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    Tia Maria's

    3.6 (401 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Tia Maria's Photos

    Business Info

    TIA MARIA'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Happy hour specials

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    Nice local Tex Mex restaurant. Nothing fancy, but it was packed and quick. Food was average, but the best part is the free soft serve ice cream!

    Elizabeth K.

    The service is friendly and the portions are generous; however, it's portions of just okay food. They are generous with the chips and salsa, and the chips are warm, which I appreciate. Their queso is very boring and their salsa is not flavorful. I got a special that includes a taco, enchiladas, a cheese puff, and a fried stuffed poblano. It was all just alright. The thing is that the place is comfy and folks are very happy to be there. It's a sprawling location with a ton of seating, so it's fun to see all the different folks dining here around the holidays. I'll probably come back because the price is right, the food is hot, and the portions are generous, but I'll likely try out other dishes until I find a hit. Unfortunately, I fear I won't.

    Queso and inedible salsa

    My wife and I went to Tia Marias a few weeks ago. We had recently returned to going there after a long break going to other Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood. We even had our small office party there in December. But the salsa was not fine the other day. It was so hot we could not eat it. It was nothing like their normal salsa. We called our waiter over and he already knew the salsa was too hot. We tried to eat again.....too hot!! We had the manager come to the table, and I think he could not have cared less. He argued that the salsa was different everyday depending on the peppers. I don't think that was a good answer. I have never had it like that before. I have made fresh salsas before. You can prepare the jalapeno blend and add it gradually, but not all at once with no care about the end product. He brought a "new" cup of salsa that tasted like and looked like tomato sauce. We always look forward to chips and salsa before a Mexican meal. Our experience was ruined that night. We will not be going back for a long while. We are going to Don Joses tonight. As we were leaving, I noticed all of the tables I walked by had not touched their salsas either.

    Soft serve
    Maria S.

    When I'm in the area, I have to make it a point to stop for lunch at Tía Maria's. The salsa is served warm and it's plentiful. I had to stop myself from eating too many chips. I ordered spinach enchiladas. They come with rice and beans. But they don't have vegetarian beans, so I ordered double the rice. I ordered the enchiladas easy on the cheese. And I did overhear the waiter tell the kitchen that. But when my plate came, I don't think there was little cheese on my enchiladas. The tomatillo sauce is tasty. They have free soft serve ice cream. It's delicious. While I'm disappointed about the pork in beans, I really like Tía Maria's.

    Aranzazu C.

    Amazing time, delicious food and Margaritas sooo good. Love their bakery and their customer service!! The ambiance was perfect and the mariachis so nice!

    Rice, guacamole and Pico De Gallo
    Anne B.

    One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Houston!! You get plenty of delicious food and great service! Beef fajita meat was tender and very good and we love the grilled onions. Their tortillas are the best, they taste like homemade and cooked perfectly! The tortilla chips are great and the salsa is served warm, just alittle spicy, but perfect! The borrocho beans have bacon and chunks of tomato, the absolute best! I think the food here is much better than Pappasito's and about half the price. Everybody I bring here agrees! Why pay so much money and get fair food, when you can get great food here?! Try it and see! They are very busy at peak hours. Big restaurant with 3 dining rooms. Large parking area.

    Bikes safe inside
    Lawrence V.

    We were out riding bicycles with a group of 15, hungry so we called Tia Maria's 30 mins before closing to ask if they could accommodate. Not only did they welcome us , but they let us park our bicycles inside. Their service was fast and food was delicious. We would definitely return .

    ice cream & handsomeness

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    4 months ago

    Margaritas are so good. Best tasting Margaritas in town. Music is nice, not too loud. Food is very good.

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    7 months ago

    Wonderful old school Tex Mex. Great service, food, margaritas and vibe. Servers were very accommodating for our 10 person group. Love it!

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    2 years ago

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    5 months ago

    Great texmex food and great price. Margaritas are fantastic! Staff service was awesome!

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    8 months ago

    It was very nice and warm the food ! I would do it again ! I would go in person with family !

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    9 months ago

    I miss at 3 o'clock. Cut off by three minutes and got charged $4.00 more, everyone has become so greedy, really?

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Im totally hooked on this place their food is delicious!! The price is very reasonable! Service is great!

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    Page 1 of 11

    Tia Maria's Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Tia Maria's

    Hi does anybody know of any restaurant in Houston that serves the Happy Plate dish? I would really appreciate anyone's feed back

    What is a Happy Plate?

    What's the parking situations?

    There is parking right putside the restaurant, then across the street there is more parking at the stadium (an entrance to the stadium is right across the street)

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    3.9(2.3k reviews)
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    Fast seating even when full. Enough time to walk to the bar order margaritas then be seatedread more

    FAJITAS 7. As a native Houstonian, I was 10 when Ninfa's opened (1973). Growing up, we ate there…read moreseveral times each month. We'd rotate with Los Tios or Chinese every Friday or Saturday. As there is not a location near me any longer, we traveled to the original location. It was bustling with an attentive waitstaff and lots of people watching. Complementary valet (of course we tip) is a great benefit as parking is slim. Our waitress was Kady. She's been there for 50 years! Talk about an original. She was attentive to our needs but all business. We started with guacamole and queso. Guac was a huge portion with all the add ins. Queso was delish and served with fried flour tortillas (my fav). The gratis green dip, red sauce, and thick, crisp chips were on par. The fajitas. Just so so. Honestly, it reminded me of Taco Cabana. Very disappointing. Very little flavor and tough. The rice was yucky, the refried beans were the worst! Reminded us of the frito lay bean dip in a can. Even the Borracho beans were bad. HEB's in the can are far better. We received 2 corn and 2 flour tortillas. Fajitas served with pico, guac, sour-sour cream (I didn't even like that). Iced tea was fair. All in all, Fajitas very disappointing. If we had not been on the best fajita quest, I most likely would have ordered the chicken caldo soup. That never disappoints.

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    Maderas - Kitchen & Cantina

    4.2(296 reviews)
    6.2 mi•Midtown, Fourth Ward, Montrose
    •$$

    Food was great, drinks were so good, vibes were so chill and service was great, definitely…read morereturning for brunch!!

    Not my first time at Maderas. That's why I came back because it was excellent and my friends heard…read moreme rave about it and they suggested we come here. Arrived on Sunday evening around 7:30. Was sat immediately. Not my first time here so I knew the menu, my friends did not. So they needed time to see what drinks they wanted because they like cocktails and the menu is not small and they had to choose which ones they wanted because the options are good. When they decided, the cocktails straggled out. Two came out but the other two did not, They just sat at the bar as my friends sat with there with their drinks in front of them waiting on ours so we can toast to a wonderful day with a new member of the group. You would have thought the other staff would step in or at least the bartender would see that the waiter was in the weeds and needed help. That's when I knew we should have not come. The food was all lukw warm. The appetizer of queso was like warm with chunks of cheese floating around and some of the chips were fresh and others stale. A mixed bag you can say. My Flautas where luke warm, so was the side of beans and rice. My friends said their tacos were okay. My friend who got the Caesar Salad, there was no dressing on the salad not was there a side of dressing that came with it. We had to ask for it. I did not have the energy to try to keep wrangling the waiter. If you want to shut the kitchen down early because the day was long I get it. Let the customer know, I get it. I used to wait tables to but I would never give people luke warm food or luke service. The staff seems not to have one anothers back. I did not eat my food, I took my food home to reheat it so I could eat it at the proper temperature. My friend took his salad home because he had more Caesar dressing at home. Left a bad taste in my mouth and very disappointed. The service and food from the last time compared to this visit was night and day. Total miss. $200.00 thrown away. I paid because I could not let my friends waiste there money on someplace I raved about. Maderas is really a small cute spot. It's rare I have bad service when I go out to eat because I am not a difficult customer and I know I am not the only one they are serving. I will wait for good food and sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and my friends until it arrives. I would not put pressure on the staff or the kitchen. Also I will not arrive just before closing and make a resteraunt and it's staff stay open late because I am hungry. I rather come when the staff and the restaurant wants to recieve customers.

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    Mexican Sugar Houston Montrose - Brunch tacos

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    Maximo - Tostada

    Maximo

    4.6(176 reviews)
    6.4 mi•West University
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    Maximo looks like someone invited the desert inside and poured it a drink. The room is colorful,…read morewarm, and genuinely inviting--pots of cactus, cowboy paintings, and Mexican art. At brunch, the papas bravas come as small cubes of fried potato with an airy crunch that gives way to a soft, pillowy center - the kind of deeply satisfying bite that makes conversation briefly irrelevant. Crisp prosciutto adds salt, aioli brings richness, and smoky chile sauce keeps it lively. They're served with cactus-handled toothpicks, which are almost offensively adorable. The chilaquiles divorciados are another hit. The chips are dressed with salsa rather than drowned beneath it, so each one arrives ready for the perfect bite. It's a small distinction, but an important one. Then there are the enfrijoladas: rolled quesadillas in fluffy tortillas, covered in creamy black bean sauce and plated with more care than bean and cheese might seem to warrant. The dish is fundamentally simple, but that's the point. Soft tortilla, savory beans, melted cheese, bright salsa. Familiar ingredients transformed into something deeply comforting--the culinary equivalent of curling up beneath a warm blanket on a cold morning, even if Houston rarely provides one. Dinner shifts into another gear. The crudos are sensational, especially the tuna tiradito - a rolling wave of flavor and texture. The tacos are excellent across the board, but the crispy maitake mushrooms are unmatched. The short ribs arrive juicy and tender on a mole negro that doesn't sit politely in the background. It lands dark, complex, and full of flavor. And then there's the masa cornbread, a masterpiece of unapologetic indulgence. Humble cornbread meets savory-sweet mole, smoky, earthy butter, and caviar. It sounds like too much. It isn't. Every element earns its place. The cocktails deserve their own warning. They're the kind that convince you to keep ordering the same drink all night. By the end, you may have forgotten what was in it. What you'll remember is that it was refreshing, perfectly balanced, and exactly what you needed. Maximo makes ambitious food feel generous rather than fussy. Come hungry.

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    Dona Leti's was everything we thought it would be!…read more Upon arriving there was a 30 min wait but thats ok because we were given chips and salsa to hold us over. Once we were seated the waiter we had was super helpful. If we had questions, he had answers and pictures to go with them. The food was phenomenal and huge. We ordered the skillet burrito, surf and turf eggrols, and birria sampler. So much food and so flavorful. Honestly you have to try the alfredo on the eggrolls. That was different but so good. The asada was flavorful on the burrito and eggrolls. The birria was great and then consume hit the spot dipping wise. The burrito was jam.packed with meat and rice. Very good! Its exactly what I want in my burrito. We ordered margaritas for drinks and those were pretty good. The strawberry margarita has to be mixed once brought to the table, but thats ok. Needless to say we had to take leftovers home for sure. Great food and a great time!

    Dona Leti's is truly one of Houston's absolute gems, and it will ALWAYS be my go-to! From the owner…read moreto every single member of the staff, the hospitality is unmatched. You are not simply served here--you are welcomed, appreciated, and treated like family. Three weeks ago, I was actually headed here wanting to celebrate, but life changed in an instant with the passing of my dad. Today, I finally made it back, and what a beautiful full-circle moment it was. One of the greatest gifts was being able to see Julio, the owner, celebrating his own special day. That made the experience even more meaningful. The food is consistently AMAZING, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the service goes above and beyond every single time. You can feel the love, pride, and genuine care that has been poured into this establishment. I love EVERYTHING about Dona Leti's--the food, the people, the energy, the hospitality, and the way they make every visit feel special. Five stars simply aren't enough. If you're looking for incredible food and an experience that feels like home, Dona Leti's is the place. Forever a customer and forever recommending this Houston favorite!

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    Tia Maria's - mexican - Updated September 2026

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