El Cortez Mokena

I never write reviews, and I am a regular customer here. We were treated extremely bad. I can’t believe the condensing treatment we received. Foods fair, drinks are good but customer service is awful.

After only one visit there my faith was restored; finally having found a decent Mexican restaurant in the area. Now I have been there plenty and El Cortez quickly became one of my favorite spots. The food is fast, fresh, and reasonably priced. Only once did I feel my server was less attentive than I would desire. Still would highly recommend El Cortez to friends and family alike.

While I love the food here, the service is HORRIBLE. Food — 5 stars, Service — 1 star. The waiters always seem to fuck something up OR completely forget you. My husband refuses to come here, so now I order the food to go.

Favorite Mexican food hands down! Atmosphere is ok but still had to give 5 stars because the food is really great!

To be fair my last review for El
Cortez was based on one visit in 2011. We have eaten here a ton and like the place. The food isn’t 5 stars but it’s and a good Mexican joint and the service is consistently good.

WORST service!!! First time there and will never return. Told manager and was really not too interested in our dissatisfaction. Horrible food too.

Amazing food! Great service when Sandy is in the bar. The cooks are quick and the food comes out nice and hot with great flavor. Always feels like home when I’m here! Wish I could take it with me.

Many moons ago we had been to El Cortez when it was located at about ~170^th & Wolf road.
We impulsively catered my brother’s graduation from El Cortez after stopping in and trying a few items.
We ended up getting a tray of chicken fajitas, mini burritos, and flautas, with some sides of guacamole and pico de gallo.
I thought the chicken was decent, nothing really special but definitely not bad either. I personally thought the flautas were just meh, perhaps a little dry and overly crispy, other party guests said they were good. However, I will say that the mini chicken burritos were a huge hit, I thought they were really tasty and the bacon added a unique touch to it. Above average guacamole, fair pico de gallo.
Probably better than most of the standard/​cheap Mexican places, albeit a little more expensive.

Great restaurant, has some long lasted favorite popular menu items over the years, that keeps you coming back. The chips are nice and the salsa is good. I had a taste for a ribeye steak, it wasn’t on the menu, but the waitress spoke to the owner Marco, he came to my table and said I can do it for you. It was phenomenal, I had it with the Ricky steak compliments, char grilled onions, green peppers, he made a great garlic bread, and charged me a very fair price, no nonsense, trusted them and they came thru very well, I was very impressed and think they should add a chargrilled 12 oz Ribeye to their menu, they did it nicely, and have been around 40 years, they do well and I would love to see some ribeye steak and chargrilled jumbo shrimp in the future, I know I’m leaning to more expensive food types, but if your going down that road of good stuff, people must know it will cost more and this place gives you a gracious share for your money, fair prices and nice portions, busy place and Marco serves to please his customers and is respectful and appreciative to customers, great guy, met him once and thought he was an honorable man.

We have tended to come to El Cortez when it isn’t so busy and found the food to be OK but not really great. The last two time we happened to come when it was very busy and the food was amazing! Our waiter was attentive, but not annoying. We didn’t feel rushed and munched on the chips and salsa while we waited. I had the supreme burrito suiza and my companion had the enchiladas with the white sauce. We ate until we were stuffed and still brought home enough for lunch the next day. My recommendation is to hit this place when there is a crowd and you won’t be disappointed.

We have dined here several times as my son loves Mexican food. We went this time on a Wednesday evening and the restaurant was not very busy. However we sat waiting for our server for about eight minutes before we were approached. She turned out to be very friendly and attentive after that. Margaritas are OK and salsa is Hot! So beware! Note they charge for a second basket of chips!!! Caramba!!!
Food arrived quickly and was hot but without any particular WOW to it. Pretty regular Mexican fare. Will we return??? Looking for something better in the south suburbs but who knows?! i

Mmmmm they have the best chips and salsa … More specifically the chips! Mmmmm. Never had a bad meal here. And am always tryin a new plate each time. The standard is the Plato Cortez. Queso fundito? Is delicious. Corn quessadillas come small. No complaints

Some restaurants spend a fortune on décor and ambiance and the food seems like an afterthought. And then there’s El Cortez where the dining room is just a place to sit and eat some amazing Mexican food.
From the delicious fresh chips and salsa that are cheerfully refilled more often than my waistline needs, to the fantastic margaritas (go for rocks — slushies are for children) every meal we’ve had here starts off on the right foot.
When I’m really hungry, I order either fajitas, which are very good, or the «Vallarta Special» which is some of the best surf and turf I’ve had anywhere. Steak, shrimp, and potatoes cooked in a spicy sauce and accompanied by a mound of rice for when your mouth needs a break from the heat. If I’m a little less hungry, I usually get a tamale or two — ask for them covered in the house-​made verde sauce! My husband swears by the Whisky Chicken — chicken and veggies with bacon and cheese — how can you go wrong with that?
Based on how good everything else is, I’d be willing to wager that their desserts are awesome, too, but after gorging myself on chips and salsa and dinner, I never have room left for dessert. One of these days…

El Cortez is definitely one of the my top spots for delicious Mexican dishes and in my opinion the best chips in salsa on the south side. Service has always been good and the drinks are very good as well. I would highly recommend the mini burritos if you’re looking for something quick and easy to eat. My favorite dish is the Whiskey (chicken, bacon, bell peppers with a side of rice and beans) very good very filling and very Reasonably priced.

If you like dirty cafeterias with below average food — this is the place!
This is about the most uninviting, cheap, and scuzzy looking place I’ve been to. Open area, bare ceilings, concrete floors, and metal chairs… Jeez…
And, I’m not sure what I liked being seated under better, the fluorescent bug light with the dead bugs stuck on it, or the cob webs caked in the corner.
Food was OK, kids food was a joke — obviously frozen chicken fingers and fries (think below Safeway brand quality).
No possible way we will be back to this dump.

Avoid this place. The food was horrible and the atmosphere was just as bad.
The food itself was definitely the worst part about this place. I had three orders, one of chicken, one beef and one pork. The pork was the only meat that was eatable, because it was bland. The chicken was dry and tasteless, while the beef was extremely over seasoned. Beyond the meats, the salsa tasted like Tostios salsa (which I can buy at my local grocery store).
The atmosphere was horrible as well. It seemed like it was designed as a storefront and converted into a restaurant. It is a large open room with steel padded chairs.
Instead just go to Taco Bell. You will not only save money but you will know exactly what you are getting upfront.

Been dining at one of El Cortez’s locations for a while and I have yet to be disappointed. Atmosphere is open and unintimidating, food is great, and the chips and salsa are a reason to come in on their own.

The atmosphere is cute, but the food was lousy. Bland salsa, but good chips were served before our meals. The burritos we ordered were boring. They had potatoes in with the ground beef and it made it seem like a «filler» with the potatoes. Go to LA Café down the street! Much better Mexican food.

Yikes, what happened to this place? It use to be good I cant begin to say how horrible the fajitas tasted that my wife had, Lets see hmm I got it like a shoe a dirty gym shoe would taste.
Not that I would eat a dirty gym but their fajitas couldn’t have tasted much better. I had chicken and mole and I think they forgot how to make mole this tasted like an old generic white can of mole. Really disappointed I wont be back. PS if the owner does read these, I did tell the waitress after I paid (I’m not looking for free meal) how bad the fajitas were. She did the really concerned look and shrugged it off. lol…

This review will break down like this: 5 stars for the food, 1 star for the service (or total lack thereof).
I’ve been a fan of El Cortez since forever– the original on Old Western Ave in Blue Island, and the one out on Cicero in Country Club Hills. When my folks moved to Mokena I was really excited to see they opened one on 191^st St. It’s nothing like the other 2 restaurants inside, but the food is identical.
I’ll start with the good. They have really good margaritas and a nice selection of mexican beers on tap (I love Dos Equis Green on tap). Chips are made fresh, and their salsa is hot but not screaming. I could drink it by the gallon :) Entrees to order are the pollo estrella, the mini chicken burritos, and the fajitas. The corn tortillas are infinitely better than the flour ones, IMHO.
Service is abysmal here. Our waitress couldn’t have given two s***s about waiting on us. Drinks were long empty before she’d ask for refills (we were all drinking liquor, you’d think she’d want to run up the bill???). When the food came out it was cold. Like not even warm cold. Huge disappointment. I had her reheat it, I’m just hoping it didn’t get spit on. After reheat the food lost it’s original appeal. It did make a wonderful lunch the next day, so there was some redemption.
Overall kind of sucky compared to the other ones, but the food is wonderful when the service works.