El Coco Mio

Do not pass this restaurant up. We stumbled on it while looking for some place different in our area. So my chain restaurants, which I am not fond of at all. We were pleasantly surprised. They serve complimentary plantain and beet chips, with two different kinds of sauce. We have been there five times now and try different items each time we go. The food is just delicious. Service is also very good. You can not beat the prices for the amount of food they serve. This is now one of our favorite places to go. They also make specialty cocktails. Make sure to try the Monkey LaLa; it tastes just like a milk shake.
Thanks El CoCo Mio, we are glad you are here!

The service was great. And the taquitos and Ox tails turned out to be my favorite. I will definitely be going back again.

The Nacatamal, guacomole, platano relleno, and vieiras con coco y lima were all amazing, and we’d definitely get them again. The horchata was nicely blended too – sweet and had great flavor. Will definitely visit again.

We enjoyed our dinner here and got impeccable service.
The restaurant is large and very clean. We were here early for dinner so it was nicely spaced as far as tables. I like it when a restaurant is not crowded.
For our appetizer we split the arepa which was divine, I could make an entire meal of that.
We both had a fish entrée, I had the tilapia which I enjoyed very much. While the fish and the sauce were great, I didn’t real dig the accompanying foods on the plate.
I was disappointed that Café con leche turned out to be just regular old coffee with little cream cups just like any other restaurant. They should tease a café con leche fan like that. I got it with dessert which was fine.
I would definitely go again, the menu was interesting.

Absolutely love this restaurant. I’ve been their twice so far, and have ordered 4 – 5 tapas each time. The coconut shrimp is the best I’ve ever had! The taquitos, enchiladas and pizza were delicious as well! I would steer clear of the chocolate cake unless you really like sponge cakes. However, the coconut gelato that comes with it is awesome!
The owner and staff are very friendly. Nice atmosphere. They have a lot to offer. Dining, bar, DJ on Fridays and Saturdays, gaming room plus they host events. It’s a great place and everyone should go!

Tried 5 different dishes. Not a single one was impressive. All lacked flavor. Nice building in a great location, but without some serious improvement in the menu items, we will not be returning. The only highlight was the free pico de gallo and chips to start our meal.

I came here with a Groupon & the recommendation of a regular.
Very good!
It is a bit more pricy than other nearby restaurants, but I loved everything I had.
I thought the prices were fair enough.
My friend asked for a basket of these incredible house made root veggie chips that were perfectly crispy and delightful.
They were served with a fresh salsa was as beautiful as it was delicious.
I want those chips & salsa in my life on a regular basis.
We ordered a veggie Arepa to share– very tasty
My friend wasn’t too hungry & she just ordered the Vieiras Con Coco Y Lima tapas.
It was an appetizing looking dish with fat scallops and a lovely coconut cream sauce.
I tried the sauce and I wish I could eat that every day of my life.
It would probably be a shortened life, as it was very rich & sweet, but oh so delectable!
I ordered the Ravo encedido (Oxtail stew).
I haven’t had oxtails since I was a child and I loved this dish!
Tender and savory in a rich brown gravy.
I had forgotten how yummy oxtails were. They just fell off the bone and were very enjoyable.
It came with a huge mound of beans & rice and some plantains, yucca & a veggie slaw
We then ordered desserts to go.
I had the chocolate cake– pastel encoconado.
My cake was a moist, almost wet cake that was rich and interesting and I definitely would get it again.
My friend chose the torta d tres leches & the coconut tiramisu.
She is a regular & assured me her dessert choices were amazing.
I thought the portions were ample.
I came in starving, having skipped lunch & ended up taking a doggie bag home in addition to my dessert.
Most entrees come with beans & rice & this interesting slaw.
I am really a big fan of that slaw.
Fresh, crisp and tangy, not mayonnaise-​y but more– pickled.
Our server was friendly, helpful & attentive
They had a decent selection of beer & drinks.
The bathrooms were clean & stocked.
The overall atmosphere was warm & inviting.
There were some string lights up and they were playing upbeat Latin music.
Truly a refreshing and welcome change to the harsh obnoxiousness of the dozens of pizza joints and sports bar/​restaurants that dominate Tinley & the surrounding areas.
I felt as if I were at a friends home.
Very comfortable.
Dialed down enough to have a conversation like a normal person & not yelling to be heard over the blare of a TV or some drunk super fan hollering about something.
They have a small lounge area with large chairs that looked like a great place to sit & B.S. over some coffee. I am going to check out that area next time I’m in.
All in all, I would recommend El Coco Mio.
It’s different style of food that Tinley is probably used to but it was very delicious and most definitely worth a visit!

Had a great first experience at El coco mio, waiter was friendly ;), we had the coco pizza and enchiladas as appetizers both were delish! For entrée I had pernil asado the meat was great fall off the bone, the slaw and banana were great too, I didn’t like their rice though, but I’m super picky about Puerto Rican rice so that wasn’t a deal breaker, overall great experience would go back, and love that they r on groupon

This was a excellent restaurant. The dish i ordered was the red snapper with shrimp and the tres leches cake for dessert. Everything on the plate was prepared authentic with bold fresh flavors and served piping hot. The server was very attentive and helpful with the menu. Even the plaintain chips and pico de gao was worth the trip alone.

Great to have some much needed Latin cuisine in the southwest suburbs.
The menu has a lot of offerings, from tapas to entrees. if we go back, I’ll stay with the tapas. It seemed like there were more interesting fish options on the tapas menu. I generally do not eat beef or pork, which appeared to dominate the entrée menu.
We started with ceviche, which we both enjoyed. My husband had pork shoulder and said it was very good. I had tilapia in coconut sauce which was also good, but a big too big of a portion for me.
Drinks were excellent.
Tres leches dessert was also excellent.

Overall great time. I thought food was good but a tad pricey. Drinks were very high prob best to go on ½ drink night. Had the special soup of the day– tortilla soup. It was decent but lacked some flavor. It was also red hot — that I could barely eat it (temp wise). The margarita said it had peach in it but I didn’t taste any. For 9.00 I didn’t think it was worth it — flavor wise. Tapas is prob your best bet when coming here. We did the shrimp and the ravioli — I highly recommend. The shrimp was my favorite. My brother did the bistek — the meat was flavorless but the sauce was good. The chips and pico you get free was awesome. Probably the highlight. I would go back but stick with tapas only and on half price drink night.

Two star fare, but an extra star for Ginger’s amazing service and some refreshing Sangria.
I’ve had Tapas at Café Babareeba-​ba –bop-​bam-​boom and so the bar for expectation was set a bit high.
I’d snagged an $ 80 Groupon, but wish I’d checked the menu prior to purchase.. So much veal and extremely limited seafood and chicken dishes was disappointing as I don’t eat veal. The Chile Relleno, the Empanadas. dish after dish stuffed with veal. Gah!
I wanted gooey cheese options… just more variety in both tapas and plates in general. Ginger was a doll and really elevated the experience. Props to her for her cheery disposition and knowledge of the dishes. .Alas, the bar itself seemed cavernous and the carpet has certainly seen better days. For an early dinner it was very dark in the restaurant with no table lights to amp up the ambience. I enjoyed the roomy, comfy booths, Sangria, Pico and my salad, but the rest seemed overpriced and lacked for presentation. The guac here is extremely tart and they do not have sour cream. My Baltic blood requires sour cream with nearly every dish; our family crest is just a pan of Kugelis and Sam Breakstone shouting «Not thick enough!» But, I digress…
Look, I’m no expert on Latin food and I wish them my best, but mini pizzas and barely-​beefy Taquitos smothered in dry slaw just don’t cry fine Latin dining to me. While I don’t regret my visit, I wouldn’t make the journey here again. I simply felt like I was dining in a spruced –up bar in Tinley, rather than whisked away to a beloved, scrumptious Latin paradise. Ay!

What a great place! I ordered cheese and beans pupusas. They were prepared perfectly! I wish this restaurant was in Chicago. The owners are very friendly people which is always a plus.

Omgoodness! So delicious! Not one thing I tried was off point. ALL ON POINT! Good Lord it was so good. Get adventurous try it!

Great food!!! Cool Décor, Clean Bathrooms, Large Indoor Seating With Stylish Décor, Outdoor Seating with great views, Nice Latin music in & outside, Nice Modern Bar (with cool Ambiance), Tommy waited on us. «Great Job », Good parking,
Will dine here again!

A new place in Tinley Park — yeah! The menu is interesting and creative — not the same burgers and pizza that are all so common. The Latin food is not spivey unless you want it to be. The quality of the food is excellent and the servers and staff are very friendly.
If you haven’t stopped by — do so — you will like it!

Authentic ‘Latin’cuisine. 1^st time visit and there was a bridal shower going on. Group of about 20. Quiet group. Separate dining rooms helps.
Had the seafood soup and the wife had the lamb shank. Plenty of food. A bit salty but good.
The entrée price was about 25% more than I felt was fair for what you got. Tiny seafood ingredients don’t appeal to my taste. It’s like baby food.
Service was good. No complaints with that.
IMHO the best part was the appetizer enchiladas made with ground meat and seafood. Have a couple of those and call it a meal.

I’ve been here a few times and really enjoyed my experiences!
I recommend coming here for dinner over lunch though. The food tasted slightly better (or maybe I was just more hungry at dinner) and there is more going on in the restaurant itself during dinner hours. Also they had way more staff during dinner, which made the service quicker.
Everything on the menu is pretty tasty. I’ve tried the following:
Tapas:
1) Ceviche de Mar– good! I wasnt expecting the chips it came with. But it was still good. Would order again.
2) Calamares– good! I love calamares in general, so I was a huge fan of it and the sauce it came with! Would order again.
3) Chorizo Ravioli– good but probably wouldn’t order it again.
Platos Principals:
1) Lamb Shank– This was probably the best item on the menu I’ve tried so far! So delicious! The lamb literally melts in your mouth! The meat has such a wonderful flavor and is just so tender. HIGHLY recommend this.
2) Oxtail– The flavor is very similar to the lamb shank but the meat is a little more fatty. I’ve never had oxtail before, so it was interesting to try. But I probably wouldn’t order it for myself in the future.
3) Estafado– Very good! I didn’t expect the potatoes and chorizo to be pureed and within the beef. But I still enjoyed it. When I ate my left overs the next day I thought it tasted even better!
4) Red snapper– I personally did not try it. But multiple people in our group loved it.
5) Rib eye– I wasnt a huge fan of it. I think it was a little overcooked and kind of burned.
Overall, this place is a gem for the south suburbs!

Best sangria ever!!! Everything on this menu is delicious and well balanced. The arepa with ropa Vieja, beef tenderloin, mussels, wow oh wow solo good. Topped it off with tres leches cake. Super good.
Latina approved :-p.

Really a 3.5 star review, with potential. I’m heading back here in a few weeks with a large group, so I’m giving them the benefit of that extra star.
This is a newish (6-​months) old restaurant that took over the space where Bogarts (and a few other places, I think) used to reside. It is a huge pace. The bar area is a pretty nice set up with a u shape bar and couches and some tables. I would for sure come back here for a drink or three.
I was meeting a friend and arrived about 30 minutes early and grabbed a seat at the bar and was greeted warmly. I was the only one in the bar area, but it was only 5:15. They have a pretty large cocktail menu, but I stuck with sangria. I’d say it was average, but at $ 5 a glass, I made it my drink of the night. It is good to note that they have $ 5 sangria, margaritas, and mojitos on Mondays-​Tuesdays-​Wednesdays!
My friend arrived, she got the margarita and enjoyed it. We moved to a table in the large dining area. We were in the restaurant about 2-​hours and maybe 4 other tables showed up. So, not very busy at all. Maybe because it was Tuesday?
One of the great things they do is bring out this basket of tortilla chips and 2 different salsas. But, the chips are not tortillas, they are beets, and a few other root vegetables, deep fried. They are served with a pico and a hotter salsa. All of this was FAB-​U-​LOUS. Really, so good.
We decided to order 4 tapas to start with, and then more if we were still hungry. However, after the chips, 4 was enough. We went with the Taquitos, Coco’s Pizza, the Arepa, and pan seared scallops. All were good, the scallops were my favorite. Nothing was greasy at all (like other reviews said). Portions were decent — enough for 2 to split.
Service was very friendly, though a tad bit slow, but we weren’t in a hurry. I am a little worried about my future large-​group dinner that I am planning and service. Our server for this night was also the bartender.
Overall, a nice addition to the Oak Park strip in Tinley. I am excited to come back and try a few more cocktails and sample the rest of the menu.