The Otherdoor

Cool concept but very bland food. I ordered a chicken burrito, it had no taste to speak of, no spice just nothing to write home about. Seriously, this place isn’t even as good as Qdoba in vernon hills. Next time I stay home and make my own burrito. Also, the teen staff were not at all trained well, they got the simple drink order all wrong. Sorry but I will not be a returning customer and the sad note is, I live here in Lake Bluff and was looking for some really good Mexican food!

Let’s start from the beginning. It’s Sunday and I was looking for a place to dine and thought maybe I’d like to try something hot and new. However the otherdoor is not very hot. Instead, Their tacos were cold and they did not oblige to putting the sauce on the side. Thus, the excess amount of 9 sauce resulted in an extremely spicy taco that lacked everything but spiciness. Do not recommend going here.

Chipotle on steroids. One of my favorite places. How anyone could give this anything less than 4 stars is beyond me.

It’s a fancier Chipotle.
The décor is very hipster — canned veggies, vintages hats, broken doors on the wall.

Damn. I love Mexican food and I’ve gone to every restaurant on the North Shore. I’ve gotta say — this one blows my mind. It’s simple, fast-​casual style, with hearty portions and low price rocks. Check it out!

The Otherdoor is a different taste of Mexican food, somewhat like Chipotle but you can get tacos outside of the typical burrito or bowls. A bit overpriced in comparison though and about ¹⁄₃ less food — especially with the rice in the bowls. I really like their pulled pork and barbacoa meats (extra $ 1.50 for barbacoa unfortunately though). Also have a good selection of beers/​wines too. What they’re missing is a good corn topping!

Love this little gem in a little town where there isn’t much! At first we could not find out where it was at and then saw «the other door»!
What a great place… very authentic food and a ton of options to chose from. I like Chipotle but this is a step above.
Chips are fantastic!!!

I highly recommended by a customer of Sunset Automotive, let me just start by saying that the phone service from Griselda was GREAT! I love when a business has customer service at the forefront. Also the food was amazing and the salsa’s were GREAT!

Fun place. We got take out. We ate it at the Village Green across the street during a summer concert which was nice.
I had the grilled steak soft tacos with a variety of toppings and La Malinche salsa. Of their ten salsas, La Malinche is ranked as the hottest.
I like spicy food. I tend to be able to handle spicier food than most. This salsa is the absolute hottest stuff I have ever, ever had. It was good but painful.
I will be back but will opt for the number nine spiciest salsa instead.

Not a bad place. A great place!
Very simple approach. Very great!
Details: It has Mexican food just the way you like it because you get to put together exactly what you want. Every speck.
You order the ‘vessel’ of delivery from taco to bowl to burrito; specify what you want from local farm fresh meats of chicken, beef, pork or duck (vegetarian exists here); specify add-​ons of lots of things (too many to write here); and specify the salsa (from very mild to very hot). (Key word of this review? Specify!).
We ordered chips and guac (tangy, fresh, with the refreshing taste of lime shining through). And for me: one beef and one chicken crispy taco with lettuce, queso fresco and la pecadora salsa (6 out of the scale of 10 for hotness) – I confirmed the soundness of this with the prep person – great every which way of tasting these items. And for my partner: crispy tacos, one with duck, another pulled pork – all good as well. The 1 out of 10 salsa limoncitos was lively, not spicy.
They have an inexpensive Margarita which is notable not for its price, but its excellent flavor.
We walked outside (a Saturday), had our meal at an outdoor table and watched the world go by (this day it was a town block party with bike races).
Go! ‘Specify’! Enjoy! Almost guaranteed you will.
p. s. By a strange set of circumstances, we returned a few days later. I specified a chicken burrito with my view of what it needed. I would give myself 3 Unilocal stars only. (There can be flaws in anything!)

Overall: A very average Chipotle-​style place. Honestly, I think I like Chipotle more. Not bad, but not great either.
The good: Some interesting options to choose from when it comes to meat. Obviously, the standouts like duck and pork belly are fantastic. They serve beer too. Service and atmosphere were fine, just teens making food. But it’s a pretty small place.
The bad: Nothing special to be honest. Everything was pretty cold, wasn’t extremely fresh. The pork was dry. Nothing really stood out, not even the hot sauce.
Atmosphere: ⁷⁄₁₀
Service: ⁸⁄₁₀
Food: ⁶⁄₁₀

I’d definitely come back, no doubt. Authentic taqueria. Great horchata, salsas, and beer selection. I’d say they need to revisit their hiring process. When a Lake Forest/​Lake Bluff is kid looking for a summer job, they should pass. The kid working the counter wasn’t engaged, just kinda brought a «meh, whatever bro» vibe. You can tell this place is run by people who know how to cook and present the genre appropriately. But the faces that meet you at the taco bar don’t communicate that.

Great food, good quality meats, fresh ingredients. I love the variety of unique salsas. The chips and guacamole is very tasty also. Not bad (and very reasonable) margaritas and a great selection of beer.

They served me ice cold tacos. COLD MEAT. cold ingredients and cold tortillas. I told the guys behind the counter and they looked at me with blank faces. I gave them back all three tacos and told them I didn’t want my money back just thought Id let them know our food was ice cold and frankly stated pretty bad.
They could not give a sh-​t.
Ive had the tacos here many times. At first they were quite good. Although my family did NOT like their food… I thought it was a cool place and liked being there.
The chef who owns the place and the place next door would agree with me if he was there.
He need to know.
Going down hill fast.
Michael.

A better version of Chipotle! Food is fresher and so many salsa choices!!!
The chips are amazing. This place will not disappoint

Absolutely amazing! I highly recommend if you desire a scrumptious lunch. They are quick, the quality of the meats are fabulous and they have awesome selections that will satisfy all. You will not be disappointed. The portions are fairly large. I have tried something new every time and have yet to walk away displeased.
Can be very difficult to find the location because they have no signs identifying this hidden gem but with a little venture, you should locate it with no issue.
Last but not least: they serve a limited selection of alcohol and they offer military discount!

Unless you’re from lake bluff you can skip it.
The teenagers running the joint where not all that helpful in explaining the menu.
The décor is clever but lacks cozyness.
My top shelve Margarita was excellent as where our sauces.
I orderd a burrito bowl with the spicyest sauce on the menu wich should come with a warning lable… I’m not kidding! As a lover of spicy things i found this one to be barely edible. I paid for my folly all night long even afyet pepto bismol. Just sayin. wish someone had offered me a taste and confirmed the order.
This sauce is a great party dare.
Our guacamole wad deicious, as where the chips.
Although we thought overall this place was nice, we will not go out of our way to return as we can get similar food at chipotle.
Sorry guys.

A welcomed twist on Mexican! This local joint is worth the drive! The Potato Duck Burrito with The Zeal of Zapata hot salsa was a major score! The burrito must of weighed more then a pound– huge! The duck and potato with rosemary as a burrito filling was admittedly, something I was afraid to try. It ended up working well with the tortilla, rice, beans, cabbage, pickled jalapeño, and 3 kinds of premium shredded cheese. The fresh quality ingredients combine to make a perfect melody of delicious and complex flavors.
This place transcends Mexican food and the local area to offer a truly unique foodie experience ! I’m blown away by some of the negative reviews. If you want traditional mexican, go elsewhere. If you are happy with Chipotle, Waukegan street tacos, or Taco Bell– keep going there. For me, there was no comparison! Come here if you want carefully crafted and quality ingredients made tasty and special. Lake Bluff is lucky to have this place!
American rustic and modern flair fits the dining area and is consistent with the thoughtfully created food. Someone said Mexican hipster food? Maybe so but good is good and this place is awesome for the price.
I sampled the pork carnitas — way better the Chipolte! I’ll get it next time because I’m definitely coming back.
UPDATE: Tried the PORK CARNITAS BURRITO — awesome as expected!

The Otherdoor: yum yum yum! Honestly, this is the first food I think of when I am hungry for something convenient, hot and reasonably priced around Lake Bluff or Lake Forest.
Last time I was there, they had available «gluten free flan,» which of course I tried and it turned out to be like their flan + chocolate cake, but with only a full portion of the flan part. Yum!
Also, I’ve realized that while maybe the ordering process at The Otherdoor may have a similarity with Chipotle, monotonous, one-​tone Chipotle food is nothing compared to the awesome, rich, fresh, herb-​filled food at The Otherdoor. And I appreciate that John des Rosiers tries mixing it up with new filling offerings sometimes. And I appreciate the new flan dessert!
And every time I’ve ordered their tortilla chips recently they have been the light-​textured but toothsome perfect crispiness.
I’m a very happy enthusiastic customer here.

THIS PLACE.
Imagine if Chipotle had a younger, more interesting, creative and anti-​establishment brother… this is the Other Door experience.
Tons of meat options (the duck is INCREDIBLE), tons of homemade salsas, and cool décor.
The only drawback would be the lack of seating space. Other than that, get here sooner rather than later.