Taqueria Chalupas -- a cruise-tradition stop for us…read more Since we live in Conroe, this place has become our go-to the moment we get off a cruise -- and it never disappoints. Service is always great and attentive, and the food is consistently fresh and delicious. We usually order the street tacos, but our family has tried a variety of items off the menu and everything has been excellent. The green salsa deserves a special shoutout -- it's spicy in the best way and keeps you coming back for more. We already know we'll be ending our December cruise here, and we can't wait.

**UPDATE** It's been…read morea minute since I've patronized this joint, aside from a couple of to-go breakfast orders through the years, but it is still just as delicious as it was when I wrote my first review more than a decade ago. Everything in my previous review stands, but I will add this time around that the cheese enchiladas here might be the bet I have had in the greater Houston area. They are wrapped in firm, uber-thin corn tortillas and almost overstuffed with real cheese. The chicken mole enchiladas also get there. No two moles are alike, and this can best be described as rich and (spicy) warm with a slight hint of sweet. Delicious indeed.

Wow, just wow. We're here to catch a cruise in the morning…read moreand needed dinner. My wife spied the sign as we headed to the hotel. We ordered more food than we needed, but everything was amazing. Simply everything. Chips were warm. Wife loved the queso. The salsas were great. The enchiladas were likely the best I've ever had. The flautas were good. It was an amazing meal. And the server was sweet and kind.

There are restaurants where the meal begins the moment you walk through the door, and there are…read morerestaurants where the welcome feels like an invitation to reconsider your life choices. At Lupe Tortilla in Kemah, our host was gracious and welcoming. We asked if we could sit at the bar, and we were happily shown to two seats. So far, so good. Then came the bartender. She greeted us with the sort of expression usually reserved for someone who has just backed into your car in the parking lot. Plates and chips were tossed onto the bar--technically within the vicinity, though apparently not within reach. We were then asked if we wanted drinks. We ordered a dressed draft beer and a 50/50 Rita. The beer arrived beautifully cold and perfectly poured. The margarita, however, was roughly 90% frozen and 10% margarita--the precise opposite of what we were hoping for. It wasn't exactly the warm beginning one hopes for when settling in for dinner. The food may yet have a chance to redeem the evening, but hospitality is part of the recipe. And when the first course is indifference, even a good meal has a little climbing to do.

I recently had my first visit to Red River Cantina, in League City, Texas. I was primarily looking…read morethrough yelp for a restaurant that served Tex-Mex, and this was the first restaurant that popped up in my area with a "very good" rating. As I write this review, this restaurant currently has a rating of 4.0 stars with 380 reviews. Before coming, I also reviewed several pictures that other folks have posted on yelp, and I thought I'd give this place a try. The outside of this restaurant is well lit and inviting. Parking is plentiful, and they have several handicapped parking spots for folks who need that. Upon entry, I was immediately seated in one of their booths by their hostess. The busboy came out a few minutes later, bringing some fresh chips and two kinds of salsa. The busboy didn't seem too friendly; he didn't say a word or even crack a smile. My waitress came out a couple of minutes later, and her name was Eliza C. She was friendly and professional, and she was attentive to my dinnertime needs throughout my experience. The chips and salsa they serve here are amazingly good. While I decided what I wanted to eat for dinner, I couldn't stop eating them! I ordered one of their "Maximina's Build Your Own Cominados," choosing an order with two items. For my two items, I ordered an enchilada with beef picadillo, and I ordered a crispy taco with beef picadillo. I ordered my meal with a side of their Mexican rice and refried beans. I also ordered a Dr. Pepper with my meal. My meal was delicious. The refried beans were excellent, and they had a smoky/bbq taste to them. The Mexican rice was delicious as well. They did an excellent job on my enchilada and taco, and they provided a generous filling with beef on both. They were delicious as well. The Dr. Pepper was also refreshing, and I appreciated that they served it in a glass rather than a plastic mug. One thing I noticed in their menu is that they appear to pay attention to folks who have vegetarian and/or gluten free needs in their diet. This doesn't effect me, but it is appreciated, so kudos to the management for that. Unfortunately, I also noticed that they require a mandatory "large party fee" for parties of 8 or more, which is 20%. This didn't effect me either, but it would be annoying to me if I were in a large party. I think this is unnecessary, presumptuous, and a little annoying. It is essentially a tip that is mandatory, regardless of the quality of the food or the service. If you have a large party, just make sure you don't add another tip on top of this mandatory tip (for the large party) without realizing this. The management should reconsider this annoying practice. Overall, I had an excellent (almost perfect) experience here. I would definitely come here again the next time I'm in the area. In addition to this review, be sure to check out all my pictures if you'd like to get more detail on this location, some of which are attached to this review.

My husband and I went to Red River Cantina last night. It's been awhile since we've been there. I…read moreordered a watermelon margarita off the menu which showed it was $11.95. I noticed it was HUGE but I just thought they were generous with their drinks. When we received the check, I was charged $16.95 for this drink. I asked our server about the price difference and she stated "Oh, I gave you the Grande." OK, thank you but that's NOT what I ordered. Granted, maybe I didn't specify a size so that's my fault but she shouldn't have ASSUMED I wanted the grande size. It was too much for me so my husband had to finish it. I didn't make a big deal about it because I worked in the restaurant industry myself so I try to be kind and respectful but I think seems very sneaky to me. The server should ALWAYS ask what size they want and not assume they want the larger size. That's up-charging. I also wanted to mention that we received a FREE watermelon margarita on the rocks because I think they had an extra which we gladly accepted and weren't charged for. But that doesn't compensate for the $5 upcharge. Most people say I should have contacted the manager but I didn't want to make a big deal over $3 but it's the principle to me. It's just not honest and I don't like that. We still tipped her over 22% but I'm rethinking that now. Maybe I should have deducted that $5 from her tip since I think it was an intentional up-charge. Oh well... As far as the food, we ordered the brisket enchiladas. They were OK. We didn't love the barbeque drizzle on top of the sour cream sauce. It really threw off the flavor in our opinions so that was a bummer. The white queso, chips and salsa were all on-point! We go out to Tex-Mex restaurants every week and the other restaurants don't give us the larger size so it just seems sketchy. I don't think we'll be back for awhile because this left a bad taste in my mouth. Disappointing.

It was a friend's birthday and she wanted her favorite ground beef taco salad. I hadn't had one in…read morea while is I got one too. It was delicious! I am going to have to put that back on my Jimmy Changa's rotation. I also ordered their super cute yummy tasting spooky margarita. It was good with a nice presentation. The rim shocked me being salt instead of sugar which I found funny. Brandon, manager, came over to check on us and we had a nice chat. Gabby, our server, gave excellent service where we wanted for nothing.

Been coming here for years and the food has always been great. Unfortunately, over the past few…read moremonths I've noticed the service and cleanliness have gone downhill dramatically. Not sure if there's new management or what has changed. Today was the final straw. My wife and I came in for lunch on Memorial Day shortly after they opened. The restaurant wasn't busy and there were plenty of servers working. We were brought chips and then completely forgotten about. We sat there for 15-20 minutes waiting for someone to come back and even take our drink order. Nothing. What made it worse was watching multiple servers walk right past us without ever making eye contact or checking on us. We finally got up, moved to the bar, and ordered our food there instead. We did let the hostess know about our experience, but no manager or staff member ever came over to apologize or even acknowledge the situation. Really disappointing considering how long we've supported this place.

Coming back to visit home, my friend suggested that we grab dinner at Chuy's. My initial response…read morewas honestly 'meh', but I would soon find myself wrong. To start the meal, there was the standard chips and salsa. It's what you expect - not too bad! I got the house marg-tini since it was happy hour. It was certainly tart and sweet. A bit too strong for my liking. Though, I certainly wouldn't mind recommending anyone who likes margaritas to at least try it. For main, I got the Tex-Mex Burrito Bowl. This may sound pretty simple, like any bowl that you'd get at a fast casual chain. However, it blew my expectations away. It has all the standard ingredients - rice, cheese, peppers, onions, corn salsa, guac, lettuce, and protein (in this case, chicken). Everything just went together so well. Oh and can't forget the tostada chips for that added crunch. I found myself wanting more and more. Lastly, service was timely and fast. No complaints. Overall, recommend!

Glad that we stopped here! Our waiter, Richard, absolutely made our day. Super nice and fast…read moreservice. He made sure to come back to check on us frequently and was so friendly. We got the fajitas for two and had lots of left overs, plus it was a lot cheaper than a lot of other chain restaurants. Food was also great, along with the chips and salsa. Wonderfully decorated and nice ambiance.

The server, I believe her name is Kelly was really sweet and took care of us…read more I got the salmon mango salad, which I have to say is soooo good. They were a little heavy on the dressing but that's ok with me. The chips and salsa were ok, not my favorite but can't complain when it's complimentary. Large parking lot; no problems with parking.

Stopping in for lunch on a lark and definitely will be back! We sat at the bar and our bartender…read moreTiana was amazing! Attentive made great suggestions and conversation! Food was great. I had the lunch special with snapper taco and chicken tinga enchilada. Amazing flavors!

I would like to thank Keyla and Selena for such a nice and…read morewarm atmosphere everything was great here the all

The best enchiladas!…read more If you're in the area (or even if you're not), and you're a fan of enchiladas (or even if you're not), you should give Barcenas a try. I had the basic Enchiladas Cheese, which were fantastic. The rice and beans were perfectly cooked and flavorful, which many comparable restaurants seem to struggle with. Chips and salsa were pretty standard, but still good. The place feels authentically Mexican, which is a nice change-up from all of the Tex-Mex places that are so common. The music and decor is all on point! Service was above and beyond as well. Even for a Sunday at lunch time, the waiters were constantly checking on us to make sure our drinks were topped off and to make sure we didn't need anything. I'll definitely be returning next time I'm in that part of town to try another of their enchiladas!

Went for dinner, service was great! We haven't been yo Mr. Sombrero in years so we wanted to give…read moreit a try! I started with a half and half house margarita, it was good.. not super sweet or limey but also very weak. Bummer! The chips and salsa were meh... chips were not hot or super crispy. The salsa had zero flavor or spice. The table that was next to us had two senior citizens and they really enjoyed the salsa because they said it was not spicy at all. I had the Eliza special, the plate had nice size portions and it was tasty. My husband had the El Cerrito Dinner, he liked it. After the remodel a few years ago the restaurant was very bright, that has changed. They seemed to have dimmed the lights which was a major improvement!

Dinner at Mr. Sombrero's Original tonight. Look, comparing…read moreit to lunch at Irma's Original was a tough act to follow, those expectations were sky-high; but sometimes proximity wins the night. We were homeward bound, craving something familiar yet satisfying, and the place delivered with a beverage selection that could make a weary traveler forget his troubles for a while. Fresh jalapeños and serranos right there on the table? That's my kind of welcome. No sad, limp garnishes here, this is the real deal for a palate that demands heat and brightness. The salsa came out warm, balanced, with that perfect slow-building fire that doesn't just punch you in the face but invites you back for more. It hit the spot like a cold beer after a long shift. The menu here is three times the size of the original spot, a glorious sprawl of options. Avocado dishes that actually taste like avocado, not some sad green paste, and Tacos De Taqueria that respect the street-level soul of the thing. Whatever you're in the mood for, it feels like they've got you covered without the usual tourist-trap nonsense. If you're in the neighborhood, do yourself a favor and stop in soon. Solid, honest Mexican food done right. No frills, just flavor.

We get fajitas. They are amazing. We get enchiladas. Equally…read moredelicious. We get the fajita taco salad with queso as the dressing. To die for. We are older now, so we usually gar a Presidente and split it. It fills us both and we love it! Plus we always get queso dip. And LOVE IT! Top everything with Sopapillas with honey and butter! You'll love it! And the free ice cream.... YUM!

Food was good, but nothing special. The staff was friendly, which was a plus. The chicken fajitas…read morewere surprisingly small for the price. It was basically one grilled chicken breast sliced up and served over some grilled onions, with no peppers or anything else you'd normally expect with fajitas. The chicken burrito was pretty much just chicken and not much else. My son liked it because he's a plain eater, but for what they charge, I don't think it's worth it. Overall, I'd probably look elsewhere next time.

We decided to try a completely different appetizer and I am so glad that we did! The Jumbo Lump…read moreCrab Nachos are a definite winner! A lot of crab meat with every bite, plus the sour cream, incredible olives, and pickled jalapenos! Also tried the Albondiga soup and it was amazing! Those meatballs were huge, seasoned with perfection, and that broth was so tasty! This is also a must! We sat in the bar area/ high tops, and we had the bar tenders as our server, they were busy, but still provided excellent service! Definitely recommend this restaurant!!

9/10 would definitely go back !…read more I ordered the chicken and steak fajitas, and both were really good. Personally, I enjoyed the chicken more. It had amazing flavor and was perfectly cooked. The steak was good too, but it had more of a barbecue taste, which just isn't my personal preference I also heard the table next to me. Tell the waiter that they preferred the chicken over the filet mignon, which just goes to show that their chicken is superior. Next time, I'd probably stick with just the chicken fajitas. Let's talk about the sauces because they deserve their own moment. The green sauce that came with the chips was AMAZING. So fresh and flavorful. The red sauce was also really good -- both paired perfectly with the chips. For rice, I tried both the cilantro rice and the Mexican rice. They were both solid, but I liked the Mexican rice just a little more. One thing to keep in mind: toppings for fajitas are an extra charge. I got the garlic, onion, and Serrano topping with cheese -- and they do not play when they say it's spicy! It was delicious but very spicy. Also, it's a $5.99 upcharge, which is easy to miss. And heads up: they mix the Serranos into the cheese, so you can't really remove them once it's served. If you're sensitive to heat, I'd recommend asking for the Serrano peppers on the side. The service was extraordinary -- super attentive and welcoming. The place was packed, but there was still plenty of parking, which was a plus. I didn't order drinks this time, but they looked really good. I'll definitely be back, especially for Margarita Monday -- $5 margaritas all day sounds like a deal I can't pass up. Overall, amazing food, great service, and a fun vibe. I'll absolutely be coming back!