El Refu

Well first things first. This place IS NOT a Tex Mex restaurant as the name suggests. It is in fact a fairly large and completely overpriced taqueria. Decided to try it out because we constantly eat in the same spots in our area of town and were craving something different. If you like taqueria food, you may have a different take on this place. I went in expecting Tex Mex and got something that wasn't.When we pull up, the parking lot is packed - very packed. This is always a great sign. Walking in, and the place is as bright as a stadium. Now it's personal preference of course, but I personally like a place with more ambiance. The place is filled with people. It would be our luck that our waitress also had a 16 to 20 top table celebrating a birthday she was tending to also. The service was super slow because of it. We had to raise our hand several times to get her to look our way. This place automatically grats on parties as small as 5 so I'm sure she was overseeing her guaranteed tip.We were helped several times by a bus boy who brought us our drinks and a few other things. One major red flag was when another waitress picked up one of our wrapped silverwares from the floor, which we didn't even realize was there, and put it right back on the table as if we were supposed to use it after it had been on the floor.I was in the mood for some chicken fajitas, my go to at any legitimate Tex Mex restaurant, but since this place looked and behaved like a taqueria, I opted for their Texas burrito. I've learned in the past that taquerias use lower quality chicken and even some dark meat in their chicken fajitas so I never order that at a place that isn't a robust Tex Mex joint.Ok back to this Texas "burrito". When it was served, I couldn't believe my eyes. It should have been called a Rhode Island burrito cause that thing was so small, I honestly thought I was being punked. It was basically a single solitary enchilada. And it costs a whopping $15. When I asked the waitress to confirm, she did. I doubled checked the price with her and she confirmed again. After seeing the disappointment in my face, she had the nerve to ask if everything looked good.My wife was brave and opted for chicken fajitas. Now on the positive side, that plate was actually a lot of food. On the negative side, the chicken was rubbery in texture and had an odd flavor; like it was cooked near fish. I know because my wife couldn't finish her plate and after I easily devoured the kids meal I was served, I was still hungry and luckily ate a taco from her plate.Our minds were made up that this was not the place for us. We're huge Lupe Tortilla fans and so every other Tex Mex place is judged according to that bar. This restaurant didn't even place on our scale because it wasn't even Tex Mex.The death blow was when we received our bill and saw that this place nickels and dimes their customers. There was an extra fee to use a credit or debit card. This is just the cost of doing business for any establishment. To pass it on to your customers paints a really clear picture of how cheap and greedy the restaurant is. Of course it's only $1.55 on our bill and I know that people will be quick to say "if you can't afford it you shouldn't be dining out", but that's not the point. It's only $1.55 and the restaurant can surely afford it when they charge $15 for what is essentially a kids enchilada plate and should be just chalking it up to a business cost. In the end, it ended up costing the waitress part of her tip unfortunately. With the bad service and other red flags, we only tipped the minimum of 15% which was also calculated by them based on the total price including the credit card fee. We weren't going to add more money to the bill now that the fee was also a factor. If you're into taqueria food, maybe give the place a try. You might have a completely different experience than we did. If you're looking for Tex Mex, this isn't it.

Anna Maria and Alex need a raise lol. My boyfriend truly felt welcomed and part of the TexMex family at El Refu. We had La Mamalona Mango Chamoy and the sampler plate with Mango Habanero wings. The food was great the drinks were good and the music was fantastic. We will be back for sure.

First visit to this location; Spring Texas and it was much more pleasant and entertaining than the Humble Texas location. The service quick, professional and the chips and salsa were fresh. Both meals were extremely good and the drinks were strong, good, and definitely served its purpose. The music throughout the restaurant was loud and energetic. The bar area was hopping and really fun.

Came for lunch, great looking building. huge place and great design concept . The customer service was great and really fast and responsive servers . Lunch specials were great. White queso , I had the ribeye tacos and my wife have the tacos al pastor . Both were great. Have nothing bad to say about this place .

My husband and I were actually headed to Swannies to get lunch when we exited the freeway and were waiting at the stop light when we saw this very fun and exciting looking restaurant. My husband googled the menu and in 30 seconds we were making a u-turn and changing our lunch plans to Refus. We sat outside and ordered two 22 oz Stellas and if you come during lunch hours you get free queso (ummm what!? Some places charge $8-9 for queso!). I ordered 2 lbs of crawfish and they were delicious! My husband ordered the Ribeye Tacos and said they were fantastic. We loved that they brought out two salsa cups, two queso cups, etc. so we could each have our own little bowl and not have to drip while reaching over to dip a chip. We will be back again for sure

Great place for a good time and the food and drinks are great. The karaoke on Thursday is the best.

I've been twice now, and the place is consistent. Parking is easy, lots of space. Easily accessible when on the north side. The place itself is lively, with a good layout. It can be a little loud on nights when live music or karaoke are happening. The decor is quite festive. The food has always been solid. And yes folks, the salsa is good. That's the base rating. If the salsa is good, I can usually find good food to follow. Service has been quick, and frequent. Price is average for Tex Mex, you won't find any bargains. But you won't leave with any issues or gripes.I'll be back.

Been to the location in Humble a few times so wanted to try this new location.Plenty of parking, plenty of indoor tables and a huge patio with a stage for live music.We started outside but light rain made us come inside..Waiter and waitstaff are awesome very helpful and accommodating as we had to move inside with the rain.I order the jumbo street tacos, fajita, carnitas and pastor really really good.I highly recommend the jumbo tacos and Mexican candy shots and premium margarita with Don Julio you won't be sorry. Will return for sure..

10/10 food wassss sooooo deliciousss and hostess were theeeeee besttttttt

I was so excited to visit here for my daughter's graduation. We were VERY DISAPPOINTED. Not sure if they was just overwhelmed being mothers day and graduation parties. We had hair in one plate, had to send my husband enchiladas back because they were microwaved, the refried beans were microwaved or over cooked. On top of that we wasn't informed if a credit card is used there's a fee. The food we received and the pictures online was not what we got. I am a avid tipper but when you don't see your waiter for refills or dishes removed its a problem when you automatically include the tip.