Istmo is a Mexican Oaxacan restaurant located in Lakeview, Chicago. The chef has a background in professional soccer and studied under notable chefs.
5
Highly Recommended!
Vibe: Great ambiance, perfect for celebrating our anniversary.
Service: Outstanding. Felimon was highly attentive despite having a larger table to take care of, and the rest of the team kept our table clean and glasses of water filled.
Food: Delicious Queso Fresco, perfectly medium-cooked Tlayuda, and a wonderful cardamom dessert.
Drinks: Great Hibiscus Margarita and a very interesting Raizes sour.
Verdict: We had a great time and will absolutely return!
Ps: I found it very interesting how they present the bill in a little basket. 😁
An incredible dinner experience. Every dish melted in your mouth, and the drinks were delicious. The desserts are insanely light and zesty. We ended up trying almost every dessert with how tasty they were.
Highly recommend this spot, it might be my new top favorite restaurant 💯🔥👀
This is the best Mexican cuisine I've had in Chicago. The black mole is outstanding! There is a depth in flavors and mix of textures in every dish. We keep coming back and it's delicious every time. Their jalapeño cilantro margarita and cucumber margarita are so refreshing!
The place is very elegant and everything is designed beautifully all the way down to the utensils. The flavors were very unique and expertly paired.
My issue is the platters are labeled as shareable yet they weren’t very shareable things like tlayudas and tostadas come out as one piece that you have to somehow break apart and share with people.
Let me start off by saying this has been hands down the best service experience I've ever had, and that saids a lot. Not one time did I have to flag anyone down and always checked in. Food was absolutely outstanding! The ambiance and art/decor was also a vibe. I had such an amazing time! That braised pork I will be dreaming about!
