La Mini Birrieria — Restaurant in Sacramento

I've been here three times. They pop up around the Sacramento area, usually on weekends.

Best birria/ quesabirria I've ever had. hands down. A lot of depth of flavor. You could tell they put love into it instead of salt and cheese like other birria places.

Delicious, consistent, supporting a local small business. An easy choice for the weekend

Update 3/16/23, almost 2 years since I first ate here.

Since I last visited they have their own permanent storefront now so I was wondering if the authentic flavor had changed.

Nah, food was just as amazing as I remembered.

Flavor: 10/10 birria, since my first review I've tried other places in Sacramento/Manteca/Stockton and none of them have stacked up to the depth of flavor that La Mini has.

Texture: 10/10. I got a quesabirria and the tortilla had a perfect slight crisp to it. The soft crunch of the onions combined with the cheese that stayed melty the whole 20+ minutes I was savoring it and OH LORD I'm salivating writing this.

Portion: 10/10 for $12 these days nothing fills me up but I was full with just the quesabirria. Consome I had to pack home because I was stuffed.

Sides: Salsa Verde 6.5/10: nothing special, got the job done if you want salsa verde.

Chipotle sauce 8.5/10: was more acidic than other chipotle sauces which I liked. I also liked the subtle-yet-growing amount of spice it had. Points knocked off because the depth of pepper flavor was just good.

Consome 9/10: better than I remember, not just a salt bomb like most places with consome. Great umami flavor to dip...

I had a terrible customer service experience at this restaurant. I was just trying to pick up dinner for my family on my way home from work. I ordered 2 birria nachos and asked if I could order just the birria meat by itself for my young son. I clarified to them a few times that I just wanted the birria meat. It came up as a bowl on the screen so I asked one more time this will just come with the birria meat correct? And the person who took my order said yes. When I got the order I looked and saw that it was the birria meat when a bunch of topping on it. I went back to the counter and said I just asked for the birria meat by itself. The person who took my order apologized and said oh I’m sorry I didn’t know you meant without the toppings. I replied yes I just wanted the meat. She walked back to the window connecting the kitchen and talked to the ladies back there. Then came back and said that they would not take the order back. Taken back and confused I asked what? You guys are refusing to fix the order? My son cannot have the toppings. She said again that they won’t take it back. So I asked again, you guys won’t correct this to give me what I actually ordered even though it was your mistake? And she said yes. I understand that it wasn’t something that was explicitly on their menu but I had ordered the same item, birria meat by itself, twice before without issue. Never in my life have I had such uncompassionate, terrible customer service. I will not...

Birria and homemade tortillas — good enough?

La Mini Birrieria serves one of my favorite Mexican dishes, birria, and while I’m a big fan of the dish itself, I can’t say this spot is worth going out of my way for. That said, it’s still worth trying for your own experience and enjoyment.

The food here feels borderline overpriced, but to be fair, prices are up everywhere lately. The birria was just OK — not bad, but not especially memorable. What does help elevate the experience are the salsas and the homemade tortillas, which add a bit of that comforting, homemade touch, though still not quite enough to make it stand out.

The red salsa was a highlight — flavorful and well-balanced. The green salsa, on the other hand, was just average. Now, the homemade tortillas - Delicious. Easily one of the best parts of the meal.

I also tried the strawberries and cream. The cream itself was good, but unfortunately, the strawberries were sour and really dragged down the dessert. A new produce vendor might be a good idea. The coconut and the granola topping made it better.

The music playing in the background was a nice touch, but the single speaker setup doesn’t do it justice. Investing in ceiling speakers could help create a more comfortable atmosphere for diners.

This is not a full service restaurant, you must order at front, then go find a table,...