The Lazy Parrot

I have been here on three occasions over the past year and have had a consistently mediocre experience. It is BYOB so you won’t spend a fortune. The Coconut Shrimp was pretty good, sides were fair and the cubano sandwich that I had twice was served on bread that was stale, over toasted or both and had very blah flavor It’s a fun looking setting and they do have some outdoor seating when the weather allows. I can’t imagine the location will last if the quality of food does not improve.

I’ve been to this place a couple times with mixed experiences. They happen to be close by my apartment so really trying to give them a shot. The last time was literally the last time that I’ll eat there. Poorly cooked and I believe old steak was nauseating… made me feel ill. Ants in restaurant. Too many good Cuban places in the area to waste your time here.

Food was not as flavorful/​spicy as I would have liked, and the ambiance could use a little help. It is BYOB though, so that’s a definite plus!
I made reservations on Open Table and there was no wait as we arrived at 7 on a Saturday night. I was sad that even with empty tables, we were seated right next to the kitchen. As there was no door, I could see into it and hear everything going on in there. Because of this, I had trouble hearing my husband the whole time. Boo.
Nachos — individual friend plantains with cheese (yep, the liquidy kind), guac, sour cream, onion, tomato, and we ordered steak on hours for some flavor/​texture. They were OK.
Skirt steak — My husband ordered this and it was pretty bland. The meat was also very tough. We went with our waitress’ recommendation and had Carribiean rice on the side — it was really tasty.
Cubano — This was the highlight of the meal for me. The meats were good, the sandwich was perfectly toasty, and the pickles gave it pop. I added some lettuce from my husband’s dish to the torta, and it was a great added crunch.
For dessert, we had a half flan/​half pound cake confection. It was delicious. The flan tasted like cinnamon rice pudding and the cake was great with it.
I’m on the fence as to if I’ll return. Maybe I’ll just order the Cubano for pick up/​delivery.

So good and super nice people working especially the head waitress!

Not bad.
That pretty much sums it up but allow me to elaborate!
We started off w/​tostones which were good to start… crispy, but seriously oily. I brought half home and re-​heated them only to create a pool of oil in the bowl under them.
Then I ordered the roasted pork which was actually pretty delicious. Pretty dang delicious actually! Very juicy and well seasoned — lil salty — how I like it!
The Beau ordered the seafood soup and I tried a bite. Good broth but seemed to be lacking in the seafood. Not many shrimp at all.
And since I checked-​in on Unilocal (score!) they gave us a free seafood mini-​calzone (aka empanada, if you don’t watch Parks n Rec!). The Beau said it was really good but since I’m gluten-​free I can neither confirm nor deny that. But whatever mango-​something sauce that came w/​it was awesome w/​the tostones.
Our server was sweet as sweet plantains to us, but it took forever for our food to come out when the place was pretty empty. What gives?! So we had to skip out on the movie we were aiming for. Bum.
Summary: food’s not bad, love the BYOB, friendly servers but slow, probably won’t be craving it but wouldn’t be against giving it another go.

Oh how I loved The Lazy Parrot. My friends and I decided to check this place out on a Monday night. We picked up a bottle of wine since it is BYOB, and when we got to the LP, we were seated right away (actually, there was only one other table of customers…) The decorations are a bit strange, but it adds to the experience. The menu is a bit overwhelming, but we asked for recommendations from our waitress and we were FAR from disappointed.
Here is what she recommended…
–we each had a free empanada for checking-​in, and she recommended the ground beef. It was amazing, and the sweet sauce that its served with makes it a treat.
— the LaGuardia sandwich. It has everything you could imagine between two soft pieces of bread. It was juicy and delicious, and the portion size is huge.
— the Nachos. We loved these especially because they are served as individual bites and we didn’t have to fight for the nucleus chip.
— the flan. Nuff said.
We also tried the Cubana sandwich and the shredded beef sandwich. Both amazing choices, but I say go with the LaGuardia, even if the shredded beef does melt in your mouth and the Cubana won awards…
Overall, give the Lazy Parrot a try. You won’t be disappointed!

With just a few easy tweaks and this place would give 90 Miles a run for its money. I came here w/​my Cuban boyfriend to test the authenticity. It passed the «do you have Iron Beer?» test. The waitress was super friendly. She went over the whole menu for us which was great. I think the owners breezed in and out but they didn’t break their stride. Although the whole time we were there she was on hold w/​Comcast on speaker phone. Odd.
We started w/​the nachos. We waited awhile for them I assume b/​c they have to fry up the plantains. They were crispy but we were disappointed to see the rest of it came from squeeze bottles. It doesn’t look or taste as good as the real deal. If they were to make guac, sprinkle real cheese and a dollop of sour cream it would be amazing. It seems so simple!
We ordered the chicken firecrackers but they never came. It was ok b/​c we left full.
My boyfriend had to try the Cuban sandwich w/​a side of fried yucca. As usual too much yucca! After a few bites you’re kind of done w/​it. It needed seasoning. Maybe make yucca fries? He loved the sandwich although I think it had the wrong kind of cheese on it.
It looked great.
I got the 29 shrimp dish and they weren’t kidding. It was loaded w/​shrimps! I took home a skewer to eat for breakfast. I had the mild shrimps in the salsa sauce and it was great. Also the coconut shrimp were great. I loved the spicy pineapple dip. I need that on everything.
I think we’d be back for quick dinner. Maybe in the summer. Although its #3 for Cuban food for me.

I have eaten here twice. The service was very friendly but sadly, both times were bland.
The second time I ordered a vegetarian burrito/​calm breeze burrito for delivery. It was really big so I was excited! The description did not say plantains so I had to take them out. There was A LOT of them. Also I asked for avocado inside the burrito and there was none, however they gave me a tiny side of not-​fresh guacamole. It tasted like the kind that comes in the plastic bag at the store, and it tasted old. Also, the lettuce was cut into long strings and it was very slimy. The burrito was FILLED with bland white rice. This was very depressing. It was even more depressing because they gave me a side of yellow rice with more flavor, just so I could know what I was missing. Maybe it was bad joke? I just ate the tortilla by itself with a big frown.
I feel bad because I wanted to like this place, but that was the worst burrito I have ever had.

I love Cuban food, but sadly this place is not sharing in that love.
The first time I ordered here, I was impressed, by delivery standards. Yeah, I could have gotten a fresher, less soggy ropa vieja sandwich by going myself, but I was lazy and at work. The ropa vieja (they called it a shredded beef sandwich, too America, eh?) blew my socks off. I’m a seasoned visitor of Siboney and the Lazy Parrot could stack up. The bread wasn’t as good as Siboney’s though. The beef was succulent and juicy and the peppers weren’t over powering by any means. The sandwich combo was about $ 7 and came with a bottle of soda and a side of fries (you could sub a soup or salad), which were greasy heaven! I also got a side of croquettas, my Cuban weakness. These were nasty… not at all like Siboney’s and had this awful rancid taste like the ham meat had gone bad. Never again.
The second time I ordered from here put the nail in the coffin. I ordered my beloved ropa vieja with a side of soup (to be healthy). The soup was the only saving grace about the meal. The sandwich was virtually soup and instead of the nice French baguette it normal comes on, it came on a soggy hamburger bun. This time when I ordered, my coworker decided to grab something too. She is Puerto Rican so you know she can spot good Latino food. She said hers was just mediocre. She got the croquettas (I warned her!) and a mashed potato ball.
Needless to say, I probably won’t be ordering from here again. There’s much better Cuban spots in the area.

OMG I went to dine in for the first time a few weeks ago and everything from the food to service was great. Today I got food delivered and I am not happy at ALL. The food got here fast, and hot but for what I paid for i’m not! I got the hurricane shrimp and for the price you would think jumbo shrimp or at least a dozen and half! I got ONLY 8 shrimp and they are tiny like cocktail tiny!!! for $ 17 that is NOT okay. Really disappointing since its so yummy. Its not gonna be enough to fill me up or worth my money.

I cannot say enough fantastic things about the Lazy Parrot. We were here on 2÷2÷13 for my boyfriend’s 30^th Bday. I knew we were going to have a large group of people and called about a month in advance to see if they would have room. The woman I spoke to on the phone was Samantha (obviously I remembered the name) and she was so courteous and helpful in setting up the reservation and making sure we were taken care of. Also, I wanted to bring in my own dessert for the party and she assured me that would be no problem.
When we got to the restaurant, we had a large table set up for us including a separate table that was set up with a birthday hat on it. Our waitress ended up being Samantha and she told us that the birthday hat was for my boyfriend. How thoughtful!!! Anyway — the service was amazing and the food was phenomenal.
We got the Lazy Parrot Nachos, some empanadas, shrimp on a skewer and tostones (fried plantains) for apps. All of them were phenomenal. Dinner was out of control as well. With 20 people you would think that the service would be slow and not everyone would get their food within a reasonable amount of time. So not true. We al got our food within a few minutes of each other and it was all piping hot and so very very amazing. I got the lava shrimp which were so hot and spicy my mouth was on fire. I loved them. At one point Samantha brought out the chef/​owner who was this little adorable man who turned out to be her father as well.
I can’t wait to go back to the Lazy Parrot. Amazing food, great, phenomenal service. The staff was soooooo very sweet! (When we got to the dessert course the DJ played Happy Birthday so we could all sing) Also — a bonus is that the Lazy Parrot is BYOB and no corkage fee.
If you are in the area you HAVE to go to eat at the Lazy Parrot. You are doing yourself an injustice if you don’t.

Holy Mashed Potato Ballz! Fried mashed potato balls with beef inside served with a side of sour cream. yes please!
Empanadas. The 90 mile has more of a selection but the seasoned beef empanandas blow all of theirs out of the water.
Cuban fire crackers are awesome! Filled with seasoned chicken, cheese, corn and black beans. It comes with a sauce. no idea what it is but it is definitely a great enhancement.
My roommate swears by the lobster bisque. She orders it at least once a week.
We ordered delivery, so I cannot speak of service or ambiance, however, the food arrived 15 minutes prior to estimated time. Everything arrived hot as well.
Even the driver was very friendly. Without me even saying I was under the weather. he wished me to get to feeling better. Probably the obvious the way I looked and sounded, however, it was very nice of him!
They have lots of options. Even for you people who don’t eat meat. you would be in heaven with their meatless options.
I will be definitely eating in next time and it is BYOB. and well in my opinion a Malbec will be a great pairing with most of the menu options!

Went back with my boyfriend last night to use a youswoop deal I purchased. If you’re using the Unilocal reservation system and it shows there are no tables available, try calling. We tried to make an online reservation around 6 for 8 p.m. and it said nothing was available within a 2 ½ hour window. Glad I thought to call because they weren’t busy, and we were seated immediately. Once again a very attentive server and good food. I highly recommend the oxtail!

I gave the Lazy Parrot a try with my cousin, using a YouSwoop deal. The place was very lively and colorfully decorated. The staff was friendly & enthusiastic about the menu, which is was a big plus. The bathroom was a-​okay. The food was pretty good, but the preparation needs more work. I may return and update my review later. These are the items enjoyed:
THE LAZY PARROT NACHOS ($ 7.60): This menu item received rave reviews, so I figured that I join the group. My cousin was pleased at how the plantains were thinly sliced. I was geeked that the waitress asked if we wanted hot sauce. I think I would have been less satisfied with the appetizer without that bit of heat. We got the vegetarian version. I think it was good, but could use another element to build more texture since the cheese was squeezable.
It’s not every day that I get to eat plantains, so we got a little happy after that:
SWEET PLANTAINS ($ 3.80): Very good but a bit singed.
GREEN PLANTAINS ($ 3.80): A little thicker than the ones beneath the nachos, but still tasty. We both loved the garlic sauce that came with it.
I think the presentation for both plantain appetizers could be improved to make them look more appetizing.
SHRIMP FIESTA ($ 18.25): The fillet of red snapper wasn’t available, so this was my second choice. Unfortunately, I had to send the large entrée back, as half of the shrimp (the ones one skewers) had gotten cold and the rice was undercooked. They were accommodating and replaced my dish pretty fast.
There was improvement, but then the 3 coconut shrimp were fried too hard. Also, by the time I got to the 2^nd skewer of lightly-​spiced shrimp, it had gotten cold. I was eating very fast at that point. I really enjoyed the shrimp that came in the garlic sauce. The red beans and the white rice were a tasty combo. I noticed that the size of the shrimp was different between parts of the dish — i.e. large shrimp (cooked a bit too hard) on the skewers and jumbo shrimp for the rest of the dish.
I asked for to-​go containers, as my cousin wasn’t eating much. They were styrofoam, including the cups with lids for the garlic shrimp and the red beans. Also, I was given a large paper bag as they had no plastic ones. Unfortunately, the styrofoam cups tipped in the bag and there was garlic-​smelling leakage. I had to quickly dump the bag, rice, garlic shrimp, and red beans before boarding the L train at Damen. I was left with the plantains and 1 coconut shrimp. :(
I may return, but I recommend more tips for improvement:
– The kitchen should look into finding methods to keep food (particularly seafood) hotter for longer, without overcooking or microwaving.
– Make all the shrimp in the SHRIMP FIESTA of jumbo size, again being careful not to overcook them. Include more of the coconut shrimp.
– Invest in more secure to-​go packaging.
– Offer more than flan items for dessert.
– Make more room between the back tables and the rest of them. There was a lot bumping and maneuvering between areas that could be prevented by a repositioning.
NOTE: Accepts Belly reward cards.

This place is Cuban Approved… well sort of… If you’re looking for authentic Cuban food, try again. BUT this place has 100% good Caribbean food! They’re the only place I’ve ever seen serve Jupina, a sweet soda that should be tried.
If you walk out of this place without having the Lazy Parrot Nachos you are out of your mind! Everything delicious is on them!
The Coconut Shrimp dipping sauce made me almost lick the bowl… in public!
The croquettes were on point! They were even great for a left over sandwich I made the next day.
The Cuban Style Skirt Steak fed two people and there was still some leftover.
The pudiflan was ehhh not the best, but my boyfriend who had never had it before enjoyed it.
The service was great and the food came out VERY quickly. This is definitely a fun, casual place to have some good food. If you enjoy 90 miles, this place is better!

Have ordered delivery from this place twice, and was impressed both times. Not only did the food get to my place extremely quick (both times the food came in 20 – 25 minutes), but everything was delicious and prepared well. The first time I got the garlic chicken, and the second time I got the Chicken Steak plate, which was my favorite of the two and was really well seasoned. I also got the side of guacamole, which was really tasty, and the red beans were also extremely good.
Have not been at the restaurant yet, but looking forward to going and having a meal there.

I am very surprised by the reviews.
I had high expectations for this restaurant and must say that the food was terrible.
We started with the nachos which were the highlight of the meal. The lack of flavor in the chicken on the nachos should have been a sign of things to come. I ordered the shredded beef thinking that it would be ropa vieja. Ropa vieja it was not. The beef came in a brown sauce and lacked any flavor at all. All the ropa vieja spices were missing – garlic, cumin, red pepper, oregano. Where was the tomato sauce and the sofrito? It tasted like it had been prepared quickly and seemed barely cooked. Ropa vieja needs to cook a long time to bring out the flavors. The black beans that came with the meal tasted like the came right out of a can.
My husband had a pork dish that followed the same theme as the shredded beef. No flavor and tough. Our friend had the tilapia which was probably frozen not fresh. The tilapia came with steamed vegetables that were probably frozen as well. Very disappointing. Her comment «I think our work cafeteria makes better food». (note: our work cafeteria sucks!)
Overall, probably the worst cuban food that I have ever eaten. The pizza de la calle in Cuba beat this hands down.
I can say that we won’t be back given the much better choices (where the cooks actually know how to cook cuban food) in the area.

The Lazy Parrot is fantastic! So glad we found this place so soon after it opened, we were sitting there talking about whether the place was new or not until I looked at the window and saw a gigantic «Now Open» sign haha so that solved that mystery. Our waitress later told us it has only been open about a month and a half.
We started with the mashed potatoes appetizer (2 balls of mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef and deep fried!) which was tasty. The place is BYOB and we didn’t bring drinks so that held us over until the main courses arrived.
Dani ordered the shredded beef with rice and I ordered the Tour of Cuba. The shredded beef is DELICIOUS, I didn’t expect all that much I guess but whatever they marinate that stuff in is pure genius.
The Tour of Cuba has some of the shredded beef, their pot roast with cuban sauce, and a healthy portion of their ox tail. Having never tried ox tail before I didn’t really know what to expect but oh my god the meat was so tasty and so tender, it almost fell right off the bone. My dish also came with their carribean rice and some fried plantains, everything was perfect and tasted great. Talk about one huge plate of meat!!!
We had heard about the place from the Youswoop deal so we got out of there super cheap too — the prices I felt were comparable to other Cuban places we’ve been to. We will definitely be back, maybe for one of the live music nights our waitress told us about!

Staff was very polite, place is clean and organized, menu is simple to read. and food is AWESOME!
I ordered the shredded beef with Caribbean rice and I got also the chance of trying the ox tail from my husband’s place… all yumi!
So worth your money, would recommend to anyone. Also thinking about going back to try other dishes.
Place is BYOB!

I’m not one to Unilocal reviews unless i feel really strongly about something. I feel really strongly about how disappointing my delivery from here was.
First I ordered the guacamole. Not a very difficult item to make. The avocados used to make my batch were not ripe. Unripe avocados are tasteless. They could have used some garlic, cilantro, onion or even lime juice to brighten the flavors but to the garbage that went. Dont sacrifice flavor just to make the item. It’s better to say that you ran out.
Secondly I ordered lobster bisque. It tasted more like a sweat cream dip. Almost as if this was pre-​purchased and reheated. Lobster bisque should be luxuriously subtle. If your not making it in-​house dont put it on the menu. If you are making it in house reanalyze your recipe.
Then came the black bean soup. It was just blah. Overly blended. There really was no depth of flavors. So much opportunity to build flavors and texture with a black bean soup and the mark was missed here.
The Cuban tamale was disgusting. It’s like they tried to make a Puerto Rican pastel but failed miserably. If you are going to try this concept you should really work on the ingredients inside. It was basically chicken breast that tasted as it have been boiled then combined with a semi sweet plantain. If you slow cook and shred seasoned chicken this concept would work and would be a good price point for you.
The ham croquettes could have easily been better. Again the «masa» was too wet and over blended. The outside was cooked properly but inside the flavor was doughy and flat.
How can you mess up a Cuban sandwich? By using french bread. You’re telling me that you cant find Cuban bread in Chicago to properly make the sandwich? French bread is too much bread for a Cuban sandwich.
Lastly was the Caribbean style Ox Tail. Only reason why you received 2 stars instead of 1. The Oxtail was cooked properly but the Caribbean yellow rice tasted as if it was reheated from Saturday’s batch instead of Sunday’s.
Cuban food should «POP’ with flavor. The food here fizzled. Not worth the $ 78 I paid and that is a fact.
PS. I also ordered flan but it was not in my order. Based on what I experienced with the rest of the order i didnt even care to complain about the lost four dollars. Go back to the basics.