Holé Molé — Restaurant in Tulsa

Final Score: Final score: 46/60

Holé Molé has reopened at its new location on Cherry Street, offering Oaxaca-style Mexican cuisine under the leadership of Chef Manny.

“Chorizo Mussels” Mussels are bathed in a heavenly chorizo and coconut cream sauce infused with chipotle, tomatoes, watermelon radish, and cilantro, served alongside warm bolillo bread. The dish flirts with transcendence, beginning with bold chorizo flavors, unfolding into delicate, spicy middle notes of coconut, cream, cumin, and perhaps a hint of cinnamon, before closing with a perfect briny finish from the mussels. Deep, rich, and decadently delightful, this is a true culinary masterpiece.

“Queso Fundido” This traditional Mexican cheese dish is adorned with asada. The cheese is perfectly melted featuring a delicious slightly nutty flavor profile.

“Aguachili” This dish showcases lime-cured mahi-mahi with red onion, cucumber, cilantro, avocado, serrano, and radish, forming a well-composed aguachile. The flavor profile is predominantly acidic, with each bite delivering a sharp, citrusy burst, followed by mellow middle notes of avocado and finishing with subtle hints of onion and cucumber. The serrano adds a gentle kick at the end. While visually stunning, the sauce overwhelms the dish, leaving many of the other components lost in translation.

“Bone Marrow” This dish featured a generous helping of roasted beef on top adding an extra dimension of richness to each bite.

“Bone-In Pork Chop” The pork chop is tender, juicy, and marinated in al pastor, then grilled to perfection and topped with a roasted pineapple salsa, served alongside traditional rice and beans. The beautiful char adds a smoky depth to each bite, with initial notes of smoke giving way to tangy hints from the marinade and a sweet finish from the pineapple. The rich pork flavor remains the star of the dish, never overshadowed by the al pastor marinade or pineapple salsa. The rice and beans offer traditional flavors that complement the dish well.

“Guajillo Glazed Salmon” Grilled salmon is presented with a guajillo glaze, served on a bed of poblano risotto. The salmon, cooked medium-well, was slightly overcooked, resulting in a firmer texture that didn’t quite reach its full potential. The fruity and tangy guajillo was pronounced with the delicate taste of the fish to come through at the end of the bite. The risotto, in contrast, was exceptional—beginning with rich poblano notes, transitioning into a subtle sweetness, and finishing with decadent, buttery end notes that beautifully coated the palate. It’s easily one of the best risottos I’ve had in Tulsa.

“Chamorro” A braised pork shank rests atop a poblano rajas mashed potato. The pork shank is braised to perfection, offering initial notes of smoky chile that transition into earthy middle notes of oregano and bay leaf, with a lovely spicy finish. The mashed potatoes present flavors of poblano and spice, with pronounced tangy end notes, possibly from Mexican crema or sour cream. While the seasoning slightly overpowered the potato, the dish remains well-composed and satisfying.

Final thoughts:

Holé Molé presents a creative approach to Oaxaca-style Mexican cuisine, with standout dishes like the rich poblano risotto and the chorizo mussels, which offers a perfect balance of smoky, spicy, and savory notes. The mussels, in particular, were a highlight, with layers of flavor that unfolded beautifully with each bite. There are some critiques in other areas, such as the slightly overcooked salmon and an overly acidic aguachile, where the flavors became unbalanced. I would recommend you give Holé Molé a try and enjoy some elevated Mexican food located right off of Cherry Street. Until next...

I really hate to write this review, but unfortunately it’s important for health reasons. I want to preface this by saying two things. 1. I have been celiac and gluten-free since 2006. I’m very careful about where I eat and I ask a lot of questions about the menu before I ever order anything. 2. We had been very excited to try this place, as we were never able to go when it was in its old location.

We arrived, got seated, and was greeted by our waitress very quickly. I began asking a lot of questions about the gluten/gluten-free label on the menu. The server assured me that any of the options with the label CONTAINED gluten. She said that it was easier for them to mark the ones that contain gluten, than to mark the ones that didn’t. Because there were more gluten-free items on the menu than not.

I decided to get the dinner combo - A chicken tamale plus a chicken enchilada, and I opted for two servings of beans and no rice.

When my plate arrived, the first thing I noticed was that there were two servings of rice, and no beans. I immediately asked the food delivery person to bring me the beans like I had requested in the first place.

I ate the tamale, which was delicious. And then moved onto eating the enchilada. I noticed, while I was eating the enchilada that it seemed a lot chewier than a typical enchilada would be.

The last few bites I scooped the chicken out and ate it without the tortilla. As I looked at the inside of the tortilla without the mole sauce on top, I realized that it didn’t look like a corn tortilla.

The food delivery person stopped back by to ask about our meal, and I asked him about whether or not the tortilla in the combo was supposed to be corn or wheat. I pulled up the menu to show him that on the menu The dinner combo is not marked as “contains gluten” Therefore, the tortilla should not be flour. He agreed with me, but also agreed that the tortilla looked like a flour tortilla.

He went back into the kitchen to check, and when he came back out, he informed me that the menu had been mislabeled. Meaning, the item that was unmarked and supposed to be gluten-free, actually should have been marked because it contained gluten in it.

The staff was very accommodating. But at that point, what can you do when you’ve just eaten an entire flour tortilla after not having eaten flour in 18 years?

I am fortunate in that I don’t go into anaphylaxis in situations like this, but that is not the case for everyone. A slip up like this could mean life or death for some individuals.

While the server tried to tell us to come back again and give them another shot… We will not be back. As a gluten free person for 18 years, I cannot trust their menu or their kitchen to pay attention to requests or abide by what they have...

After being seated, between myself and two others we ordered the pork belly bites, the hole mole with three moles, and the barbacoa platter. Before our meal came out, we were given two types of salsa, one was a tomato/garlic that didn't quite seem to pair with the theme of the food. The salsa verde lacked any spice to it, which I thought was a shame, but still tasty. Maybe it's just mine and my husband's personal tastes, but we didn't like the tortillas or chips. They had that flavor of added calcium, we prefer it without, but we know a lot of people don't mind it. I had ordered a n/a hibiscus drink, I can say was super tasty, but you could have fooled me into thinking it was an orange drink since it tasted more like orange than hibiscus! The belly pork bites were tasty, but had more of an Asian inspired aesthetic taste and look, but over all tasty, and as an appetizer it came after our meal because there wasn't enough pork belly prepared. We all agreed that the price was high for a platter that is to be an appetizer/shared among people but it was was pleasant to look at. The barbacoa platter my husband had was tender and tasty, but a suggestion would be to have less fat be served with it and the mole put to the side (he didn't care for it). As far as the hole mole for two, it just wasn't it. It was plated really nicely but the moles were just not right. I understand they are made differently from where my father, my family and I are from, but we were not impressed. One of the key factors was that it lacked the spice depth that these savory sauces have. Maybe chicken breast would be better instead of using thighs.... We went because it said it was authentic Mexican tastes, we were wary of the price but we gave it a try. Needless to say we will not return, not because the food was bad, but it was disappointing for us who have had authentic Mexican taste/food and we believe the price doesn't match up to what was given. What's more is that while the table service was good, we had to approach the counter for our check and again to give them our card to pay. The restaurant wasn't busy at the time either. The only other table there had their check taken to and received from them at their table. But for anyone who wants to try a more authentic approach it's a good start, and it's a...