Ojo de Agua — Restaurant in Houston

Very pleasant surprise at River Oaks District

I would say this restaurant is a great alternative to all the options you have in the area and is nothing like we have seen in Houston before. Would recommend giving it a try and decide for yourself, but you won´t be disappointed. Detailed review: When I arrived, I was surprised by the beautiful outdoor patio which includes two big cantilever umbrellas that give shade to a set of beautiful Mexican stone tables. Walked in to a pleasant surprise. The restaurant is very nice, it gives some kind of beachy relaxing vibes that were desperately needed in the area. It looks like an upsacale trendy beach club with wooden and tile tables, hanging swing chairs and great chill out music. A giant mural by a local artist greets you right next to the entrance followed by a marketplace where you can buy from fresh fruit, ginger shots, inhouse made parfaits, small moet champagnes, bottled beer, and Mexican candies. I was explained by a waiter the ordering system, which consists of ordering your food at the counter and sit down in a table of your choice, then the waiter delivers the food to your table. I look at their extensive all-day menu, which in my opinion, even if overwhelming, it looked really good with some very interesting spin offs from some traditional dishes. I was accompanied by two other people, so we decided to taste some of their most recommended dishes. After ordering and paying, I thought a bit more pricy than other counter service restaurants, but after getting the food, price looked fair or even cheap given portions, flavor and quality of the dishes. When we were waiting for our food, I asked to speak to the manager to try and undertsnd the concept a little bit more. Instead, I was greeted by one of the owners which was a nice touch (there is always one of the owners there to take care of the restaurant which adds to the experience). He explained me the counter service idea is for the clients to walk through the marketplace and see the “grocery” options the restaurant offers. He told me that after your first order you don´t need to stand for another one and the waiter will take care of everything after that in your table, which is also nice. Regarding the food he explained portions are generally generous and that they use only high-quality products, tortillas are hand made in house and bread too, with some options from a local artisan bakery, juices are made by 100% fresh fruits with no added sugars. So after the small chat I was ready to taste the food. It took around 8-10 minutes to get all the dishes. First let me tell you, presentation was amazing in every dish and drink we got. Rib Eye tacos – tortillas were delicious, it really looked hand made (they add a little bit of color to the tortillas by mixing dough with beet or cilantro or sweet potato). The rib eye was tender and really tasted like a quiality rib eye you could get in any steak house. We got three big tacos which should be enough for a good one person meal. The lobster grill cheese - This sandwich was amazing, generous portions of cheese and lobster (I was told they use one and a half lobster tails). For me it was a little to big and messy with all the melting cheese but flavor was amazing, one of the best sandwiches I´ve ever had. Chilaquiles – We ordered them with eggs. Let me tell you this, it was a big dish that could easily feed two people. Lots of tortilla chips, with lots of sauce, cream and cheese, and a whole avocado (this is great for avocado lovers) and two eggs. Cevoche Tropical – One word, delicious, Ingredients were really fresh and flavorful. You could easily be eating this ceviches in any resort in any beach. They scored big time with the ceviches. We ordered some combination juices like one with mango and coconut and passion fruit; juices were fresh...

I’m a little conflicted on the star rating I should give. This place was great, but it had its flaws. The atmosphere is extremely vibey. They got great music playing, it’s in a nice part of town (a little more upscale), and the lighting, seating, etc are all on point. It feels and seems very social media-ish so I could definitely see influencers coming here.

I see reviews about terrible service. We went on a Friday early afternoon so it wasn’t super busy and I thought service was reasonable. We didn’t get a refill on our water while we were there however and it did take a little long for the waitress to start our order and get our initial water and drink orders but after that, I’d say it was good.

The food here tastes good, aside from the cheese fondue thing). The cheese fondue didn’t have enough chorizo in it and they give you three little tortillas on the side. You basically are eating a cheese taco at that point. I wish they just had some nice queso and chips to dip. They did have guacamole but we opted to try the cheese fondue with chorizo out of curiosity and I do not recommend.

My wife got a turkey something sandwich which tasted extremely good! It honestly tasted like a pizza. The salad she got on the side had no dressing on it however, so she did not eat it at all. The sandwich had the perfect crisp to the focaccia bread but the only downside to it was the amount of protein in it. THERE WAS HARDLY ANY. Albeit tasting good, you were basically eating bread and greens.

I got the tacos al carbon. Now these tacos were AMAZING but they were the size of the small street tacos you get at taco trucks for a dollar a piece and they charged 20 bucks for THREE TINY TACOS. That’s basically almost 7.5 bucks PER TACO. That’s ridiculous. This plate should not be more than 10 dollars especially since you don’t even get rice and beans on the side. The sides that come with it are legit a tiny cup of guac and onions and lime to put on your taco… 20 bucks with no rice and beans.. cmon man that’s ridiculous.

The non-alc drinks are ridiculously priced as well. Now let me be honest the drinks are fabulous. But not worth 10-12 bucks per cup. I got an horchata, strawberry kiwi juice and my wife got some other juice, and just for those three drinks was over 30 dollars. Albeit tasting amazing they were not worth THAT much.

I understand it’s in a nice part of town. Especially since our favorite steak house (steak 48) is nearby, but I honestly think it’s extremely pricey for the amount of food you get. I spent over 100 dollars where I know at other places I would’ve spent half of that with just as equally good food but bigger portions to.

Overall, I’m going to give 3 stars. My wife and I would come back. We would just have to see how hungry...

After reading the reviews I was excited to try this restaurant but I was left disappointed. I visited at noon on a Thursday. At first glance the place is beautifully furnished and photogenic. After being sat for aprox. 10 minutes the hostess came by to take our refreshment order and notified us that our waiter was busy at the moment. After we placed our beverage and food order at once with the hostess, she delivered the drinks to the table. The passionfruit margarita and the horchata carajillo was the highlight of the entire experience. Our waiter did not come by to check on the table nor did I know who it was as several passed by our booth. The hostess was patient and assisting in my and my plus one's dinning experience.

The hostess notified us once again, the kitchen was backed up. After 45 min I became concern about the food order placed. (Our food order was two chilaquiles with fried eggs.) As this is a simple plate, I did not expect such a huge delay however, I was hopeful that the quality would be worth the wait. I eventually waved the hostess down for her attention and requested if she could box the food to go as it had been quite sometime as well as the checks. The hostess proceeded to send who I assume to be our waiter to the table to collect payment. He did not apologize once or ask us how the experience was. 30 minutes after the payment was processed the food was brought to our table.

Once I arrived to my final destination I looked at the food and was insanely disappointed. The time we waited for our food did not match the quality of the meal. It was a basic container of tortilla chips, cotija cheese, a semi brown avocado, black refried beans, 3 huge slices of tomatoes, and my eggs. I appreciated the salsa being placed aside. The salsa lacked spice and flavor. It was pretty bland and was sort of sour. After a few bites, I decided to toss out the overpriced/ low quality meal in the trash.

I have had this plate made several times and can confidently say that this place ranks top as the worst to make it. Due to the simplicity of what I was given here, I was upset for the time spent waiting and for the price I paid. The photos attached social media did not reflect I was given.

I would recommend this place for the aesthetic of pictures and solely for the drinks. As a Mexican American I was rooting for a grand experience and was left short of disappointment by the lack of service and quality...