Rufi’s Patio & Grill

Due to the incredibly inconvenient positioning of my employer, finding a quick spot to grab a bite during the day can be challenging. Several months back, on a desperate quest for breakfast tacos, some coworkers and I stumbled upon this little gem and thought our prayers had been answered. It seems they are no longer operating out of this location and a natural foods center is opening in its place, but luckily the owner still shows up in front of my building most mornings in a van filled with taco-​love.

When my family moved from Houston to Austin 6 yrs ago, one of our first favorite places was Rufi’s. My husband discovered it after passing it several times on Lamar and decided to go in. We’ve been hooked ever since. It feels like our 2^nd home because of the atmosphere and the owners. My boys go around the counter each week and hug Irene and shake hands with her husband Joe, the owners, who feel as though they are my kids 3^rd set of grandparents.
Well enough about the owners, we average once a week breakfast taco run usually on Friday’s to help motivate our boys to get out of bed because it is «taco day» which usually sends them running. Their breakfast tacos are fabulous. They are homemade while you wait and everything is cooked as it’s needed so it’s all VERY fresh. And you cannot beat the price. Talk about reasonable. Usually there are moans of joy at our table as our boys sink their teeth into the first bite.
To our dismay and heartbreak they sold the place to Mani’s. So no more chatting with the owners and getting hugs for my kids. But we thought maybe the tacos will be the same hoping this lovely couple told them the secret ingredients. Nope, the tacos were sub-​par at best very greasy and just did not taste good at all. With much resistance we drove further away and found another place that had good tacos but no family friendly, hugging atmosphere and a very long wait.
Just before the holidays my husband drove by Mani’s and lo and behold Rufi’s was BACK!!! We were so happy and excited! The hugs, the wonderful tacos and the friendly people were there. Unfortunately, they were ripped off by the previous owner and are having to slowly rebuild everything including changing the sign. It stills says Mani’s so many of their old regulars don’t even know they are back. It is a sad story and I will be telling all my friends to go back to Rufi’s. And just hope and pray they recover quickly from the stolen coolers and oven and cabinets. Ugh!!!
In the meantime, we have resumed our taco mornings with the hugs and moans and as a family are very happy to have them back.

I had been wanting to go here since someone brought Rufi’s breakfast tacos to a neighborhood party, and this morning was the morning! The phone number on Unilocal is wrong, the correct number is 512−740−6230. I had intended to call my order in for the sake of time, but it literally took him a minute to make the tacos!
We had a bacon egg cheese, potato egg cheese, and a potato and egg for $ 4.50. I recommend them! Clean tasting eggs, thin bacon which is easier to eat in a taco, and tasty tender potatoes. Oh and the cheese was tasty and also the right temperature/​a little melty (a big pet peeve of mine when I get a taco with cold cheese). I forsee many morning trips to our neighborhood taco stand. I will update if I go there for lunch sometime!

I stop for breakfast tacos about once a week. They are always good. Very nice people. Good value for the money.

My family went to Rufi’s for breakfast this past weekend. After looking over the menu I settled on the breakfast quesadillas with sausage. They came out pretty quickly and were awesome. The tortillas were crisp, not greasy. The eggs, sausage and cheese were layered in between the tortillas and they were topped with shredded cheese and more sausage. They came with a side of breakfast potatoes, lightly seasoned and freshly cooked, and some refried beans. I was actually full after the potatoes and half of the quesadilla, but it was so crisp and delicious I went ahead and finished it! My hubby took the advice of other Unilocalers and got the Migas and they were all he was hoping for-​yummy!
So the food was good, but I do have a few warnings:
–Coffee-​not good
–Cash/​Check Only
–It is kid-​friendly BUT… What I mean by this is they are super nice, have high chairs, and the menu is a kid’s dream with tacos, pancakes, and quesadillas. From what I have read and from my experience, there are not lots of people so kiddos can be loud and not bother other patrons (which is cool because mine just found out what screaming is). They also don’t seem to mind too much if a mess is made.
BUT…they do not have changing stations in either restroom and the menu is not so baby-​friendly. I don’t know what I was expecting (maybe fruit or avocado?), but with ours having no teeth, it made it the menu a bit hard to choose from. We served Miss Princess some potatoes and, luckily, we brought some food from home just in case.

I can never quite figure out if the owners live here also, or if I just think that because it looks like an old house. This weekend there was a kid running around in his pj’s. Anyhow, they have a full menu, but I’ve only tried the breakfast tacos which are pretty good. The salsas are really good, especially the green one. It’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall neighborhood joint and I usually get my grub to go. Oh, and cash only.

Rufi’s is a cool little place. Joe (apparently the owner) came out from around the counter and welcomed me warmly after learning I was a Rufi’s newbee. I ordered up a migas taco to go and a coffee and after some heart warming chat with Joe and (his wife?) he jotted their phone number on my little brown bag containing my migas taco and off I went.
So here’s the lowdown: the coffee was good, but I am a coffee snob so I can’t say it was great. It was ok. The migas on the otherhand, was YUM! They charged me $ 2.50 for my coffee and migas taco which should have clued me that one might not be enough, but sadly I didn’t get it until I arrived home, enjoyed my one precious migas taco, then yearned for just one more.

Very exciting day today, I finally found a place to have breakfast tacos in North Austin! Sometimes you just want a quick, simple breakfast and this is a great place to get it. I ordered 2 tacos with egg, bacon and potato on corn tortillas and Mr. V had migas. Both orders were fresh, hot, and perfectly sized. If you are very hungry 2 tacos on corn might not be enough, I was perfectly filled and I don’t eat big portions. They have 2 tasty salsas, green and red, but I thought the refried beans were a little stiff and overpowering. The corn tortillas were thin and strong, a hard combo to find in corn (they usually fall apart and make a mess.) Not much to say about ambiance, it is basically an old house inexpensively converted to a restaurant, small deck in front, parking is plentiful and the owners are adorable. There are dining tables inside, but it’s not really a sit-​down restaurant; no waitstaff or complementary chips & salsa, but I wouldn’t call it a «dive». To me that means slightly shady and/​or dirty, and Rufi’s is neither of those. Highly recommended, we’ll be back!
P. S., Bring cash, they do not take credit cards.

I went to Rufi’s for some breakfast tacos this past weekend… but as soon as I saw Migas on the menu I quickly changed my mind. The Migas were amazing… I don’t know what they’re mixing in those eggs, but I couldn’t stop eating them. Eggs don’t usually get along with my stomach, so after eating a huge plate of eggs at a dive restaurant in the middle of a little weird village so north on Lamar that you’re thinking, «I didn’t think Lamar went this far», I was planning on getting my usual stomach ache. Amazingly the eggs has no affect! I was out playing football 2 hours later.
Minus 1 star for the tortillas not being up to par and they don’t accept anything but cash or check. I didn’t have cash so I had to write them a check… I seriously forgot how you fill out a check for a minute or so…
Rufi’s is a great destination for breakfast. The best part? They’re open on Sundays! One of the few breakfast taco places in North Austin that’s open on a Sunday.

Rufi’s is a dive.
If they were located closer to the drinking scene and open when the bars closed, they could retire in a year off all the drunks that would assault the place. But more’s the good luck for all of us that pass by on the way to work — you can get a handful of shiny-​wrapped breakfast burritos made fresh right in front of you for only a handful of shiny silver coins.
And by some magic, it’s never empty and never crowded. Just a slow stream of hungry people wanting something fresh and chewy.
They cooks are friendly. The choices are sensible and authentic (if you want arugula go back to california) and the cost is just pennies. Buy a handful.

Ah reckon it takes all kinds to be nuttin’ up some ridic strong sauce breakfast tacos. I’ve had some ass clown flagrant douchebaggery egg tacos back yonder, but yin ain’t had nutin’ this awesomesauce in a while.
This ain’t no same clown different costume cock block breakfast, these eggs were shiny little eyes fresh. I’d like to’ve looked out back for chickens. Craptastically fresh enough to make ya wanna punch someone in the eye teeth.
I’m not gonna lie to you, mah first bite was enough to almost tump me over in my chair. Gnarly good. Fricken’ good. Y’all chunk you some fresh-​made salsa (baby’s got sauce) up in there and it’s ridonkulously good. Kiss my grits, I was happier than a pig in shit. Like my taco said «I’m in a band now take your pants off» good. But I fear I’ve allowed my love of salsa to distract from my prescriptivist linguistic crusade.
Parking lot was fairly ginormous. So boo if you are looking for same ol same ol (poor). But if you are looking for eggzilla awesomeness, give Rufina’s a shot indeed. But be careful… I think they use a shit ton o’ fresh eggs and REAL cheese so if you eat too many, you may become badonkadonkzilla. The «atmosphere» is craptastic but the taco needs eatin’. Noice.
So remember my cracker-​ass-​cracka friends, crack is whack but Rufi’s is back.