Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

Lupe Tortilla, a Tex-Mex chain, was started in 1983 by the husband-and-wife duo, Stan and Audrey Holt, in the city of Addicks (outskirts of Houston). Since then, it has expanded to over 20 locations and is now run by their sons, Peter and Judson Holt. When Lupe Tortilla was started, they were known for their lime pepper marinated fajitas, complimentary salsa fresca served with a basket of chips, and margaritas made with fresh-squeezed juices.

We usually go to the location in the Heights neighborhood. They have a free private parking lot which you can usually find available spots. When seated, you will be served their complimentary chips and salsas.

+Complimentary Chips and Salsa (salsa fresca and pinto bean salsa) - The chips are fine, but I am not a fan of the salsas served. The salsa fresca is mild and very peppery. I wish it was more flavorful and spicy. The pinto bean salsa is avoidable and forgettable. For comparison reasons, the salsas here are mediocre compared to other Tex-Mex chains in Houston. - 2.5/5

I ordered a hand-shaken margarita on the rocks and some fajitas:

+Lupe’s “Perfect” Margarita (Demetrio Lowland Top Shelf Anejo Tequila and lime) for $15.95 - 4/5

+World Famous Sizzling Fajitas (Lime pepper marinated chicken/beef/shrimp, hand-pressed flour/corn tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, cheddar cheese, grilled onions, rice, & frijoles) for $24.95 - The meats are okay. The beef is cooked black and completely charred. The flour tortillas are massive here for like a burrito. I have to rip half of the tortilla away to make it smaller. This is for 1/2 pound of meat which they recommend for 1-person (this is a fair assessment for the serving size). Although the lime pepper flavor is good, I would skip out on the fajitas here and stick to the tacos. - 2.5/5

Overall, Lupe Tortilla is okay. Comparatively, you can find much better salsas and complimentary chips across Houston. Their fajitas are flavored nicely with lime pepper, but the meat really isn’t good. Our beef was charred black. The tortillas itself for the fajitas are massive and really should be smaller. I did enjoy my margarita, so getting drinks here is your best bet.

On other occasions, we usually get tacos, and they are fine. However, they add like a large clump of shredded cheese on each taco which is overkill (I always have to remove it). You’ll have a good time at Lupe Tortilla, but there are much better Tex-Mex chains in Houston including Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen and El...

My fiancé and I come to this restaurant at least twice a month. It's been a go to spot for us forever now. We're even Lupe rewards members. We are usually patient and understanding customers but tonight's disappointing experience is worth mentioning.

We checked in online as usual and got there a few minutes before getting a text message that our table was ready. We were shortly sat at the back area tables. We waited about 10 minutes before finally getting acknowledged by Doyle (our server). He took our drink orders and advised chips and salsa were coming out shortly. We did not have chips and salsa in place until almost 15 minutes after we were sat (mind you this usually comes out within 1-2 minutes of you being sat). We finally got our drinks 10 minutes after they were ordered and received our queso shortly after ordering (different server brought out the queso). We placed our usual order (1 LB Beef Fajitas) and now waited.

Food came out at an adequate amount of time (about 10-15mins or so after ordering). When the food came out, we asked Doyle for limes and sour cream and advised he'll be right back. He never came back with what we requested and did not even check on how our food was anytime after. We proceeded in finishing our food (which was delicious) while we waited on our requested condiments that Doyle clearly forgot about. He came back finally about 10 mins later when we were wrapping up asking if everything was fine. We replied that aside the limes and sour cream you forgot to bring us, the food was great. Can we get the check now...

Usually, we are also approached by a manager towards the end of our meal asking how our meal and experience was. Coincidentally, we were not approached this evening. We were ready to let management know our experience was unfortunate to say the least despite being regular customers.

Overall, our experience this evening was not what we are used to at Lupe Tortilla on Sheperd Dr. We hope management takes these issues into account and be mindful of your customers. Please advise to Doyle to have a sense of urgency and let management on duty know to not be selective and approach all customers. Food was great, but our experience was...

If you value good customer service, this is not the place for you.

Bartenders Jose D. & Paco have consistently shown me horrible customer service over the past 5 years. I usually sit at the bar by myself, watch sports, or doom scroll on my phone. I come to a Lupe's 2-3xs a week.

Today, I sat over 5 minutes at a nearly empty bar waiting to be acknowledged. Both looked me in the eye & kept doing what they were doing without saying 1 word to me. This isn't new. I even timed it because I've come to expect it from these two. I was there last Friday & saw Paco hugging & greeting customers & I was shocked that he was actually friendly!

Today, an older white couple came in a few minutes after me. Jose took their drink order within 1 minute & brought chips. He put their order in, then walked by me & dropped the menu without even speaking. That's when I asked for a manager. This has been the issue for years with Jose, and I'm sick of it.

I complained 2 years ago & he made a half effort to improve, but it didn't last. I don't know what I did to him to warrant this. I don't know why I even still go to this location. I've been going to Lupe's since the late 90s/00s it was my favorite restaurant.

I spoke with the manager Trinatty Crabb who told me there wasn't a procedure for addressing customers during a shift change & began telling me that Paco came to work at 9am & has to come back tonight. She said Jose D didnt bring me chips because she was sitting next to me. I knew then that that she was covering for them.

At one point, Jose walked up to us and didn't say one word to me. He didn't even apologize. He just stood there & walked off. I later learned that he is a trainer and good friends with the GM Kyle. This might explain his smug, nonchalant attitude & horrible customer service. With an impending recession, who needs to spend their hard earned money on such disrespect. I most certainly do...