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Mi Nidito
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Wed-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
14 reviews for Mi Nidito
As my girlfriend and I sat in the waiting area last night, chilling out until our table was ready, we were thinking not of Mi Nidito, but of the poor Mexican restaurant across the street. The lady said that it must suck to be them. I rather think that they must do exceptional business. Every time I have been to Mi Nidito, regardless of the night of the week, the place has been packed to the gills, usually with overflow crowds out on the sidewalk. One has to figure that, if you stack up enough hungry diners, you could set up a shack across the street and advertise that your food contained "an acceptable amount of animal feces," and still do pretty well for yourself. That said, anyone who eschews the wait and heads across the street is seriously missing out.
Mi Nidito is near and dear to me, if only because it was the first dining establishment I ever went to at which the parking is guarded by a man with a gun. Stone cold pimpin'.
The lobby area is a constant beehive of activity. Waiters hurriedly shuffle back and forth from the prep area to the dining room, management files accounting materials, drinks are prepared, babies wail, stomachs rumble in symphonic unison. Given the speed with which everyone seems to be moving, it's amazing that I have never seen a collision take place. On the contrary, Mi Nidito seems to be governed by a sense of organized, choreographed chaos, and everyone who works there seems to be a cog in a well-oiled machine. Even on nights that are especially packed, the wait is never long.
The walls up front are covered with pictures of various luminaries who have eaten there. I especially love the one of the great and bloated William Shatner, looking as though he has just eaten his last meal before his execution. Congressman Grijalva's picture is hardly more flattering, as the man looks like he has just been told that George Bush was elected to a third term.
Aside from the photos, the decor is nothing to write home about. The restaurant is a bit on the dim side and feels like the contents of a VFW hall have been packed in to someone's living room. None of that matters when the food comes, though. You didn't come for the decor anyway.
The requisite chips and salsa are tasty, salty, spicy, and satisfying. The house salsa is neither chunky nor especially distinctive, in terms of flavor, but it is addicting. On an especially desperate day, I could probably sip idly from the serving bowl.
On last night's visit, our waiter was especially quick and solicitous. He deftly balanced the orders of three tables, took drink orders from a fourth, and solicited our questions about the menu. My girlfriend and I did not order any appetizers, since we were saving room for the main event, but we did order a mango margarita to split. I don't get margaritas often, since I always feel as though tequila tastes like dirt liquor, but this place made me a believer. The musky, bold tastes of the mango and the anejo swirled together in a perfectly blended combination, and the mouthfeel was creamy and silky smooth. What a treat.
The menu contains the standard Sonoran-inspired Mexican offerings, and the combination platters seem to be where most of the action takes place. In fact, many menu items such as chile rellenos (which I ordered) can only be found in the combos. I got the #4 (2 chile rellenos, rice, beans, and tortillas), and my girlfriend got the #3 (red beef tamale, cheese enchilada, and chile relleno).
Before I gush about the quality of the food, I just wanted to mention the menu's cute, editorial message about responsible water consumption. Diners are admonished that water is only provided on request, because it is a precious resource, which we all must work to conserve.
Anyway, the food came amazingly quickly, given how packed the place was (in around 10 minutes). I couldn't have been happier with my chiles - they were perfectly roasted, flavorful, battered, and covered in lusciously smooth queso fresco. The refritos were also outstanding - no doubt fairly drenched with manteca and slow-simmered to fatty perfection. The rice, too, was splendid - seasoned with a great spice blend, and steamed to a perfect tenderness and consistency. Additionally, one chile was more than enough to tide me over, so I had more than enough food to take home for the next day's lunch.
I didn't sample the enchilada, but my girlfriend's tamale was superlative - the masa actually tasted like fresh, rich, corn, which had been larded up enough to help the tamale keep its shape, but not so much that the dish became a greasy, tasteless mess. I just wish that Mi Nidito made green corn or pork tamales - I bet they would be amazing.
The bill was completely manageable - two combo platters, two sodas, and a margarita came to $32 after tax.
In the final analysis, Mi Nidito definitely doesn't make diet food, but it does make AMAZING food, and I highly recommend it!
Mi Nidito is easily my favorite Mexican place of all time. I grew up here and have traveled the world eating and I always enjoy Mi Nidito. The thing is some Tucsononians and visitors are turned off by the wait and security. Look, like many places the food is not representative of the neighborhood. But the main drag with Mi Nidito on it has a bunch of really good Mexican food places.
The food here is awesome. I normally get a chicken chimichanga. It has never let me down and there is never oil pouring out of it like you often find with bad fryers. The nachos are really good. They put them on a bead of refried beans and there is enchilada sauce and cheese, and all kinds of goodness.
The margaritas are supper yummy - the right amount of alcohol but they run sweet.
Yes, Clinton ate there - I've sat at the table and had the president's plate. Big deal. Go here for the food. Yeah, there is a long wait - go at lunch if you want to miss it. Or if the wait is unbearable go across the street to Guillermo's - don't go down there and leave empty handed.
BE AWARE: Closed Monday and Tuesday.
I wish I knew about this place sooner! I didn't eat here until I moved out of Tucson, but I am so glad I got an opportunity to try it. This place is absolutely worth the wait!
I was so full when I walked out of this place. It was really disgusting. My favorite item to order at a Mexican restaurant is the chicken flautas, and the flautas here were amazing! My favorite thing here was the salsa they served with the chips. It was probably one of the spiciest salsas I've never had and the flavor was great. Does anyone know if they bottle it up and sell it? I could drink the stuff!
The only reason I do not give it 5 stars is due to the slow service. We waited several minutes for drink refills, and to-go boxes. The food, however, came out pretty fast for the amount of people in the restaurant.
It's also pretty neat to see the Clinton table all decked out with his photo, and American flags. It's kind of funky to see that in a Mexican restaurant. The place is also full of photos and autographs of other celebrities/athletes/political figures as well.
It's all about the presidential plate. My friends and I went here every weekend as a break from UofA. Expect to wait for a table, but also expect to have your mind blown by the amazing food. Mi Nidito came as a reccommendation by a friend in the spanish linguistics department, and once I introduced it to friends there was no turning back for any of us. It's a little hard to find, so prepare yourself with drawn out directions and keep your eyes peeled.
Chile rellenos in the Tucson Area rated according to the Homeland Security Advisory System with three word descriptors.
Mi Nidito: chiles not parallel. Orange
See photos.
Hmm this is ok. Went on recomendation from locals and from tour guides. Had the president plate to sample - plenty to share between two. We needed a quick turnaround to catch our flight and was in and out on a Friday afternoon within 45 minutes.
Food was ok - more flavor in the meat than Blanco's but was just really stodgy cheesy food, nothing special. The best on the plate was the enchilada by far.
Would not come back but glad I went and took the picture.
Mi Nidito is one of those places that will always hold a special place in my heart. I used to eat here when I was in college and working as an EMT in South Tucson. After my wife and I started dating, I found that we not only shared a love for each other, but a love for Mi Nidito as well. It was also one of her favorite places for a late night dinner when she was in college too.
If you ever are in Tucson and have a hankerin' for some AMAZING Mexican food, you have to give Mi Nidito a try. I recommend going early or late because during normal dinner time, they are B-U-S-Y! It's not uncommon for there to be a 30-40 minute wait. But the wait is DEFINITELY worth it. The nice thing about Mi Nidito is that they are open until 2:00 am! I wish a few good restaurants in Phoenix would follow suit.
My favorite is the #3 combination. It includes a taco, tamale, a cheese enchilada, and beans. The chips and salsa are great. The salsa can be a bit spicy, but they do have a mild warm tomato paste base for those who like a milder flavor, you just have to ask for it. I also like the rolled chicken tacos (basically big taquitos), which are really good too. The margaritas are great, although I'm usually the driver so I stick to iced tea. Do you know how you can tell if a Mexican Food restaurant is really good or not? Look to see how many Mariachi musicians patronize the place after 12:00 am. Mi Nidito has more than a few!
This place is so hyped. I am not sure if it's authentic Mexican food. Most dishes have too much lettuce and cheese. It's not very flavorful. I probably won't go back.
Delicious, authentic Sonoran Mexican food in an establishment that has drawn in overflow crowds, lunch and dinner, for many years. Don't let the waiting crowds in the front and on the porch deter you -- the line moves fast and the food is definitely worth the wait. Nice decor (perhaps overdone with crafts and tchotchkes) but colorful, fun and authentic. Try anything on the menu and you won't be disappointed -- but be sure to get something with their homemade enchilada sauce on it (I love their burros or chimichangas prepared "enchilada style" -- i.e. with enchilada sauce and melted cheese on top. Yum!). It is to die for. Enjoy!
This is really a fantastic restaurant, maybe the best Mexican restaurant in existence. I wish they'd open a branch out east, which needs great Mexican food.
Primer: Considered by many to be the best Mexican restaurant in Tucson, with a history of famous patrons including Bill Clinton, I set out to see what all the fuss is about.
Ambience: 3/5 (festive and colorful, if not a tad ostentatious--especially considering all the photos of Bill Clinton they have plastered on the walls, not to mention the presidential seal that adorns the presidential table where the president once sat a decade ago; yes, Mi Nidito, we get it: Bill Clinton ate here once in the 90s; it's time to let it go)
Food: 1/5 (I ordered the 'president's plate', a combination plate that serves as their signature dish: taco, tostada, tamale, enchilada, and something unidentifiable because of all the cheese; there's definitely a lot of food here, but that doesn't mean any of it was good; at first I couldn't figure out why--at just under $13--it was twice as expensive as everything else on the menu, then I realized that was because it contained about $13 worth of low quality cheese; don't get me wrong, I love cheese--I'm from Wisconsin--but only quality cheese and even then it must be in moderation; the taco and tostada were soggy and overwhelmed by cheap, shredded iceberg lettuce, the tamale was decent, and everything else was just one pile of disgusting cheese; it was some of the worst Mexican food I've had in a long, long time; on top of that, my dining partner ordered a $6 bowl of tortilla soup that was also subpar and, given the size, shouldn't have costed more than $2)
Service: 3/5 (yes, there was a long wait as it was a Saturday afternoon; but the service was all right, nothing special, but definitely not the most pressing problem with this overrated restaurant)
Value: 2/5 (as I said above, because of the hype, everything is overpriced; but they find other ways to steal your money too, including ridiculous policies such as no free refills on soda--I don't drink pop so I don't care, but it is absurd--as well as a disclaimer that says the first two bowls of chips and salsa are complimentary, but the third one you have to buy; I've never been to another Mexican restaurant that does this; on top of that, about halfway after we were finished with the first bowl, a server came by and whisked it away with half of it left and quickly replaced it with bowl number two; sorry, but if you're going to charge me for bowl number three, at least let me eat all of bowl one and two; simply ridiculous)
Verdict: this is a place that has been milking a lucky visit from Bill Clinton a decade ago; their entire reputation is based on that fact, but I don't see what the big deal is; Bill Clinton was known for loving to eat crappy food; I suspect that without all the hoopla his visit stirred that this place would be struggling to stay afloat; I'll never return as there are just way too many better Mexican restaurants in Tucson to warrant wasting my money here.
Perfect Mexican Restaurant! #1! if you have to wait, do it.
This is a great Mexican restaurant. I was there with my girl friends family during thanksgiving break. It is really hard to beat this restaurant. The who's who have eaten at that restaurant, that includes president Clinton, president elect Obama,etc. Anyone who visits Tuscon, has to eat here. A great family owned restaurant.
I did get to meet the owner of the restaurant and he is a great guy. This restaurant has been in Tuscon for a very long long time. :-).
They do not take reservations, so make sure that you plan on getting there early. Anytime you go, there is a minimum 15 minutes wait.
It is worth the wait.
Mi Nidito has been my favorite Mexican restaurant for almost 30 years and wasn't new when I started going there. In all of those years, it has never let me down. The long wait is due to the popularity of this small restaurant (which is about twice as big as it was when I first started going there). My long time favorite is the 'Burro Deluxe - Enchilada Style'.
