El Tiempo Cantina — Restaurant in Houston

Update 10/27/25: I decided to return to this location a few months after I wrote the original review below because my mother was in town and she wanted El Tiempo. And unfortunately I was also overcharged this time again (second time in a row). We dined on a Tuesday which is the 'Taco Tuesday' special where the 2X Taco Plate is offered for the price of the 1X Taco Plate. Me, my mother, and my son all ordered the 2X Taco Plate. When I received my bill I noticed that I was charged the higher price instead of the Taco Tuesday special price. When I notified my server of this he looked at my bill and told me that it was the correct price. Then after taking my payment he returned with my credit card and receipt and said he "checked with his manger and verified that it was correctly charged", which it wasn't because I know how to read a menu. Then magically as I was signing my receipt, the manager came up to our table and told me that I was getting a refund for the overcharged amount because she "discovered" that I was actually not given the special price.

So long story short, this place is notorious for ripping off customers even though their prices are already astronomical (ex: $20 for a medium queso). It's pretty pathetic they do this but they do so my advice is triple check your bill and make sure it matches the actual price it's supposed to.

Original Review (8/18/25): Firstly, I am a born & raised Houstonian and have been coming to El Tiempo since before it became the ritzy, high class Tex-Mex it is now. Tonight (a Monday night) I decided to dine here with my son. It happened to be National Fajita Day and they were offering 1lb fajitas for $48.99 and since it's a Monday they also offer $5 house margaritas all day. So we arrive and are seated and of course I order us the fajitas and myself a house margarita. Then during the meal I order another house margarita. Now before I forget, when our waiter took our initial drink order I confirmed with him that they had the margarita special. So fast-forward to when we finished our meal and I ask for the check. On the check is the $48.99 fajita special, one $5 house margarita, but then one $10.99 house margarita. So when our waiter comes back I ask him why I was charged full-price for it and he kind of hesitates, stutters, and then gives me a made up excuse about how maybe after 7pm it isn't the special anymore (but he thinks the special is all day). So he says he is "going to check with his manager" to confirm. So about 3-4 minutes later he returns with my check and he corrected it to both margaritas at $5/each.

Now I wasn't born yesterday and I can clearly pick up when someone is lying / trying to be deceive me and this was obviously the case. This waiter had been serving margaritas to numerous tables around us the entire evening and it was clear it wasn't his first day on the job either. He obviously knew about the special because they do it EVERY Monday. I guess he just figured I wouldn't notice or care enough to bring it up.

So I will end it by saying, come on El Tiempo, you are literally making record profits on your food & beverages and have increased your costs every year for the last 5+ years. But to intentionally deceive your customers is uncalled for. You...

Never turn down a trip to El Tiempo!

El Tiempo is definitely in my top 5 Mexican restaurants in Houston, and this location is probably my favorite. Parking is easy (the valet is right next to the entrance), and there is always a wait every time we go, but we never seem to mind because that just gives us more time to soak up delicious margaritas and discuss whether we want guac or not to start off with (spoiler alert: it's always yes).

There are two dining rooms inside, and of the two we prefer to sit in the smaller one straight ahead from the front door. It's much quieter and less chaotic then the larger dining room, and also makes a great private party space. El Tiempo has one of the BEST skinny margaritas on the rocks in Houston, and I can't resist imbibing in one-ish every time we go. Their regular margaritas are also delicious, and the beers always come out ice-cold, so do yourself a favor and try one (or two...).

The food menu is HUGE, but laid out so you can find what you are looking for easily, and with lots of preparations for one dish so you can always try a new spin on an old favorite. The fajitas are wonderful, served with a warm butter sauce that you know you shouldn't be eating (but do anyway), and I recommend trying them with the corn tortillas. Rice and beans are on par with the rice & beans at other restaurants in Houston, but you never go wrong getting extra guac with anything. The ceviche is also delicious with tons of fresh seafood and a light oil-based marinade that really pops when you squeeze the lemon over top, and my husband loves the soft fajita chicken and fajita beef tacos, usually choosing them at lunch over a heavier fajita plate (his favorite go-to).

Overall, the food is delicious and the service is friendly (don't expect to be BFF's with your server - they are BUSY), so it's definitely worth the wait on a busy night...I just wish they had a bigger...

I've been to all el Tiempo locations and love the food and love the service. I've been to this location (on Washington) most often of all locations as they are the only location that serves weekend breakfast. The food is awesome but there is one server that has always kind of been rude more to the side of blunt but lately he has become just rude and unhelpful like he is burdened by working there. A few months ago I had words with him. I don't condone that but he was just being nasty. I reviewed that experience back then. Since then I've been back once and was served by another server who was a true professional. This weekend I returned for a 9:30 breakfast and the same rude server attended us. We were with friends who had never been there for breakfast and it would have been a great experience had it not been for the old timer rude server. The food was spot on but our friends could not stop commenting on the rude server. Shame on me.....I should have chosen a section further away from the entrance so another server could have gotten the tip and our choice of El Tiempo breakfast for first timers wouldn't have been a negative experience. El Tiempo, please retrain this server or send him on his way. He has been there for ever so as connected as he is regarding restaurant politics, take him off the floor or...