El Nopal Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Florence

Usually I begin my reviews talking about the food, but times have changed. Currently our "new" normal safety & cleanliness is as important as great cuisine. This place has plenty of room to social distance & observing staff wiping down tables along with menus was reassuring. Masks were worn by all the staff and that didn't keep them from being extremely attentive and friendly. Now let's talk about the good stuff... This location has been open for quite some time; however this was our first visit. They offer a full bar with with multiple options for margaritas & specialty drinks. We enjoyed the Blood Orange Agave, but next time I might need to go for the 60 oz pitcher Margarita. To start we ordered the Potato Taquitos and of course queso dip to go with the complimentary chips and salsa. This was the first time I came across a Potato Taquitos & was pleasantly surprised. Crunchy exterior creamy potatoes I would say this is a definite winner. My husband even said that this must be the Mexican version of a pierogi. For entrees Fajitas Combo steak, chicken, & shrimp & a Gigantic Burrito with chicken. The fajitas were well seasoned & toppings were very fresh. This burrito was covered in white queso & red sauce, plus it was huge! Your definitely not going to leave hungry & will probably have some to take home. Great food, attentive staff, & reasonable prices. Dinner for two with two specialty drinks, taquitos & queso appetizers, & two entrees well only set you back $62. And that is...

Besides the chicken in my order tasting like rubber and being almost impossible to cut with a regular knife (let alone a plastic one), I was charged extra for something I wasn't told about when I placed my order. I travel for a living and placed an order for takeout over the phone from my hotel, then walked 3/4m to pick up the food. As the order was being rung up on the register, I noticed a $.50 charge placed on my order. The gentleman ringing my order couldn't tell me why and acted like he didn't put it on there. When I asked again, he said it was because they gave me chips and salsa. When I removed the chips and salsa from the bag, he refused to remove the $.50 charge. Another gentleman told me it was because my order was to go and for the bag. The bag doesn't cost $.50. The manager became involved, and pulled out a store menu to show me a very small "bullet" on the bottom of a page which states a $.50 surcharge for to go orders. When I told him I wasn't told of this charge when I placed my order on the phone, he didn't care and again pointed at the menu. I work often in this area and eat in restaurants every day. I eat a lot of Mexican when on the road. I will never again eat here and can't see doing so if I lived...

Used to be one of my favorite places to dine.. Food at one time was excellent however this time salsa for the chips tasted like straight V8 juice rice was clumpy and soggy refried beans was watery and had a odd taste and the ribeye steak that used to be three times the size at least was paper thin and overcooked.. I was not the only one that was having issues with their food at the time of my visit.. When I inquired about the food the only person that spoke English well enough to understand me said they got a new cook I told them to look further because they will lose business if the quality of food stays at this level.. I've recommended this place to a lot of people and would be embarrassed if they stopped in to try it out and they had my experience.. Hopefully things will improve and I can go back to enjoying one of my favorite splurges.. I will go back one more time in a few weeks to see if things have changed before I write them off totally.. I hope this review is seen by the owners and they act accordingly to improve the food before it's too late to save...