Tinto Grill

This small restaurant was such a delight to eat at. It had the most courteous staff and I really liked the cork board décor around the register. The menu took me back to days when I visited my grandmother in South America. My favorite plate was the milanesa. The meat was always very tender and tasty. I was very sorry to hear that they closed their doors.

Great intimate place to take a date. Beef empanadas! Fresh and tasty. The lentil soup is excellent as well.

This is a great hole in the wall place! I started with the caprese empanada, which was piping hot and delicious. The dough was soft and crispy on the outside. I had the skirt steak cooked to a perfect medium like I ordered with sides of vegetables and sweet plantains. The steak was slightly bland and a little chewy, but still good. The veggies were nothing too special but just a grilled mix of zucchini, carrots, and broccoli. The sweet plantains were so good! They were cooked to perfection with the outside being slightly crispy. Even though the restaurant isn’t in the nicest part of town, tables slowly started to fill up while I was there. The prices and service are great as well!

Had a Groupon here so checked out this neighborhood Argentinian restaurant. It’s a small restaurant with only 10 tables or so but made me feel like I was really in Argentina with the homey feel. The waitress was terrific: friendly and nice, she took care of us. They start you off with some free bread and butter.
I’m never one to say no to a smoothie so I went with a passion fruit smoothie. They also had some Latin fruit smoothies available with fruits I had never heard of but I didn’t have the courage to pull the trigger. Smoothie was kind of sour so I wasn’t a big fan. Needed some more yogurt or something to sweeten the taste a bit.
We started off with empanadas, I went with ham & chicken. Solid but nothing to write home about. The main dish however delivered. Mix grilled plate for one came with flank steak, another type of steak, and sausage served with french fries. The fries were great, tasted just like mom would have made them. The meet came on a warm skillet and was cooked to perfection. I could live off of Argentinian grilled food for years!

Just had giant empanada!!! So delicious! I haven’t seen any other place offer that! Must have!!! Skirt steak, melted cheese, chimichurri. I’m having it again next time I come!

This place is a nice little gem on Long Point. I had the flank steak, cooked to perfection (perfect medium rare) and my wife had the short rib. I tried her short rib and it was delicious.
We had an empanada sampler as an appetizer and it was incredible.
The restaurant is a bit small, but what the kitchen serves is incredible. We will be returning. Also remember to BYOB as they don’t have an alcohol license. The prices are already low, but being able to BYOB makes this restaurant an amazing deal.

Without a doubt in my mind this is my favorite Argentinean place in Houston. I know it’s a heavy statement but I stand by what I say, I’ve been to many other Argentinean restaurants and I always find myself driving across town to Tinto Grill! The reason? Their menu and service is just always better!
They have from empanadas to pasta to Milanesas and steaks! So you will always have something new to try! If you go for the first time, order the Mini Turn Over Sampler, which are cute mini versions of their empanadas, that way you get to munch on the variety of empanadas Tinto Grill has to offer. Everything in their menu it’s simply really good but I’ll write my favorites: I always order the sampler as a starter, but my favorite empanadas are the Caprese (cheese, tomatoes and basil) and the Chicken ones. For the Milanesas, all of them are delicious but I loyally keep leaning towards the Garlicky Milanesa which is covered in mozzarella and Parmesan cheese tomatoes besides the obvious and tasty garlic. For dessert they have amazing Tres Leches and Tiramisu among others plates, but my favorite are these Caramel Crêpes flambéed in spiced rum and topped with vanilla ice cream and is just so good it’s a MUST!
Tinto Grill is a family-​owned place, it’s very quaint with a cozy and pleasant atmosphere thanks very much to the service, they don’t sell alcohol BUT it’s BYOB! I mean, what more can you ask? I have definitely turned into a regular customer. :)

Great service. Empenadas were really good, especially the pineapple. Will definitely come back.

I went to this restaurant last night for dinner. It was the first time that I have been back since it changed ownership about 6 weeks ago. I am happy to report that nothing has changed! That’s good news because this little restaurant has become one of my favorites and my steak and sausage mixed grill was very good.
Come eat here! You will like it.

Ordered the skirt steak with plantains and corn. The special of the day was skirt steak with corn and mashed potatoes. The latter was ~$ 4 less and I was charged the special price with no upcharge for substituting sides. I know in most establishments, that would be the case. So I really appreciate the manager’s kindness.
The food was phenomenal. I’m a picky eater and there were no complaints from me. The steak was juicy and tender, the plantains were the best I’ve had, and the corn was better than average. I look forward to returning and highly recommend this place.

January 30^th ended Tinto as we knew it. Management sold and all staff are moving on but will help the new owners and staff with the transition. The menu is planning to stay the same and hopefully the food quality will too. I wish them well.

The Tinto Grill is great for lunch. The service is quick and the food is nice, but
the atmosphere is not made for a nice eveing either with friends or as a couple.
We will try lunch here again.

Great food, great value, super nice staff. Definitely a Spring Branch gem. Try the beef empanadas, fried yucca, egg salad, and tres leches.
Fantastic, authentic South American cuisine. We’ve tried the three in the area. This is definitely the best.

i think I can call myself a regular here. Heard about it from my daughter (Kristina O) 1^st visit tried the Sampler Empanadas (6 mini emps) my fav is the beef, dough is thin, light & crispy. Never had chimichurri before, stuff is delicious and every time we go we EMPTY the container… ALL of us devour it. Fan of the house salad, beets with shredded carrot & chopped egg (sounds weird but oh so good). last visit got the mixed grill for (2) it could feed (4) see the pic and did somebody say «blood sausage» well, if it just said «sausage», i did try and it had a nice garlicky flavor, just not my thing, my kids however really liked it.
dessert, well, if you like tres leches & tiramisu you will LOVE theirs and must have with a cup of their specialty coffee.
Tiny place between the pawn shop & burger king. SB peeps check them out!

I realize that there are other things on the menu, but if I’m thinking Argentinean, there’s really only one dish, the mixed grill with copious amounts of chimichurri.
And because there’s justice in the world, Tinto offers a mixed grill for 1. And I was able to get the proprietor to throw on a blood sausage for an extra 3 washingtons.
Sold.
Getting here — it’s in Spring Branch, right on the corner of Long Point.
Actually parking here — if you blink, you’ll miss your turn. The parking is good for i’d say 10 – 12 cars.
The décor — It’s a small restaurant, maybe 5 – 6 tables at the most. There are some South American groceries available, as well as a few sodas. As I was driving, and I’m paranoid, I didn’t look for any beers.
The owner/​host was really nice.
The food came out piping hot. 2 kinds of steak, blood sausage, and something else.
The fries on the other hand were somewhere between a homefries and American style french fries. They were good, but just not at all what I was expecting.
Everything was well made, and I really liked the blood sausage. (thanks Bourdain)
Definitely stop by if you’re in the area

My husband hasn’t stopped raving about this place and I was like «Alright already! I’ll try it.» So we went there last night for date night, and I was thoroughly impressed.
The sample turnover appetizer has the perfect portion to whet your appetite until the main entrée arrives. My better half strongly suggested I get the Champignon Steak Tenderloin and boy was it DELICIOUS alongside yellow rice. Forewarning though — if you like your meat rare, be prepared for it to come out still moving! The only suggestion I have is to sear it for another minute. Mine was rarer than I wanted it to be.
It was a nice touch that the owner walked to each table to make sure her guests were enjoying themselves. I’ll be back!

This place was listed as one of the 5 best hidden gems in the Spring Branch area by Houston Press. I had heard of Tinto and actually drive by it frequently on my way around the Branch.
We came in on a Friday evening for dinner. It is a tiny yet cozy place right off of Long Point with some outdoor seating, not that the scenery is anything special. There were a few couples dining and people were coming in and out with to go orders. It is BYOB with no cork fee so bring that bottle of Argentinian wine! I have never had Argentinian food (besides their empanandas) before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my mom and aunt had tried it the day before and really liked it.
They bring you nice hot crusty French bread rolls with fresh butter to nibble on and jars of house made chimichuri and some other tri colored pepper in olive oil thing that was really good. We almost ate the entire jar of chimichuri. I started off with a beef empanada. It arrived piping hot, flaky and full of ground beef and garlic. I was really impressed. I haven’t had a good empanada in a long time and this really hit the spot. Topped with their perfect chimichuri it was heaven. For entrees I ordered the Garlicky Chicken Milanesa and my husband ordered the same thing but beef. Your entrée comes with the choice of 2 sides. I chose the house salad which is a traditional Argentinian beet, chopped egg and carrot. It was really filling but really earthy and good. It came out before my meal. I want to recreate this at home! I added more of that chimichuri and went to town. My husband and I both ordered the sweet plantains and they were very generous and fried up to a crispy golden brown and nice and soft in the center just how I like them. Our entrees were HUGE! Milanesa is basically just like chicken parmesan, really flat pounded chicken lightly breaded and fried. My chicken was a tad bit over cooked but still good, it was topped with mozzarella cheese fresh garlic and some tomato slices. I actually preferred my husband’s beef and I think I will order that next time. We each traded each other half and still took home a box full of food.
I really love the feel of this place. It is as if you are eating at someone’s mama’s house! It is so homey and you feel welcome and all warm and fuzzy. Our waitress was super nice and the owner was equally nice. She was back in the kitchen calling the shots most of the time but made her way out to the dining area to say hello. I can’t wait to make my way back here to enjoy some of the other styles of Milanesa as well as the house specialties like the Tinto’s Chicken and different types of empanadas. I didn’t get a chance to try any desserts but I hear the flan is excellent and I saw someone order a crêpe with caramel and ice cream at our visit. I wish I could keep this place a secret!

They have a variety of different empanadas and they’re all amazing. The beef is my favorite, but they’re all cooked and stuffed to perfection. Their chimichurri is seriously so freaking good on everything. I learned that a melanessa is breaded meat that’s fried, so it’s not the ideal thing to order if you’re on a diet. Be mindful of what you get because you’re surrounded by temptation. They have a wall of cookies, candies, and herbs/​spices that are popular South America which is cool. They do also have grilled options that aren’t topped in cheese or heavy cream sauces and healthy side options which is nice. The five star rating is mainly for the empanadas. The best empanadas I’ve ever had. They’re flaky, stuffed well, and not too greasy if you ever just drive by this place at least stop in to try the empanadas.

Best Mixed Grill Plate for 1… feeds almost 2!
The meat is top notch! Can’t believe the bad reviews.
Get the Mixed Grill plate, or try their tenderloin plate (high end meat).
Tres Leches is one of the best around.

The Tinto Grill is tucked away in a neighborhood that time hasn’t been so kind too. I like South American food, so I was excited to go. There were many South American dishes missing that disappointed me, but I did have several empanadas… one beef, one spinich, and one caprese. I followed up with three appetizer dishes that I ordered to serve as my meal: blood sausage, cassava (boiled Yuca), and maduros. Everything was tasty but there was no wow factor. My girlfriend had the chicken milanese with mushrooms and it was very tasty. It is byob with a $ 5 corkage fee and has good customer service. I will go back and try again.