La Milpa

After reading an article in Discover Richmond about the carnitas — a favorite of mine — I just had to try it here. The restaurant and market are very authentic, many specialty items available, they even had Inca Kola. For the restaurant side, you go to the counter, order what you want, and then sit down and they let you know when it’s ready. There are multiple 4-​top tables and 7 – 8 booths, all with hard seats no padding. While you wait, get what you want at the sauce bar — there were at least 5 choices, plus lime wedges. The sauces tend to be hotter and thinner than other places. Ordering was efficient and we got an assortment of appetizers, the carnitas, and a couple sides, and it was a relatively short wait maybe 15 minutes until the food arrived.
The appetizers were the star of the dinner, with pupusas (filled pockets) sopes (little tortilla dishes topped with fillings) and an outstanding real tamale, we had pork with red sauce. The sopes could come with a wide variety of meats, at least 6 choices and we tried the steak and the lamb. We got the pupusas with fried pork skin/​chicharon, and they were great and came with a side of tangy slaw that we didn’t expect. The side of fried plantain was sweet, hot and not too greasy.
But the carnitas was a let down. It’s fried not braised/​stewed, so the pieces of pork fat do not render down, and unfortunately they don’t take out the fat in preparation. So I had a couple of mouthfuls with big chunks of pure fat. I had to sort out the fat chunks on the plate and also found a couple of sizeable bones, not fragments but big enough that the cooks should have found them.
Very authentic I suppose, appetizers that you don’t find often (I still will go back to try the empanadas) but the carnitas entrée prep needed work.

La Milpa is not to be missed if you want real Mexican food. Not drive thru or generic corn chips and salsa. I mean Real Mexican food like beef tongue tacos and pupusas and floutas. Hubby likes the crispy pork skin pupusas. I love the chicken floutas. Always moist and tasty with lots of tomato and avocado. All made fresh by hand and so flipping good! I also love the fried plantains. I think they are the best I’ve had. I have to admit, it was a little intimidating to go into the first time. It’s a market and eatery in an old building in an old strip mall, close to the scary part of Hull Street. But, trust me, the food is totally worth the trip from wherever you are. Also, the people behind the counter are always very nice. Check out the market too. I’ve gotten some really tasty and fresh tropical fruit there.

I love this place ! great atmosphere:) real mexican food like no other place. Make more carnitas on the weekends !

I really wanted to like this place because it’s hard out here in the east to find an authentic Mexican restaurant. But unfortunately it was just a let down. Being from SoCal and Mexican I’m spoiled with the real deal! I can tell what food is suppose to taste, and look like. For example I got my daughter a pozole which is red soup with harmony and beef or chicken. It was absolutely greasy/​oily and the taste was something else! My husband got chicken enchiladas, it tasted like if they opened a can of las palmas green chile enchiladas sauce. I got a carne Asada torta, it looked and tasted more like a Philly cheese steak. Gave it a one start because I liked the store and the décor. Will I be back? Probably not.

Awesome food, very friendly and helpful staff. I ordered the Huaraches could definitely recommend it. There isn’t a whole lot of seating but they also do to go orders. The market is also stocked with all sorts of produce, meats, food stuffs, and knickknacks.

I really liked this place. Nothing fancy. Very authentic (even helps if you know a little Spanish). More like a take out counter restaurant wise but they do have a good bit of seating. Great Mexican grocery and deli. Very inexpensive. Says they are open 24 hours so a great stop on way home from downtown if your going down hill street.

Love love love La Milpa! I used to work right up the street and used to look foward to grabbing food from here on payday Friday. Great food… friendly people.

I’ve been wanting to come eat here for a while and I’m happy I got the chance to. The food is amazing. Maybe the best pastor tacos I’ve had. Lots of meat on the tacos. I ate 3 and was stuffed, but of course i had to try the fried plantains and pupusa. Super yummy. When you come into the restaurant. you order at the counter and then sit down and wait for your number to be called.

Gave me food poisoning! Had the California burrito for dinner around 7:30 pm. Wasn’t even good. Around 4 in the morning I’m throwing up and I’m still sick at 6:45 pm the next day. Should’ve went back and threw up on there floor for getting me sick. Every time I go it’s unfriendly service and I just went because my friend wanted to go. Disgusting! Still have cramps and a fever as I’m writing this.

Hands down the best real authentic Mexican food in Richmond. It also serves as a market and cultural center as well. I’ve ordered something different every time and have been wowed by the flavors and love you can tell went into the food.

this place used to be a winner for authentic Mexican food, but sadly now there are far better choices.
On my last two visits I received nothing but unfriendly service, as I did on my very last visit where I ordered two pork skin gorditas, which is about all they had. everything else I wanted to order they did not have available, and this was 2:30 p.m.

Calfornia style burrito was not good. It contained only refried beans, rice and chicken. Was not seasoned properly. A 12 Oz beer bottle costs 4 dollars. I won’t go back to this restaurant again.

A true authentic Mexican staple in Richmond. Located on Hull St, you would think different thoughts from the outside, but in the kitchen the chefs master up some very tasty street tacos from scratch. Add some of their guacamole salsa that they offer at the salsa bar and you have an orgasm in your mouth. The best part is they are open ²⁴⁄₇ to satisfy your needs. Highly recommend trying this gem at least once. Thank me later!

Don’t let the outside deter you but any Spanish speaking would be helpful… food is completely traditional and there is a bit of a wait. Tradition is high but Unilocaler quality is low. Plus side, everything is made to order.
I am glad I tried it but I will not return.

This chicken tacos are very very yummy and the food is fresh and economical. Their tamales weigh as much as my first born! I like the option that the salsa bar provides.
Many of the employees speak limited English so be prepared to point (or brush up on your Spanish). The beans and rice are OK, but a bit too salty for my taste.
They have a market attached to the store so you can buy specialty items. Be sure to check it out!

I have been trying to get to this place for years. Today was the day. Had lunch with a friend. We arrived around 2. The combo special was still available. I got 2 soft chicken tacos, beans and paupus. He ordered 2 hard beef tacos and flautas. Delish. Definitely authentic and we will come back. Service was quick and friendly.

It might not look like much from the outside but they have great authentic Mexican food that is offered at a very affordable price. I really liked how they had a variety of salsas and guacamole readily available for people to get. Also, when we told them that we were there for a birthday, they surprised us with a piece of their cake. I forgot what it was called but it had blue icing. It was pretty good but really sweet because it was drenched in condensed milk.
As for my order, I got combo #3 which comes with a burrito, rice, and beans. It was a pretty good amount and you can choose your meat. I went with a mixture of steak and marinated pork. It was absolutely delicious! All that authentic Mexican goodness for just 5.99 (without tax).
Bottom line: if you’re looking for a good authentic Mexican place around Richmond, this is the place to go! It’s cheap. It’s good. Also the people working there are so nice and hospitable!

Very rarely do I give 5 stars but this place has earned it.
Matt and I came here for dinner and were blown away. The place doesn’t look amazing from the outside but don’t let that deter you! The food makes up for it ten fold.
I had the chicken tacos and Matt had the carne asada burrito. The corn shells were freshly made and so was the flour tortilla both were made wonderfully. The chicken was fresh and seasoned well and the burrito was absolutely amazing. There is a salsa bar next to the kitchen and they have salsa from kind of mild to omg — spicy. I can’t handle the spicy stuff but the mild salsa tasted great!
The place doesn’t seem to have a lot of English speaking workers or customers but they understand their food and it pays off. Definitely a place to put on your list of places to try.
Pro tip: they have a make your own combo from 10−5pm which features items that are all $ 2 each! Yum!

I had heard so much about this place and have been meaning to try it; finally got the chance since I was working at the VA and got dismissed at noon (I was post-​call). Although it’s a bit far from me living in the Bottom, it’s also one of the few places in Richmond open 24 hours.
La Milpa is great. It’s in a random shopping center, but the restaurant has an attached market that I only briefly browsed but would love to shop more carefully. The outside of the restaurant is painted with scenery, and the inside is decorated with a traditional flair reminiscent of my travels in Central and South America. The food area in the back is small, and there are a few tables if you choose to dine-​in. There were a few menu items featured on the wall, but the printed menu is fairly extensive.
I ended up ordering the «make your own» combination of a-​la-​carte items. Pick three and you get a free «juice.» The free beverage choices that day were papaya, melon, and horchata, so I picked horchata! For my three items, I ordered a pupusa, a sope, and a flauta. Since I was hungry, I also ordered menudo and flan.
I had originally wanted the «soup of the day,» which the menu said was caldo de res, but the server said that it wasn’t available. When I switched to menudo instead, I was told when they were preparing my meal that they were out of menudo. =(I love soup and wanted soup to accompany my meal, but they were out. They ended up refunding me cash since I had already paid for my meal with credit card.
The server at the cashier had okay English; she kind of fluctuated between Spanish and English. Fortunately, I know a good amount of Spanish. Most of the diners/​employees were Latino, which speaks volumes for this place’s authenticity.
After receiving my food, I can attest to its deliciousness. Each of my a-​la-​carte items cost $ 2, and the portions were very generous. I had a good amount of food even without soup, and spent only $ 9-​ish including the flan. I was surprised to find that they had included a small container of soup as well (basically, the scraps from the bottom of the pot, so not a full order/​portion, but still a nice gesture). =)
Overall, I was very pleased. People are always complaining about the lack of good Mexican food in Richmond, but La Milpa definitely delivers. Prices are low so it’s a great value as well. Can’t wait to come back to try more!

I have been to La Milpa around 5 or so times. The late night excursion here is waaay out from the city, but I never drove so its an ok trip when we’re hungry late at night!
To describe how mixed I am about La Milpa, I’ve had a review saved on Unilocal for months… Each time I return, I tried to figure out if I like it. I think 3 stars is fair!
Usually I am stoked for steak in tacos, but the carne azada steak taco was a little dry and lacking flavor. I liked the lengua (beef tongue); which was notably chewy. Great texture. The torta was okay to me, the beef was chopped up and kept falling out of the bun.
Overall, the tacos weren’t terribly expensive. I paid around $ 8 for 3 tacos. If you want late-​night authentic tacos (aka: not Taco Bell), go here. The sauce station is cool too! Beware, the green sauces set my mouth on fire. I could only handle the red mild salsa.
Last thing: a new thing I noticed was the sign for specials, 11am-​5pm you can create your own combo basically. $ 2 each for variety of foods, like taco, enchilada, etc and you can mix and match! Good deal.