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Mon-Sat. 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Hmm.....what can I say about this place? Every time I eat here, I always come away with a very neutral feeling on the food. I ate here with coworkers for lunch, and the coworker next to me ordered something completely different for lunch. However, when the food came out - it looked exactly the same except for the color. Another coworker commented it kind of looked like puppy chow.
The food isn't bad, but neither is it good enough for me to WANT to come here. I remember when this place used to be really, really cheap back in the day. However, I guess a local tv broadcaster used to rave about the food here and the prices jumped.
There are definitely better Mexican places out there. Worth trying out? Sure. But not much else.
I love coming here for breakfast their barbacoa tacos are awesome but so are their egg and potato tacos as well as their egg and bacon tacos! I have also tried their migas and chilaquiles and they are verrry yummy I always ask them to make the tortillas a little crispier but that's just me...
I have not tried their lunch or dinner because I always want breakfast from there it brings back good ole memories of when i was young ahhh...anyways this place has been around for years you should give it a try. As far as their service it's great I haven't been disappointed so far.
Every time I would go visit my aunt I would have to eat here at least ounce before I would go back home.
I always loved getting the jumbo burrito. Only $8.75 for a 2 lb. burrito.
My wife loves fish tacos, and based on a review I read on http://roadfood.com which gave this a stellar review, we went here. I'm sorry I didn't listen to my fellow yelpers.
We arrived ~5:30 and were among the first diners this Tuesday evening. There is a large display counter upon entering that you can order to go, which we passed by on our way to the upstairs dining room. There were a lot of smartly dressed men/waiters ready to serve the dinner crowd which had not yet arrived.
We each ordered a beer $3.50 ea.) while we wolfed down hot tortilla chips served with both red and green sauce, while we perused the menu. Where were my shrimp and black bean entree that I saw pictures of. Also, the special chocolate covered shredded coconuts dessert was not on the menu nor visible at the "to go" counter.
The waiter didn't know anything about the dessert, yet he inquired of the latina serving from the to go area, and apparently they haven't had these for a long time.
Anyway, I ordered large grilled shrimp with rancheros sauce and black refried beans ($13.95). Our dinners with two fish tacos that my wife ordered ala carte ($4.25 ea.)arrived shortly afterward, and we ordered another round of beers to wash everything down. We finished our meal with one order of the three leches cake (really a mexican trifle) that one soaks the cake into the sweet milk ($5.75). Not bad, actually. This is the specialty of the house, and I figured since I can't recall ever having it before, I'd order it this once.
All in all, a satisfactory meal, though not worh going back to. I would have ordered a combo of chicken & shrimp fajitas, but they couldn't/wouldn't do it (yet they would grill me 8 large shrimp and serve it with rancheros sauce...which is also not on the menu....go figure.
Their dinner menu is pretty ok. The queso should be avoided, it has a weird grimey texture and doesn't really have a cheesy flavor. I feel that it is overpriced for what you get.
You should go here if you are wanting some great mexican breakfast. We go here when we have gone to our other mexican restaurants too many times.
Two words. Breakfast tacos. I love breakfast tacos and I actually get cravings for La Mexicana's huevos con papas tacos with their homemade flour tortillas. If you are watching your weight--stay away. These tacos are filled to the brim with eggs and potatoes and squeezed into a tiny, oblong styrofoam container one would assume was meant for one taco (for those to-go orders)--I always order two. Once you take out one of the tacos, douse it with their piquant salsa verde and get ready to chomp--watch out for dribbling grease/salsa. It can get foolishly messy, but it's oh so good!
My next crave-worthy meal here is the enchiladas mole plate. I replace the refried beans with black beans. That mole sauce has some special mojo, because in the middle of nowhere, I suddenly think--must go to La Mexicana's for mole.
So there you have it. My two favorite La Mexicana meals. Others patrons will have their own, to be sure, but I'm certain most of us will agree about those breakfast tacos.
I'm sorry, but I've been there several times now and just find their food extremely mediocre - Last night I had their Chile Relleno, and tride some of their pork, and Veggie Soup. Unfortunately I haven't been there for breakfast and that may be the mistake, but I just find their stuff not very tasty and at least three or four bucks more expensive than other mexican restaurants around this area.
I'd like to give the place 3 stars cause I actually got good service but yeah...sorry guys. And I live a block away from there and I doubt I'll be going back.
Actually, I just rememberd, their flour tortillas were actually quite good -- but their tortilla chips were blah. Go figure.
So i gave this place three stars because of service. They acted like they weren't interested in taking care of their customers and it wasn't even busy. The food was good, had the Carne Asada, they made it perfect. Good atmosphere, don't eat outside if your a non smoker, they let folks smoke under their canopy thingy. Parking is good, if you park across the street make sure you are careful, those peeps on fairview are kinda nuts.
I would recommend this place if you are looking for good Mexican food for a reasonable price..
The Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup). That's why I love La Mexicana. Crisp strips of fried tortilla, cubes of panela cheese and fresh avocado, and a chipotle chile in delicious chicken stock. Heavens!
The other items are good (as another reviewer noted, the breakfast tacos do rock), but not as amazing as the soup. I know a lot of folks like the tres leches, but the cake was a tad stale the one time I tried it.
I have been on the prowl for a good Mexican restaurant. Friends advised me to check out La Mexicana.
The other advice I got was to check out the fajita burrito.
I ordered the chicken fajita burrito. Man, that burrito is huge! I was only able to eat half and I enjoyed the other half for dinner.
The burrito consisted mostly of chicken breast fajita meat, it was very generous in it's portion size. I mean it looked like an extra large piece of chicken in the entire burrito. I have no complaints about that. The burrito also had lots of cheese, beans, sour cream, rice, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. I was quite satisfied with my selection.
I will return again to have another awesome burrito.
I also enjoyed my freshly squeezed orange juice.
The service isn't that great that is why I'm giving them 3 stars, but if you go with having expectations of having good Mexican food don't let the service bother you.
I'm still in search for my the 'Mexican restaurant'.
Advantages:
Good portion size
Disadvantages:
They are stingy with their napkins
They don't refill salsa when you've clearly ran out 1/2 through your meal
The waiters congregate and socialize and you have to wave your hand to call them over to you
You can wait 15-20 minutes before the waiter decides to take your order
This place is AMAZING. some of the most authentic mexican food i've tasted north of the border. It has a full "candy counter" when you walk in, stocked chock full of all of the candy that you love, but can never find outside of mexico. They also offer breakfast all day, and have the most LEGIT machacado that i've ever had outside of my own kitchen.
The "buenos nachos" are a really good ap, and they were more than enough for 5 of us. I usually get the combo plate, where you get a choice of 3 items (enchiladas, tacos, flauta etc) guacamole, sour cream, and rice and beans (all for about $13)
If you're looking for a family friendly place in town, with a bang for the buck, this is the place to try.
Do you love overstuffed breakfast tacos? If so, this is the place for you! Please drive past the Taco C at Westheimer and Montrose and continue onto La Mex. They're fresh, the tortillas are hot off the stove ... these are the things you wake up drooling about.
Their patio is very nice, the parking is plentiful and the waitstaff attentive. Your chips and salsa will not be empty at any point during your meal. This is Tex Mex, people!
Also, grab a bag of the heart-shaped cookies on your way out after lunch. Your coworkers will appreciate it.
I miss this restaurant so much. I moved to NY and I STILL have not found good Tex-Mex. I miss La Mexicana and make sure that I frequent this place multiple times when I am in town. The breakfast tacos are delicious and I love the homemade tortillas.
This place is great for parties, dates, gatherings...anything!
The service may be slow at times but I believe its worth it. The atmosphere is great and if you can learn to relax and enjoy your company, you'll be fine.
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER COME HERE!!!!!!!
CRIMINALS.
We ordered $20 bucks worth of passable food, and two pitchers of margaritas. $105 dollar bill. ASSHOLES!
They charged us $40 dollars per mediocre pitcher of margaritas.
Barely enough to fill 5 wine glasses, the margs were probably worth 1/3 of what they threw at us. No warning or advertised price, and the 'manager' was a total shit when we told her it was absurd to charge nearly $100 bucks for two pitchers at SUCH A CHEAP, SHITTY VENUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT GIVE THEM BUSINESS IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR FELLOW YELPERS!!!!!!
This restaurant in the Montrose district (hint hint) is a family owned and run operation. As you enter, there is a large bakery counter on the left filled with cookies and sweet breads (panaderia in spanish). There are two floors, ground floor/bar seating, and upper with larger family tables.
I always get the spicy tamales which are great. The salsas served with the tortilla chips are better than most salsas I have had. The servers are always polite and helpful.
Love this restaurant...really really do! Great Mexican food served up fast, cheap and by friendly staff. Great Margarita's too!
This is good food. I only come here to trys 2 things: huevos rancho con faijta and cantaloupe juice. I think this place have the best rancho sauce in houston so far. I can eat breakfast all day and they serve it here. Bring some tum cuz u will have heartburn when u leave. hahahah
I'm going to split the difference between Sara B. and Fayza E. and give this place a 3+ stars. Like Sara said, it's better than Ninfa's but, as Fayza E. pointed out, their guacamole obviously isn't fresh from an avocado either.
I ordered Flautas (which I've started ordering at Mexican restaurants when I want to test the waters): two fried tortillas filled with shredded chicken and served with runny sour cream, "guacamole", rice and beans. The re-fried beans were a little salty and the chicken was a little dry but overall they were decent flautas.
There were five of us and we had an enjoyable meal but we also decided there is better Mexican food to be had in Houston. My significant other ordered the beef fajita enchiladas with tomatillo sauce. He liked them but thought the tortillas were dry. One of the guys ordered a frozen swirl Margarita and he said La Mexicana is the only place he ever gets a fruity drink. If you knew him you'd know that was a trustworthy endorsement. I may have to go back for Happy Hour (Mon - Wed: 3$ Margaritas, 2$ Domestic Beers, $2.50 Import Beers and off appetizers, Thurs - Fri: Margaritas $3.50)!
Breakfast Taco's Yum! After craving them all weekend, I was in some serious need of sustenance when I woke up Sunday. I keep forgetting about this place being just off of Montrose and Fairview so we made the trip down. Great menu of breakfast items and ala carte tacos. We ended up with some Bacon/Egg/Cheese, Chorizo/Egg and some Barbacoa. Delicious and decently priced tacos. The tortillas were warm and fresh. The refried beans taste exactly like my friends mom made when I was little. Most places never come close to this, but La Mexicana was dead on. Can't wait to return for dinner.
I dont normally eat Mexican food because it gives me gas. BUT I like this place and prior to eating here I had never heard of fish tacos.
I had brunch here with my boyfriend who had been raving about these fish tacos (that to someone who doenst eat a lot of Mexican food sounds...strange) all morning, and ordered...a normal soft-shell taco with avocado, Mexican rice, tomato and cheese. (Boyfriend ordered the fish taco which I stole a few bites of; it was REALLY good so I ended up stealing a whole one from him later) I really like their rice, its has a slight bite to it, and its really savory and flavourful.
I also had some orchata? (I dont know how to spell it) which is (I think) rice water with cinnamon, coconut juice and milk...or something. Whatever it is, it tasted really good and was light, refreshing, and I ended up getting two refills.
I like that the waiters bring out chips and salsa for the wait before our orders came in; they gave us two different kinds of dips- one made with green tomatoes and the other made with red tomatoes. They tasted slightly different, and both were quite good. I'm not one for spicy food though, so I mostly ate the green one as I felt it was slightly milder.
The quality of the ingredients that goes into their food is top-notch. All of the fruits and vegetables were really fresh; my boyfriend ordered cantaloupe juice which I think they made themselves and tasted really good too.
According to someone else I talked to that day, the food served at La Mexicana stays true to Mexican recipes which would be a plus for anyone who knows and appreciates real Mexican food. I personally dont eat a lot of it for no particular reason other than the one mentioned upon opening, but everything I ate during my brunch was very tasty and very filling.
This place was pretty busy but seated us after a very short delay, and surprised us with a couple of Mariachis serenading the dining room for about an hour.
So I am always looking for another place to get good fish tacos - and although I wasn't expecting it - I found them here. I have also recently added tortilla soup to my list of things I have to try when I go to restaurants for the first time. Unfortunately, the free chips and salsa were too good and too quickly refilled while waiting for our orders.
Small bowl of tortilla soup was delicious - side of avocado and cheese for garnish was new to me - did you know that avocado floats? Chicken in the soup got a little overcooked, but not worth complaining about. I would come back for this soup - although I think Guadalajara Grill does it better.
Fish tacos were mahi-mahi, grilled I believe, in a flour tortilla - although I think you have a choice on that. I liked the tacos, very big and filling - but my first experience with fish tacos was on the West Coast with Rubios beer-batterd and deep fried - but these are probably healthier overall. Again, Guadalajara Grill comes closer to the mark - maybe I will go write a review for them one of these days.
Overall - good food, nice people, fun atmosphere
Food: Good - sopa Azteca (tortilla soup)
Selection: Good - tacos de pescados (fish tacos)
Location: Good - Montrose, north of Westheimer
Ambience: Good - crowded w/ small tables, Mariachis = fun
Price: Good
= 5 stars
After a night of drinks or just having a great lunch. A plate of chilaquiles, chicken with an sunny side up egg takes care of the hang over the delightful spiciness of the green salsa that covers the fried tortilla with slight taste of the cheese and sour cream with a hint of onion lets you start your day. but never the least lunch time enjoying a Tortilla soup with Aztec salad ( cheese, Avocado, Chipotle) where the soup makes you go back to the old mexico. yes I am a born mexican and finding a great dish to brag about it is hard to come by. great food , great environment, and great RITAS'
One of my favorite restaurants. A bit busy at times, but worth the wait.
If you're hungry, their fajitas are the best I've found, and it's not from a lack of trying. It's a giant pile of fajitas, chicken, shrimp, and pork, with grilled onions and peppers and plenty of cilantro and limes on top. In addition to fresh pico, beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream, and fresh tortillas. It takes up an entire table.
The fish tacos and giant burritos are great as well, but I usually just go for the giant platter of still cooking meat.
I don't like chips they serve with the salsa but then again I am VERY picky about my chips..The 1st time I went we shared fajitas those where really good so I thought I would try it again then..Me and my boyfriend went there one time and he ordered a beef dish and the shredded meat tasted like it was old roast beef, nothing Mexican or Texan about it.Then I went with a friend a few weeks after that for a late lunch the service wasn't the best and the place wasn't that busy either....So third times a charm, sorry guys not here, we won't be back, I rather go to taco cabana .. heh
I moved here from California in late 2007 and used to both authentic and American-style Mexican. In CA, you get to choose - El Torito, Chevy's (Mex-Am) or any multitude of *real* Mexican restaurants. La Mexicana is by far the closest to a *real* Mexican restaurant here in Houston.
Now, from that I will say that I have found several delicious taquerias that will do the job, but if you want to sit down in a warm environment, this is the place. It's in the Montrose area, on Montrose at Fairview. I believe the family is from Coahuila, and some of the cooks are from Laredo. Real food, no crappy Kraft american cheese enchiladas with chili-cheese sauce as the "gravy" over the dish. This is real food, real spices, family recipes.
La Mexicana makes great chilaquiles, mole, almost anything on the menu is going to be good. There are a few regional differences, like the nopales (they're a wet dish with sauce, not dry) and that's a given due to the region from which the family recipes hail. I can count on flavor from the meats, marinades, and salsas. There are certainly regional variations from what I am used to, for example I'm used to Chile Verde with pork chunks, not chicharrones in salsa verde. But it's still very, very good.
Every single item I've tried has been either delicious, savory and worth it, or it hasn't been what I'm used to (only one item falls here - again the nopales). Even breakfast is fantastic here; try the chilaquiles with chicken or the huevos rancheros. AND they have chocoláte, too. Very hard to find.
The pre-dinner salsas are very good, nice and warm red salsa, and the cool green creamy salsa verde. Now that's authentic tex-mex. Of course, there are items on the menu that are hard-core tex-mex, like the "traditional" queso (aka glorified velveeta that practically every single mexican restaurant has to offer in Texas). The beans are very tasty, I could eat a plate of just beans and eggs with the salsas. They are known for their tortilla soup (have yet to try it, I'm preoccupied with other stuff usually), and it looks like have good tamales, too.
So this is my die-hard favorite Mexican restaurant in Houston. Hands down. I'm pretty picky with Mexican, growing up in a Mexican family in California and moving within the state over 20 times. There are always regional variations on any food, depending on where the recipes come from, but you can tell when the recipes are catered to their authenticity vs. their appeal to the masses. This restaurant focuses on staying true to the food. When the menu has items on the menu you might find at a Mexican grocery store (queso Panela, fideo, etc), you know you're in good hands.
On a random thursday night with no desire to cook at home, stop by and grab a tostada or a torta. You won't be denied a night of flavor, and your taste buds will thank you.
(partially derived from thread at http://www.yelp.com/to... )
My husband (Matt) and I both grew up in El Paso, so our palettes prefer the frontera-style Mexican food that is abundant there. Houston, however, tends to lean towards offering an over-abundance of lousy Tex-Mex. Native Houstonians (and transplants from the Midwest) tend to go gaga over the schlop served at places like Ninfa's or Papasito's, but Matt and I couldn't stomach those options. So we had to find someplace worthy of our adoration. And La Mexicana won.
The food is very reminiscent of the good food we so luckily got to enjoy growing up in a border town like El Paso. I have yet to have a bad dish here (although I usually stick with my favorite stand-by: rolled beef tacos), nor has my husband. Matt and I also like to order their delicious queso and a batch of corn tortillas for dipping. Yum!
In fact, everyone we've taken here has loved it with the exception of a (surprise!) transplant from the Midwest who thinks good Mexican food equals Taco Bell and Chi-Chi's. My dad battled oral cancer a couple of years ago, and as soon as he was able to start eating softer, solid foods again, we took him here. He ordered a bowl of the tortilla soup and declared it the best he had had since moving away from El Paso 12 years earlier (it *is* damn good).
All that said, Mexican food can be hard to rate and recommend. Depending on where you grow up and what you are exposed to, your taste is going vary. La Mexicana suits my personal tastes perfectly, but the next guy might hate the place. So my advice is to go somewhere that you know is likely to be similar to what you like and what you're used to. Otherwise, you'll just be disappointed.
Did they accidentally spill a pound of salt into everything they make? They have pretty good guisada and their chips and salsa ain't half bad.
I was prepared to love this place because it's a fave of my little sis and her husband, in fact they met here on the front patio over margaritas. Alas, I personally had a disappointing meal that was mediocre at best, but they get a 2 star deduction for sub-par service. I love Mexican...real Mexican food...and they do a decent job, but certainly not the level I've become accustomed to. For the level it is, it should have been a heck of a lot cheaper...I didn't think it was a good value at all. I'm not a Houston native, but I'm almost 100% sure there have GOT to be better Mexican restaurants than this. Better luck elsewhere, kids.
Great food. Casual atmosphere. Delicious margaritas. Nice place to be a "regular."
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