Frontera Grill and Topolobampo Reviews

I always love eating at a Rick Bayless restaurant. I always know the food is good and the service is quick. I went to brunch with friends and they had outdoor seating and it was a nice day. I ordered the chilaquiles which was really good, topped with a fried egg and served with a light salad, perfect for a Sunday luncheon with friends. It's a little expensive but will not break your wallet. The plus is Xoco is next door, you can grab a churro after you're done eating. Recommend for weekend brunch or a casual date.

Love it, love it, love it. Great beers and one of the only places you can get wild game served to you.

Amazing food, great service and enjoyable atmosphere! We couldn't be any happier!

I went there and spent about $80 worth of food during the visit to try different things. My overall experience was not what I had hoped for, considering the cost and the supposed to be reputation of chef Bailey. It was above average, but not by much.
I was seated in a horrible spot that I felt almost falling of the ship and can be easily forgotten by the waiter (and I was multiple times). The food quality was OK... portions were reasonable and on the larger side. Dessert was confusing and not fulfilling, like eating butter that's not tasty. I also had much better mexican hot chocolate that the one I got here; tastes like swiss miss.

As much as I hate to say this, I will go back to this place. I would still try another place for Bailey

The flavors are fresh. A new twist on old Mexican cuisine.

Authentic Mexican food, awesome drinks and great service!

My co worker Jalmil invited us to have dinner on him @Frontera and it was a blast l got a sneak peek @ the greatest smokey Grill Mexican style Chef Rick B your food style was explained to perfection by Jalmil who an employee there thanks so much for good food and warm customer service

Had a great experience and meal recently at Frontera Grill. Dinner for two on a Saturday on Labor day weekend. We didnt have reservations, but there was patio seating available right away or 45 minutes for a table inside. We chose to wait, there are several spots to grab a drink in the vicinity while you wait. Our wait time was shorter than the 45.
The service, drinks and food were great. The proteins were cooked perfectly and everything was flavorful.
The restaurant was hopping but the staff was as attentive as possible and checked often for satisfaction and drink refills.

Authentic Mexican food. We waited 45 minutes to be seated.

Frontera has a lot of hype and I love XOCO so I knew there were high expectations going in. We were told the wait would be an hour but it two hours. After the wait the service was great and the food was good but not worth the wait. The portions are smaller than I expected but are crafted well. I would come back and recommend it as there wasn't a bad thing on the menu but I don't know when I would want to deal with the hassle and costs.

Food was delicious, waiter made great suggestions. Drinks were very good and strong. Service was on point new silverware between courses to say the least. Great overall experience will definitely be back.

Would give zero stars if possible. This is one of the worst restaurants I have ever been to. The food was disgusting. Seafood was nasty and fishy taste. Enchiladas looked like someone did diarrhea on them. Chicken was rubbery and filled with bone and cartilage. All of the food was cold. Spicy when we were told not spicy. Maybe it was theme night since Spicy just resigned as press secretary today? Seriously awful. Overpriced. Go elsewhere.

Quality. No real complaints. The taquitos were delicious. Nothing else really blew my mind.

Great experience. It was everything I was told it would be!

Went there for a birthday celebration and everything was great. Awesome atmosphere and great wait staff. The food is reasonably priced but you'll have to be careful if you're a vegitarian. Great place for a celebration or after-work drinks.

I have two words for you...small bites. We had a party of four and opted to sample many dishes instead of individual meals for each. I ordered the trio ceviche, which you can select up to three out of the five offerings of freshly made ceviche options. This was the perfect starter that set the rest of the night in motion. It was served with a generous supply of hand cut corn tortilla chips and the three options were set on a bed of crushed ice. Nice touch Mr. Bayless. This kept our ceviche nice on cold throughout. We also ordered the huaraches with braised lamb barbacoa. Again a generous portion for four people. We also tried the mole poblano enchiladas, mini sopes, Mexico City quesadilla, creamy poblano pepper-chicken tacos, and mini taquitos, corn tamales, and drinks.

Amazing food, good atmosphere. A bit crowded, but that should be expected with such a name associated with the restaurant.

Quite dissapointed. Made reservation way in advance. On arrival no one to greet u. Sat at table for 20 minutes no one aked us if we wanted drinks. We had to flag someone to order cocktail Server came eventually asked us what we wanted to order for dinner, looked like he was doing us a favor. Appetizer was good. The server came back much later and told us our dinner item was not available. What we did order came out cold and lacked flavor. We were so very dissapointed. Appartenly no one is minding the store Rick !!!

Their tamales and Friday night specials are exquisite! They have really good drinks and a decent amount of vegetarian options. Oh and delicious flan!

Visited twice. Good, tasty, well prepared food although a bit over the top for my general expectation of Mexican food. Good service.

Food ok. Very noisy. Was there for lunch. Limited menu on Saturday.

Haven't been here in years! Food and service were fantastic

Go for lunch! Food was excellent and the service was impeccable. Delicious guacamole. I highly recommend the chef's special #tamales and the ceviche trio. The tacos were also delicious. I felt like we got very personalized service at lunch time as a opposed to a very busy night schedule.

Great place for my birthday! The dessert lasted about as long as my youth.

Great service. Interesting and palatable food and drink.

Delicious tasting menu and the drinks! So many tequilas and mezcal!

A lovely place to enjoy meal with your friends and family. Good ambience. The food was delicious and the waitress recommended the right food based on our liking. The presentation of the food was also very nice. Would definitely visit again if in Chicago again!

The duck breast with guajillo pear sauce is simply delicious.

Overall an excellent meal, highlights were frontera ceviche, Paloma cocktail, fresh corn tamale, and flan. Service was friendly and attentive, sommelier even came by to help with wine selection and was very down to earth

Great food and you definitely dont have to worry about being quiet. Asada Tacos and Chicken Mole were great!

The BEST mexican place ever. And the vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm delicious!

The ambiance and service is nice, but the dishes are extremely over priced and often misleading. We ordered what was labeled as a "cheese quesidilla" which ended up being 3 tiny crumbly cheese pockets. The margaritas were okay, but the equivalent to what I make at home, yet somehow 8x the price. As this was my only night in town, I am kind of disappointed that this is the restaurant we ended up at and somehow ended up spending $80 on a couple a a la cart items. I feel like I could have found an actual street cart and paid $15-$20 for an equivalent meal. I am not sure what all the fuss is about and I recommend going elsewhere.

Small plates. Big price. Ok quality. Huge fan of the salsas. I buy them every time I go to the store. So when I was in town from Atlanta I of course had to try out the restaurant. When talking about the food to my buddy that shares the same appreciation of the salsas he said "well that's why they said to never meet your heroes" and that is about how I would sum this place up. Being from a place that has top notch Mexican food and having traveled to Mexico many times I just thought it was ok. If it was 1/2 the price or 2x the portions I might have given more stars but this is simply a restaurant that may have been great at one time but is caught up in its success or simply Chicago is not a great place to find Mexican food.

Love, love, love,love. Guacamole= super, carne asada = extraordinary, dessert fantastic.

Love to see if I can get a seat at the bar later in the evening....the place is always rockin' and the food is always outstanding!

Went here prior and it was awesome, and went here again last night because a good friend from out of town visited and I had to show him this place. Still awesome! Both of my visits here were for dinner, so I cannot comment on the brunch and lunch. The place is pretty exotic-comfy, nothing way over the top in decor, but a lot of interesting artwork decorates the place. Tables are kinda close to each other though. Service here is some of the best in town; best service for the price of the food by far.

As a party of two, we started with the oysters. Yes, oysters at a Mexican restaurant isn't common, but do have them here, as they are great. My friend was definitely delighted by them as we both shared a half-dozen! Oysters come with a tomatillo and habenero mignonette sauce and chipotle garlic salsa (and of course, limes!). Next we had the Frontera ceviche. Albacore + olives + tomato + cilantro + green chiles + lime = mouth orgasm on tostaditas. For entrees, my friend had the Mole Trio - two enchiladas in a poblano mole, vegetables in a green peanuty mole, and pork and beans in a savory chocolatey-spiced mole. I definitely will try that for next time, but it looked great and he loved it. I had the Saturday special, the Costillas, or ribs. Very tender and juicy ribs with a spicy chipotle sauce. Very tasty! During all this, I had my fair share of the superb magaritas suggested by our super friendly waiter (Friend just had one and water the rest of the evening). Portions are very generous, so we got to go home with quite a bit of yum that my roommate ate up and enjoyed. Love Rick Bayless and his awesomeness is reflected in the food. A must-try if you are ever in Chicago!

This place is great. Amazing interior design really has some vibrant sculpture and artwork. Our server was amazing. Always attentive to us and our drinks. Must have visited the table 20 times. Delicious and reasonably priced lunch considering the reputation. You won't see the same old Mexican dishes here. Definitely give it a try. There is another side to the restaurant with another name and menu which I will have to explore next time.

Beautiful place with great margaritas and amazing food. The braised goat was out of this world good.

Nothing special. Made a reservation for 5 people , they led is to a table of 4. Also over the phone they told me they open at 4 30, and turns out they are open earlier. We had 2 bottles of wine, 2 of the worst margaritas ever , 3 appetizers, couple beers, and our bill was $200. Not worth it. Also super super loud with the music blaring above us . If I were visiting Chicago again I would not go back.

It's what you expect. High quality ingredients, great flavours, and a good dining room vibe. Watch out, the ceviche can be quite spicy!

Good not great but important for its place in the landscape

Great food and service!.. Best mole I have ever had.. Their mashed potatoes are ridiculously good too. I recommend it!

Long wait time.
Walked in instead of reservation, my bad on my part. Staff was gracious enough to seat my partner and I near the bar. We waited about 15 minutes for someone to approach us and to order our drinks. Drinks come in 10 minutes. While that does seem average for a busy Saturday night, it took us another 45 minutes to leave. All the while, a gentleman that came in seconds before us was seated, ordered drinks, his food, snapped an Instagram photo, had dessert, paid, and left. While we were not even given the opportunity to order our food.

I have never had Mexican food that tasted so good. I wish I didn't live 4 hours away or I would be eating here at least twice a week.

Service: excellent. Atmosphere: excellent. Drinks: excellent. Food: dishes range from very good to we went back three nights in a row for the molotes ;)

Rick Bayless is the man... if you like fancy mexican food, then this place is for you.

One of the worst restaurants I ever been to in my life and overpriced unauthentic "Mexican" food. They also have an unexpected 20% service charge.

Also, what kind of freaking enchilada is this (see pic)?

If you want authentic Mexican food and the best margaritas, look no further than Chef Rick Bayless' flagship restaurant.

Favorite happy hour spot! Parking can be difficult but the happy hour makes it worth it!
Te'kila wings are mouth watering and amazing!!!!!

The waitlist is worth the wait! Excellent food, great service!

My family and I loved it. Great tasting appetizers and main entrees. Extensive drink selection. Attentive and friendly service by our waiter, Antonio. Great ambiance.

Great food and excellent drinks. But the tables are so close. I could.have eaten something off the next table without stretching.

Sad to leave a mediocre review... but our night here was dissapointing. One and a half hours to get our meals even though it was not at capacity. High cost made this famous restaurant not a good value despite food that was quite good.

Outstanding authentic Mexican food in Chicago for more than 30 years!

Trendy place. Food is good. But I wouldn't call it exceptional. Difficult to get in. So I guess it's popular

Do your self a favor and don't go to this place. Super overrated

I order a smoked brisket in black mole. It was dam good. The brisket was very tender and fell apart easily. Little effort was need to cut pieces off of it. The black mole was mild on the spice and had a hint dark chocolate. Lastly the purple potatoes were also very good. I most likely would get something else to drink than the wave drink I ordered; should have tried their old fashioned. Definitely hope to go back.

If Topolobampo is out of your price range don't miss Frontera. Great food, service, and cocktails.

Incredibly tasty vegetarian options! Really pleased.

This place is absolutely amazing!! There are three restaurants to choose from. Fast food (XOCO), Family style Mexican (Frontier Grill), and Topolobampo which is more on the classy, fine dining side. All of there food is very fresh. Their kitchens are spotless, and everyone is very friendly. I wanted to take some friends out to eat in Chicago, and I am so happy that I chose Frontera Grill! It topped my favorite list in every way. The food was delicious, and the desserts were out of this world! The pastries were the perfect texture with an amazing flavor. I will be telling everyone about this restaurant! Oh and did I mention the price, everything is very reasonable!

I like Mexican food.... But this is the worst Mexican place I have ever been... The duck was a disaster.... Even the tortilla wasn't good.... We didn't finish the food..but service was very good... I don't recommend it if you are planning to eat

Chef Rick Bayless and his team make you enjoy and savor Mexican food.You must try the taquitos, sopes, churros, chilaquiles, guacamole, splurge margarita, and everything. The waiters are exceptional and very knowledgeable about the menu. I love the restaurants' decorations. My husband and I only go to Chicago to eat at Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco, and lena Brava.

I brought a group of 8 here last night because I've had such a nice meal and service the last two times we were here and nothing changed my opinion, and 6 others who had never been here loved it as well.

Outstanding. Consistently one of the best dining experiences ever.

Great guacamole. Great Mole Enchiladas. It was admittedly a lunch time portion, but the size was stereotypically gourmet... on the small side.

I have wanted to go to Frontera since 2004. It was definitely worth the wait for me and truth be told: I went for dinner two nights in a row because, well, why not? I am traveling solo so I was able to get a single seat at the bar pretty easily both nights. Granted, I did go on a Tuesday and Wednesday. The staff both nights were very friendly. I particularly liked Diego's hospitality. Very professional and gave great suggestions. He also makes superb drinks! The atmosphere is bright and colorful. All that you would expect from an authentic Mexican restaurant. The first night I got the Uchepos, which are "Michoacan-style sweet corn tamales" and I loved them. The black beans are so good. I also had quite a few shaken Blue Agave Margaritas, served up with a half rim of salt. Perfecto if you like more citrus than sweet. There are sweet margs are the menu though. Please don't be the ill-prepared one that asks if they have frozen margs. Rick Bayless ain't about that life. On the second night, I got the Two-Bite Tostadas of Barbacoa as an app. Yuuuummmm. My main course consisted of the nightly special: Conchinita Pibil which is "achiote-marinated suckling pig slow-roasted in banana leaves." This dish is served with a very spicy habenero salsa and they will worn you when they deliver your food that is is very hot. It is very hot but super delicious if you like a lot of spice. It's smokey and adds depth to the meal. The homemade corn tortillas are delightful and not dense like a store bought kind. You must go if you love authentic Mexican food made from all locally sourced ingredients. If this review is helpful, please give a LIKE. Buen provecho.

Was hoping to stop in here during a weekend trip to Chicago. Walked in during dinner to a 45-min wait, as expected, but ultimately chose bar seats which were available almost immediately. Glad we did - no wait and the service from our bartender/server (I believe it was Luis) was as close to perfect as could be. He demonstrated a vast knowledge of the dishes and their origins, was extremely courteous, and was attentive without going overboard. A+.



Frontera nails all the little details on both the food and service side of things. No cut corners here, and the product reflects as much. We'll definitely be stopping back in next time we're in Chicago to try more on the menu. 5* you'd expect from a Rick Bayless joint.

Good food good service, going back as soon as I can. The entree's were amazing and the service as I said before was fantastic, Thank you Henry. The atmosphere is a little loud but really enjoyable.

We must have come on a bad night since it looks like most people gave great reviews recently. Which is sad- because I was really looking forward to eating at Frontera.
We were told an hour wait upon checking in. We came back in an hour and were told it would be another hour and that we mis-heard and they never said an hour to begin with. All 9 of us mis-heard? Okay. Then they seated half of us and the other half had to wait another 20 minutes to be seated. Weird...If its near impossible to seat 9 on a saturday- thats totally cool- we would have gone else where if they just would have told us that from the very beginning..
The chips salsa and guac were good. The waiter was nice. The rest of the food was so so. My friend ordered one of their 'signature' dishes and found a pink springy tendon or maybe artery that looked like a small weiner sticking out of her chicken. And another friend had a hair on her plate.... I had the taquitos and tamales which were both okay.
Overall- sadly not impressed.

One of these stars is exclusively for our server, who was doing her best to make up for a bad night and comped us part of our meal because she recognized how poor the night had gone. We made reservations and arrived on time and we were sitting directly in front of the host stand (a girl asked us twice for the name on the reservation), but I was still expected to see a text on my phone to know my reservation was ready ? We were staaaaarving so very happy to finally sit, but then had to wait 30 minutes to order, and then in the next hour and a half we only got two appetizers. Our server felt terrible (seemed like she was running the floor alone), and explained that they had lost some kitchen staff, but that s no excuse for such extreme wait times in an award-winning restaurant.

Food was good. The ceviche seemed less than fresh and lacked salt. The dessert (Torta de elote) sounded great on the menu but did not deliver. Overall underwhelming !

Had the duck xico mole which was so so tasty, rich and earthy and with perfectly seared duck breast. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful. Would go back again, but not before trying Rick Bayless's other restaurants first!