Zapatista, Chicago, Illinois Restaurant Details

Food:

Really quite disappointed with Zapatista. It really looked so promising based on the reviews and based on first glance. It's an impressive looking place when you first walk in. Really nice outdoor seating area and huge indoor square footage as well.

The service was a nightmare from the start. The waiter brought me some flat coke. When I told him he took it back and came back saying both Coke / Diet Coke machines were out, but other drinks were OK. So I asked for a Sprite. Waited... waited... asked again. Then he said, he decided to wait because maybe they could fix the Coke fountain. So I'm like, well bring me the Sprite in the meantime, at least I can start with something. Still nothing... at the end of the day, he says now all of them are not working and they can't be fixed. Can you imagine? A big restaurant like that with no Coke or anything else? If you're out of something as basic as that, then get off your arse to go buy a 24-pack.

While ordering food, I was asking for substitution options since I'm vegetarian. He was being sort of rigid. Eventually, he agreed to fix us up a couple of things. The Chile Rellenitos appetizer was decent, but really tiny portion for the price. The mains were quite highly priced and nothing was great.

Queso Enchiladas - the cheese tasted good, but the corn tortillas were tough. The sauce was good. Overall.. just OK.

Tostadas - The tostadas looked great, but tasted very meh... I can't place my finger on what was amiss, but they were just very average. I think overall, the beans had some flavor. The tostada just didn't come together.

Kids Tacos - It was a simple ask, to just make the tacos and substitute beans instead of beef. The tacos came out with just a shell with melted cheese. After pointing that out, they apologized and switched them out. Looks like they took the same type of taco and threw some lettuce and tomatoes on there. Didn't look very appealing.

The kids meal was supposed to come with lemonade. So we explicitly had to remind the waiter about that. Then he brings out the "lemonade" and it turned out to be just water with some lime in it. Upon asking again, then he says even the lemonade is not available. I already mentioned the on-going ordeal I was having in trying to get a glass of Coke. Again, he didn't offer anything as an alternative. I asked if they had any other juices and he said they did have Orange Juice. OK well... why not at least offer than alternative? This guy was completely oblivious to his job. Seemed like a nice guy, but he was in way over his head. So eventually that OJ came out.

After eating, then again we had to wave someone down to call upon the waiter. We reminded him that the kids meal comes with ice cream. He's like, "oh yeah". 10 minutes later we have the ice cream.

So much waiting... so much prodding. I felt like a dentist pulling teeth at this place. BTW, it wasn't just us. The table next to us complained and called the manager. They weren't given silverware for 5 minutes after their food came out. then the fish the guy was having was under-cooked and he sent it back. The waiter took it back without offering anything in return. Glad he called the manager - with such lousy service maybe I should've done the same.

With prices for entrees at $13-$15 range, this level of non-sense service is unacceptable. I will not be back and I don't recommend Zapatista to anyone else who is actually looking for a pleasant Mexican dining experience.

Food:

I thought I'd give it another chance. Big mistake. The food was terrible, and way over priced.

Food:

Not sure if it was an off night because my experience is completely opposite of the reviewer below. Unoriginal and overpriced Mexican food. Had the Enchiladas de Mariscos and something off about the tortillas - a little tough. Portions were small. Our Platanos Foster was a soupy mess. Service was great though and they have great daily deals.

Food:

Delicious food, fun ambiance, great service, this place has it all. The staff gave us knowledgeable and delectable suggestions that we couldn't have been happier with. If we could have eaten more, we would have. I hear there will be a lovely outdoor seating area when the weather warms up too. I can't wait to come back here!

Food:

I don't think I've ever gotten food from a restaurant before and thought, "This is awful!" but it happened at U Food. I got the Chicken Balsamic Portabella Rice Bowl and it had a horrible balsamic sauce that tasted like sour salad dressing. For my $6.99, I could have gotten two frozen dinners at the grocery store. My advice - stay away from the hot dishes. The salad is probably ok, since that's pretty difficult to mess up.