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El Nopal

3.3 (46 reviews)
ModerateMexican
Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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EL NOPAL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Good for groups

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Restaurant

This El Nopal has the best staff. Our server was so attentive and anticipated all of our needs. The restaurant is clean. The food was great and came fast. Everyone was super friendly.

Peach margarita
MaryLinda W.

Driving home from Louisville at mealtime, we stopped to see if El Nopal had outdoor seating available since I'm not yet ready to eat inside during this pandemic, even with proper social distancing! They have a big tent in the parking lot on one side of the building, with quite a few socially distanced tables under, and on both sides of the tent. Only one other table was occupied, so we chose a table in the shade. It was a beautiful evening to eat outside. The weather called for a margarita, and there was a peach margarita with my name on it, ha, ha!! Hubby ordered his usual unsweetened iced tea. (It IS nice to be married to a happy designated driver!) The chips and salsa were served with 2 bottles of salsa and bowls, one hot and one mild. Hubby ordered the Burrito Gigante, and the name is appropriate. It was the biggest burrito either of us had ever seen; made with a 12" tortilla! I ordered the Camerones Empanizados, which is served with vegetables and rice. Both entrees were delicious, and we took home enough for lunch the following day. The host and the server wore masks, as we did when we weren't eating. I never went inside, and Hubby wore his mask when he did. Even though we never saw the people at the other table wearing masks while talking and not eating, with the outdoor seating and socially distanced tables, we were comfortable with our decision to eat here during the pandemic.

The Christmas tree
Heather P.

This is one of the few restaurants that surround the Outlet Shops of the Bluegrass. Although we don't have a El Nopal in Lexington, I think there are several in Louisville area. The menu pricing was a bit more than the average Mexican restaurants in Lexington and the lunch menu isn't available on the weekends, but that's to be expected in a prime area. My mom ordered rice and a cheese quesadilla. The cheese that they use is mozzarella, or some sort of soft white cheese, she wasn't a fan at all. I ordered the fish tacos. The menu indicated that it came with beans, but mine were served with rice. There was quite a bit of a language barrier and she misunderstood or thought that I wanted rice too. My fish tacos were great though. I'd definitely eat here again after a long day of shopping at the outlet mall, especially considering that the only other options nearby are the next door Culvers and the food court restaurants.

Steak Ranchero and chorizo dip for our chips in the back there
Lee T.

Our family only eats here when we are shopping at the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass. That said, I will never understand the negative reviews here. The service is always top notch and lightning fast. We have never waited more than 10 minutes for our food to come out of the kitchen and it's always piping hot and delicious. I also don't understand the negative reviews regarding price. Their prices are comparable to every other Mexican restaurant in Kentucky. Three of us ate here again yesterday and the food was incredible. I had the Ranchero steak cooked to Medium with generous sides of beans and guacamole salad and my companions had pollo con arroz and we were all happy. We were especially hungry and thrilled when the food arrived around 7 minutes after they took our order.

Free chips and salsa
Henry Hiep N.

A little bit of everything. The service at this location is pretty good. The staff seems prompt and polite. The spacing is large and adequately lit. The menu can be a bit overwhelming if you don't already know what you are in the mood for. One of my favorite things to get at any Mexican restaurant is huevos con chorizo (eggs and sausage). This place does it just right so I don't have any complaints there. The free chips and salsa is pretty to munch on while you wait.

Crab chimichangas with rice.  Chorizo chicken with cheese sauce, rice, and beans.
Kesha M.

We stopped here for a date night while indoor dining was closed. The patio set up was improvised with outdoor heating. It was cold but the food and service were warm. We were so grateful for the experience and the food. I loved the choice of hot and mild salsa. I had the crab chimichangas and my partner had the chorizo chicken. The meals were generous portions (we enjoy leftovers so that's great). The crab was a unique and pleasant option. I asked for no beans (my typical order that is often overlooked) and the kitchen delivered perfectly. Can not recommend this restaurant and location enough.

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5 months ago

This place sucks. Drinks were mid and overpriced with very little alcohol. Waitress is the worst I've ever had. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

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6 years ago

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1 year ago

Food is consistently good. Quick service. We normally order to go and everything is always packed well. Typical restaurant atmosphere.

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4 years ago

Very friendly staff, super quick service, good food AND the restrooms were so clean!!

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7 years ago

Always clean, friendly service, tasty dishes and wonderful value. A great place to visit after an outing at the outlet mall.

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La Cocina De Mama - Chips and salsa

La Cocina De Mama

(211 reviews)

$$

Love this place downtown Shelbyville. A very neat downtown area. Parking is usually an issue but…read moretoday it wasn't. This is probably my third or fourth trip in. There are two entrances one in the front and the rear entrance where there is an outdoor eating patio area. Way too cold for that. Neat historical building. Seated immediately as they do a great job of getting you in and out. This is a local hangout and just a great place downtown to have a business lunch. Felt like trying something new and this had the "new" label on it. It was enormous. Way more than I could handle. Contains shrimp, scallops, chicken and chopped steak. The cactus leaves were delicious. It was delicious but more of a two serving dish. Good date night meal. The chips were crispy and the salsa is also great. The sweet tea was also amazing.

Fantastic food, drinks and service are great , we have been coming here for years…read more The smell cleaner was in the air (which is normal here, usually not a big deal) but it was very strong as the booth next to us was being wiped down. The music was so loud I could not have a conversation with my partner. To make matters worse, there was a small vacuum being used. They had only been open for 40 minutes! Could the cleaning have been done BEFORE you opened as not to disturb your guests? Please as managers, sit at a booth with this going on and see if you need to adjust the music and stop vacuuming during open hours. Get a broom. Too much. I do enjoy this restaurant and really look forward to going each time. Not anymore.

El Nopal Mexican Restaurant - Monica platter combo no rice

El Nopal Mexican Restaurant

(34 reviews)

$$

This appears to be our third stop at this El Nopal during travels to the Outer Banks. It just…read moredepends on where we are when we are ready for lunch. We have also stopped at Simpsonville. On this day, I was lured by the prospect of some Tacos al Pastor. I was not disappointed. They provide three large tacos with generous fillings. They also gave me a very good tomatillo salsa to top them with. With good rice and frijoles this was way, way more than I needed for lunch. I consider it a bargain when I get two very nice meals out of one platter. I asked for and received well flavored corn tortillas. Ms T broke form and ordered a taco salad. She also liked it very much and since it was also very generous, she had two more meals later. I have to say, looking forward to stopping at some of these places on a "regular" basis when we drive through the area, makes the 1,000-mile trip a little easier. El Nopan in Shelbyville remains on our regular list.

It hurts to hit the three star review but our most recent visit was very sub par…read more We came hungry and ready to unwind with a margarita, it was the cinco de mayo holiday and we wondered if there were any specials. We were told no, but there was a sign on the door showing free queso for the day of May 5. So we ordered two margaritas at $10 a piece, asked about the free queso and was then told oh yes it is free, and then ordered tacos to share. The margarita was served in a hot (fresh out of the dishwasher) glass, the rim was not salted and with five melting ice cubes. The mix concentrated at the bottom and the tequila added on top. It was not a good margarita, and my husband's was the same. The queso came out and it was like warm and still cold around the edges but hot in the core. The tacos were delicious. So it was a conflicting visit, as we were given the check I noted it charged for the queso. As I went to pay I noted the queso price and inquired about it being free for the day. He said oh yes if you mentioned it, then it gets taken off. That didn't sit with me well, because not everyone may question it. All in all we have come here a lot over the years and had some great times but maybe this is not the best place for the cinco de mayo holiday. It may be awhile before we are back again.

El Nopal - mexican - Updated May 2026

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