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    El Imperial

    4.3 (27 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Full order of Nachos Imperiales
    John P.

    I just love their Nachos Imperiales. No one else makes them like this. A thick tortilla chip with picadillo meat and queso cheese are accompanied by lettuce, guacamole, and tomatoes. Set your taste buds to greasy spoon and you'll be delighted. Service is always quick and friendly. I've enjoyed eating at this hole in the wall Tex-Mex restaurant for decades.

    Pastor Quesadilla
    Travis J.

    Stumbled in here after visiting a medical office. Just wanted to place a to-go order and sit at the bar while waiting. Upon entering the restaurant, you're met by friendly hosts ready to seat you. When I mentioned the bar, I was escorted to the back area where the bar is located. It's obvious most folk don't visit the bar, but that turned into a good thing... I had the full attention of Carlos, the bartender who served me up 2 delicious margaritas while I waited for my to go order of quesadilla de pastor. Carlos also provided me with a serving of sliced oranges with chamoy and tajin... which were so delicious! While waiting I also was able to enjoy chips and salsa. The food, service, and vibe were all great!

    a plate of tacos on a table
    Chandler H.

    This is my family's and late Grandfather's favorite real Tex-Mex restaurant. Tastes just the same as the location on 1960. Looks the same inside too with the X-mas lights and brick. We love it. The food is delicious as always (and about a 3rd of the cost of Pappasitos). So many good plate options. I like they'll bring some cold plates (like tacos) first and then a second round of the hot plate that was in a broiler and is hot as shit. So glad, by happenstance, I saw this driving home after a round at my home course WindRose!

    Blackened Tilapia
    Jade P.

    I love this place ! I just started coming here this year and it's so welcoming. I will say I was a little weary because of some of these reviews but I can honestly say that everything I've had is delicious.Every time we come we are greeted by warm familiar faces. As soon as they bring you these big menus they bring you chips, salsa, and beans that are hot ! My personal favorite has got to be the parriladas! But I've been trying to eat a little of everything.

    They now have breakfast !
    Tabatha B.

    We came in Friday lunch time and it was dead. I was scared. But son was hungry and i wasn't about to deal with an hangry young adult I sat in the car reading the review and was like okay I guess we are getting food poisoning if we ever get the food. I WAS WRONG Food was not OMG it's like Vic and Anthony's but food was good. We were quickly greeted as we should have been because we were the only customers. Lunch time on payday and no one is here?!? -Hit sent prematurely. Apologizes. We sat down and chips came. Salsa could be hotter for me but nice perk was the soup and black beans that also came. We got chili con queso because yum cheese. It was def just a bowl of hot cheese but my 10 yr old enjoyed it so that's good. I got flautas because you can ruin flautas and the older adult son had tacos al carbon. Everything tasted good and temp was perfect. This place isn't going to wow omg you but service and food are good enough to where we would come back in we are in the area and hungry for Tex Mex. Our server was really good with the younger son. I like it when servers are scared of kids. And lunch specials all week long.

    Fudge brownie
    Abigail A.

    Wonderful restaurant!! My family & I go every week. The staff is awesome & food is very tasteful with reasonable prices !! Best Mexican restaurant ever !!! Highly recommend 10/10

    enchiladas and rice in a styrofoam container

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    4 months ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food excellent service. Would highly recommend. Excellent menu. Good service culture with all employees

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    2 years ago

    the qeso tasted weird the beef was raw the coke tasted weird it was no good.

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    6 years ago

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    6 years ago

    So glad this restaurant is back open it has been a family tradition and favorite for years

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    Gringo's Mexican Kitchen

    Gringo's Mexican Kitchen

    3.8
    (651 reviews)
    3.6 mi
    $$

    Lunch time...had to get one of their bowls that came out a year or so ago…read more. Pastor bowl...so good Make sure you ask for bar sauce if you want a hotter salsa

    My friends and I visited on a Friday around 4:30pm. We walked right in and were seated immediately…read moreas they were not busy just yet. The restaurant is pretty large with a mix of warm lighting and natural light depending on where you're sitting. It seems as though they may be renovating in certain spots of the restaurant the time we visited. Our waiter Dave was friendly, attentive, informative, and efficient. The complimentary chips and salsa were good. We took advantage of their happy hour for drinks. We each had a Cadillac margarita which was pretty good. My friend and I chose the Marisco bowl. I chose the meat combo of chicken/steak and she chose the chicken Marisco bowl. My other friend had the chicken quesadillas. The food was fresh, but in my opinion lacked flavor. I loved the prices of Gringos, but did not like my dish as much. My friends enjoyed their meals. As the night went on the restaurant became full. They have complimentary ice cream and cones for dessert that patrons get themselves. When we attempted to partake, the cones were gone and the station was messy from patrons not cleaning up after themselves. I would return to this location again and try a different dish. I would also recommend this business to others for decent happy hour drinks and food.

    Photos
    Gringo's Mexican Kitchen
    Second part of the El presidente
    Second part of the El presidente
    Fajita bowl

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    Fajita bowl
    El Mariachi Mexican Bar & Grill

    El Mariachi Mexican Bar & Grill

    4.4
    (54 reviews)
    7.0 mi
    $$

    We didn't have a full dinner between the two of us, but I had the seafood enchiladas and my wife…read morejust had chips and queso. I thought the enchiladas were solid, though my wife felt like the queso was too thick and that the chips they served with the queso were a little stale. The service was A+, very attentive and hospitable, which counts for a lot in my book. They brought out a huge statue and bass drum for someone's birthday, which we loved and thought was hilarious. Also, the house marg was excellent and I definitely recommend. Overall, a cool vibe in the restaurant and we will definitely come back. We have some friends coming in from out of town and thought that it might be a good spot to introduce them to TexMex. If your go-to is Natalita's or something like that around The Woodlands, I would definitely encourage you to give this place a shot.

    I wish I wouldn't have been fooled by the high reviews for this place. It was a total waste of…read moremoney & a highly disappointing meal for date night. To be fair, it is my own fault because I tried El Mariachi a year or two ago and thought it was gross then. However, I know everywhere deserves a second chance so I thought I'd give it another try, especially when I saw it had such a high average rating. Let me first say, service is INCREDIBLE. Truly could not ask for better. The hostess was really sweet and she stayed kind even when I could tell she was overwhelmed by all the people. We had multiple servers come by to check on us at various times and do things for us and they were all great too. Absolutely 0 staff complaints. I ordered a watermelon margarita and couldn't drink it. The syrup was completely separated from the actual drink. I left it completely full and while I didn't want to complain, I was surprised that I wasn't asked if it was okay. Had I been asked, I would've told them. My husband thought his house margarita was good, but he did order it frozen and it was already half liquid by the time he got it. The food was not good. I took one bite of my beef taco and pushed it to the side. It was essentially Taco Bell meat. No shade to Taco Bell, but if I wanted that, I would've just gone to T Bell. It sure would've been a lot cheaper. My cheese enchiladas were also not good. I asked to have sour cream sauce on top & was charged $2 for it. I wasn't told I'd be charged extra and didn't see anywhere on the menu where it said that. Even so, $2 for sauce is crazy, but $2 for sauce when the enchilada ALREADY comes with sauce on top and all you had to do was replace it?? Wild. The queso was okay. Not amazing, not bad. It's the only thing I was able to eat. Not my personal experience, but two tables in our same section had issues with their food too and had to send it back. $85 for that is crazy. I'm glad so many seem to enjoy it, but El Mariachi will never see me again.

    Photos
    Spacious interior, nice decor and staff
    Spacious interior, nice decor and staff
    Birrria sliders  , NEW ITEM
    Birrria sliders , NEW ITEM
    New dish , TACOS AL PASTOR

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    New dish , TACOS AL PASTOR
    Julio's Mexican Grill

    Julio's Mexican Grill

    4.2
    (300 reviews)
    6.6 mi
    $$

    The is a great Tex-Mex restaurant!…read more First of all, they serve Puffy tacos, in the San Antonio style. Few restaurants can prepare these the proper way. There is great QC, AND management, here. Julio's wife, Elena, stopped by the table and checked in the food. She also told us of a wrestling event that was coming up on May 1. She was SO pleasant. Our server, Freddy, got the order in perfectly, even though there were 7 of us. The prices were reasonable. The food again was spot on. We WILL return! BTW, the watermelon margarita was wonderful! I'm

    In Texas - the Tex-Mex competition is fierce. Everyone has a favorite. This place just bumped my…read moreprevious favorite from its perch and became current favorite. TLDR: Thar food, those ritas. This place has become my most recent go-to when that little voice says - "pssst....Dave....Dave....i know you hear me....you want fajitas." Admittedly, I hear that voice a lot. In any case, I usually order the fajitas. They give you a decent quantity that tastes great. The meet is tender and flavorful and those tortillas had me at hello. I love this stuff! My son elects to go for the cheese enchiladas. I don't have to ask him how much he likes them because is a super picky eater and this is the one place where he actually cleans his plate. The margaritas are solid as well and when you glance around the restaurant, you'll see them on most tables. This place is a well oiled machine. There are plenty of staff and they all work unison to bring drinks / chips / salsa / refills / orders / food -- and that food usually comes out before I can feel guilty for eating chips, salsa, and queso. I found this trick that works for me. Since I 100% of the time feel guilty for leaving the place feeling so full, I started parking on the other end of the parking lot. This allows my to burn off 2.7 calories of the food that just ate so I feel 2.7 percent less guilty. On a serious note - this place is the real deal. While some of my previous favorites have either closed down or gone downhill a bit - Julio's has remained strong. ¡Salud!

    Photos
    Julio's Mexican Grill
    Complimentary chips and salsa
    Complimentary chips and salsa
    Bar area

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    Bar area
    Natalitas

    Natalitas

    4.0
    (178 reviews)
    6.4 mi
    $$
    Family-owned & operated
    Kid friendly

    I came with others to this restaurant. It had good reviews, but when I look at the food, it didn't…read morelook like the normal mexican food that I'm used to. I gave it a try by getting a mixed plate with different items so I could try a little bit of everything. My dad got the same thing but a this different mixed plate and we agreed to share and taste each others food. The cheese enchiladas were good. They're made with chili gravy. The chicken flauta was good. I wasn't a fan of the beans and rice nor the Chile Relleno. The cheese is just shredded mozzarella basically not the actual cheesy find in a Chile Relleno. The stuffed avocado was too fried for me and way too much cheese. The restaurant was beautifully decorated for Christmas and the restrooms are super clean, which is always a plus for any restaurant. Unfortunately, we had some issues with our server, lots of miscommunication and a huge language barrier. In the end, I'm starting to wonder if he was just new because he didn't even know how to operate his own payment system. Unfortunately, I won't be returning, but I know a lot of people like this food and restaurant based on other ratings so I say try it for yourself.

    My family and I enjoyed our visit here today. We were lucky it wasn't busy day today…read more The place is pretty nice and the staff were very attentive. The food choices were amazing and the price is good. Ambiance is great! We ordered two plates of chimichanga and they were delicious. I had the chonguito in beef fajita and it was good. The guacamole was tasty, sadly they gave you little rice to enjoy your plate. I recommend this place if you are looking for a good Mexican food.

    Photos
    Natalitas
    Natalitas
    Natalitas

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    El Imperial - mexican - Updated July 2026

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