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    El Portal Mexican Grill

    4.6 (29 reviews)
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    Jessica P.

    Amazing food and the owner is very nice and attentive. We first tried this spot for breakfast and were very happy with the service and food. We came again for lunch a few weeks later and happy with everything again! Meat Mexican food I have found yet :) the homemade tortillas are great and the taste of the food is not Tex Méx like so many other places in Houston. The music, lighting is also great!

    Daniel G.

    Great food and even better service! Will definitely go again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Breakfast tacos were

    Mar y tierra fajitas steak with bacon wrap shrimp, chunky guacamole, chips and salsa, charro beans a frozen margarita and a piña colada.

    Today was are first time in this place and my husband and I totally recommend it. Everything was delicious definitely we will come back. Excellent service, beautiful restaurant.

    Enchiladas and Al carbon tacos beef
    Cole S.

    Amazing beef tacos, incredible salsa and chips too + great service/very attentive local spot

    booths

    Finally got around to trying El Portal Mexican Grill. This little gem is unfortunately a bit off the beaten path, hidden on a residential street on the south edge of Oak Ridge, and overlooked by many including us until we made it a point to check it out when jonesing for some sizzling beef fajitas. It's everything a great Tex-Mex restaurant should be... very attractive, very clean, great service, excellent prices, and a mixed menu of wonderful typical Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican dishes. Very glad we found it.

    Inside

    Went for breakfast and loved it!! Chips were fresh and salsa was hot and had a great flavor. Breakfast chilaquiles plate was great. Could've had more potatoes, but was delicious. The tortillas are homemade and had a great buttery flavor. Service was superb. Very cute, clean place! Can't wait to come back.

    La Villa platter comes with small avocado salad, cheese puff shell and a taco.
    E B.

    Simple and flavorful entrees, plenty of choices. A family friendly establishment with pleasant ambiance. For a Mexican Restaurant compare to many in the area, portions are plateful and very reasonable pricing. Always greeted and exceptionally good service with constant attention to customers. Well lit are located within a neighborhood street. Few parking spaces in front and many behind this restaurant building on their property. Hope to see their service, quality and quantity is maintained. No disappointments for us so far. Good for lunch, dinner small parties and to go.

    Grande Burrito
    Cristina B.

    Back again and did not disappoint! So flavorful and the staff is very attentive! Everything I have had is so good!

    Menu

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    1 year ago

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Small Mexican restaurant that should be busier than it is. Great prices and quality food with great service.

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    7 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Hidden gem. Everything was amazing for an affordable price. Highly recommend the Bloody Mary.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    We've gone a few times. A good menu and drinks. The food was ok and the service was ok.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Had breakfast here on Sunday. I had the chilaquiles migas and it was excellent. Great service too. The chips and salsa were tasty too.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Had chicken enchiladas, meat was very dry and tough, not fresh at all. Salsa was served warm, it was ok, not great. Would not recommend.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Great food. Easy, quick and flavorful. Nice selection on the menu. Clean and nice atmosphere.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Delicious!! Would recommend I've always loved Beto's so decided to give El Portal a go and just as great!

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    3 years ago

    Great found, terrific service and reasonable prices ! Any yummy margaritas!! I recommend El Portal highly!

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    3 years ago

    Great place! Very nice interior, good amount of parking and the food is so good! Everyone was very nice there

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    Postino Woodlands

    Postino Woodlands

    4.5(214 reviews)
    3.4 mi
    $$
    Happy hour specials
    Catering service

    5 stars all the way for location, vibe, food, and service. A tad shocked though, as to how pricey…read moreit all got in the end - essentially a drink (cocktail and beer)-sandwich - dessert meal for two costing $92, including tax and tip. Ordered Prickly Pear Mezcal margarita, Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing light IPA beer, cup of Cream of Cauliflower Soup, Caprese Panini on Focaccia bread with Herbed Fries, West Coaster Panini (Ham, Avocado, Arugula) on Ciabatta bread with Herbed Fries, and a Coffee Fudgy Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream to go. Service was fantastic with our server (Will) being very knowledgeable and friendly. Drinks and food arrived quickly and were fantastic - the drinks were on point, the food ample in quantity and flavorful in taste. The Fudgy Brownie was divine! Well-done! As I mention above, the final tally was a bit shocking. Otherwise, a great place to hang out; planning to return to avail of the Mon/Tue $25 Wine and Bruschetta Board special.

    [EDIT only to correct to "Postino"]…read more I use the one-stars sparingly, I really do. This has nothing to do with the food, as we never got that far in the course of my miserable experience at this location (not sure if it's a chain or not). Walked into a relatively quiet restaurant somewhat later in the evening after strolling a bit in the summer Houston heat around the Woodlands. A couple of people recommended Postino. The issue arose when I asked for a possible menu modification. Specifically, I was trying to avoid GOAT CHEESE on the meatball dish I had my eyes on (which otherwise looked pretty tempting). The server indicated that they probably couldn't do it but I nevertheless requested this... a couple of minutes later the server returned with the bad news. Apparently, it simply had to be served as-is, according to the menu. This in itself wouldn't have got me to the point of writing this review. However, I, incredulous, was kind of laughing (you have to laugh) and said something like "so I can only order exactly what's on the menu, and the kitchen can't do anything different?" (slight paraphrasing, perhaps). There wasn't much further conversation with the server but within about 30 seconds of this exchange, a "manager" stormed over to the table and borderline-abusively shouted "is there a problem?!". This "mini-manager" as I will refer to her, proceeded to inform me that they could NOT accommodate changes because it would "violate the integrity of the restaurant" ... I of course I also found a bit humorous, and in this state inquired further about what sense it made to be so obnoxiously strict for someone just trying to grab a quick bite about 30 minutes before closing. I'm sensitive to the work involved in running restaurants and serving obnoxious customers, but I was NOT rude, obnoxious, or difficult. Just blown away by this treatment. I was then informed by the mini-manager that she was from LONDON which I assume meant I should accept that her cosmopolitan background and (I assume vast and high-level culinary experience) meant that I should shut my trap and stop being so picky. At this point I was compelled to mention that I, too, grew up overseas and was very surprised at this complete lack of flexibility. Within another 30 seconds or so of this dialogue, the mini-manager tipped the menu over on the table and abruptly shouted, "you know what, I'm refusing you service!" That made it all easy from there as we promptly (while laughing, partly out of shock) exited the facility. Huge disappointment and embarrassing in my view for a restaurant that seems otherwise to have maintained a great reputation - and especially so for the fact that service (and people in general) in Houston tend to be kind and accommodating, not typically RUDE or reactionary. I'm encouraging this restaurant to have a look at the service model. I can't say I'll try Postino again the next time I'm in Houston, but I certainly hope it continues to truly earn its 4.5 star rating, 'cause they sure did NOT when I was there this weekend.

    Photos
    Postino Woodlands
    Postino Woodlands
    Postino Woodlands

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    Whiskey Cake Kitchen Bar - Whiskey Cake:
sticky toffee cake, bourbon anglaise, spiced pecans, house made vanilla whipped cream

    Whiskey Cake Kitchen Bar

    4.2(549 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    VIRGILIO APPROVED. I only do reviews of places I love. From service to food to ambiance. Watch my…read morevideo. I want to thank Manager Todd Kunz, our server, Jessica, Chef Arthur for a great conversation and Chef Javier for the amazing food. Server Travis and Admin. Shelby. Menu changes during the season, chicken looked and waffles amazing. I had the burgers fries were brined and ketchup is home made with spice. Candied bacon appetizers were beyond tasty but that desert CAKE OF THE DAY was amazing. I ATE IT AND DIDNT ASK THE NAME of it. WOW. Open room concept with outside seating. Cloth napkin style with flip flop relaxed atmosphere. AMAZINGLY LARGE BAR AND IN HOUSE BAKERY. Strong chairs for people my me and booths for the inner THIN in you. Lastly the he bathroom review; CLEAN AND FRAGRANT. Neat and in order. This one is VIRGILIO APPROVED

    The crab cake is just ok. I prefer lump crab in a crab cake. The sauce served with the crab cake is…read moredill based which is my least favorite herb complement for crab. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't my preference. I would not get it again. The service at this location was poor today. Since it was pretty empty and all the staff members were surrounding the bar, I sat at the bar. The team was more engaged with their interactions between one another than checking on my party. Each request I made was unnecessarily delayed. When I requested a container which was within eyesight and reach of the staff, I watched the employee stop and check on 2 other guests and make them drinks BEFORE handing me the container. I asked a 2nd person behind the bar and they did a similar thing before passing a container to me. There were 4 people behind the bar and maybe 5 guests, but each time I needed assistance, I had to ask more than once. Also, I could see my food items sitting in the kitchen while the team was continually chatting in the bar. This is my 3rd time at this location, and it will be my last. Although I like some of the menu items, the service today has depleted my tolerance for this location.

    Photos
    Whiskey Cake Kitchen Bar - Another angle of the bar!

    Another angle of the bar!

    Whiskey Cake Kitchen Bar
    Whiskey Cake Kitchen Bar - Front entrance

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    Front entrance

    House of Pies - Pies

    House of Pies

    3.2(428 reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$

    My wife and I like to stop somewhere after an Astro's game and the Woodlands House of Pies fit the…read morebill quite nicely, it was open 24 hours a day at that time. I enjoyed their omelette, the 'Texan', with the addition of spinach and tomatoes and a Diet Coke. My choice of potatoes was 'O'Brian', bread was always an English Muffin with orange marmalade. My wife always enjoyed the soup selections and we both shared an appreciation of their delicious pies.

    Got a door dash delivery and trying for the first time House of pies. Initial reaction- Serving is…read moremassive, crispy chicken fried chicken- thin but large taking up pretty much the whole length of the container. I'm grateful for the extra large container of gravy, no skimping here. Usually I can't get the right ratio of gravy to chicken because they don't give enough gravy, definitely not the case here. onion rings for days and definitely hit the spot, seem to be hand battered and delicious. perfectly poached eggs . Really surprised at how crunchy the fried food stayed and how runny the poached eggs stayed even over delivery. Oh it also came with a blueberry muffin which had a nice, crunchy sugar topping. Would definitely get this meal again. They even packed Utensils and napkins without even asking, seems nowadays you don't get them unless you ask and I always forget. Next time I think I'll try in person to see what the restaurant is like.

    Photos
    House of Pies - Entrance

    Entrance

    House of Pies - Chocolate mousse pie of some sort

    Chocolate mousse pie of some sort

    House of Pies - Ceiling details

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    Ceiling details

    El Portal Mexican Grill - newmexican - Updated September 2026

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