04/24/07

Still the Best

by garywise

There is something about the food that just makes it *better* than any other Mexican place we have tried. Fresh, tasty with great service by servers with over 20 yrs service. Ask for Jose Cruz!

Fajitas are some of the best you will ever have, grilled quail are sublime.

Far too many good things to mention!

• Pros: Great Food, Service, Tradition
• Cons: Parking, bathrooms

08/26/09

Just average, but prices are WAY ABOVE average

by TheBestCritic

I've been a Ninfa's on Navigation customer since the 70's, and I've seen the food, the service, and attitudes go down hill over the past 10 years. The food is average TexMex at best, the prices are very high relative to similar dishes in other TexMex restaurants. The wait staff is HORRIBLE; slow, poor, inattentive, and arrogant. They always push the "high dollar" margaritas so you'd better make sure you tell them exactly what you want. The place is DIRTY, the floors are always greasy and slick. Restrooms are deplorable, stay out of them. We've been in small groups most of the time (a friend always picks Ninfa's) and they stick us with "gratuity" added to our bill because we're a party of 6 or 8. The service is NEVER to the level of the gratuity. I suggest you go to many of the other TexMex restaurants available in Houston for 25-30% less. Bring back Mama Ninfa!!!!

• Pros: Parking, flour tortillas, Sauces
• Cons: Prices, Cleanliness, Service

08/16/09

good food, good margaritas

by BarryS

We always go eat at ninfas and eat the special alavery (sp) and awesome margaritas each time before we go to the Astros games.

07/26/09

Best Mexican food

by peachburrito

Aside from my abuela's cooking, this is my favorite place in Houston for Mexican food. I love, love, love it!

• Pros: Excellent food and service
• Cons: Neighborhood not the safest

07/07/09

Awesome Food, Poor Service !!

by edglor2009

A very kind hotel driver recomended this place to us as one of the kind restaurant, so it seemed like a good idea until we met Jose L. our waiter who I think he knew we were from out of town, well long story short , when we place our order for individual drinks (original margaritas) he in fact got us 2 pitchers with some sweet syrup shoots, we just said oh well, but suddenly unrequested appetizers arrived to our table at that point when we ordered with him our main meal things only got worst specially because we follow his recommendations and got food for 12 people when in fact we were only 5, which at the end got 20% grattuity added,service overall was ok, I noticed that you only get water if you ask for it, go figured that one...

I will be having second thoughts about coming back there again unless I get the guy on the video to wait on me.

• Pros: Best Fajitas, Fresh Tortillas and Sauces
• Cons: A/c Doesn't cool well and Slippery Floors

06/25/09

WORST WAITER EVER!!!!!

by amywerst

If you end up with "Ernesto" for your waiter, turn around and leave immediately. My family went out for a nice meal and ended up with probably the worst restaurant experience ever. We didn't even see our waiter until he showed up with another table's food. We sat their waiting for him to notice the NINE new people in his section for about 20 minutes before my husband finally flagged him down and told him we were ready to order. He NEVER asked about beverages, forcing us to beg him twice to bring us glaaes of WATER!!!! Thank goodness the food arrived quicly, though he never even asked what kind of dressing I wanted for my salad, so I had to use the green salsa. Once the food arrived we literally never saw him again. IF GRATUITY IS GOING TO BE MANDATORY FOR PARTIES OVER 6, THE WAITER CAN'T BE INCOMPETENT!!!!!

• Cons: Terrible service, mediocre food

05/04/09

Urban location...suburban prices.

by swyzlstyx

I've been a few times over the years (usually not by my choice), and with each visit it seemed to go a little downhill . Last time we were in a group of eight, which I knew would be a mistake, but I figured my family members from the suburbs knew of the place and wouldn't be scared to eat there. The dining room was so cramped, we could hardly get up to use the bathroom...which would probably be a good thing since the bathroom was so disgusting I felt like I was at an old truck stop. The floor of the dining room was so slippery with grease that I nearly fell. Service was not good. Food was average....I mean...it's just tex-mex. The prices last time I went were WAY more than what most Mexican food places in that area charge. The prices would be expensive even if it were a fancy place in the 'burbs! It's pretty obvious why. The parking lot was filled with high-end SUV's and I didn't actually see any Mexicans eating there. This place is purely a "ghetto-chic" trandy place for out-of-towners to get the Tex-Mex food they know from the suburbs. If you're wanting to impress your friends by taking them to a Mexican place in a neighborhood where they wouldn't normally go to, try any of the countless other places in the area. Don't be scared...just pick any one of them and simply stop in...most of them have more authentic food, and WAY better prices. I mean, really, $18 for some beef rolled up in a tortilla and some refried beans and rice?

• Pros: Food is not bad.
• Cons: Dirty and cramped.

04/14/09

Awesome place

by csn26

The flour tortillas are hand made at the restaurant which is a nice plus. The perfect margaritas are the best in town in my opinion. I love getting the taco al carbon plate- just so that I can have one beef fajita taco and not eat too much. We live by the warehouse district, so it's really close by our location. They added an outdoor patio, which is nice- although the arrangement of the furniture isn't optimum. The cost adds up, especially with the drinks- but that's anywhere you go.

• Pros: Wonderful fajitas and margaritas
• Cons: a little pricey

02/16/09

Used to be Good

by TMary

Quality and Quantity down, prices up. I guess the customer is paying for the outdoor addition, which is not a great place to sit with the flys and stray dogs.

01/30/09

Wow - wonderful food, powerful margaritas

by pflore

This restaurant really was terrific. You can tell that they care about all of the details. It was SOOOO much better than the other tex mex places in town. Everything we had at our table was exceptional, including the service. Great tacos, a really good seafood enchilada, the best Caesar salad I have ever had, and a carne steak that melted in your mouth. If anything, the margaritas were too strong. Omar was our waiter, I would highly recommend asking for him when you go in. (He gave us his card, but I lost it)

It's good to know that there are Mexican restaurants that really care about the guest experience.

• Pros: Strong Tasty Margaritas
• Cons: Strong Tasty Margaritas

01/14/09

Nice Patio/Good drinks/Average Food

by jcrow29

Personally, I think it's hard to find "bad" mexican food in Houston. I go to Ninfa's when in the following situation a) The weather is nice and I want eat mexican food outdoors b) I'm in the area and want margaritas and want to sit outside c) a native Houstonian wants to relive the glory days of Ninfas and I tag along. The food really is nothing to write home about. I thought the refried beans were horrific the last time I had them- tasted like too much lard- with a hint of bacon greese. There is a better family run mexican restaurant across the street that seems to use much more fresh ingredients, but the atmosphere is more family oriented and not as "fun" if you're out with a young group.

• Pros: Patio/History
• Cons: Not the best part of town/average food/not worth the wait on the weekends