Cochinita & co. — Restaurant in Houston

We were in the area for a different restaurant but they were packed and wasn’t accepting walk ins. Instead I found Cochinita & Co on Yelp and boy, we’re glad we didn’t eat at our first stop! It’s run by Chef Victoria Elizondo who is a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists in the Emerging Chef category. It’s a small but quaint shop with plenty of sitting and tons of natural lighting. When we visited they just got their liquor license and was experimenting with some alcoholic drinks. We got to try a cucumber lime spritz and passion fruit spritz. Our favorite was the cucumber lime, super refreshing and flavorful! They make everything in house and made a cucumber syrup specifically for this spritz. The passion fruit wasn’t as flavorful as the cucumber lime and even the chef and employees said they were still working out the kinks on the passion fruit spritz.

We tried a little of everything to get the full experience and my goodness there is a lot to love here! For sides we tried Frijoles Campesinos, Papitas, & Elote. I love when I can find (not sure if they’re refried) black beans, they simply can’t be beat and these are some of the best “refried” black beans I’ve had. Topped with pico, epazote and queso fresco, there’s many layers of flavors and are A++ by themselves! The elote was fantastic, with a squeeze of lime it gave the creamyness from the queso fresco and morita aioli a nice tartness. The chili powder paired with the aioli brings the “heat”. Such a great dish! Our last side was their papitas. It came with queso fresco, spicy morita aioli and green onions. Again, these were absolutely fire as the fries themselves were nice and crispy with a slight crunch but tender on the inside! And more layers of flavor with the aioli and queso fresco. I’d be totally fine just having these three items next time!

For our entree I tried the Cochinita Pibil. It’s pulled pork w/ citrus achiote, & habanero-red onion escabeche. It came with rice and more refried black beans (yay!). The pork was uber flavorful and tender. Paired with the beans and rice in a tortilla, sent me straight to flavor town, with Chef Victoria as mayor! We also tried 2 tacos. Cochinita Pibil and Vegan Tinga. The Pibil is the same pork I got in my entree and the Tinga is Lions Mane and Oyster Mushrooms, chipotle en adobo, caramelized onion, vegan avocado cream and cilantro. Neither of us cared for the Tinga, but we didn’t care with the rest of the amazing fare on our table! On our way out we got two iced coffees for the next morning. A horchata latte and iced coffee. We also grabbed a bag of their homemade tortilla chips. Holy smokes, you gotta try these! They have a crazy crunch but the chili seasoning on them takes them up 10 levels!

They’re doing it right using quality, locally grown ingredients and hand making pretty much everything from scratch! Everyone was super nice and helpful who worked there and even Chef Victoria took our order! Keep killing it and everyone go support this small local business, the food and people...

We live in the northwest side of Houston (Cypress area) and were on this side of town running some errands on a Saturday.

We were craving Mexican food and were nearby and stumbled upon this location completely by accident. Thankfully it was a great accident.

The food here was really good. So good, we would be willing to make the hour long drive every week.

Staff was super friendly and helpful. It was super busy when we went but wait times were not very long. If you have a large party (I would say over 4 people) you will probably have a hard time finding seating during busy hours. Which speaks volumes regarding the place.

I could easily say that everything we ordered tasted really good. The main reason we came was because we wanted Mexican food with coffee (as weird as that sounds) it’s common in our culture. And someone has posted photos of the lattes. And we love lattes.

The lattes here were very good which was a surprise given that it’s not really a coffee shop. Hats off to whomever the barista was the day we went.

All of our food came out warm and our order was right on the first go around. It didn’t take very long from when we placed our order to when we received it but you can tell the food is made to order and not reheated.

Prices are on the higher end of things (I was shocked by the $6 price tag of the chocolate chip cookie) but honestly I think it’s fair given the quality of the food.

Place is small and quaint, a bit on the louder side (busy), but would still suggest it as a spot to catch up with a friend or as a brunch date with a loved one.

Really enjoyed my experience at this location and I’m looking forward to visiting again soon.

I would highly recommend this place at least once so that you can make a decision for yourself whether it is...

Hi! I loved visiting cochinita & co! But unfortunately the service was not met as expected. I feel a little uncomfortable as I’m writing this review because of the owner’s previous responses to low ratings. I would like to suggest a better approach on constructive criticism. This will help the business strive to create the environment it is intended to be. A place where you can eat comfort food and enjoy people’s company with great vibes.

I had asked a drink to be made with light ice. And when I tried it, it did not meet expectations like usual. So, I requested if matcha could be added. I was told it was not possible. That was completely okay. My friend writes bad review. I continued to eat the cochinita pibil ( it taste good, try it yourself !).

Then we were approached Afterwards saying they were able to fix the drink. The lady had not offered a refund, I was not asking for one, nor was I aware that was an option. Regardless, I didn’t want it remade because I respected the response the worker had initially told us.

I come to find out the owner responded to my friend’s review. It was not a professional response and I feel embarrassed. I wanted to enjoy amazing food at my favorite spot, but Instead we had an uncomfortable experience.

I understand as a small business owner you carry a lot of duties. I hope you benefit from this constructive criticism and continue to learn as a business owner, thank you.

Edit: In response to the original comment:

Bashing states: to attack physically or verbally.

Constructive states : promoting improvement

I stated the owner’s responses to low ratings should, improve. The worker was very sweet and as I stated before she did fix the drink AFTER my friend posted the review. No one should feel uncomfortable posting their...