Driving to a different restaurant while on vacation and saw all the cars outside Mary Lou's and figured we would stop here since the locals like it. What a great decision! Inside was traditional Mexican restaurant with soft music to compliment the chips and salsa. Ricardo was our server- wonderful. Mary Lou's Special was the star! The fresh chips and tortillas came in a close second. So so good! Wish we had a place like this in Tampa! read more

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We used to go to Mary Lou's two to three times a month, but we haven't been getting out as much as we used to and hadn't been to this restaurant since July. Friends came to town, and we suggested we should meet at Mary Lou's yesterday, March 5. What a disappointment! From the moment we stepped in the door, we could feel the change. The manager, if you could call him that, was indifferent and left the impression he really didn't want to be bothered. Our waitress was scattered and clueless. We wanted margaritas and nachos to start, and just ordering that turned into an ordeal. The place wasn't that busy, and it still took over 15 minutes to get our drinks. There were four of us, and our server still couldn't get our drink order right. It took three tries. The management staff we had come to know was nowhere to be seen, the servers who were always on top of their game, were also gone. The place was hot and uncomfortable, very loud, the food was tolerable at best. I was so exasperated by the drink experience, I tried to be simple and just ordered beef flautas a la carte. Who knew that flautas could be both dry and greasy at the same time, while the beef was both undercooked and burned also? We used to spend $400 to $500 a month hanging out at Mary Lou's. We knew what we were going to get: decent food, good drinks, and excellent service. Well, that has certainly changed. If there has been a change in management, it has been for the worse. Mary Lou's built a great reputation over the past couple of decades. More experiences like ours, and that reputation will be destroyed in a few months. read more

Mary Lou's cafe impressed me today, June 2026. First time to go there and I have been living in SA for 18 years. The food was good I have to admit. I like the atmosphere with the music playing. Our waiter came around all the time offering us drinks, salsa and chips. I can see myself coming back again now that I know it's this good. read more

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Tortillas? Amazing! They were huge flour tortillas and puffy and so soft and good. The choriqueso was good as well. The enchiladas verdes were typical and good. My boyfriend loved the chicharrón with egg tacos, it was the crispy chicharrón too! The asas was not his favorite and something he probably wouldn't order again. Our server was kind! The restaurant itself had a good ambience and was nice and fresh inside and clean. We were helped right away and although it looked packed, we were seated right away! read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Enchiladas Verdes Choriqueso - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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Although a bit loud it was a good atmosphere. Salsa was great with the chips. I had chorizo and egg plate with refried rice and beans. Large portions!! Chorizo had good flavor but a bit in spicy. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Fantastic service and excellent food. I highly recommend Mayor Lou's You definitely will not be disappointed!! I had the chili relleno , which was outstanding. I went with about 20 people and everybody's dishes came out at the same time and everybody was very happy with their food! read more

Went May 9th , ate there with family and paid for our meal. Then asked for a taco to go , paid separately and when I viewed by bank app, they charged me and extra 9 dollars. So instead of a 5 dollar taco to go, it became a 15 dollar bill, after i had already paid and give tip for a 45 dollar tab. Manager couldnt help. read more

Service was awesome very attentive and extremely quick our food only took about 8-10 minutes max to come out. Ambiance was nice and calm on a Saturday morning. Their cheese enchiladas were awesome and my grandpa really liked the chicken taquitos as well. Breakfast potatoes were amazing as well. read more

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Today's breakfast spot was Mary Lou's Cafe. The menudo was super tasty and clean. The barbacoa taco was full of flavor and not greasy at all. Come visit Moses and his staff for some of the best service. Ask for Carlos he is the best go to waiter here in my opinion read more

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Was headed to a different Mexican restaurant on Friday evening and stumbled on this place on accident so we decided to try it and it turned out to be outstanding. I ordered the Mary Lou's plate and it was well worth it! We decided to go back Sunday for breakfast and the carne guisada was delicious! read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Mary Lou's plate! - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

The food was excellent. The Carne guisada taco was the best that I have had. It was so soft, tasty and flavorful. The guacamole taco was very good fresh guacamole, and lots of it. I love the coffee, it was strong. The service could've been better. It was Saturday around 11 AM and they were pretty busy. The restaurants was very clean. The restrooms needed attention. I am giving the food five stars overall I'm giving them 3.5 stars. Because overall 14.95 for two tacos and coffee, I expect better service and clean restrooms. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Carne Guisada and Guacamole Taco on Corn tortilla. - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Good food and good service. It's nice and clean inside seems good for a party of people wanting Mexican food. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Beef enchiladas with picadillo Gordita and chicken puffy taco - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Small dinning area. Good service and quick. Plates are well served. Chips were not great.

Pretty good spot. Very nice bar. Need to come check out the enchiladas and the happy hour here read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Carne ala mex, papa con chorizo y huevos ala mex - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Large party (9) gathered here for a celebratory dinner. Restaurant wasn't very busy, so it was a bit surprising how slow the service. But despite that; the food was pretty good. Majority of us chose the carne guisada plate. Very hearty, flavorful, and at a good price point. I'm curious to check this place out again on a weekend to really see how they operate. read more

Gorgeous day to eat outside on the patio even though it's a little chilly. There was a big breakfast crowd but they sat us quickly and our order came out quickly. Loved the food. read more

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09/23/22 The food is still decent. However, they are going to price themselves out of business. They don't have near the crowds they used to. Time was you had to wait for a table. Not so much any longer. I was upset when iced tea went to $3.75. Today it's $3.95. Most of the plates are 3-4 dollars higher. I should have known something would be up. They were new menus. We were there for breakfast. Most non-meat tacos were $2.95. Anything asada, fajita or other red meat puts them into the $4 or higher category. Unfortunately for Mary Lou's, there are so many Mexican food restaurants in town that are managing costs and providing very good food. read more

Great little local joint. Can get super crowded for breakfast on weekend. The choriqueso is served with fresh tortillas. A good mix of melted cheeses and perfect chorizo that could almost be a meal by itself. I had the Carne Mexicana which is diced fajita meat served in sautéed Pico de Gallo. Very well flavored and just spicey enough. Definitely recommend the charro beans over the refried. Salsa is so-so and margaritas are good enough. read more

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My husband & I ordered to go & the Piccadillo puffy tacos plate weighed about 7 lbs. they were pretty tasty.. the rice was not to my liking but the plate overall was good, we also ordered Lengua guisada & I must say I've never had anything like it, it was so tender & the flavor was on point, a little overpriced but the location says it all. Next time we'll dine in. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Piccadillo puffy tacos to go (the plate was heavy) - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Viva Fiesta, was in this part of town so we stopped and grabbed lunch or in my case breakfast. Classic TexMex setting. Started with the queso and I had the pork chop with two over easy eggs, boy oh boy it was awesome. Service was great, even gave me a to go tea. Highly recommend. read more

Beautiful building and decor with an outdoor patio that's covered. The waiting area is comfortable with a small seating area. There are lots of tables and a few seats at the bar. I saw what appeared to be regulars coming in to eat. I ordered a Carne asada taco on homemade corn, but it was delivered on flour instead. I asked for it to be remade, but instead, the waitress brought the tortilla out separately. I will warn you that the homemade corn looks similar to the flour tortilla, but the taste is where you verify that it's corn. I also ordered a Carne guisada with cheese but it came out minus the cheese, again, the server brought me a side of shredded cheese but I wanted the cheese melted on the Carne guisada because when it's put on the hot, steamy food, it melts on it's own. The food is pricey, so I feel like my order should have been right the first time. I was disappointed in the service more so because the food was good but there are other restaurants down the road that are just as good with better prices and maybe more attention to your order. Due to my order being wrong on both items, I probably would only go back if someone asked me to meet them there. Hope they work on getting the orders right. read more

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Went for breakfast with my dad. First time here. Not many patrons but service was slow. Servers were huddled in front of the tv watching the Olympics. The ranchero sauce for the eggs was hot had a really good spice to it 9/10. On a friends recommendation I had the carne guisada on the side. Bill miller has better carne guisada. This one was a little bland with not much flavor 4/10. Beans were mediocre 4/10. And then we got the bill. If the food and service was exceptional, I wouldn't have minded paying for what we got. In this case I guess I paid for the location and not the quality of food. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Receipt. - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

it was mediocre and waaaay over priced. 3.99 for an iced tea is too much as well as almost $3 for sour cream. if the food would have been amazing I still would have been mad at having to pay $4 for iced tea. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

I have had good food here before but I live three minutes away. Cold fajitas, cold tortillas, and obviously straight out of the fridge queso and salsa. It's a 37$ order for one. Sorry Mary Lou's. Never again. read more

We are on a Menudo tour in my house specifically, my husband. We're in a very large restaurant group who recommends Mary Lou's very frequently for menudo so we decided to head there. Upon walking in I was super disappointed that we had just missed the breakfast menu. All of the food was standard, fine. Everywhere we go my husband has to get a carne asada taco, 7/10. The tortillas were very good as were the chips and salsa. My husband said the menudo was very good but I couldn't tell you because I won't touch it. If you're in the mood for a very good menudo experience, head on down. Lastly, we weren't sure who our server was because several people visited the table to bring food, take the order, refill beverages, etc. but it was very good either way. read more

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Coming from outta state Visiting family, but it's our favorite spot for carne guisada taco for breakfast but we stopped for dinner Service was excellent waiter was awesome Theses tortillas are a HIT !!! Best thing I had which shocked me was the Elfamoso CHORIQUESO read more

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Food was subpar for an authentic Mexican place. Then the cheese on the nachos was straight government cheese. Asked to change it or a discount and the guy said because she touched the food- not ate it- he could not change or take it back. read more

Food was amazing. I couldn't decide what to eat because it all looked so good. Would definitely recommend eating here.

This was our first time at Mary Lou's Cafe. There wasn't a wait so we were seated a little after we walked in. Food: We were served waters, coffees and our daughter got a big red. The coffee was ok and the big red was very tasty. The waitress brought out chips and salsa with our drinks. I thought they were both good. My and husband and daughter weren't a fan. They like more of a roasted salsa. My husband did ask and they brought out a green so they don't a roasted salsa. My husband and daughter ordered barbacoa taco, bean and cheese taco. They didn't have a barbacoa plate listed on the menu so my husband asked if they could make me a barbacoa plate so I had scrambled eggs, potatoes, refried beans and barbacoa and he had to ask for flour tortillas. I don't know if those were included with the plate since he had to ask and she only brought 2 in the container. My plate was good I can't complain. My husband and daughter didn't care for barbacoa well not that didn't care for it, it just didn't have a lot of flavor. They had to add salt which kinda help. I'm sure it would have been fine if there was a descent salsa. Flour tortillas: Yes. They were fluffy, homemade and left flour on your fingers which is the true test. Lol. Service: I can't remember her name but she was very welcoming and polite. Atmosphere: The place wasn't packed so the noise quality wasn't overwhelming. They have a bar and tv which was on but still not bad. Seating was good. read more

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The good is the breakfast taco are excellent.. the bad service is the worst i have ever experienced to order to go you have to wait for a server to take your order!! The bad part of that is you don't get your exact change back!! For instance I've been there several times and always get con out of my change !! For instance I order 3 tacos today and it was $14.23 and the server only gave me back $5 dollars out of a $20. So I always give a tip to the server !! But I feel he already got change off of me, or the restaurant is getting extra cash change does add up. Especially if you go at least 5 days the server or restaurant is receiving at least $5-$8 dollars a week add that 4times that's over$20 a month which would have me going 6-7 days weekly.. I'm just saying with economy the way it is every penny counts so someone other than me is making extra money.. so this is my last time going to Mary Lou Cafe in olmos park.. will mis the breakfast tacos but money is tight now a days.. so I hope a higher management receives this review... read more

Always delicious and consistent. Always nice and helpful staff. A definite San Antonio gem.

Heard about this restaurant several times and finally tried them out, wow I have been missing out. Very good Tex mex food. I had the Mary Lou's plate and wondered once it was set in front of me of I would be able to finish it. Carne, taco, enchiladas, roc, tortillas all excellent. Fresh chips and hot sauce all amazing. We will be back, the atmosphere is so inviting it id a place to bring out of town guest for sure. Amazing staff was friendly and as in most places running like crazy because of being short staffed. Saw couple that I guess don't understand labor issues at this point walk out, their lose. B read more

Bar hopping on a Saturday afternoon, this was the second stop and our first visit. Mid-afternoon and there were a few tables, we wanted to sit at the bar, we were graciously pointed to the ornate bar in the main dining room. We knew Mary Lou from El Bosque years ago so we wanted to experience the new place. It is finely decorated inside not something you normally find in this neighborhood. The frozen Margaritas were alright, there seems to be a wide selection of Tequilas behind the bar. We tried the queso and enjoyed it with chips. Next visit I will try a skinny version of the Margarita. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Fajita queso - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

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Great little Mexican Bistro. The service was good, and it feels like what it is: a family run operation where the food is the star. It is all Mexican food, but from all over Mexico. This is not a Tex-Mex joint, it is authentic cooking in a friendly and understated setting. read more

Went to Mary Lou's Cafe today my grand kids love the food. Went during the lunch hour. Repairs were being done behind the bar with a concrete drill. We could not hear ourselves talk then the high pitch drilling was the last straw could not even finish my food just wanted to get out of the place. The waiter who sat us at a table knew this was going on and sat us right by the bar where work was being done. Owner should have done this type of work when cafe is closed for business. Lunch was nerve wracking and miserable. Will not be going there too many other nice good mexican restaurants around who consider their customers first. read more

Let me start by saying was in the mood for some good Homemade Mexican soup just like my mom use to make. Well let me tell you I was not disappointed and the corn tortillas were also awesome. My waitress Stephanie also was very pleasant she told me I had to come back and try their Menudo was also exceptional. So I'm hoping to venture out his weekend and take her up and try the dish. I read just a few reviews and I think they went at the wrong time of day to have soup, you don't go late in the afternoon everyone knows that well all Mexican's know that. Hay don't go back that means more for me. LOL read more

Tasty Mexican food. Outdoor seating available. Friendly service. Nicely decorated with a Mexican theme. Bonus, they will give you to go cups for your ice tea. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Starters, platos, y specialidades - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Best food ever. Best service. Best everything. Ever since moving out of San Antonio we haven't found anything on the same level. Everytime we visit we always make a trip here. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

My family frequents Mary Lou's , the enchiladas and charro beans are our favorites. Yesterday we met there to celebrate last chemo treatment for my sil. Some of us ordered tacos, others had pancakes; we were all very happy with the food as well as the temperature of the food. Nevertheless, getting service was horrible and we noted several other tables being waited on much sooner than we had. To begin with, he didn't write down our order and it took him 18 minutes to come to our table after waiting for our drinks to just take our order. We couldn't find him anywhere, so I'm not sure if he was helping in the kitchen, but he wasn't waiting on our table for sure. read more

We have been going to eat here for years and the service was always great but unfortunately we will never be going back because of what was in my son's taco. It was disgusting there was a roach in the Chorizo con huevo taco. read more

Mary Lou's Cafe - Chorizo con huevo taco w a roach.... - Mexican Near Me - San Antonio, Texas