El Big Bad

I ordered chips and queso as entree 8.75(food sucked) 2 carne asada tacos 13.99 (food sucked) Fajitas

The server decided to automatically put a 20% tip for herself. It was 3 of us eating after theater on a theatre. It was me and my bf on our bill - 2 people, not a large party. Then my friend asked for her separate check - same thing happened to her, so 1 person, not a big party again, also automatic 20% tip. I am an out of town visitor and while the food was absolutely amazing - the service was questionable from the start. The situation: only 2 other couples were in the upstairs restaurant, and us 3 , and one female server. The server offered us to use the scannable menu on table and to pre-pay via the restaurant app, but we wanted to do 2 checks and possibly pay via cash. The lady hesitantly took our order and she also took our credit card information. Again, odd, but no unheard of. All was going well ( except my queso and chips was left off but quickly remedied and brought that out). The burger was delish, my friend loved her shrimp taco, and my bf loved his burrito and chicken strips I didn't drink as I am pregnant but the other 2 confirmed that their margaritas were solid. Then we got the checks. Our cards were already ran and charged. We didn't have the chance to look through our bill. Then we saw the 20-% tip. The server was asked where did this automatic 20% tip came from ? We were not informed that an automatic 20% tip will be added. The menu didn't seem to say to either, and the server didn't inform us at the start of the meal, either. The server said why .. do we want to give more or less tip ? I said well, I just want to know how did this 20% was determined and how it appear on the check. She gave a vague answer how mangement pre programmed their cashier app. We didn't order through the app, I said. She said that's just how it is here. I dont think this was ethical or legal.

We ordered a couple of beers and I popped back inside to get a glass. The bartender actually came and found us on the balcony to bring a cold glass! Service! Ahhh...a lost art. Excellent service and a great vibe.

I went here with some friends who I had assumed looked at the reviews but apparently they had not. The 2.9 rating makes sense and had I seen it I would have spoken up about going elsewhere. Food was blah, drinks were blah, vibes were horrible. There were multiple djs spread between the floors and the music was going to max volume, skipping over itself, then turning off. Repeatedly. We could hear all of them and it was so bad. Service was blah. We ordered once and then she disappeared because we closed our tab. Oftentimes I'll close my tab but if it's a good time and good drinks I'll reopen and get something else. She did not allow that opportunity. They were very inattentive overall. I walked in with a large water bottle as I was recovering from a procedure and I was told to throw it away due to no outside food or drinks. Okay, fine, understandable. However, I was not offered water immediately by the restaurant. It's also a required 20% added tip. I always tip at least 20% every time, every where but I still find it sneaky when it's added with no head's up. Won't go back and I don't recommend you do either.

We brought in local friends that haven't tried El Big Bad, which I've been a fan of since over a decade ago and have not gone in many years, so was excited to introduce a staple in Houston. We went for Houston Restaurant Week, which was good. Blanco Queso was a hit for everyone at the table, fajita steak/chicken was very good but the churros were the star of the night with the Bavarian cream. The reason for the 2 star was due to the overall lack of service from our waitress, who we had to waive down a few times just to get water. The rest of the team seemed to be working so hard through dinner service but her; what made it even worst was the fact that she added 20% gratuity to a table of 4, which made sense as to why we never saw her except for the greeting/ordering time and closing out of our tabs. Mind you, there were about 8 customers in the entire restaurant for the hour and a half that we were there.When food is good, especially in a local spot that's been open for years, we want to share that with friends and family but SERVICE WILL ALWAYS TAKE PRECEDENTS.

Space was cool it was 3 floors. We got a drink at the top floor since it was empty. The place did had a old bar stink to it. The drinks were disgusting. Not sure what the bartender mixed but it tasted disgusting. Note to self do not get the Moscow Mule from here. They also were out of Tito's and offered a different kind but tasted watered down when mixed with soda.

We were actually very pleasantly surprised by this place. We love tequila and mezcal and saw it was highly rated. We only got drinks but they were very good. We would return to try their other margaritas.

Not Bad for it being Cinco de Mayo! Definitely needs more bartenders on the first floor. I feel like some people may have called out that day & needed to be fired over the phone (but that's just me ‍) Drinks were good .... Might come again for the food without the crowd next time.

The service is amazing, and the drinks are delicious, but this is the second time in an approximate two-week time span that I've come here for dinner and had to leave because there was mysteriously no food for some reason. I obviously left both times because I'd come there for food and drinks.This is really disappointing because this place has tasty food and drinks, the bartenders are so much fun to talk, and there's fantastic service and atmosphere every time. But coming here two times in close proximity of one another only to be told there's no food during dinner time? Huge problem. I'm only knocking one star off for this, as the food is yummy when it's available, the drinks are always amazing, the service is great, and the atmosphere is a blast. But what kind of bizarre restaurant regularly has no food at dinner?!I really hope they get this fixed.

Yall let me tell you about this place. We decided to have a few drinks before heading to the theater on 6/15 Saturday night their was only 4 of us.The drinks we blah my margarita was suppose to be a frozen margarita which came out a little more liquified.Service was good but very unorganized they kept coming to the table saying if we order extra drinks& foodFrom the name of Sarah. After letting them know several times that we only ordered what we ordered and no one is name Sarah. It wasn't until our checks came out! Can you please tell me how my brother in laws total came out to 90 dollars?When placing our order they gave us a menu. Some items of the menu had prices while some didn't. He ordered the Casa Blanca. With lack of education from the waitress stating it was "a premium drink " .Someone who isn't aware of different kinds of tequila here's the name Casa Blanca thinks it's a reference to a movie. But anyway I spoke to the manager "Linda Rodríguez" who was rude and inconsiderate.I explained ehow she needs to educate her staff before allowing someone to purchase a 90 dollars worth of drink.She said that the full price menu is in the QR code. But why would you want to scan that if you have a menu in front of you.This whole restaurant is a SCAM! They find many ways to scam you. It's ridiculous and disgusting. How can a businesses like this still be running!!On top of that it's true what the say about the 20%.