Review Tuco And Blondie - Chicago

Had a great dinner at Tuco yesterday for a friend’s birthday. I have Celiac and the restaurant did a great job of making sure my meal was gluten-free! To start, the complimentary chips and salsa are gluten free. I ordered the chicken tinga tacos and a classic margarita. Both delish! Good portion size for the money - I have some leftovers so I can enjoy the meal again! Service was fast and elegant. We had to wait 20 min for a table, but that’s expected for a Friday night. They did not take reservations over the phone. Good ambience. It was a bit loud, but that speaks to the busyness of the restaurant. Overall, a great experience!

Really great food and sat on the patio! Had some wings, a few tacos and some nachos that we split with my wife and some friends that hung out here. Not too far from the Addison Brown Line stop and some pretty good staff that were friendly and hospitable!

First time here. Was able to get an outside table without any wait even though the place was very crowded. They have lots of seating. The outdoors seating is really nice, they even have a bar in the corner. We had the Taco combo and drinks. No complaints. Our drinks were just okay though.

We met here with a group of about 16 to celebrate a court victory. The staff was amazing—kept the (delicious) food and drinks coming, without being inn the least intrusive. Very friendly and accommodating to our large group. The only downside is that there is no separate room or space so we were seated on the middle of all the other diners. It was nice early, but later as the restaurant filled, it became quite noisy. Not the place to go for quiet conversation, but a great place to go with a group that wants to have a good time!

Ordered delivery of 3 tacos (fish chicken tinga, al pastor) and a steak fajita. The fish taco wasn't great, but the rest of the food were okay.

The drinks were the bomb. The food was good but not the greatest. Will definitely will come back for drinks and shrimp 🌮

A short walk from the red line you’ll find the best fajitas in Chicago. There are other things on the menu, and they may be good, but I was told the fajitas were the best around. And they are. Interior Design sports a cool wall, lighting and a fun vibe.

We stopped by for a drink and some snacks. The drinks were pretty good. We ordered a pitcher of the mezcal margarita. Chips were good! I wish their salsa was spicier, pretty bland. Sat at the bar and the bartender was friendly, but seemed a little overwhelmed.

Our server was friendly , drinks and food came out pretty quickly although it was a busy night . I would definitely recommend Tuco Blondie salad ! Probably the best salad I ever had , you gotta try it .

Awesome drinks and food. Great outdoor seating. Update! We stopped by last night to get deserts. End up having some Mahi-Mahi tacos, drinks and desert. Place was packed and the greeter told us about 15 mins. Five minutes later we got a table. Taylor our server was amazing. Very attentive and we took her suggestions. All in all, it's a great place to unwind with family and friends.

Very quality food and service crew had fish tacos and shrimp tacos. They were great and the service was very good too. We ate outside which made it very very nice on a beautiful afternoon. Everything was just perfect.

What a cute place! Very nice outdoor seating area abs very kid friendly! Food was excellent!

4/5 on the dude rating! Tacos were good. I got the Tijuana picnic which had 1 each of every taco!! Threw those babys back fast! The pineapple al pastor was my favorite! The fajitas were good but needed more meat in my opinion for steak and shrimp. They were good also though! Regular Margarita a little too sweet for my liking but that didn’t stop me. The others I was with liked them though. This bar used to be Justin’s before it became Tuco and Blondie. I have fond memories at this location.

This place was amazing!! The tacos, guac, and margaritas were delicious. Our server, Alec, was extremely friendly and quick. The overall ambience of the patio was relaxing. I would 100% recommend going here.

Reserved a table for 6 on cinco de Mayo. We were told 45 min. Almost two hours later our table was ready. Server was great. Food was delicous, as were the drinks! It is a pretty noisy place though. So no business meetings.

Comfort food for the family, this place is easy to hit all the time. Indoor and outdoor seating both very good in space and ambience. Fajitas rule. Kids like soft serve ice cream for dessert (though Jeni's is around the corner as a dessert magnet). Margaritas quite good. No complaints.

It's okay sums it up perfectly. The first time I came I had the brunch chimichanga. It was cold in the middle and didn't look super fresh. It was only their third day, so I didn't want to judge them too harshly, although it was pretty expensive considering. I just went back today and had the short rib tacos. The service was confusing as hell. I was seated, greeted by a server, spoke to another server who brought my chips who told me she was not my server, caught the attention of another server because I was ready to order for about five minutes and was confused as to who my server was (the woman who brought me chips said my server was a woman, so I was even more confused) and put in my order. I asked for no rice and a different side, but keep the beans. I was told this was fine. My food was dropped off, I wasn't offered a refill and the beans weren't there. The original server dropped off my food. I saw the server who took my order and asked about the beans and a refill. She was very nice considering I wasn't technically her table. I wasn't brought my tortillas the last time I came, so I wasn't surprised. Their short ribs were a bit dry and lacked flavor, the tortillas were a bit bland. I was disappointed because the short rib tacos are $15, so I was expecting to be blown away. My check was dropped in the middle of my meal, which was odd because the restaurant wasn't busy and as a former server I feel that this is a rudimentary mistake. My server was VERY present when it came time to pay. He did check a couple times to see if everything was okay. All in all, a bit overpriced, and I wasn't blown away. The decor is wonderful, the service was confusing, but polite. I hope this place finds their footing. I like having it so close to home and it has potential, bit right now it seems to be shooting for the middle while charging for a superior product. Definitely a 3/5.

Went here for dinner tonight with my husband and 2 friends. Told the wait was 30 mins at 6pm but we could sit on the patio and order drinks. No problem. Ordered a pitcher of Cadillac margs for $46, which equals $11.50 per glass. (The pitcher gave us 4 glasses.) This is cheaper than by the glass ($14), but still pretty pricey. At least they tasted good! We did not wait longer than 30 mins to be seated. Immediately after we sat down, before we even had a chance to look at the menu our server asked us all if we were ready to put in an order. I told him we needed more time. We had not seen our friends in some time and were looking forward to chatting over dinner. He gave us about 5 mins and then came back. We ordered guacamole. The guacamole was fine, but nothing spectacular. We all put in our dinner orders. My husband and I are vegetarian, so the menu was a bit limiting for us and we could not eat the beans, but there were enough options. We got the vegetable Enchiladas and the poblano, onion and mushroom fajitas. The fajitas were WAY better than the enchiladas. I would give the fajitas a B+ and the enchiladas a D. The enchiladas seriously tasted like something you would buy frozen from a grocery store. As for the fajitas, I judge all Mexican restaurants by their tortillas. We got corn tortillas and they definitely tasted like a (higher end) grocery store tortilla. Not super authentic. Our Friends are meat eaters and they got tacos. They said their tacos were a B-. The Ambiance of the place is great. Decor is awesome, but the food is mediocre at best: if you want tasty Mexican food, El Tapatio blows this place away and is a few blocks west on Roscoe. You won't get the same modern decor, but you will leave feeling satisfied with your food and actually want to take home the left overs. Back to the service: our server was definitely a novice. He checked on us way too much and made us feel rushed. He wanted to turn over our table as fast as possible. Unfortunately, I feel like this is what Southport is becoming: a neighborhood of restaurant conglomerates that focus on profit above everything else. I doubt we will ever go back. There is much better Mexican food at either El Tapatio or El Nuevo Mexicano. Please understand I'm willing to pay more for quality food and service. However, this restaurant has a cool atmosphere and that's it.

The place is cute with design and layout. The staff was really accomadating, but the food fell short in my opinion. However, the bloody Maria, was a drink I had, heavy, but came with an unexpected surprise... a corona. two drinks for the price of one.. also they had an appetizer that was a taco a shot and a beer.. this is the place to go to if you're looking to let loose and have some food to munch on.

The food was amazing! I had the shrimp and steak fajitas with rice and beans. I highly recommend it. The service was fantastic as well.

I have been wanted to try Tuco & Blondie since they opened and last night was my night!! We went with a hungry group and ordered, what felt like, half of the menu! LOL We started with the chicharrones, chile con queso, Holy Grail nachos and of course a pitcher of Cadillac margs!!! The chicharrones were some of the best I've ever had. To the point that we kept them at the table to snack on throughout our meal! The queso had great flavor and was very reminiscent of at home queso dip. The Holy Grail nachos were exactly how I hoped they would be!! Individual chips, layered with all of the nacho goodness you could only dream of!! And the margs.. DELISH!! We continued on by ordering the Tijuana Picnic, a sampler of all of the tacos, The Blondie salad, beef enchiladas with green sauce, escabeche and elotes. If you are unsure of what taco to order, as each individual plate is 3 of the same taco, this is the way to go!! All of the tacos were tasty, but our standout faves were the chili braised short rib and the chicken tinga! The short rib was flavorful, and not spicy. Very tender and I love pickled anything, so the pickled red onion brought it all together. The chicken tinga was so savory, with the onion sauce. Chicken was tender and cooked to perfection!! The blondie salad was tasty. The fajita chicken was a shining star! All of the ingredients blended well together, but I would have hoped for a lighter dressing to really let everything standout. The chipotle ranch was good, but heavier than I would have liked. I didn't pay attention to the style of beef that was being served in the beef enchiladas (insert, I assumed steak, here..) but the ground beef was a pleasant surprise. The texture did the enchiladas good justice and while normally I would opt for the red sauce, the green was AMAZING! A lot more flavorful than I have had at other mexican restaurants and was dipping my chips into what was left on the plate! Oops! lol Again, I love pickled anything so of course we ordered the escabeche. While I have never had this before, I was very excited to try it! It was a mix cauliflower, carrots and jalapenos. OMG! All of our eyes popped out from the robust flavors! Soooooooo good!!!! If you are not into spice, I would shy away from it, but I like spice and it was right up my alley! Now, the elotes... Having previously worked at TexMex restaurant where we served very traditional elotes, I was super excited to try and I was NOT disappointed! Very light, traditional elotes can be heavy, a so full of flavor! When I go back, I for sure ordering my own! We closed our night with a slice of the margarita pie and the churro's. As 4-Star is known, at least to me, for their key lime pie, I figured the margarita pie would be just as delightful. And it WAS!! Churro's are my fave random dessert and rather hard to find, outside of a street truck. These were perfectly covered in the right amount of cinnamon and sugar and very crisp but soft and warm on the inside. The chocolate dipping sauce was a bit more dense then I would have liked, but a good flavor. Only thing missing was a bit of the cayenne spice in traditional mexican chocolate. All and all, an AMAZING experience! I will for sure be back, as there is a lot more for me to try!!

Tuco & Blondie opens officially tomorrow, but we got a sneak preview. I had the chicken enchiladas with eggs over easy. Delicious, I really liked the rice and beans that came with it. I also had a black cherry margarita, also great. Our kids got the mini tacos on the kids menu and they thought it was adorable. Love the soft serve ice cream ending. Glad to have a new place to hang out it the neighborhood.

Nice neighborhood. Fun decor. Daniel, our server, was friendly and took care of us (seven women). I tried the taco picnic; it was delicious. It doesn't beat my favorite Mexican restaurant, so I can't give a perfect score.

First visit, very good, fresh chips and salsa, yum. Portions were perfect for me, delicious rice and beans. The enchiladas were good, preferred the beef to chicken, I had one of each but that is just my preference. Our waiter Eli was fantastic, great service. My complaint is The messy bathroom and the fact I could not lock the door.

4 of us went to watch game 5 of World Series. Food was really very good...so was black cherry margarita! The staff was very happy to accommodate is and we sat on patio cheering the Cubbies. I had vegetable enchiladas that were delicious.

We had a really wonderful server that suggested a few items that we ordered, she could not have been more spot on! We got nachos for the table-they were great, and all of us had a side of elotes with our tacos. Everything we had was wonderful. I think everyone that walks in the door needs to try the elotes. I will definitely be back!

We just met with friends for cocktails.........but the atmosphere was great........open air, beautiful people, dog friendly! Probably one of the best margaritas I have ever had, then got turned onto the Frose.......Summer awesomeness in a glass......

Good food, great ambiance inside and on the patio!

Presentation was bad , salsa not great, bad service. Margaritas was on a small glass full of ice. It was cold and door was open. Music was loud. Meriocre Mexican food for moderate/high price.

Yes, yes! Tuco and Blondie nailed it. We walked in on a fun, vibrant, restaurant scene. We were seated in 5 minutes and our service was quick. The chili con queso app was a great compliment to the chips and salsa that we were greeted with at the table. We enjoyed the smoky, char flavor of the steak fajitas, along with the tender short rib tacos with the perfect balance of acid from the slaw and lime garnishes. The side of rice and beans were seasoned well and presented to show the care the chef took into these sides. My children enjoyed the fried ice cream and churro desserts and my husband and I enjoyed our margaritas. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Food pretty bad and expensive not worth the price . service good , drinks strong and good. Outdoor patio was nice !

Delicious black cherry margaritas! The food was tasty, but there was so much grease on my plate it was it was hard to get past. The service was just ok. I am hoping the food and the service were a one time lapse. I plan on going back. Kitchen and service staff are human and deserve a second chance, hopefully it was just an off night.