El Nopal Mexican Restaurant

This is the worst restaurant I have ever been to. I am not a very picky eater and typically love any quality of Mexican food, but my plate of chicken tacos and rice and beans was almost inedible. If I had served this meal, I would have been embarrassed. Despite the fact me boyfriend and I were starving, neither of us finished more than half of our meal. Even my margarita was terrible! It was also a little on the pricey side for low quality Mexican food, costing us almost $40 dollars for the worst meal I have ever paid for. I would advise anyone looking for a good Mexican meal to look elsewhere.
Jul 25th, 2012

We used Google reviews to locate El Nopal while on the road and went by what appeared to be a few solid reviews. One reviewer stated the salsa was "bland with a mashed potato consistency", prompting other El Nopal devotees to defend their mighty Mexican establishment as the "real, authentic deal". Hungry from a long day, our group opted to give them a try. Big mistake. First observation: It's 6pm, and there's only one other couple dining here. This is a red flag. Good haunts are starting to bustle about now. First impression: Decent looking place. Clean, subdued decor and the music is toned down- all good. It's hot sitting in front of those window seats during the summer though. The blinds need a better light filter on them. The salsa and chips were appetizing enough, but one bite confirmed this was the WORST salsa we'd ever had, and exactly as another reviewed posted. "Watered down and mushy". It lacked a few things: heat and a better tomato base with a kick of vinegar and some lime or lemon juice. This is NOT good salsa. The tomatillo salsa was only slightly better. I had the chicken enchiladas. Good: Served piping hot. Bad: The rice was served in two wet scoops of sticky blandness. This was not traditional Mexican rice. Nor was the enchilada sauce, which was very bland and had a strange, pale orange hue and thin, gravy-like consistency that made my meal sad. All in all, this was the worst Mexican we'd ever had and we will not be back. Hate to say, whoever thinks this place is "authentic" is either affiliated with the restaurant or has no idea what real Mexican food is. The servers seemed nice enough and were good about refilling our glasses, but that was all. There's no redemption for food this bad. Incidentally, we're originally from NM and have a clue about good Mexican food.
Dec 14th, 2011