La Plaza Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

In a city and state known specifically for its excellent Mexican / Tex-Mex food... it's hard to even understand how a place like this actually exists... especially in the middle of a predominantly Hispanic area. I don't even LOOK at reviews for Mexican restaurants in Houston... because it's SO rare to find one that doesn't serve pretty similar food... that is at least AVERAGE in quality. So I was quite surprised when the food at La Plaza turned out to be so... well... bland and boring. The overall vibe is that of a typical American diner... complete with older run down waitresses and a shabby, grease-patinaed decor. I ordered something pretty difficult to confuse or screw up... something like enchiladas verdes... with beef fajita meat. The verde sauce tasted bland and canned... and there was maybe one or two small tablespoons of extremely finely chopped meat in the entire dish... which was mostly tortillas, rice, and cheese. (I think most people who see the word "fajita" on a menu have a very similar idea of what the meat is going to look and taste like... but apparently the cooks at La Plaza have a different idea.)

The service was fine... I can't fault the elderly waitress for the uninspired food... which wasn't particularly cheap--considering the bland nature and the lack of actual meat (like $14 for a lunch portion). The enchiladas verdes at, say, Juanita's on TC Jester for example is FAR better--with a larger portion--way more meat--better sauce, bottomless chips and salsa... and black beans on the plate (no beans @ la Strada)... for around the same price.

I guess I'm always of the mindset of: "If you're going to DO something... why not do it WELL?" And it's not like there aren't 100 to 1000 good to great Mexican restaurants in Houston for these guys to copy if they're not sure how to do it. In fact, most TACO trucks have better food--for less money--than La Strada......

I come there for lunch and ordered caldo de res. After I had ordered 3 sets of family comes after me. I waited 10 min just to get my water that I had ordered and this old man who orders his coffee after me gets his coffee before my water. So I was already irritated. Then the waitress finally gets my order and the other family who sat like 15 min after I did orders menudo and gets his soup before me. I have lost it and I finally blew up and told the big fat waitress why is the guy who sits 15 minutes after I have ordered gets his menudo and my caldo is still not ready. I told them that I had never waited over 30 minutes for a caldo. It was obvious that I was asian eating at the Mexican restaurant and this was a asian hate. I have never been so mad. So after all that waiting, I just left and I will never come back to that...

Your mom not around to cook Mexican food for you? Just come here! This place reminds me of the "huts" in el paso or the dinners in El Ciuadad De Juarez! I came on Wednesday so I got the caldo de res. The meat was beautifully trimmed and the rice was perfect and plenty of delicious veggies--I hate going to a Mexican restaurant and getting caldo de res and asking for rice and they give you white rice - - not here! They speak English, I'm sure but, I speak Spanish and they had excellent customer service. The prices are moderate; you'll probably spend $6-$12 for lunch. They don't just have bins of food over a warmer - - they actually cook the food fresh. If you read my reviews you know I like hitting up a taco truck here and there but once in a while I just want a...