Taqueria Chapala

This place cooks a lot of chicken. You can see the smoke rolling out of the kitchen vent most days. It smells like delicious B.B.Q every day I drive past this restaurant. I finally stopped and tried a chicken burrito. It was good, could have been better. Next time I go here Im going to try the half or whole chicken deal. The staff was friendly and spoke great English and Spanish.

Staff were amazing and friendly, tacos asada where delicious, tacos de al pastor needs more flavor. Tacos de lengua needed more flavor. the torta milanesa de res was good. The sopes were good. I would give it another try when I come back out here again.

Everything was amazing. We had the best waitress, food was incredible, restaurant is very fun and very clean. Would recommend 10/10!!

The tacos are amazing. I only order chicken tacos no matter where I go. The chicken was great. So was guacamole.

La Chapala is a taqueria in Elgin. They serve authentic Mexican food. I ordered two tacos American style. Our server Mauro was really attentive and provided a good service. The food was not great. Nothing out of the ordinary.

If you are in the mood for true authentic Mexican food, this is the place to eat. Every plate I've had has been delicious, and my favorite is the grilled chicken and the tacos al pastor. The staff are all friendly and provide great service. I highly recommend Chapala's for affordable food and large portions.

We had chilaquiles verdes con huevo (egg), it was okay. I tasted the gordita de rajas con queso, which was just okay too. The shell of the gordita was hard, difficult to cut. Waitress says the shell was not made fresh or made to order. They are made in advance, then deep fried when ordered. My husband had the tampiqueña, which he said was good. Instead of an enchilada that is commonly served w /the dish they served it with a chicken flauta, and that was tasty. Service was great, busy, but still attentive.

My family and I love this place. The food is always delicious. They even have vegetarian/vegan options

If you are looking for an authentic taqueria, this is the place! I came here with a colleague who's visiting from Guadalajara, and she approved of the food. We opted for the "plate of the day", which was a pork stew served with bean, rice and tortilla. It was delicious, and something different for me. Also, on Tuesday, it offers Taco Tuesday. Will definitely come back to check out.

I used to love this place. Their chilaquiles are pretty amazing but I was there New Year's Eve and for a 3 taco dinner and 2 waters I paid $30 that seemed excessive considering there's other places just as good or better that are more affordable. To each its own!

Back in the day, tasty grilled chicken for a Sunday morning Breakfast. The knob onions were grilled perfectly, and the peppers were a nice compliment. Those days are gone! If you're not first in line, you'll get a box of dried out sandpaper and a foil wrapped batch of slop on the side. A Taqueria were no one seems to understand your order, until they have to... No Mas!!

Absolutely amazing chicken! This place knows how to make chicken. Great flavor, great value, and very affordable. I got a chicken taco dinner and a horchata both were tied for best I've had in the Chicago suburbs. The staff was extremely friendly even tho they were very busy! I will definitely be back for more chicken tacos!!

Read the reviews. Stopped many a time to get paletas at La Michiocana. Decided today would be the day to come in and eat. They are famous for their grilled chicken and maybe we will try that next time. My wife had the tacos de Lengua and I had a gordita de Lengua. Loved it. The meat seemed to be steamed and was super tender. It was not over seasoned so that we could add the salt and salsa as we liked. Service was very attentive and the restaurant is very clean. I love that you can also see the kitchen area. Next time we will stop here for the chicken

Had 2 steak tacos and 1 chicken. The chicken was dry and flavor less and the steak he no seasoning at all and had a tons of fat hard pieces.

excellent tacos and on Tuesdays they are on special. I love how they give you grilled onions on the side in a foil instead of carrots like most places do.

I am currently hooked on the half chicken with tortillas. For around $6 they give you the grilled bird, a ton of tortillas, grilled onions and jalapeños, and a couple salsas! This bird is the word!

Great service and great tacos ! 99c taco Tuesday completely satisfied . Definitely check this place out !

Taqueria Chapala is our new go-to taco place. It's better than anything in the area. The tacos are amazing. Served in corn tortillas they're stuffed. I've only had the steak, the chicken and the pastor. Pastor is the fav, but all are good. The place has a homey no nonsense atmosphere. English is DEFINITELY a second language here. We're often the only Anglo's in the place. Totally an authentic place. Five stars.

Tacos were dry, and undercooked. Drinks were overpriced. Worst tacos I've had in my entire life. Do not go. Manager is also never present

I have been going to this place for several years because I love the staff and the food is good. But today I order a few dishes and a flower quesadilla (no meat) for my daughter. The quesadilla was good the issue was the price, $11 with or without meat please tell me that does not make sense and I'm not the only one that thinks that?. Did I mention they did not tell me this until I had already paid and I went back and complain about it. I explained to the manager that it did not make sense to charge the same price for a quesadilla with meat and one without meat, his response " that is how we have it in our menu do you want to copy? No I do not want a copy but be assured that I will find a replacement dining option so I don't come to your place anymore

Love this place their grilled chicken dinner special is next to none.... They give you so many tasty sides the chicken is flavorful..... highly recommended

I have heard nothing but amazing things about this taco spot and couldn't wait to try it. The space is large and the service was quick. I ordered a taco dinner of lengua. Lengua is my favorite taco and I couldn't wait! I didn't like the rice or beans and unfortunately I did not like the lengua either. I was disappointed. I will definitely try again because of all the rave reviews I have heard but first impressions was not a good one. Hopefully next time will be better.

These guys really give you the meat. No flimsy mini tacos here and the steak is are awesome. They also have charbroiled chicken packages with all the fixings (rice, beans, salsa, tortillas). The restaurant itself is somewhat cramped quarters with booth type tables in rows. Parking can be a bit difficult especially when the shopping center is busy. Try takeout if sitting next to other people is not your thing.

pedi una Gordita y me salió un pelo selo dije al mesero y según era de la baca yo no mire ni una vaca cosínando y ni disculpas pidieron nesitan ser más igienicos y saver pedir disculpas

The food is great but sometimes they don't listen and get my order incorrect. I wish someone that was fluent in English as well answer the phone. Otherwise they're food is great!

Best cheap eats on Taco Tuesday. I've had these over 100 times. It is obviously a favorite. Tacos are packed and on average very good. Miss the lines and call ahead.

They have $0.99 tacos on Tuesdays. I have had the chorizo tacos and the steak tacos and both are really good! My friend always gets the flautas. She is reporting to me that, "they are the best flautas I've ever had!" The service is fast and the people are kind.

While everybody raves about Taco Tuesday at this place, I'm going to share something that most don't know. The very best food at this place is a secret menu in the form of a daily guisado or stew. It's the most authentic and home styled food around and will leave you wanting more. It's different every day but usually made with beef or pork. Very filling, extremely reasonable price but most importantly it's delicious! If you go after 2:00 pm, you'll probably miss out.

Love this place! We come here for tacos and burritos. Guacamole is excellent. Prices very reasonable. Place is always busy. Must try

Driving by and was looking for a quick bite to eat. I am glad I spotted this joint from the road. I ordered two chicken tacos and a coke, and they were great. They came with grilled onions, jalapenos, and some fresh lime. The hot sauce they have on the table is outstanding! They have a special for a whole chicken that I will have to come back to try out.

Their chicken is always so good it's always consistent. Their tacos are also great their family dinner is a great deal. I like to ask for cold tortillas when we pock up food and we warm them up freshly at home.

I knew we were in for some good eats, when I could see about three other Mexican restraints near by. This restaurant is in a strip mall next to a Mexican Grocery. Which, I took as another good sign. If you like authentic Mexican, this is it. Luckily they had a translation of the menu. It's a simple And straightforward menu. The grill was fired up, full of chicken and smelled delicious. I ordered 7 steak and chicken tacos for two of us. They run about $2 @. They included a side dish of grilled jalapeños and onion. So good! Service was fast and friendly. I would recommend the steak, it was our favorite. All of them were stuffed full and tasty. No skimping here.

Delicious tacos, only $1 on Tuesdays if you pay in cash. Love this local spot! They were so flavorful and authentic. It gets pretty busy on Tuesdays so the wait is longer than usual, but it's well worth the wait! Their rice and beans were great too. Highly recommend!

Taco Tuesday's are the best! I've tried almost all the different meats now, and my favorite is definitely the pastor. Their special grilled chicken is delicious as well. My husband and I have gone on several different days now and the food is always great! I will say the other meats aren't that special so that's why I gave it one less star. Their burritos are really big and the prices are great. The carnitas was too fatty for me, and the carne asada seemed like it lacked some flavor. Overall, go on Tuesday, get some tacos, and enjoy the experience. It's worth it!

I love this place . I'm there every Tuesday because they have their special where the tacos are one dollar and it is great. They're steak tacos are the best tacos in town. It's always busy on Tuesdays so if you are taking food to go you sort of have to call ahead unless you want to be waiting 15 min for tacos. With the wait of the food and all the service is incredible. The staff there is taking a lot of orders at once sometimes and still holding everything together. Seems like they are really organized

We recently moved to the area and were getting sick of driving to our old taco place. Elgin, has a ton of taquerias and we have tried one other place since moving here and were pretty ambivalent about the food. On a rainy evening we decided to grab some tacos from Chapala... AND THE FOOD IS GREAT! To my taste, I've not had better tacos in the city proper or suburbs anywhere else. We just had a mix of steak & al pastor tacos (we actually prefer the al pastor!) and even eating the tacos at home after a 10 minute drive and they were still EXCELLENT. I think it was close to $2/taco after taxes, and I have no complaints with cost to taco quality. The meat servings are huge for tacos and the salsa is excellent. We'll be showing up for a Taco $1 Tuesday for certain and see how it compared to the full price ones. We saw a lot of folks taking out the grilled chicken and I would try that next time. Huge thumbs up! No need to go anywhere else in Elgin for tacos. I don't think there could be better.

Tacos was okay I came in cuz I was really hungry and they messed up my order gave me the wrong order then refused to give me what I ordered. Last time I eat here if the service continues to be this way. I remember this being different. My order was 5 steak tacos and I was given a burrito make that make sense. Will not recommend

My favorite lunch spot. I'm here 2-3 times a week! They've always got a crowd which should tell you something.

Best tacos I've had my whole life. The staff was so friendly and I loved eating here. Definitely recommend coming here.

Best tacos in Elgin hands down. The flavors are great, the restaurant set up is nice and the people are very friendly. Highly recommend.

Im not the type of person who gives reviews no matter how bad the food is.. but this one i will make an exception. I didn't appreciate how they handled my concerns. I found toothpick INSIDE my flautas...I mean in covid time... who knows if it is to hold the tortilla or came from someone's mouth. If it was holding the tortilla it should be on top, but it's inside... and when I went talk to the person whoever is in charge, they want to give me another food, (like it wasn't a big deal).. who still wants to eat their food after finding that toothpick...yuck!!!! you can keep my money and your nasty food!!!! Only thing I know is that I will never eat from this place ever again..I don't know about other people

Love coming here on Tuesdays. $1 tacos, yes!!! Only a buck, and its not the cheap ground beef other taquerias offer for a buck. The tacos are small but packed with meat. I love the grilled onions that they bring to your table to compliment the tacos. Worth coming even on a regular day as tacos are only $1.39. Give them a try you wont be dissatisfied

This is the place to go! Can't beat Tuesday's for tacos or the $12 whole chicken deal w/rice and beans that were yummy:). The pickled vegetables were really good along with all the salsas. They do not follow covid rules, every table was packed on a Tuesday night and all were right next to each other, for this I took off 1 star. Just be sure to get vaccinated then this won't be an issue.

You can't beat dollar tacos especially at this place. Dollar tacos every Tuesday, I always get their steak tacos and chicken. Steak is very tender and soft as well as the chicken tacos they have a lot of flavor. They serve grilled onion with lime which I think they are the best. They also have have fresh pineapple water that is amazing. Staff and waiters are very nice and there could be a long wait especially on Tuesdays. Amazing authentic Mexican food and tacos.

If you are looking for authentic Mexican Food, than this is the place to go, the tacos are well served, they have a variety of fillings (guisos) and what I've tried so far it's been delicious. The carnitas, cabeza, asada and lengua is what I've tried and I love them all! The pollo asado (grilled chicken) is a must, I have bought take out and it is delicious and comes with rice, beans, guacamole, tortillas and 2 different salsas, if you don't feel like cooking one day, I highly recommend this option! Also order hibiscus water (agua de jamaica) to drink, it goes perfect with your tacos or pollo.

If I could give zero I would . Horrible customer service especially from the manager he's a joke .

This place was great! The chicken was to die for, and the tacos were amazing. The tacos came with grilled onions and peppers (and fresh lime), and there were also pickled veggies on the table that you could add to your food. Great hot sauces available, and house guac too! We will definitely be back (and I'm from out of state).

Eh, it's OK. Steak is greasy. Salsas are good. My wife had tamales, they were not great.

Love their tacos, the service is fast and the servers treat you like family "in a good sense" lol. I would recommend these tacos, they are never dry nor overcooked, plus thier complementary caramelized onions are amazing!".

Tired of our order being wrong and then being told they can't fix it. Tried to order catering and was told no they don't do that, however they cater to my school often. Quality is hit or miss. I won't be supporting this business any longer.

Man this spot was good had chicken burrito. Wanted to go eat another. We'll be back to get some more eats try something else I would recommend this spot to anyone!!!

I've only been once. I had two tacos, one carne asada and one al pastor. The place itself is the quasi-sit-down sort of Mexican joint you find all over Elgin. It seemed like tables were being waited, but I got my stuff to go. The place smelled a bit funny, but that's pretty typical for such places. It seemed like the kitchen was busy with a large catering order at the time. The tacos are quite cheap - around $0.99, making them cheaper than both of their nearby neighbors (La Flor and Los Comales). Both tacos were good enough, and the corn tortillas are fairly dark and pretty 'earthy', for lack of a better word. The al pastor was a bit charred, but that's pretty common. Not lots of pastor flavor there. If it's pastor you want, La Flor has a very distinctive recipe I think is much better. The steak was pretty ordinary, and that's not a bad thing. The tacos are 'authentic' in the sense that they are served with onions and cilantro instead of lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Most places have this option, but some, like La Flor (I believe), will serve the Americanized version unless you order tacos 'Mexicano'. Service was a bit gruff, but not surly. I'd give the place 3.5 stars. I would go again, just to dig deeper into the menu, especially to try a whole burrito. I feel like it's difficult to gauge the quality from tacos only. Most places in the area make perfectly acceptable tacos.

¡Muy bueno! I live in the area and came across this little gem by accident when I went to the grocery store next door, and boy am I glad I came in! The food was fresh, and by far the best of its kind in the area while still being reasonably priced (and believe me, there's probably 10 Mexican restaurants within walking distance of each other). It's small and a fast sit-down sort of establishment (You sit in fast food style tables, but they come and take your order). There was a constant stream of people coming in and out which let's you know it's a popular choice in the area. Do yourself a favor, and at least come in for a tamale, you will not regret it. Worth every penny, and every calorie!

literally a prime example of a great Tradition Mexican restaurant but they have much more then just tacos. everything I had was exactly what I was expecting. great value and great food

I wanted a shrimp fajita quesadilla, which isn't listed on the menu. I ask, they say "no problem". I hate when a place won't be flexible. It was very good. I also got a chicken and a steak burrito. Both were big and delicious. I will be back.

Solid food and good service. Not the best I've ever had, but I didn't try the chicken! The horchata was also super good. Definitely recommend going here if you're in the area.

Its a simple taqueria located right next to the Armandos Supermarket. Booth style seating. I usually order to go. The tacos are pretty good. Tacos are around $1.39 per taco... not bad. They have 7-10 different types of meat you can choose for your tacos, Carne Asada is my favorite. The burritos are also big and delicious!! They also grill large amounts of chicken which is actually pretty good in taste and price. The Horchata is excellent. Definetely worth trying if you're in the area.