Zona Cocina

We’d already started eating before I took pictures because normally I don’t review any restaurant that’s in an airport. This food blew us away! It was hot, delicious, and fresh. Amazing Bloody Mary’s too! Everyone working here was super friendly in a good mood. I’m so happy we stopped here.

I got the burrito especial. Absolutely phenomenal. Not just good compared to airport food, it was actually very good food. Fresh, flavorful, and very filling as well. Usually I am able to polish off 1.5-2 burritos if I am hungry, but this one was enough with just one. Nice service, and the food came out quick, as well. With tip, it was $20. I went for breakfast, so it’s certainly possible that later in the day it is busier, though.

The food was good but not great, kind of standard for an airport. The service was great, we got a seat right away, order taken immediately, and our food came out quickly. Definitely what we need because of our limited layover.

You have to rate in contrast to the market. We’re rating airport food here. Based on that, this place slayed. My son and I had the barbacoa burritos while my wife had the fajitas. For airport food I thought it was both delicious and a decent value. Would return 4.5/5, rating 5/5 to pull it up

Amity was a great server who was very attentive. The food was very good. We were surprised about the delicious burger and seafood was good too. Reasonably priced if you compare it to the fast food options nearby.

Decent for airport Mexican. Fast service and valuable kids menu.

Lisa is my favorite server here, she was great and gave us the best service before our flight home. 10/10 thanks for being so “Minnesota nice” we appreciate you! 🫶

Bartender Brandon followed us to our flight gate to give us crap for not leaving him a tip for his rude service. When we sat down we asked about a drink price and he heckled us and laughed in our face saying “come on man you can’t be asking stuff like that” and proceeded to not tell us the price. Poured our drinks and didn’t ask us if we were ordering food didn’t give us menus and didn’t check back in until our drinks were empty. Meanwhile another group sat at the bar next to us and he greeted them kindly, didn’t heckle them about their questions, provided them food menus, poured their drinks and also took their food orders before even checking back in with us. He also poured one of our drinks with the wrong whiskey multiple times. We asked about the size of an appetizer and he laughed at us. It was such demeaning service he clearly had an issue with us from the moment we sat down I felt judged and profiled by our appearance. To then have him follow us down to our gate and create a confrontation in the middle of the airport was just appalling. Incredibly disrespectful and unprofessional all around from Brandon. It’s a bummer because this place has amazing food and great prices but now I would never be able to recommend it to any of my coworkers in aviation due to this prejudice service experience.

This is one of the better food options at the airport. And it's probably the best bar. The bartender was on the ball, taking care of a bar full of patrons as well as doing food orders.

Best food I've ever had at an airport. The chicken tinga enchiladas were amazing. Mary was decent. 10 out of 10 would come back.

Kept walking by this spot bc the chips and queso was calling out to me. The queso was a bit salty in comparison to other dips I've had. The taco was MESSY. I was wondering why I got utensils with my meal. It would have tasted better in a hard shell I think. Server was okay. Took a while to take my order but she came back to check on me after I got my meal.

Really nice place I stopped in to have some breakfast during my layover. The hostess/server was just the nicest person. She made it feel like a neighborhood place instead of an airport diner. I got the full breakfast and it came out in no time. You can pay using the QR code on the receipt, so it's easy to get in and out to catch your flight.

For airport food and drinks - I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered a couple margaritas during my layover ($12 each I believe) and the steak fajitas ($21). Margaritas were delicious and the fajitas were super flavorful, with very fresh toppings. Overall, comparable to a Mexican restaurant I wouldn't expect to see at an airport. Definitely higher quality than typical airport food, and reasonable prices.

If you are from Texas and used to decent Tex-Mex I would avoid this place. I was missing home on my wait for the flight back to Dallas and now I miss it even more. I ordered the chips and salsa, and a two taco combo with one side. The salsa was the only decent thing I ate. The Mahi Mahi taco smelled horrible when it was brought to my table, definitely not fresh. Everything was bland and overpriced for the portions. My server was very nice and attentive so I did appreciate that. Overall, can't say I'll be coming back.

Amazing Tex Mex in this airport location. I will definitely eat here again. The taco are spot on!

Brandon the bartender was great! Made our extra long wait fun The food was good - Brandon made a tasty recommendation!

Food was very tasty first time dining here. I would definitely come back fast service.

Restaurant was clean, food was served quickly. My husband was happy w his breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, and potatoes. I was less impressed with my breakfast burrito (it's meat [ham, sausage, or bacon], scrambled eggs, cheese, and sour cream in a tortilla w salsa on the side. The burrito was not great for a few reasons: even though the tortilla is browned on the outside it was cold, that paired w the sour cream and cheese inside, made the eggs and meat barely above room temperature. It almost seemed like the burrito was made before and reheated. If we ever pass through this airport again, and ate here, I'd pass on the burrito and get a generic breakfast.

Sit-down restaurant, but very limited menu: burritos, tacos, and fajitas is basically it. The fajitas, meat cooked with onions and peppers, and the other stuff on the side, was actually pretty good. This is quite tolerable for airport food.

We sat at the bar for a meal as we waited for our flight. The barman was very personable and ran the whole bar quite efficiently. The drink choices are fairly standard. They do have an acceptable variety of beers. The food is really quite tasty for an airport bar. I had the pork tacos. The tacos could have used a little more spiciness. My wife had a cup of chili. It was the smallest cup I've ever seen. But I'm sure it was a cup, just not filled to the top. Overall a good place to waste some time at the airport.

We ate dinner here during our short layover in Minneapolis, and while there were a few disappointments, it was overall a pretty solid spot for TexMex airport food. They are located in the F gate area and have a long bar with two seating areas on either side. Lots of the seating was closed off and not being used, and they were very understaffed. Our server got to us as soon as she could, and despite her situation, she was pretty pleasant with us. We couldn't order chips at all because they didn't have enough to get through the night, which is a little wild for a Mexican restaurant. They did have margaritas, tho so we enjoyed their strawberry margarita. Their menu has gf designations for gluten-free, which was great, and our server was additionally savvy of cross contamination and warned us against the crispy taco shells. My celiac sister and I enjoyed the soft corn tacos with a yummy spicy ground beef and a burrito bowl. The hangry husband of mine was satisfied with his chimichanga. Overall, it wasn't a bad place to spend some time. If you can find seating, and if they have chips to go with your margaritas.

Rude staff. I understand coming in 20 minutes before close and ordering a beer and asking if the kitchen is still open can really put you out but simply saying you are closing soon should be enough.

Let's Go Brandon!! Excellent service Brandon. Great food. Good atmosphere. Will definitely go back if in the airport again.

We had a good experience here while waiting for our flight. Seats were readily available, we chose to sit near the bar facing the concourse so we could observe other arriving and departing Delta travelers and be near our gate. Service was quick and friendly and our server didn't hesitate to suggest the nachos when we asked. The nachos with chicken were actually very tasty and enough to split for the two of us. I would definitely stop in here again between flights for a quick bite and drink in a relaxed atmosphere.

The bagel breakfast sandwich with sausage is very average. The yogurt and granola had way too much oat granola in it. I'd pass on both of these. Good vibe, clean, fast service

Brandon was amazing and made a delayed layover very enjoyable. The music was on point today. Brightened up my day. I can't wait to come back though MSP to hang out here again.

Sat down at the bar since there really wasn't anywhere else to sit. OMG, the bartender (black dude) is hilarious. Need comic relief, you'll definitely want to come here. As we sat there and I ate my microscopic "cup" of enchilada soup (tasty), the person next to me couldn't figure out how to pay as her Apple pay wasn't working or maybe they don't take Apple pay. Whatever, she didn't have any money, nor other credit cards. Somehow, she had "packed" all of her cards, including the debit card (so that atm option was out) in her checked luggage. OK, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt... maybe she decided to gate check a carry-on with all of her money/cards. She did have an accent and might have been foreign and didn't understand the "rules" of paying in America. She was starting to sweat bullets as next the manager came to talk to her. I was waiting for her to step behind the bar to work off her meal or to see airport security or perhaps even a dine and dash. Later, I did ask the bartender if he gets many customers with the "I packed my money" excuse. Nope, it's a new one. Well, after quite a bit of back and forth and more sweat, she finally suggested venmoing her money to someone who could then pay her bill. All of the people in her immediate vicinity went no eye contact, (I was actually quite busy trying to get the last few drops out of my itsy bitsy cup.) Luckily, a waitress stepped in and the woman finally managed to pay for her meal. This whole incident gave a lot of new material to our bartender. Come for the food and drinks (several beers on draft) or for the entertainment at the bar (if he's on), just don't forget to bring along credit cards or cash. For payment, though, they don't take jewelry, kidneys, blood, or Apple pay. Minus one star for the size of that "cup." Next time I'll order the bowl.

Zona Cocina is located inside the St Paul Minnesota airport , near the F gates. There is a very large bar area as well as low too table and a cool "people watching" high top section that faces outward. The decor is fun and there are lots of TVs at the bar to enjoy a game while waiting. They have a large menu and a full bar including draft beer. I will start by saying that I'm giving four stars mainly for service as the food was just ok in my opinion. I'm from California so my idea of Mexican food is a bit different and I found the food to be a little flavorless . We ordered chips and salsa with guacamole, enchilada soup and a burrito. We also ordered draft beer and skinny margaritas . The enchilada soup was my favorite item but it wasn't a soup texture, it reminded me of chili. Either way, it was good! The guacamole was extremely lacking in flavor - just tasted like mashed up avocado. I added salt from my margarita glass rim and squeezed fresh lime juice in - then it tasted pretty good. The red salsa was a smoky flavor and again needed some salt but wasn't bad . Again, the service was great. We had three separate waiters/waitresses and all were very pleasant. Our flight was delayed six times and we sat there all day with them.

Grabbed a quick cocktail while at the MSP airport. They are using QR code menus. We bellied up to the bar and the bartender made our cocktails fast. Majority of the signature cocktails were tequila based. My hubby wasn't in love with tequila so got a fruitier drink. I got a Paloma. It was super salty, but we drank and didn't stay long. Thanks for the quick service!

Rating adjusted to reflect airport standards. Otherwise, this would probably be one star. Review based on brunch / breakfast menu. Food: Passable. Had the breakfast burrito but experienced the same "sogginess" other reviewers have noted about their meals. Also, temperature of various components varied wildly. The eggs were warmish. Bacon hot. And others cold to room temperature. Drink: Bloody Mary mix was watered down and almost brown. Forgettable and I didn't even finish it. The garnishes were anemic at best. Service: Neither here nor there. Overall: Recommend Stonearch or HiLo for breakfast instead or Qdoba for Mexican on the go. This was a sad experience

We've had a couple layovers in St Paul and always end in the terminal with Zona Cocina so it always our go to stop. There's never a wait and they have a full bar and array of draft beer options that make everyone happy. This time my partner opted for food and ordered a delightful quesadilla. As far as airport dining goes, Zona's is tasty and fast.

Only criticism is the name. You're in Minnesota and when you approach the main sign says tequila bar. I past it but ended going back after not finding anything else exciting. Pros: very quick no nonsense service, exactly what you need in an airport. Good food, Benedict was great. Not over priced for an airport. Cons: I was happy.

We came here waiting for our flight to Tampa. We had our son with us who wouldn't eat this type of food so I got in line with him for Chick-Fil-A while my wife sat down and ordered our food. When we got there the server said they had a rule of no outside food so I had to leave my wife and wait for my son to eat his food and then come back. This rule doesn't sit well with me. I totally get it at a regular location but not at an airport. Obviously they do it so you'll spend your money there but all it does is make me want to do the opposite. If we hadn't already ordered my food I would've ate somewhere else just to make sure I didn't get them any money. In fact I WAS going to get a $17 Patron margarita but I refused to give them more money so I just got water. Then there was the food. I got a grilled chicken bowl and both the chicken and rice were hard and crunchy... in the interest of fairness my wife did like her enchiladas. Also our server Tom was friendly and I know it wasn't his rule. It's the only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1. Safe to say we won't be coming back (we fly to MN once per year.) you may want to reconsider your rule Zona... you broke up a family and cost yourself some money in the process. Greed is an ugly thing.

I walked in there in uniform as I love Mexican type food. I tried to get served and the bartender would not serve me because I was in uniform. He said if I wasn't, he could have. I won't ever go there again, uniform or not.

For a drink I ordered a Paloma Margarita. The Paloma is typically sweet and sour but their version first was just pure tequila. I told my waiter I could not drink cause of how bad it was and if they could remix. The server agreed but used no measurements to make updates and instead what I got was a super acidic drink. It was not drinkable The food is super salty. I ordered the nachos with carnitas which typically are super easy to NOT mess up but it was gross. I took like 3 bites before deciding not to continue. The server was not helpful despite me telling him I could not eat the gross food or the drink so I got the check, paid and left. My total time there was about 15 minutes. The airport is expensive for food. I would not waste my money there ever again. Lesson learned. The ambiance was nice. I did see a lot of people ordering beer and not margaritas so tells me this is known. Avoid unless they start making improvements.

My wife and I when travel through airports we like to find awesome airport bars. We found this one last year when flying to Florida and it is now a regular stop when we have a layover in Minneapolis. Donald C. Is the reason we stop. He's a wonderful bartender who is fun to chat with and great at his job. So if you're ever in the Minneapolis airport in the Delta terminal stop in have a drink and chat with Donald. He does not disappoint.

Diners beware at Zona Cocina. Ordered the chicken enchilada soup which was pretty good. The issue came with the Nuevo León Salad Bowl with diced chicken breast. About halfway through I got a sharp bone stuck in the roof of my mouth. Picked around my salad and found another broken bone too. Needless to say I didn't eat anything more, just in case more were in it. I told the waitress, and no offer to make a new salad or comp me anything for the bone stabbing. If you don't mind losing a bit of blood with your lunch, this may be the restaurant for you.

Minneapolis, Minn. For an airport restaurant, this place can't be beat. Sure the pricing is a bit high, but not unreasonable like most of the other places to eat here are. Easy seat your self entry, scan the QR for the menu. The friendly and personable waiter arrives quickly, and your food arrives shortly thereafter. The fajita wrap with grilled chicken was my choice, it was the best value item on the menu at $14. And was plenty to eat.My sister had the Tex-Mex Beef tacos (3) at $13 plus $2.50 for a side of guacamole. The wrap was delicious and moist inside. The chicken grilled nicely, the spicing was perfect. For some reason it comes with a side of fries, so I did eat a few of those also. The tacos were great, and came with the usual rice and beans. The corn tortillas are crispy fried and the beef was a well spiced hamburger. There was some jalapeños in there too which gave them a bit of fire. To quote Arnold: "Ill Be Back".

Had a long layover and wanted to sit back and relax This is the place if you're in the F terminal. Seat yourself. Plenty of seats. Quick service. Cold drinks. Decent food. We just had chips and queso to kill time - chips are pretty "okay" queso was pretty amazing. They have draft and can/bottle beer. Menu is a scan at the table thing. I couldn't access WiFi within the restaurant, but I think people closer to the airport main walkway could. Not sure what a hospitality fee is

I ordered the shrimp tostada. I was so pleasantly surprised. The shrimp were cooked perfect and the was just the perfect amount of hot and crunch. Service was fast and friendly and I like that it was close to my gate so I didn't have to walk far I'd come here again. My server was my server Mikralem. She was so personable and made the suggestion of what I should try. Thanks Mikralem it was delic.

We ordered chips and salsa sampler and it was so salty and not very flavorful. Terrible! We only ate a few chips and they never asked if everything was ok. It was obvious the food was not good since we didnt eat it. They never offered a discount or apology. We paid for the entire meal and left. If you come here I would suggest drinks only. The food sucks. Picture below of what was left behind.

Came in at the end of the evening. Told first that kitchen is closing and last call. What do I want. The carnitas tacos were ok. Tortilla was cold the rice was funky and beans cold. Never checked in and never got a second coke. It will be a skip next time passing through.

Overall a pretty good choice for a full meal in the airport. Seating is seat your self, so I was able to pick a table in the back, but where I could still do some people watching. I started with a Margarita that had some pretty fresh ingredients. Not too sour, but not too sweet. For an entree, I opted for the southwest salad and added tinga chicken, which was good and spicy. I really didn't love the lettuce being heavy on the white parts of lettuce, but the chipotle dressing helped over that up. The dressing, fresh avocado and spicy chicken helped make up for the average lettuce. If I had a layover and wanted a drink and a snack, I'd be back again.

I'm waiting for my plane and decided to stop here at this location to have a cocktail which will allow me to sleep the entire way back to my destination, as cocktails make me sleepy. Anyway , I decided on going with Bailey's on ice after she/waitress suggested! I felt cheated, but then again, it was in the airport. The 2 sips... literally 2 sips, were$7.00. I mean, Lady come on, I don't drink but REALLY!!! I still tipped her because she was nice. Anyway that's all... no more comments! Next time I'll ask for ice and bring a pucker with me. Lol

Theresa was an amazing server! She was efficient and friendly and interacted with our large table so well. I had a breakfast burrito that was delicious. Portion sizes were big.

Brandon is the best! Had fantastic service! He is so personable! Great place to stop if you have time 'tween flights!

Sat at the bar for a few drinks & an app before our flight- very clean place with a nice ambiance for an airport bar. Brandon was one of the best bartenders we've ever met (let alone at an airport bar). So personable, friendly, efficient and just an overall great work attitude. It was so refreshing because usually we run into the opposite at airport restaurants/bars - and we travel A LOT! He should be commended. Highly recommend!

Something was definitely wrong with my fish, which had juices that seeped into my rice and veggies, making the whole meal pretty gross. Our waitress dropped the food and never came back to check. We waited about 20 min before we were able to get her attention so we could let her know, but by then it was too late. I'm going to have rotten fish burps for the flight

We had time before our flight to stop for a drink, and our service was outstanding! Annie is exceptional and our drinks were great! As a server, she is so kind and easy to talk to and made each customer feel wonderful and noticed. Great experience!

I had the chicken fajitas. Huge plates with average amount of food on them. Included small portion of chicken with onions and bell peppers plus 3 tortillas and rice and beans. Plus all the Tex Mex fixing like tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole. $16.99

Eh, was pretty alright. Airport restaurants are never really the best. I stopped in a half hour before close. The bar tender noticed me right away which was nice and promptly delivered my beer. Woot! The food wasn't so great. A. expensive! B. delivered without anything advertised that comes with it C. dropped in front of me without a word, not even eye contact, and no follow up in regards to if I was happy with it or needed anything The chimichanga came as basically a deep fried burrito by itself with chips on the side. That's is. No lettuce or tomato or anything advertised to come with it. Had I known that's how it was going to come I wouldn't have spent the outrageous price to be so completely underwhelmed. Which is fine, it happens ... but I also didn't receive any silverware so how am I supposed to eat this? When I asked I was given a plastic set.... What... the? The knife and fork were NOT durable enough for this meal. Because the bartender was so busy and hadn't really made his way back over to me I tried to stop a bus-person to ask for some shredded lettuce and they totally brushed me off and told me that they must be out on the back. Half way through my meal when the bartender made his way back over to my side of the bar I politely interrupted what he was doing to ask about the lettuce and he promptly when to the back and magically reappeared with the lettuce they "must have been out of." Overall bad experience. Drink is fine but don't get food, waste of money.

I was planning to hit up Chik fil A for breakfast, but the warm lighting and spacious bar at Zona-Concina drew me in. I promptly pulled up the menu on my phone and was impressed with the unique selections. I love a good eggs benny, so Chipotle Eggs Benedict it was. The bar tender was awesome and took my order right away--he was friendly and efficient, but not too chatty as I pulled out my laptop to work. I was tempted to top off my order with a mimosa, but given I was on a conference call for work, I ordered coffee instead :) When my order arrived, the bar tender grabbed ketchup and hot sauce without even asking--stellar intuition I'd say. The potatoes were lightly seasoned and tenderly crisp on the outside. The benedict was perfectly savory due to the slightly smokey chipotle hollandaise, and just the right amount of runny on the egg. I opted for ham over Canadian bacon, which complimented the savory with just the right hint of sweetness. Overall: great food and even better service. Mad props to the Zona-Cocina!

The food here is great, but the service is what makes this place amazing. Everyone was lively and upbeat. However, Terry was my direct server and she was absolutely fantastic. She had many tasks to do so early in the morning, but made sure to stay attentive to each of her customers. She engaged in meaningful conversation and was a delight to speak with. I would come back to this restaurant again just to get to catch up with Terry!

Got tired of sandwiches and burgers so we decided to try this Tex-Mex place. We ordered the steak & shrimp combo fajitas and shrimp tostadas. Very satisfying and yummy! Highly recommend this place.

Layover in the middle of college football championship WA MI and couldn't find a tv near my departing gate. Stumbled upon them as they were airing the game. I could tell they were shutting down only to find out they closed before 9pm with a few people lingering. Would have preferred to grab a drink and watch the game for a bit but was happy just standing outside their establishment and watching the game. As they were cleaning up manager came out and started shutting down off the tvs. Didn't have any of their food or service but a place at airport that does that while there are people all over the airport, sports fans gotta know. Walk a bit further to something else. Those people are not your friends.

Mexican food in the Minneapolis Airport should be enough to explain three stars, but I'll give a little more. Seat yourself, quick service, friendly staff, but my carnitas tacos came out sopping wet. There was so much juice in the taco it cut through the flour tortilla, filled the plate and made the meal a real mess. The rice was severely overcooked to the pint of being mush. The black beans had a bit of an odd seasoning - couldn't place it, but made them a bit undesirable. Filled the gut in an Airport, but won't eat here next time I'm through Minneapolis.

Waited 20 mins to even be greeted. First words were "we have no food". Took order, dropped off I said thank you, all I got was mhmmm. Very rude