El Tiempo Cantina

I’m not a local or even a Texan, but I enjoyed this Tex Mex. Have I had better Mexican food in my life, yes. There was certainly a lot of melted cheese goodness.
I love it when two food styles come together for the greater good of my tastebuds. Two famous Texan cuisines teamed up for a mouth high-​five, brisket tamale. Warm salsa dip for chips was a first for me. I’m told they are known for their fajitas; I got a taste and liked them but did not love them. Very good experience overall.

My Dad recommended this place for brunch and it’s great. The prices are more moderate. You are served a basket of sweet Mexican bread when you arrive. Besides regular coffee, you can get café de olla, with lots of cinnamon. Dipping the mini pastries in the coffee is excellent. I ordered one breakfast taco and it was more than enough. I only ate half. There are maybe three scrambled eggs inside the corn tortilla. Of course, if some in your party don’t want breakfast items, the regular meals’ menu is available too. We ate at 11 a.m. and chips and salsa were served and someone in our party ordered a soup.

I used to not like El Tiempo, but I think that might have just been my experiences at the Montrose location. This location and the Richmond location seem to be much better.
Last night was my first visit to this location of El Tiempo, but it was a great experience. The restaurant is spacious, with tons of seating. The service was friendly and attentive. It’s very clean and pretty on the inside.
The frozen margarita was not that flavorful, but it was fairly strong. The red and green sauces are both delicious (I love it when a restaurant has both). I ordered the Cuatro Dinner, which came with a queso puff, crispy beef taco, cheese enchilada, refried beans, and green rice — all tasty. Their enchilada sauce has large chunks of meat in it… it’s not bad, but it’s kind of weird and not my favorite. The food here tastes good, but no better than other Tex Mex restaurants in town. I would say I prefer Pappasito’s or Gringo’s, but I would gladly eat at El Tiempo anytime.

At 6pm on a Tuesday night the parking lot was packed! Although the restaurant was pretty full we got a table right away. Guess a lot of the people were in their ample bar section. We usually order the fajitas so we have leftovers, but decided on Tex-​Mex this time. We ordered the Alegre & the Charro. The sweet waitress asked if I knew what Alegre meant & then explained that it meant happy. Boy, that sure is what my mouth was telling me! Everything on the plate was delish… rice, charro beans, tamale, enchilada & side ‘salad’. Hubby was happy with his too. Had some great margaritas too. The lighting has great ambience, but can make it hard to read the menu. Next door table was using their phone to light up the menu.

Chips and salsa were pretty good as soon as we came in. I ordered the fish tacos plate and it was delicious! Portion sizes are humongous. You will definitely be full by the time you leave the restaurant. Service was nice, atmosphere was clean & casual, and the food was great. Prices were slightly high, but the portions are large so. Worth it! I hear the fajitas are good here

Houston is a unique town, one in which family ownership dominates the restaurant scene. The Matriarch was Mama Ninfa Laurenzo, whose original Ninfa’s on Navigation BLVD. morphed from a nice small cantina, to a massive chain which could not be managed. As a result of inconsistent food and service, the suppliers put the family chain out of business. Although, there is an «Original Ninfa’s» on Navigation, it is not owned by the famil, rather one of the sons has built the beginnings of a new chain of up market Mexican, whose results can best be called somewhat sketchy.
The restaurant is large, and quite attractive. Parking is quite frankly a bitch.
We were a party of 7, and were seated promptly in a restaurant with an occupancy listed at 350. The dining room at 6:30 on a Saturday night was only 80% full which may be an indication, that although a rainy holiday weekend, something is amiss.
The chips were not good, and tasted as if they were from asupermarket. The salsa rojo was disgusting, with a burnt taste. The «verde» salsa has just a hint of tomatillo, and a lot of dairy product, without much heat, but seemingly alot of garlic.
The frozen margaritas, were not worth the $ 8.50 charged and were quite frankly made with a poor quality tequila, that reminded me of crankcase oil. The drinks missed the flavor of a good rita. Very disappointing.
The main courses were a mixed bag, the enchilada’s were generous but pricey with two pieces, rice and beans around $ 19.00. That in Houston is a lot of money to spend for a Mexican dinner. The cilantor rice was great, and the chili sauce was super. The lack of cheese and sour cream just made the dish slightly to the right of average.
Service was very good, with an attentive staff.
What was perhaps most irksome, was trying to use the restrooms. For a facility holding 350 people, a one stall urinal and one commode for the men’s room is poor, poor planning. The paper towel dispenser was empty and there was no one to tell about the issue. What was strangest was that the entrance to the bathrooms, was right by the exit of the kitchen. You have to dance and dodge servers carrying food, water, chips and bar beverages. I was run into 5 times between the time I left the table and I returned. I thought that I was playing dodgem cars. Poor design.
The desert was dry and missing the honey and accompaniments that first class sopapilla’s have.

The interior décor here is much nicer than the other El Tiempo restaurants around town. The margaritas are much better tasting, too. And the wait staff seems to be more attentive, and helpful, too. They valet parking on Friday and Saturday nights, and I am not sure why because the Woodlake shopping center parking lot is pretty big. The ambiance is unusually loud.
The food is very pricey but I’m unsure if the portions are any bigger. They serve food on fancy plates and the fajitas are served on a fancy styled grill, thus the presentation of the food makes the dishes look bigger. We had the carne asada and a ½ pound of chicken/​beef fajitas and the total came to $ 53 just for the two items. Hmmmm. I’ve had much better food.

Came here for lunch and it was packed. The restaurant is big enough to fit many guest. The décor is on point and the service was great.
They serve good chip and salsa — (The green salsa is the bomb)
I got the ½ beef fajitas and it was really good. It comes with all the fixings except guacamole.
The only reason I give it a 4 star is cause the pricing is too high — I paid $ 30 for lunch.
Overall it was worth it
In my opinion, this would be a place to take for a Birthday or a date but not a everyday lunch spot

Nice décor and ambiance. Our waiter was either new or was just an awkward person and it showed.
Little pricey but it’s good food with good portion, none of us finished our plate and had to take it home.

My overall experience was fine. The service was very attentive and the frozen margaritas were great. They are very strong, so very careful if driving and going back to work :)
The food was alright, but nothing special. We had the beef fajitas, but they were a bit blend in my opinion. The guacamole was just smashed avocado. I was expecting at least a bit of cilantro and lemon juice. Also, a friend ordered a top shelf margarita, which was very good, but served in a glass full of ice. After a few sips the whole margarita was gone. I’ve been at other restaurants where you are given a small shaker with another serving or a bigger glass. Here the glass was very small. Not worth the price. Stick to the frozen margarita!

This place is the definition of: you get what you pay for when it comes to fajitas.
I have only ordered the fajias here, go big or go home so i ordered the filet mignon fajitas. and My god. they melt in your mouth. I have never had fajitas like this before. Tender juicy, they come with some grilled veggies, a side of cilantro rice (which is amazing as well) and a strange utter oil type topping (though it really doesn’t need it because they yare absolutely perfect)
The tortillas are homemade, and the salsa is up there competing with Chuys green sauce. Any tex-​mex enthusiast understands the power of that statement.
My mom ordered the Barbacoa tacos. Even the presentation was beautiful. With chopped cilantro, jalapenos, and onions as a trimming and a side of breakfast papas.

I usually go to the one at the Richmond location, so when I found out they opened one close to home, I knew I had to check it out. The inside is super spacious and is well decorated. Additionally, our server was very nice and was always checking up to make sure we were okay.
In terms of food, the chips and salsa were delicious and constantly being refilled. Usually I’m not one for fajitas, but I always get them at the Richmond location since they’re so amazing, and this location didn’t disappoint. The beef had a ton of flavor and was marinated very well. Would definitely recommend.
All in all, El Tiempo Cantina is a solid place to get your Tex-​Mex on. It’s a little pricier than other Tex-​Mex places, but you also get very big portions for all of their dishes. Also, maybe it was because of the time of day I went, but parking was a lot easier at this location than at the Richmond location.
Service 4.5÷5
Food ⁴⁄₅
Ambience ⁴⁄₅

Fajitas are super super yummy, we had a party of 10 and ordered mixed fajitas about 5lbs… It’s was such an abundance of food everyone was stuffed!!!
I didn’t like like being charged for a grand marnier floater and actually being served grand majestic… Which taste like plastic. I asked and she sd, so sorry we ran out of the grand marnier. Ok.
WARNING: the last stall in the ladies room sticks… My daughter was stuck for about 15min… freak out! Lol
Other than that a good time was had by all:)

I’ve only been to El Tiempo on Richmond. I love it there. but it’s just SO FAR AWAY because I live in NW Houston near Beltway and Tanner. So the fact that there is a closer location is already giving me 3 stars!
Fajitas are the best I’ve ever had.
Tortillas are warm and fresh and soft and chewy and thin and not flour-​y and just perfect with perfect consistency. My friend ate 4 tortillas. by itself.
I usually get the beef and chicken mixed platters. But man, the beef is amazing. So soft and tender and not fatty and greasy. Perfectly marinated and cooked. The chicken is good too, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that the beef is perfect.
The sizzling tower comes with onions that are go perfectly with the meats.
Every person gets their own bowl of rice and beans so it’s nice not to have to reach over and share.
I don’t know what they put in that rice but it’s good. The beans too!
We ordered a plate of appetizer calamari to share as well. Although the pieces were small, the plate was huge! Pieces were well breaded and fried with the calamari still being soft and chewy. Didn’t really like the dipping sauces it came with, but still a good appetizer to share with everybody.
Seriously so glad there’s one closer to me.

We give a 5-​star for the beef tenderloin fajitas, and we always order a pound of this delicious and tender beef on a bed of caramelized onions ($ 49.99). The chicken fajitas are real tender and we love it too.
We love to order ceviche for appetizer with plenty of shrimp, scallops, and calamari.

An oasis in this part of town that haas little to offer of Tex-​Mex or Mexican.
Open a few months in a new building. Very similar to the other ones in the Laurenzo family chain.
Huge menu (but differences in plate names — like one came with avocado was «X» and another with another ingredient was «Y»). Typical Tex Mex. Overall good with very good service. Large portions. Black beans are not a winner — like a paste with no flavor.
This place will do well with little competition. Think Pappasito’s but not as large. Priced very similar — think $ 15+ per person for lunch.

I’ve come to this location twice, and the other location once, and maybe I’m just ordering the wrong things, but I’m just not impressed with El Tiempo. I don’t like their salsas, the margaritas I’ve tired we’re either too sweet or too bitter, and the meals I’ve had just… were lacking in flavor.
The ambiance of this place is fantastic — beautiful on both the inside and out, with a large spacious bar area and an even larger dining area. The service has always been good, but I’m just not a fan of the food. Most recently I had the lunch combo (quatro maybe?) which came with two cheese enchiladas, a beef taco, refried beans and green rice. First off, I hate their rice. I think it’s supposed to be cilantro lime flavored, but Chipolte’s rice is much more tasty. The texture of it was also odd, almost makes me believe the rice was over cooked. The beans were good, but the enchilada and taco were only ‘meh’.
My coworkers and everyone else in the Houston area seem to love El Tiempo, though, so I’m not sure why I can’t find anything that I like here. Maybe it’s me, but I wouldn’t recommend it or bring guests here because of the food.

I think the wife summed it up pretty well: Mexican food for Gringos who don’t know better.
I wanted so much to like this place. Other Unilocal reviews were good and it’s closer to the house than my usual fav Mexican joints. But, alas, I did not.
We started with the ceviche. The small was $ 10. It came with little crusty buttered baked bread, saltines and w-​a-​y too much squid. Seriously? Lots of plump little shrimp, nice avocado pieces and squid, squid and more squid. There was not much lime flavor and no bite. So it was a big waste of money. It was the first time I had ever seen an app of ceviche go unfinished at our table.
Margaritas packed a punch and were nice and tart. But I am pretty sure it was a mix and not fresh lime juice. At $ 8 for the house it was a small drink. They do have a happy hour with $ 2 off and they offer a lot of specialty margaritas with fancy tequila. But they were way overpriced.
The menu was extensive. Almost too extensive. Salads, seafood, veggie meals, gluten free meals, tacos, burritos, Fajitas, carnitas, Chalupas, tamales, Enchiladas and about 100 combo meals. It really was a bit overwhelming.
But I settled on the Charro. (1) Crispy Beef Taco, (1) Pork Tamale + (1) Ground Beef Enchilada with rice and beans. The serving was large but lacked any heat, spice or nice Mexican flavor. The rice was an odd herb flavor but the beans were pretty tasty. I’d give it a 5 out of 10 on the yum scale.
Wife had the Fajita beef Enchiladas with the chile verde sauce. She made a funny face when she took her first bite. Uh oh. There was no taste to the verde sauce. I took a bite too and agreed. You expect some lingering heated after burn from a chile verde. This was more like pureed tomatillo. It’s her favorite sauce at most every Mexican joint we frequent and she was very sad this lacked flavor. She did say the meat was seasoned well and we should come back and try their fajitas. So we will.
The salsa was spicy good but served warm. So if you don’t care for the warm salsa a lot of places are serving now, you may not like this. Chips were crisp and grease free.
Service spot on. He was pleasant and attentive.
But our first venture into the new addition to the neighborhood was disappointing.

A welcome addition to the neighborhood. They brought their great fajitas and margaritas, and even their valet parking option with them…
I found very close parking next to papa johns, along gessner. The 4^th spot down doesn’t have a «rudy lechners parking only» sign, so I snagged it.
There was no wait when I walked inside, and was notified you can order happy hour from any table, not just the bar area, thankfully, since it was packed at 640pm.
I ordered a house margarita for 2 $ off the regular price and the 1lb beef fajitas with ½lb sausage to share with a friend. Of course this was way too much food for probably 3 people, but I love fajita leftovers.
The lighting and interior are definitely noticible when you walk in. It is dimly lit, even though there are probably a 1,000 little lights hung from the ceiling and ones attached to old fashioned chandeliers, but in a classy way… not your typical trashy tex mex themed interior. Some of the chandeliers reminded me of the 1970s style steakhouses.
As far as the food goes, it was pretty good. Not as great as when I first visited El tiempo years ago, but was worth my trip. I thought the meat was a little overcooked, and a bit chewy at times. I may stick to the tenderloin fajitas from now on. The homemade tortillas are great as always, and the spicy jalapeños are a welcome addition to my mouth.

Solid place for Tex-​Mex. We had the fajitas combo — beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, pork rib, lobster tail, etc. Our waiter recommended it since this is our first time here. We also had a side of veggies fajitas. I asked for margaritas made my way and tried a shot of the Regal.
Our server, Matias, is great. The food is decent. I would prefer the beef to have a deeper marinade but overall good food and we will be back.