Don Juan's Cantina

9/2024 5* I am not a fan of the atmosphere. Because I am not a drinker. However, the outdoor seating was fantastic. A fun time with good food!

Marshall Jefferson said "Move Your Body" and we did just that... We moved our bodies to Park Ridge Illinois and had "BIG FUN and BIG FOOD!!!! They had pan-fried oysters Rockefeller, WOW! The food was absolutely incredible and the beverages were STRONG!!! The tacos were definitely 5 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮 out of 5 and Those drinks were 5 🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹out of 5 Take the drive.. it's worth it.... #tacosarelife #datenight #doinglifetogether #tacotuesday #tacosandtequila #tacostacostacos

A fun evening of good drinks, great food and friendly welcome. It was lovely meeting the owner Maria, she was so sweet to talk to us and we could see how she had been successful all these years. Looking forward to returning!

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant around the neighborhood, by far!!! The staff is beyond excellent - always friendly, attentive, hard-working and knowledgable! MUST get the Cadillac Margarita! SOPES are our favorite, completely homemade - tastes just like my in-laws! Carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos are also a fave (pro tip: get only onion & cilantro 😍), and when they have birria tacos or birria quesadilla - get it!! Soo tasty! HIGHLY recommend! Feels like home ☺️

We went there last night for dinner with my cousin and his family. We had 4 crazy kids under 7yrs old, and the staff was wonderful with them! The food was delicious, I could barely breathe after having some guacamole, ceviche, shrimp cocktail, and mixed fajitas. Delicious!

Disappointing Mexican Food Experience My coworkers and I visited this restaurant for lunch, hoping for a delicious Mexican food experience. Unfortunately, we were all left quite disappointed. The biggest letdown was the beef milanese sandwich (They discontinued this menu item due to complaints about it). The bread was stale and chewy, making it difficult to eat. The beef itself was dry, rubbery, and lacked flavor. In fact, none of the dishes we ordered seemed properly seasoned. The portions were also quite small, leaving us feeling unsatisfied. While the service was a bit slow, the older lady (She didn't identify herself but picked up our plates.) wearing a neck brace at that time, was very friendly. Her kindness was the only saving grace of our visit. She was the only reason we didn't complain directly at the time. My friend reviewed this place as well after our visit. I don't wish to communicate with anyone at this place as they are rude and sacastic. To avoid a potential confrontation after being honest about your experience, avoid this place. This is why I posted my response to the restaurant, here in my edited review. (Thanks for the tip about Taco Bell. It saved me about 40 bucks.) Maybe Amanda and the many other reviewers who had bad experiences here, who Mike and Jake claim are spam, are being truthful about their awful experiences? Overall, the food was overpriced and underwhelming. Compared to this experience, I would much rather have gone to Taco Bell. If you're looking for good Mexican food, I recommend steering clear of this restaurant. There are definitely better options available.

The staff is super friendly, food is amazing! Their carne assada old school and chocolate creme brûlée are incredible! Margaritas during happy hour are only $7 (fridays 3-5pm), highly recommend

The owners Jake and Mike accepted me into their restaurant with open arms as Marco gave me one of the most refreshing strawberry mojitos I've ever had(and I get them alot). This location was created after Jake's mom's(Maria) originalr restaurant shut down. She created an absolutely stunning menu and this location has my heart. They let me sit at the bar and indulged me with their hospitality. Highly recommend this place for cocktails or for an authentic Mexican meal. 5 stars during their hospitable lunch hour that had me wanting to come back for more.

Al fresco dining in an area intended as strip mall parking looked quite odd when I approached, yet the overall vibe was great. Chicken burrito suizo is worth a repeat visit. The service and positivity emanating from all patrons makes it worth the status as Park Ridge's favorite watering hole for 40+ years

Exceptional customer service! We were given chips and a chili dip (no salsa). The raspberry margarita was a 10/10 but the pitcher was a little pricey ($52). The Don Juan burrito, similar to a chimichanga, was delicious and very filling, lacked spice. The tacos were a little disappointing as it lacked flavor. Overall, it was decent food, but a little on the pricey side.

I came here recently with my parents for a late lunch, and I wasn't disappointed. Back when this place was located in EP, my parents didn't like it at all, but then they tried it again when they moved to this location and they thoroughly enjoyed everything, so they recommended we all come here together. I'm not sure what may have changed their experience, but I was never at the other location, so my rating is solely on this current location. Upon walking in, I noticed that the dining room was rather small. It was pretty busy when we came in here, but we were lucky enough to get squeezed into a table with the booth on the wall. We were immediately greeted by our waiter and given water, 2 salsas (one spicier than the other), and chips. The salsas were a bit more watery than I'm used to, but they were both delicious anyway. When it comes to the food options, I LOVE that they offer sampler tacos because 1) they are 2'' smaller than the craft tacos and 2) they can still be ordered with a side of rice for an extra cost, but it's still cheaper and less food than ordering the "Make It a Meal" tacos. Here's the thing, I love the fact that you have options here. You can choose between two or three 4'' tacos. A 2-taco sampler is $8.95 and a 3-taco sampler is $12.95. You can even choose ANY filling you want in it from the craft taco section of the meal for the same price. You also have the choice of making the tacos a meal by choosing any two 6'' tacos on the menu and getting rice and beans with it for $13.95. Lastly, when it comes to tacos, you can just choose the tacos a la carte with no sides (or add for an extra charge) and these tacos are either $5 or $6 each depending on the filling. As you can probably tell by how excited I was by talking about them, we all ordered the taco sampler with two 4'' tacos. We also all got a rice side. I chose to get a ground beef taco, which came with lettuce, chihuahua cheese, pico de gallo, and salsa verde. The second taco I decided to get was the carne asada taco with the same toppings. Both tacos were full of flavor and were perfectly seasoned. They were so cute and small, too, but it was a perfect amount for me. The rice was also delicious, and we saved the salsa from the complimentary chips and salsa, so I poured it ALL over my rice. BEST DECISION. Overall, I would 100% come back here again because I truly enjoyed it. Our service was great, the food was delicious, and the place was clean and relaxing.

Food was nice. Drinks were okay too. I have wanted to check this place out for a while now so am glad I went in today.

First time dining here and it was pretty good! Service was quick and friendly. They have a nice Tuesday special deal of tacos with beans and rice. I ordered the enchiladas with mole which was pretty good. Just your standard local Mexican restaurant when you're in the mood. Prices were average. I enjoyed my dish. Their salsa and chips could be better - their salsa needs work and hope they consider changing it. Their margaritas tasted like all mix, no tequila so I hope they consider a better mix and better margaritas in the future as well.

I love this restaurant's new space up on Northwest Hwy! Appetizer favorites for me include duck taquitos, shrimp cocktail, and ceviche. My favorite entrees are either tacos al pastor or the mar y tierra. A mezcal margarita or glass of wine is a great addition the the meal! The wait staff is friendly and efficient. Love them!

Went here after work with my sister and we had a good time! It was very lively and the staff was super friendly! Service was a little slow, but it was a busy Friday night. The food was good, we had chicken quesadillas and carne asada tacos, no complaints about either. I loved the margaritas. I got a raspberry margarita, which I don't see very often, and I was very happy with it. I would love to come back and bring more people along in the future

My family ordered take out and I know that doesn't ever improve the taste of the food. But, never did I imagine that an Ensalata Mixta with beef would be as tasteless as this. The dressing had NO flavor and the few pieces of rather chewy meat were not much better. Others in the family indicated their tacos were okay--meat was seasoned, but rest of the tacos were non-descript. Never again, Don Juan, never.

Service was great. Ambiance was fine. The food; the birria tacos were good. Guacamole was premade and scooped out of a dish, so it seemed. The beef burrito sueza would have been better, but the red sauce tasted like a marinara sauce and threw me off a little.... I am giving three stars, 1 for service, once for ambience and 1 for the birria.

Great place with live music. The food was delicious. A lot of yummy drinks. Service is really nice

Had another wonderful dinner at Don Juan's . When we walked in on a Sunday evening for dinner there were only a handful of customers, and literally within 10 minutes, almost every table was filled. We decided to go with the specials, meatloaf and squash risotto with shrimp. The meatloaf was amazing, a very different option in a Mexican restaurant. It was a blend of beef, pork and chorizo. It was topped with a rich sauce, not too spicy, but just the right amount of spice. It was served with macaroni and broccoli. We spoke with the owners and it was a family recipe. The risotto was served in a large acorn and was savory and loaded with shrimp. Service was excellent. Once again the experience was inviting and wonderful.

Always love visiting! Very nice servers and management. The food is authentic and delicious.

Everything about this place is great. From the food and drinks to the staff. Margaritas are delicious and the fish tacos are amazing. Very friendly staff and the owner was awesome as well.

I wish I had more hands to give this place more thumbs down. This was the worst Mexican food I've had in a long time. I'd rather have Taco Bell. It was unfair that I had to pay for the food that received here. I had a sandwich made of shoe leather that my dog wouldn't eat. The old with the neck brace was nice.

First time eating here. Nice atmosphere with the feeling of eating outdoors while still inside. Chips were great. The salsa was different and tasty. We both had the Chicken Fajitas. Lacking spice and that grilled taste but still good. Will return.

It's easy to whiz right past this little place, tucked in a strip mall between Lou Malnati's and Subway. During mild weather, patio seating practically doubles the restaurant's capacity. When the window wall is wide open on hot days, a robust AC system manages to keep indoor diners comfortable. The staff works hard to earn the praise they receive from so many Yelpers. I visited with a large group of friends on a weeknight. The place was packed but there were more than enough servers to keep things humming smoothly. Comp tortilla chips arrived with two salsas, one mild and the other incendiary. By combining them, I needed less Modelo Negra to extinguish my flaming tongue. My Missus described her pina colada as one of the very best. The entrées received unanimous thumbs-up from our crowd. Mine was a quesadilla with grilled skirt steak. This was plated with pico de gallo and a generous dollop of fresh guacamole. Fabulous. My Missus managed to consume only 2 of her filling 3-taco combo with rice and refried beans. Other companions enjoyed nachos, burritos, queso fundido with chorizo, and a house salad with shrimp. There is no printed dessert menu, but the two desserts available that day were much enjoyed by the few who still had room to indulge. The restroom mirrors with their lighting and defogging controls are truly a wonder. My only grumble was the long wait to receive our checks, but this was not our server's fault (the restaurant ought to consider a POS system that simplifies separate checks).

Very good, unique dynamic menu. Owner real cares about the customers. Explore the menu there any many great options.

Let me first start out by saying my wife and I have tried a few different Mexican spots and this is probably our favorite. We live close by and we come pretty consistently. The food is good although we usually stick to tacos de asada, pastor or the chicken. We've also tried the sopes(add asada ), the quesadillas (also add asada ), and some of their other specials like the quesabirria. All of the things we've had have been so tasty and fresh! Tastes like my mama used to make . The inside is small but the ambiance is great and they have touchtunes so it's always a vibe when we go . The reason for the 5 stars though has to be the staff . We've gotten to know Marcos and Edmundo well and its always a great time talking to them (plus they make KILLER margaritas but we order the cadilac with casamigos and BEWARE because they're strong). The other staff is great as well and work so hard. When the patio is open it's a little nice added bonus in the summertime. All in all if you're local and looking for a good place to hangout, de-stress, get some margaritas and get some real Mexican food this is a place to check out. We tried Sal Pique in park ridge and we won't ever stray again! Don Juan reigns supreme! P.S. Ask for the spicy salsa! Also you can ask for corn tortillas with your tacos

This place came recommended from a friend of mine...who btw is Mexican! I didn't think it was authentic enough cuz I've driven past this place so many times & thought I never see any Mexicans here?? lol...‍ but I figured since this person recommended it, I would try it out, I'm glad I did! Oh yeah it's pretty authentic...from the amazing table salsa (pretty spicy...no gringo salsa here! lol) to the tacos! Btw our waiter... I think his name was Gustavo... was so helpful and polite which made the experience that much more better! Everything he recommended was good.. my GF ordered the pollo con seis chiles with sautéed vegetables...(omg these vegetables were so damn good!) , I ordered the puerco in chile dish with garlic mash potatoes...amazing!! Don't judge a restaurant by the neighborhood...lol, this place had a great atmosphere...small but really cool upbeat vibes...They had a great patio...& tv screens every where, a really nice lil bar...felt like more of a sports bar kinda vibe with Mexican food...It would definitely be a great place to watch the Olympic soccer games here...overall.. service was spectacular, Gustavo was great! Food was great, and pretty dam authentic...and ambience was really cool for a small place. Loved it, will be coming back!

I love this place. The strip mall is not so appealing, but the food and atmosphere are great. I have gone three times since moving into the area and I've tried different things each time. The first time I ordered the steak special with a side of black beans and vegetables. It was delicious! This weekend I ordered the 3 tacos and it was spot on. Their guacamole is also well worth it.

This place is really really good. Careful it is not authentic Mexican. It takes the best of Mexican food and improves upon it. Our meals were excellent. And our drinks were amazing. I highly recommend you try this place.

Love this place .. definitely not cheap with there food fill up the bag with some extras for free

We stopped here before a show at the Pickwick. What a treasure in Park Ridge! We were met and seated by the charming owner, Maria. She is so interesting and gracious- proud owner since 1981. Just a different location. We didn't order the specials and instead went traditional Mexican fare. Wow! The tacos were outstanding! I had three different types and each was even tastier than the last. My husband had the mole chicken and said it was the tenderest chicken and beat mole he has had. And he loves mole- always orders it. The chips and salsa were fresh and the salsa was unusual and so delicious. I had a very good margarita with my meal. Unfortunately not enough room to try the flan. But we plan to go back.

been coming to don juans since i was 7 years old. even with the new location the JUANderful food has stayed the exact same. my favorites is their chips and salsa (both mild and hot), pork tamales (literally to die for), and steak tacos. there is so much to choose from and everything is made super fresh. i will never stop coming to don juans, it's so nostalgic to me and really never misses. in my opinion it's the best authentic mexican food in park ridge hands down and i'd even go as far to say the best in this general area (including nile's and des plaines). they have margarita specials on thursdays!!!! go to don juans you will not regret it! :) ps: i also love their flan

Relaxed atmosphere. Friendly and attentive service. My wife's poblano soup was delicious as were my steak tacos and the best tamale I've ever had. My wife enjoyed her steak burrito. Our margaritas were yummy and not diluted. Highly recommend!

Good food. Great service! Fun atmosphere. VERY CLEAN! Loved the ladies bathroom. Very modern and functional. Hand sanitizer through out the restaurant. A little on the pricier side but I can understand with all the accommodations. The restaurant is small but they have outside seating with heat. I'd definitely come back again

Don Juan's Cantina is fantastic. I've personally been going there for over 30 years. Edison Park's loss is Park Ridge's gain and I couldn't recommend a restaurant any higher. I had a pickup order that was made with care and perfection. Everyone loved the food and if you want to visit and patronize a family owned restaurant that has been serving people great food for more than a generation this is the place. P.S. Thanks for the drinks Mike

I like Don Juan's very much. My family and I go to dinner here, pretty often. We love the food, the service is great and the atmosphere is nice.

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant around the neighborhood, by far!!! The staff is beyond excellent - always friendly, attentive, hard-working and knowledgable! MUST get the Cadillac Margarita! SOPES are our favorite, completely homemade - tastes just like my in-laws! Carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos are also a fave (pro tip: get only onion & cilantro ), and when they have birria tacos or birria quesadilla - get it!! Soo tasty! HIGHLY recommend! Feels like home

I didn't realize that this place was the same Don Juan's located about a couple of miles south on Northwest highway, with the clever wordplay and puns of "Juan" on their signage. I drive by there all the time and was sadden when they closed down. Luckily, Don Juan's resurrected in the Village Green shopping center strip mall, just north of Elm and Northwest Highway. I came here with an open-mind, as I didn't realize that this was the same Don Juan's. I drove by here and noticed that this place always had a large crowd and decided to check it out. We came here on a Saturday and got a table outside. The dining area inside is rather small, with a bar taking over a good portion of the dining area, with several tables. The outdoor dining area was great, considering that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. They had blankets for each chair, and open flame heaters that really helped on this particular low-50 degree evening. We ordered a strawberry and mango margarita and they were both great. The mango margarita had a hint of coconut, which usually I am not a big coconut fan, but this was a nice subtle compliment to the mango. Warm chips and a liquid salsa was a nice touch while we sat down, although the chips were unsalted. I really liked the salsa -- it had a small kick to it, but was good. I ordered the chicken fajitas and it came with a decent amount of chicken, with a little bit of peppers, onions, and mushrooms. It also can with guacamole and refried beans, and three tortillas. Personally, I wish there were more peppers and onions, and the dish itself was somewhat bland. I had to drizzle some of the aforementioned salsa and thus the dish was overall OK. Service was good, although our waiter disappeared for ten minutes.... not sure where he went. We had to flag someone else down for water. Overall, OK experience, food was OK, not really sure I recommend to other people... although this may be one of the few decent choices of mexican in the area. BATHROOM REVIEW: The bathrooms are single person bathrooms. The men's had a urinal and toilet, with a fancy mirror with different options and settings for lighting and such. Since this place was super-new, all was looking clean. Sit or squat? Sit!

We have fallen in love with their jalapeño rellenos... well sad to say that the peppers are bigger.. the over power the tomatoes and shrimp and seasoning.. and you don't put it in the salamander for that extra touch. Fix it!! This was made with no heart no mindfulness and totally disappointing. The devil is in the details.. hone your craft..

Dinner with my wife. Very cute location, and we were excited about eating here after reading all the great reviews. We got greeted and seated quickly. The chips and salsa were not that great. I wished they had given some good salsa, but you have to pay extra. We got the civeche, and i wasn't too impressed. The civeche was all fish with no shrimp, and the sauce was very thick. I got the 3 enchilada dinner, and my wife got the tacos. Our food came out quickly. The enchiladas were ok, the rice and beans were good. The tacos were ok. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves, but the food was just ok.

I was there today with a group of ladies for lunch. My late husband and I used to dine with them in Edison Park. Last time I was there was 21 years ago before he passed. I was very surprised the meal was as good as I remembered. Service was excellent. My only complaint is it is so much smaller than the old location. The owner warmly greeted us and I will definitely return

Sat on their cute outside patio area. The service was great, servers were attentive and everything came out fast. The only disappointing thing was the food. The salsa that came with the chips was interesting.. kinda smoky but very bland. We got baja fish tacos and chicken tacos, again bland. I don't think we'll be back but the margaritas were good!

I cannot say enough about this restaurant. If you are flying out of O'Hare Airport and have time to grab a great meal, come to Don Juan's Cantina. The food and atmosphere was incredible. My husband ordered the special entree of Butternut Squash w/rice and shrimp was delicious. Highly recommend this place.

Not carryout friendly, so much they charge a container fee of $1 per taco on top of their already overpriced taco. Owner is rude and argues with you if they messed up an order, seems to be the culture just read their responses on negative reviews below. It's too bad because I live so close. Food is decent. 16 dollars for just 2 tacos, no rice, no beans... Nothing else!! It's a $4 taco tops...

What a random find! Wow their beans? Something else! Service is amazing! And I highly recommend their carne assada and chocolate creme brûlée

I was shocked when I realized that it had been a year since my husband's last review. Over that time, DJ's has become our favorite place to eat. Just the two of us for a lively night out, or like last night, 8 people to celebrate a birthday. One consistent thing throughout more than dozen trips is the food. It is the one place we go to where there are no complaints. That's really unusual with that many people and their idiosyncrasies. We have a few picky eaters. The staff is more than happy to accommodate. My favorite is the chicken Milanese. Tasty chicken and sauce, very large portion size. My husband and nephew's favorite is the Don Juan's Burrito with steak. And contrary to a few reviews, they think it is fairly priced. It's a full meal and my husband, who loves to eat, is always satisfied. New this time, LIVE MUSIC. The guitarist was a nice touch! Luckily, it wasn't too loud like some places. We ate outside in the covered Al Fresco tent. Absolutely perfect night! Still getting a 5 star! Such a nice place. Happy to see that even after a year it hadn't lost any of its original appeal.

Went with friends. The tables were dirty. When I asked to clean them, the worker sprayed the table with the food on the table. Service was slow and food was awful. The steak did not taste fresh and honestly nothing was edible. To make things worse, we were seated next to a family that was drinking alcoholic drinks the entire time. The man stared at our kids the entire time and made me feel as though he was a pedophile. Very uncomfortable and worrisome. Never going back.

Stopped here before a show at Allstate. Service was excellent. Very attentive. Drinks were great. I highly recommend the Sangria. We had the queso as an app and the tostadas and tacos as meals and both were great! Very chill atmosphere and love the indoor/outdoor options for seating.

This is a great place for drinks, appetizers or a meal. The staff is friendly and the food is great. There's outdoor seating and parking is plentiful. I had fish tacos, quesadillas and a spicy margarita, muy delicioso!

Stopped in for a very satisfying lunch. I had tostadas Ala Carter, one beef one chicken. It was pretty Americanized-this is not a taqueria. It as tasty nevertheless and they hustled it out plus were quick with refills. The place was pretty full for a lunch crowd. Good food at a fair price...I'll be back.

Don't get the Chilerellanos. Absolutely no taste, and the green pepper was raw. The batter was horrible, and it had no taste at all. I should have taken a picture of this dish because you would never guess it was what i ordered. The presentation was terrible. I had to write this post because the owner said it was cooked and that is the way it is supposed to be and he was dead wrong because I have eaten this dish for years at different places and the pepper is supposed to be soft. Never again here. When I paid the check in cash, I saw the bill was $84 and change and I gave the waiter $100 and told him to keep the change. If he credited my bill, it had to be after he knew about the review. He saw that my plate was full when it was taken away from the table, and the right thing to do was approach me then and credit my bill. He had to give me a credit after I paid.

Even with a very short staffing situation, both the food and service, albeit slow, were good.

Frozen Mango margs= gas Elotes= SPECTACULAR Ceviche= YUM Everything came out pretty fast, but it did take time for our waiter to come. Overall, great!

I love coming here so much the food was really nice and while clocked genuinely the best experience I've had in a very long time I'm so happy that I could have it here and with such nice stuff and cooking services

How do I not give this place 5 Stars?!? We booked a quick one night stay in Rosemont in order to drop off our daughter and her husband at O'Hare the next morning and looked up the closest Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. We drove to it, only to find out it was pretty much carry-out only. We ordered a pie and were told it would be roughly 40 minutes before it was ready, so we went next door to this place. A guy (whom I believe was the owner), asked if he could help as I walked towards the bar. I asked if we could grab a table (pointing at it) and he said yes. He then asked where we were from (noting my southern accent apparently). He somewhat jokingly asked if we thought Lou Malnati's was a sit down place and said he had a table for 4 in the back part of the restaurant. I told him we had ordered a pizza next door and would like to have drinks and an appetizer while we waited for it. The serving staff were quick to get our orders (margaritas and pina coladas) and some guacamole. We polished off the guac and first round of drinks and our server returned to drop plates in front of us. We quickly told him we weren't ordering entrees and he said, "what about your pizza?". We were stunned by the question. There hasn't been one place on the planet in my 54 years that would offer such a gesture to allow another restaurant's food in your own place. Truly, a genius move by the owner and I guarantee he's done this many times before for rookies who google sweet Lou's for pizza, only to find out it's predominantly carryout. I can't say enough good things about this place. Fantastic service, great atmosphere (and it was packed...on a Monday), great drinks and guac ! By looking at other tables, it's safe to say the rest of the fare is too notch as well. We look forward to a return trip to this special little place. Don Juan is DA MAN!

Love the new location. Easy to park. Same great food. Like the TVs inside. I started with the dos equis in a beautiful frosted glass. I ordered the chicken fajitas. Good but I will get the steak quesadillas next time. My husband ordered the beef enchiladas. He said they were good but he won't get them again. They brought him chicken enchiladas at first but quickly fixed their mistake. We were too full to think about dessert. I will definitely be back.

Can't say enough about Don Juan's! Great fun atmosphere, awesome margaritas and fantastic food. Check out their daily specials, you won't be disappointed!