guac is amazing — extra limey with fresh tomatoes.
Have yet to once be disappointed

Hits the spot if you are in the area and looking for a quick Mexican meal. Prices are reasonable and service is relatively fast. Pretty undifferentiated though from the many other Mexican restaurants in the area. The interior is not much to look at, so not a place I would go if you want to eat at the restaurant.

I’d like to say this is a great addition to the neighborhood. I’m glad we gave it a try. We ordered Caldo de Res (great flavor), steak taco (tasty), gordita (huge) and a chicken quesadilla (ok, only chicken and cheese). I am happy to know that we have another great Mexican restaurant right around the corner.
I’d say that I like it more than Garcia’s with the exception that Garcia’s serves alcohol.

This place is own by a family business and the restaurant inside has a nasty weird smell. I had carry out here twice already. The smell inside the restaurant just makes me lose my appetite.
But the tacos were pretty decent though. Not sure if I want to come back … Unless I have no other Mexican joint to order from.

Good, rib-​sticking Mexican food. Pretty authentic (at least from my novice assessment). Nothing special about the atmosphere, but again standard for Chicago taquerias. Would recommend the carne asada, freshly prepared.

Went here during my lunch break from work and the service was fast. Prices are reasonable and it was just okay. Nothing really set this place apart from any other little neighborhood Mexican restaurant. It was just okay!
I ordered a steak taco and I had to take the fat out before I bit into it. It wasn’t terrible and it wasn’t great either. It was just okay.

Horrible service. I placed an order over the phone and had my son pick it up. When he got there, they gave him the wrong order. Upon my son’s return home and seeing the order, I called to straighten it out. I was then called a liar and hung up on. I physically went there and was called a liar to my face, was told they would call the police if I did not leave and was told that I did not deserve an apology of any kind. I will not be back… EVER! I hope they close soon. Not a way to run a business.

I decided to check out this place because it is so close to me and because of all the positive reviews. There was only one table occupied when I went there on the Saturday evening. We were brought chips, refried beans, and salsa for dining in at the restaurant. The menu is pretty expensive and the prices are reasonable. I ordered a torta while the boyfriend ordered an al pastor burrito. Both were delicious. The waitress kept checking up on us and refilling our waters. If it wasn’t for the atmosphere, I would have given this five stars.

Great food… terrible price and terrible service! For the price, you can go to Garcia’s & enjoy the same food, if not better with better ambiance.
My husband & I opted for La Cabana ‘to go’ tonight. When we picked our food up, my meal wasn’t available because there wasn’t enough of it (I order the caldo de res & they keep batches frozen & thaw to order) They said they tried calling us back to let us know, but were unable to reach us. Strike one. We paid for my husband’s meal, which came to nearly $ 18! They charge extra for tortillas & pico de gallo! What Mexican place does that?! Strike two. When we got home, we checked our phone & found that we had NOT missed any calls– La Cabana never called us back. We sat down to eat (I ended up getting pizza from Jimmy’s –great pizza), & my husband did not have any steak in his bistek con rajas! My husband took his food back (we live really near by), & the cashier argued with him– insinuating that he picked the steak out of his meal before attempting to take it back! He got a refund, but regardless, the whole experience was ridiculous. Strike three. We live less than 5 minutes away, & we’ll never be back.

This is our go-​to Mexican joint! We’ve eaten here multiple dozens of times and it’s always been great. Sometimes they are a little inconsistent in plating/​sides but we’ve never been severely disappointed. My boyfriend used to always get the torta but decided to venture out and try the chorizo enchiladas con salsa verde and he’s been hooked ever since! I usually get the beef, shrimp and cactus dinner plate and that’s always great… only as long as they use normal sized shrimp… once they used dinky baby shrimp and that was a little disappointing. Their fish filet in garlic sauce is good as well as their lengua (beef tongue) tacos. YUM!

Al pastor taco is marinated to perfection, great deal at two bucks. If you’re eating in, they go all out with a free basket of chips and three (3!) house made salsas. The habanero is excellent.
Atmosphere is a little bleak, other than that it’s a great place.

Authenticity: no one spoke English to me and they have a gift shop section selling soaps and flowers. 5 stars
Service very polite and quick.
Food chicken burrito was good. Stand outs are the 3 salsas (Orange is the hot one) And burrito had raw onions in it which I font recall ever seeing before but it was good.
Only reason they didn’t get 5 stars is because I ended up eating 25% of the wax paper it was served on and I didn’t even notice so you can’t have 5 stars

My husband drove by this place and it somehow stuck in his mind. So he was bugging me for weeks to try it with him. We have actually been twice now –both times early on Sundays for breakfast. It’s a totally low-​key, small typical Mexican place; but the food is really good.
We had the same waitress both times and she treats you like family. She is very soft spoken, but sweet. We both ordered chilaquiles both times and we were very happy.
So this has become our new breakfast place when we are in the mood for a Mexican breakfast!

I’m not sure what to make of this place. Sometimes it’s great while other times just average. At its best, its 5 stars easily. I love their entrees and the habanero salsa they put on the table, just be sure you’re fine with the heat before you plunge in. At its worst a little inconsistent in terms of seasonings of the dishes and once after eating there I had a slightly unpleasant rest of the night/​next day.
The burritos are average, nothing special. They make some really good tacos though, especially the al pastor and the lamb. The service competent, efficient, and nice. This normally serves as my cheap taqueria when I just want to pick up something very local.

My fiancé and myself just walked in here to get some food. Place looked obviously open and no special holiday hours were posted. The person at the counter just smiled at us and said, «Sorry, we’re closed!» What is up with that?

This place is around the corner from my house. I love me some Mexican and with the great reviews, we were excited to try it since we just moved here from Boston.
As everyone says, the three salsas that come with the chips and refried beans (!!!) are delicious, especially the orangey colored one. The chips themselves were also great. Very crunchy.
We byobed. I had the beef fajitas (amazing, the peppers and onions were caramelized), and my husband had enchiladas with salsa verde. He orders that at most Mexican places we try and said it was the best he’s had in a while.
Super casual place. Play Mexican soap operas on the TV. Our waitress was very nice and kept flirting with our 16-​month old son.
So excited to go again! Cheap!
Only con is no ‘rita’s.

Holy crap! Finally a place in Chicago makes al pastor with the respect it deserves! That was one fine burrito for my taste buds!

I really wanted to like this place,
but I just didn’t. I may not be an authority on Mexican food, but this gringa knows her way around a good enchilada and these ain’t it!

This place is awesome! The food is delicious, the portions are huge, the prices are very reasonable and to top it all off — our server was very polite and helpful!
Will come back for sure!