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Blanco Cocina + Cantina

4.0 (673 reviews)

Blanco Cocina + Cantina Mexican Restaurant Photos

Business Info

BLANCO COCINA + CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Trendy
Classy

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Recommended Reviews - Blanco Cocina + Cantina

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Sharleen S.

Was here for vacation and was dying of starvation. lol Found this spot in the mall and decided to give it a try! Honestly, was not disappointed. It was super delicious and the staff was SUPERRRR friendly. Honestly just good vibes all around. There wasn't a wait as we went as a weird time (between lunch and dinner time). We walked from our hotel but with it being in the mall, there is a lot of parking. Also- was starving so didn't take a photo of the food. But it was delicious! A great spot! Highly recommend!

Menu 5/2025
Layla M.

OK, I'd say this is average... Nothing great. Neither the hubby nor I were impressed. Except their unsweetened tea was fresh and had a hint of floral flavor. Lovely! This must be a Tex-Mex thing, but the rice was butter rice... There was no color or taste to it... The Charro beans were like refried beans except for not as mashed. They tasted good. also got the crispy ground beef tacos... First impression was that it had some sloppy Joe and cumin mixed into the ground beef. The tortilla was fried, it's supposed to be handmade, but it was very thin and kind of flaky. Husband got a chicken Tinga bowl. And it barely had any meat in it and he had the same butter rice that was as a base. He didn't really care for it, and I was sad to see him try to eat it... his comment was "well, we tried something new." LOL I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment... We tried it, but we won't be back. The service was fine, nothing to write home about... Also, when you walk in the restaurant, it has a stand there and most people would think that they should wait there to be seated because it's at the entrance... But you really do need to take time to read these plaques that are posted to find out that here you have to actually walk past a dining area into some sort of host area in the center of the restaurant. Also, seems overpriced for what it is. These are just our opinions based on our experience.

Bar
Meki A.

Came for appetizers before we did a little shopping. I ordered a frozen Paloma and we got guacamole and chicken nachos for the table. There were 3 of us and it was plenty of food. Unfortunately my Paloma never came. The waitress did let me know it was taking a minute for the machine and it would come out shortly. I ended up cancelling once we finished our food and asked for the check. She apologized and said she had already talking it off the check because of the delay. It would have been nice if she had let me know prior to me asking for the check. It was pretty chill inside. Not too busy but we did come on Memorial Day.

Tracey K.

Busy place! We got a great table and ordered a dip trio of guacamole, queso and I forget what the third one was, maybe chipotle. The chips were crispy and all of the dips were good! We ate all of that. I got hard shell tacos and they were delicious. They were stuffed and had lots of shredded cheese. Glorious! The service was great. One of the many restaurant choices in this complex and definitely a great choice. You won't be disappointed. My dinner mate's margarita looked amazing.

Evelyn L.

Below average Mexican food. I ordered the short rib macha bowl; it basically tasted like an overpriced chipotle bowl. $18 for a very small plate. Our server was very kind but she kept bothering us if we wanted to order drinks. I barely drink so it was annoying having someone push for it. I did not like the food or experience I had here. 100% would not come back or recommend.

Chips and salsa
Paul C.

Major drop off in service. The food was served warm. The flavor was mid. And the $15 margarita was 3/4 filled on a short glass. Had to ask multiple times for refills and for salsa. Lots of servers wandering around except for anyone willing to fill out waters or take my credit card after I asked for the bill. Major disappointment as this counted for my weekly "Tex Mex" allowance and it stunk.

Te amo tequila 3 friends
Liz C.

The drinks here are so strong & good. We loved the atmosphere and vibes of this place. More of an upscale restaurant than others. Service was fast and server was very attentive. Honestly would go back to this place very soon. We had a couple mezcal flights & we were feelin' it by the first one. Food we ordered was just fajitas but it was good. My party had a great time here and we can't wait to go back again.

"Papas Dulce" Bowl
Olivia H.

The service was great and the vibe inside was so fun! Im STILL dreaming of the Papas Dulce Bowl and would travel any distance to have it again. The Spicy Mango Ceviche (not pictured) was also literally to die for.

Frozen Paloma
Ikenna I.

Let me tell you about Blanco, the new Mexican restaurant and bar near the Galleria. My sister and I pulled up on a Tuesday to catch the all-day happy hour - we needed a win, and Blanco delivered. We kicked things off with a frozen Paloma and the house chips and salsa. The Paloma was dangerously smooth, and the chips and salsa were noticeably fresh and satisfying--a perfect, unfussy start. For the mains, we went heavy on the tacos. My sister ordered the shrimp tacos and the crispy sweet potato taco (avocado, chile negra, cotija... it looked serious). I opted for the more traditional route: Chicken Pastor: Solid. The caramelized pineapple brought a nice, necessary sweetness. Traditional Carnitas Taco: Okay, this was the moment. The carnitas itself was excellent, but the inclusion of the mandarin oranges with the salsa verde and crema fresca was an unexpectedly brilliant move. It sounds unconventional, but the citrus cut through the richness of the meat perfectly. It was the absolute highlight of the meal--a truly fresh and inventive take. The restaurant is massive, with ample indoor and outdoor seating, which is great for the Houston crowd. I liked that the bar faces both inside and out, making it easy to grab a drink wherever you post up. Everything was delicious, from the initial drinks to the very last bite of that carnitas taco. It's a fresh, quality take on Mexican food, and the Tuesday happy hour is a serious hookup. Go for the tacos, stay for the Paloma. 5/5 stars.

Serra M.

This is a must try! They provide great service as you are seated typically right away in an area of your choice. They have an outdoor and indoor option. They are located in the mall, but also you can enter outside of the mall. The happy hour is great! taco Tuesday all day!! The drinks are good and so are the happy hours tacos. But ba-be-....those Tiger Fajita tacos go hard!!! I mean flavorful and supposedly they are spicy. They were not to me...you can get your choice of beans...I'm a charro type of lady. You can also take drinks Togo. I really love coming here, the only downfall is parking as it's located in the galleria. Uggghh. I hope they open another location that has easier access!!! Again, you should try the tiger fajitas if it's your first time!

All Day Happy Hour
Helene S.

All Day Happy Hour on Taco Tuesday. Met a friend for a fun GNO on Tuesday night. So surprised to see that they have all day Happy Hour on Taco Tuesdays. Yes! Made a reservation, but no issues getting an oversized booth near the kitchen as Blanco Cocina+Cantina was quite open. Started with the complimentary chips and salsa but added the Warm Queso off the Happy Hour Menu. The queso was so warm and creamy. It was topped with guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Such a great way to start the evening. The Chicken Tortilla Soup was quite filling for an appetizer. Topped with avocado, sour cream, pico de gallo, and creamy queso blanco, it was such a warm and cozy bite. I actually could have just ordered this and have been satisfied. We both ordered a salad. Mine was the Chopped Chicken Salad. It was filled with so many of my favorites. Crisp apple, sweet dates, quinoa, kale, crispy sweet potato strings, pomegranate, and goat cheese tossed with a chili walnut vinaigrette. My friend had the Crunchy Taco Salad. She substituted the ground beef for the carne asada which was a $12 upcharge. The salad was filled with black beans, avocado, tomato, roasted corn, and cheddar cheese mixed with a pasilla ranch dressing. Our waiter was so nice, but service was slow. My friend ordered a sangria when we ordered our appetizers. We had to ask for it a few times. It did come eventually after we got our salads. I was going to order an Agua Fresca, but was hesitant because the service was so slow. Maybe they were short staffed? Had to ask a couple of times for more chips to go with the Warm Queso and water refills. Surprised because the restaurant was quite empty. Still...a nice place for a quiet GNO with a good friend on Taco Tuesday.

Shveta A.

Blanco is a great place to eat! If you've got time. When we got there for dinner, we were told it was going to be over an hour wait. We were a large party and it was the galleria, so this was understandable. The wait ended up being closer to half an hour. All I can say is I'm glad we waited! The interior is nice with spacious wooden booths (which I love). Once we were seated, service was timely. The food itself was extremely worth the wait. The tacos and fajitas were excellent, with succulent meat cooked nicely. And the quantities were definitely filling. The only downside is that we couldn't fit our entire party so we had to divide ourselves and some chose to go to a different place to eat. But the experience itself was lovely!

Cheese enchilada plate with chips & salsa.
Keith H.

Nice tasty joint with a decent happy hour. Yes it is located at a mall, but service was great - sat at the bar. Had the house margarita, which was tasty. Ordered the cheese enchilada plate with charro beans and rice. You have a choice of charro beans or black beans. Also it comes with guacamole, pico and sour cream in which I had it held, just like my meal with no extras. Chips and salsa also came which had a nice heat to it. Got to say the grilled onion and cheese enchilada with their house ancho sauce on the top was heavenly. Nice level of heat with great flavor. Beans were done well and had a good seasoning to them. Rice was straight forward rice with a hint of cilantro added. Very good joint for a meal. I enjoyed the outdoor bar side of things.

The Margarita with salt rim

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Blanco Cocina + Cantina Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Blanco Cocina + Cantina

Are pets allowed in the patio area?

Yes they are. They're pet friendly. Service dogs are allowed inside as well.

How is the happy hour there during the week?

That is the best time to go! Always lively and always a fun crowd...the bartenders are the best and great drink and food specials until 6pm

Is this a good place to celebrate my 18th birthday?

I personally would say no because it is more of a bar vibe.. They have good food but probably not for an 18th birthday and more for a 21st.

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Bar Moon - Wagyu beef tartare

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4.0(22 reviews)
0.6 miGalleria/Uptown

0/5 stars Avoid this…read moreplace. This is the first time I've ever left a review, and it's because this experience was that terrible. McDonald's drive-thru has better customer service! We had a reservation and were still seated in an overflow area while multiple tables in the main dining room sat open. We ordered drinks, and after they were brought out, no one ever came back to take our food order. Meanwhile, tables around us were fully serviced, while staff didn't even look in our direction. We waited over an hour for our table to be "ready." No one checked on us or gave updates--we had to track someone down ourselves, only to be met with an annoyed, dismissive attitude. Additionally, a manager approached us with a snarky, hostile comment about taking a photo with flash. It was a birthday dinner--of course we wanted to take a picture! Instead of being accommodating, the interaction just added to how unwelcome we already felt. After finally being seated, the horrible service continued. Our waitress attended to the table next to us multiple times and never once came back to check on us. After waiting that long just to be ignored again, we left and went to another restaurant nearby and had a significantly better experience. What's most concerning is that many reviews describe this exact same experience, while others claim good service. That level of inconsistency makes it hard not to feel like the restaurant is profiling guests and deciding who gets attention and who gets overlooked. We were also the only Latinas there, which makes the inconsistency even more uncomfortable and hard to ignore. Unwelcoming, rude, and not worth your time. It's clear this establishment wants to give off the impression of a high-end restaurant, but part of that experience is also providing the customer with decent service. Drinks were mid at best. The worst dining experience I've ever had. Houston has far better options.

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Dark side of the moon, coffee mushroom, and post oak campfire which

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Blanco Cocina + Cantina - tacos - Updated May 2026

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