El Nopal

If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know that: (1) I am a huge fan of Mexican food, and; (B) I try to hit every El Nopal possible just to check their consistency across a pretty large local/​regional chain. This one is at or very, very near the top of that list.
First of all, this isn’t as out of the way as you might expect — it’s right off of Gene Snyder and just past Anchorage on LaGrange Road. The actual restaurant is basically just one large room with booths all around the outer walls and free-​standing tables all throughout the middle. My friend and I were seated with chips and salsa within a minute of walking in the front door. My friend ordered a strawberry margarita which took all of maybe two or three minutes for the server to fix and bring back to the table. I’m pretty sure that some locations use bagged tortilla chips and others make them on-​site. These were clearly made on-​site, and were some of the best tortilla chips I’ve ever had at a Mexican restaurant — for whatever that’s worth, because it can be difficult to mess up tortilla chips.
I got the enchiladas supremas, which is five enchiladas covered in shredded lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and regular enchilada sauce — one each of ground beef, shredded beef, bean, cheese, and shredded chicken. Each one was perfectly cooked… the beans were creamy and fresh and the cheese had just a tiny bit of extra spice that I’m not use to at El Nopal. I was particularly surprised at how good the shredded beef was — it’s usually under or overcooked, rubbery and chewy or hard. But it was actually perfect at this particular location.
My friend got the burrito grande. We’ve ordered this at several other El Nopal locations, and it’s always a chore just to eat the entire, large burrito. But at this particular location, it seemed especially large. As in almost freakishly large. It took up the entire plate, from end-​to-​end! It was covered in both white queso and enchilada sauce — just the right amount of each. The sauteed veggies inside were great, but the best part was the strips of beef, which were perfectly seasoned and cooked. Just a little bit of spice, well done but very tender, juicy, and tasty.
Our server was incredibly friendly and checked on us regularly, except while we were eating, which I like — it’s good service when your server checks back often, but it’s also nice when they leave you alone for a few minutes after serving your entrees.
Everyone at this location was very friendly, from the host to the server to the cashier. Our service was remarkably fast — from the time we pulled into a parking spot until we had paid our checks and gotten back to the car, it was only 35 minutes! Best of all, the food was absolutely spot-​on. No complaints at all about this location — it definitely deserves the El Nopal name!

Great food! Best chimichanga I’ve had in a while! The salsa is also very good! Atmosphere and service could be improved, but overall this was a great meal!

Always nice employees. Service seems to lack with a few waiters lately. Food is pretty good. And they are always busy.

This is the worst «Mexican» food I’ve ever had. We ordered several dishes and all were wet and soggy like they’ve been sitting out for days. Even the fried tortilla shell in the Taco Salad was wet and soggy. Ingredients were not fresh and poor quality. The chicken had a rancid smell to it like it was going bad. We ended up throwing out all the food. Taco Bell would of been much better than this place!

It’s in no way fine dining, but it hits the spot when you just need reasonably priced Mexican food.

I love Mexican food, and to live so close to this place is only terrible because I could easily visit multiple times a week. Today I had the Monica’s Platter, which is grilled chicken, shrimp, rice and queso. It.Was.Delicious! Highly recommend, as their service is quick and the food is on point!

I have to be honest and say that this Mexican restaurant is a huge disappointment. I went in and ordered a steak tampiqueña and not only was the steak small it was also $ 16.00. I did some research and found out that 2 other Mexican restaurants within 3 miles of my home have the exact same dish for under $ 12.00. When I received my dish I also noticed that something was missing and it was the guacamole salad. When I asked the server, he told me that it does not come with a guacamole salad. I didn’t want to be wrong or rude so I went online and made sure I was right and I was. I showed the server and he made a face and brought me a salad but it didn’t even have guacamole. I just left it at that and will not be going back. I suggest that everyone do their research because El Nopal is over priced and their food isn’t that good.