On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Division (Blue)
Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Fri-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Loading...
this BYOB is definitely worth checking out!
For two people I found the food to be very reasonably priced.
We had an enormous plate of octopus, shrimp, and oysters cooked in an amazing salty garlicky sauce. We also had a shrimp and octopus cocktail for an appetizer. The bill was only around 30 bucks and I had enough leftovers to fry up with my eggs the next morning!!!!
The service was pretty awful on our visit. We were there for about an hour and a half and our water wasn't filled once.
I am looking forward to the next seafood coma.
I love BYOB's - generally great food and fantastic values; and you get to bring in a better bottle of wine for way less than they'd charge at marked up prices. So I was pretty excited to try this place based on personal recommendations and subsequent yelp reviews. And we found it to be just a-ok, like the stars above say.
No doubt, you get plenty of seafood at fantastic prices. And the salsa is indeed hotter than Hades - my husband craves hot food and had to take a few minutes to recover from this concoction. We started with the complimentary fish ceviche and ordered a shrimp ceviche as well; and both were very good.
When it came time to order, we were baffled by the huge amount of choices, and decided on the langostinos, which had been recommended to me, and the lobster nayarit. Both were huge servings, tons of seafood - but in my opinion, they were both way overdone and too greasy. The langostinos were tough and overcooked and swimming in butter; we did not finish them. And the lobster platter was good, but again, very greasy and overdone.
I've had cheap seafood before at dives in San Diego, and they were prepared fresh and succulently. I think if this place would cut the cooking time in half, they'd be better off.
The service was fine and amiable; and the decor was casual and appropriate for the kind of place it is.
If I was in the neighborhood, I'd probably order from them more. But I don't imagine that I will go out of my way to eat here again.
It's no secret that I love my birthday. I don't see it as a year older, I see it as an excuse to get to see some people in my life that I rarely get to see. So when my coworkers offered to throw me a shindig to celebrate, I was delighted!
Mariscos el Veneno was my choice. I wanted BYO, I wanted someplace a little bit different, and this seemed to fit all my requirements.
Almost entirely seafood, this menu was daunting at first. I really wanted the langostinos (prawns), because I love that sweet meat, but the whole legs still on it made me shy away. Not to worry, this birthday girl was lucky enough to get someone else to order them and pick out the meat for me. Delicious. And perfectly spicy. I think I would just suck it up and figure out how to deal with the little eyes staring at me for my next trip.
Let me take a brief diversion to the whole spicy issue. The sauce on the table bruised my mouth. Never in my entire life have I experience a searing pain from a salsa until that fateful night. But the best part, now that it's over, is that we ALL experience it, and we all were laughing and crying our spicy tears together. And the ceviche brought for the entire table at the beginning of the meal contained the perfect neutralizing tomatoes and refreshing seafood flavor that calmed our sore mouths.
I went with the crabs, Nayarit style (Pacific coast of Mexico). It was a massive plate of crabs, drenched in sweet butter sauce. (See here: http://static4.px.yelp...) No bibs or crab-crackers here, so my crab companion and I created our own bibs and basically immersed ourselves in the buttery goodness in front of us. I eventually gave up, my arms immersed in butter to my elbows, I was full of delightful crabby goodness.
Also enjoyed at the table was the stuffed pineapple. A half pineapple, stuffed with shrimp, octopus, and other seafood delights, it was enormous (and looked yummy to boot). Another specialty was the huge platter with shrimp and octopus. Spicy and delicious, this was yet another thumbs up dish from the table.
Guacamole is a fabulous deal, $3 for a MASSIVE plate, perfectly chunky and perfectly spiced. It's the perfect accompaniment to the spiciness of some of the dishes.
No corkage fee here, which is a nice touch.
The service was outstanding. They stored my lovely cake in the back while we ate dinner and brought it out to a birthday song with candles, which was a lovely treat. Plenty of water was provided, especially after the incident with the "veneno sauce," and we never felt like we were rushed to leave.
Loved it, even though my mouth hasn't fully recovered.
Hasta luego, Mariscos El Veneno.
I'm a San Francisco girl. Born in SF, raised in Northern California. Needless to say as a California girl, I've always lived where there is never a shortage of quality seafood and exceptional culinary talents.
So when heading to Chicago this past weekend and asked if there was a place I had to go back to (I lived there for about 2 years in college), I said no. So a friend took us to Mariscos and said, "Just sit back, I'll order." And order he did. Platters of heaven just kept coming and coming. (Thank you Sakid! I owe you one for this.)
The langoustines have been on my mind ever since. They are drenched in a delicious buttery sauce and served butterflied, making them messy and delicious. I have found that messy foods always seem to taste better and the langoustines were no exception. (Exhibit A - Ribs)
Mariscos is BYOB, a great and missing feature to SF restaurants. Your dinner comes with complimentary ceviche served on a tostada shell and plenty of limes (so bring Coronas!).
We also ordered the red snapper (comes with head and all, meaning that you get to eat the best part, the cheek. yum!), rice (full of flavor), and the octopus. The octopus was breaded and fried and served in a slightly spicy sauce. Everything we had was incredible but the langoustines were by far the biggest hit.
Rumor has it they have some incredibly large lobster here as well. And next time I'm here, I'm ordering the crab too. It looked and smelled great. The service was excellent even though it was crowded. There's also a cute little patio area that is covered and has romantic lights and greenery everywhere. If you want to add to the romance, a mariachi band did come around. :-)
Mariscos is by far the best place I've been in Chicago to date. I will definitely be back. And I'm now officially on the hunt for some delicious langoustines in San Francisco.
ps- If you do not know what langoustines are they are like very small lobsters, or very large shrimp. They are also called "Norway Lobsters". And being Norwegian, I think we have a connection. A really deep one that I should explore daily.
pps- did I ever tell you that sometimes I become obsessed with certain foods? It used to be dim sum, sushi, ice cream, etc. Right now, it's langoustines. Thx Mariscos, you may have created a monster.
Oh! One more quick thing, they have lots of hairspray in the girls bathroom if you need it. Random but interesting. Couldn't tell if it was supposed to be for primping or masking smells.
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TO BEGIN THEY AINT GOT NO LIQOUR!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!
I ORDERED SOME SHRIMP AND WAS LOUDLY DISTURBED BY A MEXICAN BAND, THEY JUST KEPT ON PLAYING AND PLAYING. i just guess it isnt my type of music.
my server hand looked very dirty like if she hasnt washed them in days. and she had a large buger in her nose. she should look in the mirror once in a while before taking fopod to customers. Back to my shrimp, they had no taste and i found a long hair in between my rice.
i would never go their again on a date. next time im going to check out that cute place in front called el barco. it literally looks like a boat!!!
OMG this place is amazing there appetizers are like entrays and the atmosphere is so authentic and alive, price is reasonable but the pulaski location is a bit far but worth the travel.
I woke up this morning CRAVING the Narayit Crab legs - I can't believe I've waited this long to go!
The four of us ordered waaaay too much food, but we're gluttons so that's ok! We had the oyster, octopus and shrimp platter (small), crab, and fried shrimp platter and it was ALL delicious and messy! Don't wear nice clothes!
Service was sloooow, but none of us were in a rush to go anywhere so we didn't really care. We had our wine and beer and that was enough to keep us plenty happy until the servers came around to us.
Watch out for the salsa that comes out - super duper hot - and I love spicy! I found my tongue tingling from spicy sensations even after 30mins of eating it!
It's Thirsty Thursday, we want to hit a BYOB spot, and it's my friend's birthday. So we head up north to Mariscos el Veneno.
My friends are huge fans of this place - and since they are mexican, I have to take their word for it that the food is amazing. It was good. I didn't think it was a good as La Palapa, but if I had to pick a restaurant in this area I would definitely be back.
Everyone gets a plate of ceviche to start - it's some sort of fish ceviche (as opposed to shrimp), where the fish is cooked and shredded up. I prefer either shrimp ceviche or that freakin' amazing shrimp and octopus one at La Palapa, but this wasn't bad. My neighbors loved it enough to order a whole appetizer of it in addition to what we were given to start. They also ordered oysters, which looked good but they really gross me out. I suppose if your into that they were great. Next up was shrimp empanadas. I have never had these, but they're like a hot pocket with shrimp inside. Nice healthy greasy goodness, but worth teh calories. Then came the platters of food. You get a pretty decent sized portion of food. I got camarones al ajillo (garlic and chile perrer sauce), and my friends got diablo, ajo, a shrimp/octopus ceviche (SOOOO good!!! Loves it!), and...
oh dear god...langostinos. Ok I can't help it. I CANNOT handle stuff looking at me when I eat it. Lobsters, soft shell crabs, crawfish, and these damn things are the WORST offenders. Those antennae, and the legs, and the EYES. They are like grasshoppers of the ocean or something and make me nauseous just looking at em. So I ate my food and tried to strategically avoid looking at the plate in front of me.
All in all a good experience...especially because on top of all this they have a juke box, outdoor seats, AND the server asked me on a hot date after babbling something to my friend in Spanish that I totally didn't understand. I told him I had a boyfriend (you know how it is, the minute you're spoken for the hot date requests come rolling in) and he goes "it's ok you can cheat on him!!" I would never do such a thing, so I laughed and said if things don't work I'l be back haha.
Good times.
Anything Nayarit is killer. But the thing to get is the Crab Legs Nayarit. This mountain of crab legs comes out covered in this delicious spicy red sauce! Put your napkin in your shirt or blouse and roll up your sleeves it's gonna get messy. F**K KFC _this_ is finger licking good. Not to be missed. Oh and they aren't lying, the sauce is HOT.
I've been back twice since I made my first review. Each time was awesome. Besides getting the snapper and crab legs each time, I've also tried the prawns nayarit style. They rocked.
Since my first time, I've also learned from the wait-staff how to pop the caps off my beer using only a bottle of hot sauce. Ask the server if you don't know this ninja trick!
Who could have thought that putting a Mexican regional spin on seafood could be so good? Not me!
I…
Read more »
I was going to give this place a solid four stars, but decided to give it the full five just for being open on a Monday! Yeah!! Most places are closed on Mondays but this place is extremely open and was surprisingly busy when we went.
The service was great from beginning to end, except that it was a little slow towards the end.
Everyone around me had delicious looking food. I wanted to order it all!! But since I had turned into a whale from my prior see-food diet, I had to resort to something healthier, the sea-food diet.
We ordered a half order of the scallops, shrimp and oyster dish cooked in nayarit sauce. Man was it good!!! It tastes even better with a side of rice and lime juice. Yummie!!! We also ordered some shrimp empanadas. Note to self: must eat when its steaming hot. It does not taste so great cold.
I had ordered a horchata drink as well. It was blander than most horchata drinks I've had at other restaurants, but since I'm on a diet I guess I dont really need all that sugar and cinnamon (damn.....).
The restaurant was filled with Latinos and Spanish was spoken all throughout the restaurant by the staff and patrons. An excellent sign that the food is authentic! We were lucky to have a waitress that spoke English. She was extremely nice and offered her suggestions for first timers.
Beware the salsa they give you. It is OUT OF CONTROL HOT. Seriously. No really....seriously. Watch out.
The Nayarit sauce has some kick to it but is not crazy spicy (I have a relatively sensitive stomach and after eating all that food my stomach is still in agreement with me). My mouth was not on fire and my lips did not feel swollen after experiencing the heat of the food. I will be back!
Do they have outdoor seating? YES!
Do you know what El Veneno stands for? POISON!
It's the name of their sauce and it is soooooooooooooo HOT that I sat entire meal guzzling water. Seriously I thought I had nuclear explosion in my mouth. Beware of the salsa that they serve with complimentary tostadas and ceviche. The funny fact is that nobody warns about it and the servers slip this sauce so nonchalantly as if they were serving some diced tomatoes!
Thanks to the poison my mouth was desensitized to the degree of spiciness of other dishes. I ordered fish ranchero that comes with rice and spicy fries. I must admit that I cleaned my plate in less than 15 minutes. Delicious! The cucarachas, that is plate of shrimp was good too. Big portions and lots of leftover for doggy bag.
BYOB, cute and cozy decor, hints on fisherman hut, menus written in Spanish followed by English adaptation. Restroom clean, sign on the wall in Spanish. Carryout menu only in Spanish which made me conclude that owners might be planning some Latina revenge on gringos
The service was unbelievably bad. We arrived there and needed a table for two. I larger party came and was promptly seated even though their complete party wasn't present. We were then seated, waited 10 mins for menus, while we see the waiter taking orders from the larger group already.
The waiter finally came out took our order and 40 mins go by and our cokes weren't even sent out. 40 minutes! A couple sat down next us and shared the same frustration. We kept looking over at El Barco and salivating over the red snapper we could have already been eating.
So the cokes came out after 40 MINUTES. We asked about our guacamole--that came out 15 minutes later. The waiter said the service was always this bad. He blamed the kitchen, but the last I checked the kitchen doesn't make the coke there.
Our empanadas finally came out and they were super nasty. Not to mention, that the dough wasn't fully cooked. The couple sitting next to us actually got their entrees before we got our appetizers and they were seated 15 minutes after us. They actually felt so bad they offered us some of their food.
By this time, we were PISSED. I suggested to my friend we pay for our tab and walk across the street to El Barco. We cancelled our order for our entree fearing that I would have grandchildren before I would get my dinner. Our food was out in 10 mins flat. We had to wash down the bad taste in our mouth from El Veneno with 2 shots of tequila and a pitcher or margaritas.
Fantastic seafood & BYOB! The free ceviches were fresh and tasty! We ordered the $30 lobster special stuffed with mussels, scallops, shrimp & octopus. I don't even like octopus, but it was pretty good. The platter came with rice, salad, fries, and 2 pieces of garlic bread. I only managed to take a bite of my bread bc the bf stole it off my plate when I wasn't looking!
Heed the warnings about the hot pink sauce! Loving spicy foods, I did not take the other reviewers seriously. I literally added one drop to my ceviche and my tongue was on FIRE!
The only thing I didn't care for were the shrimp empanadas. I like when restaurants use a flour or yucca wrapper, but they used corn. I may just be new to this more authentic version, but it reminded me of a shrimp corndog.
Many people around us ordered the fish & fries. I definitely would like to go back and try it along with the crab.
Service=Great. My BF & I were seated within seconds and given complimentary appetizers within minutes.
Food= I ordered the marinated shrimp which they didn't have so I got the garlic shrimp. My BF ordered the shrimp, oyster & calamari platter. Both our meals were salty and the shrimp were NOT deveined. This is fine for some people, but I don't want to look down at my plate and see that black line.
Price=Reasonable. The total including tip was $40.
Next time we'll head over to Lincoln Park and pay more at Half Shell, but it's worth it.
I have never so much as smoked a cigarette, but the langostinos here make me wish I was a doper--they are that good.
Still miss Tacos del Pacifico, though. Was it all a dream?
My 3+ year search for a good Mexican Mariscos place that could compare to my all-time favorite Mariscos Luis (47th Street & Kildare) has now ended. Just happened to stop by Mariscos El Veneno the other day and left there thinking I may have a new mariscos champ on my hands.
Started out with a dozen oysters, which I've found say a lot about how the rest of the food offerings are. I was very pleased to see these these oysters were fresh, large, plump, and absolutely delicious when slathered with lime juice and Valentina sauce. This is the one area where Mariscos Luis always excels and El Veneno was just as good!
I then ordered up two tostadas with mixed mariscos...this is where El Veneno shined. It's a simple dish of mariscos mixed up with chopped onions, tomato and cucumber but these ones at El Veneno came with super-good mariscos and a very generous portion of cukes, tomato, and onion...all topped with a spice that I could not identify but added a lot to the overall dish. My only modest gripe with these tostadas is that they use the thicker El Milagro brand instead of my favorite El Ranchero, which is lighter and served at Luis.
One point of warning - if you do not like spicy foods STAY FAR AWAY FROM THE SALSA THEY SERVE you when you first sit down. I love spicy foods, but was not told how spicy this salsa was and found myself consuming a gallon of water before I even started eating my oysters. They should really say something.
Place is BYOB, which is great because you can get hammered pretty cheap - nothing better than beer and oysters!
Delicious Delicious!
Decided to go here after reading Yelp reviews, and was not disappointed. We had the shrimp empanadas, half tray of langostinos, and half tray of octopus. All of it was ridiculously delicious.
The service was a little slow at first. There seems to be only one guy busting his butt, and a few that sort of care. It was packed, but it was Friday night, and it's so damn good.
I'm a little sad that I discovered this place just as I'm about to move out of the neighborhood, but I'll DEFINITELY be back.
Super delicious food.
Keep in mind they only serve seafood.
SO GOOD.
The only problem was that the seating area is small. We went when it was crowded and I felt really claustrophobic while waiting for a table. Once we got one, though, it was wonderful. They bring you ceviche de marlin on tostadas to begin, totally free of charge. And the hot sauce they provide is deliciously hot. I will certainly take my food snob parents to this restaurant. If they want authentic Mexican seafood, they'll get it here.
::::::ATTENTION::::::::
I DO NOT EAT SEA FOOD!
::::: * ::::::
But i had the biggest craving, I was actually on my way to El Barco...i accidentally went to cy's crab shack first long story. ANY HOW.
On my way i yelp it....then i see reviews. mixed.
Then as we were looking for parking i saw my four favorite letters painted on a window...
BYOB.
So we high tailed to jewel in case...we found parking. when i yelped i saw all the amazing reviews for Mariscos El Veneno...
We arrived and it lived up to every expectation i had!
BYOB....they sell mixers for liquor. Actually I would do barcardi coco with the fresh coconut...
The servings were HUGE!!! worth every penny.
they also have buckets for chilling beer or drinks.
great service...out door seating packed but...you'll get seated promptly.
oh....no desert all they had was tirimisu and just wasn't what i was expecting from a latin restaurant.
all and all good for the food...and don't worry you'll have more than enough for lunch tomorrow!
Loved it! Made me feel like I was on vacation.
I kept driving by this place and it has the cutest outside patio with all these flowers and a canopy and I knew I wanted to try it but had no idea it was ONLY seafood. Not a prob. though - I dig seafood.
Wish I had known that it was BYOB before I got there. A cold beer or margarita woulda been perfect. There wasnt a close store, and I didnt want to walk down to that creepy one on Division (where its also a bar), nor did I want to leave my complimentary ceviche on a tostada unattended with my amigos hovering.
Guacamole was good and they were not skimpy with the shrimp - which were HUGE. The fries that come with were delish too, which you would not expect to accompany a mexican seafood dish...
Will def. be back.
I'm already regretting writing this review. I would rather that no one else in the world know about this place and I could keep it all for myself.... but I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut about good shit and I feel the need to share the love. 8)
Been to El Barco.... it's fine, whatever. Good margaritas. However, if you're actually going for the food I would cross the street to Mariscos El Veneno.
I'm relatively stingy giving out 5 stars but this place deserves it based upon our dinner last week. Went with gf and 2 friends and we had a great time.
For starters, free ceviche that was actually really tasty. They earn points right off the bat for that one.
We had guacamole, shrimp cocktail, and the chupazon (sic?) entree.
The guac was great, 2nd only to Adobo in WP. Had a nice little kick and great texture, ingredients.
The shrimp cocktail was very average, but whatever, it's freakin' shrimp cocktail. Salsa it up a bit. done.
The real superstar was the Chupazon (or Chupacon, sry forgot exact name). IT was AWESOME. The sauce was very rich and flavorful, had a nice smoky-spicy kick to it and I could have eaten a whole lot more of it. I recommend it highly.
One final note, I live for spicy food but I have to let you know that their salsa is NO JOKE. It is very very hot, but does have a nice tangy zing to it (I think they added some pickled onions, quite tasty.)
The quality and freshness of our food was excellent. Service was actually pretty darn good, water stayed full and we were able to stay and chill with our cervezas til we decided to ask for the bill. (which was $75 for 4 people, and we were all filled to the gills by the time we left).
Bon appetit.
Well the secret's out, so fuck it, I'll just tell it like it is. This place is an awesome deal if you want tref seafood. Can't speak for the kosher stuff, since I don't eat things that swim, unless they're raw. Wait, do squid "swim", or just "propel themselves through the water"? Cuz I can totally devour some calamaris. But they don't serve calamari here, so don't go here for calamari. Stop saying Hawaii in there.
Mariscos El Veneno doesn't take resos, so be prepared to wait, quite possibly outside. Don't booze on the sidewalk though, since the 5-0 totally doesn't approve. H8r in the house.
Mmmm.... langostines and some of the hottest salsa in town. I have absolutely nothing bad to say… Read more »
A friend of mine invited me to this little hidden gem the other night. I had no idea that I lived walking distance from this place, what a treat!
We were a group of six and decided to order three seafood entrees to split. We ordered the whole Red Snapper fried/sauteed in this amazing garlic sauce with a side of rice and fries, the crab legs smothered in a spicy red sauce, the shrimp diablo sauteed in some spicy garlic sauce with rice and fries. Doesn't sound like much food for a group of six, right? Wrong! We stumbled out of there doing the happy seafood dance like no ones business! Yeah!
Remember to go and don't forget to starve yourself a bit before. You won't regret it.
Los mejores mariscos!!
So tasty! so inexpensive , so yummi!!!!!!
It's small place, BYOB , inexpensive, what else ??
Ups avoid the crazy salsa! THAT't HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
I really enjoyed this restaurant first it opened, but it was all downhill from there. I had some takeout last week and it was way below where it used to be. I give it 3 stars solely for the good old time sakes
5 of us. $95. A huge platter, containing 2 full red snappers, some fried shrimp, some bacon wrapped shrimp, some spicy shrimp, some fried cod (or some kind of fish?), a Lobster, stuffed with shrimp, clams, mussles, etc. and a bunch of garlic bread. We also ordered some guac, which was outrageously fresh and very good and HUGE!!! Check out my before and after pics!
This place is awesome! The chef greeted us as we entered and gave us a table outside. They brought out the tostada with ceviche right away and it was pretty damn good. I'd say great considering it's complementary. They also gave us a bucket of ice to hold our wine and beer in.
I took the advice on yelp and went easy on the salsa which is, as everyone else has said, pretty hot. They give you a bunch of tostadas to break up and use for the salsa which is a nice touch. Honestly, since the salsa's so hot, don't bother going nuts on the tostada/salsa combo. Because they give you a lot of food...
We had a half dozen oysters, guacamole, the prawns, and two shrimp dinners.
Oysters: Solid; nothing too special.
Guacamole: Really good and they give you a heaping plate of it. No joke, for $3, it has to be the best guacamole deal I've ever seen.
Prawns: They split these big suckers in half and loaded them with a brown sauce that was unbelievable. Everyone at the table agreed that it was one of the best-tasting sauces we've ever had. The two shrimp plate people kept on dunking their shrimp into it and we couldn't get enough.
Shrimp dinners: Huge plate of food and the shrimp were pretty good, but not unbelievable.
It was my birthday and the chef brought out this mango ice cream cheesecake type-deal with, I think, a raspberry sauce over it. It was a little different at first but then the flavors and coldness went really well together.
At the end of it all, everyone had a great experience. The food was outstanding, the prices for seafood were relatively cheap, it's BYOB, patio sitting in the summer time, and a personable chef with great customer service. Did I mention the best guacamole deal of all-time? Don't miss it...
This place rocks if you love seafood. Complimentary tostadas with ceviche were awesome. We also ordered a small ceviche which turned out to be a huge plate and some guac which was good. For the main entree we got the crab Nayrita(?) style. There must've been 5 full crabs soaking in delicious red sauce. It was fantastic although I should've worn a dark colored shirt or they should provide bibs as cracking crabs with sauce on them causes lots pf splatter. Anyway tab for us was $43 and we still had a half plate of guac and ceviche left. Chef comes out periodically to check on things. Really nice guy. Only issue is the menu which could be a little more descriptive for us Gringos. Can't wait to go back with some more adveturous folks as the wife will never order oysters or octopus with me.
Ended up here on a monday evening with a friend in search of seafood and i wasnt dissapointed.
Walking in was a little awkward because we had to walk through like a 6 piece mariachi band that was blocking the door. Once we got in we used hand signals to communicate with the hostess and grab a table. As interesting as it was, the mariachi band was a little annoying because i just wanted to catch up with my friend on a chill monday night.
But, the food and value def made up for it. We ordered way too much food and still only managed to spend $40 plus tip. We got the shrimp ceviche, half order of oysters, langostines and garlic shrimp. The only thing i wouldnt order again is the oysters.
This is a real basic, almost kitschy place with blowfish and nets hung from the ceiling, and the people that work there are nice enough, but this is by no means a fancy date place. Go for good food with an adventurous friend. oh, and its BYOB.
I've been looking for an inexpensive seafood restaurant for a while and lucky me that this one is within walking distance of my house. I LOVE THIS PLACE. And whoever doesn't appreciate the mariachi band that comes by is definitely someone I would never want to party with.
As soon as we sat down they brought us a delicious, large tostada covered with a seafood ceviche and a side of limes. (and yes, the house hot sauce is def liquid fire, I won't mess with that again no matter how tough I feel). My friend and I decided to split two dishes, the crab and a shrimp recommendation from the waitress. She brought out the shrimp diablo which was cooked in a spicy red sauce and served with cajun fries and rice. The crab was next and was so fresh that my friend and I joked that it looked like it was going to walk off our plate! We also had a fun time getting messy and cracking them open to pick out the meat. Portions here are huge (the people next to us ordered a seafood gazpacho that was served in punch-bowl sized goblets!) so I'm proud of the fact that we ate everything except for two of the crab legs. Unfortunately, I think our waitress was disappointed.
Ambience: Your friend's kitchenette, when they don't have a chance to tidy up
Service: Nice guy - not a great waiter
Booze: BYOB - GOOD!
Their sauce - which I assume why they are called "The Poison" was super-spicy and quite tasty, but it doesn't really go with most of their dishes.
And a seafood restaurant really should not allude to food poisoning, especially when their oysters tasted like the natural equivalent of a colon cleansing.
So the food, oyster aside, was palatable - like I could choke it down, but simple favorites like fries and guacamole were flavorless and flat.
However, their langastinos are quite tasty. Can't go wrong with prawns fried in butter - even when it comes with a side of colon cleansing.
I've been wanting to Mariscos el Veneno for so long. Every time I walk by, it seems like there's a crowd of happy people inside, and sometimes a mariachi band too. From the sidewalk, I've spied people feasting on heaping platters of seafood, and it always looks good.
So, we finally got over there this past Thursday night, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Yeah, it's true, the free crab salad tostada appetizer won't blow you away, but we happily ate it along with the delicious but dangerous fresh habanero salsa.
I ordered the shrimp ceviche tostada as an appetizer, but when it arrived, the waiter apologized, said there was no more ceviche, and that mine was made with cooked shrimp. It would have been better if he had allowed me to decide before bringing me something other than what I had ordered, but the replacement tostada was decent.
We ordered two main dishes: shrimp and whole sea bass, both prepared Nayarit-style. They were both incredible.
First, the shrimp were large and split down the middle so you could easily eat them with a fork. They were seasoned really well, and came with a side of garlicky rice and spicy fries.
The sea bass was a masterpiece. The spice permeated the crispy skin, which was very tasty, but fatty. Underneath, the fresh white flesh was cooked perfectly, and retained its moisture. I thought I wouldn't be able to finish at first, but I just couldn't stop until it was all gone.
The sea bass was, by the way, MUCH better than I had had at Barco Mariscos across the street.
El Veneno was super busy when we were there, but the staff remained not just calm, but really warm and jovial.
Not only is Veneno BYOB, they also bring out a bucket of ice for you, which is a great touch.
What could top a great meal like that? How about when you look at the bill and it's only $31.00? It was unreal.
Five stars for one of the most fun, bargain-priced joints in Chicago.
Excellent seafood. Get the huachinango nayarit style! It can get very crowded and stuffy weekend nights and the food quality is also inconsistent. I suggest going there on a week day. The food is excellent, and the service very friendly.
I'm usually not a huge fan of seafood restaurants but this place is awesome.
We sat out in their small outdoor area for this beautiful June summer night. We were presented with the ceviche once we sat down, and it was incredibly fresh and tasty - finfish, carrots, parsley, onion...extremely good. While I was in the bathroom (which was reasonably clean) I was unable to warn my friend about the hot sauce that is innocently presented as salsa. I came back to the table to find her eyes watering and her quickly consuming more tostadas and fanning her mouth. She loves hot sauce, but this stuff truly is INTENSE. You literally only need a few drops to feel the burn.
Since I wasn't feeling super hungry, we decided to split a dish. We also ordered Pico de Gallo, since it is a favorite of hers. We were quite surprised when we were presented with a HUGE amount of food! We had the garlic shrimp, which came with rice and a small salad. The shrimp was cooked perfectly with an amazing garlic sauce. The rice was also very good, and the dish was just overall well-done. It was the perfect amount for two people.
The pico was a HUGE platter (for under $2!!) of chunks of tomato, onion, and cucumber with a smattering of fresh parsley and cilantro. We added a little of the crazy hot sauce to it to liven it up.
Overall, the food here is amazing. For all the food we got, the total was only $13 - great for feeding two people with leftovers. The only downfalls are: 1. Brush up on your spanish, because the menu is a little confusing and is heavy on the Spanglish and 2. The service is kind of slow. First they tried to give our food to someone else. Then, after we got our food, they tried to bring us extra water several times, and then forgot us. It took quite awhile to finally pay our check.
But in the end, if you love seafood, I would highly recommend Mariscos!
Good food!
We went here one night for our anniversary because it was in the neighborhood and the food was definitely good. I'm not a big fan of seafood, so I kind of want to give it the A-OK rating (but I'll be more objective and give it one more star), but I did enjoy what I got.
I thought the atmosphere was fun (albeit tacky); lots of fish-related things on the walls like nets, fish cutouts, etc. It was definitely fun. The margaritas were DELICIOUS, plentiful and CHEAP. I would go back just for an appetizer and a margarita.
I don't like seafood a ton, so I was definitely surprised and satisfied when my meal was actually delicious. I ordered the talapia stir fry and it was excellent.
I'll be back one day for more margaritas and yummy shrimp.
Food was incredible! Service was horrible!
Yummy! Mariscos El Veneno surpassed all my expectations. The service was outstanding with friendly wait staff and a very personable executive chef circling the restaurant and chatting with customers. (Not to mention announcing to everyone an open invitation to his anniversary of his first restaurant opening in Rogers Park.)
The shrimp ceviche was spicy and not fishy at all(sometimes a challenge in Chicago.) We were also served the mix to micheladas for our negro modelos :-) For the main course we split the pineapple filled wonderfulness of baked seafood, cheese, mushrooms and other veggies. (Our waitress recommended that as well as a few others.)
And last but not least it is BYOB! (there is a small sign in spanish that "restricts" you from having more than three beers...not sure how well that works.)
For fans of El Barco, this is a real find... not that hard to find, given it's directly across the street... But the red snapper here is as good as if not better than any I've ever had from El Barco.
Service was so so, partially obstructed perhaps due to lack of English to Spanish translation and vice versa.
The menu was allllll seafood. No steaks or anything. And there were tons of various seafood entrees... From what I recall, the menu had no English descriptions for 95% of the items, so I asked about a few things...
The waitress said "hold on" and out of nowhere the chef came up from the basement. He was very nice, asking what we were interested in, etc... I didn't know if I felt helped after or not, but we both ordered the fried red snapper. and we were very happy.
We got a complimentary ceviche which was tastey... I couldn't eat my whole snapper so I took it to go and had it as lunch the next day... it was just as good the next day!
There seem to be 3 locations of this same restaurant across the city.
Delicioussss. It's BYOB, too.
I have been back two more times including once by myself. You know that a joint is good when you start going by yourself. The seafood is extemely flavorful. I have to try the snapper. Later
The seafood here is very tasty. The cook mingles with the patrons and the waiter plays music on the… Read more »
Come Eat and Enjoy Music
Neighborhood: North Park
Weekdays Wine & Tequila…
Neighborhood: Pilsen
Neighborhood: West Lawn
Category: Seafood
Neighborhood: Ukrainian Village
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: McKinley Park
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Moroccan
Neighborhood: Humboldt Park
Category: Mexican
Many lessons in Spanish have created a passion for…
Ice cream on cones and bacon on hot dogs, Bright…
