TacosNearYou

Lake Street, the West Side, and the Mercado Counter

Minnesota's Mexican community centres on two corridors — Minneapolis's Lake Street and St. Paul's West Side — where mercados and taquerias have anchored the local economy since the 1990s.

Minnesota: 563 taco venues on record across 160 cities, 108 dedicated taquerias, trucks and stands, 65% independent.

Minnesota city by city

Minneapolis and St. Paul hold most of the independents; Worthington and Austin have communities built around meatpacking work.

Showing the 30 busiest of 160 Minnesota cities on record.

What Minnesota does differently

Mercado counters, where the taqueria shares a roof with a butcher and a bakery.

Styles with venues documented in Minnesota, most-recorded first:

Minnesota is independent country

Minnesota is independent-leaning — 65% of the venues on record are not part of a national chain, which is high by national standards.

Taco shop 455Taqueria 98Truck 8Birrieria 2
  • 65% independent (365 of 563)
  • 55% close at 11pm or later (42 of the 76 with hours on record)
  • 51 have a drive-through
  • 5 are tagged vegetarian- or vegan-friendly
  • 16 have outdoor seating

The 20 highest-ranked taco spots in Minnesota

Ranked by how taco-focused each place is and how complete its listing is, not by who paid. How we rank.

  1. 1Adelita's TaqueriaTaqueria · 301 S Rum River Dr.See hoursCallDirections
  2. 2Pancho’s Taqueria and Mexican CafeTaqueria · 4115 Woodland RoadSee hoursCallDirections
  3. 3Taco N Madre Taquería y CevicheríaTaqueria · 63 Winifred St WSee hoursCallDirections
  4. 4Valerie's TaqueriaTaqueria · 30 East 32nd StreetSee hoursCallDirections
  5. 5Taqueria El GuerritoTaqueria · 1605 1st Street SouthSee hoursCallDirections
  6. 6Taqueria El PatrónTaqueria · 4953 Xerxes Avenue SouthSee hoursDirections
  7. 723 TacosTaco shop · 303 Bush StSee hoursCallDirections
  8. 8Chili LimeTaco shop · 12490 Champlin DriveSee hoursCallDirections
  9. 9El Camino Gourmet TacosTaco shop · 2 locationsSee hoursCallDirections
  10. 10El Super TacoTaco shop · 3 locationsSee hoursCallDirections
  11. 11El Taco RealTaco shop · 2208 W 66th StSee hoursCallDirections
  12. 12El Taco RiendoTaco shop · 2414 Northeast Central AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  13. 13Giliberto's Mexican TacoTaco shop · 2331 108th Lane NortheastSee hoursCallDirections
  14. 14Habanero Tacos Grill & BarTaco shop · 80 Snelling AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  15. 15Hungry Hippie TacosTaco shop · 2 locationsSee hoursCallDirections
  16. 16La Bodega Taco BarTaco shop · 2 locationsSee hoursCallDirections
  17. 17Mi MexicanaTaco shop · 538 North Broadway AvenueSee hoursCallDirections
  18. 18Nico's Taco and Tequila BarTaco shop · 2516 Hennepin Avenue SouthSee hoursCallDirections
  19. 19Northfield TacosTaco shop · 109 Water Street NorthSee hoursCallDirections
  20. 20Pineda TacosTaco shop · 3 locationsSee hoursCallDirections

Tacos in Minnesota: common questions

Which Minnesota city has the most taco spots?

Minneapolis leads Minnesota with 75 venues on record, followed by Saint Paul and Rochester. That is a count of places, not a quality ranking — the ranked list above orders by taco focus.

Are most tacos in Minnesota from chains or independents?

35% of the 563 Minnesota venues on record belong to a national chain, leaving 365 independents. 108 of them are dedicated taquerias, trucks, stands or birrierías.

Where can I get tacos late at night in Minnesota?

Of the 76 Minnesota venues with opening hours on record, 42 (55%) close at 11pm or later. Hours change often, so check the individual listing before driving over.

What kind of tacos is Minnesota known for?

Mercado counters, where the taqueria shares a roof with a butcher and a bakery.

Which taco styles are documented in Minnesota?

Sonoran-Style (2). These are counts of venues where the style is on record, so they undercount rather than overcount.

Last updated September 29, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.