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fdm Restaurant
Rating Details »
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Neighborhood: North Center3908 N Lincoln Ave
(between Byron St & Larchmont Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 348-7635
- Nearest Transit:
-
Irving Park (Brown)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
10 reviews for fdm Restaurant
The Place:
Last night my fiancée and I were delighted to serendipitously come across Fonda Del Mar's new location on Lincoln. From the looks of the outside I would have never expected the vast, clean, modern looking room done up in white and tan. At the door the owner, and former co-worker of mine, Luis Montero, greeted us, sat us and proceeded to wait on us. When I asked him why he was waiting tables now that he is a successful restaurateur he informed me that he wanted the opportunity to get to know his customers and describe the food. When we worked together back in the day at Mia Francesca's Luis always displayed a passion for the business and his attention to the details at FDM shows that his passion remains.
The Food
Luis started us with a delicious calamari dishes with corn and arugula that we followed with a crab ceviche. For the main course my lady and I split some sort of amazing shredded pork with black beans that we wrapped up in some homemade tortillas. I ate all of this, mind you, after already having had dinner prior to coming in (we didn't plan to have dinner but my lady was hungry). All the dishes had their own unique flair and I felt afterwards that my palate had just received an education on all sorts of now flavor combinations. In one word, the food was exciting to eat.
The Margaritas
All the margaritas were good (we tried 4 different kinds) but the Rustica stands out. Supposedly the tequila used in this drink goes through a special processes involving being buried in the dirt and subjected to voodoo incantations (ask Luis for the real story). All I know is that it was smoking, earthly, tasty and intense. Give me another.
I wish I could give fdm more than 5 stars!!!!
We came here on a stormy Wednesday night, and basically had the restaurant to ourselves. They had a special of $5 margaritas (oh sweet Jesus) so already I felt like I was getting a deal!
The service is fantastic...it feels much like a family-run restaurant. The servers aren't very intrusive but are able to answer any question related to the menu, or the restaurant itself.
Now onto the food....the food!!!! Margaritas are amazing, and we had the empanadas appetizer, which tasted delicous. We also ordered chips and salsa and it was a refreshing change of pace from the normal chips and salsa you receive at the neighborhood tex-mex restaurants. Our main entrees were some of the best mexican dishes yet so simple: blue corn tortilla tilapia tacos and plaintain/beef/pork enchiladas....YUM! Really, you just gotta experience this for yourself.
fdm is one of the few mexican restaurants that serves a normal (read: not heaping) portion so you will exit the restaurant full but not stuffed, which rarely happens with mexican restaurants. Or at least with ME and mexican restaurants! Try fdm...you won't be disappointed.
Hubby and I had dinner here last night and were very happy with our experience. The decor is pretty funky, and my husband was a little worried it would be "too trendy" based on the decor. I kind of liked it as it is very bright and open. The chips and salsa they bring out before your meal were yummy! The salsa was unlike any other I have had before, so it was a refreshing change. We both had Mexican beers with our dinner and were surprised to see our Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo were the same prices as a Corona. We also had a good laugh over the overly drawn out descriptions of the beers and tequilas. Some were pretty funny (not sure if it was intentional though)! My husband had the Carne Asada, and it was cooked perfectly. He was very happy with the dish, and the one bite I had was delicious. I had the Pescado Tikin Xic which could have been very good except the mahi mahi was overcooked. However, the salsa on top of the fish and the seasonings were really delicious. I also loved the yucatean onions that came with the fish. The garlic mashed potatoes was an odd pairing though. Our server and busser were both very friendly and attentive. And I appreciate the server didn't bat an eye when we ordered tequila shots for dessert! :) The tequila list was good, but our shots of Herradura Añejo were a little on the small size. Overall it was a pleasant dining experience and with the coupon they gave us with our bill, we will definitely be back.
The food at fdm is exceptional; this is not a Tex-Mex place. The service was great and everyone was attentive and friendly. The ingredients are fresh and the dishes are flavourful. We had crab ceviche which was slightly smoky and delicious. The poblano tomatillo soup was terrific. Their cochinita pibil (slow-cooked pork shoulder in banana leaf) was served with black beans, pickled yucatean onions and habanero salsa as well as fresh tortillas. The flavours really complemented each other. The fish dish was fresh and moist. The Mexican rice was a very pleasant surprise. The garlic mashed potatoes were among the best I've ever had. The shrimp was perfectly tender. The chocolate flan was velvety and rich. We're definitely coming back.
The only reason it's not a five is we've only had one visit---but we are looking forward to going back.
If you want standard Mexican fare---this is not your place. But if you want creativity, totally fresh ingrediants, and excellent service---give it a try.
A smokey margharita was new to me and I loved it. Well spaced tables, attentive service, high quality food.
A bit on the pricey side---but the value was there.
Went to fdm tonight with the hubby after walking by several times over the past month saying we should give it a try. Although we were the only people there (due to holiday weekend, perhaps?), we had a wonderful meal. We didn't realize they had their liquor license yet, so we brought a bottle of wine. They didn't charge us a corking fee which earned them bonus points from the start. We shared the uchepos as an appetizer - cheesy corn husky delisciousness. I had the chicken dish, and hub had the pork shoulder. Both were served with homemade corn tortillas, which were fantastic. They even threw a dozen in our doggy bag as well. Friendly staff and great service - I hope this place stays around!
AMAZING service!!! Our waiter was phenomenal! The food was good (not as spicy as the original Fonda Del Mar) and the Margaritas were great! We had the ceviche with lump crab meat and a spicy sauce (very good) and I had the mahi mahi and my husband had the red snapper. We both felt the fish was fresh but that the sauce was not spicy enough. So on the whole a good experience, and with some more spice it would have been perfect.
Brand new. Night #2. Great, big room. Friendly servers. I wanted it to be great...I really did. Everything was decent to pretty good, but nothing was so great that I'd be running back right away. I'll try them again in the future since they are right in the neighborhood though. We had the calamari app, along with the Shrimp and Scallop dinners, which both came with homemade corn tortillas. Maybe they need a bit more time to get settled...give them a try.
I went here last night because I was crazing mexican food. The place was nice - simply decorated but it looked clean and modern. The food on the other hand was a huge disappointment. We order 4 dishes: chicken tamales and crab cakes for appetizers and enchiladas and mahi mahi for entrees. All of the dishes were terrible. The food lack flavor and tasted like it has been pre-made and sitting out for days. Our tamales were tough and dry. The beef and pork filling in the enchiladas tasted like broiled meat with no seasoning, and the mahi mahi had to be the worse piece of fish I have ever had at a restaurant, dry and bland. 2 stars for the decent magaritas. Maybe go here for drinks but stay away from the food.
I was so enthralled by my experience at the Logan Square location, I had to give their sister restaurant a try. I was disappointed. The guacamole was NOT freshly made. The darker green to brown color gave it away. It was missing that punch too and definitely needed more sea salt. Nothing outstanding about it. I had the queso relleno, which was a big dissappointment. Cheese instead of a pepper. Ewww, what was I thinking. Toooooo much cheese and very bland, even with a fairly delicious sauce. It was pretty terrible and I was a bit appalled at how they served it for the price they did. Don't come hungry. Now on the other hand, my daughter had a dish that she loved. She had the tiliapa on spinach with a goat cheese walnut sauce. She loved it, especially the nice accent the walnuts gave the creamy sauce. The tortillas were okay, but not as great as I remembered then from Fonda Del Mar in Logan Square. Definitely had buyers remorse after this expensive meal.