El Nopal

The food is really good, as long as you order EXACTLY what’s on the menu. They do NO substitutes, no exceptions. You have to point to what you want and that’s it. They’d be a 5 star if they would substitute, sayyyy, beans instead of a side salad like any other Mexican restaurant so you could get what you want. We go to the other one across the street due to this. The food is good here though. Just be prepared and know this going in.

First time 3 weeks ago, took forever to order. Manager ended up taking out order. Food was good so we went back. Been a few more times and no complaints. We have liked everything we ordered.

Very good authentic Mexican food. Food always seems fresh and it is well prepared.
Been here a couple of times, and will be back. I’ve never had a bad experience here.

Just had the lunch fajitas — outstanding! I’m just passing through but would go back if I lived here!

I eat here every so often. There’s never a wait. I haven’t had a bad experience here yet. Food and service is always good. Their Long Island Ice tea is really strong so watch out!

I rate my restaurant experience on five things:
Atmosphere
Service
Food
Price
Wow
— atmosphere —
We sat outside on the patio area. It was pretty nice, a block wall surrounded you to about chest height, so when your sitting down you can’t really see all the busyness around town. I do wish that there was some music playing or something outside.
— service —
Service was not good. Yes, they were busy, but we sat down at our table and received our drinks then waited for 30 minutes for someone to come take our order. It became a running joke to drink your water slowly because you never knew when they would come check up on us.
— food —
Was good I ordered the steak fajita nachos with green peppers and onions and a side of guacamole. The guac was really good, tasted nice and fresh. The nachos were good too, nice big portion, lots of queso.
— price —
I thought prices were very reasonable. The nachos were ~$ 11 and the side of guac was $ 4. My wife ate too and after hers I think we paid ~$ 25 for everything.
— wow —
There was nothing at this place that wowed me. It is your typical Mexican restaurant.
— conclusion —
Three stars. There is nothing special about this place. Even though the service was slow, the atmosphere and food were enjoyable and we didn’t have to pay too much for a good night with good friends.

Love the staff and the cheap beer. The salsa is great and if you order the Carna Asada you will be smiling!

I usually love El Nopal but this is absolutely one of their worst. Food tasted bad, creepy atmosphere, and had a stomach ache after. Thought it was just me but my party of 4 said exact same thing after.

What a gem! We stayed at the super 8 right across the street. Asked for recommendations from the front desk clerk for somewhere nice and she recommended Big Boy (rolls eyes). We went out and ventured on our own and found el nopal. Great service, good margaritas and good food.

Fairly typical tex-​mex restaurant that is about as close to tex-​mex as Ky is to the equator. It’s good for what it is and the staff is efficient and friendly.

If I could give zero stars I would. I suppose the one star is for the service and pico de gallo. The super nacho beef is like hamburger patties literally left in chunks. The flour tortillas they brought with my meal were crunchy like tortilla chips. Two of the three salsa bowls were dirty. My daughters beans were over cooked and literally crunchy!!! The steak fajitas had zero seasoning. Pico was amazing. And extremely over priced for this type of Mexican!

This place was really good, particularly for a tiny little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We got the fajitas and they were dinner-​sized portions for $ 8. And that ws the expensive item on the menu. They also have daily lunch specials for $ 5. Excellent service. Cute ambience. Great chips and salsa: go for the spicier of the two they provide, it’s not really spicy but you can add hot sauce if you want.

Oh. My.
Apparently, in this portion of the US, you can get every form of fast food ever… OR the most amazing mexican I’ve ever had.
I hit this place with my boss’ boss for lunch, and had the Macho Burrito.
I hadn’t ever heard of a deep fried burrito before, but now that I have… I want every burrito to be deep fried.
The server was awesome. Very attentive, considerate, and cute as a button. My glass never went empty, and when it got messy, a stack of napkins appeared as if summoned by magic.
This is very much as good as it gets for food down here in The Shep.

The staff at El Nopal know our little group by name and are super friendly! They have cheap and delicious margaritas and great food — if you like Mexican. I don’t, so they always let me order off of the kid’s menu or customize an order. And no — if they are speaking Spanish to each other, they aren’t talking about you.