El Molcajete

I didn’t know what to expect being kinda sketchy area. I ended up finding delicious tacos, their tripes tacos are fried which makes it delicious! Prices are good for what you get. Their salsas are good too along with their service! I’m going back again

I ate here last night. Very tasty meal… the salsa with the chips was very different from any I’ve had. Excellent. My dinner was Enchiladas Tex Mex. it was a platter that included refried beans and rice. All of it really good and superior in my opinion to the chain restaurants. Five stars for the food. However I had trouble with the server– she did not want to bring me the avocado wedges that were clearly pictured in the menu photo for my platter. I politely insisted. Then at checkout she did not give me a ticket and she overcharged me two dollars. I guess she banked on my saying nothing which was the case. I’ll return for sure and I hope I get a different server.

Sketchy looking exterior in a sketchy neighborhood, a block from Churchill Downs. Just walk fast! Wanted a little something to eat before the races. The obligatory chips were warm and the salsa, although tasty, with onions and fresh cilantro, was a bit thin. My tacos were outstanding– stuffed with al pastor and chorizo, in the traditional style with onions, cilantro and thinly sliced radishes, a very nice touch, and a squeeze of lime. There were three versions of hot sauce, dark green, red, and the very terrific avocado. I asked the waitress for the ingredients, because I can see making this at home for various dishes. A little Mexican gem!

A nice hole in the wall place to get some good tacos. My favorite part of the meal was their guacamole. Very fresh! Their salsa was good and the asada tacos were also delicious.

Authentic Mexican dishes. Tacos are amazing!!! Staff is friendly and attentive.
Salsa is yummy. Additional sauces are amazing. It seems to be a monthly visit for us!

Ahhh! I wish my wifey was with me for this stop. We love our cheap dates for some killer tacos & beers — this right here is EXACTLY our kind of spot.
No frills, but I wouldn’t classify it as a «dive» by any stretch. It’s clean and straightforward — just like the flavors. The avocado crema and the tomatillo-​jalapeño sauces are so good I was skipping the salsa — just straight pouring sauces on chips and devouring them. Don’t judge! You will have a moment like that here, too. The tacos are CHEAP and LOADED with fillings. Sometimes the corn, «street» tacos at restaurants can be an out to pass along skimpy tacos as authentic. Not here. Man, these are loaded! I tried four tacos and struggled to finish.
The carnitas were crispy on the outside but moist and full of porky-​goodness. I’m usually a chorizo nut and while I could totally have there’s over some eggs and be content, I think the Carne Asada & Carnitas top the list. The shrimp were good but came in a flour tortilla and kind of felt more like a quesadilla than taco. That said, all four were either excellent or very good, so I’m happy.
You will be too if you come here. Trust me.

Food was EXCELLENT. Better than some restaurants in San Diego. Chips and Salsa were Da Bom… I had Pollo Poblano. EXCELLENT. Service was outstanding. A true jewel for Louisville… I’ll be back for lunch tomorrow. Don’t miss this place.

ohh my golly gee dang!
I feel like it didn’t really happen it was so magical. Actually… it sucked. Only go there enough to keep it in business. And don’t tell anyone. PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Have been trying to dine at locally owned restaurants, and I decided to try some Mexican. I flipped a coin between here and Santa Fe, and here I am. So everyone raves about the tacos, and thought I would give a try. Carne, carnitas, and the fish. Started with the carnitas… Excellent. Next was the carne… Also excellent. The fish were good, but the other two were definitely the stars.
Would definitely come back next time I’m in town. Will add the barbacoa to the carne & carnitas.

If you want some real authentic Mexican food, this is the place. Service was excellent and food was fresh. This place is certainly the real deal. My wife and I are extremely satisfied and we will be returning.

I’ve heard friends rave about this place for years, so I finally decided to try it.
First of all, the location is unique. While it’s on a somewhat sketchy street, it’s within a couple of blocks of Churchill Downs, Patterson Stadium, Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, and Lynn Stadium. Parking is somewhat difficult, because there they have no lot. But you notice when you walk in the door that they probably don’t need one — it’s a pretty small place that looks almost like a fast food restaurant (that serves beer, of course). There is a tv at the very small bar and another over one of the dining tables.
Our server was very friendly and very attentive! The menu is much closer to authentic Mexican than you’ll find at most supposed «Mexican» restaurants, offering meats like lengua (tongue), sesos (brain), tripas (tripe), and buche (pork cheek). I’ll admit, I’ve never had the guts (no pun intended) to try any of these in an authentic Mexican restaurant or tacqueria, and this wasn’t going to be my first attempt. Instead, I got the torta Cubana and a steak taco a la carta. The torta was good, though I’ve had better. It is almost too thick to hold in a single hand — packed with meats and veggies! The ham was a little bit rubbery, otherwise I think this probably would’ve been a spectacular sandwich.
The taco, on the other hand (and in the other hand), was a slightly different story. The tortilla is much more authentic and authentically prepared, and is absolutely stuffed with juicy, tasty, perfectly-​seasoned meat.
Overall, this is a great place that everyone should try on their way to or from a game or a day at the track. The food isn’t just tasty and reasonably priced, it’s downright cheap, and the staff is very nice.

While the aesthetics of this place wasn’t eye popping, the food is AWESOME! It’s a block away from one of my fave taco places, Sante Fe (pink house across from UofL baseball stadium)
Everything from the chips to the tacos were awesome! The tacos are STUFFED with your choice of meat, and at $ 2/​taco, that’s cheap as all get out! May I suggest the chorizo, Barbacoa, carnitas and carne asada?
Seriously, for a cheap taco with ALL the flavorings of Mexican Street Tacos, this place delivers!

I’d heard rave reviews about El Mocajete from friends both on and offline, so chose it for lunch with a colleague. It’s very close to Old Louisville and U of L. The space is fairly small, but welcoming. The server was friendly and attentive. Prices are beyond ridiculously reasonable.
My lunch companion was already seated with a basket of chips and their warm, house salsa by the time I came in from parking on the street outside. I loved it immediately — wasn’t too spicy, but full of flavor. The chips weren’t unique but good nonetheless. We both had water, but they have Coke products, Jarritos, and beer.
I decided on a fish taco, a shrimp taco, and a bean sopes. The tacos were delicious but I was disappointed with the sopes. The masa wasn’t cooked crispy enough which allowed the toppings to make it some what doughy. My picks were all under $ 3.50 with tacos being in the $ 2 — $ 2.75 range.
Vegetarian items are available. My colleague had the nopal (cactus) and veggie tacos. She really enjoyed both and was anxious to try the veggie torta on a future visit. For two tacos, her tab with tax was less than $ 4.50.
Three salsas — mild, hot, and avocado — can suit everyone at the table. I opted for the warm salsa and the avocado to top my food.
So good! Looking forward to going back to order the poblano queso.

First time here, with all the 5 star reviews I figured this place was a ringer… not quite. Flavorful food? Maybe I caught them on an off day.
Chicken tacos deluxe with rice and refried beans. The chicken in the tacos was not flavored at all, kind of like just chopping up some chicken breast and cooking it in a pan. No salt, no pepper… nothing. Rice and refried beans, same thing. Cook some rice/​beans in a pot with water and that’s it. I make my own rice and refried beans and I «taste» them as I cook them. Adding «seasoning» as I go to make sure they aren’t bland. Oh well, like I said before maybe this was a bad day for the restaurant.
Now let’s get to the entertainment. I sat outside because the weather is pretty nice out for july. It was nice and quiet out for a few minutes. Then the very classy lady across the street waiting for a bus starts hollering at a motorist that was stopped at the light. You know the very classy mix of profanity and hand signals every proper young woman is taught. So then I notice a woman who was dressed pretty snazzy for that part of town and kept pacing the two corners across the street. After a few cars honking and her looking up in anticipation that they would stop, one did. She leaned in the passenger window, then got in and they drove off. About 10 minutes later she got dropped off up the block and came right back to her post. Ready for the next go around. Again, few cars slowed, she looked, then finally off she went again. All this while the homeless man across the street was talking to himself and wandering around lol. Not that the restaurant has any control over people in this neighborhood, I just thought it was funny. Maybe this should be a 3.5 star review. Oh well…

This place was exactly what everyone else said, great. The carnitas plate was juicy and the portions where worthwhile. The pollo asado was flavorful, a little dry but I don’t suspect that was the norm. The child’s tex– mex cheese enchiladas put smiles on the kids faces.

I am updating my review to give it one more star because it really is a 5 star place! My boyfriend and some of our friends came here for dinner. One of my friends is from Mexico and this is one of the only places that he will eat Mexican food from in the city because it’s that authentic — he says it reminds him of his mother’s cooking. They have taco fillings that you don’t find on ordinary menus here but that are quite common in Mexico like brain, tripe, and tongue. My boyfriend tried the tongue taco and he liked it very much. I consider myself to be an adventurous eater but I’m going to have to work myself up to those! I had the chorizo and chicken tacos and they were amazing!
One thing to note, it can be a bit difficult to communicate with the waitresses because of the language barrier but if you’re patient you’ll get there! Or you could just bring along a Spanish speaking friend like I did!

Awesome authentic Mexican food! The poblano queso is a must. It’s the legit queso that all us cheese lovers dream about.
The fajitas are also very good. Big cuts of meat and plenty of vegetables to get your daily fix :)
It’s a small, cozy restaurant hidden on the south end of U of L campus. Definitely worth a visit.
Oh, and the green sauce they give you is just insanely good. Will be coming back!

This is legit Mexican food. You can get your basic tacos and burritos, along with most things you find at a sit down Mexican restaurant. There are also more adventurous foods for your tacos such as tounge, tripe, and brains. I tried the tounge, and it was actually very good.
This is a small restaurant over by UofL, but worth trying. The only drawback is that there is a bit of a language barrier with the staff, but that is understandable and not a reason to. not give this place a chance.

Tacos, tacos, y mas tacos por favor! The flavor of the meat in the tacos is perfection. The most authentic I’ve personally found in Louisville and man did it leave me full and beyond content. And the price of these juicy, flavorful, melt in your mouth tacos? $ 1.75 if you want them Mexican style and $ 2.00 if you want sour cream and all that jazz too. And these aren’t tiny bitch tacos. We’re talking 2 and I’m stuffed.
Plus the salsa is really nice and unlike your typical texmex and the cheese dip is glorious.
I wish I could tell you about the other options. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go here and not order a fab taco dinner for $ 4 or less. So you’ll have to tell me.

El Molcajete is hands down the best Mexican restaurant in Louisville. Unless there is another hidden gem of authentic Mexican food that I haven’t stumbled upon yet, this place is the best.
When my boyfriend and I first moved to Louisville we wanted to find a restaurant which had authentic Mexican fare. By happy accident we first tried El Molcajete when we were misdirected towards Santa Fe Grill, and we’ve made this our spot when we are craving Mexican food.
The complimentary salsa they give upon arrival to your table is scrumtulescent! Friends of mine have said they have daydreams about this warm bowl of salsa heaven. Yes, it is served warm, topped with a heap of cilantro and diced onions, and loaded with flavor.
The tacos are simple, inexpensive and –in my opinion– probably the closest you can come to enjoying real Mexican street tacos without paying for a plane ticket across the border.
Aside from the tacos, I have tried the Burrito Mojado (Wet Burrito) with different meat and sauce options on each visit (a plethora of both), the Shrimp and Fish Taco platters, and the Caldo de Pollo (Chicken Soup). All of them are a must try, but I was simply amazed by the Caldo de Pollo. This is probably hands down my favorite menu item I have tried so far. It comes with warm soft corn tortillas, a heaping side of cilantro, onions, dried red chiles and Mexican rice, all of which you can add to the soup to your liking. At about $ 10 for a meal that can easily be shared between two people, there can simply be no complaints or competition.
Whew! All I can say now is that if you are ever craving something tasty, comforting, and authentic, go — no, run! — to El Molcajete!

The best tacos for 1000 miles! The carne asada, carnitas and barbacoa are excellent. You have a choice of four salsas and they provide a dish of pickled onions, carrots, jicama, cauliflower and jalapeños. I haven’t seen that since San Diego. Very casual place in a less than desirable area. But, the food is worth it.