Taqueria El Nopal

Awesome lunch stop with really flavorful tacos and a killer salsa bar! Their veggie taco actually has vegetables — squash, carrot, tomatoes — way more than I expected. The nopal taco was really good as well. Service is a bit haphazard although the food came out pretty quickly.

We really enjoyed this place. Informal atmosphere, order tacos at the bar. Absolutely delicious tacos, and fabulous salsa at the salsa bar. Very authentic. A must taste for those looking for tasty Mexican food in Glenwood.

The place was a bit hard to find as a non-​local, and like another commenter noted, the parking was atrocious. Somehow I made it inside though, and that’s where the magic happened. The menu screamed authentic Mexican food. There were burritos, but no flautas, chimichangas, or other TexMex items clouding up the offerings that could have been made in Mama’s home in Mexico. I went with the Carnitas plate, and also asked for chips and salsa. This latter was a mistake. I live in Texas, so I’m used to Mexican and TexMex restaurants «giving» patrons chips and salsa to munch on while waiting for the food to come out. Well, no use in that here, because before I could finish «checking in» here on Unilocal,my food came out. OK… the food.
The carnitas were not what I am accustomed to. Normally, carnitas come as chunks of pork with a bit of fat still attached – either lightly fried or browned just enough to give a crip texture. This was more like pulled pork… shredded. The taste was good, but I’m not sure this was carnitas. Also, the guacamole could have used a bit more herbs – oregano perhaps? These were my only reasons for giving 4 stars. Everything else on the plate was pretty good, though not the best Mexican I’ve ever had.
Ironically, while eating I ran across a story via Facebook about some guy stealing his mother’s pozole. When it’s good, people will steal it!

Not impressed. At all. The girl taking our order spoke very little English and it took forever to order and it still came back messed up. You have to pay extra for everything! No free refills either. Oh and about 5 flies flying around our faces and food. Disgusting. Probably one of the worst Mexican restaurants I’ve been to. Will never go back.

Great little Unilocal find in the Glenwood Springs/​Carbondale area. Never would’ve found this without Unilocal!
Decent prices compared with the rest of the area and fast, friendly service. We noticed most of the other customers were primarily Spanish speakers, so that’s a good sign that the local Mexicans frequent here
Good salsa selection, good carne asada.

Some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had. They have everything I love in a Mexican resturant. Fresh made corn tortillas, self service salsa bar, seafood (really good), fresh high quality ingredients, and delicious authentic flavors. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food is excellent!!!

Delicious locals place that we only found because of Unilocal.
It seems pretty authentic. The portions are huge and the prices aren’t bad at all.
I had the veggie tacos and they were killer. My fella had the carne asada and it was easily two serving and spectacular.

Excellent Tacos! Everytime we go to Glenwood Springs/​Aspen area we stop to eat at this place. The tacos are excellent. My favorite is the Taco de Carnitas. They also sell Horchata, flan and Mexican frozen popsicles. They have an excellent salsa bar with different types of salsas and pickled peppers. They also have in the menu Pupusas (Salvadorian food). My husband likes the Carne Asada plate. The place can get quite crowded since it is very popular with the locals. Also, don’t be put off by the outside, the strip mall is quite ugly, however the food is excellent and the inside of the restaurant is very colorful.

This is one of the best and most delicious Mexican food restaurants in the Valley. I usually get carne asada tacos and a side of chips with their delicious ceviche. It’s affordable and the food usually comes out pretty quick. They also have an assortment of salsas and toppings to adorn your tacos or whatever you chose.
You order at the counter and the food is brought out to your table. My family also calls ahead and takes our food to go quite often.

Was extremely disappointed during my last and final visit. My menudo was scorched and I found piece of metal from a wire brush.

Food is consistantly good, closest thing I can find to what I became accustomed to in So-​Cal, place is a no frills kinda joint, and for that it only gets 4 stars.

Terrible food for the price and you had to order at counter yourself and get your own salsa. Extra $ for chips. Carnitas smelled and tasted weird. No verde sauce for burrito. Don’t plan on going back.

Delicious food for sure! Don’t be alarmed by the strip mall façade, cute on the inside! A lot of locals eating, so that is a good sign.

Taqueria El Nopal was a restaurant we stopped into on our way out of Colorado. There was no research or preparation so we were prepared to not eat very well. This is a traditional Mexican Taqueria. The food was as authentic as if it was cooked in Southern California, but this was on the road up to Aspen.
Some complaints about this place. It felt like they lacked proper systems and protocols of a high volume restaurant and I guess to a degree that’s okay with this place. However, the wait time for a Thursday afternoon was unacceptable. Second, it felt like they lacked leadership as there were servers taking orders and cashiers running food out.
For a vegan, the menu is not very friendly. The mixed veggies tacos and the nopal tacos were the only items on the menu that didn’t have any animal products in it. Just a note to the uninformed. These are traditional tacos so it’s just the protein and soft corn tortilla. The condiments you’ll add yourself from the condiments which was extensive.
The highlight of this restaurant was the salsas. From different levels of heat to different types of tomatoes and tomatillos, the salsas were flavorful, complex and delicious. The disappointment with the food was they didn’t make their own chips. That was a little weird seeing how authentic everything else felt. All in all, this is a place for a quick bite, but definitely be prepared to wait as service can be erratic.

This place was ok. Unorganized way of ordering and the owner was just standing around while the lady behind the counter was doing 3 different jobs. Need better system and actual tortillas instead of serving burrito wraps as flour tortillas when you order their fajitas (chicken breast with sauce n chit)

We loved it! This is just a local place in a strip mall but the food is great! Checked it out because of all the good reviews and we were not disappointed. We had the Carne Asada tacos and Carnitas plate and it was all fantastic.

Having grown up in California — I am no stranger to authentic Mexican food. This place has the best Mexican food I’ve found outside of CA. The tacos are small but awesome. Homemade Horchata. Fresh ceviche. Highly recommended if you are looking for authentic comida.

Love the food here! Our favorite are the pupusas. My husband also likes the fried tilapia. My daughter, the pickiest eater ever, eats like no tomorrow here! She loves the rice, refried beans, and carnitas tacos. I only wish they had the traditional waiter service, but you have to order at the counter and seat yourselves.

Very tasty, fast and all the locals come here! Down side is order at counter and seat yourself. No free refills. However, good prices, good portions and very good food!

Great mexican food. We had a carnitas torta, cheese quesadilla, and the daily special of fish tacos (served breaded/​fried w/​pico, rice, and beans). The food was not healthy at all, but totally delicious and authentic and fair-​priced.
It is sort of self-​serve (order at the counter).