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    Molina's Cantina

    3.4 (244 reviews)
    ModerateMexican, Tex-Mex
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    MOLINA'S CANTINA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Chips
    Brandon D.

    Went to Molina's Cantina for my friend's birthday lunch after class. I went to their second location in West U. They give complimentary chips and dip, including 3 different kinds of salsa and pickled carrots. My end of the table went through like 5 rounds of chips I got a grilled fish taco which included lettuce and grilled corn pico de gallo. I really liked the corn and the sauce it came with. The taco was also really big. It came in aluminum foil to keep it warm. The fish was grilled really well, but I felt like it was bland and lacking in flavor. The complimentary chips and dip make it worth it though

    Nancy Ames Special Nachos
    Kyla F.

    Okay actually loved this place! It's a no frills Mexican place, but the food is fresh and good, loved the salsa, good happy hour prices, and there was no wait! We had a great time here with some friends. I got 'Nancy's nachos' and they were really unique with the salsa, guac, and meat on each Individual chip, almost like mini tostadas. Really good! And the happy hour margs were 9.50, which I thought was good too! Great spot for casual Mexican food!

    Kacy M.

    It was my first time coming here and my cousin recommended the crispy tacos. The shell was very crispy and thick so it wouldn't break when eating, so that impressed me. The meat and veggies inside the taco were just ok (ground beef and an insane amount of shredded lettuce). The booth still had chip crumbs in it that I brushed aside. The chips were hard and not salty enough but the three salsa sections were good. The parking lot here is big but very cramped and busy. Houston has great Tex-Mex and Molina's was lackluster compared to others.

    Jose's dip
    Harry B.

    From the moment you walk in, you are greeted with not only a friendly staff and a great atmosphere but an aroma that will make you twice as hungry as you thought you were. I have been eating with this family restaurant for at least 55 years, it is the first restaurant I ever remember going to for the exception of their beans because I don't eat them, so I just don't know and can't judge them, everything else I've ever had was amazing but my go to is the William special which is a piece of Carne Asada on top of cheese enchiladas and of course Jose's dip which is their chili con queso with meat is always exceptional. I love coming here because I'm never disappointed, and even if there's a hiccup, it's always taken care of quickly. Houston has a lot of text mix and this happens to be one of my top three, keep an eye out for my reviews of other favorite Tex Mex

    Dinner with friends
    Helene S.

    Nice place to meet friends for an early Saturday night Tex-Mex dinner. Easy to get a booth without a reservation at 6 PM. The tortilla soup was full of chicken in a warm broth with tortilla chips. Add rice, pico and fresh avocado on the side. The chips are crisp and light. Both the green and red salsas were good. The chicken enchiladas covered with a spicy salsa verde sauce and a side of black beans were okay. The chicken fajitas were a hit. No room for dessert, but nice to end the meal with a pralines. Parking is so easy in the strip center parking lot. Dinner was $60 for 4.

    Grilled Fish Tacos Lunch
    Helen R.

    I came here for a work lunch with some colleagues and it was actually pretty busy, not incredibly to where we had to wait to be seated. I would recommend for people to have lunch here. We ordered off of the lunch menu and I have to say if these fish tacos were from the lunch menu I can't imagine the portions for dinner! These tacos were MASSIVE. The taste of the tacos were GOOOOOOOOD! What I wasn't to crazy about was the rice and beans. Something else I found a bit strange was that at the beginning when we get the chips and salsa it comes with like 4-5 different salsas. It was a bit overwhelming and kind of strange. I didn't really enjoy the tastes for the salsas either.

    Chicken Flautas
    Holly H.

    I just discovered this place and already had to go back for another visit. They have some of the best tex-mex food I've had so far. To start, they serve you with 3 salsas and pickled carrots. The green salsa is definitely the best, but they're all good. I'm not really a cheese enchilada person because usually they're so greasy from other places, but the ones I got from here didn't seem greasy at all. The meat sauce on top of them was really good. Definitely a new fave food for me. The chicken flautas were good too. Their prices are pretty affordable and the servers here are on their a game. I'll be back to try more of their food soon.

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    9 months ago

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    2 months ago

    Family owned, good service and tasty Tex-Mex selections. Best seating is in the back room where all the locals sit.

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    1 year ago

    I absolutely love this restaurant. Excellent food and fantastic margaritas and the wait staff is the absolute best

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Obsessed with their salsa variations and pickled veggies! Their tortilla soup and micheladas is my go to order everytime

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    Candente - Museum District

    Candente - Museum District

    4.1
    (640 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    What better way to kick off a Texas trip than getting some highly-regarded tex-mex! Some coworkers…read morerecommended this spot to me so I had to try! It's in the Museum District/Montrose area, so pretty accessible and with plenty of parking. We got seated immediately, and there was a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating, the latter of which was great even on a humid day. The menu was pretty extensive with your Tex-Mex classics like fajitas and enchiladas, with a special for every day of the week. This time was a free upgrade to a large fajita, so I went with the chicken fajitas! It came out after about 20 minutes with all of the fixings and this very yummy buttery sauce. I haven't had too many fajitas, but I'm pretty confident this is a top spot!

    Ambiance: The restaurant is huge and there is tons of seating. The service was also decent. There…read moreis a wide selection of food on the menu as well. Queso: The queso was pretty good! I saw the social media videos of them using real blocked cheese. It was good if you like white cheese queso. There was some tomatoes in there and you can add any meat. The chips were also good they weren't too greasy. Chicken/beef fajitas: This is such a classic dish! The onions on there were really good and had a slight smoky flavor. The beef was good as well and it was cooked to like a medium rare. The chicken was okay it lacked depth.

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    Candente - Museum District
    When in Rome
    When in Rome
    Skinny margarita (large)

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    Skinny margarita (large)
    Maria Rita's Tex-Mex

    Maria Rita's Tex-Mex

    4.4
    (198 reviews)
    10.6 mi
    $$

    Great food excellent service I will be back.Didn't have to wait long for my food.Close to homeread more

    I was in a facility getting a minor procedure and I had to be lightly sedated which did not allow…read moreme to drive myself to and from my appointment, so my wife drove me there and hung out while I was getting the procedure done. Neither one of us had eaten and we were both starving. We had decided that when I was released we would just go to the restaurant that was in the same parking lot as the facility. I had been to the restaurant before, had fajitas and they were served bloody raw and was just disgusting so I Never went back. We mentioned where we were planning to go to some of the staff members and they said do not go there and that it was too expensive for the type of Mexican food that they serve you. Then they all suggested Maria Rita's. My wife and I had never heard of it before so we asked where it was and it was located 2min down the street. When we got there it was packed, but we decided to thug it out and wait for a table, this also gave us time to troll the parking lot and land a killer parking spot as people left. We finally got the notice that our table was ready. The inside was clean, awesome and had a savory aroma mixed with a Smokey grill Oder that just made us even more hungry than we already were. We both ordered this dish that came with fajitas and bacon wrapped shrimp with a cheese sauce that was Truly Amazing! When I finally was able to take a bite of one of the four gigantic shrimp after I completely destroyed my fajitas, I thought that I was going to pass out from the ecstasy that the flavor profile from that shrimp that overwhelmed my senses! We both enjoyed our meal,(obviously) and I can't end this review without mentioning how attentive, nice and unexpected table side manor that the staff had displayed despite being overwhelmed with a full house crowd. A truly epic experience. Please dig deep for a tip, they deserve it. Enjoy!!

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    Maria Rita's Tex-Mex
    Maria Rita's Tex-Mex
    Hibiscus margarita

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    Hibiscus margarita
    Pappasitos Cantina - Downtown

    Pappasitos Cantina - Downtown

    3.4
    (583 reviews)
    5.6 mi
    $$

    Great food. Very knowledgeable and friendly waitress…read more Amarachi was professional, and very knowledgeable about the menu and drinks. She always had a smile and always had suggestions.. She kept our drinks filled, and the food arrived in a very timely manner. Amarachi made our dining experience at Papasito's a very wonderful night filled with good memories. The ambience in the restaurant was very nice, and very vibrant. I would highly recommend this restaurant. Talk to the manager and informed him about our great service and dining experience. The manager was a very pleasant and happy person. I highly recommend this rest

    Came in and was told that there was a 45 minute wait but they might get us in sooner. Not ideal,…read morebut we had enough time so we decided to wait. After having concerns after at the 45 minute wait mark that I saw several parties come in after us and get seated before us, I asked at the front counter and was told that we were 5th in line. Another 20 mins come and go, and I watch another party get seated much faster than us. I also watched countless parties walking in and just going to seat themselves in the bar area which I had asked about numerous times and was told no, that it was not self seating so we had to wait. Also watched many parties say they were a party of four and then have 8+ people and need a second table and it was accommodated. A big wow, I'm irritated moment was when a group of our own friends got seated before us and I had texted them 10 minutes after we got here telling them it was only a 45 minute line and then they had to walk here, putting them here at least 30 minutes after we were and they got seated long before us. At this point, I talked to the general manager about it and he told me he would go find out what was happening, but also told me that most of the tables in the restaurant we were set for large parties so because we were a small party we had to wait. He also admitted that many parties had joined together and had not notified the staff until being seated so that was pushing us back. I asked him how that was fair and shouldn't they be moved to the back of the line or denied the second table since people had been waiting literal hours for those tables? He told me he would be right back after he checked and of course he never came back. This conversation really made me watch even more that And I saw that tables that had already gotten their food were calling over friends from the cheer competition that they knew and then asking the they could grab the empty small tables near them and they were being told yes. So in essence, the manager was correct.... the big tables were unavailable to us because we are only a party of three and the small tables were also unavailable to us because they were allowing big parties to grab the small tables and bump all of us down. I heard it countless servers complained that people had just gotten in our station and were told just to serve them anyways. After waiting an hour and 45 minutes, we asked again and even though it had been a full hour since I last asked and were told that we were fifth in line they said there were four people in front of us... so it essentially meant that we hadn't moved up at all in placement . I finally spoke to another man who seated us within 10 minutes and told us that we would be able to order fast so we could be in and out of here in less than an hour.... Yet we saw another 20 minutes before anyone even came by our table. The food was decent at best. Lack of flavor was a big issue. Not worth the wait at all. Our waiter was nice which was good since everyone else was incredibly rude. One member of our party got something else rather than what she ordered and we did not have time to correct it however were shocked when we saw the price was over double than what she had actually ordered. The cheese enchiladas have meat in the sauce which defeats the purpose and when I had asked about vegetarian options when I got there, the cheese enchiladas were recommended and the vegetarian in our party ended up not being able to eat after waiting over 2 hours. Our fault for not waiting for menus since we were going to be VERY late, but why a staff member recommended it as vegetarian is beyond me... staff should either be familiar with the menu or say they do not know as allergies and things like being a vegetarian are non negotiable when it comes to food. Prices were super high for what we got. Got WAY more food for less at Ninfas and their food was a billion times better.

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    Pappasitos Cantina - Downtown
    Pappasitos Cantina - Downtown
    Pappasitos Cantina - Downtown

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    Hugo's

    Hugo's

    4.1
    (1.8k reviews)
    3.4 mi
    $$$

    It was one of the great experience . Service was top notch , servers were well dressed and very…read moreattentive. Ambiance was great and well maintained . There is option of valet parking . We were five and half of them were vegetarian. Pan fried potatoes Tacos was very tasty . My son got two more . Presentation was awesome. Enchiladas was best . Fish was fresh and tasty . Churros was best I have ever had Cocktails were well thought .

    Mildly frustrating. However I had patience. The server JESUS acted like he didn't like his job…read more We went in for my cousins birthday on Saturday , reservations at 630. I didn't want to order off the restaurant week menu so I ordered off the regular. My cousin and his friend ordered off the restaurant week menu. I was last to order and then Jesus goes "you don't want a salad or anything?" I said no thank you. Then he goes "but every body else is going to be eating and you're not." I said I understand and he chuckles and says "ok"Like mf I know what I'm ordering smh ‍. Then he says at the end of the meal that he cannot bring out the dessert for my cousins birthday because he already ordered off the restaurant week menu. Then he says "you know what I'm going to bring you all a dessert." Then Jesus bring us A Spec of a piece of flan. as if it was a joke to him. Please get a server that has light inside of them and that actually wants to make the experience memorable for their guests. Jesus needs work. God bless him tho. I can only hope management brings this up to his attention. I tip well too btw

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    Hugo's
    Lechon
    Lechon
    Special margarita

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    Special margarita
    Superica

    Superica

    4.1
    (562 reviews)
    6.9 mi
    $$

    Superica didn't impress me on a first dinner visit, but since then I've been back multiple times…read morefor weekend brunch, and each time has been consistently good. Parking can be challenging on weekends, but there is complimentary valet and a few extra spots in a lot across the street. There's interior and exterior seating, with cozy booths and tables. Service is friendly. Chips and salsa: Superica has some of my favorite chips, crispy and thin and perfectly fried. The avocado crema salsa and warm serrano pepper salsas are delicious with a mild kick. The bottled red salsa is fresh and green salsa packs a nice punch. Migas: Scrambled eggs with tortilla chips and cheese, choice of chicken versus chorizo on top, finished with fresh avocado. I really enjoyed this combination and the generous portion for the price. The eggs are well scrambled without being dry, and the pairing with cheese is proportional. The chicken was a touch dry, but some salsa solved that well. I enjoyed stuffing each component into a fresh tortilla and devouring it as a breakfast taco. Refried beans and rice: Really delicious. The refried beans are of the smoother variety without as much chunkiness, which I prefer, and topped with creamy cheese. I could have used a touch more tomato in the rice, but overall enjoyed the texture and flavor. Patatas with salsa roja, topped with egg: I enjoyed the flavors in this dish, but there was sooo much salsa. The potatoes were thus a little soggy, though still cooked well. The over medium egg was cooked nicely and complemented the potatoes with creamy yolk. Bacon: Really generous portion for $7 as a side, and cooked well. Crispy potatoes: I enjoy that these are fingerling potatoes smashed and roasted, but they could be crispier. They seem to be on the blander side on purpose to allow seasoning to taste, and I really like pairing them with the red bottled salsa provided at each table (probably due to their association with ketchup). Hotcakes: The literal star of every brunch, these hotcakes are consistently delicious. They're massive yet somehow cooked perfectly through so that they're fluffy and soft on the inside and just with a slight crunch on the outside. The pairing of the creamy warm (!!!) maple syrup is heavenly. Because of how huge these are, usually one is enough to share between two people, although they also come in stacks of two and three. For reference, we finished 3/4 of three between four healthy and hungry people and it wasn't for lack of trying. Whenever I crave weekend brunch, Superica is always a top option.

    Came here for an early lunch. This place was very busy, but didn't have to wait too long to get a…read moretable. My issue with this place is it seems like the entire lot was used for valet. So if you don't want to pay for valet you would have to park a little further out behind the building. We started off with their Chile con Queso. Anytime I visit Houston, ordering fajitas is a must. We did just that, ordered half steak half chicken. Most places however sell it by the pound, here it seemed you only got one option and it came with one side of rice and beans. Everywhere else I've ordered these, they serve it family style. Usually everyone at your table gets their own rice and beans. No here though. Here the fajitas are offered as an individual entree. The food was very delicious though. Both the chicken and the beef were seasoned snd cooked perfectly. The chicken was very tender and the beef had a nice char to it. The grilled onions were also very tasty. Overall we were really satisfied. It is a bit on the pricey side compared to other Tex Mex, and the unnecessary use of valet utilizing the parking lot through me off a bit. Not sure I'd return on my next visit, especially when I've already enjoyed other experiences a little more. At the least the food here is delicious and ultimately will always be the most important thing.

    Photos
    Superica
    Superica
    Amazing Sauces! The salsa was my favorite! Flavorful with a nice kick!

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    Amazing Sauces! The salsa was my favorite! Flavorful with a nice kick!

    Molina's Cantina - mexican - Updated August 2026

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