El Nopal

Friday night, 9:00 pm.
Horrible experience with service here, didn’t even make it to the food. Be prepared to be ignored after you order your drinks. Took 15 minutes to get a refill. After we ordered dinner, the waiter came back ~10 minutes later to confirm our order. He fixed a part he got wrong and left. ~45 minutes later he comes to tell us our food will be right out but again asks question about one of my friends order; hinting they haven’t even gotten to making it. Decided to wait another 10 minutes and then we left money for the drinks and walked out.

Took to long and did not give food in 1 hours. The people working there were not working… would not go there.

We’ve been meaning to try this place for a while. It’s a little pricey compared to our usual Mexican place that we frequent. The «famous» margaritas aren’t as good either. My husband’s taco salad was pretty soggy when it arrived at the table. The waitresses were SUPER sweet… but the service was pretty slow. Our son had a chicken finger kids meal that appeared to be very over cooked. He said it was good though. :) Overall, it was a pleasant experience and we are happy that we tried it but probably won’t be back.

The food is excellent… very fresh and hot. It’s very traditional and they will cater to any preferences you may have (i.e. holding the green pepper etc). The customer service was excellent too. The only qualm I have about that is they’re SLOW, but the food is excellent. The place is very old. They’ve been there since the late 70’s early 80’s, but because they’ve been there so long says something about the quality. They get 4 stars only due to the slowness of the wait staff, even after the food is served. Otherwise, it’s a really great gem of a Mexican restauraunt!

Our third Mexican choice because of the wait at two others but so glad we dined here! We had chips and salsa in front of us practically before we finished sitting down. Hector, our server was smiley and professionally friendly! He didn’t hover over us as we took our time deciding on dinner because this was our first time here! I had the Polo de Crema and it was a spinach lovers dream, plenty to eat, delicious and fairly priced for the well portioned entre, I left very satisfied with a take home box! Pleasant authentic music in the background, a clean, spacious restaurant — well staffed and inviting! Looking forward to trying something else next time, perhaps a margarita!!!

Love coming here. Ask for the special extra hot salsa, they will make you a fresh batch. Also the best service comes from the two sisters who work there. Awesome food, awesome service.

Had high expectations after reading all the reviews but was disappointed. The buffet is $ 7.75 drink extra. There was enough selection on the buffet but everything looked dried out, like it’s been sitting there for hours. Salsa tasted like canned tomatoes no flavor or celantro. Sorry 3 stars is best I can give.

We absolutely love, love, love this place. We’ve dined in on most occasions and also had takeout. The service is always good and always quick. I don’t know that I’ve been to another restaurant who brings out delicious, hot, made-​to-​order food so quickly. It seems like only a few minutes go by from the time we sit down to when our drinks come out, to when we get our entrees.
I tend to always order the same thing… choosing from among my favorites of beef tacos, chimicangas, steak fajitas or beef enchiladas. I always get a side of beans/​rice and a healthy side of sour cream.
We also enjoy sitting on the large veranda when the weather permits. Although the restaurant is situated on a very busy road (Cobb Pkwy) you really don’t notice the heavy traffic. I love that the veranda (and front of the restaurant) is full of all these fresh flowers and shrubs. It feels like you are dining on someone’s garden patio… and says a lot about the owners — who take pride in the exterior appearance of their business. This stretch of Cobb Pkwy isn’t the prettiest, and it’s refreshing to see this little gem stick out among all the other boring buildings.
Bottom-line…it’s clean, good service, great food, and good prices. This is our go-​to spot for Mexican fare OTP.

I’ve been looking for a good Mexican place since I started working in Marietta and today I hit the jackpot. I don’t normally leave reviews for restaurants but this place deserves a great review. I generally do not like buffets. For whatever reason, I chose to order the buffet and I was pleasantly surprised. The food was hot, fresh and tasty. A big plus: cheese dip and guacamole (GREAT GUAC!) was included on the buffet. The place looks kind of divey, but don’t let that fool you. The food, service and prices are excellent.

I used to come here all the time when lived in Kennesaw. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Prices were fine. The burritos were amazing, chips and salsa were great. Salsa especially has just the right amount of spice. No real complaints here. Definitely the best Mexican Restaurant in Kennesaw.

I have found a favorite place for Mexican. They have authentic Mexican drinks; horchata was so good. The Chili Rellano was an actual chili instead of the usual sliver of bell pepper. The food was really fresh and tasty. The waitresses were very nice and brought the food quickly. Was an over all great experience. We will must definitely be going back.

Love this place. The waiters and waitresses are all super sweet and the food is extremely fresh.

Well. We tried El Nopal for the first time and, sad to say, we aren’t impressed. Had high hopes, but the food was just okay and the prices are HIGH! Kids meals are $ 6.50! Our girls got small quesadillas and it was $ 2 to add meat. So, $ 8.50 for kids’ meals. We’re talking one small tortilla, folded in half with cheese and meat. What?!
With NO alcohol, our bill was $ 46 for a family of four. NOT what I would expect at a Mexican restaurant. Would have been easier to take if the food had blown us away, but it didn’t. My taco was soggy, my enchilada had some brown sauce on it that, trust me, was not mole. The whole dinner was mediocre, at best. But, I will say the server was super nice.
We wanted to find a new favorite Mexican restraint, but this isn’t it. So… NEXT!

My family and I regularly go to El Nopal when we are looking for a nice Mexican dinner with a friendly service. the food is great the servers are very nice and treat our kids like kings. I go there often with business clients and employees for the lunch buffet as it is very reasonably priced. When I go with the family it’s usually for dinner on a weekend night. They even have live music sometimes. Say hello to the owner Diane. She is very hands on and maybe even take care of you herself. One tip: order the Diane’s special margarita. It is among the best I have had.

Of all the Mexican Restaurants in the area this is my favorite. Excellent food, great prices, and the folks there are always friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is like being in a restaurant in Mexico. Good cold drinks and hot food. Good lunch buffet. Only negative is that getting in and out is difficult if you are in a wheelchair as I am.

This is my favorite Mexican Restaurant in Atlanta, and Marietta. The staff is always so friendly and they are there to please. They have the best Margaritas (we get the Texas). Here are some of the great things that we get: Alambre (think philly cheesesteak with pablano peppers, Mexican cheese and avocado), carne asada, pollo entomatado (healthy choice chicken in an adobo and tomatillo sauce), and even their crunchy taco is the best.
I pass by several Mexican restaurants to get there because it is just that good.

This is a fantastic spot for authentic Mexican cuisine and I look forward to visiting again! It’s a small place with big taste! The waitress I had was very courteous and made sure we didn’t have to ask for a thing. Unfortunately my visit was cut short due to an emergency and I had to leave pretty quickly without finishing my food and the waitresses thought it had something to with the food, but rest assured it does not! I will be going again for sure!
ETA: The leftovers were great. ;)

This review might be a tad bit biased because my family owns this restaurant. But I will be truthful nonetheless. They started us off with chips, salsa, and cheese dip. It was all very good. I loved the horchata they gave us. One of the best I’ve ever had. I usually get the Texas fajitas which are really something special combining steak, chicken, and shrimp which are well seasoned. the price is good for the amount of good food they give you. The restaurant looks nice and has a nice environment. The mariscos we had were the absolute best I’ve ever had. I went to El Barco (in Chicago) a few weeks later and had one because they said they were good. Nowhere near as good as the one I had here. The freshly prepared churros were amazing. They even came with ice cream and everything. One of my favorite restaurants I’ve ever been to…

El Nopal is an OK Mexican restaurant located on Cobb Parkway just north of Six Flags White Water. This review is for the restaurant’s weekday lunch buffet, which my coworkers and I have visited numerous times over the past several years.
While the buffet is an exceptional value, the foods can be hit or miss. Sometimes, the employees allow the food to sit out way too long, so many of the items end up not-​so-​fresh and unappetizing. However, I do think they have improved upon this over the past year or so.
El Nopal’s lunch buffet allows you to make your own tacos (hard tortilla shells only) out of pre-​marinated chicken and ground beef. There are larger tortilla shells if you want to make a taco salad, which is what I like to do. Also on the buffet are hot items such as Mexican rice, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and taquitos (small tortillas rolled and filled with beef or chicken, cigar-​sized). There’s also warm queso (cheese) dip, so feel free to scoop and slather it on to make your meal even more healthy.
The cold bar is essentially a small Mexican salad bar with lettuce, onion, pickled jalapenos, and dessert (pudding). The best part is probably the fresh guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. El Nopal’s sour cream is cold and thick (straight from the container?) and their salsa is a bit runny. The chips are hard and crunchy.
One of my favorite items here are their churros (Mexican doughnuts). At least, that’s what I think they are. They are small, sweet, fried, and crispy with some cinnamon flavor. Try one.
El Nopal has a small bar inside with a couple TVs. Seating consists primarily of small booths and tables. The space is kind of small, so when the restaurant gets busy, it gets very crowded. When the weather is nice, sit outside on their patio next to the garden. The restaurant completed some renovations in the not-​too-​distant past and the landscaping is beautiful.
The management and servers are friendly and service is usually very good.

El Nopal sports a great lunch buffet.
We use to frequent this place all the time for lunch when I worked in the area. It has one of the best Mexican buffets that I’ve seen. And the best part is you can eat, have a soda, and leave for a tip for all under $ 10.
I recommend this restaurant if you like Mexican food, a lot of Mexican food.