Arrachera Grill

I am a fan of hole-​in-​the-​wall kind of food joints. I was not scared off by the looks of the place. I’m OK with the TVs and the blaring music. But the food left a lot to be desired. The beef in several dishes was way too chewy, and did not taste particularly good. The chips and salsa were OK. The service was really lacking (and I wasn’t expecting much service to start with). The waitress kept forgetting silverware, water glasses were not refilled despite requests. Didn’t like this place at all.

Crispy burritos rival only the famous taco & burrito house. Salsa is clearly made on premises.

This place was really not good. We ordered almost all the tacos they have to offer.
From a flavor standpoint, they take a very standard approach. Nothing was surprising or exciting, so overall, everything tasted plain.
From a quality standpoint, they do not use top notch meats. Though the meat was chopped into pretty small cubes like most taco meat, but it was very chewy and fatty.
The best thing they had to offer was their salsa and chips to start. But they didn’t even refill it when it was empty!

I’m giving this place 4 stars just because of their langostine lobster cooked in garlic butter sauce. DELICIOUS! Order it!

The food is just ok and the service is pretty bad. There is one VERY RUDE waitress for the whole place. There were no clean tables for us to sit down at. It took forever for water. They ran out of chips. One order was wrong and one they forgot. Our appetizer came out with our dinner. When we finally did get our food it took them 5 minutes to find us all silverware. It was just a bad experience and we will never be returning here!

The best! Don’t be put off by the location. This is a gem of a place. The food is amazing.

I have been searching for a quality Mexican food restaurant in Lake County for going on 8 years now. We finally have found one that is worth praising. The food here is fantastic.
The exterior needs work. It took the place of a bad fast-​food style Mexican joint, so we never noticed it changed. They also have a banner up instead of a permanent sign, so it isn’t especially noticeable. Inside, it is small with few tables though decently decorated.
The food however is wonderful. I’ve been three times now. Tried many tacos, enchiladas, tortas, burritos, guacamole, salsas, ceviche, margherita, etc, etc. EVERYTHING I have had was delicious. Each table is also given FIVE different salsas and ceviche as soon as they sit down. Kind of confusing the first time, but they are all very tasty.
This place is also very inexpensive. Tacos are less that $ 2 each. Full entrees are $ 8 – 14. I’m so glad to have finally found a great Mexican restaurant.

We went there on a Saturday evening. Not too crowded. They just had 1 person serving the 3 occupied tables. So service was a tad slow. Good food. Reasonable prices.
The final bill that they presented just had the total amount which seemed a bit high. On calculating our total, we realised that the amount did not add up. We requested them to recalculate and they finally charged us a revised amount (lower amount by about $ 8). I took off the 1 star from their ratings because of this incident.
So enjoy the food here but be sure to check your bill too !

My mom and I were up at Vernon Hills Mall one day, and felt like Mexican. I pulled up Unilocal on my phone, searched for Mexican Restaurants and found this little gem.
Since that first visit, we went back a second time and both times were outstanding. We always go early (around 5 or 6) so there is never many people there, but there is always someone buzzing in and out for takeout
My mom had a Chicken Torta the first time and a Chicken Quesdilla the second. I had Steak Tacos the first time and a Steak Burrito the second. You can tell that the food and the salsa/​tortillas that they give you in the beginning are home made. The food is plenty flavorful and not bland or too salty. You also get a lot of food for the price. Both times we have gone home with leftovers.
My other favorite part of this place is their Margaritas. For 7 dollars, you get a huge glass instead of a little glass like most other places. They are also half price on Wednesday’s. Another plus if you ask me!
Over all, if you are looking for a good Mexican Restaurant go here. You won’t be disappointed!
Edited to add:
I went there to today for lunch and saw that they expanded their restaurant into the space next door. Now they have a whole room dedicated to karaōke on the weekends, plus the main restaurant isn’t as crowded with tables anymore.

Food — You go here for the FOOD!!!
If you are looking for a large place that hired some overpriced decorator or marketing company — this is not for you.
While the décor is really nice — Arrachera is about the food.
Perfect portions, carne asada cooked to your specifications and a Serrano Chili Salsa that’ll make the little pores on your scalp sweat in that good way!
Presentation of food goes well beyond the typical — you can tell there was care taken and respect in the prep of your food. This is not your average or even better than average Dive-​y joint — there is a ton of skill in the kitchen. Would not be surprised to learn that the chef has had formal training — either at a culinary institute or was well trained by another chef. If the chef has done this entirely on their own — wow!
I have eaten here 2x in 5 days. Each time the food was perfect.
I have had or sampled — Carne Asada, Enchilada Suise, Tamale Suise, Carne Asada Burrito, Carne Asada Taco and a Chincherron Taco (had to try it — still have no idea what it was, but it was spicy and VERY good).
This is a Mom & Pop place at it’s best. Only Dive-​y place that beats it is Crazy Coyote Taco stand in Banning, CA by the Reservation /​Outlet Mall.

Surprise surprise… you never know what you’ll find just down the road. Especially hidden among the many strip malls, tucked between convenience stores and dying video peddlers. A touch of anxiety set in when I noticed that we were the only real customers at 6:30 on a Saturday nite. My trust in fellow Unilocalers prevailed and we were rewarded with some pretty satisfying comidas. Generally more seafood selections than you would find this far from a low tide, but they pulled it off with some nice touches… Baja style. The shrimp with poblanos in garlic cream was deserving of a price more than $ 12, but it surely must inspire some dining loyalty. The paella was flavorful with a generous amount of protein from the sea, but may have been a little on the salty side for my taste. I’m sure we’ll be back again soon. And by the way, When we left we were no longer the lone table with guests…

Outstanding. What a find. Arrachera Grill has terrific authentic Mexican food for very reasonable prices. Worth the drive. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous either.
We arrived at this tiny strip-​mall restaurant about 9:15pm Friday night after seeing a movie at Lincolnshire. (Maybe it was 15 minutes away at most.) The place was open until 2am but it was empty when we got there, so we were a little nervous (though they were clearly doing a big takeout business). Apparently, we were just too early because by the time we left, it was packed with a crowd wearing cowboy hats and speaking Spanish.
When we arrived, they brought a basket with some fried whole tortillas and five different salsa — pico de gallo, tomatillo (green), a spicy creamy salsa which was reddish in color (and I still can’t stop thinking about bc it was so good), another green salsa which was not tomatillo-​based, and some sort of roasted red salsa. They also brought a little bowl of ceviche, which was really yummy. When we devoured the tortillas, they brought us a bowl of chips. All the salsas where excellent and all but the pico packed a punch.
For dinner, I had enchiladas verdes, where were very good but I feel like I missed an opportunity here. My wife ordered a skirt steak with peppers and onions covered with what was described on the menu as two special sauces and man she was the lucky winner bc whatever they put on that skirt steak was truly remarkable.
They have a large fish selection and I want to go back and try some of their fish dishes and other house specialties. The late night crowd around us ordered tortas (sandwiches), which looked great too.

Would be classified by most as a ‘dive’, but our family LOVED it. The Salsa and Chips were fantastic. Food was great. People were friendly.

I’ve had dinner here twice and will definitely be back. First, I’m a condiment freak so the variety of sauces they bring to the table are great. The skirt steak is tender and the shrimp was fresh and cooked right. Can’t wait to try other items on the menu.

This place is a gem! I am a connoisseur of ‘hole in the wall’ Mexican joints, and this place is the best I have found. The place looks almost scary from the outside, but inside it is cute as a button, with a lot of personal touch in the decoration.
First off, when you sit down, they bring you THREE delicious salsas and a bowl of ceviche. Unheard of! I ordered the Bistec Rancheros, which is beef and grilled vegetables in a mexican sauce. Absolutely delicious.
Try this place. Don’t let the outside appearance scare you.

ok there are times i crave taco bell. but then there are times i crave more authentic mexican. granted, suburbs of chicago isn’t southern california, Arrachera Grill is pretty good. ingredients are fresh. lots of condiments. we got take out so i am only judging by taste of food not ambience or presentation of food. no extras just simple and tasty mexican food.

I stopped by here for a quick lunch. I had 3 steak tacos with cilanto and onion. They were great! Very good flavor, not bland at all. I had the green salsa and it was very good and fresh. Like others, the price might be a bit high, but it was good food. I’ll go back there with my family next time I convince them to have Mexican food. Another very good non-​chain restaurant.

The best mexican food ever I use to drive there every week to eat and I live a good 45 min away that’s how good it is no2 that the weather is nasty its harder to go and its been 2 weeks since I been there and me and my wife miss it so much thanks to there service I will always come back thank leo and margarita for this experience

Fantastic and authentic cuisine. My previous review was ‘mysteriously’ deleted, but I stand by it. If you want authentic Mexican street food, this is most definitely the place to be.

I came here last night for dinner. This small restaurant is located in a quaint little strip mall. The restaurant is decorated with wooden tables and the typical Mexican flare.
The waitresses were nice, and their menu had a decently varied selection. It went from seafood to tampiquenas, to tacos. The main problem here was definitely the food. The salsa just didn’t taste right. It was pretty bland and flavorless. The entrees were ridiculously over priced for the type of establishment this was, and the location.
I placed my order for a tampiquena steak. It’s a skirt steak with 2 enchiladas, rice, and beans. The steak wasn’t all that great, but then again, I’m incredibly picky with steak. The enchiladas were filled with cheese and had a bland, flavorlness sauce on top. The rice was alright, and the beans were alright. It definitely lacked a flavorful taste. The entrée itself was pretty generously sized.
Despite the friendly service, the food was pretty «meh» and the prices were too high for me to want to return to this place.