Don Lencho Mexican Grill & Bar

It’s ok. The salsa is thin and a little bland, and the food is decent but not great. My wife likes the stuffed avocado and I like that I can walk there from my house. The margaritas are great though.

My coworker and I work for a custom audio video /​security company based out of Houston. Well we have the privilege of working in many great locations around in/​out of Texas, today we came back to a clients house in the Lake Houston area. After installing multiple security cameras and installing house audio we worked up a caveman appetite. We thought for sure we would grab some gas station snacks and get back to the job site. By the heavens graces I swear Goddess Aphrodite lead us to this to historical monument of deliciousness. Absolutely loved this place we thought it was sketchy at first because it was dead at lunch time and that’s weird for any Mexican restaurant in Texas. To our delight the food was astonishing the servers were gracious and the meal coming out hot was amazing. My coworker and I didn’t even speak to each other during the meal that’s how good it was, that’s also weird considering we’re also roommates lol. I would of easily given Don Lencho 5 stars but the ice cream cone machine by the front door wasn’t working sooooooooo 4.5 stars for this amazing hidden gem.

The first time my husband and I came here, it was amazing. Steak Ranchero was on point. We came back for lunch today. This was really horrible. The avocados on my plate were rotten, my husband got steal ranchero again and instead of the sizzling slab of perfectly cooked meat he got a gray cube with some tomato sauce on top. The manager came over and tried to speak with us but would not listen to us regardless of our praise of their hot cause, fresh tortillas, etc… Then because they were «comping» my meal due to he rotten produce, they decided to charge us for chips and salsa, which is standard for any restaurant and we have never paid for it here before. Their hot sauce, again, was amazing and served hot. But we won’t be coming back here anytime soon unless I call in an order of hot sauce.

Worst experience at this restaurant. Margarita was watered down no alcohol. Fajitas chicken and beef came out on a cold sizzling platter. Shrimp were bad im talking rotten. Waitress never came around. informed them about margarita and they did nothing. About the shrimp she asked if i wanted fresher ones. i told her i couldn’t eat anything else and she took 4 dollars off. this place is gross

The food was good, agree chicken fajitas have a great flavor. My down side is while picking up a to go order, I witnessed one guy putting up clean cups on the shelf, he dropped one on floor and picked it up and put back up with the clean cups. Also the girl at the counter went to fix a to go cup of tea and scooped the ice in the cup with her hand, turned out the tea was for herself but still that’s not okay.

Really good hot sauce, service was good and chicken fajitas were flavorful and tender. Would come back.

Recently visited sister and her family who live in the area a couple of weeks ago, and Don Lencho came up very early in our discussions of their favorite eateries in town. My sister and BIL love Mexican food, and with pilot BIL flying to many areas of the US and the globe, he’s eaten at many Mexican restaurants, some very authentic (read Mexican locales) to touristy and westernized. The way my sister and he both described the setting at Don Lencho, I was expecting bare walls and ill-​fitting mismatched tables, but came to find carved wooden decorative benches, a nice bar, and comfortable booths! There were also many TVs, so I can see this place filling up during sports events.
We were greeted warmly by the manager, whose name I’ve forgotten, as soon as we walked in. Don’t know if this is standard, or if it was because sister and BIL have already been here a few times, but it felt nice all the same. He sat us at a booth, and it was like any other booth I’ve sat in good Mexican restaurants in the Phoenix valley, local and small chains (like Arriba’s, or Valle Luna), and not as stripped down to the bare minimal, or streamlined (fast food) places in downtown Phoenix, or in Tempe/​Chandler/​Mesa. Right away, sister and BIL put in their drink orders of a piña colada
and a frozen margarita, respectively, while I ordered water, since BIL didn’t think the bar made its own sour mix. I decided to ask the bartender this very question and was told that the sour mix was made in-​house, so I asked for a margarita on the rocks, lightly-​rimmed with salt.
The margarita was perfect! It had great flavor and a kick to it– the salt that I’d sometimes sip in emphasized the lime flavor exquisitely. I had noticed a chalkboard with daily specials on it soon after we walked in and noticed that happy hours were from 11a to 530p, with Friday and Saturday night drink specials kicking in at 6p to closing. Sis and BIL didn’t know this, and when I mentioned it, they didn’t hesitate to put in their second round orders! :) With delicious beverages fueling good vibes at the table, we eagerly waited for our food to arrive. But first, the complimentary chips and salsa!
These looked very good, but because the chips were corn-​based, I couldn’t try. The first bowl of salsa quickly disappeared, so my companions asked for more, and when it arrived, I noticed that the salsa was steaming! I’ve never seen salsa-so-freshly-made-it’s still steaming, so I asked if the kitchen could whip up some fried flour chips– a first-​time request for DL, but the manager said they’ll try. And succeeded they did!
These were so good, BIL ditched the corn tortillas and went for the fried pillows of flour, instead. These would be very good drizzled with honey, or rolled in cinnamon-​sugar, just sayin’…
Onto the food! Sister and BIL shared the lunch beef enchiladas, with rice and refried beans,
I had the chile verde chicken enchiladas**, with rice and refried beans.
The rice and beans both tasted great and homemade, with lovely textures (not overcooked, or mushy) and, very importantly, were not overly-​salted. The pulled chicken was terrific! It had great flavor and was tender and juicy, and the green chile sauce was chunky and perfectly-​thickened (with a roux, and not cheap slurry, which is made with cornstarch). Oh, and the white cheese sauce was just OK– could’ve been creamier. I’m very impressed with a local establishment that makes their beverages and food with good-​quality, homemade ingredients AND offer them at great prices, as well.
Don Lencho will definitely be a regular stop when I visit family here! :)
**These were so good, I ate more than I intended, and when I offered the leftovers to my BIL, who tried a quick sample, he wholeheartedly took the plate and cleaned it up! I can’t recall if my sister even had a chance to try it– hehe. (She was too busy finishing the tacos AND her second piña colada!) BIL said the chicken was much tastier than the beef they had.