Had lunch with my wife and we were happy in so many ways. We ordered off the lunch menu and had many nice, inexpensive choices. I had a shredded beef taco with tamale (no sauce). Taco was packed with good tasting, tender meat. The tamale was much better than most restaurant tamales. Really enjoyed both. My wife's chicken burrito was very large and full of meat (no bean filler). Terrific! All for under $15!!! Service was outstanding! We'll be back. read more

This place always seems busy, so we decided to try them out. Food is good and we're obsessed with the refried beans. Prices are OK, service is OK. My only complaint is every time we've eaten here (about 5 times now) we always have difficulty with the language barrier between the staff and ourselves. Can be confusing and slightly annoying. read more

We wanted to try this place for the last year and finally did. Chips were good not stale. Salsa was pretty good no complaints. Had a chimi it wasn't good the oil tasted old and so did the beef. I couldn't eat it but it wasn't our poor waiters fault so I just kept it to myself however I did tell him the beans were pretty awful. Never had beans with that much lard. It's more like lard and beans. Husband had enchiladas recommended by waiter. There was a huge chicken bone that he choked on and then he was turned off by taste smell all of it. I tasted it to see if he was full of it and I immediately knew why he didn't like it. It was not fresh and tasted of old dirty refrigerators. read more

We just had a fantastic late lunch! The service was amazing and the food was delicious! Our waitress was very nice! We will be coming back to the location in Oro Valley! read more

Every time we come here the service gets worse. They keep raising the prices of their buffet and the service is terrible. We always have to go hunt down our waitress to get a drink refill or our check. I think they definitely need to improve their customer service! read more

We visited about a week after it opened for a late lunch. When we arrived at 1:30pm the restaurant was packed! It has more of an Applebees/generic "feel" to it than a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, and we were seated in a booth in the bar area, but that's where the similarities end. This was most definitely an authentic Mexican restaurant, and we had a wonderful experience! Our server was outstanding; he anticipated every need (e.g. refilling soda without asking and before even being done with the previous glass), checked in with us appropriately often without being intrusive, and was genuinely friendly. As some have noted, the wait time for food was a little longer than other Mexican restaurants we've been to, but I wouldn't put it at more than 20-30 minutes. I personally take that as a really good sign that our food is being PREPARED, rather than simply dished onto a plate, and when enjoying delicious chips and salsa (my favorite of all the restaurants we visited; the chips were thick and the salsa had a bit of a kick to it) and margaritas (again my favorite...not sweet, as the waiter had promised, and on the strong side which is always a nice boost to the afternoon!) who cares?! If not in a hurry, under those conditions the more wait time the better as long as good food follows, which it did. My husband had a chicken chimichanga (enchilada/the works style), and I had a chicken enchilada. The enchilada sauce was white, which I wasn't expecting but it clearly said "de la casa" and this was defined elsewhere on the menu. Both were delicious, but I preferred the chimi being more of a red sauce gal. The refried beans had more flavor than other establishments, but were a bit on the watery side. I still really enjoyed them, as well as the rice. Overall, one of our favorite places that we visited! The excellent service, combined with outstanding fresh ingredients prepared well, and VERY reasonable/low pricing made for a truly memorable visit. We're planning on staying in the hotel on the property on which it is housed next time we visit Tucson, so we're looking forward to many more visits to El Molinito! read more

My husband has been in hospital for 4 days, when he got home yesterday all he wanted to eat was El Molinito Mexican. I did make him wait 1 day. It's always worth the wait. Everything about this restaurant is wonderful, all the staff, the food is sooo good, we are so happy El Molinito Rest., came to Oro Valley... read more

Good food & good service. Although the wait staff wears formal uniforms, it's actually very casual. If you are looking for American-Mexican food, this is an inexpensive with big portions kind of place. Glad it's no longer The Loop ( which we called The Poop for exact reasons). Would have liked to see more changes to the interior - the "look" still feels like you're eating at The Loop. read more

Great carne asada plate, excellent salsa, and ice cold beer. Friendly staff. Will definitely be back....stayed at the hilton next door, will be there for another week, will def b back to try other items. read more

Just horrible the place is nice and food was good but the service was no good my waitress was sitting down by the bar chatting with other waiters while I was sitting there waiting for a soda refill also no one brought my check I had to get up and get it from the cashier no tip for her!! Wont be coming back to this location. read more

Do not waste your time and money. Food is terrible! Go to Taco Bell, it's that bad! One star cuz I can't give no stars. That star is for our server Luis, he tried! And this place has 4 location s around Tucson!!! Incredible! read more

Worst carne seca ever - like dog food with green chiles in it. The waitress was smug and the server stuck her thumb in my plate as she served it. The beans were great but I'll never be going back. read more

My husband and I have been eating, at least a couple times a month, at the El Molinito in Oro Valley since it opened. We have noticed the place is going downhill in both service and food! This is sad. Last night we ordered take out. The man who took the order over the phone was good and read the order back to me...it was all correct. He said 15-20 minutes and my husband was there in 20 minutes. The order was not ready. (No big deal) When it came out one of the four entrees was missing. They made the missing shredded beef and bean chimichanga, he paid and left a half hour later. When I opened my container, I noticed a quarter inch of oil on the bottom of it...the lettuce and cheese were swimming in oil! The chimi was crisp (and oily) on the outside but shrunken inside the outer one layer shell as the meat in the chimi was less than half as much as usual! There were no beans in it. Everyone else got what they ordered but each burrito or chimi was cut open like they were checking to see what it was in the kitchen!?! Who is working in that kitchen?? I don't know what has changed, whether it is the owner or manager, the kitchen staff, the wait staff...but something is different. A lack of caring on some level is going on and this is not good. This is not the first time we have had problems...both eating in the restaurant and take out orders. It is becoming consistent and will not be our first choice for Mexican food anymore. I hate the idea of Oro Valley losing a restaurant! read more

Our family had the worst experience in the Oro Valley location this evening. The service started out great (server David is a sweet guy and he has served us before) but unfortunately things went downhill very quickly. We waited a very long time to be served our meals and when they arrived we had no silverware. The food arrived lukewarm at best but it took another 5 minutes to get us utensils so by then the food was cold. David tried very hard to make things right and I got a new plate that was hot and delicious. But, we never got water refills despite asking, staff were standing around talking and not paying any attention or offering to assist other servers who had busy sections and even the manager Obidio (not sure of the spelling) was standing and laughing with staff in the front of the restaurant. I observed staff casually drinking beverages and then placing them in plain view of customers just like their own living room. We asked to speak with Obidio and he was utterly useless beyond asking if the server brought out a hot plate. His supervisor, Sergio, came out (after we were told he wasn't there tonight) and was rude and disrespectful. He basically called our family "liars" and said he didn't understand why our food was cold. I calmly pointed out that he is the manager and runs a horrible restaurant. We then had to wait for the bill and despite Obidio saying he would comp one meal, the bill did not reflect that. When brought to the attention of Sergio he informed his server that if we didn't pay the bill that it would come out of his paycheck. I assured David this would not happen. How ridiculous and such deplorable management skills. How do people like this get jobs? My husband and I placed a call to the owner, Wayne, and he never called back. It is clear that this restaurant business does not care about customer service. I am so sad tonight as this truly was my favorite Mexican food restaurant but we will never return. This is the third bad experience we've had in as many visits. We went tonight with high hopes as two months ago we sent invitations to host our parents' 50th wedding anniversary dinner at this restaurant. After this awful experience, my sister and I will make alternate arrangements. That's 60 people that this restaurant will never serve. Their loss. read more

This is the WORST Mexican food restaurant I've ever eaten at!! The chips tasted like they were about a week old. When I asked the waiter about them, he said they weremade fresh this morning! I couldn't believe it. Then We sat and waited and waited for someone to take our order. I looked back and Roman our "waiter" was playing with his phone with another waiter. They see me looking at them rather unhappily. Finally he comes to get our order. Then ANOTHER LONG BREAK, our food FINALLY COMES, Like 20 minutes, Maybe longer! I had ordered 3 tacos all different kinds . He brings 3 fish tacos, Clearly not what I had ordered. The other orders consisted of 6 hamburger patties kid meals with french fries, The rest of the four orders consisted of tacos rice and beans. Our orders should have been out in 5 minutes tops!! So I have to wait for my food again Because it was incorrect. Quickly he brought out another dish for me, cold as ice, Not tasty at all! Downright horrible!! He avoided our table , Like as if it were the plague. Then it was time to pay, I explained to the manager what all had taken place for our meal. NOT EVEN an "I am sorry that this didn't turn out well for you, was muttered......" "NOTHING" WHICH WAS REALLY SAD!! The last thing I said to him was "are you the manager?" When he said yes I couldn't believe it at all!! I told him that made everything even 10 times worse for me. If I can tell you anything please do not go to this restaurant you will be sorry!! Should have looked up the reviews to start with!! read more

Food is always good. Service is rocky to poor. We seem to have a problem with younger generation of servers. We thought everything was great after initially opening but overI time service has gone down hill. The refried beans are great as is the rest of the menu items. Service needs follow up in getting items in timely manner(20 min) for cheese crisp amd delivered at same time as meal. No one checks up on you once food is delivered. I reported my thoughts twice to cashier so time to move on. read more

So, I'll start off by saying that I hope this place gets its act together. The place itself (seating areas, decor, bar etc) looks great after remodel and has a lot of potential. It would be great to have a nice, popular Mexican restaurant in the area. The prices were very doable. So with that said, service (and then our food) was a mess. Our server came to our table of five muttering "this is a disaster" and talking about how other customers hated him for having to wait over an hour (indeed the people next to us warned us that they had been waiting for their food over an hour). Anyway, I felt that the waiter lacked a certain professionalism based on his comments about his job and other customers, even for a casual place. After waiting 40 minutes for our food, the dishes were basically hit or miss. One three taco plate was well received, as was the chimichanga, which we all tried and found yummy. However, my mother's and my enchiladas were overcooked, with whole sections being so hard we could not cut through them nor chew through them. I had ordered the cheese enchiladas and I didn't even know this could happen to cheese enchiladas! We ended up only eating half of what we were served. The final dish served was okay but nothing great, according to my uncle. We never got a refill of chips, though we asked a good 25 minutes before receiving our food. Once we had our food, the waiter disappeared and we then had to wait roughly 15 minutes for the bill after requesting it well after we finished eating. Again, I hope this place works out its kinks, both inside and outside the kitchen. We are willing to give it one more shot. read more

El Molinito - Three taco plates - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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10 minutes before someone asked us for our drink order. Another 15 minutes before the 3 of us got the correct drinks (2 margaritas and 1 Corona). Then 25 minutes to get our food. The steak was cold. I ordered the #3 which is 2 enchiladas 1 taco and beans. I asked for chicken on all. The enchiladas came both as cheese with huge chunks of onions. The waiter never came to check on us so we had to get up from our table to tell him the order was wrong. He said he would get 2 chicken enchiladas. 20 minutes later he came to say he was trying to get them. We said we didn't want them and to take my meal off our check. He did take it off and walked away. We waited another 10 minutes for him to pick up our payment. Not once did the manager come by to see how things were. Terrible service! Since this was only the 2nd weekend this location was open, we may come back but not for a few months. If you are thinking of going, wait a couple months! read more

For the price, El Molinito can't be beat. Especially as far as sit-down Mexican restaurants go. I like to refer to El Molinito's as 'Casa Molina lite'. What do I mean by that? Well, for starters, its owned by the same family that owns all the Casa Molina restaurants. So in case you were wondering why theyre using the same logo, fonts, and menu items, that's why. Sure, the food isn't as good as Casa Molina, but you arent paying Casa Molina prices either. Everything ive tried on the menu, is well priced, and delicious. I highly recommend the green corn tamales and albondigas and flan for dessert. read more

I wish there was a NO STAR rating. On Wednesday, our party of 6 arrived at El Moliniito (Oro Valley) for dinner. Our party consisted of 3 adults and three. teenage boys. I won't discuss ther dinners because these guys have no clue as to what is good, bad or indifferent. Two of them are extremely picky eaters and the oldest one will eat most anything. Our dinners arrived. My wife ordered the #1 combination plate. Taco, tamale, enchilada and beans. Tamale and enchilada were cold. Sent it back to the kitchen to be microwaved again. My son and I both ordered the Asada Special. This dish consisted of Beef (fajaita style strips of steak) chilaqqutas, green onions (only one one on each dish) , beans, rice, salsa ranchera (aka pico de gallo), lettuce and 2 tortillas. A few years ago, this dish used to come out of the kitchen sizzling to the table. No molre. The chilaquitas were burned and stuck to the bottom of the iron pan in which the entre was served. Tasted like old reheated lasagna that had burned. The green onion was limp and old looking as it had obviously been cooked (unnecessarily) too long. Something was missing in the salsa and I think it may have been a squeeze of lime. The side plates consisted of the beans, dry, flavorless rice, warm lettuce and salsa. Obviously everything was prre plated and placed into the oven en masse as the varied items require different cooking times and temperatures. Items shuch as lettuce, green onions and salsa ranchera don't even need to be cooked. I think the El Molinito organization has grown too large and I suspect that they are using a central commissary kitchen, shipping the food to the various restaurants, and reheating the meals in a microwave or convection oven at those sites. . In other word, their meals are prepared at another location and simply reheated on site This is not the El Molinito of years ago. This was a second chance for them as this was pretty much a repeat of an earlier visit. We gave them a second chance then as they had just recently opened this location. There is much better Mexican food available. You will probably have to drive a few miles South, but believe me its worth the drive. We're done with El Molinito read more

Waiter took way to long the chips were hard salsa cold they got our order wrong multiple times. He teased us with water we waited 20 minutes I was not Impressed of their work. The lighting was bad for selfies terrible location there is mountains all around us I couldn't see one#smh read more

Went to El Molinito. Received awful service which continued after I spoke to a manager. Won't be going back there again.

I just had the most disappointing experience I have ever had at El Molinito. I've been to this location and the one on Ina road several times. The Ina road location is good, with good service (in my experience), but I have had several issues with the OV location, causing me to finally write this review. The visit started out normal enough, but quickly went down hill. My major issues were: first and foremost, my order was incorrect and incomplete, the enchiladas were drowning in red sauce and I did not received the side of beans advertised on the menu. Also, I ordered chicken enchiladas, but was given cheese (and they used Cheddar cheese, which became very greasy, chunky, and stringy when melted). I did not get a chance to ask for corrections, because the server never returned after delivering our meal to check on us, which is my second and biggest compliant. The whole time we were eating, not once did she drop by to see how we were doing. Consequently our drinks ran out, which is a pet peeve of mine. The guacamole seemed to have more onion than avocado, so definitely not my favorite. Lastly, since the server never returned, we never got our check. Honestly we probably could have walked out of the restaurant without paying, and nobody would have noticed. I finally gave up and walked up to the front desk to pay. Overall, I think I am done with this location. Sorry guys, I won't be back! read more

Typically this location is great...buttttt I made a reservation for a birthday party of 15 people. We were seated right away, but within minutes I knew this would be a disaster. Our waitress was a scatter brain and couldn't even TAKE the order correctly. Food came out in bits and pieces. One meal didn't come out until EVERYONE ELSE WAS DONE EATING. She didn't apologize or even offer to do anything to make it better. So the meal that came out verrryyy last was shrimp fajitas (after waiting 25 additional minutes for this plate) they didn't even bring the tortillas out with it, I was shocked and pissed! I tried to explain to her that we had 2 boys celebrating their birthdays (she didn't understand at allllllllll) so one flan came out (leaving one of the boys to feel left out) with no excitement, no happy birthday song, nothingggg! I was sooooo disappointed that I left a 2$ tip and I've NEVERRRR left a tip this small, ever in my life! read more

Our company used to use these guys to cater "treat" buffets. The staff got tired of "food" that looked like it had already been eaten. Not missed. read more

This was the worst service I have ever had. We arrived around 6:00 and they took our order shortly after, at 6:30 the waiter told us are order was lost, so we reorder. At 7:00 still no dinner. We went up front and asked to talk to a manager, after waiting for 5 minutes we walked out. Won't be returning! read more

I am disappointed and grossed out. I have used El Molinito for catering and it was great! This morning my husband and I were the first there as they opened. They were just setting out the buffet food. As we sat down, no one was there to help us because all employees were gathered around the food severing themselves using their OWN utensils dish to dish because there were no serving spoons out. After about 10 minutes someone took our drink order, then got her food and sat down. While eating, my husband observed Christian (an employee) walk over and grab another chimichanga with his hands from the buffet. The food was cold and not very good but we were horrified by the blatant disregard for sanitary practices. There were three patrons and about 10 employees, all busy eating. A suggestion? Maybe employees eat prior to opening using proper utensils. Additionally, when we left they were still putting out food, that was 30 minutes after they opened. My husband and I had no words for the unprofessionalism and poor management, gross! read more

Weve been here several times. The service and food is always fast and consistent. The margaritas Rock and the refried beans are the creamiest in town!! Douglass our server was Awesome!! This is a great place. Not sure why it's a favorite for haters?????? read more

Salsa and guac were fresh! Great prices for lunch menu, plus had leftovers for another day. Loved it.

Went about 4 pm today and the food was very good. Hubby had ground beef enchiladas and I the shredded beef burrito enchilada style with sour cream. Rice was good and ranchero beans were good. Everything seemed clean and server was prompt and knowledgeable. We will be back. Hope everything continues to be as good as it was today. So glad to have another good Mexican restaurant in Oro Valley. read more

My wife and are pretty picky when it comes to Mexican food, and this place has some great dishes. The service has been good, and the albondigas soup is second to none around town. The enchiladas and shredded beef are delicious. Their chips and salsa are always good and seem to be made in-house. Margaritas are very good, and beers are always cold and served with a chilled mug. This location seems to have found their stride. The price is very reasonable. My wife and I had lunch today with a margarita and a beer on the bill it was less than $25.00. read more

Six of us ate at El Molinito last evening around 5:30. We were seated immediately, our server, Carla, was excellent, food was very good and priced exceptionally well. Would recommend and will definitely go again. read more

I've been going to the one on Ina for years and always get the Enchiladas de la Casa, which I Love. I had been waiting so long for the opening of this one and was so excited when I saw it was open when I drove by. I turned around and got it to go. The place being open made my day until I tasted the food. It was Horrible! Inside with the chicken was cheddar cheese and Ina didn't put that inside. The worst part was the white sauce. I don't know what they did to it, but they really know how to ruin a good thing. I'm really Bummed now and will be going back to the one on Ina even though it's a lot farther. read more

Here is a hint!...if you can't make a decent margarita you should not be in the Mexican food business. There is nothing good about this place.....you would be better off at Taco Bell read more

Food is very good, however service is not up to pat. Their Ina location is much more friendly.

We love this place- it is our "go to" place for lunch or dinner once or twice a week ! Chips fresh and good , salsa excellent to start . Food well prepared, prices by far the most reasonable in the Tucson area . Staff friendly, informative and attentive . Enjoyable experience all the way around ! read more

We enjoyed our experience here. The hostessing here was excellent, so the moment you walked in the door, a positive impression was created. The restaurant offers a full bar and a very broad menu. I had albondigas soup which was great, and a salad. Our server was a very young man, named Ruben, very friendly and dedicated to making sure we got everything to make us happy. I ordered a dry vodka martini with a twist, and the bartender came to our booth to confirm our drink order and check to see which brand of spirits was preferred. After a satisfying dinner we repaired to the bar, where there was a dynamic duo working together: Juan, a native of Tucson, and Ali, a very experienced mixologist who described himself as "The First Persian Cowboy." Very engaging, very hospitable place, from the minute we walked in the door for dinner: this is particularly special as it is next door to a big hotel and has a lot of through traffic. read more

El Molinito - Albondigas soup, guacamole salad, combo plate, tortillas in foil, chips and salsa. - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

I was at El Molinito's on Saturday, I have been here more than once and always had good food and good service, but I was sadly disappointed 2 of us out of our group ordered from the menu the rest had the buffet, we were put in the back room that has roll up doors, one was open and letting in the flies, the 2 of us that ordered from the menu didn't get our food until everyone was done eating, what I had was the chile relleno, It was so disgusting the chile was under cooked the breading was thick and spongy no cheese inside and some kind of sauce on the top that made it soggy. our waitress didn't come back until it was time to leave. Talked to the manager who didn't offer to make it right. read more

Incredibly disappointing experience from a place that my family used to love. My entire family (10+ people) came in tonight (Cinco de Mayo) and sat down, ordered and waited what seemed like a long while for our food to arrive. When the food did arrive two of the dishes were made incorrectly and the kitchen's decision was to just throw a different sauce on the food instead of remaking the dish as should have happened with good service. Not to mention everyone's food was ice cold. Not like cooled off from being hot, but rather like they had put the stuff used to make the food in the fridge and just took it out and served it to us. We asked to speak to the manager which was followed by her being completely rude to us all and taking plates from people as they were eating because we didn't want to pay for the dishes that were sent back altogether. So incredibly shocked that a place my entire family used to love has gone so down hill. The food used to be so great and the service was never terrible, at least not like tonight. Terrible service, cold food, and tons of customers lost here. read more

Just finished having dinner there, We had 9 in our group. Jose provided great service. The food was wonderful and the margaritas were great. We had a great time and will go back. So glad they moved into the neighborhood. Not to mention very reasonable pricing. read more