Carlos River Cafe
1707 Nish Rd, Crystal Lake, IL, 60012
Carlos River Cafe Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Crystal Lake for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Crystal Lake for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Crystal Lake for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
1707 Nish Rd
Crystal Lake, IL, 60012 - Phone (815) 444-9024
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :10:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Divey
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Sprine D.
i ordered fish tacos from carlos today. they made chicken tacos for me. no problem, it was a simple miscommunication. however when i brought it up to the woman working there she was very rude. i'd rather eat garbage and be treated nicely. i previously rated carlos river cafe 5 stars, now i rate them 1 star. i was a regular customer, now i dont know if i will ever go back.
(1)Lauren F.
Carlos River Cafe is the best!!! Hands down the best Mexican food in the Crystal Lake area. I work just a mile down the road and come here often. The Enchiladas Verdes are spectacular. My husband always goes for the chicken tacos and they are perfect. I always order a Horchata on the way out and it's awesome! Dine in if you can - complimentary (hand made) chips and salsa are delivered to the table. The restaurant has made some noticeable improvements over the years. They use nice dinnerware and silverware - instead of the plastic baskets they used to serve in. CARLOS' IS AWESOME.
(5)Corey M.
Best, most authentic, Mexican food in the area. We frequent this place. I prefer the steak torta, but I've had most everything on the menu and it's all great. Very good horchata as well. Carlos is a great guy too, always treats us well. Well worth it to try it out, you will be hooked.
(5)Joe R.
Great food, local atmosphere and very clean. Menu items ranged well for all the picky eaters in our family. Service was good and quick. We were pleasantly surprised to find such a local gem.
(5)K B.
This place has amazing food ... It's all fresh and made to order, you can see it being put together with the open kitchen. Super friendly staff
(4)Steve S.
Great food! Carlos always comes to the table to make sure we like his dinner each time we visit! I love his enchiladas, burritos and tacos! They have great Asada & El Pastor which is a must for quality mexican food restaurants!
(5)Priscilla M.
Discovered this place coming home from a long wrestling tournament. My fiance really wanted to try their sopes, but we were told they ran out. We come back a second time and guess what, they ran out of sopes again. The third time, YEP, NO SOPES. We came to this place at different hours of the day as well as different days of the week. I'm not sure how a restaurant runs out of food especially three different times and days. I was pretty ticked. If you love to gamble I suggest you try this place out because you'll never know whay they will have and will not. I also ordered horchata and was told they ran out. I wanted dessert and they ran out of ice cream. The tacos are good. The chile rellanos are good. The chips and salsa are great, but I never know what to expect coming here because they ALWAYS RUN OUT OF FOOD. My suggestion take your money and go to EL Burrito in Crystal Lake in front of Monkey Joes and right by the Jewel. Great food and never run out of it!
(2)Debbie P.
Horrible Service! Myra was my waitress! I had to ask her to take my order! Then she never put it in. She was occupied with writing on tin foil for a large catering order! Myra never once asked what I needed! The worst service ever! So disappointed!!
(1)Jackie D.
Really good flavorful authentic Mexican food. This little place is a diamond in the rough. I would have given it five stars however, the salsa in the plastic containers that were given to us were not cleaned properly or recently. Similar to getting a communal ketchup bottle that is never wiped clean. Also the floor under and around our booth needed some long overdue attention.
(4)Dan P.
My favorite Mexican Food place. They only have one issue, no tamales. :( Great tortas and chips and salsa. The chips and salsa are hand made there. And fairly cheap... The good kind of cheap.
(4)Alison A.
Heard about this place when I moved to Crystal Lake last year. Easily the best and freshest Mexican food around! Tacos are fantastic and I love the complimentary chips and salsa!
(5)T P.
Love this place! Nothing fancy here, just real good Mexican food. Tip:ask the waitress to bring you a few peppers. They're AMAZING! Tacos, burritos and tortas are all solid choices. Excellent prices.
(4)Brian C.
The food is great, Carlos and team are very nice. They have done a lot of interior upgrades so dine in or carry out. My personal favorites are the carne asada and anything with their chicken.
(5)Monica L.
Tried this place because of the good reviews on yelp. Loved it! Carlos greeted us with a smile and served us complimentary chips and salsa (tasty, love the cilantro) before taking our order. I had a grilled steak dinner (I forget what it's called; it's at the top of their House Specials page), which came with 2 enchiladas, rice, beans, salad and sour cream, and a container of flour tortillas. The steak was delicious, as were the enchiladas. You could tell their flour tortillas were fresh and made from scratch. I would've eaten more of the tortillas but wanted to save room for the main dish. My husband had their 3-taco dinner and mixed it up with al pastor, lengua, and chorizo. He enjoyed all three. The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars? King Taco in L.A. is still my favorite taco place. It's pretty hard to beat. But I will definitely be coming back to Carlos River Cafe on a regular basis.
(4)M M.
Two of us had lunch here today (based on favorable YELP reviews). Food was good, flavorful, FRESH, fast and CHEAP. Service was attentive. Place was very clean even though the exterior looks a little worn. For what Carlos is trying to do he does it VERY well. As another reviewer said, there were also complimentary chips (homemade?) and salsa (fresh). If you are looking for good mexican, I would definitely give Carlos' a try.
(5)Brian P.
I was looking for a new place to try, and decided to give this place a shot based on all the good reviews. I can not find a single thing to complain about. Service was excellent, food came out super quick, and the interior was very clean and welcoming. On top of all that, the food was great! Keep up the great work, Carlos! I'll be coming back for more.
(5)Abigail L.
I use to love this place, great food great people, over the years it has gone so down hill there food use to be so flavorful and tasty and now its become bland and tasteless, it just seems as if they stoped making every thing fresh i will never eat here again it truly has gone to crap. And the one lady tammy who works there is psycho i use to work there when i was going to an alternative school that required u to have a job. My school would do random checks to make sure u were working and i was required to work 12 hours a week tammy never gave me any hours to save money, and when my school asked me how much i had worked i told them the truth that i hadnt been working at all and since i didnt lie to my teachers and tell them i was working they fired me.. I got fired for telling the truth.... I mean wtf... Never going here again
(1)Tricia C.
We go to Carlos in Fox Lake but I recently catered from Carlos River Cafe in Crystal Lake. I can't say enough about how great the food is. Whether getting single portions for lunch on a Saturday in Fox Lake or catering for an office of 20, the food is hot and fresh and excellent. Everyone asked about it after we got done eating. Hopefully this will bring you more business!!!
(5)Josh H.
My parents live down the road from Carlos, and I've been a patron almost literally since they opened their doors. You can do better, but you'll have to try in order to do so. All food is fresh, good meats, fresh vegetables. Almost everything is cooked-to-order, obvious exceptions for refried beans and rice. Good selections for gluten-free and vegetarians (corn tortillas available for many dishes, avocado or beans available in place of meat on almost anything. This restaurant is much better than the building would have you believe. I am happy enough with the restaurant to recommend trying anything you have a taste for. My personal favorite is the Steak Burrito Platter: three small burritos with Carne Asada, grilled onions, and cheese. Served with sour cream and lettuce, beans and rice. Really nicely seasoned, simple dish. Carlos is a very nice man, and though the premises have a very "local" feeling to them, really worth stopping if you're passing through on Rt 176.
(4)Frank N.
Nothing foofy, nothing glamorous, no bullshit, just damn good authentic Mexican food, period. Best I've had so far. Tacos are excellent. These are authentic Mexican tacos. Meat, onion, cilantro, a dash of lime and you'll be in heaven. If you prefer americanized mass produced bland taco bell tacos, you won't find that here. Si es hispano que adorará el alimento.
(4)Levi S.
Great mexican food. Nothing else needs to be said.
(5)Robert C.
I really like this place but HATE finding chunks of bone or cartilage in my steak chimichanga. Gross! I still go regularly but only order beef.
(3)John H.
Easily the best Mexican food in the area! Carlos and his wife are usually there and the same few guys have been the staff for years. The food is very inexpensive, great portions, and the service is fast and helpful. There's booth seating for only about 30 people or so. My favorite is probably the chorizo tostada or carne asada chimichanga. The guacamole and pico de gallo are both amazing and they sell them in 8 & 16oz containers to go. I'll never buy salsa at a grocery store again. Also they deep fry their own chips and they're crispy and better than any chips I've had in McHenry County. They also do a few American dishes and the french fries are hand cut and fantastic..
(5)Paul A.
Thoroughly disappointed and disgusted. As soon as I stepped inside and smelled the rancid oil I knew I was in trouble. Even though I was starving, I couldn't force myself to finish my plate. I didn't know Mexican rice and beans could be made inedible, but these guys figured it out. The food was just bad. Period. However, there are free chips and salsa, which are the only edible items inside those 4 walls. Try the Taco & Burrito Express in McHenry instead.
(1)Deanna S.
Well, I've only been here once and I'm not really itching to go back. The menu was pretty typical, and I didn't like the salsa at all. It had a really odd aftertaste to it. My bf liked the food a lot more than I did. The staff was friendly, prices weren't bad at all, and the place was nice and clean. I would recommend it to anyone looking to try a new place. I think it's not my particular taste as far as Mexican goes.
(3)Abraham P.
Very good authentic food. Service is great. Love coming here to eat. Also Carlos is a very nice guy as well.
(5)Rob L.
This was our first time at Carlos Rover Cafe under the recommendation of a friend. I have noticed that both in IL and CA that the smaller the establishment the better the food when speaking about Mexican cuisine. Carlos' is no different and I had a sneaking suspicion based on the exterior appearance of the restaurant we were in for a treat. An excellent dining experience that rivals the majority of Mexican restaurants in the area with regards to quality and price. Granted, the dining area is simple with no flashy Hispanic ambiance or decor but the food, hospitality, and service was tremendous. Instead of the Mexican decor they opted for more useful items such as several flat screen TVs. The meal started with the complimentary chips and salsa common to most area Mexican restaurants. The chips were fresh flour tortilla based very recently cooked. The salsa was excellent with equal amounts of tomato, onion, cilantro, and a dash of lime. I had a simple burrito and my wife a taco combo platter. The food tasted of fresh ingredients with a homemade quality that is lacking in other area restaurants of this genre. The prices very reasonable considering the quality and freshness of the food. We could certainly tell that everything was prepared with tradition and experience. If you are looking for fancy this place will not resonate with you. If you are seeking a good Mexican meal then look no further. A homely atmosphere with kind staff and excellent food defines the Carlos River Cafe. They offer carryout as well in case the wobbly tables are not to your liking!
(4)D S.
We often go to Carlos which My husband and I consider to be the best Mexican food around. My husband ordered the steak buritto where the meat was very overcooked. My husband brought the meal to Carlos and Carlos quickly brought out a new burrito, perfectly cooked. Thank you Carlos. Our complaint is with the server. She is the worst in friendliest person we've met. We always overtip. I used to be a waitr ess and I am very sensitive to that but today I just couldn't give her a decent tip. She was rude, rude rude. After today's service we need to look for a new Mexican place. No excuse for the waitresses behavior.
(1)Michelle D.
First time, WON'T be the last! Authentic Mexican!! A small place, only a handful of tables, and a diner-style "bar" (not sure they sell alcohol). Went in on a Friday evening around 6ish, the takeout line was a good indication that the food was going to be good, and it was! I had tostadas al pastor, my 4 year old neice (see pic) had a cheese and been burrito, my sister had the enchiladas suizas. We also ordered guacamole-it was fresh and bowl-licking good! Portions were plentiful-each of us has enough left for tomorrow's lunch. Service was good, too. I believe there is only one waitress, but the place is small enough that is really all that is needed. Looking forward to my next visit!
(5)Tracy F.
Love love love Carlos River Cafe! If my husband could, he would eat here daily. Authentic, yummy and quick. Dine in or take out. My favorite is the steak burrito platter and the guac is out of this world!
(5)Laura J.
The best Mexican food around! Friendly staff and delicious food. Large menu of authentic treats. Chicken flautas were crispy and light. Busted orxaca was very flavorful with good spice. We will be back many more times!
(5)Chris G.
Best mexican food around hands down! Chips and salsa is just the beginning to the greatness. Nothing has yet to be anything but delicious.
(5)Mr. E.
If there was 1/2 Star, I would use it. I will NEVER utilize this business again. First and foremost, as many reviewers have said, the food is indeed good. If you want to spend your money here, then by all means dine in in the shabby confines, or do pick up. I recommend to everyone reading this to never use Carlos' for catering. We just got burned for the second time using them for a big party/graduation/etc. The first time, we set the menu, time, etc, in person with Carlos at the restaurant and he says that they would deliver. Call about 20 minutes after the set time, ask if everything is ok, and they say, "Sure! Your stuff is all done. It's ready for you to pick up!" We, of course, reply that they were supposed to deliver, and it ended up that we had to drive over there and get our big order while people were arriving at our house. Not a pretty sight. Especially since they forgot to give us the included salsa and chips, and we didn't realize this since we were in such a frenzy to get our occasion started. They did deliver the salsa and chips later. I guess it was dessert. This time, same set up, order in person with Carlos/owner, set the date/time, menu, etc. Again, they are set to deliver. We set the time one hour before we are due to have guests arrive, since we are not planning any snacks and want our guests to be able to chow down if they want to right when they arrive. Call 20 minutes after the set time. Ask about our catering order. The best reply of the call, when you can hear the contact shuffling through papers in the background, "We're working on it and almost done." They don't even know the name of someone that has a 50 person order due 20 minutes ago. The contact asked ME what time is presently was. OMG They guarantee that we will have the order 40 minutes later, the top of the hour, delivered. They show up 25 minutes later than that, nearly 1.5 hours after the original set time. I mention, "We were more than willing to give a sizeable tip with this order, but after this, I think that isn't going to happen." So, NEVER, NEVER use this establishment for catering. This was the second FIASCO that we have dealt with on this level with them, and it truly sucked. Catering should take a burden OFF of you as a host, not put another one on you.
(1)Brigette A.
Great authentic Mexican eatery. I'd recommend....this is the 1st place I've recommended Mexican food wise.
(4)Nicole F.
One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the area! The staff is super friendly and polite. They even catered my baby shower! Don't let the outside turn you away. The inside is clean and well mantained. Highly recommend!
(5)Brian B.
Better than average Mexican take out. Small dumpy place but kept very clean. You can tell they care about what they are cooking. Mostly a take out place although they have a few tables. They whip an order up real fast while you wait. Decent size menu with some breakfast items also on it.
(4)Lindsey H.
Best Mexican food in McHenry County, small place, food is cooked to order, try the chicken chimichanga! It's my favorite!!
(5)