Real Tenochtitlan: User Reviews
This place blew me away. I didn't know what to expect. It's on a shifty stretch of Milwaukee ave (wish it were on California, joining the mini-restaurant-row going on over there). The interior is pleasantly surprising, with plenty of room, white table cloths, soaring ceilings and bright, lively yet sophisticated colors. (My 2 cents: turn the lights down a bit more at dinner, and dress the store front windows with some sheers: the view of the car wash leaves much to be desired).
BYOB service was prompt, no waiting for wine glasses. I think it was the chef who started to wait on us, which made it feel like a special evening. He was very professional and informative, yet warm and down to earth. He seemed appreciative that we deferred to him to help us make selections - and we were very glad we did. Started with the ceviche; fresh and delicious with the right amount of salt & tang.The tableside-made guacamole was fresh enough to nearly warrant the $9 price - and served with fresh-fried chips.
Hearing the chef is a mole master, that's what we ordered. The waiter who replaced the chef at this point lost major points for abandoning us after serving our dinner, but the food was so good our experience was not dampened. I had the Saturday special red mole, with sliced duck breast (not somehting I usually order), and my date had the trio of mole: green with shrimp, white with quail, black with beef (or maybe it was lamb?). The food was so good, we could not talk after we tried it - just looked at eachother thinking HOLY !@#$ THIS IS GOOD. Everything on each plate was both of top quality and cooked perfectly: protein, starch, vegetable: but it was the mole that was the star. I wanted to take it home, fill up the bathtub and roll around in it. THAT'S how good it was. I had to yell at my date after he picked up a bone with the intention of gnawing on it.
And OMG the tortillas! If you've never had fresh-made tortillas, they warrant the trip on their own. We each had desert - pineapple upside down cake and chocolate pecan pie, both delectable.
It was a little pricey, but BYOB certainly took the edge off and it was so good, I'd pay practically anything for food of that caliber again. If you want a huge plate piled high with tacos, rice and beans, go elsewhere. This was truly an enjoyable, singular fine dining experience, I was a bit surprised to see the place rather empty on a saturday night (it was raining out) - please go and try for yourself; unless you have no taste buds. Try many dishes. I cannot wait to go back to try everything on the menu.
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I was excited to try this restaurant, and overall I was pleased. However..
The hostess was not welcoming at all. She did not smile. She waited for us to ask to sit down(!) she is the customers' first impression of the table service,which was also drab and unwelcoming. I am not going to bore you with every detail of the poor service, but I come from a 4 star service background and our server was obviously not enthusiastic about his job, the food or the customers. His technique needs some serious honing. The bussers, however, were great. Happy, nice, on top of it.The food was amazing. Skip the Capon. The portion was too small, the mole too sweet,for $4 more you can get a huge and incredibly amazing steak.4 of 5 moles that I tried were incredible. I thought the fried tortilla bowls were chain restaurant-like. I think this place could knock it out of the park with some proper staff training; it doesn't need to be formal, it just needs to be timely and friendly, which it was not.
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I reserved for a large group and I told the restaurant twice that I was celebrating my birthday that night. In my opinion, a simple dessert that might cost the restaurant less than $5.00, could make a nice impression on someone who chooses such place for a special ocassion. I got nothing! I wasn't really expecting anything but it would have been nice. Plus the service was slow. Great looking place though.
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The food is delicious! We had an appetizer that was out of this world and I had the salmon ... yum. However, I rated the ambiance 'below average'. I LOVE the room ... beautifully decorated, spacious, tables a good distance from each other and cozy. However, during dinner, DIM THE LIGHTING. It seemed rather 'lunch-like' and bright!! Otherwise, a great place, BYOB (how great is that) ... just turn down those lights.
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I went on a Saturday evening for my first visit.
Everything was very well done.
The service was very, very good. Good feedback from the waiter. The mole was superb. I had the salmon, my date had the lamb chops. Both were very good, the lamb chops Rock!!! We had the dark mole with the chops, yummmm.
We BYOB. Red Shiraz, great combo....i'm definitely going back, told all my friends.
Keep up the good work!
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The server admitted to being new and not knowing the menu that well, but it was irrelevant. We ordered the sopes appetizers, sopa azteca, borrego with mole negro, and Mexico City style quesadillas.
The mole was delicious and the salsa brought out the flavor of the quesadillas. For two people, total came out to around $70 with tip. Well worth it.
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Was so excited to try this place having read the excellent reviews and to support a new local restaurant. It was not at all busy when we were seated but it took over 10 minutes to be greeted by our server and he continued to pretty much ignore us the rest of the time we were there. I used to be a server and always overtip and this was one of the first times in my life I was tempted to leave $0 tip! The entrees and appetizers were small and overpriced, I left still hungry. My pork chop was lukewarm and not tasty. The only wow thing on the menu was the stuffed peppers. Don't waste your time and go to Azucar instead!!
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Pros: Good food and service
Cons: BYOB charge too much. I would like to see some nicer wine glasses especially for that steep a charge.
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We need More Restaurants Like Real Tenochtilan In Chicago Higthly Recomended
By Taste of Elegance from loop, August 13, 2008
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At Real Tenochtitlán, a spacious Logan Square spot with high tin ceilings and citrus-hued walls, Mex-master Chef Geno Bahena has recapture the magic of his first venture, Ixcapuzalco; patrons will recognize the food, service, chairs, bright paintings, moles of the day and much of the midpriced menu. chef Bahena truly shows his pasion for his own mexico in Chicago. second-floor mezzanine lounge/private dining area with windows overlooks the main room. You have to experince for yourself the magic of of a mole Master. and that is what I call a true Mexican experince.
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a Bayless protege? a new Mexican place in Logan Square? the waiter was clueless and not complimentary of his own menu, the guacamole was good but they charged for extra chips, the main courses were not worth the $$ - this place is not reasonably priced. our BYOB was one of the highlights of our meal. i fear he is trading on his past as a Bayless protege rather than recognizing and overcoming a failed first Mexican place of his own ... also not impressed by the fact that he isn't doing anything "new" here ...
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 18 users:
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