When I want a cozy atmosphere and a meal you can taste was made with love where do I go? @la_cucaracha_restaurante inSt.Paul is the place. After we first tried this spot obviously loved the food but another take away note was how sweet the staff was. You feel taken care of. Our must have on the table list: Ashlita's Fajitas with steak (10/10 every time) Three Cheese Enchiladas Nachos Azteca (half order pictured) I highly recommend checking this spot out sometime for their food and also for their wonderful team. For more awesome food spots check out the account mallorymademetryitmn on Instagram! read more

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We stumbled into La Cucaracha around 8pm as dinner seamed to be slowing down. They have a bar area for seating and two smaller dining areas, both with plenty of seating. Once we finally sat down, we quickly ordered some margaritas, and it took longer than expected to be delivered, but once they came, they were delicious. We had to ask multiple times to get water, finally flagging down a hostess to help us out. When our food finally came, the meals made up for the long wait and poor service. The fajitas were really good, sizzling hot and flavorful. The chimichanga was also really tasty, and the rice and beans felt very authentic and we devoured them all. Overall it was an okay experience, the food & drink was worth it. The wait staff was sub par for sure. read more

I really wanted to like this place, but the experience just missed the mark. We asked for a booth and, even though the restaurant was completely empty, they sat us right by the front door, next to the prep station and server podium. It already felt off. While we were trying to enjoy our chips and salsa, the manager stood just a few feet away, loudly eating chips right out of the prep area. It didn't feel very clean or professional. The food came out fast, but it was just okay. The rice was dry and crunchy. To top it off, one of the hosts came into the prep space and started playing loud social media videos for several minutes while we were eating. It was hard to enjoy our meal with all of that going on around us. I had high hopes, but it ended up feeling more like we were eating in a break room than a restaurant. read more

I love coming here for their happy hour. The bar tender is the best in town. I get the half order of nachos grande. And a great Mexican beer on tap. read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Half order of nachos grande - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

First time here, and I was very impressed by the friendliness of staff and the cute decor. The food was delicious and really loved their salsa. It had great flavor, and some heat. I will be coming back. This is a must come place for Mexican food. You won't be disappointed read more

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Lunch Buffet was amazing and priced well! Great spread of food. The pork was my favorite, chips and red salsa 11 out of 10! Eddie one of the owners made us feel very welcome and was there for whatever we needed! This is a great spot! Fun music playing with plenty of TV's to watch whatever game is on. We will be back! read more

I am here working on our huge storage units whittling them down. Built up a strong craving for special enchiladas from here with mole. Got it to go, exhausted. First TINY container. VERY meek thin skimpy enchiladas less than half the size of a proper enchilada served in Old Town San Diego or Downtown Los Angeles! The traditional California enchilada comes out HOT on a big oval platter with lots of cheese on top, generous perfectly spice mole combo enchiladas sauce by Don Miguel full of robust flavor plenty of meat. Not here. The former owner ( sold the restaurant 4-5 years ago to the wait staff according to the original older bar tender) a woman and her family at Christmas would make from scratch amazing heavenly tamales! All her sauces had great depth of flavor thanks to the many excellent spices she generously used. I love to cook and make my own enchiladas. My mom grew up in LA. And the prices went way up. 3 skinny enchiladas with only sauce $15. Rice and beans $5. Sour cream $2. Extra sauce $4! A la cart, a la carte. Going to explore new places. read more

We were so disappointed. My niece loves tamales and saw tamales on the black board "they're back" and was looking forward to them. I asked the wait person for a recommendation and went with her recommendation, Enchilada Suiza. The 2 tamales came not in corn masa but in a grape leaf like wrap with nothing else on the plate. They were dry and tasteless. The enchiladas were dry and came more like they were in pita than separate enchiladas rolled in a tortilla with sauce. They were swimming in a bland green verde of some kind. The rice was just OK. The queso was good. The margaritas came in water tumblers with lots of ice and not much drink. They had a poor tequila that had a bit of a chemical taste. We wanted to like the whole experience but we just couldn't. The ambiance is a funky neighborhood vibe which I liked. read more

Just came in for some chips and dip and beer with some friends, however the entree's passing by our table looked gooooooood. I did enjoy the chips and salsa. The chips were a mix of both flour and corn tortilla. The queso was just ok, the slice jalapeños in it were a nice touch though. read more

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Went there for an early lunch- buffet was lighter stuff like great soup, chips, and stuff for enchiladas but the owner Eddie was amazing, and would make anything you want as a part of the buffet. He was amazingly engaging and attentive. It was a great experience at a reasonable price. read more

Some of the best service I've experienced at a restaurant! Coming in - you immediately felt like family! The food we ordered felt very authentic - and there were more items on the menu I wanted to try which is always a good sign. read more

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A Saint Paul gem located just off of Grand Avenue. Even though I am always in the area, I often forget about La Cucaracha because it's tucked off the main drag by just a pinch. For those of you reading this review - here's your sign to visit. Really good food, lots of seating, fast service and good drink options as well. We had a party of 3 on a Saturday and got seated in a back booth. We ordered the chips, salsa and queso as our appetizer and also had a fruit mojito (yum) along with a pina colada (also yum) for our cocktails. I enjoyed my chicken flautas meal which came with rice and beans and was served with feta cheese sprinkles and guacamole. Everything is as served hot and fresh. I can't wait to return again soon! Note: the lighting is fairly dark but the community and cuisine bring this place to life! read more

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Service is top notch - I feel like family when I'm here. Warm and inviting, cozy and snug. The food is by far the best Mexican food you'll have with every dish made fresh and flavors making tastebuds sing and dance. The top shelf margarita made with fresh citrus juices is hands down superior to any margarita one will ever experience. read more

We love it here. The lunch buffet is amazing. Highly recommend. Great people, great food...the owner, Eddie, is amazing.

Came here many times prior to COVID and just came back for dinner in Feb, 2023. Delighted by the service and the fajitas. One of us had steak, the other had chicken fajitas. Both excellent (and took some of it home). Also split a piece of chocolate cake. My friend and I also had a margarita. Quite good. This restaurant has been here more than 40 years and there are reasons for that - the food is very good. read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Chicken fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

La Cuc haș been a long time family favorite, and now with the new management, it's only gotten better. If you are lucky to have Eddie as your server, you will have a fantastic time, however I have never been disappointed with any of the servers. It has the right feel for a Mexican joint, with a massive mural painted in the bar room, reminding me of the old adobe restaurants I used to eat at in Arizona and New Mexico. If it feels right then that means they're doing something right. As for the food - well if you're in a feel for Guac, they got some of the best damned guac around, if you want meat, make sure you ask if they have any of Eddies chorizo and you sure as shit won't be disappointed; even if you're a plain Jane like myself and just want basic cheese enchiladas then La Cuc has got it right. Every time I tell someone about this place they look at me like I am insane then go onto rant about some bad experiences they had 10+ years ago, I go on to insist that they give it another try and if they don't like it this next time around, I'll foot the bill as I'm that confident in the food and the experiences being the best of the best around. read more

I visited La Cucaracha Restaurant for the second time of my life on a Sunday evening. I live close to the restaurant so it was really nice to be able to walk to the restaurant with two of my friends. It seemed as though there was only street parking available and the restaurant was large with a fun and festive atmosphere. La Cucaracha was relatively quiet on this particular Sunday evening and we got seated at a high top at the bar quickly. We all ordered margaritas and they were not our favorite. I personally thought they were strong and my friends thought they were too sweet. Our waiter was really pleasant and attentive so the service at the restaurant was a plus. We ordered the chips and guacamole to start and they were very tasty. The guacamole was really nice and fresh tasting and I love that they gave us flour tortilla chips as they are my personal favorite. We all ordered the chicken tacos. The dish comes with three chicken tacos and you can choose between hard and soft shell tacos. I definitely recommend the hard shell tacos rather than the soft. I will definitely be coming back to La Cucaracha as it is a great, local restaurant near my home. read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Bar - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Friendly staff, clean and beautiful restaurant, and delicious food! We had the soup, carne asada tacos, and margaritas. Lots of flavor, even the homemade red and green sauce has a nice kick! read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

The service here is great and the food was so good I'm definitely looking forward to coming again read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Walking taco - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

The food is great! I mostly do takeout, but everyone is friendly and helpful. It has a very warm and comfortable looking dining room.

Zero flavor on the nachos..queso is like cheese whiz and chips are odd. Service and ambiance was great...but probably won't be back read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Nachos...no flavor at all. Meh to all of the meal. - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Great food! The guacamole, tostadas, black beans, rice, tacos and cheese enchiladas were all delicious. Excellent service, too.

Delicious food and drinks with excellent service. Best place in the area for authentic Mexican cuisine. read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Delicious food and drinks with excellent service!! The best place for authentic Mexican cuisine in the area. - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Order of chips and cheese dip and 2 margaritas $50!! Honestly that would be fine if it felt worth it. However the " chili con queso" was yellow nacho cheese out of a can. The chips were homemade, however I'm avoiding gluten so thinking you're getting corn chips and getting a bowl of basically all flour homemade chips is disappointing. I ate what corn chips I could sift out. But $15 per margarita in a 16oz water glass is also disappointing. I won't go back . Thanks though. Love Grand Ave though. Beautiful area. read more

This is a family favorite! We've been coming here for years and appreciate the friendly and prompt service. Under new ownership by the long-term restaurant manager and hostess, this is a special and authentic place. Ask for the fresh squeezed margaritas. read more

We used to really enjoy La Cucaracha, but probably won't be returning. Learning more and more; close is not always better. Everything is extra now. Chips and salsa 3.00. Chips seemed a little old and extra greasy. Rice and beans extra charge. Think we'll skip this one and frequent our other favorites where everything is included. Not a fan of the new menu or the new and extra prices. read more

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This place is located in St. Paul in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods. The outside of the building looks pretty cool, but once you get inside it is very small. The poor guy working was so overwhelmed, and the restaurant hardly had anyone inside. I honestly felt very bad for him. We ordered a half gallon pitcher of bullfighter margaritas. These were the best thing we had that night. Margaritas made with Grand Marnier. They were generous with the salt on the rim of the glasses, which I love. Their chips were really good too. Very thick and obviously made in house which was pretty great. The salsa they serve is about medium in spice and very watery, almost like a straight tomato sauce...no chunks here. I ordered shrimp tacos which I was also very impressed with, but the entrees for the rest of the table were not great. My sister ordered beef tacos which were very, very dry. My father's beef enchiladas were overdone and had the same very dry beef inside. My step-mother ordered nachos which were served on the same awesome chips except that they were clearly burnt. I would likely not return to this location. read more

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Classy joint with made-from-scratch entrees and chips/salsa. Wide menu. Be sure to try the Pina Colada! As good as anything I had in Puerto Rico. read more

I have been coming her for over 13 years . I got to say this time really dissatisfied. I order the mamas fried chicken and bowl of chicken soup . Came to pick up my order and they said they didn't have fries that come with the chicken and just decided to put rice and beans in the order without asking . What makes things worse when I come home the chicken is not a quarter chicken on very small piece of chicken . The sale is lettuce 2 pieces of tomato and some red onion . It's like they are using Cornish game hens instead of actual chicken because it was soooo small . The soup had zero flavor I had to add my own seasoning so it could be edible . If you like Cornish game hens and no flavor then this would have been a meal for you !! Not sure what's going on today but I have always loved this restaurant . read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - Fried chicken - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Great food and service highly recommended best Mexican food around. Food was priced well and fast service!

Poor service. Worse food. Over fried (burnt) chips and tacos. To it top is off, several Mexican beers were out. Simply put, stay away!!! And, let's hope someone actually opens a good Mexican restaurant on Grand Ave. We need one. read more

I don't understand why this place was crowded. It is a total and utter anomaly to me! We arrived at 5:40 and were seated at a bar booth right away. It took our waitress a couple minutes to come over and when she did we were ready to order. I began to order off of the happy hour menu and she said it was too late because it was already six. I looked at my watch and said it was 5:50. She said I'll have to check. I said ok. Strike one-don't tell me it is a different time than it is. Next up fruit flies that kept flying around my face-GROSS!! Food-nachos grande and cheese enchiladas. Nachos grande-greasiest nachos I've ever eaten. They probably use 70/30 ground beef and don't drain it so the grease pools on the plate. My stomach hurts the day after still thinking about it. I was so hungry that I ate it anyway and have been paying for it since then. The cheese enchiladas weren't bad, they weren't good either. The waitress asked if he wanted beans-he said yes-small portion for 3.50 and sour cream on the side was 1.75! Drinks-I got the regular margarita and he got the bullfighter. Save your money and order the regular one. They taste the same and are not even close to being worth what they charge outside of happy hour! All in all a lot of money for nasty food and bugs. read more

After reading the not thrilled reviews of this place, I've decided to help by telling you just what to order for a good experience. For your meal order the large Nachos Azteca along with a margarita on the rocks. You can also order Gina's Yucatán Tostados I think they're called. Soooo good! Voila! That's it...don't mess with anything else. read more

I reviewed this restaurant and gave it a super poor rating a few months ago, and feel compelled to write again, since my friends and I tried their Happy Hour. It was appalling. The happy hour is $3.5 "margaritas" and $2-3 tap beer. The beer on tap are you garden variety of cheap, watered down, lowest quality beer that the US could produce (Coors lite, Michelob Golden Lite, Budweiser, etc.). The "margarita" was the worst. It consisted of sour mix, and more sour mix with some ice cubes and a lime for garnish. I couldn't taste even a picoliter of tequila. Both my boyfriend and I had to dilute it down with water, because it was sooo sour and bitter. Later in the night, I got super sick to the point of almost losing my dinner from earlier. I'm pretty sure it was due to the super sour margarita. What's worse, I saw the bar tender making the slushy version of a margarita. After pouring the respected portions into all of the glasses, he SCOOPED SOME OF THE DRINK OUT with a spoon and threw it away! I was most shocked by this place. Save your money. Go get a real margarita for a similar price on Cesar Chavez. read more

Five margaritas, two entrées, a small nacho, ten chicken wings, and a shrimp cocktail for $68 at happy hour. The problem for La Cucaracha is the pricing, and its not just because I paid an extra $1.75 for sour cream or that they don't give you free chips and salsa. I understand that quality costs money but I've had better for much less (see Pancho Villa in Minneapolis) Margaritas - 4/5, relatively cheap not strong and not weak Tacos de Carnitas - 3/5, ample portion and tasty but still overpriced Smothered Burrito - 1/5, equal to two-and-a-half taco bell burrito Supremes covered in mild sauce except cost $15 Chicken Wings - 3/5, a little dry but I like the batter they were fried in and 50 cents/wing is not a bad price. Note that they do come as one-piece wings (drummy and wing together) so they take a little extra work Azteca Nachos - 4/5, thought these were a pretty good deal for $5 Service - 3/5, nothing special, friendly, did forget I asked for no salt on margarita read more

La Cucaracha Restaurante - $5 happy hour shrimp cocktail - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Attn: Gina and Nina, your "Mama" would not be happy today with all the reviews he restaurant is getting these days. I am so disappointed with this restaurant! When it was open I use to go there with my daughter frequently. I ordered 3 Tacos and a slice of their wonderful tasting Carrot Cake to be delivered to my grandson on Jan 21 it cost me $36.00 and order for myself of chips and queso with slice of Carrot Cake for $33.00. Mind you I had to pay La Cuca a service fee & tax, Grubhub a service fee and tip. What showed up was CHOCOLATE CAKE!! On both orders. You would think that for $67 Managers Jill or Eddie from La Cucaracha would have at least had the courtesy to given me a call and ask if we'd take CHOCOLATE CAKE instead or did they make the mistake and misread the order and just saw CAKE!!?!! After all according the the history of La Cuca has had them as managers for more than 20 yrs!! The whole reason I ordered at all was just for their Carrot Cake. Then they screw the orders up WITH DISAPPOINTMENT!! My daughter told me too, she warned me that they had BAD REVIEWS but didn't give it a 2nd thought because I loved their food and cake. I so wanted to surprise my Grandson with the slice of cake and instead the sent disappointment in a styrofoam box! Mama your children do no care about the restaurants reputation!! P.S. they must've run out of corn chips because what I got was half corn and half "flour" tortilla chips!! That was a first! And not authentic! read more

Horrible service. Sloppy, unorganized and incompetent staff. Never actually got to taste the food because my date and I just got up and left! At least there is no shortage of great eateries on Grand Ave, thank god! Place is dirty, people are seated before tables are cleaned out. Did seem overcrowded with people waiting in walkways...Feels like place is riding on "years past" reputation and is just making money, but as for quality of experience - it is completely forgotten here! The name is suitable though! Whatta roach infested s**thole! Staying WAAAAYYYYYAWWWAAAYYY! P.S. How does one give NEGATIVE stars??? ;) read more

It was the time for the monthly team lunch, so we packed into the mini van and headed over to St. Paul to La Cucaracha. I remember the old La Cuc, kitty corner from Block E, which is long gone, but I remember their awesome salsa. So hot with the crispy homemade chips. Delectable. They have a special of 5 selections for 7 bucks a piece and I ordered the chicken tomatillo enchiladas, which I didn't realize came with green sauce, but overall, it was very tasty. The beer rice was soft and tangible and it mixed with the sauce nicely. My only complaint is that the chicken in the enchilda was a little dry, but I kept scooping on the salsa, which made it all good. Anyway, my friend let me have a few bites of the special burrito she got with cumin powder in it. Seriously, it was amazing. I had never had any cumin in my Mexican food, but this was seriously hot, but not overpowering. So good. Totally get the number 4 special if you go there for lunch. A ton of food too. The service was fantastic, very nice lady and cheerful. Lots of refills on the water, always a plus. They have Mexican Coke with cane sugar if you want it as well. We also got some guac, which was nice for the couple bites I had, nice and rich and smooth. Good conversation and reasonable prices, I got out of their for 11 bucks which included a three dollar tip. Good stuff. read more

I have been coming here for years and the staff is always top notch! Food is authentic and always fresh and tasty. Love the chimichanga and pina colada. read more

Really bad. The chips were home made and burned, the service was slow and the drinks didn't have any booze. You'll get a better Mexican meal out of a can. read more