Taqueria Los Ocampo – Chicago & Lake

This place went down the hill.
I really enjoy their tacos, but the traditional taco combo has disappeared from menu, instead they have Taco combo. Americano. what??? Americano?
If I want American taco, I would have gone to Taco Bell…
and, they jacked up the price of their already expensive menu by one or two dollars across the board. I ordered a taco plate menu… and they served me flour tortilla which tasted like a thick oily bun…
I used to drive all the way from my work from Edina for lunch.
I won’t do that anymore.
I will probably stop going to this place.
sad. it used to be one of my favorite restaurants.
Also, their taco sauce used to be served in a tiny plastic cup… which was small, but enough to enjoy. and NOW, the cub size is reduced to half of that… really tiny…
I pour my salsa on one taco, and it’s gone!
sorry, that’s not how you run a restaurant…
Do I plan to revisit? yes… 5~10 years from now…

You know it’s good because most of the customers are Mexican. Huge menu, with plenty of non Amer-​Mex options.
Tacos served with onion and cilantro, crazy Tortas with all sorts of things, fried plantains, great selection of drinks including a fine horchata and a whole bunch of other options
They work hard to keep this family friendly and keep it a nice place. Good food at decent prices.

Once we discovered this joint, we couldn’t stop going. Fresh and authentic tacos made with well seasoned meet of any kind (though I’m partial to carnitas and the catrne asada) on the wonderfully soft corn tortillas. I like my tacos a little bit more on the hot side so always order a jalapeño to go with it, which comes slightly grilled and adds the kick I’m looking for, plus some extra flavor from the char on the pepper. Also try the horchata for some extra sweet with your meal and the flan for dessert.
It’s in a gritty part of Lake street, but adds to the authenticity. I try to avoid peak lunch/​dinner as it’s always packed during those times. Ladies at the cash register and grill are always friendly, but you may need to follow-​up for anything outside of the standard menu, particularly when you’re making a custom order.

I’ve been trying to find a Mexican restaurant that I like in my neighborhood. This place was awesome. Everything tasted fresh and they have a bunch of really hot taco sauce that kicked my ass. Definitely my new spot.

The Lake Street location is definitely a dive… tasty with no frills!
The huaraches are freshly made and there are many protein options. I tried the chicken tinga and it was really good. We also tried spicy ground beef with the nachos, which was very flavorful and delish!
The ingredients are fresh and perfectly seasoned.

I have a bit of a weakness for tacos al pastor. Hard to find outside of Mexican areas of town or Mexico itself. Im from out of town and a local friend took me here for lunch. Really really good. worth the trip. Based on the lunch line, i’d say others would generally agree. Looking forward to another trip to Minny.

I had the gordita with carne asada and it was delicious. I also had a taco of al pastor and it was not my favorite. I have had many good pastor tacos to compare it to. However I would go back again and check out there other items.

I loooooove tacos. Seriously. I could eat tacos every single day and some weekends, I do. And while I am not a self-​proclaimed taco expert, I have had enough tacos around Minneapolis to claim this as my personal favorite for all things taco.
Let’s start with the basics: We determined in our 2015 Cinco de Mayo taco crawl for their Barbacoa and Al Pastor tacos to reign supreme. The meats are tender, perfectly cut for tacos and they always accommodate my request for no cilantro without hesitation or judgment. To round out my perfect taco trio, I also get the carnitas, but real talk — it’s my least favorite of the three.
Also, their tomatillo salsa verde is PERFECTION. You don’t need a lot of it because it’s spicy, but man, it’s a good kick. I always drown my last bit of taco in this sauce and only partially regret it each time.
I’ve seen other things ordered here — burritos, hurraches, menudo — but me, I’ve always gone only for the tacos here and suggest you do the same, at least on your first trip here.
Bonus points: they’re open until 4:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights (WHAT?) and can be delivered via Bite Squad when it’s 5,000,000 below zero and the taco craving hits.
My life will be fully complete when there is a taco emoji. Until then, you’ll actually have to use your words and coordinate coming here to get your taco on.

Dayum. Burrito was delish — hubby had the taco abracadabra (can’t remember what it was actually called) and he loved it!
Chips good salsa good guac good. Literally no complaints! New fave Mexican :)

Authentic Mexican food can be found in Minneapolis, yea! The food here is very good, there is no question. Unfortunately the taste of the food isn’t the only criteria going into my Unilocal review. Pretty much all other aspects of the this place suck: the service (the employees seem annoyed to be working here & the person calling out the order numbers screams into a microphone), the cleanliness (it’s not clean. there was a dirty mop bucket blocking off the side door when I was there & all the open tables had trash & food remnants on them), the location (tough parking, not the safest area if you’re going at night). While I expect to return to get my taco fix, I wasn’t overly impressed with overall experience. I’d recommend dropping by mid-​day, grabbing a parking meter & getting your tacos to go.

Pros:
Very delicious authentic Mexican food
Open from 9 am– 4 am
There is parking.
The beans are amazing.
Lots of options
Cons:
The décor and restaurant is a little shabby.
A little expensive
Overall the food is worth the trip to Lake St and I will be back:)

I love places that are opened late and this place happens to be opened reaallllyyy late! Yay!
Downside: when it’s late, it’s p-​a-​c-​k-​e-​d, like there’s a line to the door packed. I guess everyone wants a late night fix though.
I got the pezole (sp?) for the first time and it’s now on my top favorite soup last. The flavor is just so rich and tasty. I dumped the green sauce in there and it gave it a little kick. So good. Also comes with avocado, cilantro, onions, and radishes. Writing this, makes me want to go back for this soup right now.
I also got carnita tacos and a chicken tinga taco. The carnita was nice and juicy, perfect pairing with the corn tortilla. The radishes add a nice crunch on top of that.
Did I mention that I really like the sauces here? I had the red one with my tacos. Mmmmm.
Now, while everything else was great, my chicken taco was so dry, I couldn’t even eat it.
Another unique touch I’ve noticed here, is that you can flavor your horchata or hibiscus drink with mango or pineapple flavoring. (I don’t recommend this on the horchata) I think that the horchata and the hibiscus tasted great on their own. I did try the mango horchata and I was not a fan of the mango additive.
If you’re looking for a late night bite, definately give them a go!

I was randomly driving past and saw the sign and immediately became hungry for tacos out of nowhere so I stopped in on a whim. Who doesn’t need random tacos for a snack at 4 pm?
The place was actually kinda busy for such a non-​meal time hour. Half of the tables had people at them. I ordered a tinga pollo taco and a pastor taco and it came to $ 4 something, score. I’m all about cheap eats. The guy behind the counter was very robotic but nice, but after I ordered I saw him cough into his hands, which is kinda gross.
Tacos came out fast. They were delicious. I liked the tinga better, but they were both good. Perfect amount of food. Seasoned perfectly and came with some yummy sauce and lots of cilantro. Happiness.

Three words: carne asada torta.
You can’t beat it anywhere else! Authentic, delicious and will have you craving it!

Their mild and hot salsa was delicious. Chips were a little… Overlooked. Rice and beans were good. Not a fan of the beef enchiladas or the chicken soft taco. Lacked flavor

I honestly must say I’m not impressed with this place. I’ve had better tacos and Elote from food trucks in Minneapolis. The food is definitely authentic to the styles you may find in Mexico, however the flavors just wasn’t as great. It was very basic and dry compared to other Mexican restaurants I’ve been to. I will not be coming back here.

My go to place for tortas (mexican sandwich)! Every time I come here I order a torta cubana and a large Horchata (a rice and cinnamon based sugary drink). All the other tortas are great but the cubana is the most flavorful in my opinion.
Everything else on the menu is great and pretty authentic. Some of the must try are the tacos, I recommend the asada (steak) and al pastor (marinated pork) to start, and the huarache.
Note that everything in on the menu is in Spanish, but don’t worry if you can read Spanish, the menu has big pictures, and the cashier will be happy to explain the item you are interested in.
The service is always great too! Good food and good service will keep me coming back.

Los Ocampos is always a pleasant experience. When I think about this place, the first thing that comes to my mind is menudo! This place is, hands down, the best location in Minneapolis to satisfy your menudo craving. Not to mention, their tacos are amazing as well. The only thing that prevents me from rating this location 5 stars is the amount of salsa that they give you, and that there have been a couple of instances when the menudo has come out a bit too chewy and in too big of pieces. Other than that, I can almost always be sure that I will be in for a great meal when I go to Los Ocampos!

Thanks to all of the great reviews, I got to enjoy a dinner that reminded me of my lonestar state! I ctrl+f’ed «authentic» and to my surprise, it was included in many reviews. I became an anxious skeptic!
Overwhelmed with the selection of menu items and accompanying meats, I just told the awesome, friendly cashier to put 4 of her favorite tacos together for me. She was really surprised and her hesitation was followed with a couple «are you sure» and «is that okay». She got me the:
1. Suadero (intermediate piece of meat next to the udders) — Great!
2. Chipotle chicken — Great!
3. Buche (pig stomach) — Interesting /​pretty good
4. Steak — Good
The tortillas, meats, onions, cilantro, lime and salsa truly reminded me of the low-​key taco stops in dallas and austin. An awesome surprise considering how far we are from the third coast.
I ate ¹⁄₃ of my friend’s quesadilla which was okay. I think I was too into my tacos to be giving any real attention to the quesadilla (maybe that doesn’t make sense, or you don’t understand true love: p).
The horchata was buena, and their cups are Texas-​sized so plan accordingly!
The platanos fritos were eh.
The server will call your number out in spanish, so pay attention to that. The restaurant was either too loud or the patrons didn’t understand their number being called. I felt so bad for her!
The employees and service here was awesome! And I love how, dare I say, authentic it was: O …To me… as a vietnamese texan… lol.
Definitely recommended! Just grab 4 tacos and an horchata and you’re good to go!

Tacos for days. Any days. All days. All the time.
Great tacos, you get the idea. Haven’t tried anything else, because they rule. And they have a million filling options. On the weekends, this place is open late– 4am? All night? I forget. I am terrified, but I feel like I need to experience it sometime. The cashier said it gets crazy.
Simple place, great food.

After having a sultry fantasy last night where I stuffed my face silly with all sorts of tacos, today, I decided to make my dream come true during lunch.
Los Ocampo’s al pastor is just magical, and the mysterious white meat I used to get in my carnitas has finally vanished. The horchata is deliciously sweet as my friend’s mom who used to bake us cookies all the time growing up or the adorable Tatayana Ali from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Inspired by Ocampo’s taco-​awesomeness, I have decided to write a short poem:
Tacos, tacos, all over my face.
Tacos, tacos, all over the place.
Delicious to taste.
Never any left to waste.
Tacos, tacos, all over my face.
Salsa Verde, you are so good.
Dripple, drapple, on my tacos you stood.
Complimenting my food.
All amazing in the hood.
Salsa Verde, you are so good.