7/1/2026 Tonight we took 23 Residents from Swan Pointe HOA to el Caporal at 1909 Blankenbaker Pkwy. I just discovered tonight that el Caporal has been in business for 32 years. They also have 2 restaurants in Louisville and 1 in Mason, OH. The owner is Luiz Angeles, that has been a great supporter of Swan Pointe's Block Parties for many years. Our server tonight was Sandra. She was really fantastic! She took care of our group getting orders and drinks. We chatted and ate chips and kept an eye on the World Cup activity on the huge TV screens scattered about. Soon the food was coming and the delicious platters of food were being passed out. Let me tell you that they have HUGE BURRITOS! It was as "Big as my head!" My Especial Burrito was filled with Grilled Chicken, beans and covered with creamy cheese dip. I customized my burrito, no rice, onions or lettuce. I ate about half of it and saved the other half for a small lunch for the two of us. My husband ordered The Deluxe Burritos. It had two burritos, one was Grilled Chicken and the other one was Ground Beef. The sauce over the top of the burritos was beautiful! It was almost more than he could eat! But he did. He loved it! The lady across the table had a Grilled Chicken Chimichanga platter. When her plate came to her, she said, "Oh that's a lot of food!" We all really enjoyed our meals. The food was wonderful, the staff was excellent! The room was at a nice volume so that we could hear each other. I'm anxious to come back again Señor Angeles! read more

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El Caporal makes the claim that it is "A Very Mexican Bar & Grill" and I don't know exactly what that means, but I was really pleased with my lunch there! "Very" makes a promise that it's extra in some way. It has all the trappings of a lot of sit down Mexican restaurants I've visited, butEl Caporal executes on everything really well. Food? Great flavor. Fresh, got some heat in the salsa, crispy chips, beans were great. Beef tips in a chimichanga? What?!?! Gimme! Service? Nailed it. Prompt, friendly, attentive. Price? Honestly low for the quality. I paid less to sit down and eat a hot fresh meal than I've spent at some fast food drive thru's lately. Room? Clean and well kept. I will definitely be back. I'm very certain. read more

El Caporal - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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This is a hidden gem! Great service, great prices and always delicious food! It is tucked away but it is in rotation with both my family and coworkers. The people there are amazing and so are their margaritas! A great place to stop in before a movie or a quick lunch break! read more

Great food, great service, had to serve 30 to 40 people. Handled it very well would recommend. It was a cozy and welcoming place.

My order was made perfectly! I like to get fajitas anytime I go out for Mexican. I order them with "well done" onions, and it's very hit or miss whether or not they actually do it. This time they did and my onions were deliciously caramelized. The prices here are reasonable. They have discounted margaritas on Monday. They're nothing special, but they'll work if you're craving a margarita. My husband liked the hot salsa - he devoured it! He enjoyed his enchiladas, too. We used a coupon and really enjoyed the quick and delicious service. Highly recommend! read more

A very decent middle of the road Mexican joint. I went with a decent-sized group (8 of us) on a Monday evening prior to a rehearsal. It was fine, overall. Nothing impressive, but we all got the boozy drink we wanted, far too many chips, and familiar and expected main dishes. I liked that there are different sizes of margaritas, but I was annoyed that for my second one, I asked for the regular size and they brought and charged me for a jumbo. Not what I wanted or asked for or budgeted for. I am utterly frustrated when I ask for a particular thing (and prepare myself for the cost of that exact thing) and they bring me and upcharge me for a bigger size. This isn't just a this-place occurrence...but it also happened here. That said, the margarita and the tacos I got were tasty and I left with a full stomach and happy taste buds, although an emptier wallet than planned for... read more

This place is always amazing! I usually order the Alejandrina, which is arroz con pollo, and it's always a winner. This time though I was craving a quesadilla, and I also wasn't disappointed! Their queso is delicious, as is their salsa - nothing is ever bad here! The service is always so kind and talkative as well. One of my all time favorite restaurants! read more

All the entrees are made from fresh ingredients and prepared in a special Manner the best Mexican restaurant in town read more

Very friendly staff and prompt service. What you'd expect from any Mexican restaurant. Fajitas were good if a bit unseasoned. Gaucomole was good very limey. read more

There's a really solid Mexican establishment that I've been to maybe 6-8 times from this location and the location that used to be on Preston across the street from me growing up. So el Caparell was one of the big places in Louisville before El Nepal came in and cut out of the game by storm opening up like a McDonald's or something. Anyway el Caparell you know they've been around for a long time and I always offer far sauce is good cheese dip is on point tacos are great service is good fast quick ring my phone can't go wrong with them for real read more

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El Caporal will always fill my crave for Mexican food, plus my boys will never say "no". We stopped by on Saturday afternoon and had the entire restaurant to ourselves. This ensured quick seating and attentive service throughout our meal. The salsa was flavorful, especially the hot and the chips were warm. You can't go wrong with the white cheese queso. The four of us go into a feeding frenzy as soon as it hits the table. A couple of us ordered off the ala carte menu. I recommend the shredded chicken quesadilla. It's a nice size, for most people one will do it as a meal. The deluxe burrito was okay but I expected ground beef only and it came with beans mixed in. You can request it be topped with queso instead of red sauce. The combination meals also offer plenty of food (but I don't find them very exciting. The red sauce makes everything taste the same) and the kids cheeseburger is a large portion. El Caporal offers plenty of beer and margarita options. Also, watch your mailers for coupons on combinations. read more

We have a Mexican restaurant that we love...however we moved away and needed to find something closer to our new home. We found El Caporal, and are so pleased that we did. I have a picky eater, but she has found two things on the menu that she absolutely loves that are outside of the normal burrito and taco combination plate. The carnitas are delicious. So tender and super flavorful. The steak fajitas, out of this world. There is some spice on the meat that gives it a little kick, but it also elevates simple fajitas. If you like a little spice, try the enchiladas. Suave has some kick, but not too much...but definitely enough to get those cheeks flush. For the chicken and rice lovers, the Alejandrina is really good. Of course you can substitute out the chicken for steak, shrimp or even just veggies. Served with tortillas. Always a hit for someone who is undecided on what to get. Drinks, so many to pick from. Margaritas are good. Lots of drink specials. They also have coke products as well. Enjoy!! read more

this place is a fun place to go after wednesday nights. it's always clean and nice and the food is good. the service is great and the waiters are super sweet and patient. read more

We continue to be happy regulars at this fantastic restaurant! Luis and company make your dining experience great! The food is amazing, prices are super reasonable and the portions are generous! My favorite is the chicken fajita salad with grilled vegetables on top and their killer salsa verde as the "dressing!" My Wife loves the Chile Colorado and the Chile Verde! Beware of the Margaritas! These are hand-made, delicious and Dangerous!! read more

El Caporal - Chicken Fajita salad with grilled vegetables and salsa verde - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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I was taking a family vacation and we spent the night in Kentucky, just a few miles away from Louisville. Trying to decide where to eat we stumbled across this place, what sold us was that they sold margaritas! After a vacation you need a good Margarita So we head over, and the atmosphere was very traditional and cozy feeling, we were served with chips and salsa almost immediately! My boyfriend ordered steak tacos and I got the arrachera steak quesadilla with a single Tamal, and of course, 2 strawberry margaritas! The steak in my quesadilla was very well cooked and tasted great, and no complaints about the tacos seeing as tho he ate them all in about 3 mins flat. The tamal was very different from how I'm used to them being served here in Chicago, with meat and salsa on top. I ended up scraping the extra salsa and meat off but the Tamal was good nonetheless. Margaritas were definitely a 10/10, I recommend the 18oz if you aren't that big of a drinker! If I ever make another stop in Kentucky, I will be coming back to this place! read more

My boyfriend and I stopped in El Caporal for dinner late Friday night. We were greeted and seated right away. My initial thought is that this looks like any other mexican restaurant in town, but the space was a lot bigger than I imagined. Being basketball tournament season, there were games on the tv's but they were all muted. There was no music playing. The only noise was the echo of customers talking. Maybe I'm too harsh but I cannot stand a restaurant that has no music or anything going on. We both ordered alcoholic beverages to start. I had a giant 27 ounce strawberry daiquiri. It was tasty but I didn't taste or feel any of the rum. He ordered a big Dos equis amber, one of his faves. There was complimentary salas and we started with the queso dip. It was yummy and a little spicy, which I love but our "fresh" warm tortilla chips were a tad stale. For an entree I opted for a combination meal #8 which included a beef enchilada and a tamale. I asked for double rice instead of refried beans. He ordered the enchiladas supremas which consisted of 5 different types if enchiladas. It was ALOT of food and came out to us very speedy after ordering. The food was satisfying and we'll definitely be back at some point. read more

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Ordered 3 specialty tacos to go, as a meal. My order took forever and came up with just one taco of which they tried to charge me $14.00 for. Said "the staff is new". It wasn't even worth $2.00 - better food at Taco Bell. While waiting for my one measly taco I ordered a glass of wine and paid $7.00 for a tiny 3 oz. glass of cheap wine. Waitress said "most restaurants charge $15 for a glass of wine". Finally paid extra for using a credit card. Staff said "everyone charges extra for credit". Excuses, poor quality - won't go here again read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant ever! I've had taco and quesadillas and the cheesecake. All very good. I think they have the BEST margaritas anywhere! read more

El Caporal - a plate of food on a table - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Pretty good Mexican place. The salsa was a bit more spicy and flavorful than most. My waitress was really quick to come over and very attentive. The food came out real quick and everything was cooked well and had a great flavor. Worth checking out for something slightly different. read more

El Caporal - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Very fast service and the chips and salsa are the best around.

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant. The service is always good and the food was delicious. I love the tamales and my husband loves the seafood enchiladas read more

I gave it five stars but it deserves a perfect 10. Every thing we had was so delicious With most Mexican restaurants are so generic it was so refreshing to eat here. I can't wait to go back. read more

Holy smokes this place is really good. I am visiting louisville from a city with a lot of high quality Mexican quisine so I know what I am talking about when I say this place is really good (a lot of Hispanics meaning quality authentic food plus a wide mix of white and other ethnicities meaning they have to have overall flavor that everyone would like not just authenticity, resulting in great tasting authentic mecican food). This place is great. It doesn't take shortcuts like making the food over spicy. The rice is seasoned perfectly. Their queso has a rich creamy flavor. And the chillenrelano was perfect, not too spicy and cooked in exactly the right fashion for perfect flavor and texture. read more

Terrible service, over hour an a half to eat and to get continuous service smh. Waiting forever to get drinks, Never again!

I would say the best thing here was the free chips and salsa but even that wasn't very tasty. Kitchen messed order up twice which was frustrating. The waitress was at least very apologetic. Maybe I'll choose a different entree if I go again. But honestly was a bad experience. read more

1st the menu is a mess. Too many items, too many strange things like spinach quesadilla and 5 different types of nachos. Has some strange background that makes it hard to read. I know we're a long way from Mexico but, it shouldn't be hard to execute a decent menu. Ordered three tacos, which were essentially meat, probably mozzarella cheese and pre made Taco Bell style crunchy taco shells. Hey el caporal put in some effort use fresh tortillas, make your own tortillas, or at the very least fry your own fresh tortillas so they don't turn to mush and fall apart. Not sure who the cook or owner(s) is/are but no self respecting Mexican/ Mexican American would call this good Mexican food. Neither would any Californian for that matter. The ground beef tacos were off and tasted like the meat came out of a can. read more

El Caporal - To go tacos, not good! I expect better from a restaurant! - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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I'm a Texas Mexican American and I liked this restaurant very much. I am so glad to have found this place. Now I would say while the Guacamole tasted great it was more of mashed up avocado. It wasn't the traditional guac with tomatoes, jalapenos, onion and cilantro that you can see. But I asked for a side of fresh jalapenos ($1) and it made it better. I also ordered the Queso Blanco (which i dropped some of the my side jalapeno into it) and it was fantastic. The Carne Asada tacos were great and they will serve them with onion and cilantro like you get in Mexico. The only issue is that the manager/owner is from Hidalgo and they use a heavy marinade. It was good but the meet was coated in this flavor which is was good but it depends on your preference. FLAN was pretty good. I hate that they add the whip cream and the jar maraschino cherry but it was tasty as well. All in All it was a great dinner. You can trust the taste and the fast service. I would definitely eat here again. Whether you like it spicy or bland they will accommodate you as long as you ask for it as I did. read more

This place is amazing. Fun times. Better come hungry. Portions are generous. Easy on the wallet. read more

El Caporal - This is a single order. Lots to eat. - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Stopped in for a quick bite after seeing a movie. The food was delicious. I ordered two tacos, one with chicken and one with shredded beef. They were so flavorful. My friends ordered burritos and said they were good also. What made this experience even better was that the owner talked to us for about 15 minutes and asked about our thanksgiving and we had a wonderful conversation. At the end, he ended up bringing us some of his thanksgiving turkey for us to try and it was delicious! I definitely would return. Although our waitress messed up our order and had no idea what she was doing haha, the owners friendliness made it all worth it and made us feel like we were a part of his family! read more

El Caporal - Dining area - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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You can find me here almost any given Friday with a strong margarita in hand! Yes this looks like a hole-in-the-wall mexican joint but it is hands down my favorite spot to go! Why you ask....let me count the ways: 1) The staff and kitchen are incredibly accommodating to guests and any special orders. I always order oil free vegetarian fajitas with black beans- no cheese - and corn tortillas. If comes out as ordered and if they accidently grab the regular tortillas on the way out of the kitchen they are quick to correct their mistake and apologize. 2) Hands down the best vegetarian fajitas in town (see above) 3) No weird orange beans mixed with nacho cheese 4) You can actually order black beans here! Why in the world a mexican restaurant cannot offer black beans or any beans other than refried is beyond my comprehension. 5) The hot salsa actually has some heat to it 6) They will make your frozen margarita stronger - in all of my experiences it was also at no extra cost. They then ask if it's okay and if it's not will remake it for you. 7) Their specials during lent are really good per my husband 8) Get the "margarita special" if you plan on drinking more than 1 12oz marg, its a better deal! 9) They will honor any other El Caporal coupons - Apparently each one is independently owned. I received a coupon in the mail saying 2.99 frozen 12oz margarita special everyday. Since I usually get the 12oz margarita I was a little shocked that I didn't know about the special. I took the coupon in with me the next time we ate there. The waitress explained that they do not currently offer that special but they would honor it this visit since I brought in the coupon....3 margaritas for me please :) 10) I'm pretty sure I can now be categorized as a regular because they know my order when I walk in the door, BUT they always ask if I want my usual instead of assuming that I do. read more

El Caporal - Strawberry Margarita and the margarita special - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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1) The food was sloppy and LAZY. 2) The waitress was rude, had gross fingernails, and then did a 180 with her attitude as soon as we get up to pay. 3) Price was the same as Mojitos (a 4-star restaurant) but had ZERO star food. It's a slap in the face to your wallet. 4) Bad lighting because they don't want you to see your slop on a plate. ON A GOOD NOTE: the salsa was good, and the coke was spectacular. Ice was 10/10. read more

The service is very good here.As soon as you sit down,they bring you chips and salsa which is really good by the way.The person I assume to be the manager(name started with D),was extremely friendly.Had a good conversation with him about the Derby and other places we would be hitting on our road trip.He even offered us to borrow his book about the Derby and bring it back the next day. The food is really good.Not the commercial type.You can see they really enjoy cooking the food. read more

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Omg. Seriously, this place is great. Great food, great service, what more could you ask for? Friendly staff and management. Food came out super fast and was delicious. Even called a friend to meet me because everything was so good. This place is a gem. In other markets, they could totally get away with charging an arm and a leg but they don't. Do yourself a favor and come here if you're local and support a great business. read more

El Caporal - Omg. This place is awesome. - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Authentic Mexican food. The best you'll find north of the border. Cold beer. Killer margaritas. You won't be sorry that you ate here.

This is right near my work so I go here every now and then. The waiting staff are the best! They always are friendly and fun to be around--they seem to really enjoy their role in the customer experience. The last time I came in, the food took about 25 minutes to be prepared, which was a first. I will still come back because of the friendly atmosphere, but I wasn't happy with the wait last time. If I were to recommend anything, try the fajita nachos. read more

Nice atmosphere. Several tv screens and a good location with plenty of parking. The chips and salsa were very good. Fresh chips along with hot and mild salsa were brought to the table. Beer was cold. I ordered chili colorado. The waiter had seen me using the hot salsa dip and let me know the chili colorado wasn't very spicy and asked if i would like it "hotter". That was observant and considerate. Service overall was very good. The black beans were great and the rice was good as well. The only thing preventing me from giving five stars would be the lack of meat in the main dish. It was more chili than colorado or another way to put it - same dish at El Nopal gets you twice as much carne. Prices were reasonable and they have various happy hour and lunch specials. read more

This is one of my favorite Mexican food places to eat!!! Everything I've tried is delicious and when you've had a hard week and a beer just won't cut it ... the Margaritas are just what you need!! read more

They have decent Mexican food for gringos. They seat you quickly and serve you quickly. They have good specials for cheap margaritas. Just know: it could take 20+ minutes to get your bill after you've finished eating. A trip to the bar for a drink is a better option read more

Was visiting and found this place close to the hotel. Pretty good food and good service. read more

El Caporal - Mexican Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

The burrito deluxe was delicious and filling. I'll definitely come back again. And good service at the bar.