Nopalito - Las Cruces

Omg so yummy!!! Service was a tad slow but, considering it was during lunch, she did a great job. Will definitely be back soon!

I travel from Texas to Nopolitos just for their green chili con queso...it's Devine. The original is in an old church and closed on Wed. Both serve great Hatch chilies

ON MISSOURI AVE...AN ABOVE AVERAGE NEW MEXICAN FOOD RESTAURANT BUT  CERTAINLY NOTHING EXCEPTIONAL TO BE FOUND HERE. <br/ <br/ RATED THE 16th BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT IN THE AREA ON THE 2017 MR. SENSITIVE LIST.<br/ <br/ .<br/ This review is updated to February 2016......<br/ .<br/ February 2016 visit. Ordered the expensive combo plate. The restaurant was clean and bright inside. The service was quite pleasant and efficient. Ambiance rates a 'B ' or a 'B+. '  Service this day rated a solid 'B. ' <br/ <br/ The chips were above average (B the red salsa was high on the cilantro and very watery. Rate it a C. Their famous salsa verde was somewhat watery and lacking a little in flavor. Rate it this day a 'B ' only. The refried beans were very smooth and lacking in flavor. Rate them a C+. Certainly nothing to brag about. The hard shell taco was better than Taco Bell. Rate it a B-. The rice was the usual. The rolled enchilada with red chile sauce was pretty good. Rate it a B to B+. The red sauce had a fairly high heat level. The green chile con carne was quite flavorful. Rate it a B+. The flauta was filled with the usual weakly seasoned ground beef. It was very crispy. It was ok. Rate the flauta a B-. The chile relleno was fairly good, but there was only a little of their green salsa placed over it (weak in flavor and not a good green chile sauce. Rate the relleno a 'B. ' I would have rated it higher but for the insipid green chile on top. The chile pepper itself was fair on flavor. The dab of guacamole that came with the flauta was just average. Certainly not great. Rate the guacamole a C+. Overall, this was a 'B ' type meal....nothing stood out...although the green chile con carne was pretty good.     <br/ <br/ (In a 2017 Mr. Sensitive re-evaluation.....this restaurant CAME IN AT NUMBER SIXTEEN (16 among Mexican food restaurants in the Las Cruces area. But, the food is not anything sensational.  I think the next time I will stay with a smothered red chile meat burrito. <br/ <br/ BOTTOM LINE: WILL I RETURN? MAYBE SOME DAY.....WHO KNOWS!<br/ .<br/ In May 2014....................Mr. Sensitive made another visit to this location. Here is what he found:<br/ <br/ Inside the restaurant was bright and clean. It appeared to be in top condition....quite a bit nicer than during my previous visit. The large booths along the walls were in good condition and very comfortable. The carpet running down the middle of the restaurant appeared to be clean and in good repair. This was today a nice place to dine.....casual but nice. Give the ambiance a score between a B and B+. <br/ <br/ The service performed by a pleasant young lady was very good.....accommodating, efficient, service with a smile. Rate the service between a B and B+. <br/ <br/ The menu at this Nopalitos is a little restrictive, not as broad as most Mexican food bistros around town, but they have most of the basics. The prices are very reasonable.<br/ <br/ Today I ordered a red chile meat burrito without beans and their chile relleno plate with green chile. <br/ <br/ The chips were pretty standard. Two salsas made it to the table. The red salsa had a lot of spicy peppers in it. It had a real kick to it but the flavor was lacking, kind of insipid. Rate the red salsa a B-. The salsa verde Nopalitos is famous for was excellent. Lots of flavor and lots of green chile chunks. Rate it an A-. <br/ <br/ The rice which came with the main plate was prepared well and was actually pretty tasty. The refried beans however (no whole beans in there were pretty mediocre.....not poor but 'just sort of there. ' <br/ <br/ The little sides of salad had a little bit of cabbage in there with the lettuce. <br/ <br/ The two rellenos were somewhat soft and mushy and the flavor was nothing special. The green chile over the top with white cheese was pretty good, but it could only do so much to salvage the rellenos. The rellenos were not bad but nothing great. Rate them between a B- and a B. <br/ <br/ Previously I had had the red chile con carne at this Nopalitos and thought it was pretty good so I wanted to try it once again, this time in a burrito. The flavor of the red chile and the pork was OUTSTANDING! This was clearly one of the most flavorful red chile burritos I 've eaten around this town. I could not detect the flavor of the old commercial chili pepper that some places use. The true red chile flavor really came through. Delicious. Rate this burrito an A-. <br/ <br/ Overall, this was a nice lunch. Because I found the restaurant to be so clean and presentable, the service so good, and the food well above average.....I have upped the rating on this restaurant to FOUR STARS.......meaning quite good. (I knew it had this potential during my previous visit if it took care of some issues. It has. I now rate this Nopalitos in the top fifteen among Mexican restaurants around town. <br/ <br/ BOTTOM LINE: WILL I RETURN TO DINE HERE? YES.<br/ <br/ Original review appears below <br/ <br/ Having eaten at the flagship of the Nopalitos restaurants on Mesquite a number of times I just had to try the newest one on Missouri. I arrived at a busy time on Sunday afternoon. The restaurant showed signs of having been very busy and it still was. This must be a big family day at Nopalitos. It was filled with families and kids and was very noisy.<br/ <br/ The cafe itself is of medium size and essentially rectangular in shape. There are good number of comfortable booths around the walls and a number of not so comfortable looking tables down the middle of the restaurant. There is plenty of light in the restaurant. There were remains of taco chips all around. The menu I was given had the remains of food and salsa on it. Not cool. But to be fair...they had been very busy this day. But, they could do a better job with the tidiness issues. In sum...this restaurant is not even close in ambiance to the one on Mesquite. Rate the ambiance a C+ to perhaps a B- depending on how busy they are. <br/ <br/ The waitress was pleasant and performed the necessary tasks efficiently. No complaints. Rate the service a B.<br/ <br/ The menu was your essential New Mex. Prices are average for this area. To get a good sampling of their food I ordered a combo meal. The red salsa with tomato, cilantro, and onion had a little bite but it was watery and not very flavorful. Rate it a C. THEIR FAMOUS SALSA VERDE WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING. It also was too watery but the green chile chunks made up for this. It was good but did not live up to Nopalitos ' usual standard. But....I really do love their salsa verde. Rate it this day a B or B+. <br/ The chips were not very good...almost seemed stale. They were some of the worst I have been served in town. <br/ <br/ The meal itself arrived in good time. The green chile sauce was pretty good. The relleno was tasty with a good flavored chile. Rate it a B. The rolled enchilada was good also with green chile and cheese on top. Rate it a B. The The flauta was the usual served around here...I am not a fan of flautas, at least the way they are served around Las Cruces. Rate it a C. The hard shell taco was, of course, a joke as it usually is with most combo meals around Las Cruces. A tasteless hard shell was naturally broken and falling apart. It was filled with some unappetizing ground beef. How could such a taco be any good??? Rate it a C....Taco Bell level. <br/ <br/ The red chile con carne had no potato but I MUST ADMIT THAT IT WAS VERY GOOD....not outstanding but quite good. Rate it between a B and B+. It was the best part of the meal, especially as I downed it is a flour tortilla. The chile con carne was the only part of the meal approaching excellence. <br/ <br/ In sum, this is a very casual, family oriented , New Mexico food diner with SOME GOOD FOOD but much of it pedestrian. They need to be more attentive to the ambiance and tidiness issues and a lot of the little things. <br/ <br/ Overall, rate it THREE-AN-A-HALF STARS....meaning just a tad above average. With a little more attentiveness to the tidiness issues and the service this could be a four star restaurant. So.......to our friend from Dallas I can only wonder, 'What have you been smokin? '

The food was delicious. I tried the Chile rojo and it was so good! It was a little spicy I have to admit and I like spicy. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Mexican food this is it.

It was fantastic to have a quiet and delicious lunch after a hectic morning. Thank you for being as wonderful as I remember years back!!! Will be returning!!!!!