Pineda Taco

The best tacos in the twin cities. Amazing tortas as well. So many options for meat and I’ve tried many of them. All are good but the pastor is my favorite. Better than any pastor I’ve had. The chicken and potatoes in green sauce is another favorite. If you’re not in the mood for tacos, have a torta con todos. If you like spicy get the torta with chicken tinga on it. Truly a great place. I feel lucky to live nearby.

Good flavors. You choose from many different meats to put into your dish. I like the spicy ones — -spicy but not too much. Also a salsa bar to get your own salsa, lime, cilantro, jalapenos and onions. Order at the counter and wait about 2 min for your food. Get your soda and table while you wait. I like coming here when I this area of town.

Straight up good Mexican food. We had two different burritos & some tacos the last time we ate lunch here. All delicious & authentic. The people who work here are always friendly & the service is good. The place could use a deep cleaning & some updates. They are always busy so maybe put some of that profit aside & hook it up a bit nicer! ;)
Robert St. has some good restaurants & this is one of them for sure!

Husband and I just ate here for the first time. Being first timers we wanted to look over the menu and get a look at what they have. We did ask what they would recommend (carne asada) but husband wanted to try the cow tongue and I had enchiladas on my brain for the past week so… yea. We did notice that Taco’s and burritos were not on the menu board — strange since those 2 items seam to have the best reviews… Food was delicious! Full of flavor and plenty to fill you up! We did get chips with spicy salsa and neither of us were impressed with the salsa… Expected more spicy and flavor. Staff and service was quick. Employees could use some training on how to be more upbeat. Nobody really greeted us with a hello or said good bye or thanks — and I don’t remember seeing any employee smile the whole time we were there — at least we didn’t get one :(
We will defiantly return here to try more dishes!

The combination plate here (tacos, rice & beans) is pretty good, it’s served with fresh radish slices, cilantro & lime. Overall I saw this place as a fairly authentic option for tasty Mexican food. Beware that the road in front has a great deal of construction so it’s a little tricky to access right now (October 2015).

Favorite spot for a Milanesa Torta!

I had lunch there yesterday. Got the Torta Cubano, I think it was their most expensive sandwich. It was good but the bread was a bit greasy.
I have been there a few times in the past and have always had good food.

Worst carne asada I’ve ever had. Came for dinner on a Friday. Dead inside. Watered down beans. Rice was okay.

Pineda is the place I go for really good flautas. You can choose from an arrangement of meats including steak, pork, chicken (spicy, mild, hot & maybe regular I’m not sure). I choose spicy & the platter includes rice, beans & toppings. I have to say the rice looks crunchy & not very appetizing every time I visit, but I get it anyway. The cheese & crema that melts over my flautas is seriously the showcase to this platter! Oooh! The fresh avocado slices, tomato, lettuce & onions is something I should order extra next time!
Now, the customer service is a hit or miss as with many places. I speak fluent English AND fluent Spanish, yet this one particular lady pretends she can’t understand me! Once I ordered the flautas & she kept responding «fajitas!» Until she gave up & said they didn’t have either lol. Even though both were printed & described right above her head. Hmmm. I think she doesn’t like me. She doesn’t keep me away though when I’m craving crunchy deep fried corn tortillaness. I have yet to try anything else. I’ll read some reviews & expand mi munda a la Pineda!

When someone asks me where to find authentic Mexican, Pineda Taco is where I send them. I also warn them to check their expectations about the décor at the door. The former Embers restaurant hasn’t seen a remodel in a long time, certainly it was still an Embers the last time anyone updated it. Forget all of that, you’re there for the food.
This is authentic Mexican, it’s fresh and spicy and different and if you’re on a budget you can eat here on the cheap. I go for the tacos-they’re loaded with onion and cilantro. They have five different types of beef, including tongue (I’m not that adventurous), five types of pork and three types of chicken. With prices that low, you can experiment.
Get out of your Chipotle comfort zone and walk on the wild side.

This place is a fantastic. I love the meat plate with carnitas. There are lots of Mexican food places in South Saint Paul. This one is the best I’ve been to. No outrageous lines like El Burrito.

Delicious tacos in various meats and great salsa. Tasty kids options for children and a nice variety in their menu.

Taco special was solid, first time here — will be back for sure. Shredded beef and spicy chicken.

I love this place. My favorite place in west St. Paul for tacos. Friendly staff, food is fresh and not dried out. They don’t put vegetables in their rice like some weird places do (gross). They’re open until 10pm and they open early so I can get a 10am lunch. I didn’t give a full 5 stars even though this is my absolute favorite place if only just because the seats/​booths are pretty busted up and the place is rundown looking. It does look like a run down mexican ski chalet — it used to be an embers I believe?

Pineda Taco offers everything you’re looking for in a hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican dining experience. Big flavors. Huge portions. Small prices. The menu is huge and authentic. While considering options recently, I watched them prepare a homestyle torta (grilled bread with mayo and topped with cheese, beans, lettuce, tomato, peppers and onion) for the man in front of me and knew that I was in the right place. Everything they make looks good.
The meat choices at Pineda are seemingly endless: Chopped Steak, Barbacoa, Mexican-​Style Steak, Steak with Onions, Lengua, Tripas, Chicken in Tomato Sauce, Chicken in Green Sauce with Potatoes, Chicken in Chipotle Sauce, Roasted Pork, Chorizo in Chipotle Sauce, Pastor, and Spicy Pork. All of them look irresistible — including the Tripas, (cleaned, boiled and grilled intestines).
My eyes were drawn to the Pineda’s super-​sized burrito, a behemoth that weighs in at more than two pounds. It contains rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and your choice of meats — wrapped in two huge, grilled tortillas. I passed on the cheese and sour cream and added roasted pork, Mexican-​style steak and chorizo. Adding the third meat was a bit extra… but still a bargain for a burrito big enough for two.
Although the restaurant has plenty of seating, it’s rarely occupied by more than a handful of people. This place provides brisk, friendly takeout.

If St. Paul had kids, West St. Paul would be the one that was forgotten in the forest, left to ravage around and roll in the dirt. This side of St. Paul feels beaten down and aged, much more so than the east side, which shows early signs of gentrification. (Eek.)
So if you’re looking for polish, or mainstream hipster, or if midway or East St. Paul makes you uncomfortable, stay away. Leave Pineda Taco to me and the likes of me. It’s delicious and we don’t want you anyways.

Wanting to try something new and simple for my birthday, so we decided to stop into Pinedas. On approaching the entrance, we see a man with a guitar wandering amongst the tables, playing and singing. I open the door and am hit right the nose with a smell that immediately brings me back to Mexico.
The restaurant is setup cafeteria style; place your order and walk along the counter as they prepare it, then pay at the other end. I got the Chicken Enchilada, and was offered 3 levels of spice for chicken: Medium, Mild, Hot. Normally I like really spicey food, but I know enough about authentic foods that I should test the waters with a Mild first. Honestly, the mild was a perfect combination of deliciousness and spice for most Minnesotans. Next time I’ll get the hot.
As we were eating, the man with the guitar appeared next to our table, and my friends let him know it was my birthday. Well, this meant he needed to sing me Happy Birthday every possible way that he knew. He was doing renditions of The Doors, and The Eagles, but would replace the words with his own way of saying Happy Birthday. Needless to say, it was pretty fantastic. We chatted with him for a bit, and then headed out, but thanks to him and the good food, I will most definitely be making my way back here.

More ethnic food surprises on South Robert St. We stopped in Pineda on a whim because the parking lot was packed on a cold Sunday afternoon. The building looked like it had once been a mid-​century modern coffee and breakfast place, but inside was a sizzling grill and a warm ambience. A mother was ordering her family’s meal in Spanish, and the non-​Spanish speaking kids seemed to be familiar with the amazing array of meats and fillings in the metal tubs. This place gives a certain national chain burrito joint a run for its money.
My husband had an enchilada platter, and I ordered a sope (not to be confused with sopa!), a made-​to-​order thick oblong corn pancake topped with pork, cilantro, fresh onion, cheese, and sour cream. There were four kinds of pork, and I had never seen most of them before. The slow-​cooked pork was fantastic. The enchiladas were also wonderful. The red sauce didn’t taste like the tomatoey sauces we’ve had in other Mexican restaurants, so we concluded that must mean it’s authentic. The chicken in the enchiladas was also very tender, and not overdone. They had Mexican soft drinks, and the food is cheerfully heaped on a plastic-​coated paper plate. The food reminded me of Mexican food I’ve had at the Midtown Marketplace.
We really got a kick out of the ski lodge roof and the bright colorful stained glass windows. The one downside is that the seats were not terribly clean, much like many other inexpensive ethnic (and non-​ethnic) food places. Clearly lots of people eat here, though, and the crumbs on the seat weren’t a big problem for us.
I’m bummed this place isn’t closer to where we live. Otherwise, I think I’d be coming here often!

Funky 60s moderne building resurrected as a grubby but delicious taco joint. Tacos are good, but the enchiladas made us swoon!
Hubby thinks many patrons look like characters from Breaking Bad. Says, «I wouldn’t ask these people what they do for a living.»
We eat there during daylight hours.

Three stars because the Pastor (pork) was tender and full of flavor and the guacamole was fresh made.
A little surprised that nachos included… cheese sauce. A little disappointed neither of my favorite Mexican desserts were available (flan or tres leches cake), instead an offering of cheesecake.