Best Girls Night Out Tacos Restaurants in Chicago
16 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Cocina TARASCAS Mexican Restaurant
A 1990s-era Lincoln Park fixture with huge platters, strong margaritas, and a busy patio.
Notable Picks
Cocina Tarascas is a long-running Lincoln Park standby (since 1998) where sizzling fajitas, burritos, and strong margaritas anchor a lively tequila-focused dining room. A broad menu, weekend Mexican breakfast, and a busy Clark Street patio make it a default choice for groups wanting classic sit-down Mexican with cocktails.
Must-Try Dishes:
Burrito Tarasco, Mahi Mahi tacos, Chicken flautas
What Makes it Special: A 1990s-era Lincoln Park fixture with huge platters, strong margaritas, and a busy patio.
#2
La Josie
8.6
A modern Jalisco-leaning room that shines when you order in a tight taco-and-shareables lane, backed by a deep tequila and mezcal program. The kitchen’s strongest plays are crispy, rich birria-style bites and bright, acid-forward seafood starters that keep the meal feeling paced instead of heavy.
Must-Try Dishes:
Quesa-birrias (beer birria) with consomé, Aguachile verde, Arrachera tacos (skirt steak)
What Makes it Special: Jalisco-forward cooking with a serious agave bar and rooftop energy.
8.5
La Catrina is a sit-down Mexican restaurant in the Diversey corridor known for birria, lengua, and other taco plates paired with strong margaritas. The room leans colorful and lively rather than hushed, making it a neighborhood choice when you want a full dinner built around tacos and shared appetizers.
Must-Try Dishes:
Birria tacos with consomé, Lengua tacos, Queso fundido
What Makes it Special: Colorful full-service spot where birria and margaritas anchor taco-focused dinners.
8.4
A mariscos-forward spot that leans into bold coastal flavors—think bright ceviches, saucy shrimp plates, and seafood that’s meant to be paired with a cocktail. It’s strongest when you order like a table: one chilled starter, one hot seafood main, and keep the drink lane moving.
Must-Try Dishes:
Aguachile, Ceviche, Salmon
What Makes it Special: Mariscos-driven menu built for ceviche + cocktail pairing.
8.4
Barbaro Taqueria y Cantina brings an agave-forward bar program and polished dining room to a menu of pancita tacos, signature Taco Bárbaro, and modern Mexican snacks. It functions as a neighborhood cantina where cocktails and plated tacos share equal billing, especially for date nights and small-group dinners.
Must-Try Dishes:
Pancita taco, Taco Bárbaro, Queso fundido
What Makes it Special: Modern cantina marrying serious agave cocktails with creative pancita and carne tacos.
#6
Casa Tulum
8.4
Casa Tulum brings a Tulum-inspired, seafood-leaning Mexican menu to the South Loop with beachy decor, cocktails, and a more polished dining-room feel. It’s used for date nights and small groups looking for quesabirrias, ceviches, and composed plates rather than basic combo platters.
Must-Try Dishes:
Quesabirrias, Torta Ahogada, Shrimp Ceviche
What Makes it Special: Design-forward Mexican seafood spot where quesabirrias, ceviches, and cocktails are served in a Tulum-inspired room.
8.3
A high-energy taco pub that’s built for groups and after-work momentum—loud room, fast-moving drinks, and a menu designed for mixing tacos with shareables. The move is to start with queso and keep the taco order focused (two styles max) so the table doesn’t turn into a pile of overlap.
Must-Try Dishes:
Chips & chipotle queso, Al pastor tacos, Carne asada tacos
What Makes it Special: A taco-and-cocktail format that runs like an after-work machine.
#8
Taco Maya
8.3
Vibes:
Trendy Table Hotspots
Family Friendly Favorites
Girls Night Out Approved
Quick Bites Champions
A modern, build-your-plate Mexican spot that lands best when you treat it like a taco-and-margarita lane with a strong salsa-bar finish. The menu runs wide, but the cleanest experience is to anchor on grilled proteins and tacos (especially seafood options) instead of drifting into menu sprawl.
Must-Try Dishes:
Shrimp tacos, Fish tacos (Dorado), Al pastor torta
What Makes it Special: Modern taco lineup with a salsa-bar boost and strong grilled/seafood lanes.
#9
Rojo Gusano
8.2
A mezcal-forward, modern Mexican room where tacos are the anchor and the vibe does a lot of the work, especially on social nights. It’s strongest when you commit to a tight taco set and one shared starter, then let the bar program carry the rest.
Must-Try Dishes:
Pork belly taco, Al pastor taco, Guacamole and chips
What Makes it Special: Tacos paired with a mezcal-heavy cocktail focus in a polished room.
#10
Tacos Tequilas
8.2
Tacos Tequilas is a lively Avondale cantina where a long tequila list meets a broad menu of tacos, fajitas, and combo plates. It’s used as much for margarita-heavy group dinners as for straightforward taco runs.
Must-Try Dishes:
Al pastor tacos, Carne asada tacos, Shrimp tacos
What Makes it Special: Tequila-forward cantina that pairs tacos with big, party-friendly platters.
8
A tacos-and-drinks stop that works best as a late-night hang—weekends run to 1am with a menu that leans into birria and pastor. Treat it like a two-item mission (one birria, one pastor) plus a drink so the table doesn’t sprawl.
Must-Try Dishes:
Birria tacos, Al pastor tacos, Quesabirria
What Makes it Special: Weekend 1am hours paired with birria-and-pastor crowd favorites.
Worthy Picks
Vibes:
Girls Night Out Approved
Birthday & Celebration Central
Happy Hour Hotspots
Trendy Table Hotspots
The Miami-born Bodega brand’s River North location pairs a casual front taqueria with a tequila-heavy bar and late-night energy. Tacos de birria, al pastor, and quesabirria headline a menu built for pregame bites, cocktails, and DJ-fueled nights in a space that leans more party than quiet sit-down.
Must-Try Dishes:
Taco de Birria, Quesabirria, Al pastor tacos
What Makes it Special: Nightlife-focused taqueria-tequila hybrid where birria and cocktails anchor the experience.
7.8
A colorful Andersonville room that translates taqueria cravings into vegan form without turning it into a lecture—think saucy, satisfying tacos and a menu built for shareable bites. Order like you would at a traditional spot: one standout taco style, one rich add-on, then stop.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cauliflower al pastor tacos, Mushroom chimichurri tacos, Quesabirria
What Makes it Special: Vegan tacos that still deliver the saucy, satisfying taqueria feel.
#14
Tallboy Taco
7.8
Opened in 2020 by the Lettuce Entertain You team, Tallboy Taco is a Streeterville counter-service spot for Californian-style tacos, nachos, and margaritas with a sizeable patio. The food leans more toward convenient than destination-worthy, but its $3 taco Sundays and all-day happy hour deals make it one of the more social taco options in 60611.
Must-Try Dishes:
Carne Asada Taco, Crispy Fish Taco, Masa-Crusted Avocado Taco
What Makes it Special: A modern Streeterville taco counter from a major local restaurant group, pairing California-influenced tacos with margaritas and a busy patio.
7.7
Moe’s Cantina River North is a sprawling bar-restaurant geared toward game days, Taco Thursdays, and big-group nights out. Expect solid tacos, fajitas, and shared appetizers rather than chef-y experimentation, backed by loud music, TVs, and plenty of tequila.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fajitas Con Arrachera, Carne Asada Tacos, Elotes
What Makes it Special: High-capacity cantina mixing tacos, fajitas, and tequila with sports-bar energy.
7.6
A fully plant-based taqueria that’s strongest when you treat it like street-food format: pick two taco styles with different textures, add one drink, and stop there. The best items mimic classic taqueria structure—savory filling, salsa heat, and a tortilla that holds—without leaning on novelty.
Must-Try Dishes:
Soy al pastor tacos, Jackfruit barbacoa tacos, Matcha horchata
What Makes it Special: A 100% vegan taco menu that aims for classic street-style satisfaction.