Tomate Fresh Kitchen

While my food was being prepared, I watched a guy handle two kinds of meat and the phone with no gloves or hand washing (he handled the raw meat with his bare hands). Still, I tried the tacos al pastor & pork with green salsa. Uninspired, uninspiring. The meat was drowned in mediocre sauces; the pork had nearly no flavor of its own. If you think this place is worth 4 – 5 stars you need explore more taco places in Chicago. The guy who took our order was especially nice. Meh. Dos estrellas.

I’ve ordered from here twice now, and everything I’ve had has been delicious, and I’ve only ordered the «weirdest» tacos on the menu – things you wouldn’t think would be delicious but, through the magical talents of the cooks, ends up being so, things such as sweet potato/​cauliflower, etc tacos. Delicious but who would have thought??? I’m from California, so I grew up eating fantastic, spicy Mexican food so I’m good with heat and spice, and I like the way they season their tacos. My only issue is that, if you’re a parent, there doesn’t seem to be anything mild/​unadventurous as far as tacos for kids go. I ordered online through Unilocal’s system, which worked flawlessly EXCEPT that the two ground beef tacos that I ordered «Mild, no chilies» ended up hot as hell and just about killed my poor kid. The order was attached to the bag that I picked up, and it did indeed state what I had specified «Mild, no chilies» in very large type. That was a waste of $ 7.50 (prices are kinda high for 2 ground beef tacos) and it put my hungry kid in a very bad mood. I found them to be very spicy, and I’m not a Midwesterner, so I’d say this place isn’t good for families; requires a phone order if you have any special needs so that you can make sure they get it right; and is perfect for adventurous eaters who don’t mind delicious, spicy, pricey tacos. I can’t speak to anything else on the menu as I’ve only had the tacos.

We’ve ordered delivery a few times and haven’t been disappointed yet! It’s clear that this local business specializes in takeout (no eat in option), because their food arrives in great condition — well packaged and still warm — something I’ve noticed a few competitors struggle with.
I ordered the chicken tinga burrito. The portion was large with plenty of chicken, and the price was low. :)
My vegan and veggie friends — I noticed a ton of options for you, too!

Tomate is a must-​eat for just about anyone, at any time. This place represents some of the best traditional mexican burritos you can get. One warning: takeout only. There is no sitdown. They do deliver, and they switch delivery apps fairly often. I think I’ve ordered on doordash, eat24, and grubhub from them.
Enough about the basics. Let’s get down to the history and the important stuff. The owner started out selling her tamales at the Evanston farmer’s markets — the winter and the summer one. Every time she would sell them she would sell out consistently. This was not an accident — considering how good they are, if you came near the later half of the farmers market you would basically miss your opportunity to get them. There are a number of vegetarian friendly burrito, tamale and taco options — as well as plenty of meat options as well.
Eventually, the owner opened her own takeout location, which appears to be constantly busy. The burritos themselves are a great value and a good size, as well as having a variety of unique/​nonstandard options. Among options that have consistently been awesome are the yucca burrito and the grilled cheese burrito. Salads are awesome and so are the tacos. You can’t go wrong with the choices here, just order what fits your preference.
Do order here. Do pickup from here. You won’t regret it. For people who have kids there is a park nearby (1min walking) for them to play in warmer weather scenarios.

Best tacos I have had in a long time. I get the carne asada and the meat is tender, juicy and slightly tangy… an excellent marinade. Their hours are a bit all over the place, particularly if they are doing catering that day, but the service is good and the food is fantastic.

I loved the sweet potato taco. It was flavorful and I would definitely order it again. The tilapia taco was pretty good. I would have liked less breading on the fish, more spice and a little lemon. My food was ready fairly quickly but at peak lunch times the wait is longer and there is no place to wait. Despite the small space and lack of seating, it is worth stopping by because the food is great.

The real deal sort of burritos that tastes like real food. I recommend any of the burritos, especially carne asada or al pastor. They move fast too!

Best Empanadas and tamales!!!
First tried them at the Rogers Park Farmers Market and fell in love with the quality ingredients and flavor combinations.
Best Empanadas — crispy outside and packed with flavor inside. Every one I’ve had has made me smile (I suggest buying a few to freeze and reheat for a treat later). My new favorite is the roasted squash, goat cheese and cranberry — perfect balance of sweet & savory. I love the meat ones (chorizo and pork) and especially like all the different vegetable ones — they just know how to pair vegetables, meat and spices perfectly.
Fabulous Tamales — bigger than i’m used to — one is perfect for me with a side salad for lunch or dinner. The first time I tried Tomate at the farmers market, I had their garden vegetable tamale and ate it standing in the sun on a summer day and might have even yummed out loud. Turned out to be a great summer breakfast. I’ve since tried the chicken salsa verde which is delish and their chicken mole –wow, best mole I’ve had in years.
Now that the farmers markets are over, I’m glad I can still get my Empanada and Tamale fix.

Tania did catering for our party and it was wonderful. Well packaged, fresh, a lot of variety. Good bang for the buck. Enjoyed by all

This tiny little Mexican counter is A-​Ok for a quick pile o’ tacos or burritos. GrubHubbing or calling your order in ahead of time is the best way to avoid standing in line against the wall to wait for your food.
All of the dishes seem heavy on cilantro and special salsas to make the dishes unique and more authentic tasting. However, I think that the quacamole and regular salsa were a bit bland. The chips that came with the guac were also very greasy. The hot salsa was fiery, to the point that I couldn’t taste much else. I will visit again, but this certainly isn’t the best Mexican food I’ve ever had.

Everyone I know has been talking about how good tomate is so my expectation was quite high.
For $ 3 a taco, it’s definitely more expensive than almost all the taco places you can find in LA, but it’s considered average or even cheap in Chicago.
What I liked–
Their al pastor and carne asada is really good. Al pastor is heavily favored and carne asada is tender. They gave you ALOT of meat in a taco so you could argue that for $ 3 it’s not bad at all. Also the people who work there are really friendly.
What I think they’re missing–
They should have a bar of condiments: different kind of salsas, chopped onions, lemon, cilantro, etc. I felt like my taco could use more chopped onions (they use sweet onions, by the way, so it wasn’t spicy at all).
Will definitely come back if I crave tacos.

This place is awesome in the most unassuming way! First off, they really tend to their customers. It’s a tight space that fills up quickly but they make sure they take your order asap. And despite how busy it can get, they are so patient and focused. The woman I believe to be the owner never raised her voice to get the NWU pre-​game crowd’s attention. Her right-​hand man took time to answer questions — never rushing, though it was so busy.
Now the food — fresh and flavorful. There are so many great vegetarian options. The quesadillas were great. The tacos — absolutely fantastic! I had mine with beans and queso. And the empenadas were so deliciously artisan. To top it off, I had their fresh hibiscus with orange, which also did not fail to please.
I did not plan to stop here today, but I would definitely drive back from Chicago taste this fresh, humble, homemade food again!

Phenomenal food with distinct flavors in all of their dishes. I live close by to this place and while the dishes are a little different than the traditional tex-​Mex food marketed as Mexican, you will not regret eating at this place

I kept walking by this place for the longest time, all because I once had a ground beef empanada from them at the farmers’ market that I didn’t think was all that great. I was missing out.
Let me just say that we are really, really lucky to have this place in Evanston, a town with many mediocre and some downright awful food establishments. Tomate is reasonably-​priced, the food is good and authentic, and they even take online orders (the restaurant can get very busy during the lunch rush, so online orders speed the process considerably).
The only downsides are a) their hours can change without much notice, as they are also a catering company, b) there is nowhere to sit in the restaurant and it’s standing room only when you order during crowded times and c) they don’t update what it is possible to order, so you might order something online that they don’t actually have in the restaurant once you arrive.
Let’s hope they’ll be around for a long while.

Tomate has delicious Mexican food with popping flavors. All of the food is made fresh to order and is very authentic. Definitely the best that Evanston has to offer. A bit expensive for what it is, but if the Northwestern kids have the cash, good for the owner!
Tamales were not on the chalkboard, but the staff was happy to make a few for us upon request. Staff is incredibly friendly and warm, but slooowwww. Food and staff are 5-​star — Tomate just needs some streamlining of order taking, accepting payment, etc.

I love Tomate Fresh! It’s extremely affordable, and they sell gorditas, tacos, or burritos. I’ve tried most of the meats they offer, and I can’t really pick a favorite. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. The gorditas, tacos, and burritos are all great. One burrito is $ 6.50, and it’s pretty filling, so that counts for a cheap lunch.
Service is great! Everyone is really friendly. This is nothing other than a take-​out place, though. There are no seats in the restaurant, and there is very limited place to even line up to place your order. They DO deliver, though!
Their horchatas are good. Their empanadas are on the expensive side ($ 4 for a tiny amount of food), so I would not recommend these as much.

I wanted to try something new today for lunch, so I ordered from Tomate Fresh Kitchen using Eat24 since it seemed to have such great reviews. I ordered 4 items from their online menu just before 2pm — a duck taco, aqua horchata, a black bean taco, and a onion and cheese empanada. The confirmation said it would take 45 – 60 minutes to be delivered, and it also said it may take a little longer to receive the empanada. Exactly an hour after placing my order, I received a phone call from an employee from the restaurant telling me that they could not deliver my order because they don’t have ANYTHING I ordered. Um, what? Then why is it all on your menu?! They then asked me if I would like to order something else. I told them I would not, as I already waited an hour for my order, and didn’t want to wait another hour for my lunch — it was already almost 3pm. I asked for a refund, and they told me I could only get this through Eat24. I hung up and contacted Eat24 immediately and within minutes they issued a refund (hooray for Eat24!). I also received a phone call from who I assume was the manager or owner, telling me they were contacted by Eat24 and they aren’t sure what happened with my order.
I wish this review was a great one based on their delicious looking food, however I just can’t get over their lack of customer service. If they called less than an hour (!?) after my order was placed and paid for, I may have considered trying something else. I also just double-​checked the Eat24 online menu, and sure enough, every item I ordered today is no longer on there. Had they kept up with their online ordering system, this mistake may not have happened today, leaving a very disappointed and hungry customer.

Tomate Fresh is hands down the best restaurant in Evanston, and probably the best restaurant I have been to in my 4 years as a student at Northwestern. I have tried almost everything on their menu, and they excel at everything. I am a red blooded carnivore, but their vegetarian options more than amazing and I get them as often as the carne asada (which is unreal).
Not only is their service a notch above anything else, but Tanya and the crew are among the friendliest people I have ever met. 2 years running and they know my lunch routine down to a pat, and always have a smile for everyone who comes by. I have also gotten a few large parties catered by them, they are as good with groups of 300 as with single orders.
All in all, my favorite restaurant I have ever been to!

Takeout and delivery only, this little establishment is true to its farmers market roots. Excellent daily choices are to be found on the board above the kitchen, where you can watch a gigantic burrito being assembled. Bottled sodas and containers of yummy sauces for home made tortilla chips round out the order nicely. If you are looking to find good street tacos, look no further, Tomate does it right.

Wow, authentic hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican food in Evanston! The way I measure the authenticity of a Mexican place is by the quality of the al Pastor Pork, and this was terrific.
Despite the seeming complexity of the online menu, it’s really quite straightforward: you can get a taco, gordita, burrito or empanada, and have it filled with pastor, carne asada, fish, caramelized onion/​charred poblanos, or a few other variations.
I tried several possibilities. The fish taco was small, garnished with diced pineapple, and the least expensive item. The gordita al pastor was generously stuffed with pastor, plus, oddly, some black beans. The burrito with caramelized onions and charred poblanos was huge, and although twice the cost of the taco about five times as much food. All three items were delicious.
Everything is prepared to order, so it is fresh and HOT.
Don’t even think of eating here. Seriously, there is room inside the door for about six people to stand in line and order. No tables inside or out. Ordering online for delivery is probably the best approach.