Cocina Latina

Amazing food, great service, really fun variety of food. Will definitely be back.

Small, cozy restaurant with a big variety of authentic Latin American and Mexican dishes. Everything tasted wonderful. We tried Torta with milanesa (big sandwich with deep fried breaded beef, avocado, cooked ham, hot dogs, lettuce, cheese- feeds 2), the Bandeja Latina (a big plate with thin steak, sausage, plantain, white rice, fried egg, piece of thick bacon, avocado and a home made arepa, made with corn flour) and chicken tostadas ( they come with beans on the bottom and they are topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cream and mexican cheese). Highly recommended.

We were so pleased with this place! Such friendly service and great suggestions for food! Highly recommend!

I never leave reviews but had to because this place is incredible! Everything was so authentic and insanely delicious. Love when things are as they should be, this will be a new regular💚

Very positive experience. Fajitas & enchiladas were amazing. Homemade guacamole was delicious. Everything had a beautiful presentation. Entrees arrived HOT! Very tasty. We were full & content. We definitely recommend Cocina Latina at 38th & Nicollet. Corner restaurant, lots of windows, some outdoor patio seating. Clean & neat & yummy food!! This is how all restaurants should operate.

Beautiful place, great service. Love that they open the windows and have outdoor seating. Had the chimichanga- great flavor but wish it was at least a little crispy. Drinks are fun and flavorful. Not sure what they serve in the jumbo mugs (pictured) but that looks like a very intoxicated celebration lol. The cotton candy drink also had edible glitter - so fancy 😬

For starters the calamari was bland and had no flavor whatsoever and was rubbery it’s definitely been refrigerated and served warm for 10.99 your better off going somewhere else that serves better quality and not to mention the portion was small with a side of ranch definitely consider going somewhere else

Delicious food and very friendly - speedy service. The enchilada (green) sauce was outstanding and the pulled pork was our favorite option. One of the best Steak Chimichangas I’ve ever eaten! Again - the red sauce was absolutely delicious! Another thing we found nice was the selection of fresh blended drinks and juices. Mango milkshake? Yes please!

Straight up bussin in my tummy. Yum yum, I sure enjoyed that culinary experience. If anyone wants to hangout sometime let me know.

Amazing Food and service; staff is super friendly. Food was so delicious , I love their bistec a caballo.

Wasn't served the beginning water with ice. Ordered a fried calamari that is way over priced for a small upsetting plate of calamari that doesn't taste as good as other places I have gone to. In my experience and opinion it really isn't worth it, getting the calamari appetizer it all tasted rubbery plain bland and not very tasteful. But this is my opinion idk how others would feel cause they go off on based of your looks that's pretty upsetting cause they don't treat every customer right .

Burrito has no customization options. You just choose what meat you want, and they give you a small, sad burrito with the meat, some cheese, hot lettuce, and eventually you get to the rice and beans and what seemed to be guacamole. They also don't notify you when your takeout order is ready.

This place is so great! Awesome agua de Maracuya! I will be recommending this place to anyone I come across

Can I be honest? I worry about these guys. Next door to Boludo, you know. But the food is good, they leave you alone to hang out, the wait staff is good at their jobs. You genuinely don't need anything else. Get a bunch of apps, stay awhile! I love these guys.

BEWARE OF PRICING - I am Colombian and was craving Latin food. The food was good and the waiter was nice. What was outrageous was the pricing of the extras. My daughter ordered a side of grilled chicken to go with her kids' quesadilla, and that was $7.99. My son ordered 2 sides of avocado. Each one consisted of two small slides equivalent to one fourth of an avocado. Each was priced at $3.99. Hence I paid $7.98 before taxes for half an avocado, putting the pricing of one avocado at 15.96. Of course restaurants apply a mark-up, but in this case, it was absurd enough that I am sharing via this review

First time here and we came 45 minutes to closing so the staff was a little rushing for us to order and be done with our meal. I'm used to a little more hospitable service when it comes to non "American" restaurants where even if you came in close to the closing time that they are happy to see you patronizing their restaurant. The food was good, flavorful, with a little spice and not too salty. This is the first Mexican/Hispanic restaurant that I've been to where they didn't offer chips and salsa for starters. The price was reasonable and the place was clean. It wasn't busy granted it was 45 minutes till they close. I would come back again for the fried rice. That was the very tasty!

Great service and delicious food. A nice cuisine-mix of three countries, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico! came here after visiting the Basilica of Saint Mary and downtown Minneapolis, my dad, my husband and I. It was my father's last day in town. We tried Lomo de cerdo asado, Pechuga de pollo al grill and Churrasco..... everything was so tasty delicious! Sylvia was our very attentive and informative server. She gave us the background history. ~ Today was our second visit, August 23 rd, 2019. We sat at the bar, wanted to try something different, my husband doesn't drink alcohol and we asked for NA beer, Carla said that some people already asked but they don't have any, but next time they will. Come on manager you need to be on top of customer needs! Hopefully you guys will consider all types of customers!

Customer Service: hospitable, kind, friendly, & genuine. The server told me how long the order would be and was very attentive. When I had questions, another server was kind enough to help me than having me wait. Food: I ordered their chicken enchiladas with green sauce which comes with beans and rice on the side; one order of soft shell chicken tacos with came with 3 per order - everything was flavorful! Their portions were just right! Their green sauce is absolute fire!!! I will order extra next time! Ambience: it was clean & well put, did not appear messy. There are 2 big screen TVs on opposite sides of the room with the sports channel on while I was there, a cute bar with several wine options and hard liquor. Overall: I really enjoyed it, from the service to the food! PS: There is also sidewalk seating!

Enjoyed our dinner here. Nothing really special about this restaurant but it seemed popular for a Tuesday evening. There was a soccer game on while we ate. Service was very good - very good nacho bowl with sauces and guac, and our food came pretty quickly. I had steak flautas and a jarritos. We also had grilled camarones and a margarita (that was nice!) I liked my flautas but I had expected bits of steak, not ground beef. It was good anyway and very filling! Side of refried beans and salad.

Authentic Mexican just of 35W in Minneapolis. I took my Father and a friend here after landing at the airport. We were the only "gringos" there on a Friday evening--which we took as a good sign. After having Mexican food in San Diego, it was decent but not great. The house salsas were medium to spicy and decent enough. The chips seemed fairly fresh. The vegetable platter was decent but seemed a bit overpriced for basically beans, potatoes, and rice ($14). My Father had the beef tacos and thought they were pretty tasty. My friend had the ceviche and loved it. Overall, a worthwhile low-key Mexican dining experience!

five out of five stars easy! i wish i would've taken a pic of our food but we demolished it right away... from the food to the service, this place was great. will be back and highly recommend!

Excellent, authentic food, fresh flavors. The steak enchiladas and chicken tamales were perfect. Go for the Coke, bottled in Mexico, made with cane sugar not high fructose syrup! Last but not least, awesome service - Kevin!

Our daughter recommended meeting hear for dinner. All the good reviews for this place are well founded. Great chicken enchiladas w/ salsa verde and pork tamales. Loved the cheese empanadas. Only critique (NBD), they played the same song our whole time there. We heard it 30 times.

Cocina Latina is a bright, warm, attractive space. Service is very welcoming and gracious. I met a friend for lunch the other day. Were started with some excellent, chunky, very fresh guacamole and chips. Served with two very good homemade salsas. The creamy orange hot sauce was particularly good with a depth of flavor and a robust punch. I ordered the Mar y Mar plate (fried tilapia and grilled shrimp) with rice and beans. The tender, flaky fish was lightly battered and the shrimp nicely charred. The accompanying rice was not the usual "tex/mex" style but was a hearty and suitable side with the seafood. My friend had the Parrillada Latina ("Latin" grilled meat platter: beef, pork, sausage, crackling, fried green and sweet plaintain). A mountainous plate appealing to your inner carnivore. The refreshing unsweetened iced tea is served with a wedge of lime instead of lemon. A nice twist (pun intended).

Nice little spot for a Sunday lunch. The menu has a variety of options to choose from and you have the option of sitting inside or outside with a nice street view. I had the steak flautas, they were okay just a little too much chunks of fat in them for my taste. I would come back to try their caldo de res but if there is something you MUST try is their empanadas- SO FREAKIN GOOD! The sauce that comes with it is absolutely delicious.

The Chaulafan is pretty tasty but I don't know that it's worth the price ($16) the portion was decent but still not worth that price. It's noted as having chicken, pork, beef & shrimp. I only see 5 shrimp and two small pieces of beef. Where's all the other meat!?! The waitress was nice and atmosphere was also nice.

SO. GOOD. Extremely flavorful and very nice portions. I would skip the horchata as it was too sweet but the savory is to die for We had a plantain dish with a stew and fresh ceviche. All the flavors meshed really well and everything was authentic and adventurous

I love the Tacos here! They are always lovely when I come on a Tuesday and make delicious foods. The Champagne is amazing.

It was just ok. We couldn't get a spot at Hola Arepa so wandered in here hoping for some comfort food. We were slow to be greeted despite the restaurant being nearly empty. Service was good once we were greeted. I found the menu to be confusing- three different cultures and options felt all over the place, menu descriptions were minimal. We ordered guac, enchiladas and a taco salad. The food was marginal. My taco salad ended up being $20 after subbing shrimp instead of red meat and adding some avocado. I think for $10 I would have been satisfied with it but $20... no. It was soggy and the shell wasn't crunchy. The enchiladas were just ok. We won't be back unfortunately. The staff seemed nice but there are too many better food options within a few miles.

Never disappointed with my meals at Cocina Latina. We ordered take out today and needless to say we had no leftovers! The food is so flavorful and we appreciate their menu with a variety of options! I love the burrito & my boyfriend is obsessed with the mar y mar! We got the chaulafan as well because our son loves this rice!!! make sure to continue supporting small businesses like this restaurant!

This place is absolutely disgusting. We ordered chicken tacos with flour tortillas and they gave us corn. The chicken was absolutely disgusting dry like it's been sitting for three days. We ordered queso and it came with chunks of cheese that look like tofu on top of corn. We could not eat it..... My burrito came soaking wet like it was raw. I'm not quite sure how this place is even open but I called the owner and told him I would never order from them again! It does not even make sense how a place like this is in biz!!!!!!!!

Ordered a churassco 12 oz paid $18 and came home notices how slim the steak was , so I just happened to have a table scale right there put the steak on the scale and weighs out to an 8 oz steak, I called and spoke to the owner an older lady and told her and showed her the picture and she told me we didn't get this steak there wtf? I got the bank transaction right here , I gave them I chance to make it up and the lady was sooo nasty I have the photo here for everyone to see what quality steak they are serving plus the weight is not 12 oz !!

Regular prices are a fair but the happy hour is fantastic! Food is authentic. However, of food was a bit bland (enchiladas). Service was mixed. One waitress was very kind but could not speak English. Therefore, the other server had to take care of every table. Finally, atmosphere was ok but the music was so quiet that it sapped the energy. It was very easy to hear everyone's conversations. The restaurant has lots of potential, but needs so tweaks to be an elite restaurant for its genre.

Good food overall They had really good plantains The sauce they provide that is orange is very very good There tamales are decent I like a little more masa in them then what they had but not bad Family friendly and a decent price for happy hour Also great quick service !!

I really loved this place. I did Ubereats so I can't comment on the actual atmosphere or quality of staff. But I am optimistic. Anyways, long story short the food is awesome. It makes you feel like you're having super authentic food with decent portions and the flavor. Ohmygosh, it wasn't like overbearing spices, or very bland. Just in the middle where the way it was cooked and the little bit of spices spoke through every bite. Like everything from the saucing, to the potatoes, to the meats. Oh and the plantain. Must do.

Pork Enchiladas, get them with the green sauce. Lomito Saltado with french fries, and by with fries I don't mean on the side, I mean stir fried right into the dish. They have a good happy hour, where you can try various, interesting appetizers for a good price.

I love Mexican food and having grown up with it can be more judgmental. The place is quaint, service is good, and rapid. The atmosphere is family friendly; inviting you to come in, relax, and have a beer. They have a good beer selection and happy hour with good options. The portions are very large, especially if you get an entree. One of my absolute favorite thing is they offer red and green chile annnnnd you can have both on one dish! The street tacos are flavorful and they use corn tortillas which made me even happier! Great places for a relaxing dinner with friends and family

Yum, yum, yum. Came to Cocina Latina for a lunch meeting after discovering that The Lowbrow (down the street) is not yet open for lunch. It was the right decision. I was tempted by the Colombian and Ecuadorian menu items (the menu is loooong), so I ended up asking for a recommendation from the server since I'm not that familiar with either type of cuisine. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood for hunks of meat and eggs on Tuesday, which is standard for those dishes. With her blessing (first thing she recommended), I ended up skipping the South American stuff this time and ordered the enchiladas platter with carnitas, my favorite Mexican meat. Of the three shredded pork treasures on the plate, I did two with red sauce and one with green sauce----both great, but I liked the red sauce best. It came with rice, beans and it all tasted superbueno. I cleaned my plate like a hungry hippo. My friend ordered a chimichanga. I can't speak to the taste, but the size of this thing presents a delicious challenge. It's almost as big as a loaf of bread. No foolin'. They have a lot of refrescos latinos on the menu that go beyond the usual Jarritos. The atmosphere is comfy and the service was excellent too. They serve beer and have a happy hour daily, plus some lunch specials that we had both wished we'd noticed before ordering because they sounded like a delicious way to try multiple things. I think they were around $7 each. One last note! Make sure you try the creamy looking hot sauce on the table. It's exceptionally tasty.

Stumbled upon this hole in the wall and am I ever glad. Just as good if not better than my other faves like Norteno and Pancho Villa. Service was amazing. Do not leave here without trying the guacamole! Everything on the extensive menu looked tempting with many fun and unusual (at least for these parts) dishes - but I went for an "old standard" of tostadas that were huge and delicious to the core. Three on a plate and I was full after just two and needed help finishing the side of rice and beans I'd ordered. We were there on a Sat night when we unexpectedly encountered karaoke - usually not my favorite. But the three occupied tables (including us) ended up participating and it kind of turned into this fun group sing event. But not at all the drunken awful kind of karaoke that makes me want to run away screaming. Just some neighborhood fun, and even the servers sang some tunes! And it was a mix of American classics like Total Eclipse of the Heart and lots of fun Latin American pop. Good time all around - I can't wait to go back.

My wife and I had an Entertainment Book On line coupon for a 2 for one lunch at Cocina Latina, so we decided to use it on a brisk Minnesota Saturday. We entered the strip mall looking restaurant on the corner and it looked like they took over some other business and made it a restaurant. First thing I noticed was no tap beer, probably 5 stars if it had some taps flowin'. We chose a nice booth in the smallish establishment. The menus came out and it takes about 10 minutes to peruse all of the options, and they all look good. Our server came over and I ordered the chicken enchiladas and my wife got the shrimp tacos and tamales combo. After about ten minutes our food came out with a saucy creamy red colored salsa. I dropped a dollop on my food and the spice was intense and flavorful. It had quite an awesome kick. The re-fried beans looked a lot like the ones in Mexico, a lot saucier than American re-fried beans. They were slightly bland, but with the salsa they turned into a perfect melange of spicy and lentil soup like texture. The chicken enchiladas were chock full of large chunks and the red sauce was pretty bland, probably to fit the Norwegian taste buds, but is was perfect with a few dabs of their excellent salsa. There was a lot of rice on the side, which i didn't have a lot of, because I was already getting full after a couple enchiladas, but add the salsa, and BAM! Amazing rice. My wife said the shrimp tacos were amazing as well and we didn't even get to the tamales, because we were both pretty stuffed. So for 20 bucks including tip, we got about 4 meals worth of amazing authentic Mexican food. Our server was awesome as well. Very polite and attentive. Awesome place, but could use some taps of Dos Equis.

BEST ORCHATAAAAA EVERRRR !!!!! Food is authentic and very friendly environment ! Servers are nice. Would definitely recommend this place.

I had not visited here prior to the COVID pandemic, but have picked up lunch 4-5x now in the past 2 months and they have been fantastic. Food is ready within 10-15 min for pickup, the restaurant is super clean, masks (even before they were mandated) and really great staff. Food is excellent and well-priced. The pork is my favorite (in any of the dishes), and my wife, a vegetarian, loves both the chile relleno and huevos racnheros. Very good food and service. Recommend!

Good Latin food... it is more on the authentic side than tex mex... I think its over priced. Probably wont go back because of the prices. I got enchiladas and the house margarita (normal sized, not jumbo) and it was about $25 which I found pricey. Food was good, margarita was not.

Food is good but it's possibly the slowest service I've ever had in my life. I ordered the tostadas and they came out lukewarm after waiting 25 mins. Tostadas could have used more beans and crema and less chicken. Do yourself a favor and eat at dragon wok instead. Food there b is much better.

Great authentic Mexican cuisine, simple place, good food, fast pleasant service at a reasonable price. The Chimicunga was amazing and their guacamole very fresh. We also enjoyed the fresh Sangria.

There must have been an issue w both service staff and kitchen staff. We came early, 6 pm on a Saturday night . The restaurant was pretty empty. We got drinks and some apps in decent time. The three draft beers were unavailable. The waiter said "They pour all watery." (???) After the apps we hit a bad dead zone. Once we ordered our main course, it took just over 40 minutes for the food to hit the table. Had to request water twice. There were a few Door Dash delivery people stacked up at the bar, so maybe the kitchen was busy cooking those orders. Three of four entrees were good. The fourth --- pork loin medallions---was so over-cooked it was inedible. All in all, won't be back.

I was expecting a semi authentic mexican restaurant but got what seems to be authentic central or south american food! Different options than your usual tacos and burtitos but they have those too! I got enchiladas with the tinga chicken and green sauce(i prefer green vs red sauce) it was exceptional! My spouse got something entirely different...i forget what but he said was high quality food even tho the"cracklin" wasnt his thing he knew it was good stuff! I would give it 5 stars but we walked in at opening and ended up waiting about half hour maybe more for food. But they just opened so I wont discredit much for that.

Nice, quiet family restaurant. Unpretentious, nothing fancy, but good authentic Mexican food.

Favorite Mexican in Minneapolis! Outstanding authentic Mexican food, great service and very generous portions set Cocina Latina above others. Tamales are homemade and larger than any we've ever seen. The masa is firm but moist and the pork is flavorful. Tacos are right out of Mexico. Soft corn, double shell and simple. Meat, onions and cilantro. This restaurant also offers some dishes you'll rarely see in this area like tripe and goat stew. You won't be disappointed.

Food poisoning alert!! We wanted to like this small local restaurant. The second time we went there, my family ordered the mixed grill (combo meat and seafood) to share. There was only one server working and the kitchen was really slow. When our food finally came, the platter was supposed to include 3 mussels. There were 3, but 2 had not opened. These are obviously bad, and the kitchen should not have sent them out. We did not eat the unopened mussels, but our family did share the other food on the platter. About 36 hours later, all 3 of us got sick. We are sure it was food poisoning from our dinner here. We contacted the restaurant to let them know we had gotten sick from their food, and we got no response. We will not go back here.

This is a fantastic restaurant! Recommended to us by someone in the neighborhood, the food was an absolute delight. Staff was very pleasant and food was good. Everyone else had pretty big meals, but as I had the beef tacos, mine was a little smaller, so I was still hungry afterwards. One complaint was that it could've used a side dish, so I supplemented the meal with Flan. It was so good! Delicious and well done. Absolutely no complaints from any member of my family! Go there and enjoy!

This place has indoor And outdoor seating. The menu is pretty limited and the dishes are served very plainly. The floor was a bit sticky, but they were social distancing at least. The food tasted good, but the restaurant could be better.

Latin food is one of my top 3 favorite cuisines (wait...are cheeseburgers a cuisine? if so, then it's top 4.). While I'm partial to Cuban food and I think Hola Arepa (brick and mortar) is kind of a joke, Latin American fusion food is definitely winning me over - especially considering the cuisine has a deep love of spice like I do. This is a taco mecca and we're talking cheap tacos too. Three tacos (all the same meat, unfortunately) + a side (rice, beans or uh...french fries, you fucking gringo) is around $9 after tax. That's beautiful, man. So far we've tried the chicken and roasted pork tacos. While the pork tacos have a great flavor, we both like the chicken tacos the best. And that's pretty goddamn weird for me, I think chicken is the most boring protein ever. I never order chicken. But something spoke to me and I ordered them the first time and the neckbeard stole one of them (he ordered the pork the first time) and he was a changed man. The next time we ordered food, he got the chicken tacos. #trendsetter The steak quesadilla comes with rice and refried beans - the rice is awesome and the beans are gross. To be fair, I hate refried beans (black beans 4 lyfe, yo) so it could just be a personal thing. The steak quesadilla was hearty, the quality of the steak was so-so but it was cooked well and it was cheesy as fuck. Definitely something I'd order again, especially if I'm fucking drunk or high as hell. It was a substantial meal for $11. The cheese empanadas are heavenly. I hate that word, but I can't even lie...I was in pastry, cheesy heaven eating them so it fits. The order comes with 3 empanadas, this bothers me because I hate sharing shit - four would be ideal for parties of 2. Just a thought. One more thing...Cocina Latina boasts an amazing hot sauce. AMAZING. Get this fucking sauce if you're not a total pussy. It will melt your face off and you'll love it. DO IT.

After a recent stop at the new Blackbird, my fiance and I decided to read up on Cocina Latina. What intrigued us was its blend of Mexican and South American offerings. So on Labor Day, when plenty of "American" establishments were closed, Cocina Latina was a great option that moved to the top of our list. I used to live in Queens, where there are tons of Colombians and therefore plenty of fun cheap Colombian restaurants. So naturally, I wanted to sample their South American cuisine rather than their Mexican dishes, which are far more plentiful in the TC. We started with their arepas con queso, which I used to eat in NYC but have been sorely lacking in my life since. These arepas were great. Just the right amount for an appetizer, melty cheese on top, just slightly crispy on the outside, and soft and corn mealy on the inside. The salsa on the table was also a great accompaniment. For my main dish, I cannot recall the name of the dish, but it was their pork loin dish that seasoned and grilled, and served with plaintain, beans and rice. I loved it, it hit the spot, and I'll hopefully have a chance to return sometime in the not so distant future. There isn't a ton of South American options in Minneapolis, so I am really glad I finally tried this place.

we are always the only white people in here, which is a good sign in my book. The guac is fantastic and the salsa that comes with the chips is crazy good. I want to drink it. I want to fill a bath with it. Not so that I can actually bathe in it, but so when my dining companion says (which they WILL say): "I would love a bathtub full of this salsa" I can say, with a smile: "I DO have a bathtub full of it." Then we would go back to my place and stare at it admiringly. We've had a number of dishes here, from the crazy odd latin american dish to a simple burrito and it is always good. I keep meaning to get there for the karaoke...Saturday nights I think? AND an awesome yelp checkin deal (or two, depending).

We ordered delivery and got the totally wrong thing and were missing one item. We attempted to call and they hung up!

This was pretty damn good and I can't believe they've been open for almost a year and no one has reviewed them yet. Our server told us that the menu was from Colombia, Ecuador, and some Mexican. First, do yourself a favor and give an extra 10 or 15 minutes to make it through the menu. It's huge and takes a while to read. I got a Latin Meat Platter and it was damn tasty. My friend got fajitas and said that the vegetables were very fresh and tasty, but the meat wasn't very flavorful. Still good, but maybe the Mexican portion of the menu isn't their forte. My meal had some bacon-like substance that may or may not have been deep fried. As much as I wanted to, I didn't finish it because I was afraid of removing any more years from my life. All in all, I'll be back to try as much of the menu as I can and will update this review as I go (I bet it might go to a 5 if everything is consistently good).