La Cocina de Frida: User Reviews

Love the concept
By ginagirl from albany park, July 19, 2008

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Hate the food and the service. I was recently there on a Saturday night to celebrate with about twenty of my family members the wedding reception of my nephew. Poor kid, he spent quite a bit of money for food that we had to ask the waiters for. It seemed there was one server for the three tables we had in the patio, which is lovely I must say, but again, there were twenty of us. Two of the other servers that brought out the food looked as if they were coerced into helping and weren't helpful at all. It was suppose to be "family style" but it turned out to be one plate of rice, one of beans, and one of the enchiladas that we had to pass around table to table instead of bringing one of each to each of the 3 tables. The skirt steak was as thin as a piece of paper and about a four inches squared, the chicken breast was dry and bland. We had to hunt down the assistant servers because the single server was busy. To top it off, there was a big festival in Andersonville that weekend and the owners didn't bother to advise my nephew as it took us 30 minutes to find parking. Had he known he probably could have had his reception at a different location with better service and better food. I feel bad because what should have been a happy occasion spent by the bride and groom and guests turned out to be a bride and groom apologizing for the inconvenience and bad service. On a positive note, the ONE server that was in charge of the party was very polite and tried hard to serve us well, and she did, and the other good thing is that the music was nice and the patio was very inviting. I would never go though.

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What a PATIO!
By chicagolatina from West Chicago, July 10, 2008

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I was at La Cocina de Frida on 4th of July weekend with some friends. First of all, I didnt even know the had such an extraordinary patio! I think they should put a sign or picture of it in the entrance! I got there about 7:30 and they were jam packed but I only waited and sipped on my delicious Margarita sitting under a tree for about 25 minutes.
We had the Ceviche which was offered with about 5 different bottles of salsa.
We all had different types of enchiladas , we get to pick our filling and the sauce.
The service was a little slow but we were enjoying the candle lit patio with fruit trees and grapevines everwhere that we didnt care.
Overall the food is fabulous and a great value, the ambiance is one of a kind and the service good.

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Limited menu and disappointing service
By Cathy from Edgewater, June 17, 2008

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My family of five ate at Frida's on Father's Day, looking forward to a special meal since we all love Mexican food. We sat in the garden, which was pleasant. The menu was quite limited, one-page typed, with only a few appetizers and main courses. Sadly, nothing that our party ordered stood out as delicious. The trio of tamales were small, plain and nothing special, and the rice and beans could have come from any little taqueria in the neighborhood. The chicken fajitas were dry and boring. The waiter did not seem too interested in serving us, even though it was early and the restaurant was fairly empty. He had to be asked to refill our water glasses, and then reached over me to fill my daughter's, dripping water on my plate. He brought all the main courses except one, my mother-in-law's, so we were left waiting until hers was finally brought to the table. After our main courses were cleared, the waiter did not offer us dessert or coffee, and I had to make a point of asking for coffee from a bus boy. I have no idea what desserts were available, because the waiter never told us about them. The worst part of the service was that the waiter added a 20% tip to our bill when he ran my credit card through, which I found out about when he returned it for signature. I let it go, since I did not want to make a fuss on Father's Day, but I think this was a very tacky move by the waiter, especially after the poor service. Given all the great Mexican restaurants in Chicago, I doubt I'll be back to Frida. Too bad, because the garden patio really is lovely and it's only a short walk from home. Had the food been even slightly interesting I might have given it another try.

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Good food odd service
By MaryMM from Andersonville, May 25, 2008

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Food was great but I was told that I could not order the Totopos (nachos) because the were out of (i think) lettuce? So I asked if they could serve them without lettuce and was told no. My thinking is - there are only so many ingredients to Mexican food. If you don't have the necessary parts for nachos then you are out of a lot of other things. I ordered enchiladas - which were very good. But there was actually lettuce on the plate. I really can't comprehend any reason that she would refuse what I ordered since all of the listed items showed up in something I or my friend ordered. Overall everything was good. We didn't finish our guacamole and asked to have that wrapped with our leftovers. I opened that up today to dig in - they wrapped the chips instead of the guacamole. I have to say I was a bit disappointed based on the other reviews.

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Fantastic Find
By Gabriella from Logan Square, May 10, 2008

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This place is quite a gem. The food was amazing, the service was helpful and kind. The alcoholic beverages were fantastic. To top it all off, the secluded back patio is extremely private. You can sit outside where you can order grilled meats table side. Further, you can sit, drink, and stay for awhile in the back patio. I am so happy to have found this place. I wll go back many times over the summer.

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Fried plantains!
By Foodie from Lincoln Square, May 4, 2008

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This place serves some of the best Mexican food in Chicago - a lovely symphony of flavors. I couldn't wait to dig into my leftovers the next day! The wait staff patiently answered all of our questions and was gracious enough to split our bill five ways. The interior is warm and intimate. It has a lovely mix of nature and electric light. The photos of Frida at different stages of her life are also really intriguing. MUY BIEN!!!

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Cute place
By DK from Andersonville, March 20, 2008

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It's a little rough around the edges yet, but I think this place will become an Andersonville highlight. It was pretty busy when we got there and they were a little disorganized and it took a while to get things started. The margs were worth the wait. I think they make one of the best margueritas I've had and it was on ly $7.00! It was great!
The guacamole was also pretty darn good. It, like most guacamole, could use a little salt but I can doctor it up at the table so I don't count that against them. The chips could've been a little warmer and a little less greasy but they weren't bad.
I got cheese enchilladas with mole. The mole was a little thick and overpowering but with a little work could be really fabulous. DH got carnitas enchilladas with green mole. The carnitas were tasty but dry. He loved the green mole. The rice is very good. The beans needed to be seasoned well. They don't seem to know how to use salt yet. LOL I like beans to be a little chunkier too, not just looking like a grey paste on the plate.
In general, I liked the place and will go back for sure. It will improve as they get more used to working together and will give a great Mexican meal in Andersonville.

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Not Good Enough
By Lolalelu from Andersonville, February 28, 2008

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Nothing was exceptional. I would not go back. The guacamole portion was way way too small for the price. The tilapia was dried out and smelled too fishy. The three of us were very disappointed. Who wants to pay a lot for a mediocre meal?

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Get over Angel's already
By Miguel from Edgwater, February 26, 2008

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Im sorry folks, but you can clearly see that most of the bad reviews are from Angels patrons. I think La Cocina de Frida is doing a fabulous job. I went there with 4 friends on a very busy night and loved the food, service and ambiance. The place was packed andyet we didnt have to wait forever for our food. The waitress was curteous and helpful. I agree, the Margaritas need a little tweeking but overall, the place is doing a great job. Our Guacamole was excellent and well spiced and the tamales were amazing.
I can't wait to go again! Keep up the good job Frida's!

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