Little Tijuana Neighborhood Lounge — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember reading about this place. Please don't let the name and outward appearance deter you from dining here. This place has it all. I highly recommend this very unusual but very excellent restaurant!

Their cocktail program is the brainchild of Bennett Johnson, who used to be at Tattersalls and Hola Arepa. That should give you a very good idea how great the cocktails are here!

We started with what they called a wet martini, which was made with trakal (a Patagonian gin/brandy spirit), akvavit, quin quina Blanc, and orange bitters. The flavor profile on the herbal bitter side, but it is excellent. Very well balanced and interesting. We also ordered the hongo old fashioned that was described as cupresta mezcal, nopale syrup, and mushroom bitters. I find mezcal a bit too smokey for my palate, but my husband said it was very good. With these, we ordered the fried cauliflower small plate. This is anything but small, but it was delicious. Each cauliflower floret had a light crispy coating with tender cauliflower inside, and this huge pile was covered with Kewpie mayo, bulldog sauce, scallions, pickled ginger, and furikake and bonito flacks. This was absolutely delicious. Really, really good!

With our main course, I decided to try the sazarac thing...which is akvavit, epazote (presumably made into a syrup), and bitters. Very akvavit forward, but good. The Lil' Tea was also really good - essentially their riff on a Long Island Tea.

I had the most delicious meal...the scallion pancakes wrap. It is the very most delicious marinated and then grilled beef inside a pita, with egg, hoisin sauce, mayo, bean sprouts, pho herbs, and cucumber. It was fabulous. I cannot recommend it more strongly. The chopped cheese sandwich was essentially a deconstructed cheeseburger. It was good, as were the crispy waffle fries. Each of these was only $13 and $11 respectively. The prices are great!

It is not surprising the food is delicious. Chef Dan Manosack cooked at Petite Leon before opening this place. And Petite Leon is fabulous!

The entire place has a funky, colorful vibe. The walls are hand painted, the bathroom is awash in red, and there are light strings everywhere. The staff were really helpful and fun! Why aren't there lines down the street for this place? I do have to admit we were there early.

You can sit on the booth side, to the left when you enter, or on the bar side. Menus are the same. No reservations.

There is easy free street parking. Address: 17 E. 26th Street...

Great vibes, great food - will come again! I have been wanting to try this spot, and I ended up stopping by today to celebrate officially closing on my new house. I had a feeling Little Tijuana would have the right energy for a celebratory mood, and I was absolutely right.

The decor is fun. The music is bumping. The lighting is low. A perfectly curated ambiance… and a great bar choice for people looking for something low-key with NA options.

We were a party of four. Three of us ordered absolutely delightful mocktails, and one of us ordered some sort of smokey drink with mezcal. All four drinks were perfection. We appreciated that each one came with a different type of ice to fit the type of drink. A nice touch.

The food was excellent too. I ordered a double (impossible) cheeseburger with waffle fries. It was cooked perfectly and so satisfying. The toppings were great too, but I wish there were more of them.

I tried a bite of my partner’s mushroom scallion pancake, and it was scrumptious. My mom and sister ordered the chopped cheese sandwich and St. Paul Sando respectively. They were both very satisfied. The portions were quite large for the price, which we really appreciated.

This is not typical bar food. This food is delicious! Can’t wait to...

I dont understand the menu. This place while it looks really well done in comparison to the old looks…. They kept the name and destroyed the menu. Its Little Tijuana not Little America. Its all burgers, pasts, and fries. I was excited to see they reopened. The atmosphere and everything was great dont get me wrong. But the food makes no sense and the decor is still…. America? Why keep the name? I dont understand. I really really dont understand what any of it has to do with Tijuana. Little T’s has a long legacy. My mom went there all the time when she was young and our family made it a point to stop out every year for a family get together. While I can understand refreshing the looks… i dont think I can ever understand riding on the coat tails of this restaurant without even paying homage to it. Throw some tacos on your menu or enchiladas, even quesadillas. Also the sunbutt on the menu/logo is just weird. I was very confused especially because when you think Tijuana you think mexico, which would lead to food you would find that originated in...