Los Dos Molinos

Elite '08

371

125

Matthew K.

Phoenix, AZ

This location gets three stars and the original location on Central Ave. gets five stars.

This place just seemed like a normal "mom and pop" Mexican restaurant.  Salsas were not what I remember them to be.  Food was fine, the red chili pork was not the best i had ever had. The flautas were just  "eh".  

Just a regular ol'mexican restaurant in my book.  I go back to the Central location next time and not this one.

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2

6

Nick L.

Cave Creek, AZ

The salsas(green & red) at Los Dos are the fire!! I haven't found hotter or tastier salsas at any other restaurant.
I have frequented the Central Ave location a half dozen times. Really cool atmosphere(rumor says it used to be a mortuary) with the courtyard and the intimate dining area. Just not convenient for me at all.
I have only been to the Wash and 10th Street location once but it had the same great salsa and the food is always good. The atmosphere is lacking, but it is a great location to go for dinner before a D-backs or Suns game. Everything I have had is good, but I always end up dumping a bunch of salsa on whatever I order anyway and that makes it pretty great.
I find the drinks are a little pricey, I believe I paid $10 bucks for a decent rocks margarita and $12 for a prickly pear margarita for the Mrs.
In summation the salsa makes this place a 4-star joint.

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7

89

John V.

Phoenix, AZ

Can't beat a good Mexican restaurant witin 2 blocks of your home. Also can't beat the fact that it isn't a chain, and has great margaritas, with somewhat innovative mexican food. The hours are a bit sketchy, and I recommend calling before you go to make sure they are open, as I have walked over only to find them closed at 730 on saturdays. The Red Beef Burro enchilada style is my personal favorite, along with the jalapeno/tomatillo salsa (need a margarita for that meal.) The ambiance is basic with concrete floors and a lot of open space, and the location in Plaza Azteca is odd to say the least. Very low visibility in a spot where many restaurants have failed in the past. Drew, who runs the Downtown location can't be a day over 21 but he does a fantastic job making sure customers are happy. Service can seem rushed from time to time, but usually pretty good.

+1 for being close -1 for the firebomb it leaves in your stomach

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1

11

Erin S.

Phoenix, AZ

Fantastic.. This is a great place to get some tasty Mexican food and margaritas. The Prickly Pear Margarita is wonderful, but you have to have a sweet tooth for it, however, their regular lime margaritas are some of the best in town.

The Motto of the restaurant is "Some like it hot" and for the most part, you do need to like spicy food to eat here. There are menu items that are low on the spicy side, however the salsas are usually pretty hot. When I say "usually" it means that it isn't always very spicy and this when people can be disappointed in the restaurant. Everything is homemade and made by scratch, which is a good thing but doesn't mean everything is going to be the same. The chili's that they use to make the salsa and sauces etc, are spicy depending on the season. (Just like in the store, you can only really get cherries at certain times). I've found the the summer season, esp. June is when Molinos is at its hottest (ate there a few days ago and had to down 3 huge glasses of water to make it through the meal).  In the winter months things are usually not very hot there.. But still tasty.

What I usually get is the Carne Adovada Chimichanga with green chili.. it is to die for, I've gotten it many times and I would have to say its one of the best chimichanga I have ever had. A couple of other items that are good is the blue corn enchiladas with green chill and the carne adovada platter is excellent.

The reason Molinos doesn't get five stars is because service can sometime be.. interesting. This one on Washington isn't very busy, however, it seems like there is really only one waiter taking care of the restaurant so it can take time to place orders, but food comes out quickly.

The Molinos on Central Ave, there are more servers but it ten times busier and when the servers/hostess gets stressed out they tend to take it out on the costumers.. I had called in to get a table of eight reserved, however, when I got there with five of us and the other three where in the parking lot. I asked for our table and the hostess looked at us and asked for the rest of our party. I  explained that they were on their way in. And she replied well they're not with you, we're giving your table away. My three other people walked in before she finished saying this and she refused to change her mind.

I would highly recommend going to the Molinos on Washington instead of Central..

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Elite '08

53

104

Kerstin M.

Phoenix, AZ

Where do I begin?

Let's start with the server who literally yelled everything he asked or said to us. Oh, and then he rammed a chair into my leg and was just not very concerned about our experience overall.

Let's move on to the cheese crisp, which had plenty of grease cascading off the pieces, and virtually no "crisp." Did you put some cheese on a tortilla and microwave it? 'Cause I could have done that at home.

Both drinks were quite tasty- my tea was strong like I like it, but not bitter. Hubby's lemonade was very good, but he drank it so fast I didn't get a chance to steal many sips.

Let's discuss the entrees, shall we? Hubby's carne adovada chimi was decent, better than my carnitas. In fact, MY carnitas is better. (I keep aiming for Chef Hector's at Sam's...) Yes, the pork was very tender, but the salt was -shall I put it nicely?- aggressive. Sam Kinneson aggressive. The "tortilla" was an inedible science experiment. Thick and doughy, and made even more appetizing by the charred side, it reminded me of the salt play dough we all made as kids, formed into a pancake. Truly nasty.

As for the legendary salsas, Hubby found the green to be tasty, but he did not care for the flavor of the red. Neither was especially fiery to him either.

Riding on reputation, are we?

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4

13

Chris W.

Phoenix, AZ

Dual review for Mesa and Central Phoenix Locations:

I have never noticed a difference in food for either location. Some like it hot is true!!!!

I have been on about a six year love affair with the adovada ribs. This is the dish to get here, if you are excited about the the heat, and want something amazing.

My wife who is not as into the heat, or meat and has been quite happy with Bean and Cheese Burro, and cheese crisp. Margarita's are good but expensive. We have had many a great evening there drinking and waiting for a table.

Central location:
Great atmosphere, wonderful area to wait for your table, and you will wait as there is not very much seating inside. Evenings they will open the bar so you can get chips, salsa, and drinks. I think my favorite part is sitting out side and waiting,until I eat the food then the wait does not matter any more.

Mesa location:
Much bigger, and more seating it is in an auto strip mall, no waits there, however not as nice and welcoming as the central location, in fact they have painted a mural of the central location (I heard it was Tom Mix's house) on the wall inside the Mesa location. The food has always been just as good. However given the option I would drive out to south mountain every time.

Great place that we will be going to for many years to come.

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10

15

Emily J.

Phoenix, AZ

I like this Los Dos Molinos because you still get the amazing food, without the wait. It's a more relaxed setting (although for me half the fun of going to Los Dos on Central is the ambiance) but that is somewhat reflected in the service which can be less than stellar. Still, I don't think there is a better place for Mexican food in the downtown area for sure. The carnitas are perfectly cooked & tender, the tortillas are some of the best I've had, and the salsa & sauces will make your mouth want to fall off.
All in all, a great Los Dos addition as far as convenience, and the food is just as addicting, but I would head to the Central location for the full experience.

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51

224

Pierre Hussein Trudeau l.

Phoenix, AZ

Los Dos Molinos, you are like my exgirlfriend.

Ridiculously HOT. Soooo tasty that I can't resist going back for more. Kicking me in the balls at every opportunity. A major attitude problem from knowing that you're all that and that if I dump you you'll just replace me with another customer without another thought. You even treat my friends like crap. You made one wait for 20 minutes today because he was honest enough to say there were 2 in his party but I was late. Totally pissed him off with your "we won't seat you until you're all here" policy. So arrogant. No wonder I've sworn to all my friends that I will never come back to you again.

Did I mention that you're ridiculously hot? I love you.

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1

5

Angela P.

Tempe, AZ

Some like it mild.  If so, they should come to this location of Los Dos.  

I tried this Los Dos recently for the first time, and all I can say is that is was mellow.  No wait on a Friday night and we had over 20 people.  Crazy.  Another thing that was mellow was the heat.  I had been talking up how hot Los Dos is to the newcomers and warning them about how spicy certain dishes are (the Adovada ribs in particular), and nothing was hot.  Well, the salsa was pretty warm (and actually quite tasty), but all of our dishes were not spicy at all...adovada ribs, Victoria's chili chicken, nothing.  It was kind of a bummer.  

Maybe since this location is new, it is still working out the kinks, but they need to work on the heat level if they are going to call it a Los Dos.  

That said, I enjoyed the new location (right on the light rail), and I look forward to hopping on the light rail and heading down there in the future, but they need to spice things up a bit first.  For now, I am going to head back to Central...where it is never mellow.

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Elite '08

108

151

David S. B.

Phoenix, AZ

The restaurant space in Azteca Plaza, a shopping center on Washington Street dominated by wedding-oriented businesses, has seen its share of turnover. For many years, it was home to the popular Menudo Pot. After a long period of vacancy, it briefly housed Suenos New Mexican Cafe during the summer of 2007. After Suenos' unfortunately brief run, Azteca Plaza has become home to the newest location of Arizona institution Los Dos Molinos.

This popular New Mexican restaurant's latest site is the fifth, adding to existing sites in Mesa, South Phoenix, Springerville (eastern Arizona), and New York City. Despite its multiple locations, Los Dos Molinos is still very much a family business, and the family presence shows in the friendly service at the new location. In fact, the new Downtown location is noticeably more welcoming than the South Phoenix location, which has a hard-to-find entrance and sometimes requires long waits for a table during peak hours.

Meals at Los Dos Molinos begin with fresh chips and both red and green salsas, both of them quite hot and more on the salty side than the sweeter salsas that many Phoenicians may be used to. Botanas, or appetizers, include cheese crisps, Mexican pizzas, and an excellent chunky guacamole. Entrees include many of the standard Mexican-American favorites such as burros and tostadas, but what makes Los Dos Molinos different from numerous other restaurants nearby is its New Mexican specialties such as carne adovada. Many of the New Mexican items feature a choice of red or green chili, and most are spicy.

Milder alternatives include several types of tamales and enchiladas, which are available in both the familiar rolled style and the distinctly New Mexican stacked style with a fried egg on top. Seafood enthusiasts will enjoy the garlic shrimp, which features plump crustaceans on a bed of rice. Beans and tortillas accompany many dishes, and although most items can be ordered a la carte, the daily specials and combination plates are usually a better value.

For dessert, sopapillas are probably the most popular choice since honey-topped pastry extinguishes any lingering heat from the fiery entrees. To wash away heat during the meal, Los Dos Molinos provides a pitcher of water at each table. Other beverages include a fresh and tangy homemade lemonade, Dos Equis Lager and Amber on tap, buckets of Coronas, and several types or margaritas. Currently, the Washington Street location of Los Dos Molinos serves lunch from 11 AM until 2 PM and dinner from 5 PM until 9 PM.

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1262

165

Brian S.

Scottsdale, AZ

I'm glad I came across the review for Los Dos Molinos, it's been a while since I've been here....and that's just a damn shame.  It's a fun restaurant, pretty good, hot food and perhaps the largest Margarita known to mankind.   I don't drink tequila, but friends do and I know they love that seemingly "bottomless" tank of a Margarita.

I used to go this Los Dos Molinos location after hiking the Central Avenue area of South Mountain.  These guys have a satellite location in Manhattan, in Union Square if I remember correctly.  

I know they do a brisk lunch business during the week, so plan accordingly, it's not the biggest restaurant.

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8

62

Tim J.

Phoenix, AZ

Some like it hot. And so do I. But Los Dos Molinos wasn't hot, at least not for me. I have heard for years how good and how hot it was, so my expectations were high.
The restaurant is kind of small, with tables in the bar area (no booths) and patio seating. It is decorated southwestern, rich pastel colored paintings, animal skins and Indigenous weaponry.
The menu is traditional Mexican, enchiladas, tacos, etc.
We were seated quickly and served chips and salsa, one red and one green. The red a little spicier than the green.
Our meals came quickly. The beans are refried with whole beans, not as pasty as what I am used to, but good. The rice was almost a little crispy, like it had been baked or heated in the oven, and also good. The main courses were good, too. Not great, but good.
I can have good Mexican food a lot of places and for a lot less than $40 for two people (dinner, drinks, tip). And I am still wondering what about Los Dos Molinos is so hot. I guess I missed it.

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