For $49, you get lunch or dinner for four, including a guacamole appetizer (an $8 value), any four entrees (up to a $20 value each), and one pitcher of El Hechizo margaritas (a $35 value; up to a $123 total value).
Tonight, we dined there. Here's our experience:
Our reservation was for 6:30pm. Half of our party arrived on time, the other half ran 15 minutes behind schedule. Half of the problem was finding the restaurant, which was settled at the north end of the Bolingbrook Promenade mall, across from the Barnes and Noble. Everyone was seated promptly and snacked on chips that seemed a bit "off" (perhaps stale or fried in old oil?) and three different salsas. The first salsa was a tasty, mild red salsa. The second salsa was so bland that none of us to bother eating- or remembering- what it was. The third was a limey-cilantro salsa that was also flavorful but, like the other two salsas, lacked spice.
After around ten minutes, our server came to collect the Groupon and serve the guacamole and pitcher of El Hechizo margaritas (which BTW is a $28 value, not $35 as indicated on the Groupon). The margaritas were heavy on the triple sec. It was a 50/50 split for the group on whether they were good or not. Personally, I enjoyed 1/2 of mine before passing it onto DH. After requesting limes for the table to garnish, DH felt they were average. The guacamole was very tasty. It was a beautiful green smashed avocado - the way guac should be.
It took about 35 minutes before our server came back to take our dinner selection. Upon requesting to order, he told us that his manager said we could order anything on the menu except the filet churrasco (priced at $20). After noting that the Groupon purchased said we could have any four meals up to a $20 value each, the manager told our waiter that it was ok for us to order them. In our party, the order consisted of:
- A medium-rare filete ($20)
- A medium-well filete ($20)
- Carne asada tampiquena ($18)
- Shrimp fajitas - Mago style ($18)
Remember, I mentioned that we were seated by 6:45pm? Well, at 8pm our dinner was finally served. It took forever and a half to receive an ice cold filete, a bloody filete, fajitas with cold beans and rice, and one perfect dish - the carne asada tampiquena.
The two filetes were sent back. The cold steak was "heated up" and returned well-done and dry; the other returned fine. As the poor guy who was stuck with the cardboard filete mentioned, "The way that they heated up a cold steak and re-served it is a reflection and highlight of the poor quality of their kitchen. And the fact that a manager never even bothered to stop by the table throughout the whole two-and-a-half hours we were there shows how much they don't care about their customers."
I had the shrimp fajitas with the ice cold black beans; I didn't bother saying anything about them since I didn't like the flavor much. The shrimp fajitas were tasted by three people. It was very salty and had an authentic flavor. One individual did not like it at all; the other two did (including myself). If you're paying full price, I would not recommend it if you have a hearty appetite, as you receive only six (6) tiger shrimp. This stew-like shrimp mixture has strips of poblano and onion and is covered in melted cheese. It's not like your typical tex-mex fajitas - there are no condiments to accompany it. With the strong flavors of this dish, I think some crema (sour cream) and limes would have been good to have. Overall, it was good - but not $18 good.
The carne asada tampiquena was cooked well and was served with smooth, delicious poblano mashed potatoes and a rich cheese enchilada covered in a smokey mole sauce. The portion was generous. It was the only dish served perfect - it was well prepared, fresh and gave an appropriate value for the price.
So in the end, our bill came out as such:
It was $49 for the Groupon plus $31.36 for the tax & tip, making this dinner $80.36 for four people, or roughly $20/person.
I asked our party to take a quick group shot with their thumbs up/thumbs down opinion on their dining experience. The verdict?
Looks like it's thumbs down all around. Sorry Mago Grill, we won't be coming back.
