Los Cucos Mexican Cafe

I’m was so sad to see this place closed. It was one of the last legit places to go for Tex-​Mex in Houston that wasn’t overcrowded, overpriced and overrated.

Love this place — but went today and looks closed — either permanently or at least for a remodel — taking a peek inside, the kitchen equipment was out in the dining room. Lot of other people wanting to come here for lunch as I am typing this review only to find the same thing. Hope it’s not closed for good!

Is this place closed for good? I went 2 days in a row and it was closed on sat and sun :(please don’t be closed!

When I take the time to actually write a review and complain, that means it’s bad…
Here’s what happened:
A group of four of us, including our boss, decided to have a few drinks and food to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I understand that restaurants will typically be more crowded and service will be slower on days like that, but at one point we had not seen our waiter for 30 minutes. When we caught the attention of other waiters, they did not know where he was either. (the whole wait staff seemed like they were understaffed/​having issues accommodating the crowd) Finally, he came around and took our orders (which were incorrect, but again, it was busy so we understood and just dealt with it). At one point, our boss had to leave, but he left us with $ 40 cash (2 twenty-​dollar bills) to cover his food and drinks. After a few hours of enjoying our meal and drinks, we finally were able to grab our waiter’s attention to request for the check. The waiter told us he could not split our tickets four ways, which again, is understandable given the crowd that evening. Instead, we had the ticket split in two and applied one $ 20 bill per ticket along with our credit cards to cover the difference. When our receipts came back for signature, only $ 10 had been deducted from the total bill. We asked the waiter/​manager on duty about the remaining $ 30 bucks, to which he responded we only gave him a $ 20. (IF we did, in fact, only give him a $ 20, why didn’t he reduce our meal by that amount instead of just $ 10? I think the manager realized that he was lying because his story didn’t reconcile with the bill). I will at least complement the manager on duty for being professional and handling the situation appropriately — she comp’ed our meals; however, I would have just preferred to pay what I actually owed to the restaurant. Instead, one of their waiters, Jose C., successfully got away with stealing $ 30, and then had the audacity to tell me that, if I wanted something for free, I should’ve just asked. Essentially, he was telling he would have given me free food/​beverages and not reported it on our bill… I STILL have a big problem with that… either way he was screwing over the restaurant! Furthermore, if I wanted my meal for free, I could’ve walked out of that restaurant at any time without anyone, especially him, noticing because he was never present! He also defensively told us several times that he had not been drinking, which made me question if he really had been since he was consistently gone for long stints of time. His behavior was unprofessional and dishonest, and if he was going to give himself a $ 30 tip, he should’ve done his best to make sure he earned it.

If I could give zero stars, I would. Worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. With how many amazing Mexican restaurants there are in Houston, do not waste your time and money here. Additionally, Jose was one of the worst waiters I have ever encountered.

Every single Mexican restaurant in Houston had drink specials for Cinco de Mayo. Los Cucos decided to charge extra instead of their normal $ 2 Rita’s on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. Absolute garbage! Terrible service and rude waiters.

This Mexican restaurant has a nice friendly staff, an outdoor seating option, but the food is sub par.
One star would have sufficed but since they actually had a «healthy options» section on their menu I deemed two stars was appropriate.
The chips were too greasy and their red and green salsas were both bad. I ordered a chicken and veggie quesadilla from the «healthy options» section. On the menu it had promised veggies, a whole wheat tortilla, grilled chicken, and a «little» cheese.
I got a greasy cheese quesadilla with a tiny amount of chicken and some onions. The amount of half plastic cheese in this thing was enough to «stop you up» for a month. Hardly healthy. One last note: Appearance /​Presentation is part of the deal. My dog could have cut my quesadilla into prettier pieces than what was delivered on my plate. Blah. Don’t waste your time.

Food & drinks were good, as always. I usually go to the fountainview location as its on my block. Chose to try this one. And will never go back. When my friend and I got our checks, I noticed we were charged for 5 margaritas when we only had 3. When we pointed it out the waiter insisted we had 5. He stood and argued with us and said ‘I’m not the one drinking’ Accused us of not wanting to pay for the drinks, when they were only $ 1.99 so that clearly wasn’t the issue. We spoke to the manager and while we did so, the waiter Jose, stood there and spoke in Spanish about how we yelled for a ‘fifth margarita’ which was completely made up. Luckily my friend knows Spanish and called him out. Much more was said, we were completely baffled by this waiter. The manager gave us each $ 2 which was really shocking. I am in customer service and would never let an employee treat customers this way and would have settled it better than giving us four dollar bills. Worst service I have ever had.

Delicious! Had the stuffed avocado and it was sinfully great!
Happened on this place as it was convenient but will return!

A little hidden gem off memorial, always good and reliable for tasty tex mex and margs. I especially love the enchiladas del rio, some of the best shrimp and crab enchiladas Ive tasted. The cucorita marg is their special and its the best!

Opening night
The Patron’ margaritas were a bit lame. Obvious mix and no Patron’ detected.
The salsas are good. Chips ok. Flour tortillas were good.
We ordered the El Gallo grill. Very good, although a bit salty, but show me a Mexican restaurant in Houston that’s not about salt. Shrimp were large and succulent. Beef and chicken fajitas were good. Rice and beans were tasty. It was enough for two.
The service was good and efficient which is pretty outstanding for opening night. Steven was attentive and friendly.
Overall should prove to be a good addition to the hood.

Good Mexican food but not really much atmosphere. For the great location it has, it should be a lot better.

Great service from our waitress, Olivia. Food was very good and the Margaritas were even better.

These guys know how to do take-​out right! Everything was wrapped separately so there was no food mingling. The fact that the fish tacos were delicious and the price was very reasonable sealed the deal. I will definitely be back!

Tucked inside the shopping center off Memorial Drive just before S. Shepherd, this particular location is another outpost of a well known local Tex-​Mex chain. Not too shabby but also nothing spectacular.
The food is reliable. I usually go for lunch and order the mixed fajita special. The menu is extensive and the lunch specials offer good value & enough food to satisfy a hungry adult or two.
***A tip for those who love spicy food: ask the staff to make up a homemade hot sauce from fresh chilies but be careful (!!!) it is very very very spicy (but in a deliciously masochistic way)***.

You really can’t beat this place for cheap, good, and incredibly consistent Tex-​Mex. If you read the reviews you’ll see a lot of haters, and then enormous fans; myself being part of the latter. My assumption is most of the criticism is coming from people who are not big fans of Tex-​Mex in general, so one would ask why they’re opinion would matter much.
There’s several locations throughout Houston, Greater Houston and even into Central TX. I’ve only been to this location and the one on Westheimer, and have to agree with the others that this is the better location.
Everything I’ve ever ordered at LC has been fantastic, and trust me, I know my Tex-​Mex. The creamy green sauce that comes complimentary with the chips, while an obvious Ninfas ripoff, is to die for. Their standard Tex-​Mex dishes are all great, but some of their other standouts include a very delicious and original chicken and cheese stuffed fried jalapeño, and an outstanding stuffed fried avocado. Houston Chronicle food critic, Allison Cook, wrote a good piece in 2008 summarizing the awesomeness of LC that’s worth looking up.
This location is always packed with apparent regulars. It’s cozy inside and the outside dining area isn’t bad either. One downside is the service here can be just a little slow at times, even when business is slow. That said, I’ve never experienced «bad» or «terrible» service.
For what you pay, you get some really great casual Tex-​Mex. Solid 4 stars.

Great place for some good, fast, and casual mexican food! I love the regular salsa and avocado creamy salsa you get with your chips. The queso is good – nothing outstanding – but satisfies a queso craving. I don’t like the really thick, hard chips that accompany the queso, so I opt to use the regular tortilla chips you get with the complimentary salsa.
The top dishes I would recommend are the enchiladas verdes, the stuffed avocado, and the fish tacos! I don’t even really like enchiladas, but these are so good! They’re stuffed with chicken fajita meat and topped with a delicious tangy tomatillo sauce, sour cream, and slices of avocado. The stuffed avocado comes out as this huge round fried ball, stuffed with your choice of meat and cheese. The crispy fried exterior paired with the creamy avocado and delicious cheesy filling is delicious! It’s quite different from the stuffed avocado from Trudy’s in Austin, if you’ve ever had that. I love both versions! The fish tacos are great for when you want something a bit healthier – large fillets of grilled fish with fresh cabbage slaw and a creamy light lemon sauce.
If you’re want fajitas, they are also pretty good here (but my favorite fajitas are still from El Tiempo). I like how you have the option to get the fajitas with one of their special «toppings” – I’ve had the Fajitas a Los Cucos (comes with sauteed mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos and sauce) and the Fajitas a la Diabla (a very spicy delicious topping!). The fajitas come out on a huge HOT skillet with rice and beans, and the meat is flavorful and cooked well. The rice and beans that come with each entrée are pretty standard for Mexican restaurants.
The food is great here, but like most Mexican food, it is very greasy and can be a little salty; I can taste lots of butter used in the cooking. Portions are large and I’m always stuffed after leaving here. The service can be lacking and inattentive, so I usually have to flag down the servers.
Tips: Mondays and Tuesdays are $ 2 house margarita nights! Their top-​shelf margaritas are large and potent and delicious (but also pricey). They also have an nice outside patio sitting area, BUT on Mondays there is an OBNOXIOUS DJ playing LOUD club music that is completely unnecessary.

This is a sorry version of Mexican food. The rice is not well prepared. The food lacks real authentic taste. The service was not bad, but the food is lacking. That pretty much sums it up.

Looking for fast casual dining my man and I decided to give Los Cucos a try after walking Memorial Park. We arrived about a minute before 9 PM and were left standing at the front door for a few minutes before we went to find someone to ask where to sit. When we were sat we were told by every person who visited our table that we «just made it» and we were «lucky» to be seated. The staff professionalism leaves much to be desired. Even when asked for recommendations we got «I don’t eat here», really? Then when we asked for chips as all the other tables had them, were were told «we ran out of chips because it’s so late», really?
When the food did arrive, it was pretty good and made up for the lackluster, no make that «less than basic» service. The waitstaff seems to be the problem here. I would try it again, but as a second choice.

I had a chance to get some takeout from here. The prices are reasonable, and it would probably be an inexpensive place to get some dinner. I had a carnitas plate, and it was a little too greasy for my taste. That being said, it came with a bunch of sauces, chips, salsa, beans and rice. It was definitely a ton of food.
One thing I did notice was there was a ton of staff hanging out in the dining area. They did not look like they were doing anything other than joking around as half were standing and half were sitting. It just looked disorganized. It was the way one expects a restaurant to look before it opens. I actually wondered if they were open when I walked in because of this. It was 5PM so they definitely had been open all day, so I do not know the reason for this.
The lady who served me was very friendly, but I am not going out of my way to go back.