Macarena Tapas

This restaurant is one of my favorite places to go to spend time with friends and family and enjoy a great meal. Their sangria and margaritas are really good and the selection of tapas is outstanding. If you’re not familiar with the concept, try going on a Wednesday night when they offer many selections for $ 5 each. Nice atmosphere, outdoor seating, and incredibly good service from friendly staff.

I really wanted to like this place. I’ve been desperate for good Spanish tapas since having them in Spain. I read the mixed reviews and thought I would give it a try. Please take my advice and don’t go.
We called ahead of time to see if there was a wait and how long. The person on the phone told us it would be about a 20 minute wait. We arrive about 10 minutes later and the place was empty other than about 3 other couples. I guess it’s possible they were busy when I called and in the 10 minutes it took to drive there they cleared out. At 7 on a Saturday night.
They had outdoor seating that was not offered to us. We were taken to a table in the corner. The table was dirty when we sat down. The bread plates were dirty also. One set of silverware was given to us (there were 2 of us).
The waitress came to take our drink order and it appeared that we were more of an inconvenience than anything (we hadn’t even mentioned the dirty/​table plates yet). I mentioned that they had advertised on Facebook that they were having a Memorial Day special on drinks (halfprice margaritas and sangria). The waitress told me that was only during the week. I brought it up on Facebook for her. We ordered a sangria and a margarita. Both were very watered down/​sweetened. Could not taste the liquor at all.
Bread was brought to our table– 2 hard rolls and butter packets. The menus were printed upside down. We ordered 3 different items, somewhat pricey but we are ok with that of the food is really good. It was not. Mediocre at best. The beef tenderloin arrived room temp. Not a lot of flavor other then the balsamic reduction. The avocado sauce reminds me of the gross «guacamole» packets you get at the cafeteria. We ordered dessert– a chocolate tart. The inside was good along with the raspberry sauce but the outside was dry and crumbly. Also, everything was in the smallest possible portions. I understand that tapas are small portions by nature, but this was excessive.
Again, please take my advice and go elsewhere. Our little taqueria around the corner has MUCH better food for MUCH better prices.

This place is great! We had delicious tapas! I recommend the goat cheese fritters, empanadas, sangria and the salmon. The chef/​owner was so friendly, generous and personable. It was a great evening and I’ll definitely be going back. I’ve had a lot of tapas in my time and I have to say this food was delicious, fresh and flavorful. A great example of Spanish tapas.

This place was great. Everything was delicious, the service was great, and the chef John came out and talked with us. Loved the scallops and filet skewers. Can’t wait to go back and try the grilled octopus and the filet dinner.

We celebrated mother’s day with an early dinner. The food was excellent, possibly the best tapas I have ever had. The service was excellent, our server was attentive making sure we had everything we needed. The atmosphere was comfortable and the noise level was moderate. We had a great time and will definitely be back.

I have been to Macarena for Mother’s Day, GNO’s and date night and it never disappoints! The food presentation is amazing and delicious, service is above and beyond and atmosphere fun… I’ll continue to recommend to friends and family!

This place is trying to be something it’s not. Friday night, two blocks from home, rave reviews, we head out to be there early before the rush. We want to try a variety of stuff. Order gin and tonics. Service is slow in a restaurant where there’s just one other couple dining. Wait staff standing around chit chatting. We order the shrimp tacos. Flat tasting over cooked. Next the soft shell crab tacos. Over over cooked tacos. Pretty tasteless due to over cooking. Next the carnitas tacos. This meat taste like it was boiled in water. We had to beg to get some sauce to cover up the taste. Last was the steak tacos. Oh brother, boiled again! We told the owner how bad the food was. He asked us what we thought was good Mexican food. We said any number of cheap hole in the wall restaurants around here. He promptly said all the restaurants in the area were crap except his, and we never had true Mexican fine dining! Here’s a place with bare wooden tables and a wall where customers can write there names and he calls this fine dining. Find a little Mexican dive and enjoy good reasonably priced food far from this place. It is an expensive waste of time… And no other customers showed up on a Friday night!

Every time we’re here we wonder why it isn’t more often. Excellent SPANISH tapas, unique in the area. Our must have list includes the goat cheese fritters, the beef empanadas, the spicy potatoes and our new favorite — the beef tenderloin bites (can’t remember their actual name). Super tender beef wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled peppers and onions? Absolutely out of this world, a must try. Lots of options in the wine department, but really their flavored sangrias are the way to go. The owner John is great, you can tell he really cares about the place. Can’t wait to go back once it warms up a little bit, their patio is really cute. Seems like they’re going through some changes and are working their way back from a semi-​mexican place to more authentic spanish tapas, can’t wait to see what’s next!

Food was literally to die for, and the margaritas were pretty decent. Awesome atmosphere inside. Definitely going back

Mediocre tapas, served lukewarm in poor lighting so you don’t notice how small the portions are, or how empty the place was at 7PM on a Friday. Two stars only because it’s close to my house. The St Charles area could use a good tapas place. This is not it, and my chance encounter with their restaurant in Naperville didn’t wowzle me either. Make the drive and go to Mason Sebika, Vera, or Mercat a la Planxa, all of which are much better and offer a truer representation of gourmet Spanish food.

Great atmosphere and great food with a ton of flavor. Can’t wait to go back and try more

My new favorite place!!! My husband and I ordered several tapas and chicken tacos that were all so perfectly made. The white sangria was some of the best I’ve ever had and it was a great portion too!
there’s many more things on the menu that we would love to try so we will definitely be back.
As a sidenote the menu is not as extensive as some tapas restaurants but everything was still very good.
Also service was fantastic!

Well, that’s it. Third strike.
I’d seen a few decent reviews of MT lately here on Unilocal,so I thought we’d give it another go. They’ve remodeled since we were here last, and it’s smaller and more cozy. Lots of presumably fake graffiti written on the walls of the booths.
They’ve also adopted the Bien Trucha folded sheet of paper menu as well as the BT limited selection.
Too bad they didn’t also adopt the BT level of service and quality of ingredients.
One waiter for the entire room. Waiting tables, and bussing.
Food arrived just above room temperature. Goat cheese croquettes were very good, but smaller than a ping pong ball each — and at 5 for $ 11 — not much of a value. The beef empanadas looked tasty, but the gristly meat inside was a turn-​off. Waiter warned that the chicken taco plate was «hot, careful very hot!» Of course we couldn’t help ourselves and we touched the plate anyway. Cool to the touch. And the tacos were only slightly warmer.
Maybe we just looked stupid?
$ 10 margarita was a watery, bland drink. The «premium» option looked like it was nothing more than a better tequila, same sour mix, etc.
Beer selection is thin. Desserts looked okay, but we decided to take a pass on that option.
We won’t be back.

We went for taco Tuesday. I should’ve checked Unilocal first. Food was cold. Small portions. They charged $ 4.99 for chips and salsa. We ordered rice and beans on the side for 2 people… that in it self was $ 11.98! The salsa was the green kind but it tasted «pickled» not great at all. My daughters mac and cheese was $ 5.99 and that was very small… her apple juice was $ 3.49…our raspberry iced tea was cheaper at $ 3.25 each… then we ordered 8 of the $ 1.99 tacos… which you have to order in groups of 4 and you cant mix and match… so you order 4 of the same kind at once. Very disappointing.

Made a reservation on Open Table for
Our anniversary. Arrived at 7:30 for our 7:30 reservation to find the restaurant locked! Sign in the door said open til 8!

Good food, fresh and outdoor seating was nice, it was a beautiful night.
I had a mango mojito, very delish! It was pricey though!
I ordered shrimp tacos, my hubby ordered chicken tacos. Both very flavorful.
We ordered chips and salsa, chips weren’t homemade, but the salsa was yummy!
We would come back…

I’ve been here a couple of times now and have finally given up on the place. I don’t think they could pay me to come back.
The food has been consistently disappointing and service is just so-​so. In a city with so many culinary delights this place isn’t worth your time or money.

We got seated but it took nearly 15 minutes for anybody to show up at our table. It wasn’t even busy, but there was only one server in the entire restaurant. When our server showed up, he was at the table next to us where the customer complained that their food arrived cold. We were quickly discouraged about trying this place for our first time.
We ordered and our 4 tapas MAGICALLY showed up quickly in about 3 minutes. Was it freshly made or been sitting there in advance of any orders??? Maybe it was just nothing complicated to make.
Other reviewers raved about the meatballs, which I thought was overrated, mediocre, and mushy like they’ve been braising all day. They didn’t taste anything spectacular sitting in a tomato sauce. The smoked salmon was okay and drowned in a heavy drizzle of sour cream sauce that we had to scrape off.
We did find the bacon scallops, beef tacos with pineapple, and beef empanadas all to be pretty good. The rest were just average.
Although the server when he served us was a very pleasant fellow, I think the place is too pricey for the service, and annoying waiting time for service throughout the meal, and the food wasn’t that spectactular. We’ll be returning to our other favorite tapas restaurants instead.
We do not plan to return.

Let me start off by saying, this place has really really nice décor and people can write on walls if they have enjoyed their food, which is amazing. My friend didn’t really like most of the options because all the tacos had a «premade» filling to it and she does not eat Onions, so everything had them, she everything just went for tacos with mushroom filling, which was pretty sad. We did order «Patatas Bravas a Nuestra Manera» — sauteed potatos which I thought was really good and it looked really good as well. I ordered the «Tortas de Cangrejo» — crab cakes served in a wooden plank. It was definitely smaller than expected, I thought I would get a side of coleslaw but it was just like a topping.
I really wanted to have some desserts here, but we didn’t. But, I would defnitely recommend this place if you are in a group and just want to hang out for some drinks and some light appetizers. The place had awesome ambiance and some nice music as well.

Oh my.
So apparently this place partakes in the age-​old tradition of Taco Tuesday. They’re too classy to say this, so they just say «$ 1 tacos on Tuesday.»
We see through your ruse, but I’ll let it slide because of the amazing food. This time.
Anyways. I went on Friday night and got a reservation because, you know, if you’re given the option on a Friday night, you go with it. We got there at 5:30 and it was pretty much empty. Cue laughing at myself and the Seating Host joking about how «It really does get busy, I swear!» Turns out he was right. In the two hours my friend and I were there, it really did start to pick up and by the time we left every table was taken.
Lesson one: use a reservation on Friday, Saturday, or Tuesday because those are their busy nights. Unless, like me, you decide to eat at a geriatric time of night.
We ordered Tapas one at a time. First with the bacon wrapped dates, then we got beef empanadas, garlic mushrooms, and then an order of chicken tacos. Because you have to see if you’ll like taco Tuesday. We wanted a recommendation, and the waiter (who is, coincidentally, a part-​owner) recommended the chicken tacos. Thank you, my friend! They were great. I’d absolutely recommend any of these four dishes to you, but I have a feeling that just about anything on their menu would be good.
I have to say, I really really love this place. As someone who’s lived in or near St. Charles my whole life, I’m so glad that there’s finally a decent restaurant near that intersection.