Xalapenos

This place was one of the best Mexican restaurants I have been too and the owner was very friendly. Before they closed they really expanded the menu. Sad to see it closed.

. Too bad I really like this place somebody said they moved to Cincinnati Was the best but they must have moved

Very authentic Mexican. That being said, if kids are accustomed to chain Mexican, they may not like it. We had carnitas, barbacoa and ground beef tacos, as well as chicken sopes. All of the food was great, but kids freaked out when carnitas came out as a half rack of pork ribs. You had to shred meat yourself (not good). Service was super friendly, but slow. In their defense, two people had called off work and they were short handed. Chips and salsa yummy, ask for hot salsa as it is extra good and not that hot. Guacamole is off the chart good, chunky and fresh. Would go back, but not sure the kids would.

Food isn’t bad, a little greasy, but the frickin waiter took over 20minutes to swipe our debit cards because the machine wasn’t working. I’m not kidding he restarted his machine and the system at least 3 times and made us wait. He also forgot my enchilada… Not an apology or any attemp to redeem themselves were made, so it’s eh, there’s honestly better in Middletown, like el ranchero grande

A little hole in the wall joint. I had the fish tacos with pico degayo, on crispy shells. It came with a nice salad with slices of avocado, mixed greens, onions, and cheese. The flavor of the fish was very good. The meal also came with a platter of chips and salsa. The salsa was blended very fine and the chips were fresh.
I would eat here again. Five stars for the fish tacos!

Great customer service and amazing food! Being Hispanic, it’s always hard to find foods true to our culture. I’ve ordered the carnitas (pretty much every single time) because they are AMAZING and reminds me of the way food is cooked back home. I will definitely drop in every time I’m in the area. Awesome margaritas too!

This is a go to place for a nice authentic Mexican dish. The prices are very fair and the customer service is some of the best out there. If you are around the area i would advice you check this place out and keep coming back for more. They have a ton of dishes to try and the food is rich with flavor and plentiful.

Absolutely the best most authentic Mexican restaurant South of Cincinnati and North of Dayton.

It was quick close and good. I liked that the tacos had holders do they didn’t fall over. The chalupa was what we would have called a tostedo. Like a flat crunchy taco and wasn’t piled too high so liked it too. The Margarita was good … frothy and not too tart. I will go back again.

I love Xalapenos! The service is always fine and the food is always delicious. Don’t expect over-​spiced tex-​mex here. The menu is full of fresh and authentic Mexican fare. They also have a great selection of vegetarian food which is always a plus. This local mom and pop gets my highest recommendation.

This is hands down the best Mexican food I’ve had. The atmosphere is just ok and the chips and salsa are the usual, but everything else is amazing. The menu is similar to most Mexican restaurants but the difference in recipe and quality are VERY apparent.
Guacamole: best I’ve had and made fresh to order. Not the green mush you usually get at other places. But chunky, colorful, fresh guacamole.
Queso: out of this world!
Steak burrito: steak is very tender and moist with great flavor.
Chicken chimichanga: absolutely loaded with chicken and cheese. Very filling and tons of flavor.
Black beans/​pinto beans: I don’t know what they do to these beans because I don’t normally like beans but these have fantastic flavor. They aren’t much to look at either (as beans rarely are) but you have to taste them! Especially the black beans.
Sopapillas: best Mexican dessert I’ve had.
Tacos: fantastic
Anything with steak or pork is great. Very moist and tender unlike most places.
Chile rellenos: fresh pepper and loaded with cheese. Great sauce too.
Waiter and owner: very courteous and nice. Makes us feel very welcomed.

Absolutely fantastic!
Get their homemade chips their the best.
This is my once a week dinner spot.
Norman the owner is the nicest guy you will ever meet.
Best mom and pop place in town!!!

I really wanted to love this place because it seems like they are trying to have home made specialties but, like most small mom-and-pop’s the budget is affecting their dream. Right off the bat I was served stale tortilla chips. This isn’t a huge deal for me, but when I was served my food, there was an excellent thicker and obviously fried in house chip that would’ve been awesome with the salsa. Why give me thinner stale chips in a large quantity, when a handful of these other chips would’ve been much better.
Ordered a chicken empanada and carnitas lunch which they said was home made. On their lunch menu I could have gotten a green salsa Verde option with the empanada and I asked for this, I did not get any green salsa Verde. The empanada was really good but had no seasoning. Lunch carnitas with black beans were puréed, serve with that awesome thick tortilla chip. All of the food could use seasoning and some flavoring with spices. Everything was bland. Couple this with the prices and the fact I don’t live in the area, I probably won’t be back.
Service was attentive.

I agree with a previous reviewer, don’t let the strip mall location influence your decision to try this amazing restaurant. The Owner was the one that took our orders and served us. His wife was in the kitchen along with the rest of the staff. The food was incredible, and we are told it is authentic Mexican, not Tex-​Mex. Everything was fresh and the prices are very reasonable.
Make sure you put Xalapenos on your restaurant bucket list.

Absolutely love this place!
They now have coupons on the back of Kroger receipts (Middletown).
The food is authentic, you can tell by the quality also well priced.
Margaritas are done right! Owner has always been present when we have been there to eat. Lunch is great, dinner is always just as good!
Totally addicted to the steak fajitas naturally since they are the best I’ve ever had. The steak is tender and juicy, always comes sizzling to the table! You know when they’re coming you can hear the sizzling from the kitchen! The quality of the food is way better then the other places.
My husband recommends the empanadas, tamales, well basically everything he said! We love this place. Come often!
They offer 20% off your entire meal (including drinks) after 5 visits! The service is exceptional, as always every time we’ve eaten here.
Tonight was about the 10^th or 11^th time here! We bring out of town guests as well! Our guests love this place and can’t wait to visit so that they can eat here again!
They do offer carry out service as well!

TWO THUMBS UP! You must definitely stop by here! It is off the beaten path, don’t let the dreary strip mall keep you from coming inside! You will be very shocked at how amazing the food, service and drinks are prepared and priced! TWO THUMBS UP!

My fist time here with my family after church. The female waitress seemed to struggle with taking orders. That would be my only complaint. The food was very good. I ordered the 4 taco entrée. They give you the option to order 4 different meat options. Ground beef, steak, chorizo (sausage) and carnitas (pork). I recommend this place to others to try.

I can’t really rate the food but the service is nonexistent. I walked in for dinner and waited at the desk for 5 minutes and no one came to seat me so I sat myself. There were 2 servers that both saw me. They walked around me about 3 – 4 times each without saying anything. I sat at the table for 10 minutes and decided to walkout because the service was so bad. There were only 3 occupied tables so it wasn’t at all busy which says a lot about the place.
Service = F
Bar = D (there is no actual bar which is crazy for a place that large)
Chips = guessing they were a C by the way they looked from a far.
Service = F — had to add it again because it was so bad.

If you have not tried this place yet, do yourself a favor and eat there! Best authentic Mexican food I have ever had hands-​down! Great food great service, WIN WIN!!!

This place is phenomenal!!! I urge all of my Middletown friends to try Xalapenos. I had a chicken burrito and a cold beer while watching the Reds and it was very tasty!

Got 3 different Menu Items (Please see the Pics– I loaded the Lunch menu, and the entire regular menu.)
All $ 20!
Chiliqueles Xalapenos– Great Taste! The Side salsa/​greens is nice and spicy– Hint of Jalapeño!
Empanada– Great Flavoring on the Chicken right when I bit in.
A Steak Tortilla Gringa– Loved the Mushroom/​Cheese in it! steak was not Rough, but very tender.
Overall– Very Authentic Taste– not your normal Ohio «Tex Mex” — This place is the real deal if you want quality ingredients, kind employees, and Save $$.
There is also a Rewards Program Tracker– if you have eaten there 5 times, next visit is 20% off.