Tres Bandidos — Restaurant in Saint Paul

This place is awesome and affordable if you want quick great tasting relatively authentic Mexican food.

It can be overwhelming the first time because of all of the options.

I'll share my overall take on what they offer and how it stands out to competition and then my rating on the items I have tried so far.

First,

I've been a huge fan of chipotle for over a decade so I'll compare a lot going forward.

Tres Bandidos is a fast casual restaurant serving Mexican food. You go from left to right choosing/building your meal.

They have diverse entree, meat, and sides/toppings. As a child on Mexican immigrants, I would say that their options are much more authentic in look and taste than Chipotle.

Entrees include Tamales and Tortas(sandwich) on top of classics like burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Most of these options being 9.99 regardless of meat choice. Tacos and tamales are 2.99 each which is a GREAT price when compared to authentic restaurants.

Meats include Asada, Chicken, Carnitas, and more. Pretty much same as Chipotle.

Toppings include MUCH better salsas than that of Chipotle. The spiciest option is VERY spicy but has so much flavor, would recommend on the side. Toppings also include options like chopped cilantro, mexican onion, elote, jalapeño, and mayo on top of what you can imagine at chipotle.

Huge for me: You don't have to ask if they have limes, they do and they are visible option to choose from!

Here's what I've tried and it's rating:

The classic street taco - asada with cilantro, onion, spiciest salsa and lime: 9/10

Steak has a smokey flavor to it that I quite enjoyed. Got a lot of the salsa on the taco so it was painful and messy but the flavor was worth it. Amazing for the price.

Burrito: Asada with rice, beans, cilantro, onion, sour cream, medium salsa, lettuce, cheese, lime, and fajitas: 8/10

Standard burrito experience - not the best or worse I've had from fast casual Mexican. Felt very fair for the price.

Torta (sandwich) with cheese and asada - toasted - added rice, beans, mayo, cilantro, onion, lettuce, lime, and guac for .99 extra: 9/10

Maybe the fact that it's toasted and/or the addition of guac but this meal felt so satisfying. Sandwich bread breaks apart kinda easily.

Would highly recommend, especially if you...

Tres Bandidos is a new fast casual spot on Snelling Ave just south of Shelby Ave, next door the Dunkin Donuts.

The folks working tonight were a mix of owners and staff. They were all super friendly and helpful. They offer a variety of options as to how to get the food to your face, for example - Quesadilla, 2 styles of Tacos, Burritos, Bowls, Plates or Sandwiches. They also have a selection of proteins to choose from - 3 preparations eqch of beef, pork and chicken. Variety is the name of the game!

I chose the sandwich, torta, with Birria beef. The bread was brushed with garlic butter, the beef and cheese and then toasted. Next came the choice of toppings. Again lots of options. I chose guacamole for $.99 up charge, cilantro, onions, sour cream and mild salsa. The result was a sandwich as big as my head. Thankfully an offer to slice it in halves was made.

In addition to the sandwich I ordered a med fountain drink and a piece of Tres Leches cake.

I ate in at one of the 5-6 small tables. The flavors were a bit mild and mellow. The whole combo was a bit too one texture for my liking and generous in size so there was a lot of it. Perhaps next time I will choose a burrito, quesadilla or tacos. I would also consider adding some fajita veggies and some pico de gallo.

I tried the Tres Leches, again a generous portion was served. This version came with a generous whipped topping with sprinkles and a cherry on top. The flavor was good, nice moisture level too. I found the topping a bit too heavy and tried some bites with the topping and that I found more to my liking.

Final thoughts - I will try this spot again with a different option like a burrito, with a protein with a bit more texture. I’d likely skip the soda as it seems a bit pricey at $3.99 for a medium glass, refills are free but perhaps $2.49 might be easier to swallow. The restaurant is clean, easy to follow the system and super nice staff. I’d suggest giving them a shot and welcome them to the...

I rarely leave reviews, but when you stop by a shop for the first time in the neighborhood, and the staff is that friendly and the food so delicious, they deserve the shout out. My son and I both had the pastor, he a taco and I had the tortas. My kid got an extra one to go and asked when we were going back already. I love nothing more than a good tortas, and it absolutely satisfied my craving. I just let the most helpful gentleman pick my toppings and it was spot on.

I don’t want to spend too much time knocking the fast casual big chain spots nearby that serve similar foods, but my experiences there have been so poor recently in terms of cleanliness, quality, and service that the experience at Tres Bandidos was like night and day. It would stand alone without the comparison, but it’s noteworthy given the long lines elsewhere for a vastly inferior product.

Go support this place and welcome them to the neighborhood as generously as they welcomed me...