Twisted Lizard

Not so great service and kinda yucky food. I had a friend from out of town and was really embarrassed with how odd the food was, just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse the waitress said that the cook had made a mistake and if I could just have the chicken quesadilla instead of the cheese ones? Really? I will not be returning to this place again.

This place is closed! Attempted to go there this past week with a few friends for happy hour. We were surprised to see it boarded up. I’m not sure why this is still up on Unilocal

For a Mexican restaurant, bar… not the best!
2 stars for decoration and margaritas… but would have rather enjoyed a freshly made margarita, rather than one poured from a premade mix.
Although the food is what you would expect from Mexican restaurant, it’s really overpriced and not the best. Def. not authentic. Service wasn’t always the best but stars for effort.

Really bad service and pretty bad food.
I live literally around the corner from Twisted Lizard and thus wanted it to be good SOOO BADLY. Hence why I kept returning after being disappointed time after time. Well, no longer! My friend and I went there on a Thursday at 10pm (listed close time midnight) and were treated very badly. The server tried his hardest not to serve us, handed us the bill 10 minutes after we ordered, and turned the lights off 10 minutes after we got our drinks. There was even another table occupied!
Now onto the food: just not worth it. Period. Mediocre at best.
Do yourselves a favor, go a few blocks down to Taco Joint. Cute bartenders, awesome drinks, and creative guacamole.

KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!!!
The food was wonderful and margaritas as well, however don’t forget to keep your receipt.
We purchased the groupon and when we received the bill it was $ 0.00 so we asked our waiter to charge us $.55 for a side of cheese so we could leave him a tip. We left him a $ 9.00 and when I checked my bank account today it was charged the $.55 plus an additional $ 14.
Although the food was good, I will NEVER RETURN to this location strictly on dishonesty. I went ahead and got an extra item just to leave him a tip and he STOLE an additional $ 5 from me.

The food is excellent and service wonderful, but this is a place for younger people.

A friend and I ventured into the city and were on the hunt for a sushi place but because we are both navigationally challenged we somehow ended up here when we got turned around and didn’t want to walk any further.
There was a great smell from the place and they had outdoor seating so we said why not enjoy the afternoon and have a few drinks while we’re at it. I am not a margarita person but my friend is and she adored them. She had the strawberry and then decided to combine flavors for the second (strawberry mango). As I said, I am not a margarita person because I’m not a fan of tequila but you could barely taste it so beware they are dangerous. They were also $ 8 each but as my friend said ‘worth every penny.’ We ordered the guacamole for an appetizer and at $ 7.75 you would think it was more than a bowl but sure enough that was it. It was good but not worth that much money.
I had the taco salad with steak. The steak was cooked well and in the right proportion with the salad. Our waitress messed up my dressing and the fact that I didn’t want onions but luckily you can pick out onions and the dressing was on the side. She was nice but not the best at being attentive. She never wrote anything down so she had to double check sometimes what we said.
My overall recommendation is come here for the margaritas, not so much the food.

Arguably the least appealing «Mexican”-style food in the city.
The guacamole was awful. The chips were burnt. The chicken fajitas were drowning in a strange, brownish sauce. The service was poor. Prices were too high.
Sooooo… After that great experience, won’t be going back and do not recommend.

Certainly not worth raving about the food; every time I’ve gone here, I’m always surprised at how everyone around me is always so excited about their food. Definitely not authentic, and not really worth trying. If you absolutely have to meet people here for drinks, I would honestly suggest eating a pre-​meal (Devil Dawgs or even Kelly’s bar food; both are close, and would be a better alternative).
I like the cave/​dungeon setup, it’s unique at least. Surprisingly, the margaritas aren’t worth raving about either. Not worth their ‘upgrade’ to 16oz because then you’re just dumb for paying more for a shitty upgrade!
Alright place to bring a small group, mostly DePaul undergrads.

Great service, food and margaritas!
I’m a short girl so the only bad thing are the tall chairs inside.

Jami S. had it completely right, I was very disappointed with Twisted Lizard. The service is not only slow, but my one friend (out of our group of 6) got his food 30 minutes after the rest of us. Isn’t it an industry standard to bring everyone’s food, especially if it doesn’t take long to cook like steak or pizza, to the table around the same time? We didn’t mind waiting so that all our food could come at the same time, but the waitress seemed to have forgotten our hungry friend.
I can get over that, servers are busy people. But when we asked her when the food was coming she kept brushing us off and didn’t even apologize for the delay. After 3 attempts to plead with the waitress for his food, we finally asked for the manager. He took another 20 minutes to show up and at this point we had all eaten our food so it didn’t get cold. The manager was curt and impatient with us from the get-​go. My friend asked him if he could offer a discount for his food, since it finally arrived in a to-​go box, and the manager refused. He offered my friend a mixed shot for his troubles and then walked away.
In sum, this restaurant’s real issues are in the management. The décor may be nice and some people even escape with a good experience, but it is simply a poorly-​run establishment with a pretty wrapper.

One word: Disappointed.
Sad, I really wanted to like you Twisted Lizard. Since moving to the neighborhood I figured you would become my new go to spot. I was wrong.
Cons:
Inside is a dungeon
bathrooms (yuck)
Service is soooooooooooooooooooo slow
Margaritas suck & are really expensive
Our bill was over 100 for 3 people! Ridic!
Pros:
Outside patio (and allows dogs, this alone will bring me back I’m sure)
Chips & Salsa
Overall the food is pretty good. I was bummed b/​c I did really want to like it but when I went there last Friday I couldn’t believe how SLOW the service was. Our waiter like disappeared and we waited & waited for the check. Terrible service from that aspect but he was nice at least. Get your act together and I will def be back to give you another chance.

I know that some people can get twisted up inside in accepting what should be considered delicious or authentic Mexican food. Some people only want to think that this tasty food can be served from particular neighborhoods. Me? I don’t care if it’s 100% authentic or where it’s been served as long as my taste buds are happy, I’m happy.
I was here for a friend’s birthday during our one «major snowstorm» of the winter so far. Because of that, the Friday night crowd was a bit lighter than it would have likely been given that it has a nice happy hour, end of the week ambiance to it.
As it was, a friend of mine convinced me to try the Steak ala Howard: skirt steak served on a sizzling plate with mushrooms, tomatillo sauce and chihuahua cheese. Well-​seasoned, and complemented well by the mushrooms, sauce and cheese. A definite must have if you are a Carne Asada fan! The margaritas were well done as well.

Pared down our Taco Tuesday list to TL and three others… this won out mainly due to locale but also bc of the $ 2.50 tacos and $ 3 Dos XX.
My version:
The good: I like the atmosphere here. It feelsTex-​Mex, if that’s possible.
Guajillo Chicken taco… loved it
Lizard Potatoes… loved them even more, crispy and perfectly seasoned
Salsa… very tasty and exactly as I remember the last time i came to TL
like ten years ago.
Did I mention 2.50 tacos and $ 3 Dos XX ??
The bad: $ 6 for the smallest margarita I’ve ever seen. You can upgrade to 16 oz for
$ 2 more, i’d recommend that.
Incompetent Host
Steak Taco… ok it wasn’t actually bad but it was a little on the dry side and
lacked the punch of flavor the Guajillo Chicken delivered
The chips… tasted exactly like El Ranchero, which even though
they’re a local Chicago product, i’m not a fan.
Her version:
The good: The Michelada
The Salsa
The Company :0
The bad: Everything else

I was very excited to finally try this TexMex location in Lincoln Park. People seem to rave about it — I was not impressed.
I waited for my friend to join me, and after sitting at the table for 10 minutes, I was told they will only accept cash for the night. A sign or immediate knowledge when walking in the restaurant would have helped. I asked where a BOA ATM was, and the waitress rolled her eyes and said she didn’t know, but there was an ATM in the back. I will not be paying a $ 5 ATM bar fee when I’m here for a reasonable priced dinner.
I went strolling down Armitage to find cash. I came back to a limited menu and non-​descriptive items. I went with a garden salad with a side of rice and beans. The beans were black (not refried) and the rice was flavorless. The salad was a bunch of lettuce with 2 slices of tomato. I was less than impressed and would not recommend that anyone else go here. There are far too many good Mexican restaurants to waste your time and money at this one.
The 2 stars are for the fast service and free lollipop when you leave. Sorry to say there isn’t much else to brag about.

Pretty decent mexican. There is no true melted cheese dip which I find strange. The waitress was nice.
I ordered the chicken fajitas and theybwere good. Different than I was used to because they had a small bit of red sauce they were sauteed in. Very flavorful. Would recommend.

Didn’t even bother eating, food was totally overpriced.
$ 13 for three fish tacos? Then you want to charge an extra $ 3 for rice and beans? $ 18 for a steak burrito? In Chicago?
Allow me to teach you people something (and that means all of you!)
First, you can get GREAT, (yes, that word) fish tacos at Burrito House for under $ 2 each.
Second, GREAT (that word again) ceviche tacos at Taco joint for exactly $ 2.
Probably get ‘em anywhere else in the city too, the whole place is full of Mexicans if you haven’t noticed, and they brought their food with them.
Next, if you are really excited that they put chips and salsa on the table when you sit down (and water? who gets excited about a glass of free water?), you need to get out more. Also, the chips she put down were overcooked.
Part of me thinks the reviews that said that about the chips/​salsa were seeded by the owners, sounds like someone’s business plan.
That’s right, I’m criticizing you people who like this place.
Long story short (I know, hard to do that now), we didn’t even order. We got up and went to Taco Joint for something unique and authentic, all at the same time.
Zero flags. More flags, more fun!

My husband and I came here on our first date many years ago and continue to come back and not just for the nostalgia. I am kinda obsessed with the queso fundido and get it as a meal every time. I switch it up by alternating between chicken and chorizo. (I know, I live on the wild side!)
They also have super Margaritas, if you are in the mood to get your drink on! (Except, one time when I was there with friends, we found a paper towel in ours– how gross is that?!)
I especially like coming here in the summer because the patio is nice– otherwise the restaurant itself feels a bit dungeon like.
Overall, if you are craving some yummy Mexican and a Margarita, this is a pretty good spot!

I hadn’t been to Twisted in 4 or 5 years, but was recently strolling through Lincoln Park and decided to grab a late lunch (3pm) and was pleasantly surprised. The food seems to have improved distinctly from what I remember. The tacos were overflowing with flavorful steak and my boo, who grew up on Tex-​Mex, said the enchiladas were some of the best she’s had.
Pricewise I wasn’t as big a fan. $ 7 for an ice cream scoop of guacamole? If you’re gonna charge that much, you should give a little more. But I did eat the whole thing so it couldn’t have been that bad. Spending $ 8 for one of the smallest margaritas I’ve ever seen had me switching to beer after one.
Overall Twisted is a 3.5 star joint on food, and a -.5 star on value for dollar. If you’re in the neighborhood, Twisted is a good place to grab a bite of some above average grub.

I would seriously go here just for the salsa. It is SOO good here. However the food is just OK.
The Tuesday special is pretty good though — $ 2 tacos, sangria, and beer. My husband and I went here and each got 2 tacos and a glass of sangria — $ 6/​pp for that is good with me!
However I have eaten here on a normal night without any good specials, and I was not super impressed. They don’t have any taco salads which I often crave, so I was extremely disappointed with this. The margaritas are pretty good, but the sangria is average. I love it when it is $ 2, but that’s the only reason I ever order it.
The place is a fun place to eat, and I will likely eat there often just because I live so close, but it is by no means the best Mexican food in the area.