El Taco Riendo Express

El Taco Riendo Express is a hidden gem tucked into the Anthony Center in North Minneapolis. From the moment you walk in, the place feels straightforward and no-frills, but what it lacks in ambiance, it more than makes up for in flavor and portion size. The flavors were bold and authentic, and the food tasted fresh and homemade. Portions are generous, so come hungry. The menu offers a great variety of Mexican staples everything is reasonably priced between $10–$20. The only downside was the atmosphere it felt a bit bare inside, more like a quick-stop spot than a dine-in destination. Still, it’s clean and functional, and great for takeout or a fast lunch. Overall, El Taco Riendo Express delivers solid, flavorful Mexican food without trying too hard to be fancy. Definitely worth a visit if you’re craving something filling and authentic.

Good sized portions! The carnitas burrito and hard shell taco were really good. The asada and carnitas torta was very salty and had some chewy pieces. Fries were overly salty too. I could only eat a couple bites of the sandwich and fries.

The food was awesome. You get very large proportions for the money. The workers they were very polite and helpful.

It was a very clean and organized place, the service was great and there was not a long wait. But the food was just not good. It tasted like I was eating southern pot roast meat mixed with peppers and onions, and not marinated carne asada. Lack of salt and pepper. The tiramisu was good.

Edit: Last dozen or so visits have all been good, customer service and food have all been great. My wife and I are convinced they have the best Hispanic food. The location is going down hill fast. Staff is disrespectful/ just flat out rude. Food is very inconsistent, one visit it's looks amazing, next visit looks like you ordered off a kids menu. Asked for a refund, got half my money back. Asked again got another partial refund, then yet again. Only took asking 3 times to get a full refund. I would just not waste your time, these folks just don't kare what garbage goes in the bag after they got your money.

I was one of the first customers in the new restaurant, food was delicious and fresh! Love the spice, and service. Since it is super close to my place I come all the time, the spice level has gone down, feel like the seasoning is less! Please don’t change!! I need an authentic taco place in robbinsdale! Took one star off because of it...

My husband got a taco platter with chorizo, I tried two other tacos and their tamale. I judge a place based on tamales - we will be back! Good to grab lunch for us during the week.

Second time eating here. I do agree sometimes the taste or ingredients are hit or miss but for the most part the food is tasty. My friend had the giant burrito and I had the Al pastor tacos with an elote. The pastor and Elote was pretty good. The rice could’ve been better. It didn’t seem like it had much seasoning. I did notice that this place gets a lot of orders going out so service can be spotty.

My go to spot for tacos! El Taco Riendo has a large menu with a variety of options to fit everyone's cravings! My simple favorite is the two taco with rice and beans platter, I get the Carnitas tacos with fixings and always add an order of chips to dip in the beans! The food is great, service is quick and the Crystal location is easy to park at, run in and pick up! One of my staples for tacos in the cities!

This is the closest to authentic Mexican food I have found in Minnesota. Generously portioned carne asada on soft corn tortillas with onions and cilantro - 4/5 stars as it was a little dry, but the fresh lime helped it out. The rice was good, but could have been more flavorful. All in all, a bit over priced, but good enough to go back again.

Nice authentic Mexican spot in Crystal. The menu has a lot to choose from, but sadly the online order system is pretty awful. However, they took over order over the phone without issue. The food is good, not great but good. I think I would try again, everything was flavorful.

I go for the chimichanga. I haven't had too much else from the menu, but when I want a chimichanga I know where I'm going! I got the barbacoa which was a good choice and the spicy guac was delish.

5 stars for freshness and flavor of food. Minus 1 star because they had missed our Grub Hub order so they didn't start making it until we got there. The service was very friendly. El Taco Riendo has 2 locations, one in NE (where we meant to order from) and one in Crystal (where we actually ordered from on Grubhub). I have been to the NE location many times and it's always excellent. I always get tacos. The carne asada and either carnitas or barbacoa. They are consistently loaded with excellently seasoned protein and whatever toppings you want. I go California-Mexican style every time and stick to onion, cilantro, and lime. Their house made salsas are very good. And have a kick which I love. The show stopper was the shrimp fajita meal. The car smelled amazing the whole drive home because of these bad boys. There were so many pieces of shrimp, we couldn't believe it. Came with pico de gallo salsa, lettuce, rice and beans, and tortillas. Easily could feed 2-3 people. These 2 locations keep my taco cravings at bay and taste a lot like home. Always fresh, very affordable.

Employee refused to wash his hand. I witnessed employee on his cell phone, run his hand in his hair, rub his face and then went behind the counter to make my food. He put on one glove and preceded to make my food with the assist of the dirty bare hand. I asked female employee to ask him to wash his hand. When she did ,he went off. Yelling and screaming at me. saying I was discriminating him. The female worker remade my food but the whole time she was making it he was yelling Spanish in the back, than came to the front still complaining in Spanish. Never once washed his hand. The female apologized profusely I told her it was not her fault. I really liked this restaurant but I will not be going back. Makes me wonder how many other people's food this man is preparing.

When I saw the establishment I was excited to see an Authentic Mexican place in neck of the woods. Boy was I in for a disappointment. First of all...the wait for my takeout order was really S-L-O-W. The establishment wasn't even busy.... what the heck? So I sat down at one of the tables (it's a casual takeout/'eat-in establishment ) and I waited and waited for my order. So I brought the food home, I got a chicken Burrito for $8.25. The good part was that my burrito was HUGE. The interesting was that my burrito had a potato in it... but I didn't really care for the taste,

So delicious, saucy, and messy. SUCH HUGE PORTIONS for the price! I live closer to this express location than their original location. Some of our roommates suggested this place and brought us some food to sample twice! Finally decided to venture in on a Sunday with the hanger and watched my partner's face go from grumpy to giddy even before we ate the food! Both of us ordered Tortas with everything on them. One Asada and one Hawaiiana. They throw the ham, bread, and pineapple right on the flat top in front of you. You get to watch and smell the bread get a nice char before they slather it in beans, sauce, and other toppings. We ate inside the restaurant, and took our tray to the table. These subs are the size of your head, but melt in your mouth and fall apart as you chomp down. We finished the sandwiches in their entirety like we were professional competitive eaters and waddled our the door to enjoy the rest of our Sunday. Easy parking lot near a cub and popular pizza place. Food quality is average, but I will be back to sample the rest!

Full on DRY, SALTY, DRIED OUT, and forgot the tortillas for the fajitas. Ordered a chicken burrito, steak burrito, and fajitas. While the burritos were a generous size, they were DRY. All I tasted was salt with a texture of refried beans and meat. The carne asada was also like beef jerky, and not the good kind either. Dry, dry, dry, and SALTY. The fajitas were prepared well done and tortillas were not included. For roughly $40 I would have expected mucho mas. Again, the burritos were big, but they were like eating saw dust wrapped in a tortilla. Horrible experience. The person who ordered the fajitas salts everything, and said person was having a hard time choking down the fajitas due to them being so salty; and additional salt was not added. I would like to know from where all the high ratings are coming. BE PREPARED FOR PROBABLE DISAPPOINTMENT if looking for Mexican food and ordering from this place.

This is a VERY welcome Mexican food option on this side of the river. West suburban Mexican food is mediocre at best. My Mexican husband eats here at least once a week. We've had most menu items by now and we have had some great food! My personal favorite is the enchiladas. The beans are delicious. The portions are generous. Most importantly, this establishment is very clean. I have personally witnessed the staff pulling appliances away from the wall to sweep underneath. They are hard workers that deliver yummy food at a reasonable price. Truly a neighborhood gem.

Counter service Mexican that is some of the best in the cities. Of particular note is the chicken marinated in tomatoes and the shrimp diavolo. My wife will bring her own crushed pepper to restaurants, but not here. That shrimp is amazing, big, well seasoned, and the sauce is delicious with a decent amount of heat. Most other Mexican places don't so it for us, anymore; we end up comparing the food to El Taco Riendo. Keep up the awesome eats! The best food is worth a wait.

I love this place. Haven't had a bad experience yet - and don't expect one! Their Taco Tuesday (3 for $7) can't be beat. I get American style carnitas - so good. Also have had their enchiladas - very good too. It's a small place with just a couple of tables (now open for indoor seating) but I usually call ahead and my order is ready for pick up. Give them a try.

The food is super tasty, even for vegetarians like myself. There's lots of options on the menu. My favorite thing there is the tamarind drink though. I used to go to their Central location all the time when my boyfriend lived near there, and I am so so so glad they opened one a few blocks away from my home!

Way above average Mexican. A little better than the taco truck on 42nd avenue in the liquor store parking lot by the New Hope Bowl.

This taco spot is a not-so-hidden gem. It has probably been driven passed by many folks, but it is a terrific place for tacos and more. You can grab three tacos for $7 on Tuesdays, which is an awesome deal. It is the perfect place for lunch when you're limited for time, but still crave great tacos. It's not a place where you need to be dazzled by decor or serenaded by the background or aesthetic. It's the place where you're not here to mess around with all of that. All you want is to be blown away by great food. Highly recommend the Carnitas tacos or the Carne Asada tacos.

My absolute favorite taco spot in the cities! They have great food and unique tacos, my favorite is the tripe, but all of their food is excellent. The service is great and they also have a rewards program that I just learned about for buying tacos and burritos!

Excellent tacos! I liked the size of the tacos which meant I was able to order several of them and try the different options. The meat was well cooked and tender and the veggies were well sauteed. The prices were very reasonable. Employees were friendly and seemed happy to be there. I look forward to going back and trying a burrito.

Thought central was bad . New place is worst. Small and retail store feeling. Not a restaurant, but a cave Food was just as bad. What happened after owners apartment burned central down?

Yuck. They microwaved my "enchilada" to heat it up. They literally microwaved it right in front of me. Disgusting. The rice was cold and hard. The meat was chewy and cold. Everything was cold. I don't think the temp is right on their heat table. Never again. Gross.

The tacos were delicious! They were small, so I could order several and the ingredients were fresh! It is a little confusing to order and the format is wonky, but once you figure it out; it is well worth it. I will certainly be ordering more!!

Very authentic tacos. Delicious always fresh and ready to go. Staff is friendly and prices are good. This is their new location but it's just as good as the original.

The front lady seams like she always has a stick in her ass. Not the best service. Food is okay but the beans always look dry and old. I would visit the one on central in NE Minneapolis.

Wonderful food. We used to go to the one on Central, we loved the atmosphere and we loved the food. The atmosphere here isn't the same but the food certainly is as good. They make amazing enchiladas, chili relleno, rice and beans. We will miss the feel of the old one but at least we have the delicious food from the new one.

Like the place! The foods is good. Been there many times, and every single time I ordered this caldo soup, I think that's what it called? Not 100% sure but its menu #22, never had it. Alway ohh sorry we don't make it. For real? If you no longer make it please take it off the menu.

I came before they where suppose to be closed and they where already closed and I had called ahead of time they picked up the phone and hung up on me......... Really bad service

My new favorite Mexican restaurant! The food was made quickly and everything was delicious. We had the barbacoa beef enchiladas, chimichanga, and kid's quesadilla. My wife and son were delighted. I wish I had come here sooner!

I go there at least 3 times a week. Been going there for awhile too. I love the tamales. Best ones I have had. Only dislike there is customer service is not great when I am there. I don't feel welcomed,. But I don't care. Tamales are fantastic..

Empanadas were hard and dry. Placed an order on Grubhub for pickup for two orders. Got one. There we're supposed to be peas and corn in it. I think there was only one pea and one kernel of corn.

Seriously, EVERYTHING I've tried here is amazing. I could eat here every day and never get tired of it.

By far my favorite Mexican place in the area. My go to spot for Taco Tuesday's! The staff is friendly and the food is prepared right in front of you so you can tell them exactly how you want it. The Pastor and Barbacoa tacos are my favorite. I am very happy this place is close to my house, making me a frequent visitor

every one star reviewer is an idiot this place is delicious. amazing bang for buck. i haven't sat down to eat in this location i've only had takeout but it's just as good as their other location

Was just driving by at lunch time. Awesome newer place. Got a Torta that was big enough for two meals but had a hard time stopping because it was so good! Mexican Coke and Jarritos too!