El Molcajete

We had a late lunch today at this brightly colored hole in the wall and gosh dang! They brought us fresh thin chips and a very flavorful brown salsa. I'm not sure what was in it, but it wasn't tomato based.

We ordered the poblano cheese dip and although a bit thin, it was bursting with the flavors of the generous amounts of roasted poblano peppers and caramelized onions.

I had a carnitas taco and a pastor taco. The carnitas was moist and nicely cooked with a char. The pastor was also moist and the chili and whatever else was in the marinade did it justice. The tortillas were perfect.

She had the tostada de ceviche and I had a taste. It consisted of tilapia adorned with onions, avocado, tomatoes and cilantro. It was super fresh and very nice. I normally don't get excited about tilapia, but this one is an exception.

This is the best Mexican food I've had in Louisville. I've been to Guaca Mole, El Camino, Santa Fe, Las Gordita's etc. and they're certainly no slouches. But El Molcajete was just over the top. Also, they are up there with anything I've had on the west coast, southwest and Mexico.

2932 S. Fourth St


(not to be confused with La Molcajete covered in viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21181&p=158673&hilit=Molcajete#p158673 or the other place on Preston with the same name

[Robin Garr]

2932 S. Fourth St

Can you zero in on that location, Ray? It's not the deep South End - Vietnam Kitchen is about 5000 block, I think. But it's beyond Old Louisville. U of L area?

Robin,
It's at the same latitude as PJ Cardinal Stadium and Santa Fe.

[Robin Garr]

Robin,
It's at the same latitude as PJ Cardinal Stadium and Santa Fe.

Got it! That's about where I would have started looking for it. Thanks, Ray!

Its in there where JuJu's kitchen was and you can throw a ball from Sante Fe Grill and hit it

So based on the review here and my mother-in-law's love of Mexican food we took a risk and went there tonight for her birthday dinner.

Facilities: Nothing fancy but clean, warm and well lighted.

Food: Oh My God everything from the fresh house made quac to the warm (yes it was warmed) smokey poblano based salsa was amazing. The portions were down right gigantic. They have a number of house skirt steak specialties and one of which the Molcajeteado could easily, with an appetizer, feed two people.

Service: Was friendly attentive and knowledgeable about the menu, and the owner came out after our meal to thank us for coming in which was a nice personal touch on the whole evening.

Definitely adding my two thumbs up and recommendations to this local establishment as well.

Photo of the Molcajeteado steak specialty

I agree! Hands down the best Mexican restaurant in the city. It reminds me of my mothers cooking with lots of heart and soul in their cooking. For tacos I like the Taqueria in La Tropicana on Preston Hwy. They have the best tamales (still warm) on Sat. and Sun. I also love the salbutes at Mayan Cafe.

Anthony thanks for the tip on the tamales. Ive been looking for a local place with good ones so I dont have to drive all the way to Indy to go the the Tamale Shop there.

This is the same place that was on third, right? Love that warm salsa, probably ate there 20 times as there aren't a ton of good taquerias unless you're willing to drive down one of the various highways. Nice folks there and the tacos are all solid. Was really sad to see the old one get torn down, but happy to hear they've reopened!

Do they have a liquor license? I often get takeout from Santa Fe, mostly because they don't have beer or margaritas.

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(EDIT)
I think I can answer my own question--I just looked them up on Facebook and there are beer neon lights in their windows, so I guess it's a yes! I need to take my husband to give them a try.

Just had a quick late lunch there with the hubs......Very Good! will share a more detailed post when im not mobile.

Our son-in-law brought tamales from Taqueria in La Tropicana on Preston Hwy Sunday night and they were fabulous! Not the least bit greasy and very, very tasty. We will definitely have these again! SIL speaks fluent Spanish and said they could not have been nicer--they even threw in a few extras Thanks Anthony for the recommendation!

Glad you enjoyed! My wife and boys love them and you can get chicken or pork! Both their sauces are great, but I also make a jalapeno avocado puree that goes great over them. during the summer the ice cream/fruit shop there is awesome too! Try the mixed fruit with chile, lime and salt...so refreshing!

We went last night -- man, what a difference the new location makes! I didn't realize how grim the old cinder blocks were, although I was happy to see they kept some of the old jockey photos. Plus it's well-ventilated now, so you don't walk out reeking of taco grease. Lots of people there on a Saturday night, which I was glad to see. Menu is the same as before, which is fine. Not my favorite Mexican in town (Chapinlandia is still the king for me, maybe Sierra Tarasca) but Molcajete remains the best trade-off between quality, price, distance -- and now decor -- for me.

While I second all the above (we ate there last night), I do have two notes:

First, we followed Doug's advice and got appetizers and then split the special Molcajeteado. There was no way two of us could finish it! True, there were four guys from U of L at a nearby table who managed to devour four of them, but it was too much for us.

Second, the room is smallish, with smooth walls and ceiling - read NOISY. We felt like the two four-top tables near us were part of our party, as we could hear their conversations easier than we could hear each other.

We'll definitely go back for the food, but if we're out with others for a nice evening with dinner and conversation we'll pass it by.