A NICE NEW MEXICAN FOOD RESTAURANT WITH ABOVE AVERAGE FOOD The Nopalito restaurant on Mesquite Street in the historic district is ranked the 14th best Mexican restaurant in town on the 2018 Mr. Sensitive list. This places it in the upper 25%. This restaurant is not far off Amador Ave. The parking is limited and somewhat of a negative. Inside, the restaurant is spacious and attractive. It seems pretty well maintained. There are numerous comfortable booths and tables. This is actually one of the more attractive Mexican restaurants around town; nothing too special but kind of nice. The service at Nopalito I have always found to be friendly and efficient. While I would not describe it as elite or professional, it is just fine for a casual place. Their menu is essentially New Mex cuisine. Nopalito offers you chips and two versions of salsa. The red salsa is is ok, but THEY ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR SALSA VERDE with its large pieces of flavorful green chile. It tends to be a little watery, but the flavor is soooooo good. Their food can be a little inconsistent here. I have had a pretty mediocre gordita at Nopalito as well as a somewhat poor chimichanga on one occasion. I once had a delicious stuffed sopapilla filled with red chile pork, but I believe they do not offer it any more. I have had some pretty good chile con carne bathed burritos here, but I did not find them exceptional. Most of the food I would argue is good New Mex cuisine, but usually not top echelon. What you can expect if you go: A friendly and comfortable place with fairly good service and average to good food. Prices are the norm. Restaurant rating = THREE-AND-THREE-QUARTER STARS....meaning, above average to good for the overall dining experience. read more

Pros: The green chile is probably the best in town (my family's favorite). The food is delicious and the atmosphere is unpretentious. Service is excellent. Closed on Wednesdays instead of Sundays. Cons: Food choice is a bit limited, but not uncommon (entree+refried beans+rice). The chile is a bit mild at times. No alcohol. read more

Let me start by saying, I love Nopaltio's. The food is always good. Now, why the two stars. The service is getting worse. I would have only put one star but I know the food is good and that alone saves the rating. Let's talk about the service. I will break this down by minutes. I called at 11:31 am. I called in my order and ended the call at 11:33 am. I was told that my order would be ready in 10 - 15 minutes. Okay, my business is a two minute walk from the restaurant and I know that if I leave at 11:45 am I will reach the restaurant at 11:47 am and 15 minutes will have gone by since the time I placed my order. I walk over and reach the restaurant at exactly 11:47 am and walk over to the cashier at the other end of the building. I tell the lady behind the counter I came to pick up my order. I was informed that it would be a few more minutes. Okay, I understand. It was about the time a normal lunch rush would be so I can understand the few extra minutes. Now, here is the kicker. I wait for another 19 minutes before I get my order. Really? In total, I have waited 34 minutes for my food. The 15 minutes I was originally told and now another 19 minutes so they can what? Now I have to walk back to my business and arrive six minutes AFTER I said I was going to be back. Now I am a liar to MY customers because Nopalito's can't get their s*** together long enough to be able to fulfill orders in the alotted time they give to people. So if you are going to call in an order, do not trust the time they give you. If you have time to kill and don't mind waiting for a ridiculous amount of time, good for you. I am busy. If I say I am going to be back to work by a certain time, I am going to be there at that time. I am now eating great tasting food and I am mad about it because I am now a liar and it isn't my fault. I will not go back for lunch. That is for damn sure. read more

The first time I ever ate here was 1968. My grandfather said, "Order the Tostadas Compuestas , 2 red and 1 green son, and get a Relleno on the side." I did, and was hooked! Throughout Jr. Hi, High School, and college, my friends and I were regulars. The family owned restaurant employed some past girlfriends over the years too. I moved away, but return some, and in 40 plus years of eating here, I've had everything on the menu, many, many, many times. Recently I was visiting LC and took my grown son there for his very first time. I told him the same words my grandfather said to me so many years ago... and now he's hooked too. Sometimes you can go home. read more

Hatch Chilis, a sparky salsa, and chips began the meal. Good but not remarkable. My husband had the green chili burrito enchilada style. I was a little put off by how watery the sauce was. My husband found it to be average Mexican food. I had the three crispy tacos with rice and beans and I have to agree with him, the flavors were okay but nothing stood out about this meal. The restaurant was pretty busy on this Sunday afternoon and there were plenty of servers who checked in with us a couple of times. Not expensive at all: $15 for two meals. This place is off the beaten path, actually in a residential neighborhood. read more

A friend and I where in the mood for some good mexican food so we decided to go to Nopalitos on Mesquite and decided that it could have been better! Over the wanna be mexican music all we could hear was Sylvia yelling in the kitchen. The service was HORRIBLE, we sat for about 10 minutes without getting any service, the food looked like it was just reheated out of the microwave, not only that my fork had dried up food on it! If you ask me management needs to learn how to run a restaurant read more

I over eat every time because it all tastes so good. Not very hot but the flavor is excellent. If you are from out of town I highly recommend it. Queso is the best in town. read more

mmm... yum! try the flautas. with chicken. i had a combo plate. skip the chili on carne. the sopapillas were good too but i wish they were a little more bready and less extra on the grease. ask for the horchata. service was friendly and attentive. yay! oh, and to echo other reviews- the green chili is on hit!! try the red too though. ay yai yai. its spicy. in a good way. read more

Authentic Mexican, but beware of their red sauce! Really hot and spicy and hours later my stomach is really not happy. Thought their chips and salsa was awful- burnt chips that were thick and had no salt. read more

Really good esp bc of the low prices. Beautiful restaurant and plenty of parking.

I've never come close to finding another green chile salsa that is as amazing as Nopalito's. They serve it to you warm with the chips and it is the best tasting stuff you will ever eat. Someone below said they eat it with a spoon and I can whole-heartedly agree! I smother my chicken flautas in it, along with the guacamole and sour cream that it comes with. The red chile con carne is excellent and usually not too hot either which is nice. Service is good although some waiters/waitresses are better than others. I wonder if they ship? read more

Poor service poor food. The chile relleno batter was like a corn dog. There was no relleno to it, only a little cheese on top. Chile pork was dried out and old. The red chile sauce on the cheese enchilada was good , taco good, sopapillas were good. Basket of chips was small and refills are not free. There are better options available. read more

Really good mexican food. Many locals come here. Good service.

Napalito's is a must everytime i come visit family!! I love the food and the fact that the restaurant is in an old church, great place!!! Make sure you get a combination plate, than you get a little taste of everything!!! read more

Everything we remembered and wanted it to be! The warm green chile salsa had just the right bite. I really wanted a relleno, so I my husband and I split the combo #3. Our 16 yr old son ordered the same for himself. The flavors were sooo good, the taco was crispy and the carne was amazing. We finished off dinner with sopapillas, of course. (We had recently had some sad ones at our local mexi-place.) These were light and fluffy with just the right amount of doughiness and piping hot! (FYI, this location does not serve alcohol) read more

One of the best New Mexico restaurants around!! I love Napolitos, from the salsa to the rellenos (they are just so, so good), they know how to make it right. The atmosphere and service are great. This is the place to go if you are in the mood for real New Mexican, or if you want to introduce someone to the wonders of New Mexican cuisine. read more

My boyfriend and I went on a detour to the White Sands of Las Cruces, and we needed energy for our drive to T or C. We stopped at Nopalito after reading reviews on Yelp and anticipating awesome sopaipillas. We were not disappointed. I ordered the taco, enchilada, rellano, taquito combo and loved everything. My boyfriend had the fully loaded enchiladas with an egg on top and said it was great. The green chile with chips was ok, but I'm not a huge fan of green chile anyway. Finally, we got four huge sopaipillas with honey and then we died of happiness. read more

Grew up with this restaurant! ! Best Mexican food in las cruces. Red combo plate and tank up on fresh green chili salsa. Nobody does it like this. Tha nks for all the years !!! read more

Great hatch green chile salsa! Everything tasted authentic, only thing missing was homemade tortillas

Tostadas compuestas were awesome, green and red chile delicious. Kids loved the fried ice cream.

Quality on par with Delicias in my book (see review). Good quality, good prices and a more comfortable seating arrangment than Delicias. My father in law eats their green chile with a spoon, dropping the pretense of needing chips with your salsa, and for good reason - their green salsa is that good! read more

Their food is excellent, but the service we have received when we go there has unfortunately been mediocre. It seems many love their salsa but we don't. Do give them a try, their food is excellent. read more

Coming in as out-of-towners, we based our choice to eat here on Yelp reviews. I'm not sure how people judge Mexican food, but the food here was SO plain and blah. Very little to choose from; waitress was nice enough tho, so I gave it an extra star for her. I really wouldn't recommend eating here. read more

We are native New Mexicans, and have lived all over the Land of Enchantment; from Northern, to Central, to Eastern, and now Southern. That said, we have eaten at New Mexican and Mexican restaurants EVERYWHERE, and this was a 1st...and LAST. Upon arrival, we received the complimentary warm green salsa (which is good) and the tiniest ramekin of their pico, which we ate with the chips (which came with a complimentary long black hair). One of us ordered the taco plate, and requested salsa for the tacos....nope, that will cost you extra. I'm sorry...what? $30 bucks for two lunches (we drank water) and they want to charge extra for salsa for the tacos. I hate to run down a mom and pop place, but come on....tacos without salsa? Absurdo! Even Taco Bell asks if you want hot or mild. read more

Hands down on of my favorite places to eat! When I moved to Cruces a friend of mine kept suggesting this place. The first time I went I fell in love with the green chile they give you with the chips. Perfectly flavored. Since Ive been Ive tried many different things there: Flautaus (delicious), Rellenos (Good), Gorditas (delicious), Nachos (Amazing - great price for a ton of food), etc. Ive never eaten anything there I didnt fall in love with. What really sealed it for me was the waitress, by chance I managed to keep getting the same waitress on most my visits. She knew when my friend and I came in we would request 2 green chiles with our chips, she knew our drinks. Infact once she was comfy with us she even joked asking if we needed menus. Her name is Heidi, best waitress ever. Fast, great, smiling service. What more can you ask for, delicious food and great service! read more

Menudo and chile Arellano are winners. Had tried these at Hatch Chile Festival.

Really good green sauce & cheese enchiladas. Every meal is well prepared; fresh ingredients. Recommended.

First meal in New Mexico. Definitely hit the spot. Green chunking salsa delicious! Service was good and food, especially hot sopas were great. Don't serve beer here. read more

Very tasty, and worth the (rather long) wait. They did have a very large table to serve ahead of us, but there were only a few other tables occupied. Also, they served us piecemeal, which was strange... my husband got his food a good five minutes after they started bringing things out. If I lived locally, I would go again for the yummy food, but I would be prepared to wait. I had the traditional chile con carne -- pork and green chile with the normal sides. Tortilla seemed homemade. read more

Our expectations of Mexican food is high after living in Las Cruces for awhile. If in doubt don't go. Chips and Salsas are my speciality as i could make a meal out if them. These salsas were dissapointing. Food was not to par with other Mexican restaurants locally. Oh well. Life is good. read more

Food was good but it doesn't stand out from all the other Mexican food places in Las cruces.

My boyfriend and I had ordered our lunch, I had the Red chile pork burrito plate, smothered in red chile, when I opened it, it was a complete mess, no sides, and the pork meat was undone, very chewy. The red chile itself had no spice, or flavor. My boyfriend ordered the gordita plate, and when he took his first bite, he got a mouthful of potatoes. He said they tasted like unwashed potatoes. We had also ordered the salsa and chips. So disappointed, it was slimy green chile that had been watered down, and the chips tasted old. The whole experience was horrible. I would never recommend anyone to eat here. read more

Green Chili's Enchilada was out of this world good. Our tamales were a bit dry though which is unfortunate b/c I was introducing my girlfriend to proper mexican food (shes from West Virginia) and she rightfully didn't like them. I would definitely come here again read more

Great family run restaurant. Passing thru New Mexico and had to get my green chili sauce fix. Had chicken enchiladas and they were great. They also serve a good chili verde salsa with their chips. Don't let the neighborhood scare you. It's on the original el camino real trail. Perfectly safe and worth the stop. read more

Be warned, thirsty travelers: no booze at this barely passable Mexican place off the Las Cruces biz district. The chips tasted like Tostito's from those dark times before the invention of the Chip Clip; the green salsa and chile con queso, however, were zingy, probably because Hatch is just 35 miles up the road. Chicken chimichanga had appearance of being frozen, then fried. Our waiter was having a bad night; didn't get silverware until after the food arrived. The prices were reasonable, and the green chile enchilada gets a solid "B." Meal: app. 7:30, 8/15/2010 read more

Food is pretty good and inexpensive. Not great but ok for a lunch or quick meal. Service is sometimes slow.

The most amazing New Mexican food! My family and I no longer live in Las Cruces, but we make sure to eat here any time we visit.

Delicious food!!!! Ordered the chile plate and the smothered burrito. Both extremely epic!!!! The service is warm and hospitable. DOG FRIENDLY!!! There is a great bench outside where you can enjoy your food and listen to the birds sing :) If you are driving through on the 10 is totally worth it!!!!! read more

We found Nopalito on one of our explorations into the historic district of Las Cruces. What a delight! It has become my husband's favorite. I enjoy it also. We took my brother there during his recent visit and made a believer out of him, too. It has become a regular stop for a great meal. read more

Friends took us there some time back. What a wonderful jewel. Kind of out of the way but we'll worth dining there.