La Tapatia Taqueria
1749 Richmond Ave
Houston, TX 77098 (713) 521-3144
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 8:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat 8:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m.
Sun 8:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
24 Reviews for La Tapatia Taqueria
If you're a fan of taquerias, La Tapatia is as good as it gets. Excellent food (my fave are the stellar tacos al pastor) friendly service, and an inviting room that's great for big groups makes this my favorite Houston area taqueria.
Margaritas are pretty good, and cheap at happy hour.
A major plus is that they're open late (3am during the week, 5am on weekends) so it's a great place to refuel after a night out.
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You ain't gotta go home, but you got to get the *##% outta here!
We've all heard that one before. And when I do, i grab the gang and make way to La Tapatia. Cause after the party is the hotel party ... or, er, the La Tapatia party. I love dancing with the hottie Latin boys shakin' their bon bon to Juanes by the jukebox. Rarrrr.
Okay, so, what to order? I really don't need to give any Houstonians tips on ordering Mexican food, but for out-of-towners, always start with some form of cheese. At La Tapatia, the queso flamiado con camarones (fried cheese with skrimps) is the bomb.com. Chew slowly! Doubt anyone in the joint will know the Heimlich should you choke on a hunk of cheese.
Also try the spinach enchiladas, breakfast tacos, soups--oh! the soups!--and anything with their guac.
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Not a bad little joint... good margaritas that get you hammered pretty quick... good food... fast service.... juke box is pretty much all in spanish... great queso.. salsa is a little weak but other than that a great little taqueria...
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A-OK that's all i can say.the food was better years ago when it was cheaper.But now i have to say that i only find it mediocre. (patty) my friend would probably have to argue me on this because she is the one begging and pleading to go there late in the evening.
Also,i am a Rita FREAK and theirs are nothing to write home about.i guess the best thing to me about Tapatia is that i can walk there and back from home.
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Food it good, this is a great place to bring large parties. We came after work one night and they were very helpful. They split our checks and kept the drink flowing. The best part was that this place was CHEAP!! That and its the only place I have been to that sells tacos Al pastor, I'm sure there are other places but I like this one!
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$10 got me 4 STRONG margaritas and an order of ooey, gooey nachos during Happy Hour. This speaks for itself, really. I mean... friends, cheap tequila, and nachos... it's every girl's dream (or like, just mine.) after a hard day of work!
La Tapatia would get 5 stars from me if the service had been a little bit better. Our waitress was reeeeeally nice, and she was sure to bring those margaritas out fast enough, but it took a long time for her to get around to taking a food order, and even longer for her to bring our check, pick up our credit cards, and the bring back the receipts. It literally took over an hour to leave after we initially asked for the check. The only reason I'm not flaming because of the service is because it WAS Happy Hour, the place was packed, and I was happy with a tummy full of booze and chips. I definitely want to go back and do this like, every day. lol! And really... at $10, I could afford to.
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Can't believe I hadn't written a review for this bomb arse place yet. It's one of my favorite places to go if I'm out and about around 3 in the morning on the weekend and looking for good mexican food. They can be pretty quick to get your order out and I've never had the staff act rude towards me in any way.
They have the best queso and margaritas!
I've came here for breakfast on a couple of occasions and their breakfast tacos will rawk your socks off!
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i went there tonight on a tip about there stuffed jalapenos. the first thing i noticed besides the generic mexican restaurant entrance were the bright lights. they definitely could dim the lights to add to the ambiance. incidentally, i had suntan lotion from earlier that day so it all worked out.
so i walked up to the bar grabbed a menu and asked the bartender "yo" about the stuffed jalapenos. he pointed them out on the menu after a couple requests. so i checked out the bar while waiting on him to return. the bar had 8 outta 12, or so, barstool seats were taken and "yo" was definitely in the weeds but his manager was helping him and everyone was happy with the service at the bar.
so i was kinda craving crab stuffed jalapenos but to my surprise they only had beef stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon. the half order was 3.95 and the full order was 6.50. im thinking this is way cheap. so i ordered the full order with a whiskey while i waited. I talked to a few people at the bar while I waited and I've got to say there is some serious talent in this place. I dont want to exaggerate but it could of been a 50 50 male female ratio. :) which is great.
so i took my food home and when i opened the togo box i was very surprised to find only 4 jalapenos. i was definitely glad i had gotten a full order and not the half. the jalapenos were big though and wrapped in bacon just as i was told and there was even sliced avocado on the side. yummy. i ate one immediately. it was damn good.
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I just like saying the name. . .Tapatia Taqueria, Tapatia Taqueria, Tapatia Taqueria. You try saying it three times fast!
Okay, name aside, this place was solid. The food was good, though nothing to blow your mind. Just good ol' Mexican food with not a lot of frills. I ended up with the nachos (I did the chicken AND beef, cause "that's how I roll") and was quite happy. The guacamole that came with it was some of the best I've had. My two companions had some breakfast concoction that they gobbled down quickly, but I'm just not a fan of eggs and had no desire to try it.
The service was okay, but the lack of English skills amongst most of the waitresses might pose a problem for those of you who aren't bilingual with Spanish. They are definitely not in a rush, even if you tell them that you are. That being said, it still only took us about 30 minutes to get in and out and on our way.
Oh, and the two types of salsa that they provide at the tables are actually pretty good. I went to town on the green sauce and no one else at the table really had a chance to get down and dirty with it. The tortilla chips were nice and fresh--yum!
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The best time to go to La Tapatia is on Wednesdays for Happy Hour and on the weekend after you've called it a night at the club/bar. The Margaritas are strong and cheap, just the way I like them. (And made with Everclear!) The food is equally delicious and fresh. Damn, anyone down for some Tapatia now?
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The chicken asado here is divine (proving that food can reach that status for under the price of $10). They used to have cabrito on the menu, but I didn't see it last time. Great tortas. The food is wonderful, but the bathrooms/general condition of the building could use some help. Not too big of a fan of the cop who patrols the freakin' doorway either, but this is Texas...
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What's not to like? Well...the only thing is that eating in the main dining room can be quite loud because of the high ceiling and no acoustic tiling.
Otherwise, the price is right, the food is tasty, the service is passable, and the hours are perfect. I just happen to love the Ruchi's salsa a little more.
4-star=quite damn good
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I have soaked up many a belly-full of alcohol under the harsh flourescent lighting at La Tapatia when I was younger. It was open late and provided a good alternative to House of Guys or Mai's for post-clubbing food. They went through a remodel a while back, and now there's a bar and way more seating. They're still open late, though (Funny story: When my sister and brother in law told us they were having their rehearsal dinner at La Tapatia, husband and I were like "are you smoking crack?". That's when we found out they had renovated. And for the record, the dinner was very fun.)
This review is for take-out. Husband and I arrived from Seattle pretty late, but my sister and dad waited for us to eat. Montrose has a fair amount of late night dining options, but it was the baby's bedtime so we didn't want to go out. Everyone wanted Tex-Mex, so off to La Tapatia we went. We sat at the bar and ordered our food to go - fajitas for two, a veggie burrito and a beef burrito. While waiting, we each had a marg on the rocks. Very decent. The food came out in about 20 minutes or so. Husband and I thought the beef for the fajitas was a bit too gristly, but still tasty, and my sister and dad enjoyed their burritos. I only get to Houston every few months or so, so I usually pick Chuys when I want to get my Tex-Mex on, but for late night, this is the place to go.
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Great Caldo de Pollo - chicken soup like grandma - even better with a margarita! Richmond & Woodhead is the BEST location, waitresses at the Richmond & Chimney Rock location are super rude.
The pickled carrot, garlic and jalapeno dish that comes with the chips and salsa is my favorite - if they don't bring it just ask - it's yummy.
I would like to preface this review by saying I am from New England and therefore have not been privileged to grow up with good Mexican food. However, I went to La Tapatia last night as a 'first day of work/I survived public transportation' reward. And man was it good.
The tacos el carbon might be a little dry on their own, but who cares? There's tomatillo salsa, regular salsa, and a little cup of queso to dip. (Sidenote: how did I live before queso?) Even the rice was good, something that I didn't know was possible. I enjoyed everything immensely.
The charro beans were more like soupy baked beans.. bacon included. Yummy, just unusual.
Living a few blocks away could be the greatest thing about moving here.
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tapatia is one of those places that is good when youre there, and is awesome after a late night of partying, but in the morning there WILL BE BLOOD!
just kidding, but in seriousness, tappy (as i like to call it) has very awesome portion sizes and for a hella (you like that texans?....that the norcal coming out) cheap prices.
does anyone remember tappy before the remodeling? circa 2000 or so? oh how i miss those college days of studying and stuffing my face with an awesome torta sandwich!
ps ruchis suck major donkeyballs!
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La Tapatia is the one place I visit without fail on my every trip to Houston. Numerous remodels, the annex and increasing popularity have yielded an improvement in quality without a raise in price (or one so insignificant I failed to notice it). Of all the taquerias in the Montrose area, La Tapatia is by far the best.
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Yeah I'm going to give this place 5 stars. How could I not? La Tapatia is my favorite place to eat in Houston! It's the perfect place to go at 3 am (they're open until 5 am on weekends) and pig out on some seriously delicious Mexican food. The service is friendly and fast, and while the interior is nothing glamorous, it's always loud and busy...which I think in the case of this restaurant, makes it more appealing.
I like La Tapatia so much, I would make my Republican Texas businessmen consulting clients go here for lunch. It took a little bit of buy-in on their part, but I think they eventually caved when I told them I couldn't eat another steak (lies, I can eat steak until I'm blue in the face, but I didn't WANT anymore friggin' steak) and also that I was nervous about raw egg in Caesar Salad (again, more lies). The food was always fabulous, and I introduced the executives of a certain well-known Houston company (no no...not Enron) to a great Mexican restaurant.
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Stop number 2 on my trip back to Houston. Great mexican and tex-mex food. I liked the atmosphere better before the expansion, when it was still a little hole-in-the-wall joint with a handful of tables. The food is still excellent.
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24 HOURS
Good Mexican food!
3 Tacos A la Carte w/ white cheese
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There's a few good days when the food comes out just right (low fare taqueria food). But most of the time I've had to deal with burnt nachos and mediocre food. If I'm looking for a cheap taqueria fare in the Montrose area (where this is located at), I would go to the nearby Ruchi's on Shepherd since I've experienced better food more often at that location than at La Tapatia here. And the prices and portions are similar.
It's no mystery to me why they had to annex a few years back. Delicious food, prompt and friendly service, and a refreshing bar make this taqueria a primary option in a city saturated with taquerias.
The enchiladas in the mole poblano sauce are my favorite on the menu. I also find the fajitas, tortas, and flautas to be delicious as well. The menu is full of options and can easily satisfy any mood and appetite.
The bar is well stocked, and drinks are well prepared. The michelada has a refined taste that contrasts the excessive Valentina in other restaurants' recipes. I find it goes well with a darker beer like a Negro Modelo, but when mixed with a lighter beer it's just as delicious.
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Food, cheap food even if there's nothing fancy. Service isn't bad, but you get what you pay for to some degree. Generous servings.
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Great late food for those who drank too much.
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