What can I say? Moved to Chicago Lawn 4 years ago and did not decide to try this place until a year ago. Why did I wait so long? I wish I knew. They have the best Taco salad. I go for it constantly. The place is always packed. You can smell this place from your car when you pass by. The prices are also very reasonable. I also have tried the tortas, burritos and tacos. They are all good.
One thing that I was confused about was their Mexican nachos. It has nachos, cream, guacamole and cheddar cheese spread all over it. But no beans. Why no beans? This will always be a mystery to me. I did ask the friendly cashier in front and she did not know either. I will just save this one with my life's mysteries next to why does the washing machine and the drier always eat my socks. Never did order the Mexican nachos again, I cannot take so much confusion.
Fantastic al puerco and carne asada tacos and the homemade chips are warm when they hit your table. Â Cheese enchiladas with salsa verde were spot on. Â Friendly and fast service which is saying a lot because the place is packed. Â It's a solid establishment for sure, but top 10 in Chicago I'm not sold.
Review Source:When you know what authentic Mexican food is supposed to taste like it is hard to find a good place. Zacatacos is as close and good as it gets! Been there for breakfast and dinner and its always so yummy. I like this location the best because it always stays busy and therefore the food is always right off the grill since they are consistently cooking. I have been to their Berwyn location and was not too pleased because food was barely warm as if they just tossed in the microwave to re heat it. Most Zacatacos locations are small but hey not all great things come in big packages right? Prices, food quantity, and quality is all very reasonable at this place. Definitely a place that will have you wanting to go back
Review Source:I had to put myself on strike, haven't cooked dinner in 4 days because of this place! Quality and quantity must be nice that this place has both. I have eaten and love doing so the-- chicken taco salad, chicken tacos, chicken tostadas, and the rice and beans. Excellent service and food! Will be back for more!
Review Source:Quick lunch visit to this infamous Southside taqueria went pretty well. Not the biggest place in the world, but able to accommodate the lunch rush. A quick glance of the menu showed plenty of Authentic choices, paired with competitive prices, able to cater to the most sophisticated palate. Went "light" this time, ordering my classic lunch staple Veggie Burrito. Definitely better than most I've tried. Solid rice and beans, cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce... everything in complete harmony with one another, evenly packed inside their above-average sized burrito. Overcooked the tortilla a bit, but I was raised on slightly burnt flour El Milagro's, so it didn't bother me. Service was mostly on top of it, and friendly throughout. I'll bring my appetite next time; hopefully this was a pre-cursor to the coveted 5-star review.
Review Source:Great prices & portion sizes. Best steak I've ever had at a Mexican restaurant. Super fast. SUPER tasty.
The loss of one star for premade tortilla bowls for the taco salad though. It just wasn't as good cold as it would have been made fresh. I would have been willing to wait a bit longer for it.
My friend Alfonso and Galllo introduced me to this place (Gracias). Now every time I visit Chicago, I make sure to stop and eat here. I know Chicago natives talk about Comales being the holly grail of Taquerias but this place is second to none and  much better in my opinion.
This place is nothing fancy but the food is what brings me here. The parking lot is not that big but you can usually find a parking space. The workers usually have the music going in the background. I like the fact that you can see the meat being prepared and cooked over an open fire grill. The staff here is very friendly and they will sit you right away (depending on the size of your group) and how busy it is. Â They usually serve you some chips with Salsa while you wait. They are also very prompt on bringing out your food if that helps.
I recommend the Torta de carne azada, carne azada nachos (beef, cheese, beans, pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream) and tacos  Al pastor. The tacos are big enough where you can just order two or three and be full. I usually order my tacos de al pastor with tomato, cheese and sour cream.
Yes yes yes, this place is small, and to describe it as overcrowded is an understatatement!!! HANDS DOWN, THEY SERVE THE TASTIEST CHARBROILED SKIRT STEAK IN CHICAGO!!!
Not only do they grill the meat to perfection, but combined with the taste it is mouthwatering delicious!! I have been going to ZACA'S for years, since their first location (55th and Pulaski) Since then I have pretty much been to all of their locations (other Chicago, and Berwyn locations) As time has progressed the tacos have gotten smaller, and now they offer homemade chips. I have tried several of their plates their menu offers: taco salad, alpastor tacos, tortas, gorditas etc..it is all oh-so tastey!! I crave it just yelping about it!!
Delicious and authentic Mexican food! Generous portions.
Char-broiled skirt steak by the boat loads. It was noon on Wednesday and there must have been 50 lbs of steak on the charbroiler. I right away knew my order was going to be the Carne Asada dinner. For an extra dollar they will serve it as strips.
Tender and juicy and bursting with flavor. Zacatacos is an a league of their own. Homemade spanish rice is delicious and refried beans are superb. Portions are generous and leftover is inevitable.
I've been to the location on 59th street n I have had their tacos. I visited this location and was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. My bf sat at the counter and both ordered the enchiladas verdes, mine w/ chicken his cheese.
We watched them prepare our food and here is the process
Get tortillas on a plate
Pour the sauce
Fill w/ cheese or chicken
Top with cheese
PUT EM IN THE MICROWAVE ( MY KEY ISSUE)
*Serve to the customer.
I typically get tortas or tacos and the one time I ordered something different this is what they served. Of course it was not good, the chicken was dry and tortilla fell apart.
Never again will I visit this location. If you're gonna go just get the basics...
I don't write restaurant reviews based on one visit or having tasted only a few of their items for the following reason:
I have been here many times and had never been impressed. I have had chicken and beef flautas, they were good but not out of this world. I also tried their steak tacos, not a big fan of them, I have had better steak tacos else where.
But yesterday I was there for lunch and I ordered bistec a la mexicana, it comes with rice, beans and tortillas. Let me tell you that it was very good.
One of my friends had chicken enchiladas on red sauce and they were very good as well.
The service is OK, and the food is good.
Best taco salads in the city (of those I've had). I get the vegetarian taco salad and they give you this great generous slice of avacado on top. Add a bit of salsa verde..YES! They aren't expensive at all, 6 bucks for a 2 sitting taco salad.
And I mean, what else can I say? What? Ya'll want the bad? UGH, fine. The parking lot sucks when it gets crowded. Oh, and they don't sell fish tacos.
I know the tacos are excellent, but I was craving a burrito.
So I got a Burrito dinner with a regular sized horchata.
Felt a bit adventurous, so I had a beef tongue burrito.
They were out of lettuce that night, but no biggy I'm already on gummy fiber supplements.
When the food came out (relatively fast), I felt a bit disappointed at the size of the burrito. "I'm not going to get full off of this."
And I was wrong. After finishing half of the burrito with some rice and beans, I was pretty much full; might be because the lack of lettuce = more MEAT! The rest of my meal I can honestly say I had hit gluttony. I left with the "I'm too effing full and I want to vomit sensation."
Next time, I'll ask for a to-go box..
Very busy restaurant, well-oiled machine for sure. Â If you happen to be in the vicinity and want some tacos, definitely stop in - but you may have to wait. Â We took counter seats, didn't want to wait for a table as the lines were pretty long (we were there at about 2pm on a Saturday). Â Â Complimentary house-made chips and salsas soon arrived (yum!).
I had the tacos de papas dinner, my son had the huge grilled chicken dinner in strips, and the boyfriend had the tacos dinner, and I really like that you can order different kinds of tacos - he had carne asada, papa, and al pastor. Â First of all, the portions were very generous, all orders came with rice and beans, my son's order also came with tortillas and guacamole. Â The tacos that I had were very tasty, which I appreciate because sometimes, tacos de papa can be very bland. Â They were nice and crispy, although a tad greasy (which comes with the territory when ordering any deep fried food I suppose). Â The rice and beans were good, nothing earth-shattering, but they were pretty good!
As for the other orders, all I can say, you know the food is good when the conversation ceases... my boyfriend devoured his food and actually had some of my son's grilled chicken because the portion was so huge! Â
Our server was super nice, always checking in on us - which I appreciate because they were very busy. Â The grand total including drinks was only $28 (not including tip)! Â Great deal! Â
Would I make a special trip out there? Â Probably not, it's pretty far out for me, but next time I am in that part of town I will definitely make a return trip....especially now that Lent it around the corner!
Really? So many four and five star reviews, I guess something must be wrong with my taste buds. I found the food pretty good, nothing to run across town for with all the choices in Chicago.
The pricing is okay, if you want flour tortillas or avocado on them add for those, and all of the sudden the taco isn't that cheap anymore.
Service was fast and friendly, no bones about that. If I were in the area and wanted some tacos I'd go back, however make a special trip, no. I just don't get all the hype.
Worth the drive from Evanston to the South Side! The steak is char-grilled with a lovely seasoning and splashes of lime. All this for $5.75. Â Sometimes if I'm feeling really hungry I get a hit of extra steak which you can get for a buck and change.
This place makes all other nachos taste like ass.
I (heart) Zaca Tacos! (Only the one on 71st and Pulaski. The other one on 50-something and Pulaski isn't as good. Yeah, I said it.).
Zacatacos is always packed with Hispanic folks, police officers and city personnel for a reason--the food is terrific.
Now it is not the most delightful setting or ambiance, but the food is so delicious and authentic--it is worth it. It is your typical "eat and walk" sorta place. It always is crowded but somehow balances out where you can sit down in 2-10 minutes and order, and be served quickly.
Their pork is amazing and you see it on a spit topped with pineapple when you enter--fantastic. I'm hungry just thinking about it.
My favorite is the tacos el pastor, with lettuce/tomato/cheese, add avocado. My guy likes tacos more standard, with meat, onion and cilantro. Either way, they are fantastic and delicious. For $20 two people can have a complete feast here, so it is one of our favorite lunchtime places.
On another new taqueria expedition, we discovered this place from a little internet research and friends' random recommendations.
The place was pretty busy on this Saturday night, but we still got a table in less that 5 minutes. There is also amply parking at this location, too.
1. tacos de carne asada - steak is juicy and flavorful, very tasty.
2. tacos al pastor - sweeter than i'm used to, but very delicious. I believe they have pineapple cooking with the al pastor in the spit.
We will visit again when in the area.... for sure !
I'd imagine the taco's in the afterlife taste like this.
At least, I'd hope so.
Zacatacos rules, It is the king-kong of tacos. The Cadillac of Horchata, The Frank Sinatra of rice and beans.
Seriously, I wish I was eating there instead of writing a love letter on yelp about the place.
The restaurant itself is setup awesome, witnessing the massive amount of steak cooked on the grill is exciting and oddly sensual? Whoa. going a little overboard.
Any who, Best tacos in Chicago.
Wooo!!
tacos de papa are DELISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Â Any tacos you have at this place is great. By far my favorite taco place in all of chicago. They cook their meat on flame grills so during winter, that hot smoking meat is smellable from blocks away. Â However, this is one of the few places in chicago that offers tacos de papa. Â Any zacatacos is good, I've tried all locations. all carry the same quality through out.
Great taco place people!!!! I highly recommend it!
I'll be on my search for the best carne asado taco in the City...
Zacatacos will be in the running.
Its freshly grilled
Juicy tender charbroiled marinated steak, PILED onto a tortilla with cilantro and onion. 2 bucks
Perfect.
(Al pastor tacos are fantastic too, very flavorful marinade, cooked on a pineapple spit just like when i had them in mexico - not as sweet as there though)
When you order steak nachos here, they give you enough for like four people - just piled with a ridiculous amount of steak, guacamole, cheese and more cheese and pickled jalapenos. For like $6!  And  I don't know about you, but when I want delicious steak nachos, I want enough for about four people.
The parking lot is the devil's obstacle course, but it's totally worth it.
My friend first told me about this place and she would go every sunday after church. I said well if it as good as she says it is then, let me try them out. I went to the 71st/midway location and the first thing I tought was that it was extremely small. It still didnt deter me from trying the food.
It is crowded on most days but, you usually get a seat pretty quick and take-out is a breeze. I ordered the 5 tacos dinner with rice, beans, guacamole, and a sangria...
I thought the portions would be small but, I was suprised.. It was very good and afforable.. You definitely get your monies worth of food here..
I have been over ten times and keep going back for more!!
My friend wanted to take me out for some casual Mexican dining. Zacatacos is sort of like a diner, so the dishes are basic but pretty tasty and filling. Our waitress was very friendly and efficient, despite the fairly crowded scene on a cool Sunday night. I ordered a plate of mole chicken, with rice, beans and corn tortillas. The chunks of chicken were plentiful, and they were slathered with a mole sauce that was good but not too spicy for my sensitive taste buds. My friend had a robust burrito with meat that seemed to be spilling out onto her plate (she saved the second half to go). We also enjoyed the free plate of chips, along with our beverages (horchata for me, coffee for her). I hear the tacos are very good too. This Zacatacos location is off South Pulaski, not that far from Midway Airport.
Review Source:This place has the best steak tacos!  The meat is marinated in lime then char-broiled to perfection.  Not greasy like some places!  This place was voted top 5 in Chicago.  Major mistake, they should  be 1st place!  They serve complimentary chips & two types of salsa. I've tried several items on the menu but the tacos are the way to go.  The tacos are big so most folks eat  two.  They also serve Jarritos (Mexican flavored soft drinks) that go very well with the tacos.
As far as ambiance, it's a cafeteria setting with friendly waitresses. Â Very casual. Â They have ample seating and parking. Â However, on weekends or during lunch time it's busy and you might have to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. Â Worth the wait. Â
I have friends from out of town who come to  "visit" but I know it's for the tacos.
There's two Zacataco locations on Pulaski. Â The one on 71st is better because of the seating and parking.
Average cost per person $5-7 including soft drinks.
As Nia has mentioned, this place is pretty small. Â We were going to sit by the counter because there were no available tables. Â The owner didn't let us sit there and cleared a table for us in no time. Â Glad to be a girl. Â Right away we got some chips which I love eating w/ lime. Â I ordered simple like all the other places that I've steak taco and chorizo taco. Â I couldn't finish the chorizo taco, damn was it spicy. Â My friend had the chicken platter which was cut into some strips which seemed to be marinated in lime and then cooked on the grill. Â
I thought that the service needed some work, I had to go to the counter to get another lemonade. Â When it was time to pay, the owner decided to give us the drinks for free. Â Hey something is something.
Y'all don't know  NUTHIN' about this right heah! This Zacatacos is the muhfuggin' business. According to a member of my dining party* regarding the kickass steak nachos, "Oh my god, the one by me [on Pulaski] doesn't put THAT much meat on!"
The restaurant is pretty small, and even when I went, shortly before closing on a Friday, it was packed. The food? Delicious and fresh. Watch them grill up the meat--they've got that lime marinade down to a science. Staff is super cool, very friendly. The ChiPD seems to love the place--half the local force was grubbing the night I went, so if you have a thing for the fuzz, stake out a booth, I guess.
*Dining party: 5 women, 2 bottles of Malibu, 2 six packs of beer, a single 24 oz.Tecate ('cause you know somebody just HAS to be different), Breakin' AND Breakin' II, all the hits of the '80s plus some house nonsense, and three MASSIVE FUCKING ORDERS OF STEAK NACHOS (heaped with industrial yellow cheez, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, and roughly a pound of steak per order) = girls' night in like it was MEANT TO BE.
Keep your Julia Roberts dross, Yellow Tail chardonnay and chocolates, Trixies! REAL WOMEN GET GULLY WITH THE BEEFSTEAK.
Okay, I don't actually know what "gully" means in this or any context, but it sounded good at the time.
It has been at least 8 hours since I had a drink. Really.
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