Rudy’s Café

Dusty and dirty old restaurant. Food lacked flavor and to top it off, I found a long strand of hair in the salsa. (Not mine as it was black and I have blonde hair) Needless to say, we will not be returning back.
The two star rating is for our server who tried to accommodate us the best she could…

The margaritas are the star here. You really can’t go wrong with just choosing any of the premium tequilas for a margarita with fresh lime juice. The Corralejo reposado was the one that got me hooked off the bat. Tequila selection is great and the prices are really excellent. Definitely worth checking out.

First time going here the other day. Service was excellent food came out quickly and was delicious. Drinks strop to quite strong. Very pleasant surprise, really good authentic Mexican food.

My boyfriend and I love coming here we go once a week! We get the combination plates, chips and guacamole and the margaritas are amazing!!!

Love this place, been going here for years and always good consistent food, service is average and atmosphere is nice, parking spot a little bit of a hassle but worth finding a spot.

I’ve been eating at Rudy’s since it opened in 1982!
I have to say, it’s a fun place, decent food, and a few local beers. The food has improved steadily over the years since I’ve been eating there, as has the beer list and tequila selection.
The owner /​manager is often there, and you can see that he obviously loves this place!

Love love love this place!!! Good is awesome and they have the best chips and salsa! The guacamole is really good also and come served in an avocado shell. Great selection of tequila as well. Service is also good, although we prefer to sit at the bar with the wonderful bar tenders! I could probably eat here 5 times a week. :-)

Ever-​busy place in Teele Square that serves Tex-​Mex food at a higher price than Anna’s and Chipotle. So it has to be better, right?
Not necessarily. I got the shredded beef burrito and chips. The chips were great. The shredded beef burrito left me thinking, not unlike the immortal Little Mermaid, «I want more.» It was a $ 15 burrito that should have cost $ 5 less. The beans were about as bland. The rice was nice.
Service has been quite good. Keep it up and I may be back!

Rudy’s is a quintessential tex-​mex restaurant in teele square just west of Davis square on Holland st.
Choices on the menu range from tacos, burritos, enchiladas to chimichangas, fajitas and sandwiches. Appetizers range in price from $ 7.99-$ 10.99. Entrees top out in the $ 16 range.
Fillings are fish, beef, chicken, vegetarian. Fresh and flavorful, the combination plates 1 – 4 allow for the sampling of multiple choices of the aforementioned dishes with different fillings. Specials are usually available on a black board.
Black beans and spicy yellow rice accompany most dishes. Unusually flavorful, these two sides are better than most that can be found in greater Boston.
The bar stocks an extensive selection of tequilas which can be sampled in flight fashion, thus allowing the tasting of multiple types and varieties. The tequila menu includes a special margarita list.
Quick and efficient, the meals include fresh cut tortilla chips and a fresh salsa with ha slight kick. Pleasant service.

Cinco de Mayo = Free Sombreros and t-​shirts and that is where one of the stars is coming from. Pretty good queso, another star. Decent service, another star.
My wife and I enjoyed out dinner here but I really don’t see us ever coming back. If you like paying $ 13 for a really blan Mexican food then this is the place to go. The black beans and chimichanga were severely lacking in flavor. Also the décor is in need to a makeover.
In total, I would not recommend this place to any friend.

I would go here every single day if I could. I’m a HUGE fan of the Fire and Ice Margarita and obviously their queso. Here’s a tip for cheese lovers: get the queso, break up some of the chips and sprinkle them in the cheese making them nice and gooey and loaded with cheese, then take a nice crisp chip and scoop up the gooey ones. Cheese overload but it’s heaven in your mouth for approximately four seconds,

So judging by the other reviews this is not the place to get fish tacos. But it definitely is the place to get nachos and margaritas.
My husband and I have been coming to Rudy’s for years because it’s the perfect place to meet up with friends for a casual dinner with great nachos and THE BEST margaritas. It’s family friendly, casual, and there are unhealthy and healthy food options so a group can all find something they like.

Redeemed. First great service. Everything was on point. The server handled me well, even after having 3 cups of coffee on my 12 hour shift, and a super hard weekend. Bravo, sir, bravo!

I don’t understand why this place is as popular as it is. Granted, the interior is cute, it’s easy to get to if you live in Somerville, and the staff is pretty friendly. However, their Mexican food is pretty bland and unappetizing. You wouldn’t know it by the crowd of white people I was with who were eating this stuff up like gold though!
If you ask me, Rudy’s is good for drinks and snacks, but skip dinner. Prices are okay, but you can get a lot tastier and cheaper Mexican food in the area. I love the table by the fire on a cold winter night. Our waiter was super cool and made a «birthday» margarita for the birthday girl. He seemed to be listening in on our conversation, in a good way, to provide us the best service possible. For example, when we made a joke about sticking a candle in a margarita for our birthday party, he did it! When he heard us concerned about running out of time on our meters, he brought the check right away. Attentive without being sketchy. I like it!
Liked my prickly pear margarita. Chips, salsa, and guacamole here are really good. Tacos were bland. Combo plates are pretty bland too. I’m not a fan of the diablo rice (which is not spicy at all!), or enchiladas, which you would think would have more flavor covered in as much sauce and cheese as it is.

We had a great night at Rudy’s this weekend, and I totally recommend it. The cocktails were great, and the atmosphere was PERFECT for a cold winter night. Everything from the décor to the fireplace and the great energy were great.
As far as the food, it was tasty, reliable Tex-​Mex. We both agreed that the nachos were some of the best we’ve ever had. We each got combo plates for dinner as well, which were solid. The flan for dessert was exceptional, too.
Also, make sure you get cocktails. They are tasty and strong, to say the least.
As far as some of the areas for improvement, there were a couple minor ones:
— It is a high turnover joint with no reservations, so the experience felt slightly rushed.
— If you are driving, it is street parking so plan ahead.
— I was REALLY hoping for some great tacos, but even our server said they weren’t special. Given the big taco craze right now, they could definitely get more creative.
Overall, though, I am very much looking forward to going back!

FLAN IS BACK!!! Yeah I said it FLAN IS BACK!!! It’s been about 5 years since they took flan off of their dessert menu and I’ve missed it for all of those 5 years. But no more! I know it’s just custard but there is something about flan that really blows my hair back. Fresh whipped cream and caramelesque drizzle accouterment is one of my favs of all time. Great way to end a night after my usual order of queso and a house salad. YUM!

I ordered wings as I was in the mood for them & was impressed considering this is a Mexican restaurant. :-). They were cooked well & the spicy buffalo sauce was finger licking good! I forced myself to stop from finishing them as I wanted to save room for the shredded beef burrito. Good thing I did b/​c it was delicious! Perfectly seasoned & the guac was fresh! I really enjoyed the rice & beans as well!!!

So far I’m giving this a 3-​star review, but I’m guessing it’ll get bumped up with time.
The salsa isn’t that great, but I’ve eaten here several times and always walk away full. Recently my bf and I shared the pulled pork quesadilla, and it was pretty damn good.
The drinks are strong, and they have a ton of margarita options. I had a glass of wine (why? I’m an idiot) and it was fine but not anything to write home about.
Service is pretty friendly. This is just a good local neighborhood spot to grab a drink and a bite to eat. I wouldn’t say this is a date place unless you’ve been with your significant other for awhile! It’s just a casual place where anything goes — I could easily walk in wearing sweats or work-​out gear, and no one would blink an eye.
I’ll be back fairly frequently, because it’s just around the corner from my new place!

Hands down the best staff ever! A couple friends and i went here the other day with a gift certificate. We gave the gift certificate to the waiter who was great about accepting it. When he brought us back our checks though, it didn’t include the price. We were a bit tipsy from the margaritas and didn’t notice that the discount was not applied. I went back a few days later to complain. The manager knew exactly who I was and said she had refunded us the money right after we left and they realized their mistake. How awesome! She was super apologetic, and total cool. We checked our credit cards immediately and they were very honest and had refunded us the money. I was totally expecting a fight and was greeted with kindness, understanding, and the will to fix a mistake. So awesome!
Ok about the food. It was great! We got two of the combination plates. The guacamole taco is the best idea ever invented and also tastes amazing. The margs were great and very affordable. Both my boyfriend and our other friend finished their entire plates and were consumed in a food coma for the rest of the night (in a good way). I enjoyed the second half of my (huge) meal the following day.
I can’t wait to stop in here again even without a gift certificate!

Truly surprised the total review score isn’t 4+. I’m a pretty tough reviewer, but Rudy’s is the best Mexican anywhere near Boston, which doesn’t even account for the fact that their tequila selection is also fantastic and they make the best margaritas around (authentic, btw, so you have to have some ideas what a real margarita is to appreciate). The food is great, atmosphere also, the wait service is always good, etc etc. Prices are very reasonable.
There’s nothing I can point to that you should avoid on the menu. Portions are large and tasty. I can only surmise that the clientele as Rudy’s likes to whine given most are probably 21 – 24 college students and have no idea about restaurants, dining, etc

I still love Rudy’s. I will always love Rudy’s. I showed up on Sunday before they even opened and it was freezing out! The nice manager working let me come in and hang out and warm up.
Four gals had a great lunch that included lots of JC Margaritas (my new fave, love the cranberry)!
We got some chips and salsa and queso to start.
The queso is the liquid cheese crack that you must get, if you don’t get it and you are with me, I will want to never eat here with you again.
Then I got a huge huge huge taco salad. The size was similar to a newborn baby.
It had grilled chicken, greens, shredded cheese, homemade guacamole, sour cream and the vessel it came in was a huge flour taco shell.
I loved it.
We will make this gals lunch a regular thing now.
The music was great too, Bettye LaVette was the CD that was playing, the nice manager showed me her CD.
We had such a great time and can’t wait to return.
This review marks my 100^th review of 2013! How fitting.
Rudy’s: Make it part of your life!

Great place to satisfy your Mexican cravings.
Mexican Pizza-​REALLY GOOD and flavorful! This is an appetizer, but I can probably just eat this alone. The tortilla was crispy even though I took it to-​go. The mixture of the enchilada sauce, beef, cheese, tomato and scallions makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
I also tried one of the combo plates. The portions were pretty big. I had Combo #4, the beef taco and enchilada were pretty good. My sister really liked the chicken chimichanga, but I found it a little bland.
I definitely will be coming here to try the other foods!

If you were playing a game of telephone with a Mexican person on one end and the chef of Rudy’s on the other, the confusing end result would be this meal.
Que rico!
$ 7 margaritas. I got the Gold which has a hint of orange, and the flavor and strength were decent.
The queso was good on flavor and spice but would have been better if the consistency was less watery. Comes with salsa which was chunky and tasted pretty fresh. Lots of dippage going on, and they’ll bring you more chips.
Que pena!
Perusing the menu, we realize that these dishes sound pretty huge, so my group of 4 girls split the Combo Plate #4 and the Enchilada Sampler. They brought out the plates, and all we see are waves of rice, beans, sauces, and cheese. Underneath all of this are tortillas in various forms wrapping a variety of meats.
There was just so much going on here, and everything blended together after a while. The refried beans on the enchilada plate were paste-​like and tasted pretty disgusting. Worse than some canned varieties I’ve had. The black beans and guacamole on the combo plate were a better side. The taco (ground beef, shredded lettuce and tomatoes, crunchy shell) was just a slight step up from Taco Bell. The chicken inside the chimichanga was flavorful, but the encasing tasted a bit stale.
Since we shared an app and 2 entrees, the price of the meal was quite reasonable, and all 4 of us came away full. However, our taste buds were pretty dazed and confused.
This place doesn’t even try to pretend its food is authentic Mexican fare. However, I think Texans would still scoff at this «Tex-​Mex» establishment. Si regreso, solo voy a beber margaritas.

Great casual Mexican dining. Never had to wait for a seat (never made a reservation either). Food is just your average, traditional Tex-​Mex. Drinks are good. Highly recommend the Mudball dessert (Coffee Ice cream covered in Oreo cookie crumbles). Lighting is kind of dark. No parking lot and street parking is very limited.