Pappasito's Cantina is definitely worth a visit if you're in Houston. The ambiance is great, and the food was fresh and flavorful. The birria was excellent, but my favorite part of the meal was the fresh, homemade corn tortillas--they were absolutely delicious. We also tried the shrimp salad, which was really tasty, and the tamales are another item I'd definitely recommend. The margarita was good, although it took quite a while to arrive. To their credit, the staff apologized for the delay and made it right by giving us complimentary desserts, which was a nice touch and showed great customer service. Speaking of dessert, both the tres leches cake and the cheesecake were outstanding. They were the perfect way to end the meal and definitely worth saving room for. Service was decent overall, and while the food quality was very good, the prices are a little higher than I'd personally like to pay for Tex-Mex. Pappasito's Cantina is definitely worth a visit if you're in Houston. The ambiance is great, and the food was fresh and flavorful. We started with the guacamole, which was good but could have used a little more seasoning and flavor. The birria was excellent, but my favorite part of the meal was the fresh, homemade corn tortillas--they were absolutely delicious. We also tried the shrimp salad, which was really tasty, and the tamales are another item I'd definitely recommend. The margarita was good, although it took quite a while to arrive. To their credit, the staff apologized for the delay and made it right by giving us complimentary desserts, which was a nice touch and showed great customer service. Speaking of dessert, both the tres leches cake and the cheesecake were outstanding. They were the perfect way to end the meal and definitely worth saving room for. Service was decent overall, and while the food quality was very good, the prices are a little higher than I'd personally like to pay for Tex-Mex. Overall, I'd give Pappasito's 4 out of 5 stars. Great food, fresh ingredients, delicious desserts, and a fun atmosphere. The service was solid, and the staff handled the drink delay well. If the prices were a bit lower and the guacamole had a little more flavor, it would easily be a 5-star experience. read more

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My good friend, a Houston native, called Pappasito's as the best Tex Mex restaurant. I had only been to El Tiempo, which I did enjoy, but I was ready to be the judge of his strong claim. I dropped by Pappasito's right when the place opened. I thought I was going to be the only person at the restaurant, but there were several parties already seated. The restaurant had fun decor. Reminded me of Cabo. Nico was my server. He was friendly and attentive. The kitchen staff was efficient as well. I was in and out of the restaurant in 40 minutes, which was perfect because I had to be somewhere by noon. Do not sleep on the chips and salsa. The chips looked freshly made, and they thin and delicate, and I loved the smokiness of the salsa. I ordered the shrimp fajitas, and it was fantastic. The meal was stacked. Tons of plump shrimp, sauteed onions, and sides of Spanish rice, beans, pico de gallo, and guac. The tortillas seemed freshly pressed. The dish also came with a side of melted butter. Adding butter in my fajita taco was diabolical, but it worked... and it was epic. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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My favorite Tex mex in Houston. Came right after it opened and got seated right away and server was not far behind, that's the trick come at 11:15 am for lunch not 12:00. Split fajitas beef and chicken, ask for extra butter, and they suckered me into trying the limited time shrimp crab cake which were good but if you dump butter on them it makes them perfect. Can never go wrong with pappas, my one request is offer the green salsa and red. Don't charge for the green salsa read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Shrimp Crab Cakes - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

Nut allergy friendly: Only peanuts in one of the mole. They're very nut allergy conscious! A manager came out and verified they wouldn't have any cross contamination concerns. Parking: Tons in the strip mall. Time to Entree: 15 Minutes We had a reservation for 4 at 11:30AM on a Saturday and were seated quickly with no issues. The complimentary chips and salsa were decent. Only one salsa option that has a nice peppery burn. The chips are thin and can accumulate some salt nearer to the bottom of the basket. For four people, we ordered the #2 Family Platter with quail, beef, chicken, and shrimp. Huge plus that guacamole and tortillas are included, unfortunate that sour cream is an extra $2. Refried beans made for great fajita wrapping. Out of the proteins, I really enjoyed the quail and beef and found the chicken and shrimp to be a tad salty but everything was cooked very well and all of the meats were still juicy. My mom got a piece or two of beef that were a bit chewier but overall they were quite good. We got a piece of tres leches for my dad's birthday celebration along with some festive singing with their signature giant sombrero. The tres leches was very sweet and made it very sharable for four people! Our server, Marvin, was incredibly attentive and accommodating towards all of my parents' needs, keeping our hot water topped off and bringing us additional plates and to-go containers in a very timely way. read more

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Stopped in town celebrate a birthday and caught happy hr. The bar staff is friendly, attentive and welcoming. We ordered few apps to share and ended the evening with warm sopapillas! Food: Nachos 10/10 pile it on. Nice portion for the price definitely shareable and full of toppings Shrimp skewer 10/10 cooked well, nuce portion and the jalapeño sauce was a nuce touch Ceviche 9/10 very fresh Tamales 4/10 not a fan they were dry and ot at all how we expected them to be in a trading sense. Got a few house margaritas, had some laughs and enjoyed our evening. I haven't been here in a while yet glad we stopped in. read more

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Business lunch with customers, nice restaurant with comfortable decor and great service. Food was well prepared and tasty, everyone enjoyed theirs as well. read more

The bar service is always top notch! All of the staff at the bar is very personable and Farren is a ROCKSTAR! Drinks are amazing and food is always on point. Can't say enough good things about the staff and service at this location. Thank you all! read more

I have long wanted to try Pappasito's Cantina. It's an iconic restaurant in Houston along w/ Pappadeaux next door (and all the Pappa's establishments of course). I would say all things considered, Pappasito's deserves solid 4 stars. The food was a solid 4 star experience. The service was excellent, which really steps up the experience. It's a fun place -- you can't go wrong with most menu items here. Started with the guacamole which was -- a bit underwhelming. Chips and salsa are really good -- chips are so flaky and thin. I opted for the lunch chicken fajitas at $17. There were no bell peppers in the fajitas, just onions, cheese, chicken. The flour tortillas were really good (all made in house). Charro beans, rice, salsa, everything is solid. I did try the beef fajitas my coworker ordered and would have to say they're a step up compared to the chicken fajitas. I would absolutely visit here again and look forward to the next visit to Houston. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - dessert options! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Five stars + ... and a must! Service and atmosphere: I received fantastic service. The waitress was friendly, professional and super knowledgeable about food and drinks. She was very attentive too. The restaurant was clean, nicely decorated and had a great ambiance. Food and drinks: SUPER GOOD in both areas. They offer very good selection of traditional dishes. Please note that they cook in beef tallow! Thank you for not using seed oils!!! Our large fajita with beef and chicken was delicious. Meats were tender and cooked perfectly. All sides accompanied the meats very well and gave it extra depth and texture. Margaritas were outstanding. Make sure to ask for your favourite tequila to go with your margaritas. We finished the dinner with tasty ice cream coated with coconut. Pricing: $$/$ - super worth it! read more

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My bf and I went here when visiting in town. The restaurant is very large and it was busy for lunch. One of our party members made a reservation for the group of us and it took a little bit for all of the tables to be set up for our party. I felt that it should have already been set up but in the meantime, my bf and I got drinks at the bar. The drinks were okay. When we were seated, there was some confusion as to whom would be taking our order and then also during the course of our meal, we were not checked on often regarding refilling our beverages, or if we needed anything else by our waitress. In fact, the waitress who had been assisting the other part of our party ended up helping us, which really was not fair to her because our waitress who did not really do anything, got part of the tip too. They did serve us with complimentary chips and salsa which was okay. However, I realize that we had a bigger party and therefore our food would take awhile to get to us, but it took about an hour to get our meal and by that time most of us were semi full with chips and salsa. The portion size was small compared to what I am used to when ordering fajitas for two. I was underwhelmed with the food and if I am being honest felt that it was overpriced for the portion size and quality. I would not go here again if I was in town. read more

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Placed an online order for an office meeting, once I showed up was notified their power randomly went out. Brandon left me a voicemail but I didn't get it until I arrived. The fajitas were done but they didn't have tortillas - so they improvised: they used the quesadilla tortillas to fulfill my order. Shoutout to the crew for taking care of my order calmly & giving me the option to return later for my food. Your great customer service doesn't go unnoticed!!! The staff is always friendly and helpful so you will continue to have a returning customer with me!! Thank you again! read more

Pappasititos is a pretty popular place so I feel like the wait times for tables and food can be long but overall we enjoyed the food and drinks ! The staff is usually very friendly but I will say on this visit because we did have a couple of servers helping with our large group it was a bit unorganized and we got quite a few wrong drinks and food items. Additionally we had to ask for some things 3 or 4 times before getting them (refills, more silverware, other little items) read more

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Great food, fajitas were amazing, amazing service highly recommend requesting Sebastian, he treated us so well. Amazing ambiance, wasn't to loud, had in house music, great atmosphere and overall an amazing experience. read more

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I usually go alone and sit at the bar. I had the mini matador nachos and they were flavorful and filling. Farren and Alexis were super nice and helpful. The happy hour drink and food prices are great. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Matador Nachos - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

food was great!! service was amazing as well. we had tim (i think, check said bryson, idk) very attentive server! the plato san juan is so tender and flavorful, the rice is fluffy, the enchiladas are saucy, the tortillas are fresh. for cocktails, i recommend the carajillo! overall perfect experience, i definitely recommend!! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - watermelon margarita - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Love this location! Everyone is friendly and the food is great! Andrew at the bar is AMAZING!!! He remembers everything and everyone. If you go, sit at the bar and you will be in for a real treat. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ai Papi! The Pappas family has found a way to deliver consistently delicious TexMex for happy meals all along your Texan travels. This is my go-to destination for flame-broiled fajitas and platters (try surf & turf with the Shrimp Brochette - giant Gulf shrimp stuffed with cheese & jalapeño, wrapped in bacon crisped on the grill). Every element is perfect, every time. Thank you to the delightful Carri for taking great care of us, a pleasure! read more

I used to love Pappasitos until I discovered a huge piece of tape in my food and I think it was planted! I had a male waiter then a female waiter came over. I told her I already gave my order. She said they were helping each other. I said I only wanted one server as I did not want to duplicate my requests the entire meal. Next thing I know the manager is digging an object out my rice, unrolls it and informs me he is embarrassed to tell me it's a huge piece of tape with red writing. To this day, no one can logically explain how it got there. Coincidence?! I don't know but it's ruined my mental health, I'm almost scared to eat out and I've stopped eating rice. I just play it back over and over. I ate rice that had been contaminated, I've never had such a terrible thing happen when dining out. Not to mention as I began to cry in the resteraunt after this took place, the same female waitress came near my table and gave me a blank stare and didn't acknowledge me, further fueling my suspicion. Kim in claims, who isn't the nicest, offered me $500. Absolutely not. read more

I had family visiting from Ohio so before taking them to the airport we decided to stop by. I ordered the beef fajita with sausage and shrimp and a new drink that had prickly pear in it. Pappasitos is always a staple spot for Tex Mex food. Everything is so flavorful. The waitress helping us was so nice to my family and since they were visiting from Ohio and it was their first time, she gave them free dessert! I think that was awesome read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Food is great as usual. I can always come to Pappasito's for reliable and delicious beef fajitas. I just wanted to make a shoutout to the bartender because he really stood out. Tonight I sat at the bar with a girlfriend and Frank was AMAZING!!!! Extremely attentive and efficient. He treated us so well it made my whole week. I don't live in the area but I will come back to see Frank soon. The service was that great. read more

when I say everything was amazing, EVERYTHING was amazing. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary and the food was so good, MS TAJA did a phenomenal job with taking care of us. This was our first time and I promise we will be back. 10/10 on food, drinks and service. Thank you for helping us celebrate our day!! read more

Food was good, but the service was not good. I had a reservation, I did not know my party was already sat& instead of telling me that, I was told to go find my table in the back. Not a deal breaker, but did not like the approach. Additionally, there was a lack of communication between the servers the entire night whether it be delayed drinks or incorrect drinks. Overall, the service was 2 stars. read more

We ordered beef fajitas, ribs and shrimp brochette. The ribs were dry and hard as a rock. They only apologized and tried to give us churros to make up for hard dry ribs. Pappas restaurants are supposed to serve the finest of everything. I was very disappointed. The lemonade also tastes like powder. read more

I was actually pleasantly surprised with my most recent trip to Pappas Mexican joint. The vibes here have been consistent since I was a kid, and there's always a comfortable familiarity coming to any location. It's like a grandparent's house with some dated decor and a water feature that is there for some reason. I've said it before and I'll say it again and Tex-Mex worth its salt is graded on a couple of key criteria: Fajitas, Salsas, Queso, and Margaritas. The service was fine, nothing to write about there. So let's get to the grading! Salsas 1/5: NO GREEN SAUCE? gtfoh until you whip up something green, verde or otherwise. Boring af red sauce won't cut it. Queso 3/5: they put this one in for Par. It's yellow and gooey. Nothing new here and it's wasn't bad. Can't complain, you know what you're getting. Margarita 3/5: I got the platinum (premium) Grande margarita which comes out to $17 before tax and really enjoyed the flavors. Went down smooth and wasn't too sweet or sour, nicely balanced. I don't think it was strong enough. I didn't feel even slightly buzzing after downing it. For double the price of a standard marg I think I should be feel a little more fun than usual. Fajitas 4/5: the mix chicken and beef fajitas were good. I'm a beef lover and was really happy with the cook temp of medium on the beef and thought the marinade/seasoning was really yummy. Chicken got over cooked and is the only thing holding it back from a higher rating. Overall; some good, some bad. It's kinda what you expect from a chain, but I'm not ruling out a repeat visit in a pinch! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Frozen Platinum Pappasito's Original Margarita on the Rocks - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

The food was amazing, the service was splendid, it had a nice festive vibe to it, the drinks were swell, my drinks were cold, the chips were crispy and crunchy, even though we had dirty silverware, the employees went and gave us new ones right away, and condolences from the manager. 9/10, would recommend and definitely coming again. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Blood Orange MEZCALITA - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This is one of my favorite pappasito's locations. Service is great, the restaurant is clean, and I love their outside patio area. Also, request the green salsa if you come here. They typically only bring the red salsa out with the chips but they also have a green one and it is the bomb!! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Mixed fajitas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

Lunch was great for the 8th Cinco DeMayo with my friend @Pappasitos! Expected a crowd on this 5th of May celebration, But we got right in! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Free glass! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The food was steaming hot. The shrimp was grilled to perfection. Peach sangria was delicious. The rice was fluffy just the way I like. Rebecca came over and introduced herself as we were waiting for our waitress. She was inviting and full of suggestions. I was surprised to learn the tips paid by card are deducted by 4% but lucky for her I had cash The restaurant was warm and inviting read more

Another one that never disappoints! Love pappasitos! I had the crab cake stuffed shrimp and let me tell you something, it was worth the cost. This place always seems to be crowded, but I must say I was seated promptly and everyone was nice. It was a little noisy but not unbearable. Definitely would recommend. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Crab Cake Stuffed Shrimp - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

I am gonna give them 5 starts bc Cat was an extraordinary waitress and the food was very very good... 100% recommended!!! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

We ate here for dinner last week and enjoyed it. Getting seated was easy and without a wait, which was nice. The food was delicious! Their chicken fajitas were on point. Prices were pretty reasonable too. And their staff did a good job at taking care of us. Shout out to Brad who was our waiter and crushed it. We would eat here again for sure! read more

We dined here for dinner, and as always it was great. I love the TexMex atmosphere. The servers were neatly dressed. The restaurant was clean, even the restrooms were clean. My servers name was Bryson. He was so attentive and thorough. He was very patient with the modifications to the order for my children. we didn't have to wait on anything. Our drinks were refilled in a timely manner, and our request was granted. The food was phenomenal. We got lamb chops, the family platter fajita, and the house margarita. I can't wait to come back. read more

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My families favorite restaurant. You are guaranteed to leave the restaurant full and with a smile on your face. We love coming here for birthdays or whenever someone comes in town. We ordered the large beef and chicken fajitas & added half a pound of ribs. we shared it amongst 4 of us and we were beyond full. Everything was cooked to perfection. Our waitress was extremely attentive and nice. Oh one more thing, pappasitos chips and salsa is unbeatable. You can get it to go and it is to die for. You will never catch this restaurant empty. There is always a line out the door! read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Fajitas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

This particular Pappasito's is a madhouse during lunch. I come here often enough for work lunches and it's typically the rule not the expectation that... A. parking is difficult B. there's a wait for a table and/or C. they're going to get something wrong with your order, especially if you're a larger group. If you pack your patience and maybe come down at the beginning or end of a normal dining time, you'll at least get a fast table and calmer more reliable service. read more

My husband & I went out for dinner & once we arrived we waited about 20 minutes for someone to get us seated. That wasn't the only main concern but once the waitress came to our table & served our food & she noticed one of the shrimps from our plate was out of its shell & decided to touch it with her fingers!!! Not only did she touch our food but after we confronted her she made no big deal about it & was rude. So I decided to speak to a manager & ask for a different server & gave him the reason why & he apologized but dismissed the issue. This is our nearest location & by far our favorite but the service here & management is unacceptable! I no longer recommend this location. read more

Flew in to meet friends for a cruise and spent 24 hours in Houston. We went to this restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was definitely busy and very noisy inside, however, plenty of parking. I ordered the guacamole and chicken quesadilla. Well...it was your standard tex-mex. It needed flavor and spice which brings me to service. I asked three times for some hot sauce - it never came. Waited for a water refill for quite a while. However, please remember, it was very busy. The "meh" flavor plus the poor service and noise, it's not a restaurant I would return for. I found out this is a Texas chain restaurant, so maybe another location would be a better choice? read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Chicken Quesadilla and guacamole - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

My first Tex Mex experience in Houston and nephew picked this place which is It was so good we ordered extra beef. read more

Pappasitos Cantina - Steak fajita - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

Diego caught us off because we were having a good time and apparently too loud. I do have a loud voice and it tends to carry, but in no means was I out of control. I won't ever come back here as nothing was wrong nor were we out of control. Latin culture is Latin and loud. terrible pappas read more

OMG! You have to visit this place! live music, beautiful atmosphere, lively music, the steaming hot food is delicious and the service is outstanding. Order was accurate and quick. FUN date night. read more

My thoughts about Pappasitos it was a very good place to have margaritas, family orientated, and I love the fajitas Service is good and if you're looking for a good margarita, definitely say check it out. Papa's is always a great option if you're in the mood for Mexican food. Chicken fajitas. read more