Mole Poblano Restaurant

I took a chance and ordered some delivery from Mole Poblano, a restaurant unfamiliar to me until I came across it on Eat24 and saw the really high rating. Normally, Mexican food does not travel well, but I was dying for something different from my usual sushi/​Mediterranean/​rice bowl lineup.
I ordered the chicken enchiladas in red sauce, no cheese or sour cream (in an attempt to keep the meal semi-​healthy). Since I didn’t hit the minimum required for ordering, I also got some guacamole.
The delivery arrived within the promised window and by a friendly delivery guy. Not only was the food packaged well, it looked fresh and appetizing and came exactly as I requested. The portion was enormous and more than enough for one full meal and another smaller meal. Everything tasted great and not at all heavy or oily. The guac was some of the best I’ve had in Philly. Definitely a fan and looking forward to trying more!

Came in to have breakfast and it was fantastic. We had the Huevos con Mole. The staff is friendly and the service was good. The coffee was Mexican style with a hint of cinnamon. They brought out complimentary chips with green and red sauce. The green sauce was a little bland but the red sauce which was chipotle sauce was nice and roasty and spicy. They even gave us complimentary dessert.
Noise level was good.
Would definitely come back to try dinner.

I haven’t had very authentic tacos since my time in LA, and Mole Poblano’s tacos definitely hit the spot. I highly recommend getting their mixed combo ($ 9) of three loaded tacos so that you can try their various meats, including beef tongue/​lengua. I also want to vouch for their delicious homemade sopes, which is a large corn flour patty griddled to perfection and topped with everything you could want — black beans, choice of meat (chorizo at this point), crema fresca, tomatoes, and lettuce PLUS queso fresco. Another honorable mention goes to their gigantic tortas. You’ll probably have to split an order with a friend or take the other half to go.
Also, Mole Poblano is BYO. Ask for a bottle or two of squirt — a soda — to mix with your tequila and you’re good for the rest of your meal. In addition, I’d recommend making a reservation, as the restaurant is quite small.
Tl;dr — authentic Mexican BYO in South Philly with sopes and tacos as the highlights.

This place is amazing. I love Mexican food, but really only Mexican food that reminds me of my time in Mexico City where I thought my mind was going to explode from how good and delicious the food was. This restaurant has got to be one of the best Mexican restaurants in all of Philly. It’s a no frills experience with the menu pretty much all in Spanish (ok there are English translations) and everything is so good. I got the mole poblano enchiladas and the mole rivals that of in DF. Go now!

Called 10 minutes before closing time for a delivery. Twenty-​five minutes later I dumped everything on a plate could have sworn I was eating a home cooked meal.

Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. I love this place. I think it is very authentic and makes me feel like I have stepped into another city. It is a hidden gem.

I dont normally leave reviews, but this was so outstanding I feel it would be an injustice not to.
Had the mole enchiladas. The flavor of the mole are so rich and deep its incomparable to other mole I have had. The chipotle pepper sauce was amazing too. Had a phenomonal rice drink to take care of the heat.
Bravo mole poblano, i will be back

This place is a neighborhood gem, located within the Italian market. Small restaurant so it’s better for parties of four or less. Although when I was here on a Wednesday night, there were two parties of eight, that took up half the restaurant. Service was good and prices are affordable (most items were under $ 10).
Friend and I got the guac, nachos, beef and cheese tacos, and chicken fajitas. Everything was decent but the standout was the beef and cheese tacos. An order of 3 tacos for $ 8, such a deal! The portion was much larger than most places. The cheese was melted to the tortilla and the serving of beef for each taco was more than perfect. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was!
Everything was either okay (to expectations) to good. But you can’t beat the prices or the service you get from a small local restaurant.

We read great things about this Mexican spot on Unilocal,which rarely steers us wrong. Now we order from there every couple weeks. Mexican sometimes doesn’t travel well, depending what you get. But if Mole poblano’s food travels this well, we really need to get into the restaurant to enjoy their fare.
We’ve probably tried six or seven different things and almost all of them are absolutely outstanding. The al Pastor tacos might be my favorite in the city. My husband loves the name sake Mole poblano enchiladas. The tostadas are also excellent. Guac is slightly spicy and the homemade chips are perfectly crunchy and not too greasy. And their sauces are worth keeping after the meal is over.
Prices are low and quality and portion sizes are both high. Plus delivery is quick and service is super nice.

Small interior, but packed on a Saturday night. They are BYOB so we brought some beers along. We asked for tamales to start. They were running low on choices as the manager reported they make them fresh in the morning, so we mostly got green tamales with chicken. At $ 2.50 each they were huge and pretty tasty. You could probably share one of these as an appetizer. The one red tamale we had had a real kick to it.
I shared tacos al pastor and enchiladas with verde sauce. The al pastor tacos were on point. The enchiladas come with a heaping topping of fresh avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and light, shredded white cheese, as well as rice and refried beans. The verde sauce was really delicious. It’s a big platter and a very filling meal.
I also got to sample the mole sauce. Usually I’m not a big fan of mole, but this sauce was really nicely balanced with some earthy flavors and chocolate, and also a good spicy backbone.
The standout here is the service. Our one waiter was training, so it’s not that the service is perfect, but it’s some of the most attentive and friendly service I’ve ever received. The manager/​owner was consistently asking if we needed anything, told us about his grandmother’s recipe for the mole, gave us a free sample of mole and asada tacos, and also gave us free small dessert dishes of apples in tangy cream. It was delicious! He even walked us to the door and shook hands on the way out. He seemed genuinely interested in our party having a good experience. Even if the food wasn’t fresh and delicious that would be enough to compel my return.

This place gives true five star service. I always feels like they truly appreciate their customers when I go there. Service is so friendly and fast.
The food is also really good. The menu is really large and has a lot of variety. I always get the mole enchiladas. It’s not my favorite mole sauce I’ve ever had, but the best mole sauce I ever had was actually in Mexico, so I guess that’s to be expected.
At the beginning of the meal you get chips with refried beans and crema. The chips are so good.
At the end you get a free little fruit cup with crema. It was surprisingly good actually.
Definitely check this place out for authentic Mexican food and great service.

We went again for a last minute b-​day lunch and they were able to get our party of 10 seated right away. I got the enchilada verde again and it was just as delicious as I remember. Maybe Better! Portions are big. Enough leftovers for dinner too!
Service was a really good.

This the kind of authentic Mexican food place that you either like or not. There is no mid way.
I found the food okay, but my roomie ordered mole pableno which turned out pretty great.
We also tried the flan and strawberry cream. Both amazing, probably the freshest strawberry cream I ever had! Much love for the place

Great place to have enchiladas! Forget about the complicated stuff that the only way you can have is by going to Mexico. Don’t try the Pansita or the Barbacoa or even the tacos, this things are far more complex and difficult that one my think and you really really need to be in Mexico to get ALL of the necessary ingredients to pull it off.
Try the quesadillas, quesofundido with mushrooms, tacos dorados, but above all try every kind of enchilada that have. You will thank me! :)

Yum!
Our party of four was craving Mexican so we headed here. It’s a v. unassuming restaurant but it was busy so we trusted that it would be good.
We started with the potato tacos which were delicious. The shell was crispy and the filling was spiced well.
We were given a pile of chips and smoky salsa and green salsa. The smoky salsa was too smoky but the green salsa was really verdant with lots of cilantro flavor.
The tamales are super flavorful and have great texture. The carnitas tacos are tender and delicious. The mole sauce is smoky and sweet. The beef tacos are charred and meaty. I had the grilled chicken platter which came with grilled nopales, grilled jalapeño, rice & beans, and a pile of tortillas. The chicken was super tender and flavorful. The jalapeño was deliciously spicy and the charred flavor of the cactus was great.
When we asked for the check, we were given little bowls of yogurt with fruit, which were delicious too.
The staff are v. friendly and accommodating.

This place has been on my bookmarks for quite some time. Small mom and pop restaurant, only a few tables so I wouldn’t recommend large groups unless you call ahead and reserve.
Their menu is pretty extensive, kind of overwhelming but they sure do have a lot of options for whatever you’re craving.
I think it’s funny that they consider the tacos «appetizers» given that they give you 3 for $ 8 and I saw them come out, they’re HUGE.
We opted to try their $ 2.50 tamales that are only available on Saturdays and Sundays, by the time we got there they only had cheese/​veggies remaining which is fine because we don’t eat red meat. I thought it was pretty good. Considering this was only my 2^nd tamale of my life I can’t say I’m an expert, but it was just as good as the first I had, although the first one I had in the past had a nice salsa verde on it which I really enjoyed (but maybe it’s not authentic to do this way? I wouldn’t know).
I opted for the Mole Enchilada seeing as «Mole» is in their name, priced at $ 11 for 4 enchiladas given with side of refried beans, really not a bad price. My first time having mole as well, so it’s hard for me to judge. It was good though, different. A nice, sweet smoky flavor. For whatever reason, my boyfriend and I bought thought the 2^nd time around (reheated leftovers) was better than the first, go figure!
Bf opted for chicken enchiladas in red sauce. I thought it was pretty good, I personally like more spice in the sauce, more tanginess.
To be honest, overall I’ve had better Mexican /​more flavorful at some other spots. But I also paid more money for those dishes, with less to take home. I find this place a balance of quantity /​maybe a bit less quality — but a nice homey feel.
Also, chips and salsa come with every meal, as well as jello/​fruit for dessert always! I’d be back if I was in the neighborhood, but I have a couple more joints to try

The best tamales I’ve ever had in my life. And I’m from California. That says a lot about this place.
When I eat out, I usually like one dish more than others. That somehow did not happen when I ate Mole Poblano’s tamales: verde, roja, raja, mole – I liked them all. The tamales were moist, the fillings were delicious, and the size was quite big that $ 2.50 per tamal seemed justified. It was perfect for my first tamal dining experience.

In the heart of the Italian Market, this authentic Mexican eatery shines brightly. It serves up some of the best Mexican food I’ve tasted north of the Rio Grande. The only possible drawback is not actually a drawback — it’s too popular with both Mexican and non-​Mexican Philadelphians. But the service stays always super friendly no matter how many people are trying to crowd into its small space.
The tortas here are in my opinion the best in Philadelphia. The accompanying sauces are awesome and all are homemade from the Chipotle to the Salsa Verde to the eponymous Mole Poblano. And on weekends they cook up a totally awesome Tamale as well as their tasty Barbacoa. If you love south of the border food, hop on the bandwagon trumpeting this Mexican restaurant!

Between this and Blue Corn up the street, I see no good reason to eat Mexican anywhere in this city beyond 9^th St.
Had the enchiladas mole. Holy crap, dude. A bigger portion than what I’ve had at Blue Corn but at a similar price. I will chalk that up as a little extra love for being so close to the live bird shop. Also, the red salsa they provide at the beginning of the meal is the best salsa I’ve ever had. I usually like to try more than a couple things before reviewing somewhere but these were so good I couldn’t resist.
Only thing this place lacks is a liquor license (I think), but for my money this is the best Mexican I’ve had in this city and can’t wait to go back and try more.

Cheap and very good mexican food. I love love love this place. it is small but it makes the food that much better. We had the Lengua tacos (no taste buds) and it was sooooooooo good. Also the Mole enchiladas were super good. Their Salsa Verde was very mild and every meal comes with chips and salsa. We even bought some of the salsa to take home. A smaller container was $ 3. If you want more they suggest calling ahead. Also IT IS BYOB!!!
Yum and cant wait to go back!