El Nopal — Restaurant in Granada

I lived in Los Angeles, USA, for 20 years, where good Mexican food is a part of daily life. During the last 8 months, I have been living in Europe, and I have been unable to find good Mexican food anywhere -- until now! :-) El Nopal serves authentic and delicious Mexican food at reasonable prices. My wife and I had been visiting Granada and wanted some dinner before heading home. El Nopal came up on Google Maps as being within walking distance and had good reviews, so we headed over. The owner/waiter greeted us warmly, and served us a complimentary appetiser consisting of 5 different salsas with a pile of corn chips. My favorite was a smoky mole which had ground nuts in it. We also ordered two margaritas which were just perfect -- the right amount of lime juice to balance the tequila, and not too sweet. We ordered a bowl of refried beans to start and were rewarded with a deep bowl that was flavored with cumin and what seemed to be a touch of tamarind, or perhaps lime juice. In any case, it was delicious. It was accompanied by an almost overwhelming supply of corn chips which lasted throughout the whole meal. My wife ordered pork tacos and I ordered the nopalito tacos. Since my wife does not like having onion or salsa on her food, we wanted to make some alterations to the order. The waiter was very accommodating, repeating our requests to be sure there were no misunderstandings. Given that we don’t speak Spanish and he doesn’t speak English, we mostly conducted our conversation via Google Translate. He was very patient and helpful throughout. The pork tacos were very generous -- four of them packed full of meat. The kitchen thoughtfully provided the accompanying salsa and fillings on separate dishes so that my wife could choose what to include. Yes, she’s a fussy eater and this made her very happy. My nopalito tacos were likewise four generous items, each stuffed with pickled nopales, mushrooms, and grilled zucchini in a spicy white sauce. They were delicious! The entire meal cost €34 which represents good value for money. The ambience of the restaurant was excellent -- comfortable chairs, tables that are well-spaced, soft female vocal music in the background, and one of the most genial, accommodating waiters we have ever encountered. We will certainly eat there again next time we are in Granada -- it was a...

I visited this restaurant in August 2023. At the time, I chose not to leave a negative review, but after the long-term impact on my health, I feel it's important to share my experience for the sake of others. I ordered chicken tacos, which tasted slightly off, though the flavor was masked by the other ingredients. Within 30 minutes of returning home, I became violently ill with severe nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. Thankfully, I had travel supplements with me that helped stabilize my condition. The aftermath included weeks of recovery, medical tests, and a month-long treatment to restore my gut health. Since then, I’ve completely avoided chicken and Mexican restaurants. I hope this review encourages the restaurant to take extra care with food handling, especially in high temperatures, and to ensure strict...

El restaurante es muy bonito y la decoración alegre y pintoresca.

Cuando llegas te piden la bebida y luego te sirven un aperitivo una vez has pedido la comida, es decir, no va con la bebida.

Este aperitivo eran unos totopos caseros con salsas. Las salsas eran chipotle, pico de gallo, una ahumada y luego dos que avisan eran más picantes. Una de ellas habanero que picaba mucho y la otra no recuerdo el nombre pero me gustó muchísimo y picaba aunque no tanto como la habanero. Quizá los totopos estaban algo más aceitosos de lo que me hubiera gustado pero aún así muy buenos y se agradece mucho que sean caseros y no de bolsa.

Después pedimos media de Nachos con ternera, guacamole, salsa agria y pico de gallo. Estaban espectaculares y bien cargados de los toppings por todos lados. Puede que los mejores que hemos comido nunca.

Luego comimos un Burrito XXL de pollo que fue lo que más nos gustó. Estaba brutal, cada mordisco tenía mucho sabor y por dentro estaba muy muy jugoso con las salsas y demás que llevaba. Sin duda lo volvería a pedir y lo recomiendo totalmente.

Por último probamos los tacos al pastor que también estaban increíbles, sabor intenso del cerdo adobado con la piña y el cilantro fresco. También muy ricos.

Por poner algo constructivo, íbamos 2 y nos quedamos con las ganas de probar los tacos de Alambre, Tinga y cochinita. Sería increíble poner algo tipo degustación de tacos con 2 de cada sabor o algo así.

De postre pedimos la tarta de queso, cuando llegó de aspecto nos pareció bastante industrial y además era de frío, nos gustan más las de horno. Pero al primer bocado disipó nuestras dudas, un sabor a queso super intenso y súper bueno. La volvería a pedir, estaba muy rica. Por decir algo, quizá llevaba la base de galleta demasiado gruesa y la de queso algo fina en comparación.

Respecto al trato, increíble, el dueño nos preguntaba en cada momento y nos recomendaba según nuestras preferencias. No puedo más que recomendar a la gente ir y deseando volver a probar más cosas...