Caracol

I came here for happy hour a few days ago. The parking options are valet or parking garage. The restaurant itself has a cool ambiance in the bar area. You can also sit on the patio for those vibes. The food happy hour menu was okay. My favorite was the brisket sliders but I ask for no beans. I also tried the tacos from the happy hour menu which I didn't like. The drinks from the happy hour menu are a hit or miss. I tried the porque no margarita and it was very tart. I ordered an extra shot to add some kick. The spicy pineapple Paloma was delicious. It has a mix of sweet and spicy but in a good way. I also tried The Greatest Margarita which was $32. This margarita was a hit!Lastly, the kids churro with a side of ice cream was delicious! The service was okay. Our waiter didn't have much of a personality.

I went for hh and I would go back. Just make sure you're not looking for your typical Tex- Mexican food. The drinks are great on the regular menu, but not as strong on the hh menu. I had the porque and the Paloma. The porque was super tart and I wouldn't recommend. The Paloma was a really good blend of spicy and sweet. But the regular menu mezcal margarita is my fave! The sliders are tasty, you can't tell is brisket, but be aware they have beans on them. The ribs were ok, very tender. The quesadilla are made with corn, not flour - very ok. I do like the seafood toastadas. Last but not least, they have a children's size churro. And I here they're delicious I always sit at the bar and get good service. The ambiance can be a little stuffy and I definitely wouldn't come in there if I'm looking busted. It's fine dining, but you don't have to be super dressy. I usually see a lot of business professionals

Everything is fresh, perfectly timed, and the staff is lovely. The private room experience was glorious! Cannot recommend this place enough.From ceviche to margaritas, every possible shrimp dish, and overwhelmingly delicious dessert. we feasted like monarchs.

Best Sunday brunch in Houston! We accidentally stumbled into it years ago during HRW. When we arrived, they only offered brunch rather than the HRW menu so we went for it. It offers high quality and delicious Mexican dishes. Tamales, Chile poblano, soup, ceviche, famous baked fish, mouth watering beef cheeks mole, fish collar, eat all you can oysters and a host of desserts including churros, tres leches, flan, macaroons and much much more. If you get lucky, they may serve lamb chops when dishes run out. Brunch include drinks (soda, ice tea). I always roll out of there. :-). Place is high end casual. Nice art pieces on the walls. Free valet parking. You can self park and your ticket validated. Service is always fantastic... they take away your plates promptly when you stand up for another round and fix your napkin. Price is reasonable ($42) considering the selection and quality of food being offered.

Decided to stop by for their Sunday Brunch Buffet and they did not disappoint. We pulled up and the car was parked per their complimentary valet (work on tips). We were promptly seated and greeted by our waiter Steve. He was efficient, knowledgeable and proactive in anticipating our needs. Steve was sure to point out where everything was and even let us know if we wanted to tweak anything from the brunch buffet he could make that happen. We started with the cold area first; oyster bar/shooters, ceviche (fish & scallop), salad (mango and cauliflower), Brussel sprouts & chips and salsa. Next was the hot food; chilaquiles, stuffed poblanos, tamales, soup, brisket mole, rice, beans, fried fish, etc. Last, was the sweet bar; churros, cheesecake, tres leches, cookies, fruit, waffles and piping hot Mexican hot chocolate. Ambiance is clean, fun & inviting. They have plenty of seating outside as well. Needless to say, we will be adding them to the Sunday Brunch rotation. Enter freely, they've been approved

This was HRW stop #7 for me. One of the best stops so far. We had a reservation for 6:30 but can a little early to enjoy happy hour. We sat at the bar for happy hour. Bartenders were very welcoming and explained the drink menu and offered suggestions. Once it was 6:30 we moved to our table with no trouble. The waiter kept the great service going walking us thru the different menu options and add ins available. This HRW menu is four courses and is preset. You do have a drink pairing add on option with each menu. I picked the Nuestro Estilo menu. The first course was Sope de Camote a crispy masa cake, sweet potato, queso fresco, crema, salsa macha. Many different textures going on at the same time. Lots of flavor and the perfect size for an appetizer. The next course was the Tiradito de Medregal which was sliced yellowtail ceviche, cucumber, roasted jalapeño, lime juice, mint. This dish was very refreshing. The flavor didn't pop as much as I was expecting. Not something I would order again. The third course was the main dish and was the Costillas de Puerco. This was boneless pork ribs, scalloped potatoes, mole costeño, greens. The meat was so tender and juicy. The scalloped potatoes were cooked perfectly. They had that crispy crust and soft inside. The greens soaked up all the amazing flavor from the pork ribs. Definitely something I would get again! Finally was desert. The coco ball, that's probably not the right name lol. So many jokes went around the table about this desert. If you don't know it's a chocolate ball that comes with a wooden mallet. You use the mallet to break the ball to reveal the creaming inside. You get an idea of the jokes at the table. Four grown men acting like 13 year olds lol. Overall it was a great experience and plan on coming back.

I visited Caracol for the first time last week to celebrate Houston Restaurant Weeks. It was easy to make reservations several days before for our party of 6 and I liked the automatic reminder text system the morning of the meal. Parking is either complimentary valet or the attached parking garage which Caracol will validate for.From the HRW dinner menu ($55), I went with the seafood menu and chose the oysters for my first followed by fish tamal for the second course. The shrimp on rice was the third course with the lychee and raspberry mousse cake for dessert. Each course was professionally presented to me and my table mates in a timely manner. Those three oysters on the half shell made me wish I ordered a dozen. They left me wanting more being wood roasted in chipotle butter, cheese and toasted bread crumbs. Oh my! The fish tamal was served in an amarillo mole sauce and was so smooth and satisfying. I would have liked a larger serving. The third course was the sautéed shrimp in garlic sauce sitting on a bed of creamy corn bomba rice. I believe there were 4 shrimp on the plate and each one with the rice were delicious. Finally, while the dessert was small, the lychee and raspberry mousse cake with some white chocolate and cream made for a sweet ending. During the meal, I quickly realized the quality of a dining experience at Caracol. Prices here are above average and attract an upscale crowd. The food was delicious, the table service professional and a restaurant I would be happy to return to.

I absolutely LOVED this restaurant. We had initially had reservations for a table but decided to sit at the bar. Happy Hour is an amazing deal. The bar staff is so friendly and offered great advice on what to order. My favorite was the ceviche, absolutely melt in your mouth and the pork ribs were too. Highly recommend this place for service, atmosphere, the works. And go during happy hour - you can't beat it.

Husband and I had a date night here on a Friday. The food was 10/10...everything from the appetizers, main course, and desserts were delicious. The drinks, while a bit pricey were spectacular. The service was PERFECTION! Everyone was extremely attentive and friendly, without being intrusive. They were efficient and timely. They have valet parking available and also the parking garage, which is directly behind the restaurant. The restaurant provides a complimentary voucher for the parking too. So it's free! Nice touch, indeed.Highly recommend!

In a sea of Houston Tex-mex, I wanted to try something a little more traditional. I found Caracol just across the street from the Galleria, where I was staying. It was about a 10 minute walk and it was difficult to find in the office building in which it was located. I later found out the sign is more facing the parking lot than for people walking.I didn't have a reservation, and wanted to sit at a table, but all of the tables were "taken" (even though empty) so my only option was at the bar. I will say when I left, there were still open tables. It worked out though as the bartender was great!I was on the companies dime so I had to be a little mindful of price. This place was on the pricier side. I started with a margarita and was just looking for a plain-ol' marg. There was only one that fit the bill and it was nothing special, and also quite small.I wasn't starving so I tried the lobster taquito which came with a pretty nice piece of lobster and some other stuff on a non-fried flat tortilla. It was delicious, but calling it a taquito was a bit much.I also ordered the wood grille ribs which were super meaty and fall off the bone good. There was a BBQ sauce that had some Mole notes and it was great to dip my meat into it. For a rib appetizer, it was worth it IMHO.They had a pretty awesome tequila collection too. I was sitting where the scotch was locations, so I couldn't see everything, but the red Clase Azul Mezcal bottle caught my eye, but not my wallet.All in all, it was a good dinner, but I think it's a one-and-done type of place for me. The manager talked with me a bit which was nice. The bartender and food servers were awesome. The main mis-step was not letting me sit at a clearly open table and the size of the margaritas.