Los Tios — Restaurant in Houston

Walking up to Los Tios, there’s a bench to sit and wait and as I waited I looked at the sign “Cheese & Churros” it said if you choose an Enchilada and/or Churro plate in the month of October Los Tios would donate a $1 toward the HOUSTON PETS ALIVE a shelter for dogs and cats. At the front was a painting of a mountain from their hometown with lights festooned on the wall in a delicate arrangement much like a festival of lights. There was a chandelier above with 20 lights and the front hostess counter was decorated with Halloween memorabilia some pumpkins, ghost as well as the ghosts, goblins, and ghouls Halloween paper. The tiles on the floor were different shades of tangerine, orange or perfectly cooked tortillas in a golden crispy yellow

After waiting several minutes, the daughter came in, and the owner seated us her daughter and myself near the bar, to the left—the owner’s daughter was commiserating with head staff and other waiters one-by-one came up to pay respects. It looks like they hadn’t seen each other for a long time yet it seemed like yesterday because they were laughing, hugging, and reminiscing.The daughter had not sat down long enough before the owner/mother comes with menus, and they—the mother and daughter—dialogue in a very warm familial conversation. To the right of the establishment were the booths and to the left was the bar and a very new looking aesthetic stating “Food of the Border” and there was a brand new window that reached out to the parking lot and you can see all the cars parking in the first row. The stone masonry on the building is top notch and it’s multicolored symbolizing the brick and mortar quality is creating an environment and milieu that brings you back to the Southwest of the Pueblo type Spanish homes. We sat at the table closes to the flat screen TV but also the daughter’s mother kept coming up and seeing about our order. It was very organic and didn’t seem rushed at all as if it was natural and one could tell the mother in hospitality and management had been serving, hosting and waiting for years. The mother was hostess, manager as well as waitressing as there was no secondary help coming because she was the filling our drink glasses. The owner and daughter ordered for me and I ordered quesadillas with guacamole and some helpings of tomato and sour cream and the daughter ordered some quesadillas with guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes and a cheese on a hamburger although the cheese covered the entire hamburger!

There was never a time where we were not being helped and the owner/manager/hostesss/waitress was friendly, answered every question and when the food arrived the sauce was served, Tapatio, Hot, Spicy, and the food was well cooked and one could see the steam come up from the warm corn flour and the melting cheese as well as the guacamole was fresh cut from...

I am very confused as to the absence of our initial review form December. We ate here the day before Thanksgiving and the food was decent but service was Terrible. Rita was good - bathrooms smelled like SEWAGE. Visited a 2nd time because the cheese puffs were 1 dollar in November then quickly reprimanded that it was a November special. The girl greeting us was on her cell phone - so very rude. We had no idea there was a bar on the left so I would recommend giving that as an option to 3 adults and not sit them next to screaming kids. Food was cold and small portions and the flour tortilla for a taco al carbon was not cooked and the waitress took it back and they put it in a pan to cook it which made it hard and gave it back to me. WHAT?? Who wouldn't re-make a fresh taco with a fresh tortilla?? Service is terrible. Manager said it is holiday rush. LOL- It was not busy AT all. It's just poor service, PERIOD. Prices are so high for this mediocre food and 120.00 later for fajitas for 2, a cheap tex-mex plate ( the tamale was just horrible-I'm sorry but I have never seen or tasted anything like it- disgusting) and 2 Ritas will NEVER happen again. Sewage smell AGAIN in the restroom - That is disgusting guys. Do something about it. Girl on her cell AGAIN before we left. I told her nicely how unprofessional it was and she and a young blond male waiter stared at me like deer in headlights. Here is another TIP, because it happened both visits. It is funny because the service is so bad and rushed, however both times we were paying , the lady hovered beside me staring at the machine watching me tip. She was so rushed the entire visit but she was present for the bill?? I asked her twice to please move and it is RUDE. I changed the auto tips you have programmed of 18%, 22% and 25 % and reduced my tips to 10% the second visit and 15% the first. Again she stood there watching us change the tip. Train your staff manners please and I'm sorry but 18 percent is an insult. Change those options too - so insulting. We will never be back. Just not worth the quality, tiny cold portions and rancid bathrooms. I only give it 2 stars for the...

Not sure where to begin with this one. We have ordered pick up twice and it was delicious, and the restaurant always seems full. I decided it was the perfect place to take my in-laws when they came in town because they love tex mex. I called to make a reservation and was told we’d be out at a great corner booth because I mentioned it would be our first time dining in. When we arrived, the hostess was very confused (no idea why, I saw our name and table number on their list) but eventually got us to our table after a while. The table was comically wobbly, so after trying to fix it ourselves with menus we asked to be moved to a normal four person table nearby. The hostess sat two more families at that booth who also complained and had to be moved. Never was the table fixed. We got settled at our new spot and laughed it off. Unfortunately it just kept getting worse from there. Our waitress was extremely unfriendly, barely answered questions, kept walking away from us mid-order and mid-sentence (seriously, this happened three times), and had to be hunted down every time we needed something. We started asking other servers and busboys for help. The kicker, and the reason we will never be back, is that to make up for all of this I was expecting the food to be great and it was not good. At all. I ordered ceviche with two Diablo shrimp on the side to my dish. I asked if they had hot sauce for the ceviche and was given a cold and quick “no”. Pretty weird to me for a tex mex or mexican place to have zero hot sauces. The shrimp and parts of the bacon on the diablos were completely raw. I’m not exaggerating when I say one of the entire shrimps was clear and grey - was not cooked at all. I’m known for picking good restaurants when my in-laws come in and this was really embarrassing for me. Never again. I’m only giving two stars because when I called to make the reservation the manager was very sweet, and I did like...