Playa Del Sol

Great service and good Mexican. It is what it is. A lot of food at a little price. My kids love the endless chips.

It seems the Paola no longer works here. And with her gone it seems the place is very different. To put it simply, it’s like chips without the salsa. The excellent service is gone. I’m no longer a fan of this place. Ok food, ok service.

My husband and I were so surprised by this place. It’s location is a little awkward. I had been wanting to try this place out for a while, but wasn’t sure how it would be.
We ordered the small plate of grilled prawns. It was so flavorful and delicious. The mild salsa was flavorful but not even a hint of spice. The spicy salsa was Habañero but still had a lot of (not just spicy to be spicy). Overall we were very pleasantly surprised. We’ll definitely be back.

Went here for Cinco de Mayo and had fantastic margarita’s. Service was slow but we understood because of the holiday. They have a real great alacart option that worked out good. Chips and salsa was good and we just ordered tacos, enchiladas and a burrito and we were never offered hot sauce. Eating a taco or burrito without sauce was tough. The enchilada was amazing! — 1 star for the efficiency of service and — 1 star for no good hot sauce offered with the meal. +3 stars for the great Margaritas!

I like this place and really think they could do even better. First, this is a very comfy place for a Mexican restaurant. Very nice space and décor. Also they do have tasty dishes. The price is a bit expensive. The service was nice but could be better. I was not very happy with the freshness of the ingredients.
Two of us came in for lunch on a very cold Friday. Naturally I wanted some kind of hot soup. I was surprised when i heard the soup was either $ 15.99 or $ 17.99. Oh, really. Then I was told I could have the half portion to be shared by us. So $ 4 for a cup of Shrimp soup which was not so bad. Why do they just put $ 4 a cup on the menu? The soup actually was really tasty. The broth was red but not spicy and very very flavorful. More like a veggie soup with a Mexican twist.
We also got Camarones al Chipotle (Spicy Shrimp) and mini fajitas. Both of them are pretty good. I liked the sauce in spicy shrimp more than the shrimp. The shrimps were in very decent size but seemed was frozen for a long time. Those were kind of dry and lost the nice chewy texture. Mini fajita with beef was similar. Very nice seasoning but the ingredients were not super. Too bad.
The services were fine but somehow I felt the distance. I missed our waitress from Taco Grill at Westmont. Warm and quick and homey.
With that, I still want to give this place another try during summer time.

I really like this place. The food has always been good. You can taste the freshness in the beans. They have the best queso fundido. Hands down. ir’a not greasy like other places that I’ve been to.
Only thing is service is always slow in there. And in the winter months — quite chilly.

When we walked in there was not one person around to seat us, so we walked closer to seating area and asked do we seat ourself or what. After being seated waitress took awhile to ask about drinks. Food was not good at all. I had fajitas and wife had steak. Will not return.

Apparently this place has changed it’s name from La Mex to Playa del Sol, but everything is the same. This direct from one of my best friends, who is a La Mex aficionado, so take her word for it!
We went on a Saturday night and were seated right away with a party of seven. This is not a crowded restaurant, but there were a few other tables scattered around. We started with chips and salsa, and I was delighted to find everybody gets their own little salsa bowl! So feel free to double dip to your heart’s content! Nice touch. Pitchers of margaritas were $ 27 each, I think, for a large. They were just okay to me, tasted like they were made from a mix so not my favorite. But they were strong! I was the last one to finish mine because I was trying to be good and nurse it.
Shrimp fajitas were $ 15 or $ 16, I forget, and I thought they were a little overpriced. The portion of shrimp was pretty small, and they were overcooked. Edible, but too tough. The flavor of the grilled veggies was nice, and the veggies were definitely plentiful (to make up for shrimp deficit??) They couldn’t sub my refried beans for black beans. I find it funny that a Mexican restaurant literally doesn’t have a can of black beans that they can like, open and put in a bowl. Rice and refried beans were average, guac tasted fresh though.
To me it’s just okay Americanized Mexican food. I eat at places like these a lot with my friends but this one seemed below average to me. Nothing seemed really fresh. I’d rather try somewhere else next time. But points for the individual salsa bowls — can other Mexican restaurants get the memo?

My fiancé and I have been coming to this restaurant since we started dating almost 4 years ago. It used to have a different name, La Mex, but overall it is still the same restaurant to us except a few more seafood items. It has the same staff and set up as it did before.
We absolutely love this restaurant and it has a lot of sentimental value to us. This was one of our first date places and it kept us coming back. We have been here so many times throughout the years. Even after our hiatus to the city, over the past 10 months, as soon as we moved this was the first place we came to again.
The margaritas are fantastic in my opinion. I am a huge margarita fan and have tried many places in the Chicago and suburban area. I used to live right by Big Star in the city, which has killer margaritas, so I know what a good margarita tastes like and this place definitely has one. I have two and I am feeling very happy. The best part is they are half off on Tues, Wed, and Thurs!
I also love their tacos and enchiladas. I cannot say anything about the seafood since I stick with tacos mostly but I am sure it is good as well. The chips and salsa are also very good.
Would I say this is the best mexican restaurant I have ever been to? No, but I would say it is up there in the immediate area and it sure makes me very happy every time I enter the restaurant.

Super tasty authentic Mexican food. Everyone enjoyed their selection include the picky nine year old boys!
We ordered tacos, fajitas, and a very yummy spicy shrimp dish.
Service super nice, very attentive. Will definitely come back again!

I was quite surprised when the food came out so quickly. It was like 3 minutes. But then I figured out how they were able to manage that. Everything was either from a can or frozen. I had the veggie enchiladas (spinach, mushroom, peppers, onions) which came with rice and beans. Rice was from a box, beans were from a can. Spinach was frozen. Mushrooms were from a can. Peppers were slimy. Everything was covered an a thick layer of chewy cheese. I could only eat a little before I just couldn’t justify putting this junk in my body anymore. The complimentary chips and salsa — the salsa was bland and the chips were stale. The only thing that tasted fresh was the diet coke. Service was friendly, but a little slow.

Came here on a Friday night while both Pepes and MI Hacienda had waits. From the parking lot, it appeared there was no one in the restaurant. As we were seated we noticed they kept there section in the front vacant… There were about a dozen tables full between two more sections. Our server was polite and fairly prompt. I had the taco platter with steak and I’d say fairly average in taste. My partner loved her el pastor tacos. thought the recipe was better than another favorite place of hers. House sangria is very good and the gold margaritas was also tasty. The chips & salsas were nothing to brag about though. Definitely worth a second try.

Marg and «spicy salsa» could use some work.
But dude, the cinnamon garlic shrimp amazing, rice perfectly cooked, polite server-​Gabriel!

I don’t normally like Mexican food. I hate tequila and tortillas. Guacamole isn’t my thing. Those beans are gross. My husband, however, enjoys it and doesn’t get to eat it that often. I bought the Groupon for this restaurant because it was a good deal and it would be a surprise date for my husband. I read the reviews and I was a little concerned.
Now I might like Mexican food.
We were seated right away, and even though it seemed as if our waitress had the whole room, she was attentive and kind. She knew we had the Groupon, and mentioned most people here did. (It was close to expiring.) She was still amazing. The décor was cute and appropriate. We got chips and salsa at the table and took our drink orders. The strawberry daiquiri was AMAZING! I wish I could have another right now… and it’s 10 AM… and I’m not an alcoholic.
As the Groupon offers, we got guacamole. I actually liked it! I ordered chicken tacos. They came out so fast! They were very food and you get a LOT of food. The chicken was juicy and tender. The bean purée yuck tasted the same as every other place, but my husband enjoyed them.
The prices aren’t bad there, so we might have to make regular visits to this place!

Had a Groupon dinner for 4 with drinks that we purchased for $ 40 and thought the meal was decent for that price. Had we paid the $ 90 the bill would’ve been without the Groupon… not so sure.
Guacamole and Quesadilla were good. Drinks were lacking liquor and the food portions were generous but the taste was nothing to rave about. Overall it was pretty standard Mexican fare.
Well probably return at least one more time to try something more exotic than tacos and burritos. The service was great and the place is cute and close to home so I really want to like Playa del Sol.

great service
new management — they came by to check on us
great food, lots of value
immensely clean!

The Dude scored what could be one of the great Groupons of all time for Playa del Sol. For $ 25, we had a guacamole appetizer, two traditional entrees and two quite potent margaritas (traditional on the rocks with salt for me, girly blended Blue Curaçao for him).
Playa del Sol specializes in Mexican seafood, but our Groupon was restricted to the page of traditional Mexican entrees, which was fine. I chose a cheese quesadilla that was perfectly crisp (but not too crisp) and the Dude went with the chile rellenos. He had them put the sauce on the side because some places do an excellent job of drowning the chiles in sauce, or their sauce is too reminiscent of marinara sauce (Prego on your chiles, anyone?). That wasn’t a problem here. The sauce was tasty, just slightly sweet, and I found myself reaching across the table to steal food from his plate.
Oh, and the complimentary chips and salsa were delicious. Skip the red sauce (unless you’re a wuss) and go for the spicier green stuff.
We’ll definitely be back and I’m looking forward to branching out into trying the seafood dishes — ceviche, here I come!
My one quibble: On our bill, they noted that the guacamole would have been $ 8.95. Oh, HOLD UP. It was a tiny, tiny portion of guacamole like you would get if you ordered a side of guac to go with your tacos. They do offer a side order for $ 2.95 and I’m certain that’s what we got, not the $ 8.95 appetizer. This felt like a shameless attempt to drive up our tip. It didn’t work.

This is the 2^nd time I have visited and honestly have no complaint. The service is quick & the people are friendly. Within a minute of being sat, we were greeted with chips and salsa. We had a groupon (which was accepted graciously) & although the server ended up buying another one on my phone because she was unsure how to use it, it turned out to be an enjoyable meal. Cheese enchiladas for me, but most importantly the margaritas are delicious!

Your run-​of-​the-​mill, sit down Mexican restaurant. We were pleased with the chips, salsa, and guacamole. Chips were warm, but I think that was from the microwave. Guacamole needed a pinch of salt, but was above average. Ordered the Veggie enchiladas with Rice and beans. Rice was tasty, but beans left much to be desired. Pretty bland. Veggie Enchiladas were decent. They understood my somewhat vegan variation, and stepped up to the task without much confusion. Tried their margaritas as well. Again, nothing extraordinary, but pulled off well. Prices were a tad above market, but manageable. Décor was similar to the predecessor. We will be back (to use our painstakingly purchased second Groupon) to give them a second try.

Horrible, horrible, horrible. You can imagine where this review is going…
I won’t bore you too much with details, you won’t need them to know to stay far away from this place anyway. Here’s the time line of our experience last night:
6:30pm: Make reservation for 7:50pm
7:40pm: Arrive at resturant only to be told they took our reservation, but they are too busy to honor it. (think Jerry Seinfeld: «I don’t think you do. You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.» We were told there would be a 30 minute wait.
8:05pm: Get seated.
8:15pm: No sign of a server yet, but a bus boy did drop off chips and salsa.
8:25pm: Finally get a server, show him our Groupon, order drinks, order appetizer, try to order entrees, but a woman who seemed to be the general manager came up SCREAMING at our server and pulled him away while we mid-​sentence. Clearly there is no class, proffesionalism, or quality in the management and that only trickles down to everyone else there.
8:35pm: Server returns to take our drink order. WTH?! We gave it to him again, and made sure he had put in our order for guacamole. We try to order our entrees, but while we are ordering he leaves — Again.
8:45pm: Drinks arrive, I ask to order our meals and the server walks away telling me without even looking at me «in a minute.» Again — WTH?!
8:50pm: Hostess brings us more chips and salsa since our appetizer still isn’t here.
9:02pm: Over an hour after our reservation time the server returns and takes our entrée order. We ask why we haven’t gotten our guacamole. He tells us they are out of guacamole (though we saw plenty of tables that sat after we ordered it originally get guacamole, so if he would have just put it in we would’ve had it). Since it was part of our Groupon we asked if we could subsitute something of the same price, he said «no.» Once we started telling him how upset we were with the evening, he said he «would see what he could do.»
9:15pm: Our entrees come out, no appetizer yet though the server assures us he’s «working on it.» Ha. We ask for tabasco sauce and the appetizer as soon as possible. BTW — My boyfriend got the entrée he wanted, but it was not the correct meat. At this point we were starving, it didn’t matter.
9:20pm: Our server brings our tabasco sauce to the table behind us.
9:22pm: My boyfriend asks for tabasco sauce again, he tells him he already brought it. Again, ha.
9:24pm: We get tabasco sauce AND… are you ready?!? An appetizer! They DO have appetizers here, it not just a joke on the menu!
9:40pm: My boyfriend gets up, goes to the server and asks for boxes (which he is handed) and the bill.
9:50pm: No bill yet. Since the server already recorded our Groupon number that paid for everything we ordered and we had no intention of leaving a tip (for the first time ever, we’re both former servers and bartenders) we stood up and walked out. As we did we walked past an unattentive server, again being SCREAMED at by the manager lady in front of the entire restaurant.
Closing Argument: Despicable. We got a great deal with Groupon ($ 20 dinner for two with 2 Margaritas, 1 Guacamole, and 2 Entrees (under $ 11.99) PLUS we had a $ 10 Groupon purchase coupon, so we paid $ 10), but IT WAS NOT WORTH EVEN THE $ 10. Never, ever, ever again. Not to mention EVERY order from drinks to appetizer to entrée for the table behind us (same server) was WRONG and had to be sent back. The worst part by far was the manager YELLING at this guy, it made me sick that she thought it would be acceptable to treat an employee like that in the middle of a full restaurant, ruining everyone’s dining experience even more.
If you’re thinking about it, don’t bother. Oh, and the food, less than mediocre. You can go to any Mexican Restaurant in the area and the food is MUCH MUCH better. I mean, this is worse than fast food Mexican, pretty bad. I recommend Las Palmas on Ogden, great service, great deals (check out their groupon), and great food (get the fajitas!).