Frontera Grill

“Frontera Grill is the place Rick Bayless opened in River North back in 1987 after years of traveling through Mexico researching regional cooking, and it's been going strong ever since with a James Beard Award and a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name. The room is full of colorful Mexican folk art, the music is warm and lively, and the whole atmosphere has that particular energy of somewhere that's been deeply loved by its neighborhood for a long time without needing to reinvent itself to stay relevant. The table-shaken margarita is the ritual that starts most evenings here and it's the right call, made fresh with good tequila and house-squeezed citrus, shaken at your table in a way that makes the whole thing feel like a small ceremony. The ceviche is the dish Frontera built its reputation on first, Pacific albacore with lime, tomato, olive, and cilantro that arrives bright and clean and is the best version of the dish that most people in Chicago have ever had. The enchiladas with mole are the other cornerstone order, and the mole sauce here is genuinely complex in a way that's different from what you'd find at a typical Mexican restaurant, dark and layered with chiles and chocolate and spice that's been developed over decades of cooking. We also had the roasted cauliflower with poblano crema and melted cheese as a side, which turned out to be one of the better vegetable dishes of the meal, charred and rich and properly seasoned. The chocolate pecan pie at the end is the dessert everyone recommends and it earns the recommendation, not too sweet and with a short, buttery crust. The menu changes seasonally and leans into whatever regional Mexican cooking tradition Bayless is exploring at a given moment, which means repeat visits always offer something new alongside the classics.”

“This place is always on point. Have been here multiple times and visit every time in Chicago. We made reservations as it was a Friday night and didn’t want to miss out. We were seated in the bar area. It was a very busy night. Of all the times I’ve been here have never seen Chef Rick. But he happened to be in the bar speaking with a guest that was dining at the bar. It was really cool to see Chef Rick after all the years of dining here. As for the food, it was great as usual. For starters we ordered the chips and salsa. The entrees were tortilla soup. It sounds simple was is very flavorful, they pour the broth tableside. The other entree was the grilled chicken tacos that came with beans and guacamole and fresh tortillas. It was really good. Had to save room for dessert. Got a carajillo and the pecan pie.”

“The food was excellent. So was the friendly service. Michelin Bib Gourmand is well deserved. I especially love the enchiladas de mole. I pretty much scooped the extra sauces into all of my other dishes. Delicious. We ordered a few happy hour items (until 6pm) with the regular dinner dishes. Perfect family style tasting samplers. Don’t bother walking in. We were turned away the night before Even for the next day, the only time was at 4:30pm or after 7:30pm. Happy hour was perfect!”

“We had an absolutely delicious meal at Frontera. The food was top notch - very authentic flavors. The table side margarita service was definitely a highlight. Our server was very helpful and provided great information about all the dishes, and had wonderful recommendations about what to order. Our only complaint was that service could be pretty slow at points. Otherwise we had a lot of fun, would definitely recommend!”

“Amazing hot chocolate! One of the best I've ever had. Everything else was good and tasty, but the flavors didn't stand out. Ceviche was very standard. The grilled steak was good but still a bit chewy. The cuatro cake was too sweet.”