This place/location is starting to become my favorite Hispanic food place. In the last few months, I started coming here almost every 2 weeks for lunch.
Service:
If you are looking for a waiter to ask how you are feeling, then you probably might want to skip this place. No real chit chat. Â Clienteles tend to be mainly Hispanic at this place. However, you could be Hispanic or Eskimo and would be treated the same.
They do try to cater to what you like. My friend always request her Michelada to be made a certain ways and the staffs seem to be perfectly fine with it. Â Just like anywhere, be respectful and you will get better than average service. A smile or a thank you goes a long way and this place is no exception.
Food/Drinks (I don't know how to spell most of the drinks/foods):
The popular Michedala is quite good but I only get it once in awhile. I'm not a big fan of salty sour drink. Â I'm more into sweet citrus type. They offer some fun/creative and tasty drinks beside the Michedala. I haven't checked their margarita but I intend to the next time I dine at Islas.
They offer ceviche and chip instead of chip and salsa to start you off. Perfectly fine with me since it's quite fresh.
I kind of like the rice they offer here. It's moist white rice cooked with garlic, onion, and few other ingredients which I can't remember atm. It's kind of like Greek rice. Â Some of the foods tend to be on the salty side. High blood pressure people be careful. :)
Most of the seafoods will come with eyes/heads still intact. If that ruin your appetite, then you might want to skip this place and go to Red Lobster. Beside that, they give a lot of food. You will be full when you walk out. Or maybe my friend and I are just pigs and we like to place big orders. 2 happy piggies :)
Foods sometime take a bit long to arrive but it's worth it, imo.
Place:
It's just a normal place that is a bit small. They have about 8tables. They do have an extension that could probably offer another 8tables. Nothing fancy here. It doesn't get really pack when I stop by but I normally come here during the weekday for lunch. I heard it get really packed on the weekend and week night.
Overall, just a relaxing place that offer delicious foods. Nothing extra and nothing less.
Uploaded a picture. I think the picture will sum up Islas better than my rant review.
Went here for my mother in laws birthday as well as my husbands birthday. People rave about how good this place is. I was not impressed at all. I think this place is just well known for there micheladas! But I do have to say there really good!
we kept getting different waitress's. So of course they had no idea what we were getting cause with every waitress we ordered something. And when another waitress came along and we asked for our appetizers she looked at us like we had seven heads.
When we ordered the appetizers we ordered our kids meals as well. So they could get a head start. We only got one of our appetizers. By the time we finished it, my daughters shrimp cocktail came out (the juice was to sweet and not very good)
After waiting a good 30min for our other appetizers we told the waitress to cancel that and we're ready to order dinner.
(Meanwhile, my boys meals were still not given to us)
We ordered dinner all at the same time.
30min later 2dinners come out. While the other 3 were not out not including my boys meals.
Then after more waiting we finally got the other dinners. BUT STILL NO FOOD FOR MY BOYS!!!!!!!! FCKN IRRITATING!!!! So I kept my cool we asked about the boys meals the waitress looked confused when we placed it with her.
Ugh, just typing this is pissing me off
Overall you have an idea over my experience!!!! TERRIBLE!!!!!!
My husbands fajitas were good but no tortillas were given with them. WTF?
My shrimp cocktail was not great either the juice was really sweet. The only thing that kept me calm was my piña colada, :-) michelada and the mariachi!
I wont go back and if I do it would be for the micheladas only which will be at the bar! But not anytime in the near future, that's for sure!!!!!!
Terrible place!!!!!!!!!!!!
So far the best of all Islas Marias in Chicago. Try the crawfish "langostinos" this is the dish to die for. I don't really know why some people complained about the food in this place in case they don't know this is not the typical American seafood restaurant in fact is one of many mexican style seafood, Nayarit to be exacts. If you can not deal with spicy or the real look of a fish don't go here keep driving until you find red lobster or something similar.
Review Source:On May 1 we went here to celebrate a Birthday thinking it was going to be great like most reviews... I think Not! We called ahead the Monday prior trying to make reservation for Mariachi and a group of 16 . They told me they don't take reservations and to call the morning of and it will be set. I called at 9 since the person who answered the phone said they would be open to find out Ooooo they weren't open .... then we tell them we will be there at 630 and need the Mariachi to be there and we get there to find out the Mariachis left!!!! Was I livid ! They were supposed to sing happy birthday and all and that never happened. I asked to speak with the manager and he tells me I should have made a reservation prior and I was supposed to put a deposit for the Mariachi.. here's a piece of advice make sure when you can talk to someone who understands both Spanish and English because I spoke both and still ruined it all! To top it off the waitress was rude and oh ya she was the only one attending our table..... great job! Â NOT!
S.N. THANKS FOR THE DRY FAJITAS!
Saturday night Pachanga night!! SO I meet up with My main man Leo and his cousin for some cervezas and a bite. They were already at the bar of this establishment enjoying some Modelo's! and Michelada's! If you dont know what a Modelo or a Michelada is then stop reading now.
Ok, See what I did there!? Â I put up a hipster Filter mechanism....ha!
Drunk Mexicans at the bar blowing of their weeks paycheck on beer and Live table side Mariachis.....check!
Awesome Ceviche...check
The Shrimp empanadas and the sauce accompannying them..DAMN!!
Oysters for me and mi compadres...checketie check check check!
Go early or really late as it gets crowded.!
Shake & bake seal of approval!
Hipster infestation level: -10 Yeap a negative...........Drunk Mexicans loud Mariachi singing and carnivorous seafood  eating West of Pulaski = Skaaarryyyy! Boooooooo!
OK Place to eat sea food. I have only had a number of things so il only be rating based on what I ate so far.
Parilla de 7 mares
7 Mares soup
Shrimp Cocktail ( Not a huge fan, but they are fresh. I think they could do a better mix of their juice for the shrimps, its too light )
Fresh lemonade, real good
Ceviche that comes as a table side is really fresh and good.
Their staff is pretty good about attending in service, its an OK place thats in the middle of Chicago's West side.
Great seafood, reasonably priced -neighborhood atmosphere and to die for complimentary cerviche..whats not to love ? Â If u are looking for a "yuppie" seafood place, keep driving til u hit the nearest Red Lobster -but if u want a large choice of fresh seafood dishes-including a good 8 or 9 different ways to eat shrimp..(try the diablo is my recommendation).great empanadas and no frills good service at a great price give this place a try.
Review Source:I felt like I had to chime in - I would agree that most places that aren't spanish (Spain spanish, not Mexican) don't serve very good paella, and most times, it isn't paella at all but just a mixed rice dish. Â Spain is known for great paella, not so much Mexico. Â I'd steer clear of any paella, at any restaurant, unless it's known for the dish, and I'm saying this because I've been let down too many times. Â
Having said that, I think this place has delicious seafood. Â They are known for their "langostinos", or langoustines, and they are sooo good. Â They have this slightly spicy sauce that you just want to lick off the plate. Â My husband got the carne asada, and it was extremely tender with a nice seasoned char. Â Shrimp empanadas were fresh and tasted homemade. Â And, the portions are huge! Â I wouldn't bother with the mixed drinks - my pina colada tasted like a candied milkshake - but I definitely recommend this place for reasonably priced seafood. Â Next time I'm ordering the snapper! Â I'd also like to check out the other locations.
This is one of my favorite places for real, true mariscos. Â I lived in LA for a year and this food brings me back to the great whole-in-the-wall mariscos restaurants in East LA. Â The food comes out on huge platters and the portions are gigantic.
I always order the laungestinas (sp) because they are to die for! Â My mom always orders the fish soup, and she claims that there is no better place in the city ot get it.
Enjoy!
I came here for a friend's birthday and boy was it delicious. I'm not sure why the other reviews aren't so hot because I had a great experience.
It is important to like mariscos when you go, because that's pretty much all they have, but it's done right. The waitress told us that the first Islas Marias was in LA which makes sense because it has a beachy/California feel somehow.
We all got different entrees and shared it family style which was a good way to go. The cocktail was amazing.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience.
My husband and I were always curious about this place after driving by the one further over on Grand (near the Brickyard Mall) and decided to give it a try, figuring the crowds must mean the food is good. Â We were wrong.
I got the seafood paella plate and could barely eat any of it - the rice was nasty - the kind of rice you would see on a "pilaf" offering at your typical family restaurant. Â Then, the seafood on top was not "eater-friendly". Â We're talking crab in the shell (which when I did get it out, was not very good qulity), scary crawfish with their feelers and eyes and legs. Â Not something I am into deconstructing - especially when I had no "discard" plate and table barely fit our meals and drinks.
I don't even remember what my husband ordered - I was so distracted  by the aquarium on top of my rice.  I do recall that he thought the food lacked flavor - suprising as we were the only caucasians in the restaurant - this was not like being at Pepe's where the reverse is true and you expect watered-down food.
We have not been back and every time we pass one (I've seen more and more) I wonder what it is that packs the people in?
I met some friends at Las Islas Marias on a rainy Sunday night and we were surprised to find out crowded it was. Â We opted to sit in the bar because we could order from the menu there, and there were seats available. I was excited about a good margarita, unfortunately there wasn't one... they were served in large goblets (though there is a smaller one available) for a whopping $10, which I don't mind paying if they're made by hand and are delicious. Â These however, came from a machine and were sour and boring. My friend ordered a steak which he was told once all of our food arrived, was unavailable. I ordered the small portion of seafood paella and...where do I start... it was pictured in the menu in a paella pan, so I was excited about that idea. Â However it arrived in a large terra cotta bowl and looked more like a loose seafood risotto than paella. It was very salty, and while there was loads of seafood in it, the saltiness took over the flavors. I ordered a bottle of Mexican Coke (cane sugar, not corn syrup - it's excellent and hard to find) but it never arrived, a can did instead so I drank that rather than attempt to get another. They brought us some ceveche with chips and very hot green salsa as a complimentary starter (which they do for everyone), which was really great especially with some lime, however the shrimp empanadas were pretty boring. Â Overall, I most likely wouldn't go back, but the place was very crowded and I have to believe that means there are good things there - I just didn't have any of them.
**also, Yelp has it listed in Humbolt Park, which you can tell by the address is wrong. Â It's actually on the north side of Galewood**
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