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El Nopalito Restaurant

560 Santa Fe Dr, Encinitas, CA 92024-4640
760-436-5775
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Ranked #20 of 144 restaurants in Encinitas
Cuisines: Mexican
Most recent review
- 4 May 2013
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11 reviews from our community

81% Recommend
    7
    2
    2
    0
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
San Diego
Senior Contributor
29 reviews 29 reviews
11 restaurant reviews
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 May 2013

Great Mexican food. They also cater and do an amazing job. Not in a "designer" location, authentic and we love it!

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Cardiff by the Sea, California
2 reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 26 October 2012

Great informal & excellent Mexican, made with the most fresh ingredients~I love the chile relleno, and my son always goes for the over-stuffed chicken burrito. Make sure you pick up some home-made guacamole & El Nopalito brand salsa. Home-made tamales in the packaged bags are the best way to have an impromptu FIESTA! Chips & salsa-and have a cerveza while... More

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Encinitas, California, United States
Senior Contributor
36 reviews 36 reviews
26 restaurant reviews
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 September 2012

Marginal restaurant in a marginal shopping center. Not very secure with all the riff raff walking around BUT they are world famous (or should be) for one thing...their roasted red pepper salsa. If you like mexican food you must try this !

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
San Diego, California
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 September 2012

We are craving Mexican and wanted something extraordinary. Did our local lookup and found El Nopalitio. This is basically a taco shop, with the usual menu of Mexican food. I ordered the enchiladas and they were good, but nothing spectacular. Salsa bar was very good, and the service was excellent and friendly. But the food was on par with pretty... More

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Carlsbad, CA.
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
5 restaurant reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 28 August 2012

Great food and a fun atmosphere. The service was good and the food tasty. They had some unusual dishes , like cactus. Salsa was great!

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Salt Lake City, Utah
Top Contributor
58 reviews 58 reviews
35 restaurant reviews
26 helpful votes 26 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 June 2012

Go here now. Stop looking for a place to go. This place is Authentic, amazing and a great deal. Get the tacos, burritos, or tamales.

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
San Diego
Top Contributor
108 reviews 108 reviews
80 restaurant reviews
32 helpful votes 32 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 April 2012 via mobile

This restaurant has some of the best Mexican food in the city. They've been around decades and make incredible tasting salsas amd their chips are made fresh every day in-house. Family owned and operated restaurants are few and far between nowadays, so please give them a try try te next time you want genuinely great tasting food

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Carlsbad
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
6 restaurant reviews
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 August 2011

This is a restaurant and a grocery store in the same strip mall. They make and sell several salsas, with varying levels of heat and wonderful, complex flavors. Their homemade corn tortillas and tamales will become staples in your kitchen, the sauces will make you realize you have been eating a pale shadow of Mexican cuisine in most restaurants. The... More

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San diego
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 May 2009

This is authentic Mexican. Great salsa, Guacamole, and made on the spot daily tortilla chips, and tortillas. Traditional dishes such as cactus, and pork in green sauce, all the soups, good carnitas, tamales, enchiladas, and fantastic mole. You can also get good standard burritos and tacos. Everyone I know when going to a party gets or is having a party,... More

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Encinitas, CA
2 reviews
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 April 2009

The California burritos are awesome and they sell their salsa to go, too. We buy salsa there every week. (Chips are good, too) The place is sometimes dirty...but the food is always great!

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