Boca Chica Restaurant

So very, very bad. Such a disappointment as we were new to the hood when we tried it and excited about it. All very bland and frankly looked like they just slopped it on the plate. Very Americanized Mexican food. Yuck.

I have been hearing about this place for years. And my first trip was everything it was described to be. Wonderful food, great service, décor is perfect. It’s clean it’s bright, and I’m sitting here craving their food right now. Not Tex-​Mex food, not fusion/​designer food, just really good food. My next trip there will be for the lunch buffet.

This is a Mexican-​American restaurant, not Mexican. The taste is bland. On the plus side, service is Excellent.

You know when you go to an ethnic restaurant but the clientele’s ethnicity is totally different than the restaurant’s? This is the case at Boca Chica, which is good indication of what is to come. Do not let the «barrio» location in Cesar Chavez St. fool you, as this place caters mostly to non-​Hispanics and as such the food is sub-​par at best. High (low?)lights:
Let’s start with the location itself — nicely decorated and very large, which is usually an indication that they focus more on looks than on food.
The salsa was surprisingly spicy, had a very good kick to it, however a couple of friends and I all agreed that it was pretty bland and lacking on taste. The chips were extremely salty.
I ordered a michelada with lime and was surprised when I asked for Valentina and the waiter said they had it. OK I was starting to believe in this place. Not so fast, the Michelada arrived and wah wah wahhhhh … I think the lime juice was from concentrate as opposed to actual lime juice — in short, not what a Michelada is supposed to taste like. I reluctantly finished it as I am a firm believer in not wasting any alcohol.
I ordered the chorizo con queso and rajas and while at first it tasted good, like the salsa, it was bland and overly salted. My mom ordered the sopes (which they forgot to bring for a very very long time) and they were actually OK.
Service was decent, our waiter tried hard but seemed a bit inexperienced. Funny, he asked if we were ready for dessert but we were all so disappointed by the experience that one of my friends barely let him finished when she yelled: «NO!» I LOL’ed, asked for the check, and left this place in my rear view mirror forever. If you are looking for real Mexican food, go somewhere else (Maya or La Hacienda would be my recommendation)

My coworkers and I stopped in here for lunch one day and it was a really nice experience. Great customer service, nice lunch menu (but they also had a good buffet option), good atmosphere, and very reasonable priced. We really enjoyed it.

Stopped in for drinks and dinner/​appetizers at this well known close to home spot. We have been there many times and could not have had worse service. Chips arrived sometime before we decided to give up and go home. Orders taken, hors d’oeveres arrived and we were nearly dying of thirst when drinks showed up. So much so that the wait person commented, I bet you were getting thirsty. Order 2^nd drinks almost came too late for the two of the three of us who wanted one last margarita. UGH!

Sick lunch buffet! The fried tacos are delicious. The pork dishes on the buffet are also delicious. The atmosphere is very filled with sunlight and the crowd is always of a mixed cross-​section of society.

Been here multiple times – the last couple of times we sat on the patio, which is quite nice.
The service is friendly, the drinks are strong, and the food is good. What more can you ask for from a St. Paul staple…

If you want real Mexican, look elsewhere. There are tons of great authentic options in a five mile radius of this place. If you’re looking for good Americanized Mexican food, this is your place. As in, this is my white, St. Paul born-​and-​bred grandparents’ favorite Mexican place, where they can’t even handle the standard salsa given out. That said, I don’t mind going here with family or for business lunches. Chips are free and tasty (very critical to me). I prefer the tacos tradicionales, but that’s my personal taco preferences coming through. They’ve got all the American standards here, and they’re all decent enough.

This is a perfect spot when you get a craving for tacos. The chicken fajita taco, either on for or flour taco, is amazing. We went last night and I woke up this morning thinking about it. Really chill environment. Very short trip over the wabasha bridge is very worth it.

Family style restaurant love the platters on their menu portions are generous and Jen is an awesome waitress!

Horrible service. Too much to write.
Wouldn’t go back if we could eat and drink for free.

One of the best things is that this place has its own parking lot. The food is fine. I’m a little particular about Mexican food, but the fare was standard and decent. The service was slow, but it wasn’t awful. It was the drinks from the bar that took the longest time. Just don’t be in a hurry.

*Brunch Buffet Review*
I have a thing for brunch and brunch BUFFET — even better :-)
I was excited to give Boca Chica a shot, after chatting with mutual friend; who gave it a big two thumbs up.
After a late Saturday night, I dragged myself out of bed for a 10am start to Sunday brunch. I don’t know why I agreed to that time, but I did, what can you do? Upon arriving at Boca, which is in St Paul (off Cesar Chavez), you’ll find plenty of private lot parking (and some free street parking, win!). We were a handful for groups to arrive right at the start (10am open). Right when I walked in, I felt a 90’s flash back from Chi-Chi’s; remember that place?! Despite the interior appearing to be ‘dated’, it was fitting for the joint. We were quickly seated steps away from the buffet… a major win in my book.
For $ 15, brunch buffet comes with coffee or juice (darn…no adult bevs?!) and a wide selection of Mexican/​American fare. Starting from the beginning of the food line, there are your typical brunch items (i.e. eggs, sausage) and then the more Hispanic food items… including beef hock, stuffed chili peppers, sweets and plenty of fixings for fajitas. I can’t forget to mention the ‘make your own omelet/​egg scramble’ bar. As for the overall food experience, it wasn’t bad, but not a «WOW» — Hispanic fare was bar none better than the Americanized items — solid flavors, fresh, tasty and not skimpy on selection.
So here it is…
*Food — it’s alright, Hispanic fare is hands-​down better.
*Service — excellent :-)
*Location — not bad, quick spin to St Paul.
If you want a traditional American-​style brunch, this is not the place for you… want to try something new, give it a shot!

This restaurant was a shot in the dark for us. It seems like it’s going to be a sketchy area, but it’s good.
I think the best thing for us though was that on a Saturday night at 7:30, we were able to get our food in like 20 mins or less.
It was insanely fast and filling. There were lots of menu items to choose from and all reasonably priced.
The ambience isn’t exactly desirable, but whatever they fed us when we were hangry.

I was super stoked to have some Mexican food — a rare thing for me, and decided to go to Boca Chica on the recommendation of one of my neighbors who I thought ought to know good Mexican food. It was hit or miss.
The restaurant itself has obviously been there for awhile — it oozed that vibe of a really well-​established popular place. On this particular evening, they were absolutely slammed and had to seat us in the «back room» that I gathered was not often used. I wouldn’t have known except they made a big production out of apologizing for seating us there. It was honestly fine.
Our waitress was a bit… stressed. She seemed harried, was not particularly friendly and went too long between visits to our table. However, our service was generally OK, and I cut her some slack since the place was absolutely hopping. She tried her best, and I did appreciate it.
We started with cocktails. I made an error I think in ordering the Mango-​jito. It seemed like a good idea. But the beverage that arrived at the table was sickly sweet, not really mixed at all (all the mango was at the bottom and the liquor at the top) and really not very tasty. There was too much booze and the mango purée was so sweet that I almost sent it back. I ended up watering it down dramatically and choked it down. My hubby’s regular margarita was much better, and I ordered one of those after. It was definitely an improvement, but very strong and not mixed well again.
The chips and salsa that were kept refilled on our table were delightful. There was both a mild salsa and a hot salsa, which our spice-​loving friends declared to be REALLY spicy. Word to the wise.
Food-​wise, I went with the pick two and thought I played it pretty safe. I ordered a bean tostada and a cheese enchilada. The best things on my plate were the refried beans (delicious!) and the mole sauce on the enchilada. The enchilada itself was pretty greasy and unremarkable. The tostada was ok but just covered with shredded lettuce and diced tomato. Pretty standard stuff.
Meal cost us more than $ 50 — but we did order four cocktails, so there’s that. We did receive a genuine thank you on our way out the door, which is always appreciated. Private parking lot a plus.

I was not overly impressed by the food. I ordered the queso fundido and the Tacos Monterrey. The fundido was extremely salty and horrible for dipping. I usually find queso fundido to be a standard queso with chorizo mixed in. This was melted cheese that had cooled and become one big glob. Want it on a chip? Get a fork because the glob will far exceed the will of the chip.
The tacos were decent. They far surpassed the fundido, but they were lacking in flavor. I contribute some of this to the extreme saltiness of the fundido, thus masking some of the flavor. They were of decent size and contained a decent amount of ingredients. Not too little, not too much.
I’m not sure I’ll eat here again. At least not in the near future.

OK, so I’ll preface this by saying that as an amateur foodie, I’m not a huge Mexican food fan. I don’t love TexMex, but was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked Boca Chica. Previously, I had tried the unnamed Mexican restaurant down the the street (located in a grocery store) and was disappointed. But my husband was craving it, so off we went…
Overall, loved the ambiance. Great outdoor seating area on a nice day. Spacious inside that had good ambiance. Our waitress was awesome — had spot on recommendations and was really friendly/​courteous (despite having to wait on a HUGE table of 25+ people next to us).
First, free warm chips with hot salsa (really hot!). The mole chicken was incredible — super tender, well seasoned, and definitely two thumbs up. The soup that came out is like Campbell’s soup with noodles, but I actually really enjoyed it. Simple and felt authentic.
Overall, I would definitely go back to this place. Best Mexican restaurant that I’ve found in Minnesota so far!

Best place for Mexican food. Everything on the menu is tasty. The buffet always has good foods. I cannot complain at all about this place.
The service is also great. Never once had an issue.
Best margaritas, I think.
The buffet though starts at 11 to 1 p.m.

I like the weekday lunch buffet here. It’s $ 9 – 10 and offers 4 – 5 entrees. There’s also soup, salad and a couple of desserts.
The tacos are fried and served in tortilla shells, and I highly recommend them.
Ambiance is what you would expect from a typical Mexican restaurant.