Picante Taqueria

I’m never going here again. I kindly asked if they had lard in their beans, after some confused looks someone behind the counter affirmed NO, they don’t have lard in their beans. so great three veggie tacos with NO cheese or sour cream please, with avocado. But they don’t have avo. What mexican restaurant does not have avo? Meanwhile yuppies behind me, after giggling over ‘white boy taco’ on menu, start making meat comments in response to my vegan requests. This place is full of idiot emboldened yuppies. I ask if there’s sauce in the bag and she says only red. So I ask for green too and she gives me one tiny container. So a total of two tiny containers for three tacos. Then, get home and my tacos have cheese. MF’s. Don’t go here if you’re vegan or you like avocado. But if you’re a meat-​loving yuppie that likes to act childish and stupid, it’s right up your alley!!!

was on a hunt for nachos and ended up here. the place is small and its for carry outs only. the workers there is nice but the cashier doesn’t seem like she knew what she was doing on the tablet. took like 5 mins before telling me the price and charge me lol. maybe its a new device they using?
anyways. i ordered the steak nachos and it came with cheese, sour cream, jalapano, grauc, dice tomatoes, black or refried beans,
the price is decent and the nachos was alright. I would rate the nachos to be pretty average. I think its lacking in cheese.
maybe ill be back to try their tacos and burritos instead.

Great little hole in the wall taco and burrito place. One of those places that’s good during the day but much much better at 2am.
Burritos are solid and the classic white boy tacos are bitchen! Make sure to grab a piña jarritos soda too.

This is a go to take out place for us. Actually, it’s THE go to take out place. Their ingredients are fresh and consistent and you always know what you are going to get. Plus, I can order on the phone, pick it up, and literally be home all within 5 minutes. We always order burritos (steak and chicken) and they are always good… never soggy. Ingredients seem super fresh… people inside are always really nice. You can choose what kind of salsa you want and both mild and hot are excellent.
Love the small shack style of this place and the tiny interior (no seating, literally just a counter and a menu). Long live Picante!

I just had the worst food experience of my life here. While this used to to be my favorite late night Mexican place, I just bit into a chicken wing taco. Literally it was a fully boned chicken wing that I bit into hard and I don’t know if I can ever eat late night Mexican again. That taco will haunt me forever.

I eat here regularly, typically late at night and it’s always good. The guys that work here are the best. Always really quick and they accept credit now.

Top notch burritos. The chorizo and the pork shoulder are both great. Really fresh tasty guac too with thin crispy chips.

Honestly 0 stars… This was the worst restaurant experience I’ve had in recent memory I ordered carryout. I explained I have food allergies. Everything that I asked to be left out of my food was inside of my food. The food was terrible and the response from the manager was insensitive and inappropriate

Strolling down the street and craving a small snack for breakfast, I noticed this small Mexican shop. Since the storefront advertises tamales, I opted for just that. I ordered 3 tamales: 2 chicken & 1 pork. Excited for large, moist tamales, I was sorely disappointed when the tamales turned out to be small and extremely dry. I had to ask for green chili to moisten the tamales, which made them exponentially better. Not sure why a Mexican restaurant would advertise tamales when their tamales are so mediocre.

I live for Picante’s White Boy Tacos. They’re open late and have great, quick, efficient service whether you’re drunk or in need of a cheap meal to study all night.

Great for drunk food on the weekends, but beware of all the recently-​moved-​to-​Chicago-​from-​small-​towns bros that you will encounter in this tiny place.

We ordered delivery from here regularly for several years. Last week whoever took the order was awesome. Today my husband called to place a delivery order, he had to repeat the credit card number 3 times. I heard my husband asking” are you going to ask me the expiration date?” The employee told him twice that the order was ready for pick up in 15 minutes, my husband again and again stated” delivery”.
Twenty minutes passed by, they called to ask the credit card numbers again, we did not get to give the credit card because the owner told him to F. OFF and we are not getting the order.

Terrible. The fish in my taco was not cooked and for a place named Picante, the salsa was the blandest jar variety imaginable. A total disappointment.

While I do appreciate that they’re open late night, I also think the fact that people have few other options at that hour has let them really let the quality slide. I’ve been here twice in the last month and both times myself and my friends have marveled at the complete lack of flavor or seasoning — there’s literally none.

I had tried burritos in this place two times and both I got sick a few hours after eating

Really a 2.5 star rating.
The good: the chicken burritos are surprisingly very good here. I’ve had the steak before and it was very bland. The chicken is different since there’s a lot more flavor. I’m no hipster foodie so I don’t have time to go over how it compares to your best organic, grass fed, TLC, grazed chicken burritos in other parts of Chi town, so bottom line, come here for the chicken burrito and you won’t be disappointed.
The bad: everything else. Overpriced quesadillas. I had the guacamole before, which was just meh the previous times. However, last night I had the guac again and it was like eating a pile of green mush with way too much salt mixed in. I had to take a drink of water every time I ate the damn thing.
Overall, this place is for nights when you’re out drunk and get hungry. Or, if you’re like me, it can also be a place you go to if you live down the street and are too lazy to go anywhere else. Not the worst place, but not the greatest. It has a role and it completes it.

Delivery was super quick! Fish taco was amazing and quesadilla was huge!
Will be ordering again

I’ve been ordering from here for a long and have never been disappointed by the food. But, the management is pretty terrible. Zero people skills.
I work at a school in the neighborhood and I use Chow Hound to place online orders just before lunch. I like that I can place an order at 10:45 and pick it up when my lunch starts at 11:15 (even though they don’t open until 11:00).
Today, I placed my online order, paid with a CC and walked over to pick it up as usual. But, the store was closed and even though there were people on site, no one came out to tell me what was going on, nor would they answer the phone. As a matter of fact, a Grub Hub delivery guy showed up to pick up an order and eventually left. I waited and waited and finally left at 11:40. I called back to explain what happened; but the guy working there didn’t listen to me. He kept interrupting me and finishing my sentences with misinformation before finally telling me that my order had been cancelled. It had been, but not until 11:43 (which, coincidentally, was the exact time I called) was the cancellation email sent from Chow Hound – an entire hour after I placed it.
The manager finally agreed to have someone bring the order to me with a free order of chips and salsa. I would pay cash when they got there. I figured free chips and salsa could easily right this lunch fiasco. When I came down to the office to pick up my food, I counted my change, and found that they charged me for delivery! Was it an unreasonable expectation of courtesy to think they should waive the $ 3 delivery fee?
I went back after school and talked to the manager, who was again, unsympathetic and abrasive explaining to me that they opened at 12:00 today. (Really?!?) But, he did refund my $ 3.

This hole in the wall place has an air of authenticity, but that doesn’t mean it has flavor. The tacos are pretty flavorless. I had the beef and the pork. Too plain.
On the other hand, I liked the «white boy tacos». They have great seasoning and I don’t mind being condescended to.
Like other reviewers have noted, the location is great for getting a cheap and quick snack between bars and maybe sitting outside on a nice day and having one of their cheap PBR tallboys as well.

Nice hang out area with tables on the sidewalk but the restaurant itself is a literal hole in the wall. I wouldn’t recommend the food. It is made with zero love.
I tried four different tacos… Both the steak and pork tacos featured bland tough meat with skimpy lettuce & tomato. No cheese or other elevating ingredients included, even though I specifically asked for «all the toppings.»
The tilapia taco was nicely seasoned and perfectly cooked, but still lacked any quality toppings. The chorizo taco was the hit of the 4, but was so greasy I wished I had drank a few margaritas prior to help soak it all up.
This place’s success is surely due to it’s location. Had I been hitting the nearby bars prior, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the lack of quality or seasoning.