Nopalito

Went to Nopalito today for lunch with a friend. We were tired of all the so-​so Mexican restaurants in Santa Rosa/​Sebstopol and decided to drive to Petaluma to try something new. Nopalito was great. We shared two dishes… a chili pepper stuffed with fruit and other delights and a shrimp dish with carmelized onions and spicy sauce. Both dishes were divine and the portions were so generous that we took home almost half of our order. Our waiter was a real gem. The place was very clean, cheerful, and inviting. We will definitely be back. This is one of the very best Mexican places in the county.

It seems that nearly every restaurant on Groupon offering a deal has 3.5 stars on Unilocal so whenever we find one with 4 or more stars we try our best to give it a try and boy are we glad we tried this place!
We ordered two fish tacos, a california burrito, carne asada fries and sopapilla
First off, the carne asada fries were definitely the star of the show here — they list them as an appetizer but the portion is plentiful and we loved it! The fries are also like double-​fried or maybe they have a breading (someone who actually knows their way around a kitchen could probably tell you what is exactly is going on) but they’re extra crunchy and work fantastic with the carne asada dish!
The burrito was also excellent and the sopapilla was a great finisher! The only thing lacking was the fish tacos but they definitely weren’t bad, just a much smaller dish than the others but we just got spoiled by how plentiful and delicious everything else was!
If I’m every going through Petaluma, dropping by to split some carne asada fries is definitely going to be up there on my list of things to grab!

The best Mexican food in Petaluma! We just had an event catered and it was amazing. Everyone at the event complimented the carnitas. If you are looking to have a party catered or just looking for an excellent burrito try Napolito!

Some of the best mexican food in in the northbay. Of your anywhere close please stop by.

Absolutely amazing food. There is a bit of a wait but that’s how you know what you’re getting is freshly made. Chimichanga lunch special was delicious and more than enough for one person. Carne asada fries were crispy and the meat was perfectly cooked with plenty of quac and sour cream. Server was polite and attentive the whole time. Stop here if you want authentic food for a good price.

I could take half a star away for store-​bought chips and meh salsa, but everything else more than makes up for these deficiencies. My wife did her usual cheese enchilada, rice and beans test, and Nopalito got top grades. The lunch deals are excellent. Here’s a tip. Ask for pico de gallo and spicy green salsa instead of the red glop they give you. Both are fab. Service was a little spotty, but our waiter was so much fun, who cares. Really a terrific Mexican café.

Cata aka Cathy is the best! We needed to feed 35 High School Mountain Bike Racers on Saturday at the annual bike race in Five Springs. Since I live in Marin, Cata worked with me via phone and email, answering all my questions and concerns. Her staff helped me load up the car with the generous servings for our taco bar and we had enough to feed all the racers’ parents too. Carnitas was the hands-​down favorite! Tender, cinnamon-​smelling deliciousness. The guacamole was stellar. Every rider and parent raved about the food.
We can’t wait to come back for next year’s race or when we’re in town again. THANK YOU CATA!

The food here is fabulous!!! Made with the freshest ingredients and truly made with love! Since discovering this gem of a restaurant, we come as often as possible
Everything on the menu is fantastic and very authentic… The carne asada, pozole, tostadas and the chicken soup have been great!!!
The service has always been above and beyond… Always friendly

I used to come here when it was urapan, i believe same owners still… The food was fresh not too salty. Didnt leave feeling bloated like u can feel
From some mexican restaurants. I got the arroz con pollo. So good! My husband gets steak and chicken tacos usually. Cant wait to come back!

Amazing Mexican food. Flavorful and steaming hot. Guacamole was freshly made. Loved my chilli relleno it was like the way I like it. Not battered and tried. Only con was, the orders take some time to come out. Would definitely come back if we are in the area. We also ordered a mini burrito which was huge and a cheese enchilada. Food was spot on:-)

I guess if I were a customer who orders to-​go plates regularly from this place, I would be giving this restaurant FIVE STARS; the food is the most delicious that I have found in all of Sonoma county. But I am writing this review instead from the point of view of a customer who has driven to this restaurant and we have sat waiting, up to 45 minutes for our dishes. The kitchen seems to focus the staff on preparing these to-​go orders, while all customers present sit and wait for the kitchen to catch up on their orders. We have been here several times since they opened. Today there were two women acting as waitpersons, and two young men were working in the kitchen. We waited for 35 minutes, all the time watching phone-​in customers coming in and picking up their orders.
It’s a damn shame for a restaurant not to work on the customers who came in expecting simple service. Make no mistake: this IS deliciously made food; ask yourselves if it is worth the unnecessary wait. I emailed the owners with my complaints, which went unanswered.

We tried Nopalito because they were offering a Groupon, and I can’t say I was disappointed. They have a creative menu, and, from what we tried of it, delicious food. My boyfriend had one of their specials, a pork dish. I had the mole enchiladas, and they were fantastic.
Though the place was CROWDED, the servers were wonderful.
The only reason they have 3 instead of 4 stars is because they have a $ 10 minimum for credit card purchases, which they didn’t tell us about until we were paying. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but it you’re using a Groupon that reduces your bill, it becomes an issue. Just seems like a faux pas on their part.

This place is amazing, or in the words of my two elementary aged children, whilst eating their taco salads, «this is the best Mexican food restaurant ever!» Yes we loved it. And apparently so do many others, because although it’s a small drive away from the downtown of Ptown, the place was almost full! Still, no wait and with excellent, quick service with a smile. We will be back!

We used a Living Social deal and were very pleased with the deal. My husband enjoyed the Chili Verde. I had a combo plate with shredded beef enchilada, pork tamale and shredded chicken soft taco. All were good! They offered different types of beans, we got the black beans and they were excellent! Be aware that they put guacamole on the combo plate. I am allergic and had to take it off so I didn’t get a reaction. One thing that I found interesting was that I was told that the chili relleno didn’t have the egg coating around it. I have never heard of that kind of relleno before. We will return and I am looking forward to trying more of their specialties. Check the out!

waitress acted like she didn’t have no idea wtf she was doing didn’t ask us for refills on our drinks and wasn’t familiar with the menu. The California burrito I got was not very good it was all beans and hardly any carne asada. the lady that owns it was very nice and offered me another burrito next time which I appreciated. Coming from San Diego our California burritos are the best so my hopes were very high here. My friends carnitas were very dry so we both ended leaving with full plates on the table.

Fresh Mexican food, not heavy in your belly kinda food.
Every thing was really good, and not overpowered by heavy sauces.
It’s a little bit of a trek from town but worth it!

The NEW #1 Mexican restaurant in Petaluma!
The Carnitas dinner plate is so tasty I order it almost every time even though my intentions were to try something else. Best Carnitas I’ve ever had! They have a stuffed Poblito special that was outstanding. Very fresh ingredients, very clean, super service. They serve Sangria!

We really enjoyed this place! It is clean, kid friendly, the service was great and the food was awesome! Everything was really fresh and didn’t have that typical, heavy Mexican food taste. I got the grilled shrimp enchiladas and they were delicious. This place is a little gem — thanks Unilocal for the discovery!

Ok I know another 5 Star review! But trust me it is worth the drive and the location although difficult to find, is well worth it once you get acquainted. I like dining in or taking out, although I prefer in The To Go is typical To Go in that you experience the plastic/​cardboard container effect! The food is excellent and the prices similar to the Petaluma norm.
Although NOT a Mi Pueblo, they are up there in regards to quality! And I am sure there will be no disappointments other than a lack of! A lack in Menu Choices only occurs in the beginning, I am sure that the longer they are here, the more we will see. I notice change every time I come!!!

I had lunch here yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is located in an out-​of-​the-​way spot on Bodega Ave, and is kind of easy to miss if you don’t know the area (I was brought there by a friend who lives down the road.) The service was top notch. Very friendly and very quick.
The food was good. I enjoyed the ceviche appetizer, although I would have liked fish rather than just shrimp in the ceviche. I also had an enchilada on the lunch menu (which includes rice, beans, and salad) and everything was quite tasty. Often both the rice and beans can be dry at a place like this, but these were not. They were very moist and tasty. I appreciated that the enchilada was packed generously with meat and served with tomatillo sauce rather than ranchero sauce. It tasted fresh and as clean as you can get for Mexican food (which is always full of lard and salt, which makes it so yummy!) I also normally love fish tacos or other fish dishes in Mexican cooking, but the only fish on the menu was deep fried, so I had to avoid that, sadly.
My quibbles are minor but kind of important, I think. The chips brought to the table were tasty enough, but clearly pre-​packaged. I always prefer house-​made chips, or at least chips that are recently made fresh (and warmed up!). These appeared to have come out of a Costco bag (again, not bad, just could have been better.) Also, the red salsa that came to the table was yummy, but I would love to see them offer pico de gallo also. And — perhaps I missed it, but I did not see guacamole in the menu, even as a side dish. I hope it was an oversight on my part (and I will correct this review if so), but if I’m right, that needs to be rectified stat. :)
I love that they have a back patio for outside dining. On a nice day, it’s a perfect retreat in the middle of the day. I’ll be back.