El Pueblito Place

07/22/07

CANNOT HANDLE LARGE PARTIES & POOR CUST SVC

by lonestarlawyer at Citysearch

We made reservations for a birthday party about 17 people way ahead of time for a Saturday night.

They were so gracious upon making the reservation and upon our arrival decorating the table for the party. We reserved the bar area which looked great. However, to our dismay, we were acosted by a manager who said we could no longer order at the bar....we HAD to order through our waitress. Also, separate checks were forbidden. One waitress in a SUPER-BUSY restaurant was not enough for our table so the service was horribly slow even though she was trying. Even our non-seated, late-arriving guests were FORBIDDEN from ordering straight from the bar! I didn't like that one bit. Once again, I ended up paying three times my share of the bill because of not being able to order my own drinks from the bar. Also, our check had quite a few discrepancies. All-in-all, it took about an hour-and-a-half to two hours for the dinner entrees to be ordered and delivered. Most of us were too full on chips to order anything. Additionally, the margaritas, at around 8 bucks a pop were rather over-priced. I don't like businesses telling me when and from who I must order rather than being happy to accept my hard-earned money.

I would NEVER EVER book a party here again.

I've never been standing right next to a bar and been forbidden from ordering from it while at a party in my life.

This was an obvious case of the management riding the "popularity" of the place and tossing customer service to the curb.

The staff kept blaming all the large parties for the problems...

Perhaps they shouldn't have so many large parties at once, enlarge the bar, or hire extra waitstaff.

DO NOT HAVE A PARTY HERE!

• Pros: ambience and little else
• Cons: parking, margarita price, service, customer relations

01/15/07

Horrible service, horrible food

by augaz at Citysearch

I went there for a small gathering. We waited a long time for our food and then when it came the portions were awful. I ordered chicken fajitas with rice, beans, and plantains. The rice was non-existent, maybe they were running out??? The beans had to be fished out of 90% bean broth, almost no beans at all, and there were only two 1-inch slices of plantains.... I was really excited to go after hearing so much about it but was very disappointed.

• Pros: patio, margaritas (although very pricey)
• Cons: prices, parking, food, service

11/27/06

Agreeable young owners create a menu that's light on the calories and the pocketbook.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
This authentic Mexican cafe is a newcomer to the large base of inner-loop Mexican food choices. What makes El Pueblito different? "We developed healthy recipes so you don't have to exercise so much," says owner Eduardo Lopez. The bright pink interior decorated with pinatas is charming, while the snug patio with a wagon-wheel fence has a real Mexico feel.

The Food
The extremely fresh Guatemalan-Tex-Mex menu features house-made tortillas and never-greasy chips, along with well-executed combination plates. The San Felipe plate offers a marinated chicken breast served with fried plantains, sour cream, rice, beans and pico de gallo. The pollo maya is a tender, spice-crusted breast of chicken and is served with grilled string beans and juicy corn. Grilled snapper is accompanied by unique cilantro-spiked fruit relish (also served as a table salsa) made with fresh, sweet pineapple. Besides soft tacos and burritos, it also serves a hearty breakfast.

11/09/06

Beautiful Mexican-Guatemalan Fusion!!!!

by ragazza007 at Citysearch

The food is delicious and mouth-watering! Try 'El Conquistador' (grilled salmon with scallops and fried plantains served over rice). The pineapple sauce is just fresh and tasty. The margaritas are SUPERB. The patio is beautiful and on weekends there is a live band performing a variety of music from Latin, Jazz and Bossa Nova!

The palm trees, the water fountain, the 'caba?as' and the live music just make you feel like you're in Puerto Vallarta or Playa del Carmen! I love this beautiful Mexican-Guatemalan fusion...!!!!

• Pros: Reasonable prices, Great Patio, Food, Service, Live Music, Margaritas
• Cons: Parking

10/27/06

Wow, what great service, food & environment!!!

by cfranc at Citysearch

Thought the patio would be a great place to have my birthday celebration with 12 friends for cocktails and apps. The staff was very attentive to my guests arriving at different times. They made sure everyone had a full margarita in hand at all times.

We were just getting the party started when it started to rain. The staff was quick to assist us in moving the party inside. They allowed us to make another mess & enjoy ourselves in the upstairs loft/lounge area while they prepared our table for an unexpected sit-down dinner.

We had one server who took our order in a timely manner and executed it the same way. I, & all of my guests were blown away by the food. (Imagine 12 people who have already been drinking for 2 hours to actually be interested in eating.) The table became somewhat silent as everyone dug into their entrees. All you could here was the mutter through a full mouth of food, 'Ummm, this is delicious. Here, try mine."

I've tried most of the Mexican restaurants in Houston. I'm always hopeful there will be something more on the menu then a tortilla, meat, cheese and salsa concoction of sorts. What variation to their menu. All the dishes were creative & wonderful and the bill at the end didn't make me fall over in my chair. Very reasonable...

The next day, I received e-mails from all of my friends expressing what a GREAT time they had. Thanks El Pueblito for a wonderful experience!!! We'll be back for Debbie's birthday next month...

• Pros: great value, awesome pation
• Cons: rain

10/25/06

Worst Mexican Food EVER

by angie9778 at Citysearch

I went with about 15 friends for my birthday a few weeks ago and it was horrible!! The food was cold and had a BBQ flavor to it. I'm not sure if they were going for a chipotle style but whatever it was, it didn't work. They assigned us one waitor for the whole group which is not enough for 15 with drinks and dinner.

The only plus was the patio. Its really nice and there was a live bad playing which gave it a true island like feel. I would only go if i was with a small group going strictly for drinks.

• Pros: Patio
• Cons: FOOD!

10/21/06

Just missing the beach!

by gazman70 at Citysearch

Great food, awesome drinks - Margharitas rock! Live three piece band added to the relaxed and casual atmosphere. Felt like I could have been by the beach (not Richmond Avenue) Going again tonight - two days in a row.

• Pros: Food, patio, live music
• Cons: Music a bit loud at the start (staff couldn't hear our orders) but it was quickly fixed.

08/14/06

Great place

by dustiehollon at Citysearch

As always, I love the atmosphere at this restaurant. The food is very interesting with a lot of seafood based mexican food. They have the traditional as well but I love the seagood enchiladas.

If you go, sit outside. It's been redone and they have a waterfall. It really feels like you're in Mexico!

• Pros: The atmosphere makes you feel like you're in Mexico.
• Cons: Would love more quac and sourcream on the sides.

08/01/06

The Absolute Best Unknown Spot ....

by iamdaficionado at Citysearch

in which everyone Knows about! This is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston. Three years ago a friend took me there on a Sunday when I was going through some major personal issues. I was timid about entering this restaurant because of the outside ...but boy was I wrong. Now everyone there knows my name! The best patio in Houston (when you can stand the heat). The top shelf margaritas are what I consider the best in Houston; however, don't expect to pay $2 for these during Happy Hour. The only thing I don't care for is the green salsa - I don't like my salsa sweet other than that the food is superb! The fish dishes and vegetables are very fresh. This is also a great place to take a new girlfriend, of course wait until the sun goes down. Excellent restaurant and the valet is an extremely nice guy. If you haven't notice I love restaurants that the staff goes to the trouble of remembering your name. It's not quite Cheers but can salute one another with the margaritas!

• Pros: Patio, Food, Service
• Cons: green salsa

07/25/05

the ritas rock!

by yoyo001 at Citysearch

There's nothing to beat the Houston heat and kicking back with a couple of El Pueblito Ritas, definitely Mondays when they're $2 a pop!

Enjoy!

• Pros: Margaritas, fish, patio
• Cons: too crowded, snobby people, closes too early