Let's talk salsa. I'm not too big on chunky salsa and salsa that is so spicy, you can't taste anything but red-hot-fire-call-an-ambulance. The (red) salsa they serve at Cocina Lobos is perfect for me. So much so that I'm probably going back this week and order a couple containers of it. It's that good. It's like a tomato puree probably with green peppers, chilies, onions and other spices. It's got a nice orange-red color and a spice level that is enough to give a kick upon first taste but it doesn't make you grab a drink right away.
The Nacho de los Lobos is HUGE and comes out piping hot. I love that they throw in black olives in there. I've also tried the enchiladas and chimichangas and they're both delicious. The soup they serve before every meal is a highlight. It's a simple chicken broth with large chunks of carrots, zucchini and celery. I don't know how such a soup could be so simple yet brimming with flavor. It's phenomenal.
If you're a michelada fan order one here. The best one I've ever tasted was made here.
I came here with my dad and brother once. It's pretty nice. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fun. The service was great as far as I can remember. I'll have to go back so I can update my review. Also, last time I went I wasn't 21. I can't wait to go back now and try their margaritas : )
Review Source:Went here for dinner tonight. I've been there a couple times now and I have always had a good experience. The food is good, and the staff is friendly, and it is actually pretty cheap. Tuesdays are $1 tacos and I think young kids eat free every day. The salsa is alright, and the margaritas are good. It is never ever packed in here. So if you are looking for a Mexican place that is not too loud, this is the place to go.
Review Source:This place was pretty dead on a Friday night. My friends and I came here and we wanted some Mexican food. The servers were really nice. Good service but the food was a bit less than average. I had a grande burrito dinner which was okay. Nothing spectacular about it. My friend had a tostada dinner but it didn't seem like she liked hers as much. She kept saying it was a regular 3 star restaurant. My other friend ordered a flan and she didn't like it. She only had a spoonful then left the rest. She said the texture of it felt strange. It was too thick for her liking. One of the servers came by to ask my friend what was wrong with it and my friend said it was too thick. He apologized for it but didn't really offer her anything else for the replacement but it's alright. Overall I wouldn't go back again. Pretty dead for the type of "nightlife" Yelp claimed it to me..we were probly one of the couple customers there that night.
Review Source:I would eat here more often if I lived closer. But I have friends who are regulars. I've always gotten friendly service, have never had a complaint here.
I like the margaritas. Big. Tasty. Limey. Tequila-y. The strawberry daiquiris are also good, but I'm a margarita girl. Their enchiladas are a lil spicy, which makes me happy (not hot, but a nice kick). And the nacho plate is huge. And they have damn good salsa. It's the kind you keep asking for more.
After eating the delicious steak tacos from their stand at the Forest Park Summer fest we had to give Cocina a try.
We were warmly greeted by the staff. Â Our waiter was very accomodating; I could not decide what to drink and he convinced me to try the $2.75 sangria special. Â I am glad I did. Â My husband absolutely loved their regular margaritas.
The food is good for the economically friendly prices.
We are looking forward to our next visit.
This is probably more my other half's review than it is mine because he was like, blown away by this place - or at least the particular dish he ordered. Â We had our first Cocina de los Lobos experience at Summerfest when we tried their DELICIOUS tacos (they were so kind as to make mine vegetarian). Â We decided that since them tacos were so good, we'd have to try the restaurant which we did for a late dinner tonight. Â
Chips and salsa were good.m  I preferred the red salsa to the green which is pretty par for the course for me.  They serve Coke products which is a MAJOR bonus in my eyes.  We ordered the queso dip which made me crave a visit to the gym after I had my first bite.  Very tasty, though.  I are more than I should have.  Other half ordered the Hungry Wolf steak and eggs or something which he thought was absolutely delicious.  He said it smelled like real Mexican food (and he's Mexican) so make of that what you will.  I'm just the messenger.
I had the vegetarian combo or something. Â I honestly don't even remember what it consisted of. Â An avocado burrito, chile relleno and a cheese enchilada I think? Â It was good. Â I liked it. Â I didn't eat much though because I was pretty full from the chips and queso dip which (was served with tortillas so I felt especially full). Â
They also brought out a cup of their chicken soup which sadly I couldn't eat. Â I took it to go and gave it to my aunt who raved about it after she ate it so I guess it's tasty. Â
I behaved myself and didn't order any beverages of the alcoholic persuasion so alas, I cannot offer an opinion on that. Â
Our waittress was very sweet and very attentive. Â There were only 3 other occupied tables while we were there so it was also more on the quiet side which is nice. Â I actually don't know why that even matters to me because we don't talk much when we eat but whatever. Â
The other half said he would definitely go back.
Cocina de los Lobos, with its narrow store front and overshadowing by Healy's, is easy to pass up. But don't.
I went with some coworkers recently for Cinco De Mayo. At 4pm, it was quite empty and we were warmly welcomed by staff. Service was really laid back, however, hospitable. A kind gentleman  let me sample the different margaritas. I went with the house margarita.
Because the prices are so reasonable, we ordered a variety of appetizers. For me, the Queso Fundido with Chorizo stole the show. Additionally, they serve a red salsa which is sweet, creamy, and savory all at the same time. Really different than the typical salsas I am used to. Their chips are equally worthwhile-crisp, light and fresh.
I'm not gonna lie, it was hard for me to share that Queso Fundido with so many.
A couple days later........................I was back. A little embarrassing that I could not stop thinking about their food! Â I had the same waiter, who was again so welcoming. Cocina de los Lobos-what a gem!
I have to do it, I've eaten here many times, too many. I think afer the first  my friend and I said never again, my friend stuck to his word, so I have to write this review. Why haven't I stayed away?? Well I live around the corner, so to be able to walk & find decent  Mexican would be nice. I'm very convinced that this food is not freshly prepared nor is it authentic. This establishment and the bar next to it share the same kitchen. Your food comes out faster than Jimmy Johns.......and your plate is super hot, your server will tell you so leaving me to believe the plate with maybe frozen food goes into the oven. My chile rellanos cheese was like milk on my plate, just melted beyond recognition.
Other times we've had subpar service, margaritas are nothing special.
The 3 dollar margarita night is ok. Â The food is hit and miss, as is the service. Â We are at entry level table service here, and you sure can tell. Â Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed. Â
I have had the salsa and thought it was ok, and I am somewhat of a salsa snob.
We just had our class reunion here a couple weekends ago.  It's a nice space to have a private party.  The price was reasonable and Mark (the owner) was willing to work with us to give us a good deal.  If we had a decent turn out he was going to close down the restaurant for us.  We had less than we thought so he said he would section off an area for us.  When we got there our section was actually  of the restaurant which was nice.  They set up the appetizers right away and then food to follow.  The drink package was decent (wines, beers, well liquor drinks for 3 hrs) and food selection was pretty big.  I've been here before for their $1 taco night and regular dinner which was really good.  The food they served at our reunion was decent (not really Mexican, but I think it was from Healy's next door - quesadillas, cheese sticks, wings, beef sandwiches, deli sandwiches, salad).  Only complaint from people was the grilled chicken breast was not so good and very rubbery.  But overall, everything went smoothly and they were very accommodating.
Review Source:We went on a Friday night and it was pretty empty. The service was nice and moderately speedy. Unfortunately the food was not as great. With the exception of some fantastic quesadillas, the fare was bland and underwhelming. Fortunately, there were plenty of fruity alcoholic beverages to distract us. Try it in a pinch, but you're better off elsewhere.
Review Source:Picture this: It's Friday evening, on a street known for its bustling bar scene. With a hankering for margaritas, a friend and I stopped at Cocina de los Lobos. Oh, how I wish we had just gone to Chipotle. We were so disappointed! How? Let me list the ways:
1. The Margaritas: Too much margarita mix (it was obviously from a mix) and too little tequila. Also, I asked for it on the rocks and I got maybe four pieces of ice. My friend didn't have any complaints about her strawberry daiquiri, so if that's your drink of choice, this is your kind of place.
2.The "Salsa:" I use quotation marks here because I SWEAR one of the salsas was marinara sauce. The other was your basic salsa verde, but both were bland and nearly tasteless. The chips weren't much better.
3. The Food: We ordered a queso fundido appetizer and while it looked great, it was gritty and stringy cheese melted to a crisp over very little else. It was queso not-so-fundido. For main dishes, we both ordered chicken enchiladas. They tasted exactly like the enchiladas I've had out of a frozen Lean Cuisine box. Dry, bland, and I ate maybe 4-5 bites and declared I was finished. And my parents call me a garbage disposal, so these were pretty terrible for me not to finish them.
4. The Service: Perhaps our first sign that this place wasn't so great should have been that it was more than half empty, but even considering that, the service should have been pretty spot-on. It wasn't. I felt rushed by them, which didn't make sense since the place was bare. Also, they were just s-l-o-w.
I can't recommend this place for anything other than if you're already drunk and need a good strawberry daquiri. I haven't had it in a while, but I think Taco Bell might be have better food than this place. Eat at your own risk!
Cocina Lobos is a neighborhood place for me and I love it. Â Besides location I give props to the exceptional service. The staff is always attentive and friendly. Â It's a great place to go for drinks and appetizers or their complimentary homemade salsas and tortillla chips. Â Also terrific for lunch or dinner. Â The queso fundido with chorizo is AMAZING. Â The trio lobos dinner combining grilled chicken, steak, chorizo and fajita style veggies is also excellent. Â I don't think one can go wrong with Cocina Lobos. Â Especially nice when the weather is wonderful and the floor to ceiling windows overlooking Madison St. are open - just beautiful.
Review Source:Last August I was drinking heavily in Wrigleyville after a Cubs game. I continued to do this for quite a few hours. So many, in fact, that I ended up tripping over the bumps in the sidewalk where it meets the street. I tore up my arm pretty bad. My friends and I still laugh about this part of the evening, but not the part about Cocina de los Lobos.
Instead of going to a hospital, I made our DD drive us back to Oak Park where we got some first aid goodies from CVS and in my friend's bathroom we cleaned my gaping wound off and bandaged it up. I really should have gone to the hospital, but for some reason it made more sense to go to this restaurant.
The food was not great. I can't comment on the service because that poor waiter could hardly keep his eyeballs off my disintegrated elbow and that sort of thing tends to skew one's attention span. I do remember it was basically empty in there and he did come by our table often. I might have asked him at one point, "Is this what we're eating?" I know I kept wondering that and asking my friends. They kept assuring me that this was dinner.
I had the thought, "Maybe I don't think this food is great because I am dying through my elbow," but the next day the friends I had been eating with agreed that the food wasn't great. I opened the fridge and found a leftover box of Mexican food which had not been there the day before. I tasted it and it was not great. I put it in a Wok with some fresh red pepper, a scrambled up egg, and a little Tobasco sauce. It was much better.
In summary: I ripped a four-inch-long hole in my elbow one time, and the most disappointing part of that day was this food.
when i lived in forest park, this was my go-to spot for mexican.... the servers are super friendly, food is great, ambiance is tcha-tchky (sp?), but charming, and the price is totally manageable.
the salsa duo they bring with the chips needs to be available for purchase to-go. it's that good. and the soup you get before your dinner is always such a tasty treat (my recc - crumble some of those tortilla chips on top, yummm). everything i've had here is good, including their margaritas.
for my friends and i who play the city versus suburb game, this is a perfect spot for a compromise.
I went here with my family and I all of us liked it. Â The margaritas are GREAT. Â I think it is hard to find a really good margarita that is not made with a mix and this place defiantly passed my test. Â They also have a good selection of Mexican beers beyond just Modelo and Pacifico.
The food was also good. Â Everyone in my family was really happy with their dinners. Â I ordered the Carne Asada and I it tasted great, but not too authentic. Â I am used to the homemade flap-steak kind and this was a different cut of meat. Â Despite that, it was cook really well, so I didn't leave too upset. Â It just wasn't what I was expecting. Â
I would defiantly go again.
6 of us came here for dinner after a recital at nearby St. John Lutheran Church. Â we just kinda hungry; although one of the group was really hungry. Â too bad for her because we waited for what seemed like an eternity for our food. Â it appeared as though only one guy was tending bar, waiting tables, and seating guests. Â the kitchen staff didn't appear to be all too eager to churn out food either. Â as i headed towards the mens room to wash my hands, i saw some guy looking through the window in the kitchen door at the restaurant's eating area with a blank stare on his face. Â creepy. Â
the food ended up being tasty at best. Â the chef was heavy-handed on the salt, that's for sure. Â the chicken soup was pretty good. Â i had the mexican steak platter which was pretty darn good.
our waiter/host/barkeep was none too quick to take our order, get us drink refills, or get our food to us. Â he was quick to bring us our check at the end however.
i'm really stretching it to give this place 3 stars as the food definitely is carrying the weight of the review. Â the service was regrettably subpar. Â good thing it was slow because we would've likely walked if it took any longer to get our food.
My wife and I love this place. After living in Forest Park a couple years and now in Oak Park, this has always been one of the most reliable and reasonably priced in the OPRF area. Its owned by same people that own the bar directly next door (Healy's)
Its nothing amazingly authentic but the waitstaff is cheery and they have good, strong margaritas. Another thing I like about this place is that it's never packed and you can always get a table.
Hubby and I headed over there this evening since it's $3 margaritas on Wednesdays. Â We recently moved to Forest Park so we're slowly trying out all the restaurants. Â I figured why not hit up the (seemingly) one Mexican place in Forest Park when they are attempting to ply you with booze.
They were extremely friendly when we walked in the door. Â There were only two other tables seated and several people at the bar. Â I suppose Wednesday night at 7:15 is not prime dining-out time even when the Cubs are playing. Â They let us pick our table and menus, a lit candle, chips and salsa, and water were quickly deployed.
The server appeared quickly to take our drink orders. Â Both hubby and I ordered the $3 margarita. Â It was exactly what I wanted. Â Cheap but not skimpy on the tequila. Â
I did take a while for the waiter to return to take our food order even though we had closed our menus. Â I think another staff person had to remind him that we were ready to order. Â It looked as though our waiter was engrossed in the Cubs game. Â I guess I can't blame him. Â I didn't mind waiting, though, because it gave me a chance to continue sampling the very tasty salsa that was served with our chips. Â
Once he took our order a very delicious chicken soup appeared on our table moments later. Â I didn't know our order came with chicken soup and was pleasantly surprised. Â Our entree arrived fairly quickly and was very tasty. Â It was the first time I'd tried mole sauce and I found it to be quite palatable. Â Of course, since it was my first time trying it I have no idea if it was sub-par, par or fantastic. Â If it tells you anything, I ate all of it with no complaints. Â Hubby also enjoyed his food, too. Â
The waiter left us alone til we were almost finished with our meal which I actually appreciate. Â He asked me if I wanted another margarita. Â Of course I said yes. Â Who cares that it's a Wednesday? I was very pleased to find that both times they remembered to leave the salt off the glass. Â Lots of places ignore that request.
Once our empty plates were cleared we did sit for awhile while I nursed my margarita and munched on the left over chips. Â They didn't seem to be in any hurry to bring us the bill. Â Very European of them. Â I wasn't in a hurry so I didn't care. Â Once my husband motioned to the waiter, though, our bill was brought and dealt with post-haste.
Overall, I will definitely come back here. Â Granted, I'm new to the Chicago area and haven't eaten at many restaurants so I don't know fantastic from a hole in the ground, but this place was tasty, the service was perfect for what I wanted, and the drinks were wonderfully priced.
Have been to this restaurant twice. Â Notice I said "been" not "eaten". Â
First time, the food was surprisingly good and service was passable. Â The waitress was a space cadet but did ok by us. Â As Joshua M said, I wouldn't make a special trip there, but if were in FP around dinner time and that was the place to go, I'd go.
Went a second time cause we struck out at Caffe De Luca down the block. Â A man dropped off menus, chips/salsa, and water... Â but never said a word to us. Â Tried to stop him the third trip to order drinks but he walked away.
We got thru most of the chips and water... Â watched the man enter four tickets of tables that had ALREADY LEFT, while some 10 year old kid bussed tables (not the high tops). Â After about 15 minutes we saw how this was going to go and got up to leave.
On the way out the bartender(?) said sorry about the wait. Â Whatev...
After eating here this place will fall into the category of: would not specifically seek this place out to eat there again, but not put up a tremendous fuss if that's what other people I was with wanted to do. Â The food was so-so... nothing really spectacular. Â The biggest hit was really the salsa. Â The service started out alright, but we waited for ever to get our check and it was not at all busy.
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