Rating: 3.5 of 5 pitchforks

Taco Express in Westmont, recently named the number one Mexican restaurant in the Western Suburbs by a local award, offers a wide variety of traditional Mexican dishes. With plenty of seating and a quick ordering process, we were able to enjoy our food just minutes after arrival.

In choosing our dishes, it was easy to determine what we wanted because the restaurant provided a picture of each menu item spread across the restaurant walls. Each entrée could also be specifically modified to any customer’s preference. For example, a dinner entrée included beans and rice as a side, but could easily be substituted for their famous tortilla chips and fiery salsa.

In comparison to other Mexican fast food restaurants like Chipotle, the food was more expensive – about $11 a person. However, the authenticity of the food made up for the extra money we spent. Aside from the actual food, the restaurant had an array of genuine, Mexican drinks that we enjoyed.

Even though the restaurant had extremely quick service, the staff had a somewhat difficult time understanding our requests; we had two errors in our meals. We decided on chicken enchiladas, which ultimately came out as beef enchiladas. Even so, the beef did its job in satisfying our hunger and taste buds. The second entrée we ordered was the burrito suizo, a mildly spicy burrito topped with savory cheese and drowned in a sweet and tangy red sauce.

The burrito, however, was requested to have no beans but still was smothered in refried beans. It was delicious nonetheless.

The restaurant was not overly crowded at 3 p.m. on a weekend when we went, which gave the atmosphere a bland feeling. However, the staff explained that the most popular time of the day was late at night.

Overall, the restaurant provided tasty food with sufficient service. We enjoyed our meal and would recommend it to anyone looking for authentic Mexican food.