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El Loro
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
19 reviews for El Loro
19 reviews in English
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Review from Joshua W.
Minneapolis, MN
1/28/2012
Food is reasonably priced and very authentic. The margaritas are good, but pretty chain restaurant-ish. You better have some idea what you are getting because the menu is pretty much all in Spanish and the workers don't always speak English either.
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Review from Josh M.
Minneapolis, MN
1/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
The food is inexpensive and fantastic! The staff are also very friendly! This is one of my favorite places to eat.
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Review from Erin W.
Minneapolis, MN
12/20/2011
I don't know what happened to this place. A couple of years ago I would have advocated this restaurant as one of the best places to eat in the Twin Cities. A lot has changed since then. Tonight I had the enchilada and tamale combo and it missed the mark. Service was below par (we never got a refill even though we asked for one), portions have become reduced, and the salsa & guacamole seem to have been watered down. The renovations although are nice and opens up the lobby but it no longer allows for a quality dinner ambiance as the bar activities carries from one end of the hall to the other end. I hope they go back to the ways that made them a staple favorite and leave out the desire for franchise expansion and commercialization of their products.
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Review from Ann V.
Minneapolis, MN
7/3/2011
This ain't no taco bell!
My friend and I have made a tradition of having dinner dates at new mexican places and this was one of our favs.
I ordered a burrito, a tomale, and an enchilada all on one plate for just $7! The portions were generous for the price and the food was delicious. Next time, I'll probably skip the tomale and enchilada and get three burritos.
I am defnitely coming back, this one ranks top over the other mexican places I've been to. -
Review from Rhonda G.
5/30/2011
I was heading Northwest and noticed it. What I like is if you drive over Broadway everything is just there, no driving around. It's very large and roomy in here. For the holiday there were only 2 waiters and it was busy, so it took about some time to get our order taken, but got the chips immediately. The waiters were very different than the other places. They were dressed up in black slacks and white shirts, and looked very machisimo. It was a nice touch. I noticed the booths were made up of a nicely decorated wood. I got my usual 2 tacos, the shell wasn't really crunchy. This might be because it was stuffed with meat. The same good Mexican soft cheese, but it wasn't as finely shredded like the others I've been to. It tasted the same, I'm just used to my nice mound of cheese. I agree with Nick, just stop by if you're passing through or local.
Listed in: Best Patio, Best Chain Restaurant
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Review from Mando W.
Brooklyn Park, MN
3/10/2009
My search for the perfect Mexican restaurant in the Twin Cities is a never-ending quest. As a true Mexican food fanatic and Texas citizen at heart... I fear my standards are just too high. My requirements are simple but.... alas..... I need amazing-to-die-for-spicy-hot-fresh salsa. Great chips. Brought out immediately & KEPT FULL. blow your mind delicious enchiladas on the menu. Incredible Mole = bonus! rice & beans included with meal no addl. charge. Non-nasty-cheap chicken/beef in the food. Actual mexicans running the place - cheerfully willing to speak Spanish with Gringos even better. Frosty Mexican beer on special & excellent house margaritas -- pitcher specials work too. Final Tab = cheap. If a plate of enchiladas is more than 10dolla... I'm not at the right place. If you do happen to know where this meal exists in MN, I want to know you.
Now, as to El Loro -- this place is pretty good. I thought it smelled a little like ammonia and there were way too many pudgy MN Suburbanites in the place -- but overall was a satisfying experience. Actual Mexicans (check) --- good salsa (check) --- beer specials (check) --- reasonably priced enc.hiladas (check)... generally tasty, yes. As good as the places back in ColSta, TX? ... definitely not.
3/8/09 Hubby and I revisted El Loro this afternoon post-church. The huevos rancheros were incre-ible. I ordered them. Husband licked my plate clean after polishing off his burrito #2. Service good. Salsa yummy. Still smelled like cleaning products. While clean is good, I prefer to smell my tacos over the chemicals... If you can get over that....Best trick about this place is the lunch specials on a Sunday afternoon are about 5 bucks a plate and totally tasty. If you make the "mistake" like we did today of ordering the large house margaritas... you will pay $8 per person for your tub of tequila and spend the rest of the day attempting to sober up..... we have no regrets. We concluded that when you're a repressed white lutheran... it takes a handle of tequila before Jesus starts to make any sense at all. Amen El Loro. -
Review from K B.
Minneapolis, MN
7/10/2011
Two years ago, I would have given this place rave reviews, but the service and food have become increasingly lackluster. I have had to wait long periods of time for my bill during most of my visits, and sometimes I have had the wrong things put on my bill, and then had to wait for it to be removed.
If you do stop by, though, I suggest ordering off the a la carte menu. Not only will you shave a couple of bucks off the already-reasonable prices, you will avoid the whole "Oh my God I ate the whole thing" issue that comes so often after being served a huge plate full of beans, rice and enchiladas. The 32-ounce margaritas are also a great deal at about $8.
For better Mexican food in the area, I suggest El Toro or Teresa's. -
Review from kyle t.
4/28/2010 1 Check-in Here
Real Mexican food in the burbs, who would have guessed.
You know I ate here years ago and don't remember being thrilled by it. Well this time was different in a good way.
Lunch guest had the chicken fajitas and I had this Huervo con Chorizco dish. Eggs with Chorizco sausage and re-fried beans. Very good. The eggs were a little overdone but the sausage was great. Very tasty I'll say. -
Review from EriK N.
Minneapolis, MN
7/6/2008
*Disclaimer* this restaurant is situated in Crystal; do not be fooled by its misleading default Minneapolis address. This is one of the few places that offers some awesome Mexican in the NW 'burbs. You can blab on and on about authenticity, but I just want something tasty and full of heartburn causing agents.
This place is near the Crystal Shopping Center, a shopping center that this is just the older cousin of a crappy strip mall. The menu is packed with a lot of items. Those wanting authenticity, I can tell you every employee speak Spanish? The lunch specials are where it is at. If you choose to have dinner the prices are reasonable. I find the best thing to do is just order a combination place, pick a lucky number, or if some of the items sound familiar go with that.
GOOD:
* Very reasonable prices, especially specials
* Free Chips with two salsas, salsa roja and some behemoth ranch monster
* Always quick service
* Large Menu
BAD:
* Menu lacks some descriptions of items
* I can't bring myself to reciprocate "Amigo!"
* You might just fill up on the chips, dank crunch.
UGLY:
* Crystal Shopping Center.
Must try the Shrimp Chimichanga with your choice of beans or rice. Deep fried perfection every time. I usually burn my mouth because I cannot wait for it to cool down.
Must avoid asking for Tacos and a diet coke, boring.
Awesome Mexi in the NW Subs with the biggest criticism being, well, it's location. -
Review from Adam G.
Hopkins, MN
7/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
The waiter we had was horrible. I am usually very tolerant of bad service but this one even tops the worst service Don Pablo's can dish out. Wow.
It's kinda too bad, I had the fajitas and they were pretty decent. Others in my group thought otherwise about the food quality but I was happy. One of the orders was wrong as well but the rude waiter topped it all.
There are way too many other good Mexican food options out there to go here unless your very close -
Review from Nick C.
Hennepin, MN
8/3/2009
I never would have discovered this place if I hadn't moved to Crystal. Although its quite tasty...it does not really warrant driving a long distance to eat there. If you're right in the city, there are a handful of tasty Mexican spots that are equally good.
The one thing that sets this apart from most other Mexican places I have been to (and there is hardly a shortage) is the delicious, mysterious white sauce that accompanies the salsa and chips. I assume its cheese based, but I have no proof of this. Last time I visited I got buzzed off Dos XX and had a delicious, delicious platter for a reasonable price. I will be honest though, the service in this place sometimes straight up sucks. I have had to flag down the server to get the check on a few occasions. Oh, and avoid it Thursdays...they have a mariachi band that plays from 6-8 PM and they bounce from room to room. You're guaranteed to get an earful at some point during your dining experience. -
Review from Christy N.
Maple Grove, MN
2/7/2010
I was just here with some friends for dinner on a Friday night. We arrived at about 6:30 and were seated right away.
My friend asked the server what size margaritas were available and after listening to her he ordered both of us large Texas margaritas. She didn't bat an eye and went to get our drinks. She returned with two 60 ounce margaritas for the two of us. Seriously? This was annoying. If our table of 5 drank those two 60 ounce margaritas we would all end up wasted. We all felt she should've spoken up and said, "Hey, what's your alcohol tolerance? Do you want to vomit tonight?" Unfortunately, she didn't and we were only able to drink about 1/4 of each of them before we left.
Foolishly, my other friend asked the server for her advice on a few menu items and she kept suggesting platters for 2. She kept saying, "No, just for me, I'm not sharing my dinner..." but she kept it up. She's tiny, so we think the server was just trying to get our tab up.
The food was kind of gross. I had a combo plate with a chile releno and an enchilada. The beef enchilada was good but the chile releno was nasty. Two people at our table had them too and no one ate more than about 2 bites of it.
The chips and salsa were good and it was nice that they kept bringing them.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I love good Mexican and after reading the reviews on this place I had high hopes. I'll keep looking... -
Review from Marvin P.
Minneapolis, MN
This Is the closest to authentic Mexican I have found in the twin cities. I love this place. Great food. Fastest service anywhere I have ever seen. An excellent spot for a quick lunch. Dinner is fabulous as well from the 32+ oz. margarita to the great fajitas and free chips and salsa!
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Review from Eric H.
Robbinsdale, MN
11/2/2010
Cheap Eats.
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Review from Meg L.
Minneapolis, MN
12/30/2010 2 Check-ins Here
This is simply one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants. Good drink prices, good service. Con, when the restaurant is busy it can be loud. Food is as authentic as you will find in America, for Mexican food.
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Review from Lisa S.
Anoka, MN
11/1/2009
Fabulous: The Burritos Mexicanos is the best entree I've had at a mexican restaurant. We drive 20 miles to come and order this entree. It is a very cute place. Great chips, great service. ABSOLUTELY fabulous value. The fajitas are on the smaller side of what I would deem a normal entree (but I can eat a lot). The enchiladas verdes are great along with many others. Two people can walk out being totally satisfied with a bill under $20. Can't do that at many places anymore.
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Review from Jen B.
Minneapolis, MN
11/18/2008
I have a love/hate relationship with this place. Side note: El Ezteca, El Loro, El Toro, etc are all the same place, owned by the same people, with the same menu, and yes, the food tastes the same. It is a chain, it just doesn't appear to be. With that said, I have to say, well, it's ok. I know people who passionately love it, but I just think it's ok. The chips and salsa and that white sauce whatever it is, is really good, but everything else I have tried, I either didn't like, or just thought was ok. I am not a HUGE Mexican food fan, but I do enjoy it on occasion. What's great about this place is you get your food VERY fast, almost too fast! I would never NOT recommend the place, but I also wouldn't rave. The same with the others from this chain that I've tried: El Ezteca, El Toro..etc.
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Review from C W.
Minneapolis, MN
3/9/2009
I love this place, it has good authentic mexican. You have to be smart and try not to fill up on the chips and salsa, otherwise you will not be hungry for your food. Most days of the week, it is busy, so I would suggest getting there before 6pm. I would highly recommend this place.
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Review from Sara S.
Minneapolis, MN
1/20/2009
The Fajitas for two are the best fajitas I've had around town- the freshest meat and veggies and enough for 3 people. The chip dip is good, but doesn't compare to the white chip dip at Acapulco Restaurant.
