Cabo Mix-Mex Grill

Really good tacos and nachos but I have to go with 3 stars because of the weak service, slow and inattentive. Close to Minute Maid Park which is great for stopping in for food or beers before the game. Don’t let the slow staff stop you, it’s pretty good here.

$ 4 Pacifico outside of Happy Hour, that wasn’t too bad. I ordered the Habanero Shrimp Sandwich and it was mediocre. The waiter warned me that it was going to be very spicy, it also says Spicy on the menu. However, when my order came out, I didn’t feel it was that spicy. It was a weird Habanero sauce, instead of habanero peppers, which made me think less of it. The salsa was pretty good and I enjoyed the overall setup of the restaurant.

I was really devesated when I heard that Cabo had closed. It was always my first pick of places to go eat anytime I was in the area.
I loved the upstairs patio especially during September/​October when it was cooler outside at night and you could see the buildings from ways away.
The first time I came was on my 21^st birthday with 2 other birthday girls and a group of about 30 after an Astros game. We spent boo-koo’s of moula, and had a blast, and the servers were absolutely the best.
It’s typical Tex-​Mex food, but what Tex-​Mex doesn’t hit the spot after a day of binge drinking?!

The last time we came we sat outside, but usually inside. The service is nice and the food is okay. I love their plantain chips and fish sandwich. The place looks half divey — half «almost» fancy but the food is nothing to write home about. Just good, tasty & a nice atmosphere.
Good service everytime.

So what do you do when you are downtown, smack in the middle of rush hour and you reaaally have a hankering for shrimp tacos? Well, you might just go to Cabo.
My fiancé and I went to Cabo last night, and we had pretty good service. The salsa was really delicious (however, I must admit I was starving when we got there). Their menu was what you would expect from a casual bar/​Tex Mex joint. Tacos, Burritos, quesadillas, etc. .. I thought the food was overpriced, but not ridiculously for downtown. For four shrimp tacos and two iced teas, we ended up with a $ 30 bill.
Their service is friendly, which is more than I can say for other dt eateries, and it is open after most other restaurants in the area close… so, while I would not come here for lunch or dinner on a regular basis, Cabo is convenient, and I’m glad the place is there.

Honestly I have never had worst service in my life. The food is decent but not the best I’ve had. The thing that ruined it for me for this place was the fact that the service is HORRIBLE. The two times that I have been to this place, hoping maybe it’ll be different, its the same.
The first time, the waiter simply forgot about us and took 30 minutes to get our drink order, 30 minutes get our food order, an hour to bring our food. We had to wait an hour and 30 minutes to get our bill and even then we ended up leaving the table, going inside and flagging down someone to pay it. The food was decent so I just chocked it up to being that one waiter.
The second time, I had three different waiters, neither of them keeping really any of the others in the loop. One of the waiters ended up even being the manager who ended up being the worst server out of them all. I took note that some business professionals sat down next to our table, got their drinks, food and refills while we were pretty much ignored. I suppose they thought we were just college kids and weren’t going to tip well. By the end of the night I had a waiter lie to me about what he had brought me to drink, the tacos ended up being super greasy and bland, and the rice was under cooked. It took them about an hour to even get my drink refilled.
I have resolved that its not worth the headache to fight with the total lack of service.

Eating here reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where the Dominicans (not Cubans) were working rolling crepes. But since they were not Cuban perfection, the crepes ended up just a shade under perfect with hilarious results.
The burrito is excellent. But it is not tightly wrapped, like a Cuban would wrap with all those years of practice on cigars in sweatshops before he transitioned into the loftier pursuit of burrito perfection, like Freebirds and Chipotle.
This is a place you have walked by one hundred times. Why haven’t you stopped in yet?
The habanero shrimp option in the burrito is delicious. It claims to be spicy (it is not) but it well seasoned and juicy, you can taste that it has some quality to back it up. Plus they have those big glass bottles of salsa/​hot sauce (what is the clear demarcation point between salsa and hot sauce?) to sprinkle some red hot goodness on your burrito until it is at least a little hot. The vegetables and tortilla rounding out the burrito are quite tasty as well. The burrito is about the size of a Chipotle burrito, stuffed pretty well full of things, and it is delivered to you split down the middle like the biblical baby.
Sit downstairs in the big old school style booths or wind around the stairs and go upstairs. The bar is upstairs if you just want to drink like a fish. They have margarita flavors (e.g. watermelon) in addition to the regular old lime.
The place has a certain kind of charm that they are open until 9pm … or 11pm (in their words) which is good, if you hit it right, or bad if not. This is still one of my favorite Tuesday night spots to come for a margarita and burrito after a late night at work and my buddy getting out of class late is always ready for another watermelon margarita.
I am still docking them stars even though I like them:
— They have one rude bartender. I won’t tell you which one — but he is really rude and you will figure it out for yourself.
— The last two times I have been in their tap has been broken. I want Shiner from a tap — not from the bottle. My life is hard enough to begin with. This makes it much, much harder.

Cool place right in downtown. It’s a tex-​mex grill but the interior looks like HardRock Café. Their margaritas are really good, but at a heft price $ 7. The food is decent at $ 15/​plate for grilled fish. The chips and salsa were pretty delicious. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. Just «a-​ok.»

Cabo was a decent restaurant to hang out in downtown Houston on a Saturday evening. Their menu is not as extensive as other restaurants; however, that makes picking a dish simpler. Their menu was pretty generic – enchiladas, burritos, salads, sandwiches, etc… The prices seem fair for downtown Houston at $ 7 – 20 per plate.
My chicken enchilada plate was unmemorable and I had no motivation to eat it despite just having a 10-​mile walk. Other people at the table seemed to like the food. The food was average to me but I don’t have many Tex-​Mex experiences to compare to. The fried shrimp is actually very small.
The indoor décor is unique – big red booths downstairs, winding staircase, and outdoor seating overlooking downtown Houston.
Our waiter was beyond awesome – attentive and friendly. Getting our bill took several reminders to various members of waitstaff, though. If you’re in a rush, don’t eat here.

Had to have a late lunch that needed to make up for a missed breakfast and lunch. Ended up picking the Cabo Combo and was not able to finish it. Serving portions are hearty, service was quick and nice. The staff seemed to be having a good time with some patrons and recognized a number of them. The crowd was a mix of locals and business folk out to lunch. The place looks like an American diner, but serves up MixMex.
As for the food itself, its authentic enough and actually pretty good. I’ll end up here again to try some other menu items.

The saving grace for this place is its upstairs, outdoor patio, and pretty good-​tasting food. The service here is pretty terrible. We had four different waiters for our table the last time we went here, and had to wait 30 minutes just to get our order taken. Our drinks were refilled only once and only upon request. At that point, someone came to the table with a glass, and asked who needed the diet coke. My friend had needed her regular coke refilled, and noted that. The guy began pouring the glass of soda into hers. When asked «Is that diet coke?» The guy said no, but when it was drank, it was obviously diet coke. The guy had literally lied about it, hoping we couldn’t tell the difference.
We had a talk with the manager after, and he made a bunch of excuses. However, I will go back again because I love the view and the food isn’t bad.

Ok, the habanero shrimp anything is effn delicious. The plantain chips are a nice change instead of fries. As always, the patio/​balcony is a plus.
My first visit was excellent. It was my birthday about two years ago and there weren’t a lot of people at the restaurant which was absolutely fine because my husband and I immediately befriended the bartender and manager. After that first great experience we were at Cabo practically every week for at the very least drinks and to visit with Alicia and Melanie (Melody? Can’t remember!) About ⁵⁄₆ months later we were in financial trouble and didn’t visit for almost a year. I came here a couple weeks ago for drinks and found out that Alicia moved away. :(
But anyway, the food is good and not too pricey. Oh! And if you get in early enough there’s a cozy seating area between the first and second floor.

Cabo’s pretty decent. Everyone raves about the fish tacos… but it’s alright. It’s more juicy than some other ones I’ve had and I really can’t find any faults about it, but I’m not dying to get it every week.
Location is cute. Right in downtown and upstairs above Frank’s. Festive environment and friendly servers.

Fun! Look, this might not be the best Mexican food you’ll ever have, but it’s decently priced and has great views of Downtown.
I had two margaritas on the rocks, and a massive plate of Chicken Quesadillas with corn salsa. The margaritas were really good. I was afraid they might be too weak or that they would try to do some stupid twist on it. But no, it was a classic margarita — zesty! And the quesadillas are technically an appetizer but they were huge. I only had about a third of them and I was stuffed. The chicken wasn’t fatty dark meat like thighs, it was white meat in small bites, and the cheese wasn’t so greasy that you felt like you were gonna have a heart attack.
The word I would use to describe the food is fresh. I had a bit of my husbands tacos. He got a fish taco and a shrimp taco. I could really taste the cilantro, and the corn tortillas were great. Sort of reminded me of the tacos I used to eat in Austin at Torchy’s Tacos.
It was a Sunday at 4 and it was easy to find parking. It was happy hour all day so the margaritas were only $ 3.95 a piece. Oh and the chips and salsa, I loved! I know some people might not like this salsa because it’s kind of the runny not chunky and spicy kind. But I like it that way, just enough to add a kick to the chips and to keep eating them without needing a drink.
We sat on the balcony and fed the pigeons. Had a great server named JayJay who put up the umbrella for us even though they aren’t supposed to because of the cross winds tearing them up. He was quick to bring everything I asked, even when I knew he had to go down stairs to get the sour cream I asked for. He even got a towel and wiped down the tables because it had rained several hours before. Best of all, he was really cordial and made lots of jokes with us, which I love.
I’ve read people complain about the prices, but seriously… our bill was only 30 dollars for two people to be stuffed and we each had two margaritas. That is cheap in my opinion. I’m definitely going to be going back and taking my friends when they come to visit.

In the heart of Downtown Houston, this place is so cute! It has two stories & balcony/​patio seating. The décor is bright & lively in here. Which makes it all the more appealing! I’ve eaten here twice. Once, ordering the Chicken Enchilada’s and the other time, the Cabo Jalapeño Burger. The food has good quality and the portions are big. Another great thing to order is the Cabo Macho Nachos. Yum :)
The only thing that’s a pain about this restaurant is the parking. Since this restaurant is located downtown, of course parking is a nightmare. Not to worry, there is a huge lot across from Cabo, you just choose a spot, park & go pay for the one-​time fee.

Though as a restaurant this place is a 3-​star kind of place, I’m giving it 4 for the upstairs patio overlooking the downtown streets on the west side facing the setting sun. (But beware the pigeons!)
The salsa is mediocre, the chips are not thin.
They do not have pitchers of beer !?! How can you not order pitchers of anything. Okay that makes me want to downgrade to 3 stars again…
We just went to drink beer and hydrate after a long day outdoors. The only food we ordered was the wings, which were surprisingly good. Big ‘n juicy, not tiny and meatless. I guess their non-​mex food is better than their tex-​mex.

A good alternative to most downtown restaurants if you are looking for a moderately priced, casual restaurant.
Food was fine, energetic atmosphere, service was friendly but poor.

It’s not great. I’ll post the quick caveat that their supposed specialty is the fish tacos, which is a dish I’ve never been able to get behind. So there’s that.
Cabo is pretty much your only downtown Mexican spot. Supposedly, this place was big in its heyday when downtown was the place to go for your late night super fun times. As for me, I use it as a lunch spot during work, so maybe I’m not getting the ‘rita atmosphere that everyone raves about.
What I do see is a place that overcharges for mediocre food. A single taco costs $ 4, which is just inconceivable in my mind. The burrito, which is my dish of choice here, sets you back $ 7. Its size is roughly equivalent to a Chipotle burrito; the problem is it’s got half the taste. Their meat enchiladas start at $ 11, which is price gouging to the Escalante’s level.
I will give this place credit for its tasty salsa (not too spicy, and very tomato-​based) and its friendly outdoor seating (both to you and to the neighboring pigeons), but the food just isn’t that good. Sorry.

3.5 Stars
I’m spoiled. As much as I like Tex-​Mex, the New Mexican variety has become my standard. There’s nothing like having «red» or «green» with your meal (for breakfast, lunch or dinner) and with a «dry» sopapilla with honey afterwards.
While I’m in town on business, I manage to eat at Cabo for dinner at least once or twice a year. And I will continue to do so. I like the corner location, lounge between the first and second floor (with the cool elevator) and the upstairs (inside or outside) ambiance. It’s a welcoming place to hang out with friends. My son would be comfortable here too. The margaritas are consisently good and the service has been usually more hit than miss.
But Ashlee W. is right, the food is just OK and I haven’t ever ordered anything that moved me either. There is better Tex-​Mex out there…

I had the grilled mahi mahi here and loved it! The fried plantains were just as good. And you really can’t beat a lazy weekend afternoon with a semi-​late lunch… and afterwards, a cigar outside on the patio. I didn’t even realize how long I’d been sitting outside but I’m definitely not complaining. The server was very attentive and went out of his way to make sure I was completely taken care of.
The only downside is the parking. Other than that, I loved it.