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    Mana's Restaurant

    4.3 (80 reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican
    Closed 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Mana's Restaurant Photos

    MANA'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Mana's Restaurant

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    Mana's Exterior

    Stopped in Mana's on a roadtrip through Texas based on Yelp reviews and we were not disappointed. The enchilada verdes, salsa and guacamole were all delicious. In fact, we liked the salsa so much we purchased a jar to take with us. The food was served very quickly and was just what we needed on a cool, rainy day. Our server was helpful, attentive and personable. Note that this is a BYOB restaurant (something we don't have in our state). One of the reasons Yelp is so valuable to me is being able to stop in family operated restaurants off the beaten track, which we never would have found on our own.

    Guacamole  enchiladas!
    Louis R.

    We weren't sure if we would make it before closing so we called our order in. We got there about five minutes before closing and told them how we used to eat here as kids. They asked if we wanted to eat there instead. We agreed and they seated us and brought us warm chips and salsa and two Topo Chicos. We had ordered two orders of guacamole enchiladas (one to eat now and one for later) and a Mana's Special (combination platter). Everything was as good as it was 20+ years ago. Will eat here again any time that I can!

    CFS Ranchera with French Fries.

    Always enjoy the Cafe Ranchera with white cheese and FF! Owner walks tables to check on everyone. Already knows my order by the time I walk in

    Loaded nachos with much more guacamole than expected.
    Robert M.

    Loved this hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. Outside it looks rough. Inside it looks loved. The chips were nice and chunky. The salsa had a great kick. This wasn't mild, but it was great. The queso was amongst the best I have had. I ordered the Chicken Mole but about half way thru the wait was informed they ran out of Mole sauce. Would have liked to have known that earlier, but this is way too small of a spot to have everything in quantity. Instead I ordered the taco plate. Next time, I'll just order three tacos. The tacos were the best I've had in a LONG time. I went all over New Braunfels looking for the best taqueria and this would definitely rate amongst the best. The rice was above average, but the refried beans were terrible. They really need a new supplier or recipe on this one. I'd go again and maybe try the mole or tamales but definitely the tacos are a go to item.

    the menu of the restaurant

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    6 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Great food! Definitely a must try !!! Beef enchilada meal and other plates as well !

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    4 months ago

    Mana's has been my daughter's and my go-to Tx-Mex restaurant for nearly 30 years. Guess that shows how much we like it!

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    10 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Frequent customer because this is a local treasure! Reasonable prices and very tasty food. Freshest guacamole ever!!

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    5 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

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    2 years ago

    The best Mexican food in paradise city 78666 SMTX. Employees are awesome and down to earth customers

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    2 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Mediocre mexican food. If you're in search of an authentic taste, i'd look elsewhere.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    This place is an absolute institution. So much has changed in San Marcos, but this place is still good and still BYOB.

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Good food, I really like the hamburgers and chicken fried steak. Hidden spot in a neighborhood. Menudo is amazing

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    18 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    5 years ago

    We have been eating at Manas since 1976 when they opened. Great food!!! Friendly service!! Good home cooked Tex-Mex.

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Not a easy place to find but we'll worth effort . Prices are fair and taste is great will definitely go back to try different menu items

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    17 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

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    Balcon Comedor Y Bar - Michelada, ceviche and fish tacos

    Balcon Comedor Y Bar

    4.4(60 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    I was doing research on somewhere to go for a post Valentines Day date. Going out specifically on…read morethat day is a ridiculous waste of time and extra money to "manufacture romance". Silly. Anyway, I came across this place and the pictures of the food looked amazing. Oh I should probably warn you right now.... If you were raised on "Tex-Mex" or you're a Texas snowflake with thin skin, please skip this part of the review until the end of my rant. With that out of the way. * Incoming Rant * Why is it that 90%+ of Mexican food in Texas is utter garbage? If you do a search on Yelp and look at the pictures of what barely passes for "Mexican Food" it looks like dog food. Compare Garcia's food and presentation to Balcón and let me know which you prefer. I mean seriously, most of the restaurants serve food that looks like it came from a 1980's microwave TV dinner! So many places use that weird yellow generic government cheese, the refried beans look like they came from a WWII can and almost everything is unseasoned ground beef! The closest I can usually find is cubed beef. Have you guys never heard of shredded beef? Depending on where you go they MIGHT shred the beef and use it in birria tacos. Here's a thought. Use it in OTHER things! Shredded beef enchiladas, tortas, chimichangas, burritos and for goodness sakes, USE SEASONING! In the past people traveled around the world solely for herbs and spices but for some reason restaurants in Texas hate using them. One more thing and I'm done. Look at the presentation of the dishes here. The food LOOKS GOOD! The food looks colorful, vibrant and tasty. Not like it was cobbled together by a cowboy on a ranch in the 1800s. See how they make use of Queso Fresco, radishes, guacamole, cabbage and other things to bring life to the dishes. I've been to places in Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California and they GET IT. Make food delicious and good looking and the people will come and come back. *sigh* ok, I'm done... * End of Rant * Now back to our regularly scheduled review... We ordered the Ensenada Fish Tacos, Carne Asada Fries, and the Surf & Turf Quesadilla. All 3 dishes were excellent! The fish was beer battered and not the Gorton's frozen fish sticks that I've found in many restaurants in the Mid-West. Disgusting. Also, it was a massive portion of fish which was probably the largest I've seen in a fish taco in a long time. The asada fries were amazing. Not only is that a hard to find dish in Texas they also used the really good crispy fries that are actually edible the next day. Most places use the cheap generic square fries (think fries that are usually sold with hot dogs or hamburgers at a carnival) that taste terrible the next day. Usually you'll eat everything but the fries if you have leftovers, but not here. Balcón went for the good seasoned fries. The quesadilla was really good too. Perfectly cooked shrimp and juicy carne asada. The one gripe I did have was the white and black checkerboard paper that was used under the food. That started to disintegrate very quickly and as I was cutting into my food I kept having to pull it out of the food. Small complaint and easily forgivable. I'm not a person who's worried much about ambiance. As long as someone isn't trying to stab me while I eat or the restaurant is located next to an outhouse I'm good. But seriously it's a cool place. I like the indoor/outdoor vibe with the two open garage doors. We ate on the inside next to the door which was really nice. Overall, it was a great experience. I pray that more restaurants follow Balcón and put emphasis on presentation, not using microwave grade food, all while doing it at a reasonable price. We will definitely be coming back, as we need to try more of the menu. I tip my hat to you owner of Balcón. You definitely stand out in a sea of bland, generic "Tex Mex" restaurants.

    Located on the second floor of a building with other eateries, Balcon Comedor Y bar features both…read moreoutdoor and indoor dining with open air. Showing up around 7pm on a Wednesday evening, I had my choice of seats, ranging from the bar, indoor, and outdoor. Typically, when dining alone, I head for the bar to save tables for groups. But fortunately they weren't very busy so I didn't feel bad taking one of the smaller tables. My server recommended their margheritas but I didn't want to drink alone haha..I would love to try it next time though! I started with the salsa sampler which came with tortilla chips and three different house made salsas. I couldn't stop eating it! I kept seeing reviews of the fish tacos and heard another table ordering it, so I decided to get that as well. The pico de gallo, aioli, and pickled onions in the description just got me. Admittedly, it was just ok. I was not a big fan of the fish tacos but to be truthful, I can't recall when I last had an amazing fish tacos. I probably should have just gotten the carne asada plate that I was initially eying. This just means I have to go back. I'm not in Texas often, but despite there being so many options and new places to try, I look forward to the opportunity to return to Balcon Comedor Y Bar.

    Photos
    Balcon Comedor Y Bar - The bar.

    The bar.

    Balcon Comedor Y Bar - The enmoladas. Note the crema on top.

    The enmoladas. Note the crema on top.

    Balcon Comedor Y Bar - The inside

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    The inside

    Toma Taco - Chimichanga

    Toma Taco

    4.2(123 reviews)
    0.8 mi
    $$

    Eileen M. is onto something. She urged us to give this place a look and today we did…read more Probably the best Mexican food I've had outside our hometown and outside of San Antonio, cause bruhhh, pinche Austin's mexican food nomas no guey. San Martians have incredible gem here. We had the breakfast barbacoa and pork chop plates plus a lengua taco. First, the lengua taco came out on warm corn tortillas, and the lemgua was tender and in sliced bite siced chunks. By itself, it was pretty good - with ANY of their salsas, even better. The wife had the barbacoa taco plate: barbacoa was all meat, great tasting but not greasy. I had the pork chop plate and I i must say, it's one of the most flavorful and juicy pork chops I've had. Both the barbacoa and pork chop plate came with delicious refreid beans that had tons of flavor. The other side that came with the plates were potatoes. Therese were freshly made, soft and pillowy and nicely seasoned. You know how you know your food is os perfect? When you dont have to add salt or pepper and here, this was the case here. And let's not skip over their homemade salsa. There's at least 8 homemade salsas of varying flavors and heat level. All are outstanding and you should try them all. Even their hottest ones have so much flavor you'll want more even though your mouth may be on fire. Heat and flavor - they've perfected each and every one of their salsas. Super impressed with todays breakfast as we'd been longong for some great Mexican breakfast plates. Wont be traveling to San Antonio for breakfast anymore - thanks for saving us a trip Toma Taco!

    Why the heck haven't I been here sooner? Straightforward, solid grub…read more 6.99 pancake plate includes some thin sliced ham and an egg cooked your way. I was surprised at the heft of that beautiful pancake, this was more than I expected. 13.24 barbacoa plate had a decent scoop of meat--good flavor, not excessively greasy. Beans, potatoes, eggs, and a tortilla of my choice were all pleasing. Paid 50c to add avocado. Description on Yelp menu said the eggs would be scrambled but the picture showed fried. I wasn't given an option how I wanted my eggs, and was happy as a clam when they showed up over easy. Yelp routed the order through Grubhub and it showed up correct and on time. They included two shots each of butter, pancake syrup, hot sauce, and two packs of flatware without my requesting anything. Either of these are a great start to the day; we will be back.

    Photos
    Toma Taco
    Toma Taco - Various salsas from their salsa bar

    Various salsas from their salsa bar

    Toma Taco - Lengua taco

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    Lengua taco

    Mana's Restaurant - mexican - Updated May 2026

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