Worst experience in a long time. We went in at 8:30, half an hour until closing. We asked are you sure and ordered bean burritos. I could make those in 5 minutes. These arrived cold, but not just cooled off. These were cold beans and seemed like they had been taken right out of the can. The cheese did not melt, anywhere. The enchilada sauce was also cold and I'm not talking about room temperature. Maybe our mistake was going in there after the cooks were cleaning up already, but the few waiters in the place were just standing around. When we went to pay, up to the register because no one brought the check, two people had to go look for the manager. He said we should have sent it back. Maybe. I don't think they would have ever come though. So, this place really is just as bad as everyone says. Also, sending food back kind of defeats the purpose of eating out. read more

The refried beans are creamy like butter. We ordered the steak chilaquiles which was drenched in cheese and was delicious. We also ordered steak fajitas Meat was cold on the inside but seasoned well. read more

Wow. Really horrible. Gave us the wrong order and had to drive back... On the plus side, if you are looking for chicken enchiladas that are so dry you can remove the entire contents as one "piece" so you can go low carb, this is your place. read more

El Molinito - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

Called in a pick up order. Pick up only due to Covid closures. This place had a crowd around the front counter, and people sitting in booths waiting for orders. No workers wearing a mask or gloves . Not following distance guidelines. Lady at front counter was not calling names when ready, so it was a disorganized mess. Food was not up to usual standards due to sitting around so long before we were able to get it. This place needs a manager! I saw 2 people leave without there food because they were so disgusted with poor service and lack of care. Won't go back until things get back to normal. read more

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! Made reservation over two weeks ago, called TWICE to confirm, walked in to find out they "lost" our reservation! Ruined a 50th surprise party! Manger was a complete JERK!!!! read more

Decided to try El Molinito again. Last time was poor so we went for over a year without eating there. BIG mistake! They were worst this time. My wife's meat and cheese enchiladas were cold and lacked sauce. I had chili Rellenos that were under cooked and lacked any sauce on top. Food was generally cold. We live near this place, but that isn't enough to bring us back. Service was poor! read more

We have been going to the original Casa Molina's for decades and love them, this is nothing like them! We sat in the bar tonight, right off the bat the bartender was rude to us. One of the things we love most about Casa Molina is their giant cheese crisps. We ordered a cheese crisp and asked how big the small was, the bartender showed us with his hands and then said "the large is large", we decided to go with the large. When it came out the cheese crisp was the size he had indicated the small would be. We questioned him and he said this was the large. I'm not sure if he rang in the wrong one and lied to to us or if this really was the large, and he was just grossly inaccurate in his description to us. The cheese crisp was so greasy it was pretty much inedible. To make matters worse the bartenders phone keep going off with text messages and he was glued to his phone, just leaning against the bar texting and playing on his phone the entire time we were there, the absolute worst service ever! read more

El Molinito - The bartender ignoring us to text...the entire time we were there - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

I normally go to the one on Ina and I have not been here at this location for awhile but I have to say I was quite disappointed in the level of service and appearance of the place. But when I got there are hostess could not understand me but I could not understand her clearly it was not very busy it took 10 minutes for me to get my drink and another 10 minutes for us to be asked if we wanted to order that when we did order the waiters never came back to our table but once it took about 40 minutes for a food to get out the food was in good condition tasted great the bathroom for horrible they had air fresheners all over the place and the smell still permeate through read more

They catered our wedding. Overall our guests enjoyed the food and the setup/take down delivery person was awesome!

I am giving this restaurant 3 stars because the place was nice and clean and we enjoyed the food. We have eaten at other locations...so we placed Our order right away...My boyfriend: Shredded Beef Chimichanga ( Enchilada style) and I: Steak Fajitas... Our server...however...wasn't too friendly and did the bare minimum...I asked for water with lemon...she repeated it...so I know she heard me...received my water with no lemon...she dashed off before I can say anything...came back 10 minutes later to refill ( did I mention it wasn't busy)...I then asked her if I could have some lemon...she just said yes...no "my bad" or "oops sorry about that"...came back with lemon...we then had to ask if we could have chips n salsa...she again said yes...but... was another 10 minute wait...and about the same waiting time before we received our food...which was Bomb by the way...My boyfriend and I have eaten at all 4 locations in Tucson and would say the one on Ina rd is where you'll get the friendliest service with the same yummy food...they have excellent prices by the way...My Steak Fajitas were only $10.99 and their portions are awesome...We haven't tried it yet but their buffet looks yummy too...it's just $9.99 read more

El Molinito - Steak Fajitas.. with the other plate..Rice, Beans, Green Chili Salsa, Lettuce N Cheese and a side of Tortillas - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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I was disappointed to say the least with this location. It was run down and messy when I went. I took my family of 4 in and we saw our waitress maybe 2-3 times. Once to greet us, someone else brought our food out and she brought out the check. I don't know. I wouldn't recommend. There's plenty of good restaurants near by. read more

So visiting from out of town stayed just around the corner and came here before reading yelp reviews which is something I rarely do. Long story short believe all the 1 star ratings. 1 star is one too many. read more

They advertise a Sunday buffet from 10am-3pm, however, on this Sunday when I went in they decided not to have the buffet. Meal was okay and certainly not the variety I was expecting. I will probably not be back. I only tend to business with those businesses that offer what they advertised. Very disappointed! read more

Love the salsa and chips! Don't order the cheese crisp- greasy, soggy, and has too much cheese. The enchiladas are good and the beans! Service has been good to great each time we visit. Lots of waiters don't even write down what we order and they don't mess up the orders- impressive. Decent food for the low price. read more

El Molinito - Chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

I don't venture to oro valley that much but thought i would give this little place a try given its proximity to El Conquistador. I know this building has changed restaurant types several times, wonder if it is because of the location. Anywho, stopped for a quick bite to eat on a Saturday at 1-ish. Maybe two tables in side. the decor was decent, the people friendly, but honestly the food left something to be desired. I guess with all the options that are super awesome in Tucson, i thought the sentiment would continue to the northern suburb. I was wrong. Very plain jane "Mexican" style food. It looked great and the portions were great size, it just did not compare to even the chain offerings a little further south. The staff was friendly and although did not make any suggestions were always there when needed. I guess when it comes to eating out at a local Mexican place, I will stick to the southern city limits. read more

Don't believe YELP menus prices. Steak Vaquero says 8.99 and Guacamole Salad says 5.99 on Yelp. You will get ripped off as they charged 13.99 and 8.99 respectively. What a gouging - maybe that is the new COVID pickup pricing. Food was just OK for pickup, but definitely not worth the price. read more

At the Bartender's suggestion I ordered the Enchiladas De La Casa and they were outstanding!!! Would definitely come here again!

I will NEVER go to El Molinito again. Terrible service, unfriendly and a manager that has no interest in providing fine food.

Amazing food! Quick and good service. Highly recommend! Great quality food, we all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. Chimichanga and enchiladas were absolutely the best we've had. read more

Dinner at this establishment is good. The chips are fresh and the salsa is spicy but not to spicy so my wife can enjoy it to. I got the Molinito Asada platter, which includes steak strips with onion and peppers and a small stack of flat enchiladas. It all cane on a skillet so it was nice and hot when I got it. It was the best 13.99 I've spent in a while. I highly recommend this place and will go back and order the same thing no doubt. The wife got albondigas which is a soup with meatballs. The meatballs needed to be cooked a bit more. Price=good, food=good, wait staff=ok/typical, clean inside and out. read more

Love Molinito on Oracle. This is our favorite. We take friends and family as often as we can

Great Cadillac Margarita. Have had several meals here and all have been good. Beef tamale is excellent. Combo #1 has been my favorite. You can customize which meets etc. You want on your combo. read more

Worst Mexican food I have ever had anywhere in the country. You would be better off getting a microwavable Mexican dish from the frozen food aisle in the grocery store. Bland, flavorless food with abusive amounts of cheese used as filler in every dish. Apparently the old snowbirds in Oro Valley must like tasteless food because I can't think of any other reason why this place is still in business. read more

This place is the worst Mexican place in Tucson. There is nothing authentic about this place. The server did not get or order right. She gave us extra beans and we asked for "NO" beans extra rice. We ordered shrimp fajita and we got 6 small shrimps on top of a pile of burned peppers. The carne Asada burrito was wrapped with 3 layers of crusty burrito and the meat was dry as Tucson desert!!! I was disappointed that they don't have cheese dip, nachos and NO HORCHATA!!! read more

I'm giving three stars because I've been here before and the service was good and the food is decent. But for today's experience I would only give one star. The service was TERRIBLE!! Whatever you do if you get Ana ask for a different server. She never checked on me or refilled my drink or gave me a knife. I had to waive down another server to get things I needed. Then I tracked down yet another server to see if he could find her so that I could get my check, 15 minutes went by and she still never brought my check. I finally just had to get up and go to the front counter and try to get my check that way. Worst service ever read more

We gave this place a second chance. The first time we dined in the restaurant and the food was very good. Unfortunately, it seemed our server was not having a good day. When she brought my husband's margarita to the table, she put it beside me without saying anything and walked away. Our second experience was in the cantina for Happy Hour. Several of the workers were sitting in a nearby booth occupied with their cellphones, eating, and/or visiting. Our first drinks were offered promptly and that was the end of service. We were ignored and gave up waiting to be asked if we would like a second drink. When we asked for our check and complained about the lack of service, we were informed that the bartender would not arrive until 4 p.m. Happy Hour begins at 3:00. read more

One of our favorite Mexican food restaurants . The service is very good their food is excellent. Their Chili relleneos are to die for. We love their shredded beef tacos but stopped ordering them because the meat is always too wet which makes the tacos fall apart, but there are many other options . They also have the best iced tea in town . Prices are more then fair for what you get. If you love Mexican food this is the place. read more

I wanted to check out a Mexican restaurant around my area, and I asked "Siri" about it , so this restaurant came up, i have being to other ones from the same chain and have had ok experiences however i told my self today I oughta check out one of these in the " nice side of town" since they tend to give better service , well......I can see why they have a 2.5 star rating. I have worked and managed restaurants for at least 10 years and done management training about customer service skills ,and let me tell ya! This place has a lot of room for Improvement , starting from the moment you walk in to the restaurant. As son as I stepped in thru those door I was not greeted at all by the hostess ,I had to stand there to wait for her to do so , ( I still said hi first )then I promptly asked for the rest room. The men's rest room also has a lot of room for improvement ,1.- for instance the odor as soon as you walk in, they had at least 6+ of those deodorants laying around and they all were VISIBLE to guests. As if they were some type of ornamental items. 2.i asked the hostess what the specials were for the day , first thing she pointed was to the clock before she even said the spatial of the day which she didn't know by heart she had to go grab a menu or pamphlet ( which I understand she might be new or something idk,also the language barrier could be an issue I may add I've being told I can come across as a little intimidating to others , not that I mean to but it's just the way I carry myself everywhere ) 3. She mentioned the happy hour specials about $1 off and also said something about "mini chimis " and she was hesitant about it , not very convinced about it. Which also doesn't look good , all employees need to be sure about all specials and if not have a daily special menu or " cheat sheet" handy so they don't have to walk away from the guest area and miss another one coming in. 4. I walk myself to the bar area and a women dressed with a tuxedo style attire greeted me promptly but in a "dry and cold " manner lacking of hospitality and/or welcomeness , she placed some Silverware and a menu and asked me if I was ready to order even tho I had just ordered a small pitcher of beer. The right question should have being " Would you like to order something from our menu..our happy hour starts in about an hour ...etc c etc. But none of that was done. 5.-my salsa and chips were not refilled nor the bartender asked me for anything else until 45 minutes went by ( don't believe me ? Check your cameras ) she instead went and had a "meeting" with other employees , I don't know if it was work related but that's besides the point , she never checked with me for 45 minutes nor sent anyone Else to check on me. Keep in mind The restaurant was very slow from 2 to 3 pm , also saw the store manager I believe walk around the store several times and not "touch tables" with any of the guest let alone to me. 6.-a different bar tender girl came along after 3 pm (night shift I suppose ) and she was just as distant as the other tender , after I finished my small pitcher of beer around 3:10pm (hour and 10 minutes later ) I asked about special happy hour again but when I asked she was cleaning the blender and I said " excuse me " to what she answers "yes" ( but didn't Approached me to listen to what I had to say since I was siting at the extreme opposite corner of the bar , I wasn't going to yell across the room and say what I needed. Then I said : I have a question but with a certain tone of voice , not disrespectful but yet acknowledging I wanted her to approach me. You as an enployeee even as a manager of this restaurant after reading my comments may or could be offended for absolutely no reason , but if that's the case (I hope not because that's not the purpose of this review ) you should actually feel grateful that someone a customer that is , took the time to write this long review on your staff and premises to pint point something that you probably don't see while your "managing" , feedback from your guests is crucial is what gives you the opportunity to grow as a company and as a business. Good or bad I necessary for growth. Shorty after this I waned to pay my bill and get going , so I looked around and nobody was near by , I strongly dislike when this happens , there's no reason why a bar customer should be unattended let alone for that long period of time. So I stood up to draw attention to me but no success i sat back down and stood up again but this time I made noise with the stool/bar chair and no luck again , despite the fact that the manager and bartender were behind me having a "meeting" , so I got up for the 3rd time And went to the restroom and as I walked toward the back I notoced there were 4 female employees at the main entrance where register is at just chatting about non work related stuff , I went back to the bar and still no attention until i had to say I needed to cash out and had a really.... read more

The service is atrocious. After pleading with management over and over I have given up on this place. The waiters act like they are doing you a favor and the managers are not interested in any way shape or form to do anything about it. Food is good but service is horrible read more

We'll never return and the reason is not the food, but the charges on our debit cards. The charges never debited until three weeks later and, of course, we no longer have the receipts but there's no way we would have left tips that large for marginal quality food and service. There are multiple charges over three days that are simply not possible, so it's a trip to the bank to dispute this. Update in October: I received a call from the manager after I emailed him and have since been back and will return often. The debit situation is something I'll continue to watch but the food's good and it's convenient and prices are okay. read more

New to area. This was suggested by a friend. Great service, food and prices. I had cheese enchiladas with a white sauce on top. Our waitress was so nice. I needed an extra order to take home to husband and she placed the order right at the end so it would still be hot and even bagged up some chips and salsa. Beats any place I have eaten so far. They have a Saturday and Sunday buffet for $9.99. How can you beat that? Going back today. read more

We visit family in Tucson each year. We have sampled Mexican food in over 20 states and this place is THE BEST IN AMERICA!!! Spicy and luscious. Try it and decide. read more

Best Mexican food I've eaten in years! Wow, this is great stuff. I'll probably be eating here once/week, at least, now. The beef fajitas which come with grilled veggies, were properly seasoned, the ground beef enchiladas were a bit on the spicy hot side (really good!) and the chimichangas were pretty good, too. Some people judge Mexican food restaurants on their salsa, I judge how good they are based on their homemade chips. These were ideal, not at all greasy as some cook them. This is worth many return visits. Hasta pronto! read more

The food is good and the prices are great, especially during lunch hours. Waiters remember you and give good service. Took a star off just cuz the men's room has a rank odor but if avoided well worth it. read more

I just checked in to see if anything has changed in the last few months since my last review. Same old complaints. Very poor customer service, food quality, and waiting for the check, patrons ignored. Over and over again, same complaints from reading other reviews. It's amazing how long management lets this continue and still no attempt to make any changes. Mind blowing. read more

Excellent lunch today of beef tacos, beans and rice plus chips and huge bowl of tasty salsa - all for well under $20! I've been here with friends but this was husband's first time. We'll be back! In spite of Covid rules, server Andres' and the rest of the team did an outstanding job! It's a mystery why this restaurant doesn't score higher. It deserves 5 stars and more! read more

Decided to finally check the place out after moving to Oro Valley recently. It was a mistake. The ambiance is pretty odd and feels dirty. Service was pretty bad as we waited quite some time to pay and get out of there, which we were attempting to do as quickly as we could. As far as the food goes it's definitely not fresh. The beans have no resemblance of beans and is more like grey slop. Other than the beans the food alright. It would be a good hangover restaurant with the amount of grease and quality of food. Bagged lettuce is something else that was a stand out. Anyways, totally not worth it. Plenty of people entered the restaurant while we were there looking highly confused and disappointed. read more

Sucked sucked sucked! Service was terrible and they got my order wrong. Ordered a cheese crispy that had cheese on it that was hard. Maybe it was sitting for a while, but it was inedible. While the place is way nicer than other El Molinito's in Tucson, the food and service was terrible that I cannot recommend this to anyone. read more

Ugh! Nasty! No flavor for most of the food and what did have flavor was just nasty. Waiter walking around serving customers with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth! Classless location overall. I would not recommend this to an enemy! read more

Heartbroken to write this review as I am a loooong time lover of El Molinito. And, was terribly excited to have it in Oro Valley!! My experience tonight was dreadful. We were a party of 5. My husband and I both ordered Fajitas. We waited a fairly long time for the food - 15 minutes after the server acknowledged it was taking a while and that our food was coming out "very soon." The Fajitas were cold. We asked that they be remade. I ALL other locations, the Fajitas came out sizzling. These were cold enough that the cast iron was no longer hot. The server said she would "warm it up" and we said, again, for it to be remade. It took another bit of time, we picked at the side dishes waiting for our main course hoping it would come out sizzling. Nope it came out of the kitchen with hot tomato sauce on it - skillets still only warm. YUCK!!! The meat was now cold and smothered. The shrimp was inedible. Only a taste of the shrimp was taken off of the skillet. We asked for the shrimp to be removed from the check. The server rolled her eyes and said we should try something else. Beef? No, we didn't enjoy that either. More time passed, finally, after another 10 minutes, we asked for the server, and the check. More time. When the check came, we were charged for all of the sides separately for the shrimp we didn't eat. UGH! I guess that is fair because we had eaten over 1/2 of the side, but really? No apology for dreadful food that had to be sent back, and then refused. Poor, poor showing for a place I was so excited to try. Do yourself a favor and try another location. read more