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Happy Reviewer

Joined 4 years ago

Sublime!. The food is absolutely authentic, and the quality is superior. The service and cleanliness are impressive!

Love the interesting margaritas. Great dining experience!

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schmee

Joined 4 years ago

Best Mexican Food In LA. Best Mexican food in Los Angeles! Hands down delicious authentic, traditional style mexican cuisine. Think carnitas, chile verde, chile colorado and the best kick your pants salsa around. Home of the Pregnant Burrito, a beast of a burrito loaded with chicken avocado, onions and covered with melted sauce and cheese. You have to try it!

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3DKF143

Joined 4 years ago

cozy family mexican restaurant.. excellent burritos... I grep up near El Nopal, and have been going there for almost 20 years now.. it has always been a neighborhood institution. I've introduced countless people to El Nopal over the years.. always impressing newcomers.

My favorite is their avocado burrito.. light and tasty.

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rudeiota

Joined 6 years ago

Delicious, home-made Mexican food. Prices and service aren't bad.. I go to El Nopal because the food is fantastic. I happen to live close by and tried it out - I've been hooked ever since.

First off, their salsa is outstanding. It's pretty spicy, but I might be so bold to say its my favorite salsa anywhere. The food is very fresh and very 'home made'. Their tacos are hand-made, crunchy and tasty, stuffed with lots of chicken or beef, cheese, lettuce and red sauce. Their soft-shelled tacos include your choice of some pretty tasty carne asada (seasoned beef) or carnitas (pork). The burritos are huge and the list of ingredients to choose from are all delicious, including all the usual suspects: onions, bell peppers, chorizo (sausage), carne asada, , chicken, gaucomole and much more. Also, the quality of the food has been very consistent for me - very fresh and tasty - and I've eaten here many times.

El Nopal also has some other staples such as Fajitas (Their pollo fajitas are made with seasoned chicken BREAST meat, interestingly enough), taquitos, tortas and so on...

The prices are not DIRT cheap compared to some other Mexican places (Tacos are about $3 and a burrito will probably run about $8 ($10 maximum for unlimited additions), but this is definitely a 'you get what you pay for' place. You'll still spend less here than you will at most restaurants in West LA though and the portions are pretty large.

The service at El Nopal is okay to good. The people are friendly, but there's usually only one server so it can be slow sometimes. For me, it's definitely worth the wait.

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cinderslug

Joined 7 years ago

Highly Recommend!. What can I say? I love, love, love this place! The boyfriend and I just moved here in August '06 and already I am hooked! We moved to Palms because I fell in love with the little row of restaurants on National & Motor. But it wasn't until 2 months after the move that I finally ate at "El Nopal." It's just good old fashioned Mexican cooking. I never thought I would enter a restaurant and leave saying, "Damn, that's just like my mom's food" but I do every time! Their food is so fresh and the workers are so sweet! My boyfriend and I usually split their chicken burrito (add guacamole) with a chicken taco (add guacamole) + free chips and salsa. It's all under $15 and it feeds the both of us just fine. And if you dine in, they have free refills. What more can you ask for? :)

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flanine

Joined 7 years ago

What happened?. Around May of this year ('06) was the first time we visited El Nopal. We just moved into the neighborhood. We had a few different kinds of burritos and they were tasty and HUGE. There is no way I could ever finish one. Their chips and salsa are unique and tasty as well. It was a good place to get good honest Mexican food. I tried tacos for lunch after a couple of weeks and had some delicious tacos with delicious homemade crunchy shells. I started to get hooked. Then about late July, I went to get tacos again and walked away with the worst slimy, greasy mess in a box I have ever gotten from a restaurant. It was barely warm, the "shells" were just greasy and soggy and it looked like the cook just slopped it all into a box and tossed out to the front counter. That was the last time I went there. Especially since although you get a lot of food, almost all of the specials run about 11 bucks once you add a drink. I wonder if it changed ownership. Or if they just don't care anymore. Anyway, I can't afford to drop 11 bucks for something I'm not going to eat. I haven't felt like going back since.

And one thing you should know about this neighborhood is that there are about 8 or 9 metered parking spots for about 12 restaurants and businesses. If you're not within walking distance, don't bother going out of your way to go to El Nopal.

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calbasketball

Joined 10 years ago

No Frills, Quality Mexican Food. If you're in the mood for just some down home, legit Mexican food, this is the place. The place is a great value--the prices are great and the portions are huge.

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new_to_la

Joined 10 years ago

Wow...it's big!. I was in the mood for a big yummy burrito with fresh chips and spicy salsa...and I found it at El Nopal. The decor and ambiance is nothing special, and the service was pretty slow...but the food and value definitely made up for it. The "pregnant burrito" was HUGE, with lots of chunks of fresh avocado, and a great red sauce with lots of melted cheese on top.

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chicle97

Joined 10 years ago

Bueno!. I have been going to this little hole in the wall for some time now, and still love it.....

I prefer the "non famous" items on the menu, such as their plain ol' rice & beans!!! YUMMY!

Service is pretty slow, but they are very friendly when they aren't taking a "siesta" in the kitchen!!!

Enjoy!

Doesn't Recommend

melikefood

Joined 10 years ago

For Serious?!?!. I went to el nopal to try it out... service was terrible- had to beg the waitress to take my order, paid 8 bucks for the famous "pregnant burrito"... which really wasn't that good. Came away pretty dissappointed... didn't see what was so great.