Great experience. First time visitor. Went for HRW menu, but I ended up getting the queso and chicken tacos. Partner got the HRW menu with ceviche, carne asada, and chocolate ice cream. His meat was prepared just right and was a great cut of meat. My tacos were delicious. And Sylvia herself came by and checked on us. A plus: $1.99 house Rita's till 7:00 on Thursdays, $4.00 the rest of the work week. Definitely coming back. read more

I ordered 1 chicken enchiladas and 1 beef taco. Instead of the normal gravy on the enchiladas, i asked for queso. She said ok. When i got my bill they charged me 3.50 for the queso. She never told me it was extra. (Additional i purchased a large queso as an appetizer) if she would've told me this, i would've been informed!! The food was ok! Nothing too impressive! read more

Such good "homey" Mexican food! First place I can say this about in Houston so far. Hence my 5 stars. Place: a bit cold when we walked in. Staff: super friendly and helpful. Always smiling. Pre-appetizer: chips and salsa. The salsa is amazing and they bring it warm. The flavor is a perfect mix of spicy and tomatoey. They also never let us run out by bringing us lots of it. Appetizer: grilled panela cheese. It's a healthier cheese option and it tastes amazing on the tortillas they bring you which are huge! Haven't seen a place with such big tortillas in Houston yet. Also had a cup of sopa de fideos. First place ever outside your own house that offers this that I've been to. The flavor wasn't as tomatoey as I'd like but it was ok. Maybe this was the worst of everything I tried. Main dish: trampiquena was awesome, and the size of dish is huge. The enchilada on the side was the best enchilada I think I've had in a while. It makes sense as their specialty is enchiladas. I'll have to come back on a workout day to try out more of these as they have so many options. Steak was cooked perfectly and the rajas were also a good sweeter combination to the stronger flavors. If you want a more typical Mexican place and not so much tex mex you can find everywhere I highly recommend this place. I will be coming back with my Mexican mom to see what she thinks. That's when the real test of this place will be ;) read more

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You can't beat the piping hot salsa that Sylvia's serves. It keeps me going back every time!

Always straightforward and tasty! Good service with a fun atmosphere that reminds me of a place everyone would want to be! Cold beer and hot enchiladas!! read more

We have eaten many times here a few years ago, and tried it again tonight. In the interim, we have fallen in love with Chavez Mexican Cafe. By comparison, everything from the salsa to the cheese enchiladas and beef enchiladas at Sylvia's seemed very bland. Sort of like the comparison of Chef Boy-R-Dee to Italian. The service was great, but we probably will stick with Chavez. read more

Has to be the worst Mexican food I have had in many years. The only decent food on the table was the guacamole . Chips, hot sauce, enchiladas, tacos, and chili con queso were all really bad. Don't know how they stay in business when there are so many really good Mexican food places nearby! read more

Have been a frequent customer for years, ever since Sylvia's took over the Briargrove / Tanglewood location. It was our go to spot when we wanted to grab some good Mexican food nearby. However, things have drastically changed in recent times, the food and service have gone way downhill. The lack of crowd on hand speaks volumes. All the other spots in this neighborhood (Escalante's, Los Tios, etc.) are packed at this time. Our last visit was similar to the previous two visits. Friendly staff greets you at the door, plenty of wait staff on hand, but they seem to be tied up visiting with each other. When the waitress does, finally, come by she is quick to take drink orders, but it takes a long time (~10 mins) for them to be delivered. Margaritas are overly sweetened. We place our food order and it takes an extraordinary long time for food to be delivered. In fact, we have to ask if the food is coming soon after waiting over 20 minutes. Quesadillas were too greasy and soggy. My children who regularly order quesadillas wouldn't eat them and commented that these are the worst quesadillas they have had anywhere! The chicken fajitas are plain and look like they were pre grilled and heated up. Bland tasting chicken breast with the sides lacking. The guacamole had more tomatoes in it than avocado. Rice is uneventful and frankly tough. They bring only three tortillas and realize they charge for extra tortillas. Don't mind paying more for the fajita dish, but that feels like you are being nickel'd and dime'd. We don't see the waitress at all during the time it takes us to finish the entire meal. If we wanted to order another drink during the meal, it wasn't even a possibility... all the while several members of the wait staff are standing around the bar joking with each other and watching the game on the TV. To add insult to injury, my children go to the restroom and come back and tell us they don't want to use the restroom because the stall has toilet paper all over and other unspeakable things on the floor. I had to literally go find the manager on duty and tell him they needed to clean up the bathroom. He walks off without saying much. Being in the customer service business as I am, I know how I would react / respond and it would be much different. I would get it cleaned up and find the customer who brought it to my attention and would let them know the issue had been remedied. Although I saw him milling around, he never approached me or said anything about getting things cleaned up. So don't know if he got things corrected or just blew me off. This place won't last if the owner doesn't improve operations, food quality and service. read more

Be wary, their menu prices listed online are 'lunch prices;" the price for dinner meals is not posted online and are considerably more. Food was fair at best. read more

There is much better Tex-Mex in Houston. The food here is very heavy. Plus they charge extra for every little thing. Tonight they picked my custom, expensive mask off the table with the dirty dishes and it was lost in the kitchen. No apologies, no real concern and no available masks for customers. read more

I like the enchiladas a lot I think they should give three though for the price that they charge I didn't really get full but food was good

Totally underwhelmed by this place. Everything about it was mediocre. If Sylvia herself is still involved in day to day operations here, and some reviews indicate that she is, she should really pay closer attention to what's coming out of the kitchen. $19 each for our meals (the North of Mexico Sampler and South of Mexico Sampler) plus $12 each for margaritas was WAY overpriced and we left feeling gouged and hungry. The 4 tiny enchiladas that come with each sampler MAYBE equal 2 regular sized enchiladas, are sloppily assembled and the portions feel stingy. The lettuce and guacamole that came with each meal totaled maybe a tablespoon and the guacamole was brown. Unappetizing. I can say that the flavor of the rice and beans was great, but that's about all we enjoyed here. I'm bummed because this location is close to my house and I was hoping to discover a new favorite...nope. In a city full of amazing TexMex places, you're gonna have to try harder, Sylvia. read more

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Came to the Eldridge location for the first time yesterday for a reserved birthday dinner for my grandmother. For one, the "party room" was extremely small. We could barely fit to get to our seats, the staff couldn't even squeeze through to serve us. Second, the party was definitely over priced for there to not be enough food to feed the amount of people the party was reserved for and the food was cold despite being on warmers. And to top it off, they have the rudest and most inconsiderate staff. We walked out as the restaurant was closing and my husband realized our 1 year old lost her pacifier. He knocked to ask to look for it, a staff member walked up to the door, looked at him and walked away. I went to knock, the staff member did the same until I kept knocking and then asked (I'm assuming) the manager to come to the door. I politely asked to look for my daughters pacifier and after looking and asking if anyone had seen it, they finally proceeded to tell me they threw it in the garbage and shrugged like it was no big deal. Didn't even give anyone the chance to claim it. Will not be coming here again. Do better. read more

Wasn't as good as I was expecting from reviews. Very minimal options to pick from. & the price doesn't match up to the quality of food you receive. It's a no for me read more

Best Mexican food in Houston!! Beautiful decor, great food and great service.. wish I would have discovered this place years ago!!

Love the ambiance and decor but we found the food to be fair. We both ordered the Mission plate, beef taco was great, chili con queso is done on a flat tostada similar to Monterrey House for those of us who remember this great landmark, and a cheese enchilada with Sylvia's famous chili gravy. CCQ was just okay as was the enchilada. I prefer a more meaty style chili gravy as opposed to tomato. lunch price was $8.50 + 2.50 for tea, price not bad. Chips and salsa both warm, liked the salsa too. Sylvia's does offer happy hour specials, $4.00 margs and food specials. We saw a piece on the menu about Taco Tuesday and would try that and report back. Fair but did not blow our socks off read more

Went for Mother's Day Buffet today. Great selection! Great service and it was packed. Everything we tried was very good. Guacamole yum! Queso Yum, 3 types of enchiladas, flautas, pancakes, omelets , etc. Also, fantastic price. $20.00 for me and $10.00 for my daughter. I couldn't believe it. I never found any other place under $49.00 for an adult in Houston. This is exactly what I wanted! read more

I love this restaurant. I wish they had a location closer to me. The food is excellent. I love going to the cooking class. I bought her cookbook. She signed it for me. read more

I do Uber eats and apparently their system is really bad that it can't take the Uber card. When I got there they told me that they don't do Uber eats orders which is fine, but the manager demanded that I do something about it which I literally can't do. I gave him the phone number to call and get the money for the order. The short manager was really rude and lazy. The manager had no spine because he was going to make the server pay for it during a pandemic. How does Sylvia always get the worse managers. Update: regardless y'all handled it poorly and if that's how you handle that, then I don't ever want to eat there! read more

Had the best food in 6 months, and not just Mexican. This comes from a devout foodie. Congrats on your James Beard semifinalist honor. Totally deserved. Even greater accolades lay ahead. Three dishes particularly jumped out - the mole, chicken enchiladas verde and sea bass. Great rice and superb black beans. You deliver the whole package, in a beautiful setting with exceptional staff, from server to manager. Bravo to the Queen of Way More Than Enchiladas! Was a privilege to dine here. read more

2nd time due to hype of "best enchiladas". Stale chips, watery ritas, canned queso, stale tamales, rice bland and old tasting desserts. Had 8 people (2 of those being kids) and bill was 550. Never again. Terrible food and service! Taco Cabana better. read more

We had heard great things about this place and were excited to try it. Unfortunately, we were sorely disappointed. We tried the beef fajitas and two kinds of chicken enchiladas, as well as the queso with meat. The beef fajitas had a smoky taste that we weren't a fan of and came out much more well done than we asked for. The chicken enchiladas were largely unimpressive. Everything was overpriced for what we received In my opinion. They only gave us 4 tortillas for two people for the fajitas and when we asked for a couple extras, they charged us extra for that. Surprised me because our normal places wouldn't nickel and dime us like that. To top jt all off, the service was slow and inattentive. Do yourself a favor and go to el tiempo for fajitas and cyclone Anaya's for enchiladas. read more

I loved the ambiance of the place. I went with my coworkers on lunch hour around 12:45? It was steady nothing crazy, we sat outside because they had something going on inside recording. We sat outside took a while for the waiter to acknowledged us, we asked like 3 times if the heaters could be turned on and again they didn't... finally our food came and i wasn't impressed the food was very bland. Truly not authentic Mexican enchiladas.. very disappointed. As well the waiter drop 2 plates, and my coworkers had to wait a longer time. Then the check came, and they charged them twice for the food and again we had to wait to get one removed. I'm definitely not coming back, not only the service wasn't on point the food wasn't either /: read more

We heard about Sylvia's while watched Good Taste with Tanji Patton, so we decided to go for lunch the same day! There are two locations. We visited the one on Woodway. We were immediately greeted at the door and seated in the middle of the restaurant so we could see everything. Angel was our server. We let her know this was our first visit and that we wanted to taste as many of the Enchilada Queen's infamous creations as possible, so she recommended the Enchilada Culinary Tour which offers two options - "North of the Border" which is more of a Tex-Mex option and includes four petite enchiladas: "Refugio" (tastes like a Tex-Mex cheese enchilada with chile gravy), "Sarita" (vegetable enchilada with a cream sauce), "Lubbock" (Tex-Mex ground beef enchilada with a hearty meat gravy), & "Laguna Madre" (crab enchilada with seafood sauce). The second option was "South of the Border" which offers "Mexico City" (chicken enchilada with salsa verde & sour cream), "Morelia" (enchilada rojas, queso fresco, onions, & red chile sauce), "Hidago" (pork/carnita enchilada with verde sauce & avocado slices), & "Puebla" (chicken enchilada with molé sauce). Since we went to Sylvia's to try "everything", we ordered both. It was the perfect amount of food since the enchiladas are smaller for these sampler plates. It was fun to try all of these. I liked both but probably leaned more towards north of the border. Angel provided excellent descriptions of menu items and once we were served, identified each item, so we would know what we were eating. Casual atmosphere, clean restaurant, top-notch service. We definitely recommend Sylvia's! read more

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen - South of the Border Enchilada Culinary Tour - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The hostess was very nice and although there was a line she was very polite to every one. We had made reservations for a party of 5, and didn't have to wait at all. The chips and salsa were delicious! And I'm Hispanic so I am very picky about my salsa. My sister got the watermelon margarita and it was so good. For the course I ordered the carnitas enchiladas with rice, and charro beans. My sister order chicken enchiladas which also comes with rice but she decided for refried beans. On the menu it says that their red hot sauce is really spicy, but it didn't seem like it was to me. However, I have been eating spicy foods since I was little so it may depend on the person. Overall, the food was good and would probably try to go back to try some other enchiladas. read more

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

After a great time at the Yelp Quince de Mayo event, Six Choir Guy and I headed here to try out the new branch of Sylvia's after getting the skinny from Agustin S. While not the cheapest in the city, they turn out a superior product with panache and great service. The place makes for a great "date night" setting or if you just want to upgrade for a special occasion. [P.S. This dinner was neither - I'm still available for all of your hot single man friends.] Six Choir Guy had the "Mexico City" ($12), which were chicken enchiladas topped with salsa verde - he added goat cheese (+$2.50) to it. I opted for the "Sarita" ($12), which were chicken enchiladas paired with calabasita (squash) topped with a delightful savory queso blanco. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals - it had the added benefit of not being filling but not overwhelming. The presentation is a step up from your normal Tex-Mex places: a wooden narrow tray is set before you with two inset metal squares. The larger of the two metal squares holds your enchiladas while the smaller one holds your refried beans and rice. Both metal items are piping hot, which makes for relief that they're buffered by the wooden tray. Pretty and functionally efficient. Service was crisp, friendly, polite, and professional. Our hostess, Susanna, was a solicitous charming older lady who really cared about seating - she asked if we'd like to sit on the patio and we took her up on her offer. Chance, our waiter, was polite in his greetings, efficient in taking the orders, perceptive in noticing SCG's ice tea needing refilling, and asked to take away our dishes. His whole demeanor was one of being well trained in service techniques and a refreshing change to not only most Tex-Mex places but for a lot of restaurants in our city. The highest praise I can offer is that he reminded me of the service techniques expected by Jackson Hicks, caterer to Houston's poshest and socially connected families. I notice and appreciate great service. I may not come as often since I like my Tex-Mex like my men: authentic and affordable. Sylvia's fits in nicely among its new neighbors in the well-heeled Woodway/Voss corridor. Here's hoping that the locals embrace and support them for many years to come. read more

This is defiantly a good choice for some enchiladas. Always get the El Paso and it reminds me of the homeland. Great service and great food, what more do you need. Love and miss the Eldridge location since moving up north but I'll be back. read more

Dropped by Sylvia's for lunch the other day. The service was excellent, the food not so much. The hostess greeted us warmly and recognized my fellow lunch mates, asking them some personal questions (how is ____ doing?). We were seated in the bar area and the first thing I noticed was the place was clean, I mean "coming home after the maid cleaned your house" clean. Water, hot sauce and chips immediately hit the table followed by the waiter to take our drink order. The variety of enchiladas left me a bit confused as all sounded delicious. I ended up ordering the cheese enchilada with crispy beef taco. When I go somewhere new, I order the cheese enchilada to gauge the place. I dug into the chips and salsa, delicious. By far some of the best chips I've recently had, not greasy, on the thickish side with a nice crunch. The salsa is served hot, on the mild side but packed with flavor. I had to stop myself before I got too full. The food arrived and I was a bit disappointed seeing that their lunch entree did not come with the usual side of refried beans and rice. Oh well. I started with the very greasy crispy beef taco. The beef was bland and so greasy I ended up putting it back on the plate and moved on to the cheese enchilada which was tiny, the cheese hard and the "signature chili gravy" totally lacking in taste. Definitely not worth the $9 price. ****I just took a gander at Sylvia's online menu and the dish I ordered, the Elsa was suppose to come with rice and beans. Too bad Sylvia, you could have earned an extra star if your beans were decent. read more

I call this review "Wasted Calories and Two Stomachs Full of Blah!" Ok, shoot me...I've had better tex-mex in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hell, I've had better tex-mex in New York City... NEW YORK CITY!?!? yes...Sylvia's is no Pace (tm) Picante... On my second visit to Sylvia's my friend and I were very disappointed. I ordered the Queso, which was flavorless and gummy...synthetic at best, it made Velveeta with Rotel sound good. The salsa is warm, which is not my preference and has little to no flavor...think hot, chunky, bland tomato juice. I also had the Carnitas enchiladas with the spicy red sauce. Decent, but not great. The sauce gave it some flavor but, the meat was marginal at best. My friend ordered the spinach enchiladas and said they were...well...ICK. He kept saying...I was so hungry, now I'm full with food that wasn't even good. Poor thing! My first experience at Sylvia's was a little better....I had the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde and goat cheese. My question for Sylvia's is for all that money...a lunch for two today was $32 plus tip...where's the flavor? But, if the Escalante's down Woodway is any indication of the neighborhood's taste buds (or lack thereof), Sylvia's should be fine. People seem to like boring and bland Tex-mex in the Voss/Woodway hood. It's worth facing Westheimer for El Patio or heading north to El Rey in this area of town. read more

As a frequent business traveler to Houston, I decided to try a bunch of different Mexican places (I live in Canada where Mexican food tends to be lacking). Before you judge my Canadian palate, let me say I'm something of a Mexican food afficionado--many conversations lead me to think I know more about it than a lot of Americans. Sylvia's has become a true fave for me--I have returned to this restaurant more than any other as it represents both outstanding value and excellent quality. I have sent friends there (they rave, too). Enchiladas are in the restaurant's name, so that's the thing to get. My personal favorite is the "South of the Border" combo, which features four small-sized enchiladas, each representing a different Mexican region. The flavors are distinct and consistently delicious. I particularly like the mole/chicken, and the "Morelia," which is filled with queso fresco and topped with a wonderfully-rich red sauce. Nothing is overly spicy--you'd have to ask for hot sauce if you need more heat. This combo includes a bowl of chunky guacamole, absolutely excellent. It also comes with a substantial portion of rice and beans, but I've started requesting a salad instead--smart move; I don't walk out feeling bloated anymore. I have also tried the "North of the Border" combo, but found I prefer the flavors of the South combo. The only thing I'm not a huge fan of at Sylvia's is the the complimentary salsa, which is served hot (temperature, not spice). It's tasty, I just prefer my salsa cold. Always friendly service, and the ambiance is pleasant. I like the painted map of Mexico on the back wall of the bar area. Cool. I will return again. And again. read more

I got robbed outside ... They broke the back window of my car. Nobody saw anything. They should have more Cameras and security... Was a bad experience. Food is average and after this I don't think I'm coming back. Shame read more

Sylvia please take into consideration this review. We ate here yesterday afternoon. The waitstaff was polite and perfect timing. The enchilada's have a beautiful presentation. I ordered the South of the Border. All 4 of the enchiladas had a beautiful presentation. The mole one had a slight smoky, spicy chocolate topping. Perfect. The PROBLEM are the fillings - chicken and pork enchilada fillings are lacking flavor. That's why your ratings are so varied. The chicken and carnita meat is almost flavorless. Try adding more herbs and garlic etc. When roasting those meats. I think your Wow factor on your enchiladas will really then WOW everyone. Red salsa needs some help too. Otherwise nice place and your enchilada sauces are yummy. read more

Despite the fact that the previous 5 restaurants in this location went out of business, I yield hope for this one. The service was great, so great that every dam sip I took from my ice water there was a little guy right behind me just waiting anxiously to refill it. I swear I couldn't win against this guy, i couldn't even make it half way full before my water was being refilled- legit. Tacos al carbon were good and pretty identical to Escalante's except the master chef threw some onions in there which was a total curve ball. On the downside, my tortilla kept falling apart which required the use of a fork for tacos, disappointment to say the least. Guacamole was delic, same with the rice and beans. They have cabrito (Goat for all those spanglish speakers) on the menu which is what I plan on devouring next time. I like this place because its not your average chain Tex-Mex restaurant, its got a little more to it. read more

All restaurants have a rough start when they first open their doors. With the excitement of a new restaurant, let alone a second addition to a popular one, a lot of expectations are understandably warranted, but not always tackled. Let's take the new Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen on Woodway. I heard a great deal about the food from the Dairy Ashford location, but never had the opportunity to make the hike. Luckily for me, a second version of her was built practically across the street from where I live. How excited I was. That was, until they actually opened, and I found getting in was half the battle. For little over a month, visiting Sylvia's on a Friday and Saturday was a chore, if you consider waiting in line to get seated for over an hour a chore. And I do. When you're hungry, patience is a stranger, an unwanted stranger that you have to chase off with a broom. Sadly for me and my self-devouring belly, there were a couple of occasions I had to walk away and deny myself with the promise that I'll be back next week. One weekend, I thought I'd be clever and try ordering take-out. Smart move, Ray. You're a genius. Let those plebeians collect lichen as they stand and wait. You order. You pick it up, and you eat in front of your favorite place in the world - in front of the TV. Over the phone, I was told the wait for a packaged meal was over an hour. WHAT? I swore I heard the sad trombone sound as I hung up the phone without ordering. Finally one weekend, I was actually able to sit down at Sylvia's with my visiting parents, afraid to pinch myself. Will the other shoe drop? Will the waiter come up and tell us that they need to close down the kitchen on account that they recognize me from the other occasions I tried getting in? Luckily that didn't happen. The chips were fine. Lightly salted as I like them. The salsa on the other hand was not my favorite. I personally like my salsa with a bit more kick like Chuy's or Guadalajara's. This one was warm and tasted a bit like balmy tomato puree with a hint of jalapenos and garlic. Maybe I received a mediocre batch. I know my salsa doesn't always come out consistent when I make it at home. Must be a phase of the moon thing or some astrological event that makes anybody's salsa enjoyable; and the bowl in front of us was obviously made when the stars weren't right. For the entrée I ordered the Mexico City - chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, sour cream, and goat cheese (which has to be ordered since it's an option). It comes with refried beans and Mexican style rice. Let me tell you something - I don't know if the bad salsa was a ploy to set me up for disappointment that would never happen, but disappointment never happened. The enchiladas were great. The green sauce had a hint of lime and just a light kick to it. The sour cream melted over the sauce and made it creamy, and the goat cheese gave it the right amount of tang to make me wish I had a tortilla to sop up my plate's residue. As far as the beans and rice are concerned, in most Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants the two are like the equivalent culinary cousins that you don't care about when they show up for the family reunions. They've arrived, but so what? Not in this case. The rice was very flavorful, as were the beans - scoop them up together and their combined taste finely complemented the enchiladas. The wait staff could do with an injection of personality, if I may say so. They were stiff and not very talkative. Animated zombies with their brains scooped out could give a lesson or two to Sylvia's staff. Aside from waiting a couple of months to get in, the food experience was a surprise. It will be a place that I'll make every opportunity to sample each menu item and bring along a friend. I'm sure after a few tweaks and some screws here and there following their grand opening they'll improve in some areas of their service. Adjustments that I see in need, which I hope that they act soon - redo the salsa or make it consistently good, and coach their wait staff. Then I can see Sylvia's becoming the top Tex-Mex restaurant in our area. read more

Im in town for my employer and I was invited by someone to go to Sylvia's. On of the best suggestion since Ive been here. Foid was fantastic!! Service was great! I had the Lubbock Enchiladas and the gravy is out of this world! Authentic Tex-Mex! read more

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen - Lubbock Enchiladas with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

This review is based on their Sunday brunch buffet. I have been here twice, the last time being on Mother's Day 2015. Brunch is $20 a person and I believe $25 if you get mimosas. I dined here with my entire family, mostly because they were able to fit us all in last minute and because of the buffet option, everyone was bound to find something they liked. The food options were pretty limited and what was worse, most of the pans were near empty and not because of heavy traffic. There were about 5 choices of enchiladas but they were all lukewarm and the staff wasn't making an effort to replace with new pans the way they do at most other brunch buffet places. My family and I were going through the line and literally had to ask if they could bring more of everything as the staff would see the empty pans and just stand there. They were very friendly but I don't think customers should have to ask when there's 2 scoops of rice and beans left and 10+ people waiting to go through the line. Aside from the enchiladas there's a small omelette station, taco station and pancakes in a steamer. If you ask for tacos, they add 4 tiny pieces of meat. C'mon, nobody wants to be the fat ass that asks for extra meat, so I had to combine the meat from my tacos at my table to make a decent one. Dessert was pretty pathetic also. They had super thin slices of cake and would only put like 3-4 out at a time. Again, we had to ask if they had any more and yes, they would bring it to the table but what's the point of a brunch buffet if you have to ask for stuff. A few of my family members didn't even bother to ask and just did without. I think we all left feeling unsatisfied but no one mentioned it because it was Mother's Day and no one wanted to be the A hole. However considering the bill was about $250, I don't think we should have left hungry. Needless to say, we will not be returning here for brunch. I may go back for the regular menu or the cooking classes. read more

I REALLY wanted to love this established Houston "favorite". This was our second trip after a lack luster first trip several months ago. I must preface this with the fact that I was raised on Tex-Mex in the Rio Grande Valley and still frequently return to visit family in Harlingen. I know this cuisine quite well and I was quite disappointed by the plates served that we're named after many many cities near and dear to my heart. We were promptly provided with chips and salsa. I must say the chips were most assuredly not prepared fresh. They had the texture of ballpark chips mad were heavy and quite grainy. They were warm, but obviously from a heat lamp. The salsa was lacking any resemblance of flavor, spice, and heat. It was served warm but had a heavy tomato flavor that was something I might expect from a Mexican restaurant in South Dakota. I have been there and done that too. Not good. We began with a small order of Shrimp Cocktail. With a restaurant that has dishes named after places like Laguna Madre and Brownsville, one would expect gulf shrimp and a spicy cocktail sauce that would have nice acidity and heat to compliment the shrimp. No such luck. If you like boiled frozen farm raised bleach white shrimp resting in a bottle of ketchup with a few sliced onions and one sliver of avocado, then this is for you. The portion was adequate but they missed the shrimp boat with this one. A note to the owner- Heinz makes a cocktail sauce in the jar that is better than your heinz ketchup. This is not a hard dish to mess up but you managed to do it here. WOW. Next up- Cheese enchilada plate for the wife and Tacos al carbon for me. The food arrived very hot and looked fantastic. We were optimistic that the meal would turn around. The cheese enchiladas were ok but again did not come close to the enchiladas I was raised on. The gravy sauce was heavy handed with chili powder and the cheese was very oily and tasted like cheddar cheese. Cheddar is common in South Dakota I believe. It has no place on enchiladas from south Texas. The refried beans were ok. The guacamole served on the side tasted like one of two things. Either they added sour cream to the guacamole or the avocados were old with brown spots. Maybe it was both. It was simply not south Texas quality guacamole. Tacos al carbon- Really frustrated at this point. The beef was WAY over charred on one side and that dominated my palate. On the fringe of being burnt. Descent flour tortillas but they tasted like they were fresh frozen and heated up prior to the plating. Would not keep the doors open in Harlingen for sure. Good rice that did remind me of home. More of the sub-quality guacamole. We finished with Flan. This was the highlight of the meal. Nice and creamy throughout and cooked properly (no bubbles) in the custard. Good caramel sauce but cool whip should have been left off. Two entrées, one appetizer, one desert, one iced tea and one water ran $45 + tip. I have no problem spending my money on food that is fresh, prepared well and is seasoned appropriately. This was simply not what we experienced at Sylvia's. We thanked the waiter and tipped him well. We will not return. So disappointing.... read more

I heart Sylvia's, or as my ex would refer to the original location, "Sylvia's House of Gas." The decor in the new place fits the neighborhood. It's fancier than the original, but these are much nicer digs than Dairy Ashford. The plates they use here are kind of cool - like little metal trays for your enchiladas, rice, and beans. But most importantly, what's on those plates is killer food. From the opening chip, to the fantastic ceviche, to the enchiladas, everything is top notch. Service was friendly. Our waiter was a little rocky at first, but as the night went on he improved and really seemed to care. They seem to pay attention to the little things at Sylvia's. This could be the best Tex-Mex in the city. read more

I've heard people rave about this place and I've seen the billboards (which made me assume this place was waaay overhyped) so I finally decided to check it out myself. Solid. Been here a few times with coworkers and it's been great all around. - Chips and salsa - DELICIOUS. The chips are thick and crunch without being greasy! The salsa is served warm. - Chicken enchiladas - they seemed a bit small, but they were delicious and quite filling. I do wish there was a bit more chicken. - Caesar salad with shrimp - light and flavorful. The shrimp was seasoned perfectly. - Beef faijita taco al carbon - delicious, not huge portion but filling. Service was a bit slow, but the food is good and well priced. Definitely will continue to come back. read more

We came here for dinner and ordered the north of the border and south of the border and was not pleased at all. At first we were excited about trying this place do to those specific platter. They happened to look intriguing but the taste just didnt happen to be there. Also the service was really slow, it took us a while just to get water. I don't think we will be coming back to this restaurant again nor will we be recommending this place to anyone. Save your money and taste buds and go somewhere else. read more

Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas