de cero

814 W. Randolph St.
312.455.8114
Mexican

De cero is a newer Mexican restaurant located right on the Randolph St. restaurant row. The atmosphere is open and semi-trendy, while being a tad Mexi-rustic. The music is lively and the lights are dim-a place where you can take a date or dine with a group of friends.

We ordered the chips and salsa which were quite addicting. The chips were perfectly crisp and salty, the green salsa spicy and flavorful. It didn't take me long to decide what I wanted to order once I saw the selection of tacos they had. The way it worked is you can order regular entrees or a la carte dishes. We opted to go "a la tacos". There were like 15 different types of gourmet tacos, combining unique flavors and meats. My favorite was the catfish taco, which was lightly battered and had the perfect blend of sauces and spices-some sweet and some spicy. The catfish was crisp on the outside, yet tender on the inside. I also tried the ahi tuna taco, which was tasty but I found the tuna to be a little dry. Others that are worth trying are the skirt steak, which had a smokey flavor, and the salmon taco. I also had the shrimp taco which was interesting to me... I felt the shrimp didn't really mesh well with the flavorings it was paired with. The one taco that I would not recommend was the duck. It was paired with a corn salsa (which was decent) but the duck was dry and bland.

Overall, I liked the concept of ordering the tacos a la carte for the variety. It is exciting to entice your palate with so many combinations of flavors. And even though the tacos are small, they are quite filling! I had about 3 and a half tacos and was stuffed. I would definitely suggest going to de cero for the Mexican flair on tacos.