Chilango’s Mexican Grill

Absolutely incredible! Fresh, handmade Mexican food. I always build my own burrito and have more than enough for lunch the next day.
There may be a bit longer wait for your food than some places, but it is well worth it and the fresh chips and salsa will keep you well occupied!

Hole in the wall Mexican joint with amazing food. Our waiter was very enthusiastic and the food was prepared in a few short minutes. Large portion sizes and authentic flavor. Great discovery. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area.

Second trip back was even better. Waitress explained that with the burritos, the sides are on the INSIDE. Anna was an awesome server and had great suggestions. Try the horchata. It’s awesome!

All I have to say is wow. The food was ridiculously good. We ordered over the phone, the guy was so nice, food was ready quickly, and it was the BEST mexican food I’ve ever had!

So delicious! Possibly THE best meal we’ve had outside of Mexico! Portions are huge, service is super friendly and knowledgeable, and everything was seasoned well and very fresh. With so many Mexican restaurants around the Jackson/​Ann Arbor area it’s easy to settle for nearby. This one is well worth the trip off the beaten path!

This is one of the best Mexican restaurants around. Their standard menu is great but keep an eye open for some of their daily specials that aren’t on the menu. Everything I’ve ever got there is fresh, authentic, and too be honest extremely inexpensive. This place really does Mexican right. It’s fairly small, parking space is limited, and they do not serve alcohol but I love it. Great place for lunch or to grab some carryout.

I’ve eaten at this restaurant 3 time over the past year or so. Each time was about the same experience. The food is average for a Mexican restaurant, the prices a little high for what you get. I had the shrimp fajitas, it has plenty of green peppers and onion, but only 5 small pieces of shrimp. The cost was about $ 10. For only five small shrimp I thought that was pretty pricey considering the onions and peppers cost very little.
My wife had the burrito, she said it was ok, but not something that would merit a reason to come back.
The chips (greasy and thick) were not good, the salsa was ok.
The service but the waitress was nice.
Just an average or a little below average place to eat Mexican food. I gave this restaurant a three star because the prices are reasonable for what you receive.
Don’t expect much.

This place has great vegan options and the server named Anna is super nice and helpful!

Best Mexican food you’ll find anywhere west of Detroit, really a gem in Jackson. Small seating area, can be noisy if they get loud patrons, but highly recommended.

WOW, who knew?!
Authentic Mexico City Mexican food right here in Jackson in a converted gas station. We parked in one of the handful of spots available in the lot outside the door and went inside to be pleasantly surprised by the size and décor of the place. Like Dr Who’s Tardus, the restaurant seemed bigger inside than it looked outside. The combination of paintings and photos of Mexico City landmarks lent the place a feel of genuine DF.
I ordered the 3 meat molcajete and my expectationse were seriously exceeded — tender roasted nopales, cebollitas, queso fresco, pechuga de pollo, a small ribeye and a generous portion of very flavorful chorizo that was brought to the table in a good sized example of the grinding mortar from which the dish takes it’s name. The presentation was impressive, stopping conversation throughout the restaurant as our server. Javier, brought the dish sizzling from the kitchen to our table. It comes with the traditional accompniaments — refritos, arroz and choice of tortillas.
Javier who was attentive to our needs throughout the meal, informed me that, although tacos al pastor was listed on the menu, the restaurant no longer has the vertical rotisserie spit on which it’s made. Too bad.
The food and service we’re outstanding but the place has yet to get a liquor license so plan your pre and postgame activities accordingly. Viva Mexico!

I still love going to this place, but they have gone down hill lately. The tortilla soup used to be amazing, but something has changed and the deep flavor it used to have is gone. The tortilla chips are also hit or miss, sometimes great and sometimes a little off.
The salsa however is still amazing, and a reason to keep coming back.

Dear Michigan: Thanks for having this place. Love it. I love it. The whole family loves it. We’ll be back.

The best Mexican restaurant I have ever been to. I personally have spent probably more than $ 1000 dollars at this place, the tacos are amazing, burritos are as big as your head, and soups are amazing as well. Everything has a good presentation, and taste amazing. This food is meant for higher beings that have more advanced taste buds, as ours cannot truly appreciate the perfection/​complexity put into these dishes.

We entered this little tiny restaurant in Jackson, MI with my daughter and son in law who live nearby. At first glance, I thought that this just could not be much because there was barely any seating. It looks like a mostly «take out» place. It is pretty small and the bathroom is for both men and women and it is not… well, put it this way… just wait until you get home if you can.
But I’m not reviewing this little Mexican restaurant on its bathroom or on it”s size. I am reviewing it on the kind of people that we encountered and the food that we ate. The prices are moderate, not too much, not cheap. But you do get a good amount of food for your money as well. You do not get the «normal» taco chips and salsa like some Mexican restaurants, but hey… it still was good food and that’s what I’m sticking to.
We had a great waiter. He was nice and talkative, friendly but knew when leave and to let us be as a family as well. He told us that he was actually from a place in Mexico and he has family there and now some of them are here too. He spoke to my daughter and my husband a little bit about their occupations etc. He was fun and funny and darned if I cannot remember his name. Though Im not sure he had a name tag? Maybe he did, I just don’t remember, sorry.
What I do remember thought is that they actually have «Cactus» on the menu and my daring husband and son in law had to try it! It even came very nice looking to the eye, with some avacado. My husband says it was «slimey» and my son in law agreed. They said they probably wouldn’t get it again, but it was fun to try something so «different». Our waiter told us that they serve that in the restaurants in Mexico quite often. We ordered a variety of foods as I had enchilada’s. There were three of them: cheese, shredded beef and chicken. I don’t love beans or rice so they very kindly allowed me to get french fries and they didn’t charge me extra. I was so happy about that. They were really great fries too! My enchilada’s were not too spicey, just right! My husband got a burrito, a taco and tostada. They were awesome as well. My son in law got a super huge gigantic sized burrito! I don’t even know where he put it ?? He is not very big as far as weight goes and he packed it in! He said it was very tasty and they frequent this restaurant. It is their favorite place in Jackson to get Mexican food. They said it is the «most authentic» too. I hope you can see the photo’s that I took and the atmosphere that shines through. Enjoy!

Ended up in the Jackson area for lunch today and my boyfriend suggested an old favorite, Chilango’s. My expectations were low, but the experience was pretty good. I ordered the lunch special with an enchilada, quesadilla, and rice. My boyfriend had the lunch fajitas.
Loved: the atmosphere. It was laid back and comfortable. The chef cooked right in front of us which was nice.
Liked: the quesadilla. It was crunchy and the onions were perfectly caramelized.
Disliked: the rice and enchilada. The enchilada sauce was delicious and had a great tomato flavor, but the enchilada itself didn’t have much flavor. I prefer my Mexican rice without a lot of extras, so the peas were a bit bothersome to me.
More than disliked: My boyfriend’s fajitas didn’t come with lettuce or cheese. I realize this is probably an Americanized Mexican tradition, but he felt the fajitas really needed them.
All in all, we will be back. We weren’t very adventurous for lunch and I’d like to try other more original dishes.

Found this place on Unilocal as I was passing through from Detroit to Chicago. Sat down. Waited. Waited. Other tables came in. The table next to me came in, were given chips, and their order taken. Still waiting.
My waitress was nice and pointed out the different orders for lunch. By the time my meal came, the skinny girl sitting next to me was halfway through her massive burrito.
I got one taco pastor, the fish taco lunch and a side of beans. The taco pastor was pretty authentic and close to what I get in Mexico City. I was pleasantly surprised. The fish tacos were also good– although fried they seemed lite. Beans were great. My chips and salsa did not even tempt me after a few bites. They were a bit overdone, the first one stale, and not salted.
The food is very, very good. But the service cost them a star. Had to drink a soda; they don’t have bottled water.

This small brightly decorated place has great Mexican food with an accent on freshness of ingredients and an attention to good preparation. Even though the cook is probably some young dude in real life, the food tastes as if it were prepared by a Mexican grandmother who went to culinary school.
Added a star for not expecting such a place in some random neighborhood in Jackson.

Though the food here has treated me well since I discovered it a few days ago, I went back today and the woman who I believe is the owner (or manager) violated some basic sanitation. She was wearing plastic gloves to top burritos with cheese and lettuce by hand as most Chipotle-​like places do.
She helped the person in front of me, then turned around and picked up some pans and a dirty rag, dried off the pans that were dripping for an unknown-​to-​me reason, turned around and dug her hands into the cheese and lettuce without changing gloves. And that is now sitting on top of my burrito. Whatever non-​clear liquid was dripping off the pans (best case it’s soap), and whatever was growing on that rag is now also coating my lettuce and cheese.
I should have asked her to change gloves before she helped me but it all happened so fast! I got back to work and ended up throwing my entire burrito bowl away because my stomach is churning at the thought of eating whatever was on her hands. My rule of Unilocal ratings is if I end up throwing my food away because of a horrible taste or sanitation issue, it’s an automatic 1-​star.
Tip for the restaurant: wash hands, change gloves, and never clean in the same gloves you’re using to prepare food.
Also riddle me this: for $ 7.95 you can get a burrito (meat, tortilla, any add-​ins you want for free except guacamole); a burrito bowl (same as above minus tortilla); or a quesadilla grande. The Quesadilla Grande on the menu promises «choice of veggies» just like the burrito. Yet for the same price as a burrito, all you get is meat, cheese and a tortilla. You get 1 dipping cup of a salsa and that’s it! They wanted to charge me extra for just adding lettuce on top! That is absurd. It’s the same ingredients as the burrito (and same amount) just a different shape, and you cut out all the extra ingredients? Do yourself a favor and if you do come here, never get the quesadilla unless you want a flavorless oozing hotpocket. I mean do they realize its the same thing as a burrito just shaped differently? What, then, warrants surcharging for all of the add-​in ingredients for the same price? What a scam.

For Jackson’s standards this place is 4 star.
Located in a converted gas station, you’ll find this small and unassuming Mexican restaurant serving up some pretty darn good grub.
While in town visiting my husband’s family, we decided to venture over to Chilango’s for dinner. The place is clean with minimal decorations.
The server had the entire 10 tables, but honestly people walked in so staggered he never got in the weeds.
The chips and salsa are good. The salsa had a little bit of a smokey kick to it, which was a nice way to clear out my stuffy nose.
We ordered: chimichangas, shrimp tostada, fish tacos, the avocado salad and the 12″ make your own burrito.
I must say the burrito was the winner. LOADED with as many toppings as you’d like, the damn thing probably weighed over a pound. It was covered in cheese sauce, which is always a crowd pleaser.
Everything was fresh and came out pretty quick.
When we are back in MI, I will definitely request we make a return visit.

I visited here for the first time as I was on my way to the other side of the state. The reviews sounded legit And the menu looked good so a friend and I decided to give it a try on a Saturday for lunch.
The building is cute an quaint, they had daily specials board with good selections. We sat down and waited about 5 minutes to be acknowledged and given a menu. We immediately ordered the queso fondido we heard so much about from other Unilocalers. I decided to order a few tacos and my friend ordered the shrimp fajita special.
The queso fondido was terrible! It looked nothing like the previous picture. It was a hard block of stringy cheese with watery beef juice with absolutely no viscosity floating on top. It was unforgiving to a fork and we ended up using chips to spoon up the juices. It tasted ok but was overall very unappetizing. It doesn’t help that our waitress said «that’s how it’s supposed to be» and told us to «keep stirring and it’ll get thicker». It never did.
What saved this review from a one star was the tacos. I had a few carnita tacos which were very authentic and delicious. The corn tortillas were fresh and very flavorful. My friends fajitas were lackluster, they had hearty shrimp and lots of fresh vegetables but only came with the fajitas and vegetables (no side of other toppings such as salsa, lettuce, cheese) so they ended up being quite dry.
The service was quite terrible. It was a slow Saturday and our food took about 35 minutes to come out. There was minimal checking in by out waitress and no apology for the wait. We sat near the window and on multiple occasions saw her outside meeting friends or with others smoking. Her nails were too long and had too much dirt under them to be serving food.
The food (besides the fondido) was pretty good but the overall lackluster experience and service was not enough to bring me back. I am all for supporting local businesses but staying consistent with product and service is key!