Great food, drinks and location. Have to try the Dragon in the Grass mocktail, it is amazing! read more

Zaranda - Dragon in the Grass mocktail. - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

Cute and cozy atmosphere. The service was really good. The waitress Kelly was really helpful with narrowing down our selections. They ran out of duck tacos so that made me sad. The shrimp tacos, octopus tostaditas and tuna crude were all really good. The shrimp aguachile needed a bit of salt. The acid overpowered any other flavor in the dish. The lobster tostada was mostly potato and only 2 pieces of lobster. The roasted oysters were not hot, but flavor was good. Drinks were tasty and they have a good happy hour menu. It's in a busy area downtown so valet parking is helpful. (Not complimentary). read more

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What a wonderful dining experience! The food was delicioso and the ambiance was fantastic. Great service. Definitely coming back. read more

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Hmmm...not bad not great, ambiance is very chill and the tequila selection is bar none. I would come back but not rush back. Happy hour maybe? read more

Zaranda - CHILAQUILES - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

Took my friends here to celebrate a birthday. I rarely go into Houston, but this place was surprisingly pretty good! Staff was so friendly and helped us navigate food allergies and pescatarian friendly choices. Everything was excellent! Would definitely come here again! read more

Super impressed with the food and prices. Everything we had was fantastic. Service was ok as it was a very busy night. I def recommend everyone to try this spot. Such a beautiful restaurant in downtown. Downtown needed this restaurant. read more

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This place is in a great location in Houston. Both inside and outside provide a nice vibe. Service is pretty solid and the drinks and food are worth the visit. The vegetable plate comes in a table service kettle and it's amazing! read more

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Gorgeous restaurant. We opted for the Ceasar salad because it's made right infant of us along with a great history/background. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about drink pairings.with different foods. We shared the seafood paella which was STELLAR! We also got the carrots and the potatoes. The food definitely did not disappoint. read more

With a new Hugo's restaurant open in Houston, we had to try it. With all of his current restaurants being amazing, my expectations were high. We decided to celebrate my birthday here. Just to get some of the negative out the way... we put allergies and birthday on the reservation. None of these were brought up. I attribute this to the hostess not doing a good job and management not staying on top of the hostess checking for things like this. What's the point of Zarandas asking about birthdays and allergies when making reservations when they do absolutely nothing about it. Also, during the dining experience we had a roach crawling on the table. I'm a fair reviewer, so I understand there are roaches in downtown Houston and occasionally lazy hostess. Anyways, on the positive. Overall the design of the restaurant is modern and unique. This is true of all Hugo's restaurants. It's upscale and presents a more formal vibe. The picanha steak was one of the best steaks I've had. It's similar to the main steak at many Brazilian steakhouse, but better! They put a nice sear on it and some extremely tasty butter. The lamb dish was a unique take on barbacoa. It was presented on a bed of black beans and accompanied with some vibrant green peas. Tortillas came with the lamb dish, but only two. We ordered more tortillas and unfortunately they charge $1 per tortillas. Honestly, kind of ridiculous considering how cheap tortillas are. Just some advice to management, give at least 3 tortillas! Come on, two tortillas for a massive upscale dish? Anyway, at least it was very tasty! Please let the chef know I give him two thumbs up. What really surprised me, is how good the Brussels sprouts were. This is true with other Hugo's restaurants too. Their sides are massive and a good deal considering the portion. Dessert was small, kind of expensive, but elegantly crafter, and an experience worthwhile. Service was decent. Better than average, but maybe a bit more of the servers presents would be appreciated. Overall, I recommend this restaurant highly. If you love good food, try it out. Get you some side items and one of the dishes I discussed and have a great time. It's a memory you won't forget. read more

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We love seafood and Zaranda is a gem for us. Great vide, good food and a welcoming atmosphere. The dishes are flavorful, well-seasoned, and made with quality ingredients, and the portions are just right. Service is friendly and attentive, making the whole experience enjoyable. Definitely a place worth revisiting. read more

Zaranda - PESCADO whole butterflied catch of the day MKT Branzino ZANAHORIAS TATEMADAS TACOS DE NADA - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Service and hospitality was great. Our waitress was very attentive to our needs and frequently came on check on us. My problem was just the actual food. Was there with friends and none of our 3 dishes had flavor, very bland and the grilled octopus tasted like it was overcooked. The drinks were not anything to get a second round for. I'm not a picky guy but I think in the way they prepare this food needs to be evaluated is all. Other than that, it's a nice restaurants with a soft comforting atmosphere read more

Pulpo!! Huge serving. Have a good happy hour menu too until 6pm, super ambient inside read more

Zaranda - Mexican Near Me - Houston, Texas

Been twice now. Service and food are both outstanding. The shrimp entree is our favorite, close second in the clam dip. The cocktails are also creative and delicious. Hope to go a few more times before more people realize it exists. read more

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I already can't wait to go again! Located right by Discovery Green, Zaranda is the perfect spot for a seafood-lover like me, although the menu has plenty of options for all preferences. My favorite dishes were the Taco de Pato, Tostada de Tiradito, and Arroz de Mariscos. They also have an extensive wine and cocktail list - I loved the Zaranda Rita, which is made with hibiscus. On top of that, the interior is gorgeous and our server, Manuel, made sure we were well taken care of.   Overall, the food, drinks, ambiance, and service were all 10/10. I would highly recommend visiting Zaranda, both for groups or for a date night downtown. read more

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My wife and I visited for opening day. The food, service, ambiance was superb. Very happy to have Zaranda, just a block away from my second home. My wi read more

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Tried the Happy Hour last night and the food was amazing. We were to lucky to meet Chef Hugo as well! read more

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Walk-in party of 2 at 7:30pm. We'd just come from Hearsay down the street which was legitimately packed, every table full, and they quoted us a 20-minute wait. Totally fair. We decided to try this place instead since it looked empty from the street. Counted 20+ open tables inside. Hostess quoted us 45 minutes. We opted to dine at the bar, and by the time we left at 9pm only one of those tables had filled. The food was genuinely good with some creative offerings, but I can't overlook that kind of shady front-of-house practice. Hearsay earned that 20-minute wait. This place didn't earn the 45. Won't be back. read more

This place is perfect for family gatherings. The dishes are plentiful and the flavors are suitable for all ages. The service is also very friendly, making you feel as comfortable as if you were at home. read more

A wonderful, authentic, and beautiful restaurant. Great drinks, awesome service and atmosphere.

Absolutely love this place! Perfect location by Discovery Green. Decor is impeccable. The food is amazing. I've had steak twice and it's probably the best I've had anywhere. Service is great too!! read more

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The place is amazing and beautiful. They've thought of it all and pay close attention to the details. Management is engaged and is on top of the client experience. Highly recommend. read more

Hands down five star! The food, Service, everything was spot on! The place has a really cool vibe. Be patient with them on the Service, they are truly trying their best. They were a hair disorganized, but they've only been opened a month. This will be a regular place for us!! Cell Or incredible and the carrots were the best I've ever had in my life. read more

Everything about this place is so good! Highly recommend it for night out with friends or a date!

Great food and service! Loved the filet mignon and mashed potatos. Also the olive bread appetizer was delicious! Plan to valet park, much easier than parking in garage. read more

My wife and I really wanted to enjoy this meal. We've visited Hugo's restaurants for years and always had wonderful experiences. Maybe we should not have tried zaranda on valentines. My wife's soup although flavorful was barely above room temp. Her empanada were so small there was hardly any filling. The tuna taquitos were highly disappointing - the tortillas seem to be prepped hours or days early. They were cold, super tough and seemed stale. The aioli gave no discernible flavor. And the tuna was plagued with silver skin. The mains did not treat us any better. My wife's filet which she ordered medium was absolutely rare. When we mentioned it to our waiter they laughed. I feel my shrimp were also very undercooked. And the amount of risotto given to me was sad. Literally one grain thick placed in a 4 inch circle. I could count the grains of rice. My wife loved the cocktails and her date cake was lovely. We don't often post rough reviews , I've got 35 years to of culinary experience. This evening we were severely let down. At $300 we would have hope for a better experience.I hope your experience is better. read more

Wow. What a great restraurant. Food and service top notch. Hugo is one of the chefs in the country. i have been to all of his restraurants and this place beats them all.However the date cake desert was really really small and not worth the $14 price point! Hey make it larger and worth the price read more

Food was excellent and priced accordingly. We sat on patio and enjoyed the night. Great for a special night out. Service was good to above average. read more

We went here on a date night to celebrate an anniversary. We notified them ahead of time that it was our anniversary. They gave us a card appreciating us being there. The restaurant is beautiful, very clean subtly decorated with large windows that face discovery green. Our waitress Maribel hi she just got here was very friendly and kind. I used ChatGPT to help guide my food selections and it was on point for our starters. We had the Caesar salad which they make at tableside. and we had the crudo salmoneado(red trout). Our main dish was a butterflied and basket grilled Branzino. Starting with a Caesar salad it was expertly made with a tangy and delicious dressing large leaves of lettuce. The trout was excellent with green olives and a spicy Vietnamese chili sauce perfect with lemon and crackers. The Bronzino tasted so fresh and the flesh was white and very well cooked. We made multiple small tacos with the tortilla that was given and tried the different salsas. It was a great place to spend our anniversary. We would definitely be back the other dish. ChatGPT recommended was the seafood rice. We will try that next time. read more

This is a Hugo platform restaurant and thus we expected excellence. The drinks were nice, the service was very good, the decor is casual. The wood fired oysters were not well cooked and lacked flavor. We had to send them back. Overall, the banana pepper stuffed with shrimp taco lacked heat and the lobster tostada was the same. The mussels were tasty although the clams were gummy, in the cazuela we shared. It seemed that the spice point on all of the dishes was off and flavors were too similar, which was not what we are used to at a Mexican restaurant. Houston has hundreds if not thousands Mexican restaurants to choose from. Add a trio of salsa, for God sake! Send out some blue corn chips while waiting for the drinks and appetizers to arrive or something that emphasizes Hugo's creativity. If this one is to survive, it's going to have to kick it up a notch. read more

We stopped by for lunch after picking up our packet for the Chevron Marathon. The restaurant is just across from Discovery Green, so there is a nice view from the restaurant. The ambiance is airy, with a beachy vibe. Service throughout our visit was excellent with Daniel providing helpful guidance and other team members ensured water and tea were replenished and empty plates removed. We shared an order of Empanadas de Borrego, which were delicious, especially with the salsa costena. Our entrees were the Picanha and the Trucha Zarandeado (trout). The Picanha had a flavorful dry rub, cooked to a perfect medium rare and topped with an herb butter served with Chile dusted crisp fries. The trout was very flavorful served with fresh tortillas, 3 salsas and a refreshing cucumber salad. We were getting full, so we decided to share a dessert, which was Milhojas, light crispy pastry between candied (?) apple cubes and ice cream yuzu gel, it was really, really good! We could have lingered in the lovely restaurant, but we left talking about when we can come back to try more. A perfect lunch! read more