Taqueria El Jalapeño

Best real Mexican food I have found in the northern suburbs. Only a few places in Minneapolis make food this good! The sopes are awesome

This place is legit! Having lived in TX and moving back to Minnesota, authentic is hard to find in the Twin Cities. No frills but great food!

I found an authentic tacqueria in the Twin Cities! So authentic that they didn’t have an English menu and my server didn’t speak English. (I can’t believe that Maggie M. had the gall to complain about this. .. she should go to Chevys or Chipotle.) All I wanted was some street tacos, and they were just right at $ 1.90 each (not much more expensive than I was used to getting at Oakland taco trucks along International Boulevard). Pastor was the best. Asada was good, but not quite as delicious. II ordered pico de gallo on the side, which was delicious and a generous serving. Whole meal with a beverage just about $ 6. My only complaint was that the complimentary chips were a little stale, but that’s understandable because this isn’t a high end «cook their own» chips kind of place. I’ll try this again when I’m craving something more substantial than street tacos too.

Sooo disappointing… very bland, chips were the most flavorful. Waitress spoke no English. Bathroom did not have a light in it. When I said the waitress didn’t speak English, it was funny. Because she spoke Italian and she had no idea what was on the menu, and she couldn’t recommend anything to try.

First time here, and I really enjoyed it. I ordered an ice cold modelo with the chicken enchilada plate, and at the recommendation of my server had both the red and green sauce. Oh was she right, very tasty, fresh, and filling. And affordable!!! And the service was warm and friendly, like I was part of the family. I can’t wait to go back.

I love having a great authentic little Mexican restaurant so close to home. I regularly get the taco craving and this place hits the spot. My husband LOVEs the torta and said recently that it’s greatly improved since the restaurant originally opened. I typically go with tacos and tamales and their food definitely hits the spot. The seafood/​shrimp soup they have on weekends is SPECTACULAR! The soup is great, but prepare to dedicate much time to it as you’ll have to clean the shrimp. Maybe bring a bib too because it’s pretty messy — totally worth the effort though.
I like that they’ve moved to a more sit-​down restaurant style rather than the order at the window option.
Service has always been great and the employees very friendly.
P. S. The horchata is tasty!

One of three Mexican restaurants within two blocks. Most authentic, fastest service and best tacos of the three.

My first time here. I was in the mood for authentic Mexican style tacos, Unilocaled and this restaurant popped up. Missing California so much I thought this could be the closest thing I could get to the what I’m used to getting off the street vendors.
It’s located in an unattractive strip mall, it’s a small family owned restaurant. A lady greeted us told us we could seat ourselves. The place was clean and bright.
I was happy they had horchata! (Rice water, cinnamon, & sugar) it was delicious! I ordered rice & beans along with 2 steak tacos & 2 campechano (steak with Mexican sausage topped with guacamole.) food took about 10 min to come out, and was served on a red basket. Overall flavor, it was alright could’ve used more seasoning. It looked better than it tasted. I was hoping for a burst of flavors but instead it was kind of bland. The green sauce that came with the tacos was delicious! My rice and beans were basic and served on paper plates and plastic utensils.
This place was alright I would definitely go back for the horchata.

Yummy tacos!

Yes! Finally… a non-​Americanized, non-​El-​Loro-​ized Mexican restaurant, right here in Crystal. I’ve only eaten here twice, but both times the taste and overall quality of everything that I tried only made me look forward to returning again. Also, the service seemed very friendly and accommodating to both Latino and gringo alike :) And as much as I really like Chipotle just a couple blocks away, this place will probably steal at least half of the business that I regularly give to Chipotle.