Tortas Frontera

While flying through ORD on a layover, I stopped in, as the place seemed like it would have a nice selection of freshly-made Mexican dishes. I sat at the bar, the bartender was moderately busy, but not very busy and service was ok. The menu wasn’t very vast, just offering several different items. I opted for chips & salsa, with their habanero salsa added (they charge $.50 more for it) and their torta made with a fried chicken breast… It arrived cut in half, the first half I ate seemed to have chicken in it all, but the second half I ate only had a small piece of chicken. The chips were decent, the salsas were just OK, but that habanero salsa was really spicy. The silly music with the same latin beat was annoyingly loud and redundant. Overall – Not worth stopping in… I won’t return.

Like most restaurants in an airport, things can get busy and loud. Expect to wait a while since this place gets lots of business. My choice for lunch was the crispy chicken milanesa torta with tomatillo salsa and a mango lime Agua Fresca. The chicken was crispy yet juicy with plenty of crisp veggies and savory sauces. The tomatillo salsa had a nice spicy kick without compromising flavor. The mango lime Fresca was refreshing and sweet (not overly so). If I’m in the Chicago O’Hare Airport again and I’m at a nearby terminal, I’ll definitely be willing to hit this place again.

Visited while at O’Hare and was a recommended spot at the airport by bloggers. They are best known for their Tortas. Their Egg and Chorizo Torta was one of their popular breakfast options with freshly made scrambled eggs, cheese and freshly cut avocado slices. Each Torta was made once ordered, which made it fresh. Overall, it was a decent portion size and had a lot of flavour, while being a bit messy. Service was fairly quick once an order was made through their self-service order kiosk.

The Chipotle chicken is flavored really well. The tortas aren't as large as I expected. Mine looked as if it had been placed in a panini press. It was good tasting; however, nothing like a torta found in San Diego.

I appreciate the staff was behind but hustling during a busy lunch rush. Unfortunately, that led to my choriqueso not being as ordered on the kiosk. It was missing the add on jalapeños and got congealed salsa verde instead of the specified habanero sauce. The chorizo filling was meager, the bread soggy and crumbling apart. Sadly disappointing and not worth $15+tax & tip.

In my travels, I stopped at Frontera in the (Airport). I ordered the Tortilla soup. I didn't even finish it. It was French onion soup w/ tortilla chips. There was no flavor at all. Onion water is what a random customer even said to me when she saw my face in discuss and that I had the same order as she did. I'm sorry not returning.

For a $16 airport sandwich that took 15 minutes of waiting, I was very underwhelmed by the pork cubana. Ordering at a screen and picking it up when called was fine, but the torta was very messy and the layers were very unevenly distributed. Big blob of cheese in one bite, half an avocado in another, and then a pile of pure meat in other bites. There was sauce covering the outside of my sandwich when I opened the box, so it was messy from the start and ultimately was like a dry meat pile atop a sea of sauce and oozing cheese. Wouldn’t recommend.

I spent $20 on a salad with extra chicken. They used lettuce and some arugula and compared to the other airport food nearby, this is probably one of the healthier options in terminal 3 -compared to McDonald's, Burrito Beach, Manchu Wok, etc. Price wise, it's extremely expensive and not filling which is annoying. The lettuce wasn't fresh as I saw a lot of my lettuce have a slight pink color to it (it doesn't mean it's unsafe to eat, just not as fresh). I did like the guacamole as it had a distinct kick to it. Additionally, I got about one chicken thighs worth of chicken, this is after I ordered extra chicken. The chicken was the best part of the meal as it was tender and flavorful. All in all, it's a solid place for airport restaurants, but be mindful of the price.

A must stop for sandwich when connecting in ORD, and always worth a small line/wait. Since I missed the time window for breakfast sandwich, I had the Crispy Chicken Milanesa. Hand made to order, and with the freshest, locally (regionally) sourced ingredients, makes for a tasty Torta!

Love that Tortas Frontera challenges and raises the bar of "airport food." I got the Chicken Milanese torta - mildly let down on the taste; I was expecting a burst of flavor across the cotija, crema, and jalapeños but shockingly it tasted a bit one-note and bland? Not sure why, as it theoretically checked all the culinary boxes of "salt, fat, acid and heat." However, I was impressed by the freshness of the ingredients and the speedy, efficient service. A solid choice nonetheless.

Solid for airport food! Otherwise the chorizo was pretty salty and the combination of ingredients was underwhelming, but as a whole, it satisfied the hunger and was quick and doable with only a 45 minute layover! Since it's a sandwich station, you can speedwalk to the bathroom midway in Terminal K and back during the time they take to make it and your food will be ready for pickup by the time you're back. I ordered a choriqueso and ate it too fast for pictures of anything remaining but the empty box. If you land Terminal 3 Gate K, and have a layover in G or H, it's on the way!

Chicago O'Hare Terminal 3, Il. Typical high priced that we are subjected to at airports. We ordered at a kiosk, there were a lot of steps, I believe it is faster to just stand in the short line and talk to a human. Easy seating and the food came in about 15 minutes. The Crispy Chicken Milanesa was really good. I added avocado for $3 (!) that really helped perfect it. A tad spicy but not overpowering. Very nice just fried chicken breast and chipotle sauce.There are several sauce choices but chipotle goes well with this sandwich. The Guacamole Salad was huge ($15.50). It really could feed two people. Lots of guacamole and chicken in there with a good dressing. I'll probably just go with this next time.

We love Tortas Frontera! Today we had some time in the Chicago so we hunted for this place. The tortas are so very good! I had the chipotle roasted chicken with fire roasted salsa. Chicken, avocado, poblano, jack cheese, arugula and cilantro crema. The salsa had a great heat to it and it brought the flavors of the sandwich forward. Loved it! As Arnold said, 'I'll be back!'

At first I wanted to be upset soup was $15. But was actually surprised it was delicious. Would I order this anywhere else for $15, no. But for an airport restaurant this was pretty amazing and subpar food would be expensive anyhow. I ordered the child's cheesy toasty and it was ok for dipping in soup but I wouldn't really recommend for anyone over the age of 8. The negative was how long it took to get my food- about 15 minutes. So be prepared to wait a bit.

Still solid food as it has been for all these years. The breakfast torta with chorizo, eggs, and avocado was very tasty and a very good portion size. The loaded guacamole alsoshown was tasty. The breakfast ordering system requires you to go over to the bar to order coffee (nowhere found on the kiosk screen menu). The bartender grumpily is made to have to head back across to the food area to pour a cup from the carafe. Ludacris - I say! needs fixed.

Wonderful quick bite. We got the Milanesa torta and it was a wonderful blend of flavors. Perfectly spicy without killing us. The corn chowder was flavorful as well. Also, ordered the Cubano. Sandwich was packed with flavors and was very rich leaving my tummy very satisfied. Also ordered chips and guacamole. Everything was freshly made which is good to see. Great way to spend a layover or just a little extra time. Food comes out quickly for the last minute grab. Service was fast and they were helpful and friendly. I recommend getting a reservation to avoid waiting and falling in line at the counter. This place is worth visiting! Perfect spot to bring family and friends. Will be back for sure!

The torta milanesa was pretty good. The chicken was crispy and saucy. Because they assemble to order, the breading stayed crispy. The salsas were excellent as well as the Jamaica agua drink. Unexpectedly tasty for an airport food stand. It's somehow affiliated with Rick Bayless since his name was on the packaging. You order tibia 2 kiosks, where you can customize the sandwich to your liking. They do try to upsell you after almost every click, so that's annoying. Ordering in this fashion is also not friendly to people who are not tech savvy. I stepped in to help a lady who struggled with the machine for a while 10 minutes while the line behind her got longer.

Although there was no line today (Saturday afternoon), ordering online was definitely the way to go! I arrived at Terminal 1 and found the location there was out of their vegetarian sandwich. I put in an order at T3 and by the time I was there it was ready! Lots of layers of flavor in the eggplant and definitely enhanced by the green salsa, it was an easy to eat and satisfying bite at the airport. I'd definitely return next trip. There are a few nice seating options if you are okay to walk - the Rotunda, for example, is bright and open!

Surprisingly good airport food, this restaurant is located near gate B11 in Terminal 1. While at the going rate of $15 (pretty much the entry-level price at airports these days), the amount of protein is disappointing, the freshness and composition of the tortas (Mexican sandwiches) is something to appreciate. Combined with a staff that genuinely seems to care, Tortas Frontera is almost certainly the best food option in Terminal 1.

I love delays at O'Hare because of this restaurant. The guacamole Cobb with crispy chicken and the agua frescas that are made in-house is the best thing that can happen to you during a layover. They are also quick after ordering, in addition to having some bar seating and tables. The price is right and the food is fantastic.

Surprisingly good food in an airport. I got the Chorizo Queso torta and a mango lime agua Fresca. Service was prompt and friendly. The torts was delicious. Hit, fresh, and filling. The agua Fresca had a good sour not to sweet refreshing quality. Next time I'm in O'Hare I'm going here again for sure. No pics was really hungry.

While flying through ORD on a layover, I stopped in, as the place seemed like it would have a nice selection of freshly-made Mexican dishes. I sat at the bar, the bartender was moderately busy, but not very busy and service was ok. The menu wasn't very vast, just offering several different items. I opted for chips & salsa, with their habanero salsa added (they charge $.50 more for it) and their torta made with a fried chicken breast... It arrived cut in half, the first half I ate seemed to have chicken in it all, but the second half I ate only had a small piece of chicken. The chips were decent, the salsas were just OK, but that habanero salsa was really spicy. The silly music with the same latin beat was annoyingly loud and redundant. Overall - Not worth stopping in... I won't return.

I am back in Terminal 5 at Chicago O'Hare Airport waiting for a connecting flight back to NYC, so I had to come here for a bite and a cocktail. It's been a few years since I was last here, but it hasn't changed a bit (I wish I could say the same thing about this airport, which is a mess). The menu is small--less than a half-dozen sandwiches, a few soups, a salad and chips 2 ways. Drinks include a small selection of wine, beer (their on-tap selection is more interesting than the cans/bottles) and cocktails, which I recommend. They have a kids' menu and are open for breakfast with a separate menu, which I didn't have. Service was pretty good (I have seen some reviews where people had long waits for take-away, but I guess it depends on when you get here). I have never had the pleasure of eating at any of Rick Bayless' other restaurants, so I am happy I got the chance to eat here again.

One of the best options in Terminal 3. Made to order, the staff works hard to churn out the food fast. Typically, airport food is just meh but Tortas takes it to another level. Fresh and plentiful ingredients nestled in a great telera roll, you can't go wrong. Be wary, the habanero salsa is hot as advertised so use it sparingly if you are heat sensitive. A solid meal before our flight.

Had a connecting flight in Chicago and couldn't passed your establishment because it smelled so damn good. The line was really long but that means it's really good lol. We ordered the Mango lime frescas which were so tasty. Guacamole is real avocado and not the fake. That's such a plus. My Cuban torta was delicious loved the flavor profiles

Delicious Tortas, but Service is Slow! The tortas here are packed with flavor and fresh ingredients--absolutely delicious! However, the service is extremely slow. They hold onto large batches of orders instead of sending them out as they're ready, which leads to long waits and crowding at the counter. We waited over 25 minutes for two to-go tortas. If they streamlined their pickup process, it would be perfect. Worth the wait if you have time, but not ideal if you're in a hurry!

Ladies and gentlemen, you can finally get good food at the airport! As a local Chicagoan, everything Rick Bayless does is fantastic in my book, so I was stoked to find his outpost in Terminal 3. The screen where you input your order alleviates waiting in line, you can actually see real food being cooked (vs. re-heated), and the staff are very kind. I had the Choriqueso before my international flight, and it was excellent! I wish I had noticed the bar area before I ordered because the drinks looked good! I enjoyed the music too.

For fast food and had several things from this place over the years of traveling through Terminal 3. I really like the food, good choices for me it's kicked up Tex-Mex. Fast food that feels like a way better version that other fast food restaurants and hands down better than any other fast food chain Mexican food. Good service. Order at the counter of now kiosk. Crazy busy H area where H&K y off. I'd come to their sit down version of this place for sure

On a flight back from Montana, my friend and I went on a search for some good airport food - something that is not fast food and we were not in the mood for a burger or pizza. We found Tortas Frontera and it was that excellent airport food we were looking for. Made to order and quick. You start by ordering at a kiosk. It is big touch screens that are very easy to navigate. The service was friendly and quick. NOTE: keep your receipt. You need to show it in order to pick up your food! The sitting area was a bit noisy, but we were able to find a quieter place eventually - it's open in an airport....

It's my favorite place to eat at O'hare. It's high quality food prepared on the spot, and it's interesting, not just the same ole fare. But their software-based ordering stations are counter intuitive and difficult to use.

For a quick airport sandwich, the tortas here get the job done. Crispy bread, fresh ingredients, and decent size sandwich. At $17 for a sandwich only, the price is steep but that's airport food for you.

Overpriced. Tiny portions. And attitude... Did I mention tiny portions? Unbelievably tiny. Adding later. I paid for extra lettuce and extra red onions. There were barely any onions, maybe 3? Ridiculously skimpy. Overpriced air. Move along. I spent 54$, sale and 2 tiny sandwiches. The worst.

Location: inside airport Parking: airport Staff: nice Wait time: 5mins Seating: bar and table Price: average -high Drink: aguas frescas Food: I had a chipotle torta Food was tasty, perfect meal that does not feel fast food. Had lots of great ingredients like avocado.

Found this place from a Chicago Eater article on where to eat in the O'Hare Airport and this was the first spot listed. The food was extremely unimpressive for the price point. I ordered the Cubana which the menu describes as coming with smoked pork loin, bacon, avocado, jack cheese, chipotle mustard, cilantro crema. As seen from the photo, one of my halves did not have any avocado. The cilantro crema was only brushed lightly on the outside part of the sandwich, and I tasted no chipotle mustard at all. At $15.65 after tax, this was an insane rip off. It also lists that the rolls are brushed with black beans... you can see from the photo at how minimal that is as well. Didn't give it one star because the few ingredients they did put in the sandwich weren't terrible, but nothing I'm going to seek out again. Would wholeheartedly recommend any of the other dozens of restaurants in this concourse.

One of the best airport foods I have grabbed to date! The tortas are simply amazing! It had the right amount of heat, smokiness and flavor. Only downside is the cost!

I've been hearing about Rick Bayless for years. When we walked by Tortas Frontera I wanted to give it another try. I ordered food from here once before while @ O'Hare but wasn't very impressed as we took it to go and ate it several hours later on a flight that didn't serve any food. This is best eaten fresh right away Today I ordered a Smoked Pork Cubana. This sandwich was absolutely delicious. Smoked pork w/avocado, bacon, Jack cheese, chipotle mustard & cilantro Crema. As they say to die for. Would I get this again ABSOLUTELY.

I came here with a group of 12 colleagues during a business trip. The waitress, Mallory, was on top of it! She was very attentive to everyone's drink and food needs. There were a variety of dishes, chosen by the group, including both of the steak options and salmon, etc. A very cool restaurant! A medley of dessert choices were chosen for the group to share. Two Fonz, two Keylime pies, and one of the very sparkly chocolate cake! It was one of my colleagues birthdays. Would definitely recommend a return trip or a first stop for anyone.

I've eaten many times at this airport location, with varying degrees of success. Today was the worst ever, and may very well be my last. $16 for a "torta cubana", which was bread, a lick of beans, and the thinnest slice of ham they could muster. How do they get away with being this skimpy, even at the airport?

Anything Rick Bayless is usually good in my book. This location was no different. I ordered a pepper & egg something for breakfast on an early morning layover. It was great and made so by the green salsa that was served with it. The food is prepared to-order in front of you. I waited maybe 5 minutes from order to ready and that's perfectly fine. The torta was hot and fresh and delicious.

One of, if not the best casual restaurant at O'Hare. It's in Terminal 3 but worth a walk if you have time to kill waiting at the airport. Food is actually good food made fresh from ingredients not super processed. It may take a minute for your order, but it's worth it. Recommend the guacamole, Tortas and chicken tortilla soup. They have local alcohol available as well. Staff is always nice, or order at the kiosk.

Pretty damn good tortas, almost redeeming ORD from its dearth of accessible lounges. I would get this even if it was just in my neighborhood. Order online before you get there, since it can take 15-20 minutes for them to prepare.

We love watching Rick and we're excited to finally try one of his restaurants. Are airport restaurants ever that great? We got the choripán. My first bite I thought was super salty but it mellowed out after that. Not the greatest thing but if you want to try something different at an airport, I wouldn't steer anyone away from here. It seemed like people had to go up a few times and correct orders. But they were super busy. We also got an order of the tortilla chips. They taste home made and the salsa is good. But I think if you are on a budget they can be skipped.

Service here is absolutely horrendous. This is the only time I've ever left a bad review on yelp, and it crushes me that it's a Rick Bayless restaurant cause his regular Chicago locations are incredible. The one at O'Hare at the international terminal is terrible though - a bunch of people standing around playing on their phones while people have crazy wait times for basic food items. Also many things are unavailable every time i am at this location. Something must be going on that causes this location to be very sub par.

Perhaps the best airport restaurant I have ever been to. Got the eggplant torts and their poblano corn soup. Both were great. Service was not slow especially considering the fact that many people were ordering food! Will be my first choice the next time I need to dine in ORD!

TF has some of the best food reviews at O'Hare, and gave us a good lunch: Crispy Chicken Milanesa and Guacomole Cobb Salad. I'd order the same again. Ordered online, and it was ready on time. Thanks, TF.

We ordered cubana, tortilla soup and guacamole and chips. Only the Cubana is good. For the soup and guacamole & chip wayyyyy too salty. Horrible experience.

This spot is always my go-to whenever I have a layover at the O'Hare International Airport. The restaurant is always packed with customers and people lining up. Recently they got a kiosk for people to order if they don't want to stand in line, which I find very helpful! It makes ordering much more efficient as it takes less time compared to standing in line. Additionally it makes it easier for the customers if they pay by card. The only ones I've had are the chipotle chicken and the pork. Both are seasoned well and does not require any salsa, but the salsa definitely kicks it up a notch. It creates this wonderful harmony, balancing everything out. Overall, I'll be coming back whenever I stop by this airport(even if it means I have to run through different terminals to get there).

Yes it's a little pricey $17 for a salad if you add chicken. It was even more when they used to offer shrimp! I eat here because it's consistently fresh and the employees are always busy but very nice. Just FYI from the time you order, not from the time you get in line could take up to 10 minutes to get your food if it's busy.

Delicious! Good amount of food for a decent price (especially for airport standards). Each torta will run you around $13, and the drinks were about $3.70 each. Cubano - Tastiest of the two. Good flavor. You don't really need salsa with it, but we paired it with their red salsa. Chipotle Chicken - Decent sandwich, but it really needs salsa to be delicious. I paired it with the green salsa, and that worked perfectly with it. Mango Lime Fresca - Get this. It's probably something you've never tried before, and it's mind blowingly delicious! Lime Fresca - Also good. I just preferred the mango lime one way more. From previous experiences at Rick Bayless restaurants, I know his guacamole is to die for, but you only get one scoop at the airport for a very high price. If you can afford it, go for it. Otherwise, just try it at a different location.

Nick is an awesome bartender, he made our wait pretty easy, after our flight was delayed for 2 hours. We tried the tortilla and chowder soups, both were really good. Service excellent! Definitely, we will come back

Solid eatery right outside the central food court area of the terminal. Ordering is at a kiosk. Bustling spot so if you're in a rush, may not be the place to order from. There's bar stool seating area with plug sockets for convenience. Loud upbeat Latinx music to accompany your meal.

Totally Frontera is usually so good that I will add 60 minutes to my travel to connect through O'Hare to go there. The Cubana is hot smoky spicy sweet complex perfection. One of my favorite sandwiches in the USA. The Choriqueso is also quite nice but not quite at the Cubana's level. The soups are great - tortilla recommended. The reason I had to subtract a star this time was that the quality was a little lax compared to the past. The avocado was a little mushy/brown, the bread not cooked quite enough, the bacon a little less abundant than usual. Hope they return to form.

Saw the reviews and made a pit stop right before our next flight. I went with the chicken cutlet torta. It took foreeeevver. I ordered my food, and my wife went to grab chinese. She was back with her food pretty quickly and i waited a solid 30 min or more. The torta itself was ok, the cutlet was fried and had a nice crunch while still being moist in the middle. (Albeit a little bland) the salsa they give you is more tangy/sour than spicy. The salad options looked fresh and huge. They were also coming out much quicker than the tortas. If you are on a time crunch , skip this place. There are other, faster, more easily accessible options in the food court.

I'd passed through O'Hare a few months ago and saw this place and it looked cute. Well I found myself traveling through O'Hare again and passed by this place again - it was a sign. You order at their kiosk and it was pretty self explanatory. They had a lot of staff behind the counter but it didn't look like an efficient system as 3-4 workers were just standing idly while 1 person was making all of the tortas. Hence, orders were coming out super slow and a lot of us were huddled around the guy shouting order numbers. He was in a mood for sure. We witnessed him aggressively toss someone's order in the trash b/c they didn't come to the counter fast enough. I got their milanesa torta. The chicken was not only dry, but super bland. where's the flavor? It came with a little cup of salsa and that part was good. It's airport food so you know it was on the pricier side. I couldn't finish my torta so I took it with me on my 10 hour flight. I wouldn't come here again though if I find myself at O'Hare again.

We were looking for an early dinner while we were waiting for our flight. It's common knowledge that airport food is notorious for being overpriced and not really good but we had no choice here. We found Tortas Frontera which surprisingly had a lot of good reviews. There are actually multiple locations in the airport: one in Terminal 1, one in Terminal 5, and another in Terminal 3 (this one). If you didn't know Tortas Frontera was founded by Rick Bayless, and if you're a sports fan he's the brother of Skip Bayless (or as Shannon Sharpe would say, "SKIEEEP"). We ordered the cubana ($13.75) and the chipotle roasted chicken ($13). Between the two I liked the cubana more as it had more flavor and was saltier. I also liked the avocado in it. The portions were on the smaller side but overall it was not bad for airport food. It's going to be a little pricier than you might be comfortable paying but that's to be expected.

Finding good food in O'Hare is always a struggle for me, so I was excited by the local ingredients and crowd at this spot. The line was a bit long for Sunday lunch, but I hopped in and tried the crispy chicken milanesa torta. Thankfully I enjoyed the food! Best I've had at O'Hare thus far. The portion size was perfect, so I was satisfied but didn't feel guilty throwing away a bunch of leftovers. Also love that everything was paper/cardboard recyclable or compostable. Main con is the long wait. I waited at least 20 minutes which wasn't an issue for me at the time, but I will definitely consider in the future. Overall, worth the wait if you have the time for awesome local flavors!

I had a lovely pit stop before my flight great drink to give me a nice chill. Good service nice pause before my connecting flight took off.