Always great food Hot and fast. Terrific guacamole. Salsa is ok. My wife and I have been eating here for ever.

Went Friday night for the 1st time and everything was delicious. I will make this my new neighborhood go to Mexican food place

Great TexMex in a local neighborhood environment. Fajita beef is very flavorful. Favorite dishes are nachos george, beef chalupas, and enchiladas. read more

To Whom This May Concern: tonight's visit to your establishment was one of disappointment and expense. we have been going to your establishment for over 7 years and have always enjoyed the quality of food, low prices and family atmosphere. Tonight proved the opposite of all three. 1. when we get there at 8pm, the staff seems in a hurry and agitated to give us quality customer service. 2. The prices on all food items have gone up and the portions have been reduced. The plate i always get, cheese enchiladas, always gave you 3 enchiladas, rice and beans, tonight, the updated menu reduced the portion, 2 enchiladas, rice and beans but the price has not changed. Now we are paying dinner prices for lunch special portions, NOT GOOD AT ALL!! 3. the quality of food has also gone down. when i received my enchiladas, they tasted flat, no flavor and were over heated in the oven. the queso that i had order was cold and had no flavor and was watered down. 4. finally when i was getting ready to leave, as i was calculating and prepping the tip, the bus lady, rushes to the table, slams her tub for the dishes and was trying to go around me to clear the table. i had to tell her in english and in spanish that i wasn't done and i appreciated if she gave me some space. she was persistent to stay at the table and didn't move until another table cleared. she then ran to that table, as if in a hurry to close the area, and began clearing the table up. In conclusion, my wife expressed the night manager, the owner's son, why i was bothered and his response to my five concerns was oh well, i cant change anything. That there made me realize that this establishment has lost it's core values and moreoever lost it's concerns for any business owner's valuable assets, their customers. I will now be taking my business to Juarez Mexican Restaurant (2545 Gessner Drive,Houston, TX 77080 (713) 690-1790) which is only quarter mile away from El Gallo. I hope this helps anyone that may have experienced the same thing at this establishment. Thanks read more

A Spring Branch institution although I don't know why. Horrible, runny salsa. Mediocrity at its best in the food department. Employees are nice. If you want better "Mexican" food try Juarez down the street towards kempwood. read more

I have been eating at El Gallo since I was 5 ft tall and Gessner was a two lane road with deep ditches on each side and Wienersnitzel was the only thing next door (late 70's). I worked close to there in the 1990/2000's so we ate lunch at the Gessner place. My co-workers loved it. I live closer to the El Gallo on Jones Road and so we eat dinner there. I consider both places "hole-in-the-wall" neighborhood joints, the only kind of place to get great Mexican food. The wait staff are mostly long-termer's, know us from previous visits and are very engaging. And the decor is authentic Mexican. But the real draw is the food and service. The queso is best in it's class, not the plastic American cheese stuff you get at other Tex-Mex places. And there is not a bad meal on the menu. I used to get the specials and they are big, too much to eat at one setting nowadays. But for my money, after pigging on the queso and "chips n hot sauce" (yes, I love the Monterrey style sauce) I go for the Uno A; chesse enchilada, crispy taco, cheese puff (more of the creamy queso!) and guac, or the Chalupa Sabrosos. Mmmmm good. To top it off, you never have to ask for anything, the wait staff is at your table before you can flag 'em down. Sometimes we even have to ask them to "slow down' a little when we are wanting to relax and take our time eating. Do yourself a favor and go try it. Some may not totally like the Monterrey style salsa, but that is a personal choice, I grew up with it and love it. I guarantee you will not get any better food by visiting a Pappasitos or Guadalajara's. Maybe Pico's or Escalante's, but those are food styles from different regions of Mexico anyway. read more

By far my favorite Mexican food restaurant in Houston. Delicious food, fast service, excellent staff and prices rock. Highly recommend to any and all Mexican food fans read more

My husband and I love El Gallo and eat here once or twice month. Do yourself a favor and try their tortilla soup. It is the best of anywhere in Houston! read more

Awful. We tried this place for lunch and should've been tipped off before we ordered that this was a horrible place to eat by the unimpressive salsa served with stale chips. The salsa tasted a lot like tomato sauce out of a can with a hint of spice, or like a very basic marinara sauce on spaghetti. My wife ordered the lunch plate with a beef enchilada al carbon. It came with a chile con queso puff, a beef crispy taco, rice and beans and then the enchilada. The crispy taco was not served in a traditional taco shell but in a puff with scalloped edges, so she could only eat the contents with a fork and not bite in like a usual taco. The queso was bland, the rice and beans were tasteless, the sauce on the enchilada was like a thick paste of nothing, and the fajita beef had a chalky texture. It was awful. I can't believe, of all things, that the rice and beans had no flavor. I think that's hard to do. I had the corn chicken tacos, which were skimpy and lacking in all ingredients. We won't ever dine here again. read more

My family has been coming here once a week for the past 12 years. I saw some reviews that said that El Gallo is closed Mondays - not true! They are closed on Sundays only. I have never had anything that wasn't delicious, although my personal favorite is the Tex Mex Grande Burrito. I always order their enchilada gravy as a dip. The only negative is the parking - we have gone across the street to the high school to park rather than park behind the building. It definitely feels homey and we are treated like (much loved) family. read more

This place is terrible! The only reason they get one star is because there isn't anything less! I went here today at lunch 4/15/19 to order food for myself and my siblings and their kids, a total of 19 people. I'm waiting for all of them to text me their order and I ask a couple of times for a few more minutes before I order. The waiter told me to let him know when I'm ready. When I got everyone's order I tried multiple times to get his attention which I know full well he saw me. He looked at me, acknowledged me and even walked by my table but ignored me. He NEVER came and took my order so I got up and went to the front and paid for my drink and then he had the audacity to ask me what was wrong when I was visibly upset. It is none of his business that my parents are very ill and I am buying food for a lot of people that are still at work and I'm waiting for them to text me back. I don't know what in the hell he thought was going on but whatever stunt he pulled cost him a bill and tip for 19 people. I've been going to this place for over 30 years but today was the last day I, and the rest of my family, will ever set foot in this shit hole. This place and their staff thinks higher of themselves then they are worth. read more

We tried this restaurant more or less out of the blue. We were actually lokking for something else, but than we thought we give it a try, not known about the yelp recommendations. It was at luinch time and the house was packed, but we quickly got seats, the waitersd came quickly and we ordered the food.,Suffed pepper and a large buritto. What an amount of food. We were hubgry so we ate the chips which appeared quickly on our table together witht a hot, tasty sauce and the drinks. We should not have done it. The food came and it was quite an amount for the money and it was tasty. So we ate it all. Next time we will have a doggy bag from this. to enjoy it again also at home. The resuarant interior looks nice. This is also somewhere to go for diner. Not the area so, but the restaurants. Good seatings, good food excellent service. Can you aksed for more? Who cars about the surroundings. WE did not walk there :-) read more

One of the best kept secrests in Houston array of Tex-Mex restaurants. Definately a local following at this restaurant. Don't leave without trying the chile con queso. My favorite menu item is Burritos A. They are not open on Sundays. read more

Your typical old style TexMex. Friendly wait staff, clean and tacky Mexican interior. Cheap, satisfying

We've been eating here since it opened in 1971! I grew up with and went to school with the kids! Consistently good Tex-Mex. The chili gravy is the best. And the kids now run the business and have added Guadalajara and Escalate to the family empire! I love their guacamole! I like pure guac with no filler and that's what you get here! Love the thin chips...love the queso...that picante I can take or leave, I like mine chunky and theirs is pureed, Still tastes good. And if you live (or have lived) in the area, you're almost guaranteed to see a neighbor or two! read more

Love this place... moved to Houston in 2003, and this is still my favorite Tex Mex spot. Reasonable prices, great lunch specials, and quick service. Food is top notch. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is their margaritas. read more

Food average (but not bad) and service was friendly . Typical neighborhood sort of place where regulars make up the majority patrons. "Ritas" were strong, Salsa / chips a tad below average. It is the kind of place where you can get a decent meal at a moderate price. You could do much worse.The taco-al-carbon was good but my wife's combo platter was average. read more

Food tasted microwaved and did not come out at the same time. Knats were flying around and service was not great at all. Flautas were good though. read more

Great food selection . This is my favorite spot. Always pulling a crowd, be careful with parking.

I grew up on El Gallo and was very excited that my family loves it, too! It's not your traditional Tex-Mex but we love it. The plain white cheese queso is always on our table and we usually fill up on it first. The beef is very well flavored and my favorite are the beef and guacamole burritos covered with the queso. I have to say that I'm not a fan of the rice and beans but I'm always too full to eat them anyway! read more

I have been going to this place since I first moved to Houston (about 12 years ago). It is on my top 3 favorites for tex mex. So tasty! Love the cheese they use for quesadillas. Their chips are fresh, and the red sauce is so good. I told my boyfriend about it and he absolutely loved it. We always come back! read more

I have been coming here since it first opened and hasn't disappointed me yet. The service is good and you will always see someone you know. Hands down the best queso in town - nachos George is a winner too. read more

This place does not deserve the 4 star average that is displayed. The customer service was horrible. The 'salsa' was a thin tomato paste with little seasoning. I ordered a basic cheese enchilada off the lunch menu. I may as well have gone to the store and picked up a microwave mexican dinner. I will say that the seasoned beef in the taco I received was good. I'm sure that there were other decent dishes on the menu, I just won't be back to try any of them. read more

Went on a Saturday afternoon in October, 2013, Hubby and me. Got seated in the "overflow" area, adjacent room, which was fine. However, the wait staff seemed to take exception to that fact. Looked like their private hang out area. We were treated poorly... there was an existing glass of water, no ice, on the table which we were told was for us and the server went to get one more. When i asked for TWO fresh glasses of water, he rolled his eyes but complied. After the menus were delivered, the servers stood about 15 ft from us and talked, totally ignoring us. After asking for chips and (very watery) salsa, we were ignored again. We had to call out to get a server to take our orders. When my husband asked for more salsa, the server found that funny and made a rude joke. We simply got up and left, telling the manager we were sorry for their lack of ability to handle one table in the overflow area. NEVER will we go back and we only live 5 minutes away. read more

Great find by accident. Looking for a place close to a nearby hotel and found this gem of a family run restaurant. Greeted as soon as I walked in and sat immediately. Menu is pretty simple and what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant. Ordered the verde chicken enchiladas. They came quick. The plate was so hot I could not eat the refried beans for fear of burning my mouth. The food was good and especially enjoyed the verde sauce. Service was really exceptional. They really have things figured out on that end. read more

Have been a long-time (15 years +) of this spot, which has the friendliest hosts and hostesses in town. BUT the lunch specials we had a few days ago were way, way, way below standard. Tortilla soup with enough salt to knock you over; cold entrees, food served at different times and surly waitpeople who behaved as those they did not understand our requests. I would still recommend the enchilidas but not lunch menu and won't be back until they talk to the cooks. read more

I have been going to El Gallo's for 30 years also. They have the best enchilada sauce EVER! I use tortilla chips to scoop up every last drop. The service is wonderful, the food tastes great every single time. The Jones Rd location is just as excellent. I would, and do, recommend El Gallo's to anyone looking for good Tex-Mex. They are the standard by which I judge all the other mexican restaurants. And they beat them out every single time. read more

The best Mexican food restaurant in Texas !!! The food and service are excellent. With huge portions that are were hot. The staff was excellent in seating us quickly, taking our orders and bringing out our food quickly. They kept our drinks refilled and the chips full too. The music was at a nice level and the lighting was very nice. Will gladly return for many more wonderful meals !!!! read more

the food is really good. you have to try the queso. it isn't the typical one made with Velveeta lol. the fajitas are super tender and delicious! read more