Natalita's — Restaurant in Jersey Village

We Love this place! And the waiters and waitresses are a hoot, too! These are not some rookies. It's family owned and operated, real, old fashioned, true, actual, TexMex. This is some of the best, best tasting, and hottest TexMex we've ever had and our whole, extended, Jersey Village/Cymbal Woods, family has been going here for decades, already.

I'm the in-law guy that always jokes with them, in a family of four generations of ladies, and a Grandpoppy, too. The ladies simply love this high quality food, and so do the guys in the family. I first learned about excellent Natalita's from my wife, since this was her mom, and grandma's, favorite TexMex place, par none.

These chipper dudes are like Hispanic Rodney Dangerfields; loveable, kind, considerate, five star customer service, 'Do unto others,' Good Ole, Grandpoppies, that always have something cool, and sometimes even funny, to say to you. And they've taught the younger generations of gentlemen and ladies, who work with them, their same level of top-notch service. It's a beautiful story of generations of simply stellar cooks, waiters, waitresses, and top shelf, top notch, managers, that truly care about serving you, the customer, as well as making the hottest, freshest, and best tasting TexMex likely within a fifty, hundred, or more, mile radius of Jersey Village, at the Highway 290/Jones Road intersection plaza. They are behind, and to the right of, 'Los Pukos,' a.k.a., 'Los Cucos,' or 'Los Coldos,' which is their horrid competitor and a huge franchise chain. So just pass Los Cucos right on by and drive back to the right side of the Jones Rd/290 business plaza. They are to the left of Coaches, and next to Harbor Freight and Tool.

We almost know the menu by heart, yet it is extensive, almost like a succulent, derthy, novel, and you can always find something unique, and new, if you look. Their fajitas have gotten even better. Their chicken fajita, especially, has gotten bigger, all white meat, chicken breast, and it tastes superb! Their enchiladas are excellent, and your group, family, or party will be fighting over their custom, secret recipe, Queso.

I love the white enchiladas, which are essentially sour cream, or la crema, chicken enchilada, with refried rice and beans. Makes your mouth water just thinking about it, ehh? I bet. Well, 'Enchilada pollo de crema,' might not be on their extensive menu, but they have it and you can ask for it. You can tell a high quality, truly family run, TexMex by whether they have this, or not, and Natalita's white enchiladas are par none.

I don't drink, yet some of my in-laws have one, or a few, occasionally, and their bar is five star. I've been told that they make one of the best margaritas in Texas, and they know how to make them. They have sports on, as well, for the crucial games that the guys might not want to miss if they happen to be right at dinner, lunch, etc.

But don't take my word for it, as a long-time, local, Jersey Village, customer. Go check it out for yourself and see if I'm right, or...

I was looking for a texmex place in Jersey Village to try while my wife attended a co-worker's party. This place caught my eye with either 5 stars or one star reviews. So let's begin.

Food. Extensive Tex-Mex menu. I imagine they have a sweet spot of standard dishes and the more you stray from this the iffier things will get. I stuck to the Enchilada Dinner. My mom went Mole Enchiladas. I got exactly what I expected, nothing special, but very solid enchilada dinner. Mom said hers was a bit spicy, but she ate most of it. The salsa was bland, as many reported. If you own, manage or work here, fix this ASAP. This is Texas, you can buy great salsa at HEB if you can't make it.

Service. Prompt. Friendly. I did not feel like I was being rushed as a couple folks said. We did have two different people asking after us and wanting to make sure we had all we need/wanted. Employees did not have a corporate conformity.

Environment. Yup, it is in a strip mall as one critic complained. Not sure where they normally go for Tex-Mex, but many of the best non chain brands are in strip malls in these parts. Heck, even some of the fancier ones are in strip malls (looking at you Escalante's). I liked it. Lots of booths. Colorful without being psychedelic. Most of the other clients were elderly or families with young kids. Listened in while the waiter chatted with a nearby table about where their kids were these days. Got the feeling many of the folks there have been working/eating here for decades.

Summary 3 stars. Food we had was average at best. In H town, average Tex-Mex is really sub par. Too much good competition. Service and environment lift it to average. I am never going to be a regular, or probably eat there again (just outside my normal area), but if I lived w/i 10 minutes, I could see myself hitting it several times a year, especially if I had young kids. It is not the worst restaurant in Houston. And it may be past its former glory, but for the bipolar critics out there, get real. This is a solid three for what you would expect.

For those who do not know me from my other reviews: I am not prone to hyperbole or drama. Eateries are judged by food, service and environment; in that order and in context with expectations. I like picking new places that have been panned badly by "local" guides to see why the fuss. If it is a place I go to regularly, I...

It's a shame b/c they don't even deserve the 1 star after my experience there on a business trip. Never in my life have I had a worse experience than here. Flew into Houston yesterday morning, meetings all day, finally got to eat at 3 o'clock. I ordered a drink and some lunch, ate some of that lunch and asked for a to go box and container for my salsa. My server told me that it would be $3 for the salsa. I thought he misunderstood my request and told him I didn't want to purchase a to-go salsa, I wanted to take home (for my food) the salsa that was already on my table, you know the one they give you with your chips and salsa. Jose, who I learned is one of the owners, comes around and tells me that it will cost me $3. I was in disbelief so I asked again, "you mean you're going to charge me $3 to take home the salsa you give me at my table?" He pointed to my salsa and said. "this is free when you eat here, if you take this home, you pay us $3." I was in and still am in complete shock! I told him that was ridiculous and made no sense at all and he said he didn't care. For subpar food, and my lunch costing me $21, you would have thought he would give me a container for my salsa that was already on my table. Earlier, I was sitting at my table and had to get up quickly because I felt something on my leg. I jumped up and was looking under the table to try to find what it was, and another server joked, "oh, they don't eat much." That in itself didn't make me feel too confident about this place. To say I wouldn't recommend this place is an understatement. Jose argued with me and yelled at me, literally raised his voice at me, over salsa. I finally left and when I went to pay, the host apologized to me and told me she understood where I was coming from. Sad owners...