They did change the menu and pricing. It took a few visits but we found new favorites. Love having our meals with a beer and margarita on the rocks with salt. David is the best waiter and always request to be in his area. This is for the Fruit Cove restaurant. read more

The only reason I'm going to give this place a star is because I was served. That's it. Service isn't good and the food flair has the taste of institutional food they heated up and tossed on a plate. I have dined here about 13 times since last August and the food has taking a nose dive ever since. Will not be back. read more

Let me start by saying if I had to eat only one restaurant cuisine for the rest of my life, I would definitely choose Mexican. I've eaten at hundreds of Mexican restaurants throughout the country and even abroad, and yes even in Mexico. I enjoy the diversity in styles from Northern Mexico, Yucatan, and Jalisco, and of course, Tex-Mex. I've eaten at a mere handful that were truly outstanding. I've eaten at a bunch that were good, some that were mediocre, a few that were sub-par, and a couple that were just awful. Since moving to the Jacksonville area about six months ago, I've been on a quest to find a restaurant that satisfies my cravings for good Mexican food. My visit to La Nopalera was definitely sub-par at best. The decor was fairly typical, generic South of the border feel so nothing special. My server was there fairly quickly but I had already picked out what I wanted so I placed my margarita and dinner order together. Shortly after I ordered I received a glass of water, and chips and salsa. The chips were very crunchy and fresh; the salsa was a bit spicy which got me ready to anticipate a nicely flavored dinner. I watched people that came in after I did that got their drinks and I started to wonder if I had been forgotten. I saw my waiter look my way a couple of times, but he didn't come back. A little while later, a server brought my dinner. I told her to tell the waiter to cancel the margarita as I really wanted it while I was waiting. I started with my hard beef taco. It was crunchy and had the typical lettuce, tomato, and white cheese, but while there was quite a bit of beef, it had almost no flavor at all. I couldn't detect cumin, chili powder, or really any other spices--just shell, meat, lettuce, tomato, and mild white cheese. Next, I turned to the chile relleno. It was really a pepper (presumably a poblano), with some of that same bland beef on top and a thick shell of melted and congealed cheese. It was also very bland. Finally, the chicken enchilada had a hard tortilla, not crunchy, just hard...too hard to cut it with a fork. Again, the chicken and sauce were rather bland. When I was about halfway through my dinner, the waiter came out to apologize and say he was going to go get my margarita. I politely told him I didn't want it now. He came back a few minutes later with a margarita "on him" and while it was on the rocks as I had asked, it also had salt which I had asked for no-salt. I refused the margarita and requested my check. I really wanted to like La Nopalera as it's just a few blocks from my house and I'm looking for good Mexican food in this area. Unfortunately, I'm still looking. read more

MUCH BETTER!!! Had almost given up on this Irish Pub turned Cantina Mezcal then overnighted to a La Nopalera. First two times service was very slow, drinks were weak, and food was bland. Management must have changed because the food has dramatically improved, drinks are more consistent, and the wait staff is way more attentive. We were blessed to have Kristina as our waitress and she turned our prior 1 star thinking of this place to a 5 star experience. Thank you! read more

Excellent service!!! Attentive waitress!!! Excellent food. Very delicious. Attentive waitress. Awesome service and food! Party of 4. We were seated immediately. Pitcher of blue margaritas that were EXCELLENT!!! Every entree we had was delicious! The salsa could have been a bit fresher, but it was decent. The atmosphere was perfect for my mood! Lol read more

I frequent this Mexican restaurant on a monthly basis! The food is always awesome and if you have a problem they will quickly fix it! I love the decor and paintings on the wall. They also make their own salsa. Some days it's a little too hot and some days is just right! The restaurant it is so pretty inside! They have a huge outside eating area. I've never had to wait for a table because it is a very large restaurant. Very friendly staff. read more

Unfortunately a really bad experience. It's a great location but I don't know why they are still in business. We waited a long time get waited on. Then our order was wrong after repeating what we wanted several times. The food is also not great. The previous Mexican food place was better. We miss those guys. You guys should turn this place over to a company who can provide great food and awesome service. Julington Creek deserves that. read more

Good food, good prices. It was our first visit. The chips and salsa were plentiful. We ordered combo plates and everyone had food to take home. I wasn't told about the beans in the sauce that goes on top of the Tamales, even when we asked for no beans. The Chile rellenos were different than I have had. They were drenched in a white quest, but everything tasted great otherwise. read more

Good size shrimp but they are lacking in customer service beyond the language barrier. I'd rather pay a little extra and go to Don Juan's a little further away. I am not the only one as the parking lots reflect other preferences as well. The shrimp quesadilla are lacking ingredients when comparing the two places. It's all green peppers and green onions. They really need Gordon Ramsey to give them a kick in the ass. I do not see it being managed very well at all. That was really evident during the strict Covid time period trying to manage take out orders. The salsa is also much better at Don Juan's chunkier and fresher. read more

Many thanks to the previous yelper who suggested getting the pico de gallo - definitely agree that it was delish and added much to the meal. Overall, I found this location to be very similar to my favorite location on 210 and better than the baymeadows location (yes, I am a fan of this chain) Not the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life, but definitely would be back if I wanted Mexican food in this area. read more

On September 26 me, my wife, and three grandkids went here to eat. Upon our arrival there were four people sitting in a booth on the inside eating their food. There were three people sitting at a table on the outside and did not have food or drinks in front of them. We were seated quickly and given a basket of chips and salsa, but this is where the good service ended. We sat there for an extended amount of time. Waitresses continued to walk past our table without offering to wait on us. More people started arriving and were being waited on while we waited. When a waitress finally came to our table for a drink order, our chips and salsa was gone. We told her we were ready to order our food as well. She was not friendly at all. We asked for a bowl of queso cheese and some more chips. We had to ask two more times for the cheese. When the cheese arrived we started dipping our chips into it. The cheese was not fully melted so we asked the waitress to finish melting it. She took it and placed it in a microwave and walked off. A few minutes later a waiter took our cheese out of the microwave and carried it to another table and gave it to other patrons. They started eating the same cheese we had been eating. We asked our waitress about our cheese. She went and made more for us but did nothing about the other cheese being given to the other unsuspecting patrons. Other patrons that came in after us received their food, ate and left before we got our food. When we got our food the order was wrong. We have eaten at 7 other La Napaleras and had great experiences. This one puts a black eye on all the others. We have eaten at this one twice and both times the experience has not been good. The staff was unfriendly both times. read more

I specially repeated my order three times on the phone because the woman who I spoke with on the phone barely spoke English. I got home and received a burrito instead of rice and beans. I called back and the woman argued with me and said I ordered a burrito and no rice and beans. Will not be returning here. read more

This La Nopalera restaurant does not even garner a 1 star!!! We used to enjoy the old, original, La Nopalera down in San Marco many many years ago when we lived in the St. Nicholas area. Since moving out to St. Johns county we have been to the franchise in Bartram Park 3 times now, thinking that surely they would "get it right." Instead this last time was downright wrong! This is my VERY FIRST time on yelp, to give a WELL DESERVED bad review. We were swindled into paying for drinks WE DID NOT ORDER, waiting, and WAVING DOWN THE ILLEGAL WAIT-STAFF that DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, only to be told that if we did not pay the bill THEY WOULD CALL THE POLICE!! PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME, MONEY AND APPETITE ON THIS UNDESERVING ESTABLISHMENT, YOU WILL ONLY BE DISAPPOINTED read more

In order to review this I had to put a star, do not let this fool you. When we walked in we weren't even acknowledged by the staff, then when someone did greet us the people who came in after us got served first. The wait was long for even just water! The food was subpar and looked microwaved. There was hair in our food and the to go box!! And when we asked for the manager our waitress informed us that he was not there. The tables around us could be heard expressing the same concerns for slow service and the tables were unclean. read more

I love the other La Nopalera locations but this location is slow. It feels like Mezcal staff is still there.

This was awful. From the time we walked in and watched five staff members satisfied around talking and ignoring us to the oil soaked quesadilla that came for my daughter. The service was bad the food was worse. read more

This was the worst service I've ever received. Took them about 15 minutes to ask what we would like to drink. When they brought us our drinks they slammed them on the table, as they did with our food. When handing us our food they just put them wherever instead of listening who had what. I definitely will not be visiting this location again. read more

Delicious salsa and food! Absolutely love this place and my family and I come here all the time!

Quaint atmosphere and nice location and service for a Saturday night. Extremely clean...would def recommend the new location over the previous. read more

Where to start? One star was too many. We came in at lunch time and we're told there were no chips. Ok slow start. 1/2 hour later we got chips and our entrees which were completely wrong. They offered to fix it but at this point all we wanted to do was leave. Slow poor service even worse communication with kitchen. No wonder no one was here at lunch! read more

I gave them a second chance. They failed me again. The white cheese came out before the chips ever did. The cheese sat there getting cold. They tried to bring my rice and beans before my meal. I sent it back. The quesadilla supreme was a giant taco. Not what I expected. The meal lacked flavor. Beef enchilada not great, chicken better. read more

Service was okay but the food was terrible. The salsa was cheap. The chicken fajita and beef burritos were so over-salted we could hardly swallow it. At one point it even made my eyes water. We told them about the bad food before we left. They said they had heard the chicken was over salted but didn't know the beef was also. I would never go there again La Nop is off my list. read more

Horrible! Walked in 20 minutes before closing and the bartender had to ask the manager who was sitting at the bar drinking with his friend if it was ok to serve me a beer because they were closing soon, he did end up saying yes, but what a joke! While I was drinking my beer there was 3 other people sitting at the bar that asked for another round and bartender told them NO and it was still not even past closing time and here's the best part right after they were told no they served a party that knew the manager another round right in front of them! And it was ONLY 2 minutes after they were just told no! Really how's this place open giving service like that? read more

The waiter was great. The frozen margaritas were terrible, they were not frozen at all even the one they replaced the original one with. Then to top it off after we were seated it took them 25 minutes to take our order and another 55 minutes for them to bring it out to us. We were a party of 6 adults and one two year old. Ron, Sherry and family read more

Queso is great! I get the burrito rice and beans and it never disappoints. This place is good and inexpensive. Margarita's are good too! Chips and salsa always free with refills. read more

This place is just like mezcal, it's former occupant. The food is pretty standard, but great for the price. The drinks are again pretty standard but great for the price. Service on the other hand is extremely lacking. Our first visit, by the time our margarita pitcher came out the glasses were almost full with water and our food had already arrived. Our second time, we never saw our server after we ordered drinks and had to hunt him down just to order food. After those times we decided to skip the tables and go to the bar. While she is friendly, she doesn't seem to know how to manager her time properly or like she even cares to be there. Our last visit, while we were waiting for our check to pay, she actually grabbed a bottle of beer, poured it into a styrofoam cup and then sat at a table and drank it. read more

Sadly I was trapped in bathroom 20 mins waiting for Toilet Paper. La Nop's seam to be hit or miss. Food was ok, manager Seaned scared and apologetic but just wanted to leave. No reason to come back. read more

This location is where Mezcal Cantina used to be. The new owners made some much needed minor renovations and it looks great inside. Definitely more open. They took the barrels out from under the bar area so you can actually sit at the bar comfortably. The menu is more extensive and has what your typical La Nopalera would have. It's really clean and everyone has been friendly the two times we've came. The food is delicious and the portions are huge! The service can be a little unpredictable. The first time our waiter was so nice and attentive but the last time we sat at the bar, the bar tender was not very attentive and didn't seem to know what she was doing. Also the margaritas are not the best I've ever had. Mine was a little strong for my taste. Overall, I will definitely be back. They are priced more reasonably and have way better food than some of the other Mexican restaurants in the area. read more

Went to this location when it was Mezcal and the service and food wasn't great. Thought we would give it a try with the new ownership and nothing changed at all. Service was awful. Server had no personality and was not attentive at all. Food was mediocre. We had the Fajitas Texanas, the chicken and steak was so dry, and hardly any shrimp was in the dish. It was mostly half grilled green peppers. Hardly any flavor. Don't think we will go back. read more

I'm giving this restaurant 1 star because it won't let me give them less. We went to this location after Hurricane Irma since they were one of the only places open. Hadn't eaten at this location before so we thought we would give it a try. Bad choice. First, the girl at the register wouldn't write my name on the list that was sitting on the counter since she wasn't the hostess. Next, we waited at the table for 30 minutes before we had to flag someone down to take our order and get us something to drink. Then we waited a full hour for a cold chicken taco, cold rice that had hard queso at the bottom (which wasn't supposed to be there), and a cold enchilada plate. They had a chance to shine tonight since everyone was closed and they failed. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Stay away from this place!!!! read more

Food is not nearly as good as Don Juans just down the road and I have never received a single take out order that was correct, some item was always missing. The inside of all of their locations I have been to always seems dirty and have a poor atmosphere. I wrote to corporate 6 times to complain about the missing items in my orders and they never even responded. Never will return. read more

It took 45 minutes for our food to come out and when it did it was not very good. The service was slow for drinks also. We will definitely not return. read more

If the term "Slop your hogs" means anything to you than you know what my rating means. You would be better off going to Taco bell ! Taco salad was worse than Taco Bells even with the Yoga mat ingredients made in the taco bell shell. The fajitas were made from chicken parts..meaning whatever is left over from other items the kind you cant chew and usually spit out. This was take out and we ended up using our own store bought salsa because theirs was a joke. Thought they would have improved with new location but this is a clear case of you get what you pay for, never again. Everything was just a bunch of mush! read more

Was hopeful that La Nopalera would be better than Mezcal which it replaced. The answer to my question was La Nope! The staff was so lost, confused, and just careless of their patrons. Waited a long time for our initial greeting (should've been clue #1). Once they arrived it took even longer to get the drinks. Took another 25mins or more to order, odd since their weren't many customers there (should've been clue #2). After ordering took nearly an hour to get our food. Luckily we had guests in town so we had good company to distract our wait. Embarrassing to our guests though. All this can be overlooked for good food...not the case. The beef was minced more finely than cat food, the cheese was cold which made the meal next to impossible to enjoy. My absolute suggestion is drive the extra couple of miles to Don Juans, or enjoy ANY other restaurant in the Bartram Plaza. I'm not a fan of La Nopalera in the first place but since it's close to home I was hopeful as I stated earlier. Jacksonville needs to rid this terrible chain. read more