The food is amazing and the service is excellent! The owner is an invested community member and has been for decades. We love this place!

They just reopened and the staff is so friendly. Portion sizes were great. Its the most flavorful birria I've had in Minnesota! read more

El Carambas - #23 with Asada, birria taco, queso, and lemonada. - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

The chips are the best I've ever had. We even purchased some for at home. The salsa bar is a fun addition and the food is always amazing and service was great! I'd definitely recommend you go in for the salsa bar. read more

The food is amazing! The people make you feel like you're family. A great place for a quick meal or dinner with family and friends.

I'm in town for medical treatment and we were craving Mexican food. Being from San Diego, we are probably too spoiled with authentic Mexican restaurants on every corner. Anyhow, we decided to try El Carambas and it was a mistake. The food reminded me of school lunches from the 1980s, but worse. This may have been the worst "Mexican" food I've had. Video attached. Yikes. We ordered delivery so I cannot speak for service nor ambiance. read more

Food is perfect and the service is great as well. Will come back for this authentic food. read more

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Solid! We were looking for lunch in Rochester and decided on El Carambas. I'm glad i looked past the three stars. I had the taco salad, bf had the enchiladas and we both enjoyed the horchata and salsa bar. Salsa was on point! We saw many Latino customers and knew we were in the right spot. Beware that orange salsa! It's hot AF! But delicious and made of chilies from Mexico! read more

The food tasted great. Now the reason I'm only giving three stars is because both of our orders were wrong. We live out of town so we didn't realize until we got home that it was incorrect. We ordered chicken enchiladas and nachos with only steak, cheese and sour cream. The enchiladas were beef and there were beans on the nachos. read more

El Carambas - Chicken enchiladas that ended up being beef. - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

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Best tacos in Rochester. Great juices. Very nice staff. I wish I had known about this place when I first moved to the area and not the week before I left. Also A+ decorating. Great time read more

We were skeptical to eat here after seeing the recent reviews, but we're very glad we decided to give it a try. The inside of the restaurant was definitely something to marvel at and the decor set the atmosphere perfectly. When the whole staff and half of the customers are speaking Spanish, it's a good indication that you're going to get some good authentic food. Needless to say, the food was everything we were hoping it would be and the prices were great. The staff was very friendly and welcoming during our visit. I forgot my card after checking out, but came back an hour later and the cashier had kept it safe for me. Overall, we had a great meal and a great time. Would highly recommend. read more

This restaurant has all the options you come to exact at Mexican restaurants. If you're eating in, the service is quick and you can munch on chips and salsa while you wait. If you're ordering to-go your order won't take too long and can be picked up at the front counter. When I went here there was a group of us and they easily accommodated us. They also threw in a free dessert at the end that was unexpected but very tasty. The prices are right on par and the entrees won't disappoint as far as the amount of food you are given. I would definitely recommend to get your fix of Mexican food. read more

El Carambas - Chimichanga, beans, and rice - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

Food is great! Service is amazing and comes out quick! And the atmosphere is really enjoyable! I highly recommend their barria tacos! ¡La comida es genial! El servicio es increíble y sale rápido! ¡Y el ambiente es muy agradable! ¡Recomiendo encarecidamente sus tacos barrias! read more

Excellent Menudo perfect for a raining snowy day will be the first of many orders ordered through DoorDash arrived fast and hot with all the fixings large portion filled me up hit the spot perfectly read more

El Carambas - Was craving me some SoCal cooking got me some menudo was very good - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

The best way I can describe this place is, great Mexican food for the Midwest. It's the most authentic Mexican food I've had around here and it's delicious! The staff is incredibly friendly, the owner came out to make sure everyone in the restaurant was enjoying their meal. I highly recommend eating here if you have a Mexican food craving while in Rochester. read more

El Carambas - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

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Chicken tacos is bland with no seasoning at all , would not recommend if you like flavor

This little hole-in-the-wall offers an authentic taste of Mexican cuisine with counter order of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, burritos, salads, combos, daily specials and so much more. The younger lady taking our order offered little to none in the form of friendly greeting or interaction. The interior is a festive display of colorful, traditional memorabilia decorating nearly every square inch of walls and ceiling. A couple narrow rows of heavy wood chairs and tables run down the middle with a padded booth separated with two tables in the back. Outdoor seating is a few tables in a cart like patio with a ramp. Besides delivering the food, you are on your own. Soda machine upfront for drinks and water, salsa bar offering a nice selection of salsas and sauces, and even a station to get your own silverware when the same young lady from the counter brings your food and nothing else. The Pico de Gallo and the medium mediana were fresh and went nice with the small bowl of chips that they bring you. My combo of a supreme burrito and taco was also a good serving of authentic, made from scratch cooking with plenty of ingredients and flavor. Prices can be a bit spendy as one combo, a lunch special and a soda was over $28. Anything extra does come as a cost. But the food and the experience worth it. #morselbliss read more

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El Carambas was surprisingly good! Of course it is not the same kind of Mexican food that you get in the Southwestern states but the food was fresh, unique and tasty! I got a nice, big burrito stuffed full of asada, beans and rice. El Carambas also has a nice salsa bar with a wide and varied selection. The service is friendly and eager to please. The atmosphere is fun, especially with the Mexican wrestling masks and boots that are on display when you come through the front door. Nice place! read more

El Carambas is a little Mexican cantina out of the way and off the main drag of Rochester. The pros: This is one of the more authentic Mexican restaurants you can eat at in Rochester. The cooks and cashiers are family members who own the place and will yell back and forth in Spanish to one another. Everyone who works at EC are very polite and helpful to explain anything on the menu. The food comes out quickly and steaming hot. It is obvious that half the menu is for the generic "tex-mex" crowd, with nachos and fajita burritos, but the other half is traditional with tripe and tortas. The restaurant offers a large salsa bar with about a dozen varieties. The seating is casual and simple, although bright and welcoming. The cons: The prices are quite high for Mexican food, especially in an establishment that you are not waited on, but rather order and pay at the cash register. A dinner plate of a chimichanga or two enchiladas will cost you nearly $14.00 a piece. The dishes of chips are also quite small and you have to go up to the front to ask for more. The seating and furniture is on the older size and so while charming in its age, definitely show wear. Based on the food and service, I do recommend EC as a primary choice for Mexican in Rochester. But, know that you are going to pay a little more than you should. read more

Great Mexican spot in town! Reasonable prices, great service, and a welcoming environment. They serve a variety of Mexican cuisine, ranging from less traditional to very authentic. I'm usually a big fan of their chicken, although they may have recently changed the recipe, as this go around was less flavorable. The free chips and variety of salsas and sauces are a fun bonus, and the entrees are ample, especially given the low-moderate price point. read more

El Carambas - Chips and salsa (left to right: pick de gallo, mild, picante, and medium) - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

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howdy folks, When elCarambas first opened,I was one of the very first customers to try it out and ever since then, i've been a regular customer and think it's the best and the most homemade mexican food in town with a good relaxed atmosphere that is simply mexican and down to earth for the food and ambiance that has a tv set for mostly soccer games best, best, best thank you for reading and see you there,Brad in rochester,minnesota read more

The food was okay but quite frankly very overpriced for what you got in terms of quantity of food. Also the fact you only got a limited amount of salsa seemed a little ridiculous given how much the entrees costed. read more

I was SO disappointed in my experience at El Carambas. I'm new to the area and heard a few people recommend their tacos because they're "authentic" so I decided to stop by with my girlfriend to order take out. Between my girlfriend and I, we ordered six tacos and two drinks which ended up costing $21. Tacos are $2.99 each which is pretty hefty but I guess there isn't much competition in Rochester. Since I was expecting authentic Mexican, I was surprised to see my chicken tacos come in a flour tortilla with cheddar cheese. The taste was... not good. The tacos were 70% flour tortilla, 20% lettuce and cheese, and 10% chicken. Seriously... one of my tacos had three tiny pieces of chicken. Not only that, but it was flavorless. I ended up just eating the little bit of chicken that they gave me and trashing the rest. My girlfriend thought her chorizo taco was "alright" but nothing worth coming back for, especially for the price. We'll continue our search for authentic Mexican food in Rochester and in the meantime, won't be stopping by El Carambas again. read more

El Carambas - Three tiny piece of chicken on a giant flour tortilla. - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

Maybe being from Texas has skewed my perception of what Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican food is, but I do not understand how this place has so many 5-star ratings... The positives include the cheap prices, friendly staff, and free salsa bar. That's about it. The menu consists of basically every Mexican dish you might ever conceivably order in your lifetime, all without any sort of description. For a sit-down, dine-in restaurant staffed with servers, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For a restaurant where you order at the counter, it can mean insanely long wait times as the person ahead of you (or even yourself) asks question after question about what each dish is. The salsa bar is stocked with at least 4 different types of salsa and other assorted condiments to include fresh pico de gallo. Unfortunately, most of the salsas (except the verde) taste similar and there was no difference between the "hot" salsa and the "mild" salsa to my palette. The dishes themselves, of which my wife and I ordered the ground beef enchiladas with Ranchero sauce and a chili rellano and ground beef taco were nothing to write home about. They weren't bad, but they weren't anything special. The Mexican rice and refried beans also needed a tad bit more salt. Last, but certainly not least, the "chips and salsa" we received prior to our meal was fried pita bread with the salsa we got ourselves from the salsa bar...oh yeah, did I forget to mention they sell Gyros here as well? I mean, if you're going to pretend to be a Mexican restaurant, don't hand out pita chips instead of tortilla chips - especially cold, hard, fried pita chips. read more

The staff are really nice people so I feel bad leaving a poor review. However, this is really nothing special. It's not particularly authentic or fresh. El Carambas doesn't really warrant a full review because it matches the profile for pretty much every other "so-so" Mexican restaurant out there. The good points are the prices, staff, and really quick service. The bad is the bland food... and this pretty much outweighs the rest. read more

The owner is a great guy and he really makes this place special. The food, however, wasn't amazing. I'm from Los Angeles, so I've had my fair share of good Mexican food, and this place is underwhelming. I prefer La Perla Poblana, whereas El Carambas is my husband's favorite. read more

Best Mexican in Rochester...period. I would highly consider writing a request that it be featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I am not sure why the favorite in this town is Fiesta or why people are still going to Carlos O'Kelly's (GROSS!). I would assume the appeal of these places is the quantity over quality effect that attract many Rochesterites. First off, the complementary chips they give you here taste exactly like the ones found in Mexico! They're thick cut and are clearly deep fried corn tortillas which they should be, none of this thin over salted crap the other restaurants give you. These go very well with the wonderful salsa bar. My favorite being the "burnt" salsa. It's great getting to try different all the various types. There were many menu items to choose from, half the menu was in Spanish and didn't offer an English translation, but I love it when restaurants do this because it shows the authenticity. I played it safe and ordered the fish tacos. It came three tacos with a side of rice and beans. Our entire table agreed that you could tell the beans were made in house and not dumped out of a can. They were not overly salted and had a fresher taste. The fish tacos were also delicious, well seasoned and not over cooked. The staff were more than friendly and made sure that we were happy with our food. There were a few quirks to this place like the food being served on Styrofoam and having plastic utensils, but then again, who cares, as long as the food is good I'll keep coming back. All in all, this is now my go to Mexican place in Rochester. read more

Pros... Love the food, never disappointed. Looking for a gluten-free menu? They have one! Huge quanities, low price. Best takeout. Great service, friendly employees. Can order beer & wine. Cons... Decor, styrofoam plates, no patio, no margaritas. read more

Great Tacos. The chips and salsa are their selling points. Hot, fresh, and fried up at the store. Lower rating because unlike most reviews, we did not think the prices were cheep. For a place that only had 1-2 waitresses and serves everything on paper plates with really cheap cutlery (two of my forks broke), we felt that El Carambas was overpriced. Our meal was $45 with tip and we normally pay about half that for similar meals at many Tex-Mex restaurants across the states (in MX the same meal would have probably been $10). The service was hectic. One of the waitresses was attentive and professional. We felt that the other waitress didn't want to be there. The second waitress didn't take drink orders, forgot to bring chips that we asked for twice, and basically threw our orders at us and ran away. We'll probably go back if we crave Mexican food, but we'll keep looking for another establishment in Rochester to fill that niche too. read more

Like some of the other posts, we were also surprised to go back after not being there for a while to see the prices increased drastically. It seemed like about a 50% increase in general. Food is still really good, but nobody wants to put up a $25-30+ bill for lunch for 2. My wife even stopped in just for a drink and chips/salsa and it was (I think) something like $16. With cheaper taco trucks popping up in town with some really good tacos, its hard to justify coming back here too often or at all. read more

Been coming here for years and have always enjoyed myself. Eddie - the owner - knows us, and so does Luis, the manager. We have always been happy with the service, the casual atmosphere, and the food. However, the last time we went we discovered the HUGE increase in prices. My regular order which was $7.99 is now $11.99. Our lunch bill came to over $30 for two people. They're simply charging too much money for counter service and food served on styrofoam plates with plastic utensils. What used to be our favorite once-a-week Mexican place will no longer be for us. read more

So so sooo good. I had the chilequiles with green sauce and it was great; too spicy for me but that's my own fault for thinking I could handle it. My boyfriend had the cheese enchiladas with red sauce and that was really good too. Highly recommend this place. read more

You order at the front of the restaurant from an overhead menu without prices, which is strange. I ordered the Chile relleno plate. The Chile relleno itself was pretty flavorless and just drowned in oil. The rice was good, but also overly greasy. No complaints about the refried beans, though, and the portions were generous. Overall, not worth the money and would not go back. read more

Best Mexican restaurant in town. Funky decor, low overhead reflected in the very low prices. The staff is super friendly. The owner is terrific. (Check out their Cinqo de Mayo celebrations they are FANTASTIC!) Very good energy in the place, and real diversity in their customers - a rarity in Rochester. Everyone is welcome, check it out. read more

El Carambas - Festive decor - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

This is the most authentic Mexican tasting food in Southeast Minnesota. I'm from Texas and all the "Mexican" restaurants around here don't have that authentic sabor. The food here tastes just like mom's cooking! The staff were very friendly and attentive. Help yourself to all the different types of salsa in the front counter. The only thing I didn't like was the manner in which they served the food. They brought it out on super cheap and thin paper plates with plastic ware. Have you ever tried cutting through a burrito with a flimsy plastic fork? Not very easy. read more

Wonderful, fresh Mexican food. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and will definitely head there again the next time we are in town.

They have really excellent service, the guacamole is amazing, tastes fresh. They use pap2 plates however and some of the food burnt into it. Otherwise the taquitos were yummy and the horchata was great as well. read more

El Carambas - Good service - Mexican Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

I love proper tacos. Lengua, chicharones, chorizo... This is the only restaurant I've found in Rochester that serves the delicious bits of the animals, and that deserves 5 stars on its own. Ordered; episole, civiche, lengua taco, chicharones taco, chorizo taco, cactus taco, tripa taco and buche taco. Everything was spot on! Served with lime, no nasty yellow cheese, just as it should be. read more

I ordered a chicken burrito supreme luch size with 2 extra small tubs of salsa was $1402. very overpriced.

I talked with Eddie about catering for our wedding reception. He answered all of our questions and was very prompt to respond to later communications. The food was delivered to us right on time, everything was there that we ordered, and it was delicious. We ordered the fajita bar, and there was more than enough food, and plenty of toppings. Definitely would order again! read more

We ordered for Cinco De Mayo on Doordash. 2nd restaurant that doesn't seem to get it. If you are trying to stay afloat in the current situation, you need to deliver decent food. My wife had the steak burrito supreme, steak was almost non existent and dry. My dish was not what I ordered and sub prime. We did not get the $6 guacamole we ordered, and when I called the restaurant, it went to a California cell phone with a full voice mail. Top it off by being an hour late and crushed so the meals were leaking everywhere. Will not be ordering again. read more