El Nopal Mexican restaurant — Restaurant in Lawrenceburg Township

I went here for a late lunch, early dinner during the afternoon time.

I walked in and was seated instantly. Absolutely no wait time for seating whatsoever.

Service was great and the server was extremely kind. Was given chips & two kinds of salsa (mild and spicy), a minute after telling the server what drink I would like.

Atmosphere was good, Mexican music playing in the background.

Food arrived approximately less than 4-5 minutes of being ordered, not much of a wait whatsoever. Food came out hot and fresh, looking delicious. Was delicious too! This place also gives you great portions, enough for two people and most definitely need a box. I recommend the Birria Tacos the shell was super crispy and the meat was so juicy and tender. I also recommend the Elote. The Elote was very tasty and had the perfect balance of spicy and lime. For dessert I ordered the churros and the wait for them was a little bit (5-7 min) although they were really crispy and crunchy and came with ice cream.

El Nopal is a great and super underrated Mexican restaurant. Checks all the boxes in my book. Would most definitely...

Staff are friendly, and the service was good.

The food is bad tho. I received the most unseasoned Mexican I’ve ever seen. Not a single bit of seasoning on my nachos. It was like a plate of white. I ate the chicken by itself and it was literally just unseasoned boiled chicken they shredded. My friend got some sort of stuffed poblano and the pepper wasn’t cooked all the way. This is definitely a restaurant for middle aged white people, and I can say that cuz I’m pasty white too lmao.

The real kickers were how light handed they are with booze. Got a Jack and Coke and it might as well just been a glass of soda, and how they want $2 to be given some hot sauce. Hot sauce is literally just a condiment you expect to have much like ketchup at a burger place. Imagine getting a burger and the cashier tells you it’s $2 for a squirt of ketchup.

Save yourself the effort and go to one of the other 3 places around the area, or go over to Cincy...

I ordered the fajitas al pastor. Both my plate of steaming meat and veggies and my plate of rice and beans came in a massive portion, certainly enough for two people to share. Flavor-wise, I felt like mostly everything was under-seasoned, but I think a typical Midwestern crowd might take to the subdued flavors. My plate of fajitas had very little meat and was mostly vegetables. The veggies tasted fine, but they included sliced tomato in the pan, which turned into warm and slimy tomato goo on top of otherwise nicely sauteed veggies.

The service was great. We were seated immediately and the food came out quickly. Our waitress was very nice and accommodating. The atmosphere was fine, but we did hear "Boot Scoot and Boogie" three times, in full while we were there, which again, might be a great fit for the...