The Yummiest Tex-Mex in Houston

The Original Ninfa's on Navigation

★★★★☆ 3.9 (1988) • $$

"hey don't call it the original for nothing! We went next door first and realized we wanted something more authentic. I'm glad we did. Magda took care of our table. I had a gift from a friend that I left and later had to return for. Thank God they kept it in the office! Thanks Lulu! The staff is unmatched. We were well attended and very happy at our table. We all ordered the Enchiladas Suizas. We couldn't go wrong with that! Thank you for hanging on to my gift and for the excellent service!"

Cenas Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.3 (720) • $$

"They've moved to Hwy 6 and 529 where Willie's used to be. Still awesome!! Good music, good food and great ambiance!"

Teotihuacan Mexican Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (831)

"Why 4 stars? Because, like all of the others, this is a good choice for Tex-Mex. --- --- ---There are 4.8 million Tex-Mex restaurants in the Greater Houston area and 3.2 million of them are 4-stars: they provide enjoyable comfort food that's not going to change your life, but you certainly aren't going to regret it. Teotihuacan is one of the 3.2 million.I found it a few months ago on some "Best Tex-Mex in Houston" list, and have always been interested to try it since then. My wife is always down for Tex-Mex, so on a trip from the northside of town to the southside of town, we made a pit stop here. We did what we always do and ordered chips and queso as an appetizer, and then split beef & chicken fajitas for two. The great: the queso and the tortillas. Also, the time that it took our food to come out, which was shockingly quick.The good: everything else.The most interesting thing about the experience was parking in an overflow lot, which also happened to have a couple of houses in the parking lot. Literally there was a house that was in the parking lot. Parking space, parking space, parking space, 30 feet of pavement.... front door. So weird. And there were also a couple of houses across the street that looked like they had been through a couple of World Wars, but I guess that's the Heights for ya."

Pablo's Mexican Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4 (625) • $$

"Great place to go for quick lunch. Pricing is good for the amount of food they give you. I paid only $23 for chicken/beef/shrimp fajita plate . They give all the sides along with it as well! Extra tortillas are free which is a plus. Definitely will be coming back to this place"

Raizes Mexican Kitchen

★★★★★ 4.5 (415) • $$

"The service is always superb here. Im not sure if he is the owner or the manager, but he always always has a smile on his face. The frescas are sooo good. My cousin and I came for a late breakfast today."

Caliente

★★★★☆ 4 (525) • $$

"This was my second try ordering from these folks, and sadly, my experience with Caliente has not been so hot. Each time we've picked up a to go order, the restaurant has been empty. Clean! But empty, which may mean folks flock here for lunch or takeout.This trip, we spend $70 on beef fajitas, a beef fajita bowl, queso and tres leches to go. The fajita bowl and beef fajitas were ordered as two separate meals but when they arrived, the containers were not labeled and looked identical. After requesting beans in separate container (as there was no option when ordering to remove them or indicate allergies), we found that the container we assumed to be fajitas separated the refried beans but left black beans in the container meaning bean or bean juice coated every part of the meal.I'm not a big eater, but I breezed through the 2 tortilla included in the fajita meal, which called for 3-4 (but maybe 2 tortillas is standard for a to go fajita meal that feeds 1-2?)Additionally, the fajita meat and veggies looked as if they've never touched a grill. Amidst the chewy texture, and mildly seasoned, there was no familiar char/Smokey grill flavor to be found. Although the fajitas were a hard miss, their queso blanco offered a bit of reprieve. Mild in flavor, it's heavy on the cream. The accompanying chips are delicate and little chunks of onion and jalapeños or green Chile come together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Easily, this item was the best part of this meal. Stand by, (apart from the fire queso), it seems like this Caliente is still warming up!"

Torchy's Tacos

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (688) • $

"Hello Yelpers! If you are looking for a quick go to restaurant for Tacos then then this is the place. I ordered the Jerk Chicken Taco and the Shrimp Taco and they both tasted great. I had the Shrimp Taco on the Corn Tortilla and the Jerk Chicken on the flour tortilla. I think I prefer the flour tortilla.I don't have pictures because the food look messy but they were good. I ordered the tacos to go as well. Overall they tasted good and they were reasonably priced as well. $4 and some change."

Candente

★★★★☆ 4.1 (470) • $$

"First time here for the farewell dinner for my friends. I ordered the veggie option. Black beans with quesadillas was pretty good! They were very generous about chips! They have creamy sauce and fresh sauce! We all enjoyed their service and foods! Pretty smoky environment with roasting meat so be aware of it! :) Cheers"

Twisted Turban

★★★★★ 4.5 (365) • $

"I love the concept of Mexican south Asian fusion. Pretty genius if you ask me so I was super excited to get down with the food fusion.A few things to note, the actual space is not very big but has some cool graffiti art on one of the walls. The bathroom can definitely use some upgrading and general cleaning. Nothing I hate more than using a dirt bathroom and then having no soap to wash your hands... pretty gross They have canned and bottled drinks for purchase and no alcohol is sold in the establishment.I was very unimpressed with the street corn, I actually threw it away. Tasted like canned corn with some Mayo and some weak sriracha sauce . I also did not care for the samosa chaat, the mix of chutney with the potato gravy and chick peas with the samosa didn't work for me.Positive notes: I did like the tacos, loved the paratha. It was a nice change from the normal tortilla. The turban taco had great flavor with the braised beef and cabbage. The wrapchic is made with chicken tikka masala which had some great flavor."

Torchy's Tacos

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (655) • $$

"Prepare your taste buds for a tantalizing journey through creative taco creations at this gem of a spot! From innovative twists to classic favorites, their taco game is unmatched. And let's talk about their queso - simply divine, especially with the added punch of chorizo! A must-try for any cheese lover or taco aficionado."

Carmelo's Mexican Grill

★★★★☆ 4.3 (369)

"Cute hole in the wall Tex Mex place in old Sugar Land. You can easily drive right by it. My mom suggested it as a casual family run place. We were served chips and salsa upon sitting down (my parents requested the green salsa with tomatillo and jalapeno). I preferred the red salsa. We decided to all share to try a bunch of stuff. My favorite was the shrimp enchiladas. Great sauce and a fair amount of shrimp. The beef enchilada was alright. Good amount of beef but I prefer more cheese and didn't love the sauce. The taco salad was a bit of a letdown. It was fine, not exciting. Decent amount of meat but with "fajita beef" I was expecting bigger pieces of meat rather than chopped up. My mom however appreciated the chopped aspect, easier to eat. The service was excellent, refilling the chips and drinks before they even got empty. Total cost was under $50, all three of us left stuffed."

Cadillac Bar

★★★★☆ 3.5 (505) • $$

"Visited here with a party of 7 on a Saturday evening and had great service from Dylan. He's funny, quick and attentive! I was overwhelmed by how large the portions were. If I had known, I may have gone for the enchiladas or even the nachos. I did enjoy my fajitas and really only made two so I have some leftovers to look forward to. The restaurant wasn't full but it was still relatively loud so at times we couldn't hear Dylan or each other. Only reason I couldn't give it five stars can be attributed to the tortillas (too hard) and the sweet tea option."

Chilosos Taco House

★★★★☆ 3.5 (478) • $

"Reason for 4 stars is because of the bacon and tortillas. Bacon was too large and needed to be chopped a bit , i broke it down by hand ;) , Also the tortillas are a bit on the Thickk sidee so yeah . Maybe i'm just being picky , i'm giving y'all my best opinion. They are large breakfast tacos! Texas size if i may say . They were good! don't get me wrong! Might come back and just get 2 instead of 3 . I ordered mine with bacon , egg , potatoe , beans , and my dumba** forgot to add cheese. NEXT TIME It was a nice treat for lunch , i was very thankful for them to still be serving breakfast tacos at 1:30pm , gold star for that one! Also the staff are very nice and genuine folks. :)"

The Studewood Cantine

★★★★☆ 4.1 (342) • $$

"Studewood Cantine is a slightly more upscale Tex-Mex restaurant that opened a few years ago, right after I moved away from the area.Since I have kept up with the Houston Tex-Mex scene, I have visited this place several times over the years. In fact, this place happened to be the very last place I dined out for dinner before the world shut down in March of 2020 - awesome memories! But, I have been back several times since, and they have yet to disappoint.Located in the lower Heights right where Montrose Blvd. becomes Studewood St., it has become a cozy neighborhood spot for locals craving casual Houston Tex-Mex. It has all of the classic messy plates, many of the newer popular Tex-Mex dishes, and amazing grilled platters. It is probably not hard to guess what my favorite thing on the menu is here - the beef fajitas! They are really something to be desired.It also has a comfortable spacious atmosphere including a nice patio that is ideal for sitting outside when the weather is nice, and appears to have always been managed well. The servers and everyone else who works here have always been very prompt and courteous.If you are in the area and looking for some really great Houston Tex-Mex, consider stopping by here. I am fairly certain you will enjoy what Studewood Cantine has to offer!"

Goode Company Kitchen & Cantina

★★★★☆ 4.1 (340) • $$

"Great job Coy! Food was really good. Even late service was attentive, food timely and perfectly cooked. Restaurant was spacious and clean. All staff very friendly. They have a sister restaurant next door, we will definitely be back to try it."

Galiana’s Tex Mex & Agave Bar

★★★★☆ 3.9 (365) • $$

"I had a great night out with my besties. The happy hour swirl margarita was so good! I also had the Chicken Gabriella! So delicious! The service was good too. Andrea took good care of us. The girls really recommended this place and I'll definitely be going back!"

Pappasito's Cantina

★★★★☆ 3.6 (427) • $$

Tony's Mexican Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.6 (418) • $$

"Visited this place during my lunch break with some coworkers. The hostesses were super friendly from the moment we walked in greeting us with a warm welcome. They walked us to our table where immediately a server came over and got our drink order.We ordered skinny margaritas to start off. My margarita was perfect but my coworker said hers was too strong. The waiter noticed her reaction and offered to fix the problem for her. Super nice! They bring complementary chips and salsa but we also ordered queso. I was surprised at how good it was! Super flavorful and came with a side of pickled jalapenos. So good! For my entre I ordered the pechuga poblana stuffed with shrimp. This is a huge dish! This shrimp stuffed chicken breast comes smothered in the most delicious and creamy poblano sauce. It also cames with white rice, homemade tortillas, and some of the best black beans ever. The black beans were the highlight of the entire meal for me. This Mexican spot really nailed the beans!!! I have a small appetite so I ended up taking half of my plate to go. It tasted just as good for lunch the next day.My coworkers also really enjoyed the food here and we have decided to add this to our frequent lunch spots. 10/10 service and food quality so you really cannot ask for more!"

Pappasito's Cantina

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (494) • $$

"This place was an unexpected winner on a recent trip through Houston. We stayed in the hotel, and the restaurant was right there... so we thought "why not?" From the moment we entered, we were greeted with so much friendliness and hospitality. Everyone we met was super nice, and our waiter, Andrew, was really cool. He was open to explaining and making suggestions. He did offer some substitutions that ended up being extra charges, which he did not inform us of up front, but it was not a big deal in the end, as I think he was legitimately just trying to help. I started my meal with this gorgeous frozen margarita that had strawberry and hibiscus swirled in. It was as delicious as it was huge. For a starter, we ordered guacamole with chips, and the portion was so huge that we couldn't finish it! This was especially true after our vegetable fajitas arrived. It was an insane amount of food, and we tried hard to stuff ourselves silly, but it was not possible to finish. Those tortillas, though... oh man, I still dream of those tortillas and wish I had one now. Nothing on my plate tasted bad, and the experience was such a pleasant one."

El Tiempo Cantina - Gessner

★★★★☆ 3.8 (372) • $$

"This is the family Tex-Mex spot. If you have someone visiting from out of town and they need to get the quintessential Tex-Mex experience then you must take them to El Tiempo. The quality between locations is very consistent, but this is the spot I choose I make my home location. It's never too busy, the parking lot is patrolled, and the staff is terrific. Food is standard Mexican options, and few upscale-able features like the filet fajitas.Ambience is what you come to know from your neighborhood Mexican food restaurant, low lit and plenty of colors."

Ray's Mexican Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4 (321) • $$

"Ray's was referred to me by chance from a person I met in another restaurant. I sat next to a lady at happy hour at a restaurant that suggested Ray's. She said that they have some of the strongest margaritas and I should visit to check them out. So the next week I decide to visit to see if what she said was true. They are located on Mason Rd south of I-10near Cimarron Pkwy. I ordered the premium margarita and it did not disappoint. I started to feel it near the end of the 1st margarita. I still ordered a second and immediately I knew I should have not. I couldn't drink it while I was there and I decided to take it to go. She was correct and if you want a strong margarita , this is the place to visit."

La Mexicana

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (520) • $$

"I drove by this restaurant so many times and finally decided to stop by.The restaurant has nice ambiance , food and service was OK.Price range is quite affordable."

Cyclone Anayas Tex Mex Kitchen

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (426) • $$

"The cocktails are great. The service and staff are fantastic. But portion sizes are small. I got a Parilla for 2 for example. It definitely was the portion size for 1. Then again as an American, maybe we shouldn't need large portion sizes."

Pappasito's Cantina

★★★★☆ 3.8 (338) • $$

"This is my favorite Pappasito's in ALL of Houston Texas. This is also the original Pappasito's. Lots of free parking here. The bar here is a bit small BUT this restaurant has a HH Monday-Friday, so go. I recently did a week BDay celebration and husband and I went to this restaurant on. Tuesday for dinner. Guess what this Pappasito's currently has a Tuesday and Wednesday Fajitas special that is dine in ONLY. Beef & Chicken fajitas, beans, rice guacamole and flour tortillas for $29.95. !!That and a frozen margarita for $3.95 was a great dinner. Then all the servers came and sang Happy Birthday to me and gave me a complimentary dessert!! Wow, what a great dinner. I highly recommend this place."

Texas Mesquite Grill

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (408) • $$

"Great food. Great service And great ambianceFamily friendly restaurant that was very accommodating to our group. Our waitresses were so friendly. Food was great for everyone at our table. You should give it a try."

Villa Arcos

★★★★☆ 4.1 (279) • $

"This place isn't fancy, but its tasty as well as has any of the classics you would want from a small Mexican joint. There is not much seating inside, but there is even more outside."

Rana's Mexican Grill

★★★★☆ 4.3 (252)

"Amazing service! Great food. Something for everyone. Great family owned business. Glad we found this for my birthday."

Pappasito's Cantina

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (397) • $$

"What a great dining experience on a Sunday afternoon!!! Great eats and great vibes!!! The parking was very convenient and the waitstaff was full of hospitable smiles. Our waitress Ti-Shawnna (pronounced Tee) was very knowledgeable, friendly, and kind spirited. Normally I go by the philosophy of when in Rome do what the Romans do; however, I ventured into a different menu choice. The skewer of Lamb chops were grilled medium-well ....so tender, juicy, and seasoned with a great pepper blend. The grilled veggies, rice/beans combination gave the ultimate entree. The wife had the Red fish on a half shell, which was full of mouth watering flavors that consisted of pico, grilled shrimp, and fresh guac...gold star to the chef & 5 star a enjoyable dining experience!!! Enjoy!!"

Habaneros Tex-Mex

★★★★★ 4.5 (217) • $

"Very busy, small restaurant. You can see them cooking your food right behind the counter. Everything was very fresh!! Both the red and green sauce are yummy as well as the queso! We were here for breakfast this time and each chose burritos. I had the super burrito, my husband had the hulk burrito. Both super yummy!"

Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina

★★★★☆ 3.8 (302) • $$

"For all you Houstonians who remember The Mason Jar, it is now Goode Company Kitchen & Cantina. Not every restaurant can be a 5 star experience, but this one was very close. I would give 4.5 stars if I could, but I can't give a full 5. The space has been beautifully remodeled with lots of windows and a nice Mexican flare. There is a decent sized bar at the entrance with several tables lining the outer perimeter. The main dining area, separate from the bar, has table and booth seating options. The restaurant itself is not very big, but they do a good job with the space available. It is a shotgun style structure, so you can see the entire dining area from any table. First off, the service was fantastic! We were well taken care of and never had empty drinks, chips or salsa. Margaritas, chips and salsa are so important for a good Mexican restaurant. This is why I am only giving 4 stars. I wasn't "wowed" on these items. The "Damn Good Margarita" was more sweet tasting than tart and didn't seem to be very strong. They serve them in a regular pint style glass. I was surprised it wasn't in a Mexican style glass. The chips are thin and crispy with a light coating of salt. The red salsa is warm and smokey with a slight sweet undertone. It's not the best salsa I've ever had, but it was better after I added a little salt to the dip cup. GCK&C has verde salsa upon request. Not a fan of this salsa since I prefer the creamier green salsa, but others at the table enjoyed it. For my meal, I ordered the No. 2 plate. It comes with one Enchilada, one taco al carbon, one tamale, rice and beans. I was able to substitute the tamale for a crispy ground beef taco. I wanted a plain cheese enchilada, but I was served a chicken enchilada instead. I did not send it back because I think the confusion was on my part. I didn't communicate well at the start of my order. It was good, but it wasn't what I originally wanted. Again, not our servers fault. The crispy beef taco was in a delicious shell. It was the best crispy taco I have ever eaten. Many times, those type items get soggy, but this one stayed crispy and it was filled with a good amount of tasty toppings. The beef fajita taco al carbon was seasoned well and rolled in a flour tortilla. I only had one bite since I was full, so I get to enjoy leftovers for lunch today. The rice and beans were okay. My rice had some hard pieces in it and the beans didn't have much flavor. I don't typically eat more than one bite of beans, so it wasn't a huge deal personally. I was more disappointed in the rice. All in all, I would go back to GCK&C. I loved the atmosphere, the music they played, the service, the portions are large and the meal itself was good. I know how to doctor the salsa to fit my tastebuds and next time I would get a higher quality margarita."

Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.5 (349) • $$

"Sarah was our server and she was great. She gave us attentive service but allowed us to take our time, as we wanted, as well.We sat in the bar section, so we could watch a football game. We stopped by after a busy day to grab a bite and margaritas. Yes, this place is a chain. And yes, there are many fantastic Mexican food restaurants. This one is conveniently located, easy parking, hot food, cold margaritas and great service. It's not our go-to place but it is good and worth a try. We had several appetizers and shared chicken bbq shrimp fajitas."

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (359) • $$

"Sylvia's is a neighborhood place we always pass and have never tried. Last night we had the craving for Mexican and decided to give it a try! It is an enchilada kitchen so the majority of menu items are enchiladas for those who do not like enchiladas. With that being said I definitely think it is worth a try! I really love how the menu was broken up by North and South so it was a good choice between Tex-Mex and more authentic. I had the Donna and wow was it yummy. It had ground beef on the inside and had a great flavor. The margarita was also delicious! Overall great place with reasonable prices."

Los Tios

★★★★☆ 4 (258) • $$

"This is our go to Tex-Mex for the neighborhood, especially when we're bringing our daughter out. They're family friendly, (but not so much that it ruins your dining experience without a kid) they have great happy hour prices on margs, ranch waters, wine, etc., and the Tex-Mex is good and well priced. There isn't another Tex-Mex spot in the Galleria that compares, especially price to quality comparison."

Fajita Pete's - The Original in West University

★★★★☆ 4.1 (240) • $$

"They have three tables and this location does dine in. We enjoyed a beef fajita plate for one which comes with grilled onions, lettuce, rice, guacamole, pico de gallo, refried or barracho beans and a choice of flour or wheat tortillas. We shared a small house frozen margarita. The Margarita was very tasty. My wife ordered the enchiladas verdes which rice and beans, I helped her eat them, more yum. Any order comes with chips and salsa. We've ordered take and delivery from Petes before and now we've eaten in. Very nice people and great food. We'll be back for more goodies. They're in the process of opening another Petes closer to our neighborhood and we can't wait."

Moderno Tacos + Tex Mex

★★★★☆ 3.9 (259) • $$

"I don't know why my total came out to be $20.97. The breakfast taco plate was $9.99 plus upgrade of fajita meat additional .50 each. Plus tax is less than $13.somebody explain to me. There was a language barrier so I didn't ask. I also thought she said $12 something till I looked at my receipt after and saw $20. What the heck Anyway, tacos were bland. The eggs needed seasoning. Potato and beans were goodEdit: I called back hoping I get somebody that could help. The lady said she changed it to $11."