Pappasito’s Cantina

My husband and I come to this location every Wednesday and some Saturday’s it is awesome!!! The food is always amazing and our server Horace always makes our experience phenomenal. If you are in the mood for fajitas or just good food and service, this is your destination! I give the GM Tiffany 5 stars for having a store on my top 3 favorite go tos!!!
Helen

This place is just ok, we went on a Friday so it was packed. The service was ok, do not really like the seating arrangements. Need more room. The food was fine, but honestly it’s overpriced Mexican food. To feed a family of four it was about $ 60. We can down the street on gessner and get authentic Mexican food for $ 25 – 30. It all has to do with location.

I frequent Pappa’s restaurants for several reasons, I feel they are very consistent so you definitely know what to expect, the customer service is always a focus and their restaurants are spacious and very clean so it’s always a safe play. I’m not a very good judge of Tex-​Mex and prefer authentic Mexican cuisine although finding a great authentic Mexican restaurant is risky and usually requires a series of mistakes to find the perfect one to suit your taste even with recommendations it’s still very subjective.
Although I’ve visited several Pappasito’s Cantina locations I still haven’t ventured very far off the seafood selections usually settling for the seafood grill but this trip I tried the shrimp brochettes which were served with rice, beans, and fresh tortillas and very good. I also enjoy the fresh chips and salsa although the salsa is pretty mild for my taste and the only choices to kick it up is Tabasco or Cholula neither which really provides the favor profile or heat index I care for when eating this type of food. They also have ice cold Dos Equis on draft served with a nice juice wedge of fresh lime which I alway find a bonus when dining here. So if you want safe but not great and don’t mind paying more than you would expect for Tex-​Mex especially in a town like Houston where there are options on every corner this would be a great place to start.

Pappadeaux is usually my go-​to Pappas restaurant, but every once in a while I like to give this place a try.
I’m the worst Texan in that I’m not super fond of Tex-​Mex. Oops. Sorry not sorry.
Again, I get the naked fish with some sort of sauce. I’m a creature of habit. Sue me.
But, when I feel like change, the chimichurri fajitas are amazing. Obviously.

I have so many mixed feelings about this restaurant. Its the kind of situation that makes me put off writing a review. But I have to soldier on.
My first piece of advice to you; never come here on a Sunday afternoon. Our 1 o clock reservation wasn’t ready until 1:30, and if you don’t get your name on that list, you’re bound to wait an hour at least.
Our party of 8 was thankfully waited on promptly. To save you some time, I’m just going to go over the highs and lows of the overall experience.
Guac at the table is always a fun thing to watch, but it’s just guacamole at the end of the day. The chips and salsa are clearly made fresh, so full marks on that.
Ajay and I got the Rosa (sans meat): it’s a chille relleno stuffed with cheese with a cheese enchilada– side of lemon cilantro rice and beans. The rice, was, for lack of a better word, UN FREAKING BELIEVABLE. I could come here just for the rice, tbh.
The kids Mac and cheese ain’t fresh by any means. It’s straight from the Kraft box, and I don’t see why I have to pay 5 bucks for it.
Tortillas are made fresh by a machine that sort of spits them out into a basket — I felt I was at a science museum while I was watching this process, it was kinda weird, but fun.
I told u my dining experience had lows. Our food took 2 hours to arrive. Granted, the place was bursting at the seams, it still seems unreasonable to wait that long to eat. Just gimme my food!
As you can tell, this place didn’t blow me away like I was assured. I really think it’s just about okay to visit when you’ve run out of options … I would opt for a friendly neighborhood mom and pop restaurant any day.

TASTY FOOD BUT HIGHLY OVERPRICED DRINKS!
Just had a tasty dinner at Pappasito’s. I ordered the Coronado plate and also enjoyed two skinny margaritas. No complaints… That is until I received my bill! Holy cow! My 2 margaritas cost $ 21.90! That was more than the cost of my food! Nothing special about the drinks– not oversized-​not extra strong… just highly overpriced at $ 10.95 each!

Came here for the first time after finding out city center was overcrowded, the food was bland and overpriced. Service was decent and the restaurant is nice but not one thing we had was good: drinks, chips n salsa, fajitas were all so disappointing.

Besides having a 45minute wait to be seated, slow wait staff. Waited over 30 minutes for our tamale appetizer to show up after asking numerous times. Afterwards, another 35 minutes until we got our food. Could never find our waiter in vast array of the over crowed dining hall. Food finally arrived… Cold. After finding the waiter they sent the «manager» over who kept asking if our main food was cold while ignoring the fact that our entire meal was cold. Finally she said she would tell the kitchen manager. Not even saying how she would make our meal better. «Want new food?» She asks, no thanks I already wasted over an hour of my time to try your place.
I would never recommend this place unless all you want is adult beverages.

I arranged for a family Christmas reunion in the separate party room on a busy Saturday, the weekend before Christmas. Family flew in from 4 different states and all met for lunch at Pappasito’s. I worked with Roxanne ahead of time, making all the arrangements by email. Roxanne did a fantastic job and I didn’t worry about a single detail, she carried through on everything she promised! Our server, Stephen, was fantastic. He took care of everybody’s needs and wishes, promptly. The restaurant was packed and very busy, but we never knew the difference in our private party room. Everything ran smoothly and right on time.
The food was outstanding, served family style. Even though everyone stuffed themselves with the delicious fajitas and enchiladas, there were plenty of leftovers. Stephen arranged the leftover food with take out containers so that every family took home food for their dinner. We took back food to our hotel and had dinner late that evening, still quite delicious.
I can’t say enough about this whole experience and everyone at the reunion said that they would choose this location for the next gathering they have for any reason. I will do the same. Thank you Roxanne and Stephen! Family reunion was a huge success!

We were very happy with our meal experience. Like all H-​town area Pappas restaurants everything was spiffy, organized, terrific greeters and waitstaff, food was great-​to-​outstanding. I had never had a side order of jalapeño sausage before, I HIGHLY recommend it. It was a good-​sized portion, a great value, and tasty as hell.
OH — and the table-​side guacamole was also very good. Wife, sister and I agreed it was maybe the best guacamole dip we have ever had.
As usual, great job Pappacitos.

The green salsa that is served with the basket of chips is completely addicting!!! I’m pretty sure I went through at least two bowls and almost a full basket of chips. If you haven’t tried it — you are definitely missing out. Seriously. addicting!!!
The wave is a great drink that mixes a margarita and sangria. I liked it but I could only drink one. One of my coworkers had three though. She’s obsessed. I really liked the one of the Cherry mule, specialty version of a Moscow mule. It had fresh lime juice, ginger beer, cherry juice and was so good. I didn’t try it but I do have to give a shout out to the Pina Colodas served in fresh pineapple. They looked so good. My boss was in heaven!
I ordered the steak and chicken fajitas to split and could barely finish two of them. I was stuffed… clearly a result of all the chips and green salsa. We had a very large group and the service was pretty good. Tessa did an amazing job keeping track of everything. She was very nice. This place has a great vibe and fun atmosphere. We love coming to this place when we are in town.

My server and experience with the manager was what made this kinda ok trip great
Ashley is by far the best server at this location thank you so much

We enjoy the food and service but holy moly the prices have gotten a bit crazy! $ 20 for two enchiladas, rice and beans? Really? I just can’t get over the pricing. I think we’re paying for the chain name because no way that meal should be that expensive.
The Plato Del Mar was extremely tasty so no complaints! Yes, I’ll go back because it is a favorite of ours but I’ll definitely be limiting the frequency of the visits.

This place was highly recommended to me by locals so I expected an authentic experience. Unfortunately, I discovered Pappasito’s is more like the Chuck E Cheese’s of Mexican restaurants, which is to say high on hype and low on food quality or authenticity. It’s not an ideal restaurant to go to if you have anyone in your party with dietary restrictions as they are not transparent on their menu and their Americanized version of Mexican food is higher in fat and sodium.
We had someone make fresh guacamole for us at the table, which was okay but the flavor was bland and for the $ 11 cost, I could have purchased three times as much freshly made, authentic guacamole at my local grocery store.
The homemade tortilla chips that they make (and pile in abundance on your table) are really good — thin, crispy, fresh, and salty — but if you eat too many you won’t have room for your oversized meal, which doesn’t arrive at your table in a timely manner. Also, everyone in my family felt sick and thirsty for hours after eating at Pappasito’s due to the sodium intake.
I’ve sat indoors once, which was so loud we couldn’t hear ourselves think, and outdoors once, which was much better but the sun was in our eyes the whole time so we had to keep shifting chairs. Also, we had to ask twice for someone to clean our table and chairs due to bird poop.
On the bright side, they do bring children’s menus with activities and crayons and both times we visited the highlight was a talented balloon artists who made balloon creations for our children for tips.
My salads were just okay, neither would I order again. My husband’s quesadilla and burritos were also just okay, but very large.
The parking lot, though huge, was challenging to find free spaces to park in.
If you consider yourself a foodie or appreciate ambiance or authentic cuisine, this is not the place for you. If you enjoy something like Chipotle though and have the extra cash to spare, you may enjoy this restaurant.

My boyfriend had been talking about this place, so I decided to give it a go.
As soon as we walked in, hostesses were super nice, one of them was showing us where we were seated and she was actually asking how we were that day and was super kind.
Our server came and took our drink orders. We told her that it was my first time here and she immediately said that she would bring us some queso, salsa and chips. She said that I should try the queso since it’s my first time there. The queso, oh my god, it was the best I have had. It was so flavorful and creamy!
She then took our orders. I ordered the Beef and Chicken Fajitas, medium size (the smallest size), and when my boyfriend wanted to order his food, she suggested that we could share. She said that she would bring us another side of beans and rice (if you have seen my review for Nacho Mamas in Elmwood, Louisiana, in your face, Nacho Mamas).
The fajitas was huge! It was clearly more than enough for the both of us! (see pictures) and the best part, both the chicken and beef were super tender. All the ingredients were so fresh and tasty, and it makes me hungry thinking about it now…
Our server, AMAZING! She was so nice and informative at the same time. When we were done, she actually asked if we wanted any drinks to go. This is by far one of the few best service I have experienced!
Next time when I am in Houston, I will definitely visit again!!!

Decent food but OUTRAGEOUS PRICE!!!
I had no idea the guacamole was $ 10!
My cheese enchilada plate is normally @ $ 11 at the standard mex rr we go to but here they were $ 18!
I didn’t even look at the pricing when we ordered because I just would have thought the price was typical to all the other mex eateries we patronize. It’s far from it, this isn’t gold and diamonds guys — it’s flippn cheese, rice and beans!
Will not eat here again due to the outlandish price

Service wasn’t really on par this time but it was really busy. However, so the best Mexican food in the area. Most dishes hover in the $ 20 range. The chips and salsa is very good

I finally visited this location for Fajitas night (Wednesdays — half off deal for Fajitas for 2). I was thrilled because I’ve been hearing about the fajitas Wednesday from the last 4 months from my colleagues! This location had indoor and patio seating, but everything was packed on that Wednesday night. The tables were extremely small that we had to be creative with our limited table space.
Food Highlights: The Fajitas for 2 is a HUGE PORTION! You can definitely feed 3 hungry adults for sure! We ordered the combo (chicken and beef). They were both very tender, but the beef was far more tender than the chicken. Both were nicely seasoned. It comes with a side of pico de gallo, guacamole, carmelized onions, jalapeño pepper, and of course… fresh tortillas!
Chips served with a salsa and fresco dip. Both dips were pretty good. The chips were hot and fresh.
I ordered the mango pineapple agua fresca — House-​made mango pineapple syrup,
splash of club soda, fresh lime with a chili salt rim. It’s non-​alcoholic but I’m pretty sure it’s amazing with a little rum.
Service: It was difficult to flag our server in the crowd, but she came to check on us occasionally. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, she was still delightful and kept smiling.

It gets super busy around 5 and leading on into 6, hence everyone is getting off of work in the area and happy hour.
It took a while for someone to come to our table but when he did he was super attentive and awesome! Our server was HORACE (please request him, he’s super awesome).
Everything on the menu is ridiculously expensive for Mexican food. Two fish tacos are about $ 18, three fajita tacos are around $ 18. To me that’s way to much! So we ordered Pappasitos grill. Comes with a bacon wrapped shrimp, chicken and beef and tortillas.
I love the queso here! Here’s a break down
Pappasitos grill
–big enough to share between two people, will come out steamy, hot and fresh. Sizzling! The plate is extremely hot too so be careful. I asked for cilantro rice. It also comes with charro beans and two sauces a chimichurri sauce and white wine butter sauce. Holy Moly! The white wine sauce was sooo buttery. I asked for it to go to use as a pasta sauce. I would definitely recommend this dish to share amongst a couple for date night/​lunch.
Calamari
–over spiced and overlooked. Comes with fried jalapeños too!
Queso
–perfect. I think this cost about $ 6, you can add beef of you want. Good when reheated also.
Don’t forget to request Horace, excellent customer service, and he will always keep your glass full! Enjoy!

Even though it is a chain, Pappasitos is one of my favorite Tex-​nex restaurants. My go to is their taco trio (three tacos — shrimp brochettes, pulled pork and carnitas) with rice and beans. It comes with some delicious sauces and some pickled veggies.
They have several types of ceviche that are fresh when we order them. Mucho mucho love.
This review is based on my personal experience and all statements made herein reflect my personal opinion only. Your experience may be completely different.