Cantarittos Taqueria & Bar

After spending 2 very long days with my mom at St. Alexis hospital I stopped here tonight for dinner. I ordered 2 pork tacos and a glass of water. For $ 4.86 I had the best dinner I have had in a very long time.
The service was perfect, they were so friendly and I felt so welcome and comfortable dining alone. The restaurant was clean and when I left I asked about ordering guacamole and chips to take home. The man asked if I wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes and whipped me up a huge, fresh batch without peppers because he had asked if I like my guacamole spicy.
Now I have finally made it home after a very long drive enjoying the very best guacamole I have ever had. I am now spoiled off any other guacamole. Next time I am in the area there is no other place I will even consider going to for a meal. Thank you for such a great end to a very rough day.

Great food, but VERY frustrating when he closes on random days every week or so…
If you need a day off every week, then change your hours to include being closed on Mondays or Thursday’s, etc.

This place was blah. Normally Chicago area Mex food is awesome. However, I was in the area and wanted quick lunch. I think the owner was working that day. I sat down and waited to be served, it took a while because he was on the phone the whole time. When I did get served, the drink and food took a long time to get to the table.
So the food gets to the table, the owner was so busy talking business on the phone, he didn’t even give me any condiments or silverware. I had to ask him many times for the sauce and spoon. So it was a bit frustrating.
I ordered the al pastor taco, it was blah. And I ordered the Torta, it was okay. They make their own salsa and chips. It was not very good, sauce was watery. The chips was not fresh. The food is average at best. And the service was garbage.

I love this place! Our new Wednesday go to for 99 cent tacos– I do the steak and chorizo, my husband likes the pork and chicken. The guacamole is to die for and their queso dip with chorizo is for sure a hidden secret. This place is such a diamond in the rough. The food is always hot and fresh, not overly greasy. Flavio, the owner, is so nice and very helpful! The shop itself is kind of a dive but if they have the tunes going and you have a margarita or two it is a very nice place to eat and have a couple cocktails. I highly recommend for your quick delicious Mexican cravings. If you’re looking for a fancy bistro though this is not the place– just good, quick, reasonable and authentic Mexican food.

Service wasn’t great. At all. Didn’t give us napkins, or water. Salsa was obviously out of a jar. I’m not sure where all the great reviews came from because my group left after getting a Margarita to get dinner at another place. Not worth it.

After growing up in an area with a completely different style of Mexican food, when I moved out here I couldnt find any I liked. That ended when I came here. I live fairly close so I tend to do take out (trying to avoid smelling like a restaurant too since it’s such a small place), but I could probably eat the nachos every day. Everything I’ve had has been good, and the people are super nice. Check it out!

Flavio the owner is a great host and the food was spectacular. .HIGHLY recommended. I am a vegan and they were extremely accommodating but I must say the Pastor smelled fab too… Best hand made margarita I have had since Acapulco!

Great tacos!
Pastor, Pollo, Asada.
Have to go onion & cilantro. Great taste.
A little dark inside but didn’t bother. Good service. Good food.

The al pastor taco are phenomenal! I also think they serve the best beans and rice that I’ve ever eaten — it tastes really authentic. Not a big dining area, but it’s perfect for a quick dinner if you’re with a couple friends. There’s a bar and we watched a few older women get pretty rowdy while celebrating one of their birthdays. Used to come here on a weekly basis and I have never been disappointed.

We went to the movies last night and were really in the mood for some good tacos. After reading the reviews, this place looked like a promising gamble. We were 5 minutes away, so decided to try it. When we arrived, it was 9:39pm. They close at 10pm. We saw another family eating inside, so we thought all was well. As we attempted to enter the restaurant, we were stopped by the host/​waiter, and told that they are closing in 20 min and could not serve us. We were in shock… I mean… WTH? This is a taco joint, not a fancy restaurant. What a joke! We will not be back!

This place had many positive reviews so we went there. The service was really good but the food was not that great — my food was good but not great. The burrito my son had was not too his liking and my wife like hers OK but found the beans to be awful. The sauces are good but you need them to save the food.
I cannot say I would return — no reason to with the large selection of restaurants available that are better.

Food is freshly made with good ingredients. However, the chicken used in both the enchilada and sopa was lacking in flavor. Asked the waiter for sauce and he promptly brought two bottles of sauce; one red and one green. The green sauce is delicious and the red sauce is very spicy. Used both sauces together and they greatly increased the pleasure experience of my lunch.
BTW, the lunch section has two combo meal deals that come with rice, beans, & large soft drink for only $ 6.99!

New to the area so still feeling good out restaurants, looked for Mexican and this was at the top of the list. So glad we ate here. Just went with steak burritos and an order of chips and salsa, SO GOOD! Steak was so tender and tasty, looking forward to trying some other items.

The best al pastor tacos! Great atmosphere with great food the owner is the super nice.

Did not expect the top quality and authentic taste coming from this little place. Fantastic!!!

I have to admit, this little hole-​on-​the-​wall, off the beaten path Taquera is outstanding. It is small, maybe ten tables and a bar with a few stools. It’s just east of Barrington Road on Hassel, in an older strip mall next to the 7 – 11.
We went for an early dinner. When we arrived at around 4:45pm, there were two people at the bar and all of the tables were open. We grabbed seats, wanting to try their Wednesday night $ 1 taco and $ 3.99 margarita specials.
On the regular menu, there are a variety of meats to choose from. The $ 1 taco special is more limited but has enough options to make you happy.
After reading earlier reviews, we decided to try their gyacamole. I must admit, it was probably the best I’ve had. Anywhere. The guac was fresh with just the right amount of tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro and garlic. There was plenty for the two of us.
I had three tacos — two steak and one chicken. They are served on double corn tortillas with onion and cilantro. Théy reminded me of great street tacos. My wife had two steak tacos and we split an order of time and beans.
Everything we ate was outstanding. The bartender was generius with the amount of tequila in the margarita, so I only had one.
But, most of all, the service was fantastic. While we were there, the place started to fill up. But, even when all of the tables were full, he made us feel like we were his only customers.
The prices can’t be beaten. The quality of the food is outrageous and the service is excellent. I think we’ll become regulars on taco night!

Excellent service! Top notch food and pleasant atmosphere. The ceviche and guac were fresh and amazing. All of the tacos were delicious, really tasty asada torta as well. The drinks were fresh and delicious, overall an amazing experience. In a dark strip mall but worth it when you find it!

Kleines Lokal aber ein super leckeres Essen und preiswert dazu. Sehr freundliches Personal. Es gab nichts zu beanstanden.

I have actually been to this place a good dozen times, but for some odd reason it never struck me to pen them a review. Strange how sometimes the places we visit the most frequently often escape the thought processes for Unilocal.Odd.
Anyway, as you can tell from the vast majority of previous reviews of this little gem tucked away (almost hidden) off of Hassell, people come from all over to get the food here. Here in Hoffman Estates itself, this joint has a damn near cult-​like following. They catered a huge party at my apartment complex, the girl I am dating thinks this place is the second coming of Pancho Villa, and their Guac is flat out orgasmic. Does it live up to all this hype? Pretty damn close in my estimation, and this is coming from a guy that adores Mexican food over any other ethnic cuisine out there.
The restaurant itself is tiny. They have maybe 6 tables, a bar, and a small kitchen. I have always encountered the exact same people every time I have ever visited and they are super friendly. It also gives me the opportunity to work on my rapidly diminishing Spanish language skills. Speaking of which, why the hell do most universities teach Spain Spanish as opposed to the Mexican variety? I think odds are far higher that I will encounter a Mexican in my day to day life in the US than I will find myself sitting in some villa outside of Barcelona, but what do I know?
I am not going to rehash everything that has been said before about Cantarittos, as the vast majority of what people are Unilocaling here is 100% accurate. The food is fantastic and about as authentic as you are going to find anywhere I have ever been in Chicago.
The only reason I rate this place 4 as opposed to 5 stars has to do with a lack of consistency. Sometimes when I show up it’s unbelievable, others it’s just so so. If they could do it up like a rockstar on every visit, they would be firmly sitting undisputed on the top of the food chain and be the gold standard by which all other Mexican places were measured against.

Fantastic. Have had the tacos and tortas before and loved them, but tried the skirt steak meal and that has set the bar higher for awesome Mexican food.
This place is worth making a bit of a hike for, even though I don’t have to because it’s in my back yard almost. But it beats out other 4 star ( Unilocal) places I’ve gone to as far as mount prospect.
Come when you’re not in a rush, or do takeout. Complimentary Salsa and chips are fantastic as well !

A hidden gem, for sure.
There really aren’t too many GOOD mexican joints in the area… this one gets the job done. I’ve never dined in, but it seems clean and to-​the-​point. It’s a smaller spot, so I’d recomment it for two-​somes or for lunch. I’ve often ordered to-​go, and I’ve been called by the restaurant before, notifying me that my food was ready. Clearly, they care about giving quality service grub!
Over the course of a couple of visits, I’ve stuck to really ordering $ 1 tacos on Wednesdays. You can opt for the lettuce/​tomato version, or the more authentic taco with onions and cilantro. It’s not very filling, and I probably order and extra 1 – 2 more (less meat and less ingredients overall, say, in comparison to other spots like TBK).
But I enjoy supporting small businesses, and this one is on point for sure! You won’t find greasy, fatty, poorly cooked anything here. they care. Extra plus: they once had an elotes cookout during the summer! YUM!
I only wish they had horchata