The minute you walk into Taqueria Los Cocos located at 2225 W North Ave # H, Melrose Park, IL 60160, you smell Mexican salsa and seasoned seafood. The smell is so strong, but don’t be fooled, the taste of the food itself is not that good!  The Burrito de Asada looked very appetizing but as you take a bite it is almost like something I would give my dog. It was tasty but then you felt sick as if you were actually on a boat seasick while catching fish.

However, there are a few dishes that keep the place from shutting down. The Caldo de Siete Mares – filled with shrimp, octopus, crab, and fish – tasted very fresh almost as if they were all caught early in the morning. The spice in the caldo was nearly perfect, almost like cutting a jalapeno and as you eat it; it hits you with the flavor of chile de arbol and chile guajillo in the back of your throat making the perfect spice.

The Caldo de Siete Mares was $15 but it was worth the money; everything was fresh and tasted very good with a healthy dose of spice in every sip. The restaurant sells the burrito at around $8-$9. Other restaurants sell burritos at a price range of $3-$5 and they are tasty, but something about the burrito here tastes a little off and the meat is very dry. 

On weekdays it’s as lonely as people in the desert, very empty. But on weekends you hear live music that almost makes you want to get up and dance. The Mexican bands play musical instruments and make a great sound but you don’t spend a penny unless you want the band to play a song other than that you don’t pay for this wanna-dance band- a nice perk to the makeup for the over-priced and flavorless food! 

I expected the food to be a lot better and had high hopes but I only liked two things we ordered The Caldo Siete Mares and The Camarones a la Plancha which were fresh and the dressing – which consisted of butter, butter, and more butter –  paired perfectly with the fresh shrimp. 

Other unusual menu items include Menudo – a soup that is only sold on weekends (beef intestine soup) and Coco Relleno – a cut coconut with seafood and an alfredo sauce that is not traditional. It’s more like cream with spice. It looks more orange than white.

Los Cocos is a place however I personally did not like this restaurant like others but it’s a place for family and friends to spend quality time together. Although the food is not good I recommend it if you like flavorless food and if you enjoy quality time with friends and family.

Gallery|3 Photos

This is what the inside of the restaurant