One of our favorite St. Paul spots. Highly recommended the margaritas, chips and salsas, and chilaquiles. We have sampled a lot of the menu and enjoyed everything! The octopus was another standout. read more

This was my second visit to Pajarito and it definitely won't be my last! Friendly and warm service, superb food and a chill environment all make for a great experience. The chips and salsa are a great way to start off - I recommend paying the extra few dollars and getting all 6 salsas. The mild ones are packed with flavor and the hot ones have a great blend of heat and flavor. I got the Potato tacos. I couldn't make up my mind and told my friend I would order whatever our server said was her favorite (turns out she's a vegetarian). They were delicious and I would highly recommend them even to meat lovers. The Brussel Sprouts were also delicious! I just love this place and hope you do too!! read more

Pajarito - Potato Taco - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Got really good service which I always appreciate. Went on a Saturday night and the place was quiet so it was super easy to get a table. Started off with chips and guac which were yum! Got tacos for dinner and they were SUPERB but small. read more

Pajarito - Seating - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Highly recommend! Second time was another success. My boyfriend and I picked up dinner last weekend to celebrate the one year anniversary of our first date - which was here! :) We ordered the fried yucca (chimichurri, manchego, lime aioli, $9), sweet potato (salsa negra, crema, Queso Fresco, $13), BYO barbacoa tacos (comes with 3 homemade corn tortillas, cilantro and lime, $14), and pike tacos (Northern Pike, pico de gallo, chipotle aioli, cabbage, $11). Of course we paired it with some margaritas! The sweet potatoes were the biggest hit. That salsa negra is awesome! I'd love the recipe to make these at home, but it will be a great excuse to keep coming back here all winter. Yum. The yucca was good, and my boyfriend really liked his barbacoa tacos. The quantity of barbacoa was huge and there were plenty of leftovers. Same with the yucca and sweet potatoes. The pike tacos were quite fishy tasting despite the pico and chipotle aioli. Overall, an awesome meal. I appreciate that you can select your pick-up time when ordering from the website. The food was ready right on time with a very quick, friendly, masked employee who ran it out to my car for curbside pick-up. I'll definitely be back, and definitely won't wait another year this time! Salud! read more

Pajarito - a variety of mexican food on a table - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Love the space. Comfortable and the decor is nice. Service was excellent. Food was delightful. All around great experience. Would recommend. read more

Pajarito - Shrimp tacos - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Omg, this place is awesome! I ordered delivery through Yelp, and it arrived quickly. The guac was presented beautifully, and the chips were so fresh and salty! The barbacoa tacos were great, too. They arrived with containers of cilantro and a lime wedge. Honestly, though, I'm making a meal out of the chips and guac - SO GOOD!!! read more

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Finally a place that does cocktails right! A Mexican Monk Walks into a Bar is creative with a hibiscus ice cube, but it's not overly sweet. I like actually having alcohol in my alcoholic drink! I believe I read the chefs that opened this establishment are the same ones that opened Masu and Libertine! I must enjoy their cooking. I have had many obsessions with the various meals at their other establishments! The quality of the ingredients and the flavor development is something to experience. The typical expectation set for Mexican cuisine is that it needs to be cheap and fast, similar to Chinese. I'm happy to see it elevated here. We started with a 3 salsa sampler and chose Chipotle, Arbil Cashew, & Charred Tomato. They arrange them in order from least spicy to spiciest. No matter the heat level, they never lost flavor. They were so good I wanted to drink them! The house made chips were flaky and salty and delicious! Next I moved onto the Torta. The grilled beef was high quality and when you soaked in the sauce... heaven. It could be bottled and sold in an aisle next to A1 as the better option! I sampled the Chilaquiles as well. The only comment I have is that after those delicious salsas, the sauces on some of the entres left something to be desired (but why not keep some of the salsa as a side?). Delicious. I will need to go back to experience their dinner menu and update my review as always! Small shared parking lot around back, and street parking. read more

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Our server Susan was fantastic. Ambience, was relaxing and beautiful. Food was fantastic and full of flavor! Will definitely go back. read more

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A west 7th staple. Before any event at the X we always pop in for some Margs and delicious tacos! Staff is always friendly and helpful! Make sure to ask about the taco of the moment when you are there! read more

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Good Mexican with interesting options. Worth a try especially if you are eager to try new salsas, salads and tacos. My only concern is I wish they had more veggie options. read more

Visited St.Paul for a short vacation and we had a nice lunch at this lovely place! We were there before the closure because of the pandemic covid-19. The food were outstanding as well as the cocktails. The Brussels sprouts elote style was the best! Then the yuca fries were also amazing. The pork ribs were so tender and flavorful. We will definitely come back next time when everything goes back to normal! I hardly recommend this place for people trying something new on Mexican fare. read more

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I really wanted to love Parajito with their interesting menu and lively upscale space, but there were a lot of highs and lows...sort of like my diet plan. My husband and I came on a Friday at 7pm, the place was packed, and we were told by the hostess, who hates her job, it would be a 45 min wait. She was the most unfriendly and unhappy person I encountered that night. Someone give her smile lessons please. We shuffled our way to the bar and grabbed a drink while we waited. The space is beautiful, I loved the brick walls on one side, wood panel on the other, tin ceiling, sparkling light fixtures, and interesting art. I kept daydreaming of turning it into my own studio home. Oh, and the unisex bathrooms that I thought would be disgusting, was actually clean and gorgeous. Anyhow, we were seated in 20 minutes in the bar area at a tiny round table that we could barely fit our drinks and two glasses of water on. These tables shouldn't even be an option for dining it was so ridiculously small. The server even said she'd time our food out so that we'd have space...wth. Onto the main event. We ordered the chips with three salsas, charred tomato, avocado serrano, and arbol cashew to start. Amazing. Chips had to be homemade, they were so addictive I was digging up scraps, and we loved the all three salsas. Next up were fried oysters. Beautiful presentation, and stunning bites. The pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the oysters. My gripe here is that there were only 3 tiny oysters. Seriously? For $14? I found myself splitting the third oyster with my husband and after biting through the breading we had about a peanut size oyster. Al pastor tacos were a huge let down. Bland. Pass. The grilled octopus was very tender, but also bland, and in need of salt badly. The almond was also a strange combo for my taste. Black beans, holy smokes, this was the star of the night. Best damn black beans I've had anywhere. I'd forgo everything, well maybe not the chips, for a giant bowl of these. Don't skip the beans. Overall, pretty spendy for the amount of food, and I was put off by the host and uncomfortable dining space, but there were a couple winning dishes for sure. read more

I met a girlfriend here for happy hour and was a big fan, in fact I was craving margaritas the rest of the week because of this place. We went during happy hour and the margaritas were discounted so we ordered those and they were so good! We ordered the stadium nachos as well that were on the happy hour list and they were fantastic. I don't know what it is about chips, but you can love or hate them and easily forget about their impact. Here, they were that really great thick chip with great flavor! read more

Fun and funky. A very different spin on a Mexican restaurant. Cozy and friendly atmosphere

Another spectacular meal at Pajarito! The Brussel sprouts, Octopus, and Short ribs were out of this world. The ladies loved the margaritas (I'm a beer man myself. Yes, they serve that, too). Great service from Keely! Will be back. read more

WOW, what an amazing experience for my partner and I. We were celebrating a special occasion and the Head Chef, Ross and team took great care of us. The food was delicious and of good quality and freshness. We will go back there again. Salute, Odell 'Big O' Brown read more

I'd really like to give it a 3.5 review off of my first visit. Everything was solid. Nothing was amazing. We had guacamole, Tennessee hot fried chicken tacos, pork tacos, and their habanero cilantro margarita. The margarita was okay. The guacamole was good. The fried chicken tacos were pretty good. Nothing about our visit was amazing or bad. If you want solid food at a more upscale Mexican place than this will do the trick. read more

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Never a bad choice to stop in at Pajarito. There's something on the menu for everyone. read more

Pajarito - The onions looked like a lot, but surprisingly didn't have an overwhelming taste. Very delicious. - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Over priced, lacking in effort, love and excitement. Oddly conceived. The ceviche is an odd Indian dish, not a Mexican dish. The tortilla chips are way overly salty. The store bought tortillas used for the tacos were a disappointment. They charge to much for mediocre food, and then add a surcharge on top of that. Not surprised finding a table without a reservation is getting easier and easier here. read more

Stopped by last Saturday around 6 and we were pleasantly surprised to squeeze into the bar and wait only a short while for a table (they don't take reservations). I had the whistling kitty chaser for a drink (delicious), the crispy chicken taco (I loved, my husband thought it was decent), pork ribs (really good, but wished I got another taco as I love tacos), and rajas (really liked these). Overall super delicious and all of the servers and waitstaff are incredibly nice and attentive. I would have given 5 stars, but you have to pay for chips and salsa, which I'm not a fan of (I get it that it still costs money and people can fill up on it, but at least give chips and a basic salsa and charge for unique salsas and guacamole....) Is definitely go back! read more

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Epically bad service, food came out at different times one diner left waiting with no food for 10 minutes while everyone else ate. No apologies just that's the way it is. Even though we let them know we were celebrating a birthday no offer of dessert. They couldn't get us out fast enough. read more

We stopped in before a Wild game, and learned they run a few shuttles to the X on game nights. Amazing experience! Quick, courteous service. And most importantly, delicious. We loved especially the salsa sampler and the octopus. Their Old Fashioned with mezcal was something I'll be back for, too! read more

Wow! First time here. Sam was our server and was fab! The food he recommended was delish. We shared a crispy chicken tacos and a pork taco with yogurt sauce and cilantro. We also had chips and 3 salsas. The habenero margarita was super good just enough kick to it. The atmosphere is fun and lively.Ill be back. Sam said another one is going into Edina. read more

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This is a quaint little place hidden away in downtown saint Paul, Super cool to Dine in , I am told, Pajarito building use to be an old clock shop, making that a very interesting historical view of saint Paul Minnesota, The nachos are the best we ever had perfect in every way , very good service fast neat and clean . read more

We celebrated my mother in law's birthday at Pajarito. We started with chips and our choice of three salsas. We ordered the charred tomato, an avocado salsa and a habanero salsa. We thought they were excellent. The service was great and we enjoyed a few different specialty cocktails. Our favorite was the special blend of tequila with the key lime juice. For entrees, we had the Barbados tacos, the pork chop, the steak, and the chicken entree with creamed corn. The steak was a bit overdone but everything else was great. I highly recommend the chicken entree. For desert we share the chocolate flan which is really mocha flavored flan over chocolate cake. We also had the mixed berry empanada. There is a nice little parking lot around the corner from the restaurant. read more

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Hands down the absolute best restaurant! The food was amazing as well as the staff and the atmosphere. A special shout out to Chef Ross for preparing an outstanding meal. I ordered the Chilaquiles and was blown away. We indulged in dessert and it didn't disappoint. I will definitely be back read more

I was quite impressed with my first visit here! The restaurant itself is gorgeous - you can tell someone put a lot of thought into the design and decor, which is sophisticated and warm, but still colorful and fun. There were not a lot of people here at noon on a Sunday, but perhaps that's because they don't have a special "brunch" menu. That might be an idea for them, because who doesn't love brunch, amiright? The food was fantastic. The meats! Oh, the meats! My husband and I shared 3 plates - carnitas tacos, chicken tikka tacos, and beef tostada. All were amazing - tender, flavorful, and fresh. Our favorite was the tostada, which was served in a puddle of savory saucey gravy that soaked up into the delicious, soft baguette. I could definitely eat me one of those every day! Oh, did I say we shared 3 plates? Well, I lied - we had dessert, too, which was a "Pajaro version of Choco Taco" which was also quite tasty. The server was kind, attentive, and very knowledgeable about the menu, which is a little hard to understand without help (one of those where they tell you the ingredients but nothing about preparation). When I asked if it was tapas style, she described it more as "a la cart" - I still think Tapas is an appropriate description, as everything was easily split between 2 people. And their drink menu is pretty fancy, too, though I did not partake. My main reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is the price - while it's undoubtedly higher end food than your average taco joint, the a la cart pricing adds up. $8 for 2 tacos isn't too bad, but I felt $13 for a sandwich without sides seemed a little steep. And while we didn't actually order this, I was shocked that guacamole was priced at $9. Our bill was $45 for 4 shared food items and a small beer, and [maybe it's just because I'm a fat fatty, but] I left feeling like I could have eaten more. read more

Pajarito - Mexican Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

We visited a few months ago a late afternoon. The place was hopping and very well decorated. It was kind of edgy and very trendy. We sat down and were greeted quickly and shown to a booth. We were still full from lunch but wanted to go out for something. We had tacos, tortas and I always have to have Brussels Sprouts everywhere that I eat if they are on the menu. I was not disappointed. Everything we had was delicious. We don't really drink but the menu looks extensive and unique. I would like to go back and have a dinner entree. It's nice to have an option like this on the east side of the Twin Cities. read more

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We came in nearing close on a Friday night. Usually, this is a bummer for servers who want to go home or kitchens who are trying to close. Which is totally understandable. But, Pavarotti seemed happy to seat and serve us. We had a great server and great food! The carnitas and beef Barbados tacos were great. The octopus was also a hit and it was only $16! Highly recommend. read more

Drinks and food were actually pretty good. Service was horrible. One of those situations where the waitress acted like you were annoying her by being there. We were polite and gave her a 23% tip. Which was never acknowledged in any way because she never bothered to pick up our bill. We were there from 7:30 to 9:30 on Friday, February 10th. They are open until 10:00z read more

Had a fantastic lunch today. Service was wonderful attentive and very educated on the menu items. Margaritas were Devine the 6 salsas were all unique and delicious. We had tacos, fundito and another dish I can't remember the name but had barbacoa and was lovely. If I lived closer I would have to alter my entire eating life to accommodate my new margarita salsa consumption. We will definitely be back over and over. read more

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Nice atmosphere, fair service, one of our diner's meals was later than others by about :10 with two other tables occupied... chicken taco meat was completely dried out. We might try again, excellent chips and salsa. read more

5% charge for employee welfare? How about you pay your employees better and stop worrying about your profit margin. If 5% isn't "that much" for me, it's even LESS for the owners. And it's not considered as part of the tip? Prove it's actually going to the employees and not in any way going towards your profit margin. Food was good, but the service was incredibly slow. We would've ordered 1-2 more drinks but our waiter didn't come back for 20 minutes after taking 20 minutes to bring us our first drinks anyway. Will not be coming back. Too many other great places with similar food and better service. Oh, and there's only ONE bathroom....constantly a line. read more

My partner and I came here for a date night on a Saturday. The place was filled but we still were able to get sat right away. All the things we got were so good! Our favorites being the Brussel sprouts (not pictured because we ate all of them before we could take one) and the pork chop (seriously this is the best pork dish, or any dish, I've had in a long time! Worth it!) it did not just stop there- the service was great, the drinks were definitely something to write home about as well. I typically do not drink tequila or mezcal but the "Chino Latino" featuring mezcal, guava, and lime, was seriously one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time. We will 100% be returning to try even more items on the menu! Thank you to our server, Lilly, who was awesome as well! read more

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Good food and was highly recommended, but didn't quite get five stars from me. I would definitely go again and probably the top Mexican place in the twin cities. read more

I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy the food was! I ordered the enmoladas which were delicious and SO SPICY, but I couldn't stop eating them. My sister ordered chilaquiles and that was the BEST thing ever. Husband had the sweet potato which was good, but after 5 bites it's just a sweet potato-no big whoop. People at our table loved the chips and salsa. I thought it was just ok, but I'm not a fan of salsa ever. My husband was a fan until he realized 6 varieties of tiny salsa cups were $12. Staff was friendly and helpful with suggesting what to order. I wish there was a separate room away from the bar. NOISE LEVEL. SO LOUD. read more

Pajarito is a trendy, upscale restaurant in St. Paul serving slightly hipster-ified but mostly authentic Mexican food. The ambiance and experience here are delightful. The restaurant has a cozy and warm vibe, with fun decorations and paintings of little birds ("pajaritos") and other eclectic objects. The service is friendly and fast, as well. Food-wise, we started with the chips and specialty salsas. I was a bit skeptical at first, but they ended up being worth the try. The arbol cashew salsa was especially delicious and unique - if you get just some of the salsas, make that one of them. For mains, we all had different kinds of tacos. I personally got the pork carnitas, which I thought were amazing - simple, but lots of meat and well seasoned. The portion size is a bit smaller vs. your typical restaurant in America, but it ended up being the perfect amount to be satisfied and not stuffed. We also shared a side of the black beans - these had a weird watery texture, but the flavor was nice nonetheless. Overall the meal was enjoyable and well worth the visit. While I still love my hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants over in Minneapolis, Pajarito is a nice option for a more upscale experience. Check it out if that's what you crave! read more

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I ordered carnita tacos and quest fundido for lunch. I also ended up trying the chips and salsa when they were delivered to my table by mistake and I was told that I could keep them. The carnita tacos were good although not authentic Mexican style. The queso fundido with green chorizo was absolutely horrible. It was inedible. Not only was the flavor really bad, the "chorizo" mixture sitting on top of the melted cheese was cold. I did something that I rarely ever do, send it back. I had another two carnitas tacos instead. The salsas were straight out of the fridge cold as well. They were ok, just too mild for my liking but the chips were fresh and good. I don't plan on making a return visit. read more

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I loved the food so, so much here and it's killing me that it is 5 hours away from my home and not right next door. Every single thing I tried was perfect and amazing. The rundown: habanjero cilantro margarita, sweet potato, chilaquiles, enmoladas, queso fundido, and the chips and salsa. We were all stuffed but the desserts sounded good so we split them - the chocolate flan and mixed berry empanadas. These two were so fantastic. Everything here exceeded my expectations. Please be my personal chef okay thanks. read more

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I'm a big fan of their tacos and appetizers here. Always take out from this place. My favorite has to be their habanero margarita that you can take to-go! I'd definitely recommend if you are looking for some good tacos. read more