Nico's Taco and Tequila Bar

Have visted the location in St. Paul often, but after driving by a few weeks ago and seeing all the holiday decor, decided to bop in with some friends to enjoy a post-holiday meal.The holiday decor was super fun. Each room had a different color theme going on.Service was friendly. The music playing was so loud we couldn't hear our server, so we asked for it to be turned down. They obliged quickly, which was nice.Food is good. I like that they have several options for fillings of all your favorite Mexican fare. I got tinga enchiladas this past go-round and was not disappointed. Only let down is I always ask for no beans and they always seem to make it on my plate. Only downfall here is that they are put together in a bowl, so a little more difficult to just separate them. They also had some fun holiday cocktails when we visited.Would recommend a stop here in Uptown!

While I've rated this a 4 star, I wish to point out it's actually 3.5 stars. There were a few good hits but some bad misses too here.We are in town for 2 nights and wanted to check this place out so got here. FANTASTIC vibe (even though, last night it wasn't super crowded which is great but it was probably because it was a cold night).We ordered a bunch of different things.Let's get the good out of the way first. The Enchilada Rojo was FANTASTIC. It had a great robust flavor (could be more robust though) and a great portion overall. What could be done way better is one of two things:This came where the tortilla was laid flat on the plate and then the insides of an enchilada were on top. Due to the heat, the tortilla got stuck to the plate which is not user friendly to eat at all. I think with the amount of sauce (lack of), this could have been served up rolled.OR, they could have put in a lot more sauce to prevent the tortilla from sticking so badly to the plate. Since the rice is made in chicken broth, my wife couldn't eat that but the beans were vegetarian. I got some rice and stole some beans from my wife. This was SO DAMN GOOD. It was simple, fresh and full of flavor. Honestly, this was the best part of the entire meal.We started with the Pico De Gallo Uruapan. While on the menu, it does not mention lime/lemon as part of this, I did miss the slight sourness of the fruit. What I did find disappointing about this was the chips to pico de gallo proportion. The pico de gallo portion was in a tiny bowl and the chips we got was enough for at least 2.5 times the portion of the pico de gallo we got. My wife said that Americans eat more chips so it made sense. So while I may be wrong, $13 for that was at least 40% more pricy than it should have been in my opinion.I got the shrimp and scallop taco and a pastor taco. Sadly, both were very underwhelming. Nothing special about them at all other than the fact that the shrimp and scallop were beautifully cooked (I mean to get it as correct as they did here requires exceptional skills). However flavor wise, they fell way flat. The shrimp and scallop seemed like they were not seasoned at all. The rest of the ingredients too just lacked flavor. While the Pastor was a bit better, it still did not have the 'umph' you find in a good pastor. Service was not bad, not the best. We had to wait a bit while they were not terribly busy which was ok. Staff however was very friendly.Overall for me, this was a one and done deal. I wish them luck. I think they need to rework the flavor portion of their meals

We went for the holiday bar and had a wonderful time!First, parking - the area right in front of Nico's turns into a bus land during certain hours. They have a tiny parking area on the side of the building. I had no problem finding a spot just around the block (just watch for snow emergencies!). The bar was sooooo cute. I loved all the decorations and the music. We sat on the second floor and I loved how spaced out the seating was. I had a festive cocktail drink- it was priced right and tasted great! I ordered the Flautas Verdes with Carnitas and it was so flavorful and fresh. I loveddddd the verde sauce, which has a nice kick of spice.

What a fun festive spot with delicious food! As seen on instagram, we came here for the seasonal decor and festive cocktails and Nico's didn't disappoint! The entire inside and outside was decked out for Christmas, as well as the music, and cocktails! We started with a Mistletoe Mama margarita, which was a strawberry basil margarita, served in a cutie gingerbread lady mug. 10/10 for taste, 15/10 for cuteness! The birria tacos were top notch! I've never had lamb birria before, but if you're looking to branch out of the box, these are a must try! I added a side of rice which was also delicious, fluffy and not dry! We also had a beef quesadilla, which was loaded with meat, cheese and veggies. The portions are a great size to share or have leftovers for later! If you're looking for a great taco spot year round, or a fun festive putting between Christmas parties, Nico's is your place! Cant wait to come back for more!

Nico's Taco bar is amazing and set up beautifully! I came here for the holiday bar and was not disappointed. There is lots of street parking and even before stepping in you can see all of the holiday decor! We were worried about having our reservation at 930 since they close at 10, however at this time it was still super packed. We were seated quickly and the staff were kind enough to fix our wobbly table without us asking! Super considerate. We had our orders taken quickly even as the place was busy. They brought our drinks back to us within 5 minutes too!I had the 'Home alone on Hennepin' and my friend ordered the 'Dirty snowball'. First of all I loved how creative the holiday drink menu was!! It was hard to decide what to order but both drinks were great although they were pretty strong. We did not feel rushed out even as they were closing and out waiter was attentive and quick, even the other staff were consistently checking on everyone. I'd for sure recommend coming to Nico's and trying the food and drinks! There is plenty of seating and it's a quirky place to have a meal with friends :)

This place has a very cute ambience for the holiday holidays. I went on a weekday night and there was still a wait time and the place was absolutely packed. there was a wait time, but the service was attentive.we had three of the holiday drinks and they were all very tasty. I ordered a burrito however, and it was just OK. I ordered a vegetarian one and felt that the beans and rice lacked some seasoning. For a Mexican place overall I feel the food could be better. I would give this place 3.5 stars if that was an option.

Went here on a weekday night. It was pretty packed. I've been before in the warmer months & have sat inside & outside but never upstairs. We were told on the main level that they were only seating people who had reservations but we could try upstairs. Upstairs is mostly a bar area. Also packed but they had a patio that they closed in & had a "heater". We ended up only finding a table on the upstairs patio. It was a bit cold. The heater was set to 70, would come on every 20 minutes or so & blow cold air for about 5 minutes making it a bit colder. Service was pretty slow but we knew they were busy. We often felt like they forgot about us on the patio. We ordered a round of drinks & food. I ordered nachos w/ chicken. They were okay. Definitely too much chips not enough toppings. I'd probably stick to tacos. They forgot a part of my moms order and when they came back way later too check she was already almost done with her food & reminded them. They did comp it for her. The drinks were from a holiday specialty menu & came in cute cups. They were okay tasting. We all ordered different drinks but they all kind of tasted the same. Prices are a bit spendy. The staff were generally nice. The place was very decorated for the holidays & I loved that.

I love this place. It's so beautiful how they have it decorated for Christmas. The food is great and the staff is friendly and the Christmas drinks were delicious. I've checked out a few Christmas bars recently and this place has it down Pat. I would definitely recommend this place I set up at the bar with a friend and we got a couple seats and it was great. There's street parking right in the front and there's usually a spot

We went for the Christmas vibes which they definitely went all out on the Christmas decorations. The drinks weren't Christmas drinks but in Christmas mugs. The margaritas were good. I had 2 kind of tacos. Chipotle Cameron was super delicious, the mixed mushroom one tasted like only mushrooms and nothing else so prob wouldn't get that one again.

Visited for the holiday pop up and had a good time! I was upset to hear that they had run out of queso at 5:30pm on a Monday night and that I ordered a holiday mocktail but those don't come in the fun holiday glasses like the margaritas do. However, chips and pico was good and I got a steak quesadilla to go which was delicious. Once it hit 6:30 they turned the music on and while it was fun the music was quite loud which made it hard to visit. So, if you want to visit stop in before then! Nico's is definitely a place I plan to return to.