El Mariachi

Great authentic Mexican restaurant on eat street. I’m enjoying the menudo, definitely one of my most favorite Mexican dishes. Most of the menu items are $ 15+ so if you plan on just buying a simple lunch for yourself, expect to spend more than you’ve bargained for. Other than that, it would be a great place for two or more people.

Divey Mexican joint. Portions are gigantic! At about $ 9 my veggie burrito (only 1 of 2 vegetarian options, the other being a cheese quesadilla) must have tipped the scale at a minimum of 2 pounds. It was fine, but flops on the craveworthy scale. As for service, I was none too pleased with our waitress. Seemed a bit crabby.

My new favorite place for Mexican! I can’t help but pop over for a taco or two when I pick up Mexican ingredients at Marissa’s next door. The tacos are so incredibly delicious. I order the al pastor and carnitas. The al pastor was not off the spit, which is not ideal, but they were pretty good. They make their carnitas with manteca in-​house. I think I will order the carnitas exclusively from now on. (TOP TIP: They sell the rendered manteca from the carnitas in the Carniceria. Add that to your tamale masa to take them over the top!)
I loved that they give you a grilled sweet onion with your tacos. They are crunchy and sweet and not the tiniest bit harsh. This was a gesture that I had only experienced in Mexico.

The food average for Mexican, and it really irks me to pay hard earned money for a terrible experience and service. The waitress had a strange, bad attitude. The place was slow but she ignored us most time except to ask if i wanted a non alcoholic or with alcohol piña colada (WHAT?), and then carded me but not my 4 years younger husband, btw, I don’t look young. Finally we just wanted to leave. We paid $ 60 cash for our $ 39 bill, we had to flag down and ask the waitress for our change THREE times within 30 minutes. She played dumb saying she thought we paid with a credit card. Did she think we would just leave without our change or was she really that spaced out? Never going there again. Taco Bell and a home made piña colada would have been better.

Authentically bland, sure. And expensive. $ 10 for a burrito with dry flavorless chicken, beans and rice. Sure, it was huge and was two meals worth, but I can literally get a superior burrito across the street with some veggies and save a few bucks. Really, the only reason to come here is if you want to do some norteño or tejano karaōke, which if that’s the case you’ll have a better experience than I did. Just remember to eat before heading over.

What???
«adventure seeking»? Upset with it not having «vegetarian options»?
Sometimes I check out the other reviews before I write mine. Just trying to get a sense of who is actually using this thing.
There are strong undertones of racism to a lot of these reviews that appears to be framing the perception of this place
It is clearly a mom and pop Mexican grocery slapped with a deli and bakery.
I love it.
You have to meet a culture where its at and in this case yes there are no vegetarian options because in spanish when you say «i don’t want meat» it just means I don’t want cow meat. Food consumption has deep connections to place and heritage and some regions specialize in certain meats and for many being able to regularly eat meat is an indication that the family as a whole is working its way out of poverty. For many poor folks in Latin America they are functionally vegetarian and lets be clear not by choice but because working for a dollar or so a day does not bring in enough to eat meat.
When I moved from Los Angeles where you can get pretty much anything you want I was pleasantly surprised by El Mariachi because I was able to get a lot of the products I had been accustomed to when making the dishes that I grew up on. I love speaking spanish to those that work there.
One thing I have noticed in general in Minnesota is that the mexican food is not nearly as good as that in Los Angeles and its also quite a bit more expensive. I still am not to sure why but I assume its because shipping in all the ingredients is more expensive here because the volume is not as great as it would be in a city with a larger Mexican population.
That said I usually come here for the Menudo and its plenty good.

This is a review of the grocery store and not the restaurant.
Feeling the need to get taco wasted, I stopped by El Mariachi to buy some flour tortillas, veggies, salsas, and marinated meats. I’ve never visited this market before, so I didn’t know what to expect.
When I stepped inside, I immediately noticed that it is deceptively large and very clean. To the left, there’s a robust, affordable, and fresh selection of produce that spans the entire wall. It includes a seemingly infinite amount of cilantro and scallions, which are, of course, essential for most Mexican dishes. El Mariachi also carries all the standard goods every Mexican grocery store should sell, such as various flavored powdered horchatas, dried and sugared fruits, and a hot sauce selection as diverse as the racial and ethnic composition of Central High School’s student body. The meat? The pork, beef, and chicken looked like the animals got butchered within the last couple of days. They are much fresher than the Asian grocery stores I frequently visit.
My favorite area of El Mariachi is the cooked meats section, since it carries tasty goodies such as the choles (marinated pork) and carnitas. Combined with herbs such as coriander and rosemary, the meats emit an amazing aroma. It permeates the air making your mouth water and belly rumble, instantly. I’m sure I stood there sniffing for about five minutes before I became convinced to purchase half a pound of choles and carnitas for my future feast. #bellyrumble.
After collecting all of the taco necessities, I proceeded to the register where everything came out to only $ 20! This blew my mind considering I have spent a lot more than $ 20 at Taqueria La Hacienda or Taqueira Los Ocampo on late night taco binges. Over the course of three days, I made 25 glorious tacos and got super Mexican food wasted several times. My belly couldn’t have been happier.
If you love to cook Mexican food, take a chance and shop at El Mariachi.

El Nuevo Mariachi is so overwhelmingly average.
Growing up, my family went to the old El Mariachi across the parking lot. Yesterday, as we were deciding where to eat, I recalled going there as a child and when asked why we stopped, I couldn’t quite recall. After finishing our mediocre complimentary chips and salsa, quesidillas, and tacos I remembered — the food is just not that memorable.
As referenced in several other reviews, it’s strength is it’s authenticity. Located on Eat Street, it draws a Spanish speaking and/​or «adventure loving» crowd.
My qualms are not significant but would deter me from returning, again because it just wasn’t that great. We went during an average happy hour timeframe only to find they had no happy hour; the steak in our carne asada tacos was diced and overcooked, but our quesadillas were fine; our waitress was visibly upset that we existed.
Not awful, not great.

Sure, the food is «authentic», but so what? The place was completely empty and the music was ear-​splittingly loud when we arrived, at 12:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. I guess they were bored from lack of business, despite the fact that the lunch hour was hardly over. Service was slow and inattentive, puzzling given that the staff outnumbered the diners 3 – 2. Salsa was over-​salted, although the chips were perfect. Bite-​sized tamale, and roasted jalapeño and green onions, saved the generic rice, beans, and carne asada. Soft drinks, including Jarritos sodas, were visible in a fridge behind the bar but not on the menu. After we had finished eating, we had to walk over to the bar to ask for our check. Our waitress was behind the bar opening a beer but did not even so much as look at me when I came over. The bartender asked if she could help me, and so we finally got our check. Bill was under $ 30. I handed the waitress two $ 20s and she asked if I needed change. You bet I did.

Quick back story: I made friends with this lovely couple, Enrique and Marcy, both of whom love Mexican cuisine the way I love the ladies. So, yeah, pretty much con mucho gusto. So when they said «Jelonny, we need to hit El Mariachi» I was down, even though in the back of my mind I wondered if Enrique was using Mexican slang for some immigration hustle.
Turns out El Mariachi is an authentic hotbed of Mexican culture. Music, foosball, buckets of beer (I’m a HUGE fan of their beer buckets). Booths you can eat in, a bar you can drink at. A Mexican grocery store across the street, and a Mexican bakery springing from the side of the grocery like Athena from Zeus’ head. At least I think that’s how the myth goes. I don’t recall certain details as well after a decade of casual drinking. Collateral damage, I guess. I wouldn’t trade a single delicious drop of sweet liquor to be able to remember Greek mythology. So there.
Here’s the extent of my knowledge of Mexican culture: when I was in 3^rd grade in Oregon our very pale, sickly looking teacher painted a mustache over her lip, threw on an Aztec print poncho, and did some two-​steppin around a sombrero in front of the class. She called it «The Mexican Hat Dance.» It was for Cinco de Mayo. Our school wasn’t too diverse. There was this one Indian kid in my class who was the only little brown guy in school, so the principal pretended he was Mexican for the day, and Dinesh got a free Coca Cola and a bag of Fritos in this awkward ceremony at lunch time. Dinesh got nervous from all the attention and peed himself. Eleanor Higgins pointed at him and blurted out «¡pantalones de pipí!» and everyone — even the teachers — laughed until Dinesh started crying with shame. Moral of the story: it’s hard being Mexican in America. But I digress.
Enrique, being the authentico member of La Raza he is, advised my taco ordering. Tacos are definitely the way to go at this place. THE MEAT WAS PERFECT! So soft, it was like eating delicious crushed velvet. Marcy is a gringa, but she grew up in small town Texas (she organized litter campaigns for the state government — such a pure heart!) so she knows the deal. She ordered some of the enchiladas, and they were terrific. Everything was beyond affordable, everything was tasty.
Bottom line, amigos: this is an authentic, affordable, tasty Mexican experience.
Quatro estrellas para los tacos mejor! ¿Me oyes? Claro.

Good food, not such a nice place

I write to magnify what is lost on most of you – this is a legit Mexican restaurant, and patronized as such. The food, beer, and entertainment are tasty, cheap, and loud – in that order. Pancho is where you would go if your grad school classmates, or sorority sisters want big, weak, margaritas and pictures in that stupid hat – i.e., the Starbucks of Mexican restaurants for people who really don’t want a Mexican restaurant. When I want a jerk, I go to the jerk store. The last time I was there, the waitress had to grab another to translate – fucking legit, fucking authentic.
For nomination in the Real Mexican Restaurant category, Five stars.

I’ve been to this place quite a few times & loved it! The food is AMAZING!!! But the last time I went in there the service was horrible and I will never go there again! I don’t know the waitresses name but she has golden/​brown very curly hair and always has her hair in a sideways ponytail… she absolutely ruined this restaurant!!!
First, she refused to speak in English which we over looked because we speak spanish.
2^nd, she chose to have some kind of personal problem with me, she wouldn’t look at me & made me wait almost my entire meal for my drink while my husband & kids had everything they ordered.
3^rd she was too busy talking on her phone & sitting in a booth eating with men. She would walk by our table & my husband kept trying to tell her about my drink & she would signal him to be quiet because she was on the phone… which by the way I don’t see how anyone can talk on the phone in the the music is so loud! It was very early in the day when we went there & we had to shout just so we could talk.
So needless to say I won’t spend anymore of my money in that place!

Cheap eats, but I think I got gut-​rot from the sugary margaritas. This is a nice alternative if Pancho’s ever gets too crowded. Their carnitas tacos were pretty good!

This review is for Marissa’s Deli which is inside of this Mexican grocery store.
If you like authentic tacos, this is the place. I’ve had Taco Taxi and Pineda and this place wins for sure. I tried the pastor, steak and carnitas. All outstanding. The pastor was the best.
The atmosphere in here is great. REALLY clean, friendly staff, brightly colored walls and tiles.
Please go here. I want it to stay in business forever.

A friend was in the mood for Mexican food and we were looking for a place that was within biking distance from downtown. I was curious about Pancho Villa but my pal said he wanted to try this place because it appeared to be more authentic and he had already eaten at Pancho Villa before.
I have always sought out ethnic restaurants that provide more authentic food offerings. My immigrant parents always judge restaurants by the diners (i.e. a Chinese restaurant that is popular with Chinese people is probably a good sign). When we stepped in to the restaurant, there was very little English being spoken and we were just about the only people there that were not Hispanic.
It was fun to watch people singing karaōke and the food was great. I had the enchiladas with rice and beans. The price was reasonable and the portions were huge. I left feeling extremely full. I didn’t have any drinks but the beer prices were very reasonable and it looked like you could buy a bucket of beer at a discount. I would definitely go back to try something else.

I drove past El Mariachi the other day and remembered I hadn’t written a review from my visit last October. The passage of time hasn’t impacted my ability to write a review — my visit there was memorable for all the right reasons.
I took a Canadian there on a Friday night for a little slice of America, and El Mariachi is a quintessential independent Mexican-​American restaurant. Spanglish menu, telenovelas and soccer on the tvs, bottled beer and cheap margaritas.
I had the shrimp and peppers in a spicy garlic sauce, my date had fajitas. When I placed my order, the waitress gave a quick sideways glance at my pink skin and said, ‘you like spicy?’. I said sure, I’ll just have another beer. I thought nothing of it until about a third of the way thru dinner, when she stopped by again, noticed me sweating, and giggled a little bit. The heat of the sauce was perfect — just enough to gradually build up and be noticed, but so flavorful that I couldn’t stop eating it. I sampled the fajitas as well and they were top notch.
The four star rating could easily have been five, had karaōke not started so early — and so enthusiastically — in the evening. While it lent credence to the authenticity of the place, it certainly didn’t add to the dining experience.
I’ll be back there again. Exceptional food, good service — an escape to Mexico without delayed flights and TSA groping.

I’ve liked everything I’ve had here. Clientele is mostly Latino, but staff speaks English. They moved from the back of the strip mall to on Nicollet itself so have a better set up now.

Here I am talking about the supermarket and the bakery section of this lace, as I never had food at the restaurant.
In my hunt for ingredients not easy to find at regular supermarkets, I sometimes venture into ethnic stores of various type and El Mariachi is my go to place for some of those things.
First they have beef bullion cube, which I didn’t find anywhere else and are a necessary ingredient for good risotto (of course you should do the broth from scratch boiling bones and so on but who has the time?). They also have chicken (and fish) bullion cubes, which I prefer to the tetra-​pack of chicken stock because they are much smaller to store.
Then they have a wonderful selection of bread and croissants/​pastries. Sometimes I go there just to get some bread and some pastries to eat in the morning which are quite cheap, very fresh and not too sweet. I think they also bake cakes on request.
I have never tried it, but they also have a quite large butcher section mostly selling chicken. They also sell rotisserie chickens, which look quite good.
Finally, they have a big selection of queso fresco, my BF favorite juices (I think he likes mango, peach and stuff like that), all things for cooking Mexican food including cactus, shells for tamales, pans, pots and utensils.
My favorite bakery in the twin cities!

El Mariachi has no labeled vegetarian food on the menu. You can have them construct a taco or tostada but it won’t be anything you couldn’t have done at home with lettuce, tomatoes and a tortilla. Avoid the beans and rice, as the former is cooked with lard and the latter with chicken broth.
Given their location on Nicollet, I’m surprised they don’t even attempt to attract a more diverse crowd with vegetarian options or even a token «vegetarian» section on the menu with cheese enchiladas and avocado.
While they do serve free chips and salsa, I found the chips to be overly salty and the salsa was more like a thick marinara sauce, rather than a fresh and light pico de gallo with tomatoes, onions and herbs.
Come here for the bar and the music (which can get pretty loud, by the way). Their mixed drinks are tasty but quite expensive at $ 7 – 9 a piece. Better stick with a Corona next time.