Guajillo's On The Island

Their slogan is the Mex without the Tex, and they absolutely nailed it. After being a 2 separate trips to Texas and searching for a good Mexican spot each time, I'm happy to say Guajillo's more than satisfied. On a 4 day trip we went here twice, the first time I got chicken chilaquiles rojo and the next I got enmoladas. I truly don't know which I liked more. The rojo was a little bit more sour and spicy, and their mole was sweet, but not overpowering. Lastly, I've got to shoutout that their (I think habanero lime garlic) table salsa is the best I've ever had and their table chips were house made and fantastic. When we went in the first time our service was top notch, the waiter was really happy, checked in often and made good suggestions (get a michelada). Ambiance was great, it's a little small but feels very homey. TL:DR: Best Mexican food I had in Texas and probably top 3 of all time for me. Fantastic and the only thing worth going to Corpus for.

Really great food. Our waitress was so nice and explained all the specials very well. Some of the best Mexican food around.

I drove 3+ hours from Houston to try this place. The reviews were just too good to pass up. It did not disappoint overall, particularly the food flavor. The food was a solid 5 stars. Everything we ate was delicious, particularly the birria and the pork shank. Everything was perfectly seasoned and came out the ideal temperature. The birria was spicier than expected, so keep that in mind. The ambiance was ok. It's a smaller joint than expected, and nothing fancy. It was clean overall, including the restrooms. The service was good and the waiter and waitress were nice. We were seated promptly. Check out takes place at a counter, not at your table, but it was quick (the minimum tip recommended on the iPad is 18%, in case you care about those details). The reasons I couldn't give my experience 5 stars:- We were not offered chips and salsa. We had to ask after our main dishes came out. Asking for a refill felt like a chore. - We never had our drinks refilled. Given that the birria and salsa were spicy, it was a bit inconvenient. They were busy on a Friday night so we didn't think it was worth flagging our wait staff down for refills. - The count of tortillas that came with our pork shank dish was stingy. We had a party of 4, and when we asked for more tortillas so we could finish the shank, they gave us 3 tortillas. I would have been happy to pay for the extra tortillas. Overall, I would highly recommend this place if you find yourself near Corpus Christi. I would definitely come back.

A must stop when I'm in town. Delicious food and excellent customer service. If hungry definitely order the special.

This is my all time favorite restaurant in Corpus Christi! They serve authentic Mexican food and the menu is not huge like a lot of places. My husband and I were having a hard time deciding what to order. A customer sitting at a nearby table who was a regular offered some suggestions. Here is what we ate: Totopos and Salsa - Two baskets of chips come free and then it costs $3 per order after that. Chips are crunchy, salsa has good flavor and is not spicy. Poblano Beans Appetizer - $6.75 Soooo yummy! Mole Poblano with beans and cotija cheese. It comes with its own chip basket. The mole is to die for! It is so smooth and rich! Birria Soup - $18 Beef birria comes in its own consumme as a soup with lime, cilantro, and onion on the side. We ordered a side of three handmade corn tortilla for .75 cents so we could make tacos out of the meat. The broth is spicy and taste heavily of chilis. Just delicious! This is a family owned spot and well deserving of their #3 ranking on Yelp's Top 100 Restaurants in Texas. You must visit Guajillo's when in Corpus! It is worth the price!

I just happened to stumble upon this restaurant since it was a few miles away from my client site. The restaurant isn't anything fancy from the outside, nor from the inside, but at least the interior is clean and somewhat modern. It is fairly colorful with lots of woods. The pictures, or murals, on the wall are all square and consist of 9 panels each. In summary, since this restaurant is so different from the mostly tex-mex restaurants in town, and the food is really good, service is family-like, it's hard not to give them 5 stars.There is a nice size menu, but everything sounds so good. It will remind you of thai or Chinese restaurants since there are pepper indications on many of the menu items. It was a tough choice, but I narrowed my decision down to 3 pork dishes, the pork in pepper sauce, cochinita pibil, and the pork shank. Since I like spicy food, the waitress actually recommended the pork in pepper sauce over their specialty item, the pork shank. I also added avocado slices for 4.75 more.You start with chips and salsa, but neither the chips nor the salsa are like most Tex-mex restaurants. The main pepper used in the salsa is guajillo, similar to the taste of salsas you may find in Honduras, or other central american countries. Tomatillo peppers are also added to the salsa. The chips are thick and crunchy with lots of texture.The pork in pepper sauce comes out on a plate in chunks swimming in the sauce. I didn't feel it was very spicy even though the menu says it's 4 chili peppers. There is also rice and beans on the plate, which are like a central Mexican style of beans. The dish comes with 3 corn tortillas. They do not serve flour tortillas here.The entire menu is supposedly gluten-free, except for the Fideo soup.I was going up to the hostess stand/cash register to pay and saw the sign for homemade ice cream. They have Limon and coconut. I chose coco. It comes out in a sundae glass. This is obviously homemade since there are pieces of toasted coconut throughout. I would say it's a little on the sweet side due to all the sweetened coconut flakes. The color of theirs is also a tan, similar to butter pecan for conparison.My biggest complaint is probably the prices, which are not going to cater to everyone... especially those used to paying $7 or so for a Mexican dish at a cheap Mexican restaurant. They are also very proud of their avocados and guacamole too. For a side of avocado slices, it's $4.75. I looked at older menus and it was over $5 on those, so the price has come down, but I feel it's still more than most places charge for adding a few avocado slices to your entree.

The vegan / vegetarian options were great. Very delicious! The waitress was very quick and hospitable.

This place is truly a hidden gem. Gluten free menu except for 2 items. Beans are not cooked in lard. I highly recommend this place if you are at Padre Island TX. I wish we have one like this in North Texas.

Service was good! Very attentive. They only have a beer and white license. No Margaritas. I was directed to a pork chipotle dish. Based on my spice level. It was tasty but not angry enough. The beans were good and well flavored. The rice was there. Nothing special. But tasty. They tout that they are number #3 in Texas for some list. And to be honest the sauces were well constructed, flavor and depth were there. But I've just had better Mexican food. There was a constant stream of customers but it was never more than half full. It was quaint and clean. I'm going out on a very small limb and saying this is number three due to location location location. It's close to the island and it's got good reviews. It could be spicy to some with a low tolerance for spice and heat.

The food is delicious and the family that runs the restaurant is as nice as can be. It's a small restaurant so it can get crowded and loud, but I've been on a slow Sunday evening and a busy Wednesday night. No matter how busy the wait staff takes great care of you. The salsa is crazy spicy, but oh so good.