El Nopalito Restaurant

Maybe it’s me but the chips taste like they have chile in them. They are fantastic, authentic Mexican chips! The burritos are great too (I ordered carne asada), not Northern California style (wrapped in paper, not a tight wrap??? why does So. Cal do that?), but they do taste fantastic and the restaurant is a cute, family owned restaurant. Good for families or to watch a game (they have 3 tv’s), casual and comfortable.

The carnitas family meals are the best!
Everything on the menu is sooooo tasty & reasonably-​priced, too. Ambiance is not the greatest, but you can’t beat this place for to-​go food.

This is just a preliminary review. Went in on the recommendation of a friend. Bought only the tortillas and fresh made tamales. The guy behind the counter was way cool. The tortillas were very good and were the same as the restaurants use (large and very easy to manipulate without pre-​steaming). I got the pork tamales (although they had made masa, pork, chicken, and beef)…nothing to write home about. Think I’ll stick with the traditional beef next time. I was also told that during the Christmas season they also make sweet tamales (masa, pineapple & raisin). The salsa selection in the fridge (pre-​packaged) looked really good and was about $ 3.75. I found the place pretty clean.
Will write an updated review in the near future.

I love this place! We have food catered from them at all our parties. Roasted salsa, out of the world. However, today I was saddened by what I was served. My son and I are on a mission to find the best carne asada fries in San Diego. I had such high hopes for my go to cater. The fries were smothered in liquid cheese, much like the nacho cheese from 7 – 11. The amount of meat was seriously lacking. Would have gotten more had I ordered a CA burrito. The only two good things were the amount of their amazing guacamole they gave and their equally as amazing roasted salsa.

I ordered a bunch of tamales for a party and they were just awful. I had numerous people at work tell me that this was the place to find the best tamale and we drove very far to pick them up. They were VERY dry and there was very little filing. I didn’t try the beans but the rice was also dry. The salsas were whatever. No one finished their food and no one went back for second. We have to suffer finishing the rest of them. They’re horrible. Never sending anyone there.

I guess you can say it’s really like being in Mexico. Tastes good, but doesn’t FEEL very good later. Nope. Not ever going back.

This place has the real deal Birria, and their tamales in mole sauce are the perfect post-​surf snack. This is authentic Mexican and delicious!

So, the husband wanted Rita’s Italian ice for lunch, and I overruled the decision. Instead we ate at El Nopalito restaurant… Nothing fancy, but the food is delicious! Watching soccer on the tv’s, having tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and fantastic tortilla chips — a great Saturday lunch in Encinitas. Heading over to Rita’s Italian ice next.

This place has been a favorite of mine for a while. It’s not brilliant by any long stretch, but it’s reliably tasty and has a great range of Mexican food from Carne Asada to Chile Verde to fresh Chicharron. It’s everything I ate when I skipped over to my grandfather’s house as a kid and that is always great to have. The chips are cooked fresh, they have numerous trays with food they pile high on combination plates, and their guacamole is chunky and salty, no sourness at all.
So, I’m a fan. I think it’s four stars, but I write these things for the fish burrito, so how was that?
Not the best, sadly to admit. It still ranks up there above average, but falls in line behind Robertos and Cotixan. The fish is well battered and fried nicely, it was warm and moist. But the cream sauce was lacking in both cool creaminess and in quantity as only the first few bites of my burrito were graced with it. The slaw was clean, only cabbage for that nice crunch that doesn’t mix in any extraneous flavors or textures. All in all, a good choice off the menu, but not worth going out of your way for.
Everything else here is worthwhile, however. The Cabesa tacos are great, salty and rich, they crisp up the Carnitas when asked, and their salsa bar is always full and maintained. About my only complaint is that they don’t have cook Tripas; but, that is to be expected as barely any places cook it regularly. Regardless, I do come here often, if only to grab a small bag of chicharrones and guac to take home. And they have a market next door with everything you need to take home the good stuff and make it yourself.

El Nopalito is a great casual Mexican restaurant. It’s nothing fancy but the kitchen turns out delicious versions of the standards. I especially like their carne asada dishes. Both the carne asada burrito and plate are generous servings of well seasoned meat. If its earlier in the day, they do a great breakfast burrito also.
The staff is friendly and helpful. I also like that much of the clientele are locals from the latino community. I tend to think its a good sign when folks who know a cuisine actually eat at a restaurant.
The restaurant is associated with the nearby El Nopalito store and carries some of their excellent food products. You can take home fresh tortillas, chips, salsa and guacamole right from the restaurant. It’s worth getting some supplies to go.

What a dump. My nachos were nacho cheese poured on chips. The place was filthy and the salsa station was wrecked. Me and my wife will not be going back. How do you get away with making nachos with nacho sauce outside of a baseball game??? AND YOU ARE AN AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANT!

We were scared at first because they had a buffet that looked like it had been sitting around since WW2. We ordered Tacos and Taquitos. They were actually delicious. Great service. An overall good experience.

I tried to check into El Nopaloto restaurant and realized that it was not listed. There are two El Nopolitos in the same parking lot so it is kind of confusing.
You can usually tell a good restaurant by the crowds, and that is the case here! You may have to wait 5 minutes to place an order, it is totally worth it. The traditional Mexican offerings are quality delicious treats. The salsa bar is a nice way to test out some different varieties of salsas. I am a fan of the roasted pepper and tomato but they have a nice variety including fresca, verde, chipotle and of course guacamole. They also will sell you all kinds of Mole, tamales and enchilada sauces here.
On weekdays they offer beef and chicken soup and on weekends they change that to consome, menudo and Pozole. I usually order some shrimp in a ranchero sauce. Their shrimp cocktails was the best one that I have ever eaten. It was slightly sweet yet balanced with a touch of heat and a whole lot of flavor. I don’t know if I will ever be able to eat here without picking some up.
Whatever you end up with will be a treat. yum.