El Molinito

It's conveniently located near the Marriott Fairfield on Oracle Ave, Its not just about food which is ok it's also about expectations, everyone is under staffed, so I always appreciate the service staff who are working. The parking is easy and plentiful. The restaurant was clean and they also have a nice seating area.The service was fast and efficient. It seems to be very popular with local seniors in the area. It is Mexican restaurant that focuses on a older clientele. This is not a contemporary restaurant. It's limited spiciness with flour tortilla tacos with Shredded lettuce and tomatoes.. it has a very affordable lunch menu and of course has frozen house Margaritas. I can't criticize it.But I felt that the food that I had was not very flavorful, but obviously there were a lot of people there that liked it.So it's probably just not my cup of tea. As long as you have the right expectations, you won't be disappointed like I said parking was okay.Cleanliness was ok and staff were very prompt and helpful.

I am really surprised about the low star reviews for this great neighborhood Mexican restaurant. We love the food here and the prices cannot be beat! The $6 house margarita tastes like a Cadillac. My chimichanga was so huge and delicious. The ground beef was tender and there was so much protein stuffed into the wonderful tortilla. My mother's taco salad was EPIC! Huge and delicious. The other members of our party of 5 loved their entrees as well. We were given multiple baskets of chips and 2 kinds of salsas, many water and iced tea refills, as the service was fantastic. Ambiance is bright and cheery and parking is available right outside. My FIL eats here with his friends every week and they all feel it's the best Mexican for the lowest bill in Oro Valley. PS: the beans are SOOOO incredible. They are my favorite of all time.

First things first, this location is WAY cleaner than the ina location. It's worth it in itself to come to this location so you don't see roaches on the floor. The food is good but even though it's supposed to be the same owners and restaurants as the other location it is different. The salsa is good but super peppery. One thing that really irks me is that the mix grill only comes with one side, when the Ina location comes with two since it "serves 2". Service is okay, nothing special here but he nice.

Excellent Food - Plentiful Lunch SpecialsWe visited the Oro Valley location on Oracle for lunch. Information on my phone said they have outdoor dining - they do not. We sat in a very comfortable room that might have been a patio area years ago, but is now enclosed with large windows looking out over the parking area. Fresh tortilla chips and a very tasty, slightly spicy salsa were brought to the table immediately. My wife and I both ordered iced teas. I do enjoy beer, but they have no beer on tap - only bottles and I prefer tap. The menu is quite extensive and there are Lunch Specials which are a buck or two lower in price compared to standard menu pricing. My wife selected the Beef Tamale and Cheese Enchilada Combo($7.99). I ordered the Burro of Choice With Works. I chose shredded beef as my burro protein and when ordering 'With Works', you have options to get the burro enchilada style (ranchero style sauce and melted cheese over the burro), guacamole side, and sour cream side - any or all of these. I got it all! All lunch specials come with either rice or beans. Unlike most restaurants where lunch specials tend to be a smaller portion of a standard menu item, these dishes were anything but small. My wife had an excellent tamale filled with an abundant amount of flavorful shredded beef. A perfect ratio of masa to beef. Her chicken enchilada was excellent topped with a bit of spicy enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. As the sauce was a little spicy for her, she asked for some sour cream. Out came a bowl with maybe a full cup of sour cream ($2.49 add-on) and was a perfect pairing with the sauce. The Mexican rice had more flavor than most. Centered between the enchilada and tamale was a small undressed salad. My plate could hold no more. A very large sauce and cheese covered burrito, large sides of sour cream and one of the best guacamoles I've had in Arizona. I also had some undressed salad. The refried beans were tasty, especially when I added some of the salsa. The burro is packed with shredded beef. No beans or other fillers. I brought home 2/3 of my burro, my wife did likewise with her enchilada, plenty for another lunch. We recommend this place for sure. Go hungry and you'll still bring food home.

Let's get the good out there first. The hornitos margarita was delicious. I had 2. Smooth and delicious. Exactly what I'm looking for in my margarita. The chips were hovering around stale. They were maybe 4 hours away from gross. The salsa was SPICY, which I appreciate. It had a good flavor and was more on the chunky side, meaning you could see whole leaves of cilantro and pieces of green onion. It was delicious. I got the #4 with a cheese enchilada and chicken flautas. The cheese enchilada was honestly one of the worst things I've ever eaten. The cheese had all melted out and the tortilla was hard as a rock. It took some serious muscle to cut through it. The chicken in the flautas was seasoned well and still somewhat juicy. No complaints there. Overall, I probably won't be back. I was staying in the hotel next door, so it was easy.

Still delicious but prices are a bit higher. Prices on QR menu and physical menu don't match. The chimi still lasts me 3-4 meals Great service!

The food was about as bad as I've ever had. The Spanish rice was tomato sauce and rice. The refried beans were vita mix style and looked like soup. The pork burritos had meat that was like rubber. The chicken taco had boiled chicken on a corn wet tortilla. No flavor at all. How does this place stay in business? Waitress took the order and never came back. A waste of money.

Best Mexican food in Oro Valley, great selection of everything. Margaritas are excellent, and a great selection of beers on tap.

Food was good. Service was good. Liked the chips and salsa. Split beef fajitas. They were enough for two of us.

We did not look at the yelp reviews first. We were staying at the Fairfield after driving nearly 900 miles and just wanted a sit down meal. Uggghhh, where do I start?1. Someone brought us chips and salsa right away, but it took forever to get someone to bring us water. If you are delivering food, would you ask if maybe we would like some water? 2. The "spicy" salsa is a gross misnomer, the non-spicy would have been fine if they served it on pasta. 3. No drink menus: I got a margarita on the rocks--tasted like Jose Cuervo mix, very little tequila. I was dreading looking at the price when we finally got the bill, thankfully it was only $6. 4. We got the mixed grill because the menu stated it came with grilled veggies. I really wanted something healthy after being on the road. It was just fajitas, it was called "spicy" chicken; again a gross misnomer. A better name would be tasteless shoe leather chicken. My husband had the beef from the platter, he said it was also dry and tasteless. The meat and rice and veggies were lukewarm. 5. It was 8pm and they were getting ready to close on a Saturday, service was pretty poor!