La Chaparrita Grocery

If you are looking for authentic tacos, than you have found the right place! This unique restaurant is tucked away in Little Village, Chicago. It is very easy to miss, but if you can find it you will not be let down. We wandered into this little half grocery store/​half restaurant and were greeted by extremely friendly service.
We were seated and immediately were brought out radishes, limes and salt as the appetizer. We ordered the horchata to drink and oh my goodness was that AMAZING! Probably some of the best horchata I have ever had, and they make it right there! We ordered 4 types of tacos: El pastor, carne asada, chorizo and the flank steak. The tacos were great as well! The onions are perfectly chopped. I have never seen onions so perfectly and equally chopped. The only taco I wasn’t a huge fan of was the carne asada as it was a little on the dry side and I was expecting it to be as succulent as the pastor. The sauces were fabulous! The avocado and habanero sauces were to die for! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who can find it!

It’s so inconvenient to anywhere I go, but… the salsas here are amazing.

Most tacos in Chicago range from boring, overpriced and Americanized to cheap, semi-​authentic, but dry or gristly.
But not La Chaparrita. Their crispy tripa rivals the best tripe taco I’ve ever had — which was from a cart in Mexico — and it came with one of my favorite salsas: a rich, smooth verde, generally made with just jalapeño, oil, garlic, salt and a hint of lime. On a previous visit I had the asada and it was excellent.
I also must note here that the negative reviewer who couldn’t figure out her check’s math clearly is not aware that the City of Chicago charges an extra 3% (on top of the standard 9.25%) on soft drinks, but instead implied that the restaurant had screwed up. It is for this reason I rated her review «Funny»… not because it was actually amusing.

What a gem of a restaurant! The outer shell isn’t necessarily the most inviting but the food certainly will make anyone order more even if full. The native Mexican man who served me was extremely gracious. Also helped he spoke Spanish and English. The restaurant felt like being in Mexico City — yes, that authentic.
I was thoroughly satisfied with my tacos de asada and pastor. They are known for their huaraches which unfortunately I didn’t try. More people need to stop in to enjoy something special.

I don’t understand how she did this math but she said we can call the the city of Chicago to explain how taxes work here because we might be from the suburbs 91.00 at a changarro where they can’t make a quesadilla nor an egg taco for my daughter, then there is gargoyles and death masks and voodoo or Santeria going on all over the place and they claim to leave your bad juju outside before you enter the house slash diner slash store slash daycare (she kept telling her young son about 5yr old to stop «fregando». For every question asked a sarcastic answer would come along and she would get offended right away. I was really trying to enjoy it by not being judgmental but… She did promote the 20 different salsas they had but no chips to try them out with bummer so we’ll never know what they taste like. On the guarache my cousin ordered they put a lot of salsa so we asked her to make it with less, she took it in the back and scraped it off with bare hands. She missed taking the order for my sister n law then asks only my husband are you doing fine, so you need anything, did you like the food, is there anything I can do better… blahblahblah what are we chopped liver? Why did we walk in there knowing the vibe was odd and place looked sketchy? Idk our hunger won us over and left pretty dissatisfied.

The tacos were really good compared to other ones I’ve had in small Mexican joints but we’re a bit too greasy.

This taquería is about as good as it gets. Not much to say that has not been said in previous reviews. A huge shout out for customer service. The eskimos are also worthy a mention. Do not be shy, try the Tripe tacos. Salsas are also great. Can’t wait to return!

Best tripe taco I’ve had anywhere — so crispy and meaty without any hint of off-​putting funk. Their pastor is marvelous as well, believe they do have a spit now for roasting the pork.
Really all the tacos here are great, have had all save one or two, across a handful of trips. The service is equally solid too, they often will bring a sample of Agua fresca, or their house made Tepache (just killer, especially with a few pastor tacos).
The décor is certainly cluttered and utilitarian, and the store has the hustle and bustle of a local family grocery — personally I find this endearing, though perhaps some may think otherwise. Regardless, you’ll be hard pressed to find better for any price in Chicago. Worth the trip, every time!

Tasty tacos in a small mom and pop grocery store a block north of the busy 26^th St corridor. It’s hard to see inside with the barred windows, but once you step in you get a warm welcome. There’s only a few tables and everyone seemed to be regulars or locals. There’s about 11 different fillings you can get for tacos, burritos, or huaraches. They’ve also got juices, milkshakes, and tepache — a fermented pineapple juice that’s sweet with a slightly fermented taste.
Tacos range in price from $ 1.75 to $ 2.25. I wanted to try every one, but since I wasn’t actually hungry I only got 3. Since they’ve got fillings I haven’t seen anywhere else, I opted for:
— Tripe — Did not expect this to be my favorite! Asked for this crispy since a tip from Serious Eats says you can get it soft or crispy. I’ve never liked tripe in Vietnamese phở or Chinese dim sum, and this was so vastly different. There were crunchy bits with softer bits and full of flavor. They reminded me of liver but without the iron flavor.
— Sesos — I’ve never had brain so I had to try this. It didn’t have a strong flavor and was soft and creamy as brain is supposed to be (at least according to a MasterChef episode where Christian got kicked off on his brain dish, not because of the perfectly cooled brain but because of his tomato sauce). Wouldn’t get this again but might opt for the sweet breads instead.
— Longaniza — this was the most typical of taco fillings across my picks. It’s a similar to chorizo and was nicely seasoned.
Other fillings include cabeza (head), lengua, asada, molleja (sweet bread), pastor, campechano (mix of pastor and asada), cecina (dried beef), suadero (beef).
Comes with radish, lime, a spicy red salsa, and creamier avocado chile salsa. Both salsas were fantastic.
Only thing I didn’t like was the tortillas got slightly soggy from the fillings but whatevs — it’s a $ 2 taco!

I’ve been going to this place for years… and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon… The tacos are authentic but the tacos won’t taste as well if the right salsas wasn’t made, luckily they have the best salsas in chicago and their fresh waters tops it all off… i love the owner… she makes u feel welcome and accommodates your every need… The cook also is very welcoming and my respects for making every dish top notch…

Hidden gem is an understatement! Totally unexpected, but worth the trip out of your comfort zone. They are far and away better than any of the other places around 26^th street that I’ve been to. I discovered them over ten years ago when I worked for a major beverage company and would stop in weekly. I’m no longer with that company, but I can’t wait to stop back in to eat whenever I’m in the area. These are real Mexico City style tacos! I love the carne asada tacos and tacos de lengua, but you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. What really sets them apart are the rich and delicious sauces. They are simply great tacos served by really nice people.

These are the best tacos in Chicago, and maybe in the U.S. The atmosphere is perfect, people nice, but the tacos: oh my god. Huraches great too.
I hate hate hate that this is more than an hour from where I live. I love their tacos.

Well a fiend of mine recomend this place
We try
Tacos de tripas
Tacos de canasta
Tacos de asada
licuados
Huaraches
Agua de limon
All was good but
I saw the lady making agua de limon and liking her finger
Tasting from the plastic glass is going to the client the coustomer
An other thing i see
I think a healt inspector never been there they have lot of violations
Boxes all over bloking the exit…
And ther adore the santa muerte in the first room
And the back room is all about jesus
Amen

If you are trying to choose from the myriad of Mexican restaurants on 26^th street, head one block north!
Great authentic taqueria. While there are better places around the city, this may be the best in the Little Village neighborhood.
Great friendly service, we were offered free samples of the fermented Pineapple drink. It was very good but a bit sweeter than I like.
My daughters favorite taco was the Cabeza (Head). Don’t be afraid it is mostly the trendy cheeks that chefs brag about braising. The Longaniza (dried chorizo) was very good. The Pastor was average, the tongue was far from my favorite version of tongue I have had.
I really enjoyed the huaracha, it is a thick tortilla reminiscent of a sope with layers of Mexican goodness, I opted for both sauces (Red and Green), they do each on one half. They are a bargain for $ 5.
My one complaint (other than Little Village being so dang hard to get in and out of in Friday rush hour) the tortillas are not hand made, and were slimy. I don’t like wet tortillas, I don’t think this is by design, but it may be.

Yup, I’ll do it. I’m giving it 5 stars! You know why? Because I liked the whole laid back family vibe of this place *AND* the tacos are to die for! First, this is like a little restaurant /​grocery store in one. I got the impression from the menu and a few signs on the wall, that these people believe in being natural. It’s all real food. –And the natural juices are awesome. I tried the al pastor (pork), lengua (tongue) and one longaniza (sausage). My favorite, by far, was the al pastor. I just think it had the best kick of flavor. Everyone in my group ordered different tacos and everyone liked their selections. I also really appreciated the fair prices for the jugos naturales (natural /​pure juice). I ordered the blood red Vampiro –a combo of beet and carrot juice. It was super tasty! T
Special shout out to the owners –a husband and wife team –who made us feel super welcome in their restaurant and were very friendly and accommodating!
This is a really cute place and I plan on this being by «go to» taco place when I escape the office!

This place is amazing! These are some of the best tacos around. And the staff is extremely friendly and inviting. I had the al pastor, sesos, longaniza, cabeza, and suadero and they were all fantastic.

It pains me to even write a review for this place.
These are hands down the best tacos I have ever had — and I have eaten a ton of tacos in my life, so I feel I can say that with some authority.
The tacos here are a slightly different style than your average taqueria — they are called tacos de fritangas. This is a style of taco popular in Mexico City, which roughly translates to «fried meat» (a griddle is not used much at this place).
My favorites are the homemade longaniza, which is sort of like chorizo, suadero, and tripas doradas (crispy tripe).
This is pretty much just a taco place, though the serve a couple huaraches, tamales, home made potato chips, and a couple other items. But, no burritos, quesadillas, tortas, rice, beans, or much of anything you find at your «average» (lesser) taco place.
To top it off, the owners are super friendly and eager to answer any questions you have about the food. It is definitely almost exclusively Mexican customers, but this white boy felt right at home and there was no language barrier to overcome.
This place seems to be doing good business with people in the neighborhood, without it being a Unilocal sensation. And selfishly, I’d like to keep it that way!

How is there only one review of this great place?!
Delicious aguas frescas (alfalfa and guanábana).
Clean. Friendly staff. Everything you could ask for
in a taqueria.

this place was awesome, we started off with somethin called a huarache, which was amazing.
grabbed a few tacos, and got some green onion dish which was really good. they offer a huge variety of options here.
can you say HIDDEN GEM ???
here is a link to a video on this place –