El Alebrije Mexican Restaurant & Bar

El Alebrije Mexican Restaurant & Bar reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

1. AM

   AlanM

   Chicago14 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on August 27, 2023

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Eaten here many times. The food has consistently been excellent. Innovative menu items (I.e. lamb, duck) not typically found at Mexican restaurants. We love this place.
   

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2. W

   Womanoverboard VIP

   Chicago85 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on June 24, 2023

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Charming neighborhood restaurant. Guacamole was fantastic: chunky, spicy, just right. Our favorite was the sope appetizer...would go back just for that. Margaritas were also good. My pork chop was good, but kind of meh. I would try the carne asada or the chile relleno next time. There will be a next time.
   

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3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Chicago1 review

   2.0

   Dined on June 24, 2023

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was pretty bland and just didn’t taste fresh. Not what I was expecting from a place that had 5 star reviews.
   

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4. JO

   JulieO

   Chicago5 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on May 14, 2023

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was good, but the service was ridiculously slow. It took over an hour from the time we arrived until we ate. I realize it's a small restaurant, but it was almost comical, as half the table received their food and then sat waiting for the next ten minutes for everyone else to get their meals. The staff were friendly but, considering how slow the service was, we won't be back.
   

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5. KC

   KatieC VIP

   Washington DC29 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on May 6, 2023

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   El Alebrije is my new favorite restaurant - their Los Altos de Jalisco cocktail was incredible and I loved the mole rojo chilaquiles. Fantastic spot for reasonably priced incredible food on a cute patio!
   

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6. K

   Kfood11

   Chicago10 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on May 6, 2023

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   The food was delicious and the patio was lovely. We made reservations as it was cinco de Mayo, but they were incredibly short staffed and service was very slow, One of our appetizers came out as we were paying the bill. Excellent homemade margaritas with good tequila.
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   Chicago3 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on May 6, 2023

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   I’ll start off with the good. The food was spectacular. I will give this place another chance just for the food. The back patio is cute and cozy. The drinks were great. However, the service was painful. Now I did go on Cinco de Mayo. And I expected crowds, delays, etc. It took them 70 min to serve our drinks. And it took them nearly 20 to even take our order in the first place. I think we ate 2 hours after we arrived. Again, I know it was cinco de mayo. But there were only 8ish tables inside, 8 outside. It wasn’t crowded. I’m not sure if they were short staffed or what. But we had to beg anyone who’s came out to the patio to give us attention. Other tables around us left rather than wait. They lost money from us as we didn’t want to wait around to order more drinks. Also, some of the servers seemed like they had never done this before. If your tables are waiting for food/drinks/pay bill, please don’t walk through the door and ignore them and screw around with the patio table umbrellas. I really hope this was an off night.
   

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8. M

   Melanie

   Chicago1 review

   2.0

   Dined on May 5, 2023

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   The food was good, but the service was horrendous. I could go into detail about how terrible it was but honestly don’t feel like rehashing the experience. Will not be returning. It’s a shame because it seems like it could be a great place with good food and good ambiance, but they really need some training on the service side.
   

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9. L

   Laura

   Chicago5 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on May 5, 2023

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   It was a disappointing evening. With all the good reviews, I was hoping for a fun evening with good food. That didn't happen. We had made a reservation, arrived on time. We were sat right away and they brought out our waters right away. That is where the good service ended. Our waitress came over about 20 min later and took our drink and app order. We ordered chips and salsa, one Pacifico, a bottle of coke and I got a margarita. The chips and salsa came out quickly. They were ok. I've definitely had better chips elsewhere. We were there around 35 minutes before the Coke came out. I expected her to come back with the margarita and Pacifico right after, but she never did. More tables filled up and I could see their apps were coming out, but no one seemed to be getting drinks. Except those who were sitting at the bar. The whole place just seemed very unorganized. We tried to be patient and not give anyone a hard time, but it looked like the cooks were even confused as to why no food orders were coming in. They kept coming out to pick up plates from the appetizers. I am not sure if our waitress was new, but ALL the front house staff just seemed to be walking around but not doing anything. We tried to get her attention, but realizing by the time she actually got around to taking our food order, who knew how long it would take. We were hungry, thirsty and frustrated. We threw down money for our one drink and the chips and just left. If they were super busy, I would have been more understanding. There appeared to be enough staff, but they just didn't seem to know what they were doing. That being said, I won't be giving them another opportunity.
   

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10. RC

    RickC

    Chicago1 review

    5.0

    Dined on May 3, 2023

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Amazing starters and cocktails, very attentive staff and incredible vibe for a quiet neighborhood restaurant.
    

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