El Tiempo Cantina — Restaurant in Houston

I would give 0 stars if possible. My partner and I came to this restaurant before the Texans game to eat and have a few drinks. While there, a gentleman approached us claiming to be affiliated with the restaurant and assured us that if we spent $50, we could use their shuttle service to and from the stadium. He was very clear and confident in his explanation, so we agreed to the offer.

We left the game early to beat the crowd and waited outside for the shuttle, only to find it was nowhere in sight. To confirm, I called the restaurant. The representative told me that the shuttle wasn’t even running. After I explained that one of their people had promised us otherwise, she placed me on hold and transferred me to the manager.

The manager answered already irritated, instead of taking the time to listen and understand the situation. I calmly explained that I wasn’t upset with her personally, but with the fact that we were told something by staff that was not honored. Instead of acknowledging that or offering a solution, she immediately accused me of yelling (which I was not), then actually smacked her lips and hung up the phone. That level of unprofessionalism is shocking, especially from someone in a management position.

A business should always honor its word. If you tell customers you offer a service, follow through. If there is a change or mistake, take responsibility, communicate clearly, and provide a solution. That’s what good customer service is about. Hanging up on customers and dismissing their concerns is not how a manager should handle a situation. Hire a manager who knows how to de-escalate, who understands that situations like these require empathy and professionalism, and who can actually represent the business in a respectful manner.

Luckily, my car was not towed when I returned, but this experience was extremely disappointing and left me feeling misled and disrespected. Customers, beware — as football season ramps up, this kind of unprofessionalism is not what you want to deal with before or after a game. A business should be built on trust and honoring your word, not on empty promises and poor management. Save your time, money, and energy and take your business somewhere that values...

My husband and I went here one Saturday afternoon because of all the wonderful reviews. I am not sure why this place receives all these good ratings because the food is not good at all!! Let me begin with the salsa and chips they start you off with...the chips are thick and tough and the salsa was unbelievable! It tasted like spaghetti sauce out of a jar with a few peppers in it...I have NEVER had salsa that tasted like that! I have heard that a good sign that you are going to have good Mexican food is...if the salsa and chips are good...then so will the rest of the food. We should have gone with that but we wanted to give it a chance because we were hungry and did not feel like going anywhere else. The beef enchiladas, rice and beans had a weird, funny after taste to them...it really did not taste like any Mexican food I have ever had! I really like fried ice cream, and it seems these days most restaurants don't serve this dessert so I was thinking...let me try their fried ice cream..SURELY nobody can mess this up, plus I wanted to get that bad taste of the other food out of my mouth. Well I was wrong! The "edible" bowl was tough as a brick...you could chip a tooth on it, it was so tough....so it just sat there on the plate as there was no way it was edible...plus it was stale tasting. The ice cream part, however, that was encased in some sort of fried crumbly crust was alright and some sauce drizzled on the plate was ok. So to say that was the only thing that tasted halfway good is not saying much. Another upside was that the waitress and hostess were very friendly. As me and my husband looked around, we could not believe it was so many people in there..I mean it was packed! It must have been the alcohol making people think the food was good. We have been in some outstanding, REAL tex-mex restaurants all throughout Texas so we know what good Mexican food is supposed to taste like and this was completely...

I went for lunch to meet some friends. It was a beautiful day so I decided to sit out on the patio. Since it was chilly, they said it was heated. When walking in the establishment-- it's very dark. Also, it doesn't help when you walk in from a sunny day and your eyes are trying to adjust. I was unable to clearly see right away where the hostess stand is, but I was greeted. I was immediately seated even without my full party, so that was a plus. As the party showed up, we all ordered in a timely manner and didn't seem rushed either. It was still a tad bit chilly bc I couldn't really feel the warmers, but didn't deter me quite yet. I was very much in the mood for some menudo. They were actually serving it... So another plus. I was contemplating a small but the waiter gestured the differences between the 2 sizes. Even though on the menu it says bowl (small or large) it was either literally a small cup or a bowl. Deceiving I feel. I went with the large just in case. The food was brought out again in a timely manner. This is where I was so disappointed. (Keep in mind this is my second go round for this "chain". I had another experience at the Montrose location, which I believe is no longer there. But I didn't like the service or particularly the food. When it comes to Mexican food I have staples that I try that help decipher if it's comeback worthy) So I gave this restaurant another try, and the menudo was lacking. I had the extras (i.e. jalapenos, cilantro, lime) but did not help at all. Plus it had NO pozole (it wasn't special ordered that way)...I had a large bowl full of flavorless soup, all tripe and NO POZOLE. I typically eat the whole soup and all but I just ate the tripe. When I left, the bowl looked as if the meal had not been touched at all. I paid my bill, still gave the waiter a tip and left very unhappy. I will...