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El Molinito

2.6 (244 reviews)
Closed • 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 3 months ago

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El Molinito Photos

Business Info

EL MOLINITO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - El Molinito

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Chicken fajitas with rice and pico.
Brian C.

Staying at the Fairfield next door for 11 nights. The negative reviews kept me away for the first few days. On night 5 I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I went early (4pm) so there was no wait as the place was mostly empty. Chips and salsa came right out as well as the drink. House salsa is HOT! Must be an AZ or Southwest thing as that was the case on my last trip to AZ. Anyhow, I went with my standard Mexican restaurant test of ordering chicken fajitas on the first try. Not bad. Huge portion. My only complaint would be that they only came with 2 flour tortillas. They were large and fresh, but I could have used another one. Service was decent. Ambiance is what I would expect from Mexican themed place. I might return for another try if I don't feel like driving anywhere.

Taco Salad
Clythie C.

I am really surprised about the low star reviews for this great neighborhood Mexican restaurant. We love the food here and the prices cannot be beat! The $6 house margarita tastes like a Cadillac. My chimichanga was so huge and delicious. The ground beef was tender and there was so much protein stuffed into the wonderful tortilla. My mother's taco salad was EPIC! Huge and delicious. The other members of our party of 5 loved their entrees as well. We were given multiple baskets of chips and 2 kinds of salsas, many water and iced tea refills, as the service was fantastic. Ambiance is bright and cheery and parking is available right outside. My FIL eats here with his friends every week and they all feel it's the best Mexican for the lowest bill in Oro Valley. PS: the beans are SOOOO incredible. They are my favorite of all time.

Shredded beef chimichanga after attacking about 1/3 of it.
Jaron R.

I was staying at the Fairfield hotel next door and wandered over for dinner. I ordered the shredded beef chimichanga. That thing was huge! It was very juicy and tasty and came with guacamole which was fresh even though it was near closing time, sour cream, and a salad topping. Rice on the side as well. Everything tasted great and the wait staff were very nice, friendly and attentive. I will eat there again next time I'm down there.

Menu

Food was good. Service was good. Liked the chips and salsa. Split beef fajitas. They were enough for two of us.

Lunch chimi with chili con carne and the works (enchilada sauce, guacamole and sour cream). House frozen margarita.
Kelly L.

Still delicious but prices are a bit higher. Prices on QR menu and physical menu don't match. The chimi still lasts me 3-4 meals Great service!

Shredded Beef Burro The Works 1
Heino P.

Excellent Food - Plentiful Lunch Specials We visited the Oro Valley location on Oracle for lunch. Information on my phone said they have outdoor dining - they do not. We sat in a very comfortable room that might have been a patio area years ago, but is now enclosed with large windows looking out over the parking area. Fresh tortilla chips and a very tasty, slightly spicy salsa were brought to the table immediately. My wife and I both ordered iced teas. I do enjoy beer, but they have no beer on tap - only bottles and I prefer tap. The menu is quite extensive and there are Lunch Specials which are a buck or two lower in price compared to standard menu pricing. My wife selected the Beef Tamale and Cheese Enchilada Combo($7.99). I ordered the Burro of Choice With Works. I chose shredded beef as my burro protein and when ordering 'With Works', you have options to get the burro enchilada style (ranchero style sauce and melted cheese over the burro), guacamole side, and sour cream side - any or all of these. I got it all! All lunch specials come with either rice or beans. Unlike most restaurants where lunch specials tend to be a smaller portion of a standard menu item, these dishes were anything but small. My wife had an excellent tamale filled with an abundant amount of flavorful shredded beef. A perfect ratio of masa to beef. Her chicken enchilada was excellent topped with a bit of spicy enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. As the sauce was a little spicy for her, she asked for some sour cream. Out came a bowl with maybe a full cup of sour cream ($2.49 add-on) and was a perfect pairing with the sauce. The Mexican rice had more flavor than most. Centered between the enchilada and tamale was a small undressed salad. My plate could hold no more. A very large sauce and cheese covered burrito, large sides of sour cream and one of the best guacamoles I've had in Arizona. I also had some undressed salad. The refried beans were tasty, especially when I added some of the salsa. The burro is packed with shredded beef. No beans or other fillers. I brought home 2/3 of my burro, my wife did likewise with her enchilada, plenty for another lunch. We recommend this place for sure. Go hungry and you'll still bring food home.

Number 4 combo plate and Hornitos margarita.

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Photo of Rob Z.
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10 years ago

Always very freindly waiters and very good quality for the price. Shredded beef is the best.

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12 years ago

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12 years ago

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9 years ago

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Guadalajara Original Grill - Carne Asada Angelina

Guadalajara Original Grill

3.9(1.6k reviews)
8.2 mi•Mountain View
•$$

Food: I ordered the chicken molcajete and it was delicious!! I had never had molcajete and it was…read moreexactly what I hoped it would be. Also they make you salsa table side to your liking! Love this idea and even better because there is no charge Drinks: I ordered the jumbo margarita and it was delicious! It was $22 for a margarita with three shots. Ambiance: fun and colorful decor Parking: designated parking lot Service: everyone was very nice and accommodating

Ugh! I feel genuinely bad about giving this place three stars because it has all the makings of…read morebeing a five stars if not for one very important thing...the food. Which, you know, is kind of the whole point of a restaurant. The atmosphere was great, a little on the nose, but great none the less. It feels like a Mexican dinner or at least what I imagined a dinner in Mexico would look like. The staff where beyond amazing, especially the woman who made our complementary salsa right at the table. And the salsa was yummy but sadly that's the only part of the meal that I can say that about. The thing is, nothing was truly bad, but just about everything was incredibly bland. You'd have expected someone who puts raisins in potato salad to have served it, not an authentic Mexican restaurant. Though the positive is the lack of seasoning is really the only major problem. The food did not have any weird taste, it wasn't dry, the presentation was fine. It simply needs to be seasoned and this place goes to a solid 4/5 rather than a three.

Photos
Guadalajara Original Grill - Inside

Inside

Guadalajara Original Grill - Table made salsa

Table made salsa

Guadalajara Original Grill - Table made salsa

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Table made salsa

El Charro Cafe - Steak fajita

El Charro Cafe

3.4(644 reviews)
3.0 mi
•$$

We originally planned to have dinner here but as it was on the main road from Tucson to Biosphere…read more2, we stopped in for lunch on the way back. The restaurant is located in a moderately-sized shopping plaza and has a large shared parking lot. It is a stand-alone structure separate from the other businesses. There is a partial patio that wraps around the building, with some sort of shade installed. It was still too warm for us, so we opted to eat inside. The interior is a large open dining room with a bar on the left side. They also had a semi-separate room to the right for (I guess) large parties that wanted a bit of privacy. The menu featured a variety of dishes, but did not include a set of standard Tex-Mex combos. I'm not complaining, just noting. Everyone in our party found something they wanted. A couple of us got the 2 taco plate. This featured your choice of bean style (black / pinto / refried) and Mexican rice. The tacos were quite large, so 2 was more than adequate. I don't recall what the 3rd person ordered. The tacos tased very fresh and were overflowing with added lettuce and greens. Their signature taco (served for about a century, they said) was basically a beef patty as the taco meat. The form didn't matter - it tasted like a beef taco. I assume the patty is likely for their convenience in prep? Two of us split a tres lechee cake, which was also good. If I were a Tucson resident, I'd consider coming back to one of their 3 locations.

First, this is Sonoran Mexican food. It is not going to be overly spicy, and it is definitely NOT…read moreNew Mexican. So, go in with realistic expectations. They hand make their tamales. I had 2 green corn for lunch. Delicious! Heard story about first location and how the owner invented the chimichanga. According to the popular story, she accidentally dropped a burrito into a deep fryer and, while trying to avoid using a curse word in front of children, exclaimed "chimichanga"! Forgot to take a food pic, but got a couple of the fabulous decor. I'm only reviewing for the service we received from Anna our lunch time waitress. She was great and we will go back again.

Photos
El Charro Cafe - Wall art and lights

Wall art and lights

El Charro Cafe - El Basico

El Basico

El Charro Cafe - Cheese crisp

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Cheese crisp

El Molinito - mexican - Updated May 2026

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