Gringo's Mexican Kitchen {Katy} — Restaurant in Katy

I'd like to start by saying, I've patronized Gringos (various locations) many, MANY, times over the years. It's generally an enjoyable experience, and we typically visit the one near our house in Cypress (but have visited many), and have had zero issues at that location and others.

HOWEVER - me and my family attempted to visit this particular location last weekend after my 9 year old son's birthday party at Homerun Dugout. We had multiple family members in town from out of state and out of town, so I called 4 hours ahead to see if they would take a reservation. To my surprise, the person who answered the phone said they could! I made a reservation for the 17 of us. Please note that I anticipated they would say no, that they could not take a reservation, and since the party was taking place right across the street, had that been the answer, I would have driven over 30 minutes ahead of our party to get us on the waitlist to mitigate this is issue; however, I was reassured MULTIPLE times by MULTIPLE people in MULTIPLE phone calls that I had a reservation at a specific time.

Fast forward to 7pm when our "reservation" was supposed to be.......we show up and are told it would be AN HOUR wait....with 6 hungry and cranky children under the age of 10 (half of them under the age of 4....). When I asked to speak to a manager, because I had called TWICE and had the Gringos representative (and hostess stand) on the other side of the phone TWICE confirm that I had an actual RESERVATION for 7pm, the floor manager proceeded to mansplain to me how their "join the waitlist online" program works. Ma'am, I am not stupid, I know how your "waitlist" situation works; however, multiple people told me when I called on two different occasions that I had a reservation, not that I would be put on a wait list when I arrived with my party at 7 pm. Do not insult me and patronize me by overexplaining your online waitlist policy, while failing to solve my actual problem.

Two different large parties arrived around the same time as us who had the same issue (were told they had a reservation, then showed up to find they were going to have to wait an hour plus for a table - I asked them directly and they were equally upset and blindsided as we were). So clearly, there is a communication/misunderstanding of the basic definition of the word "reservation" happening at this location that needs to be rectified by upper management (the floor manager at the time was clearly not capable or qualified).

We ended up calling Lupe Tortilla, which is right down the street - the only reason we didn't try that FIRST was that I know for a fact their policy is not to take reservations, although we prefer their food and service....well, my cousin called, and their manager called him back directly to say they would have a table ready for us when we arrived. A win for us - zero wait, and better fajitas. I will NEVER patronize this Gringos location again - and I strongly encourage upper management to educate their staff on the definition of the term "reservation", and to discontinue the use of that term since they do not actually offer that service. Calling ahead is no better than showing up and putting your name on the list, and then having to wait an hour for a table. This was hands-down the most horrible experience I've ever had at a Gringos restaurant, and I am disinclined to patronize Gringos again because of this...

Excellent Happy Hour at GRINGO’S and a little about its history.

GRINGOS, founded by Mr. Russell Ybarra, is a popular Mexican restaurant chain with locations in various cities. The first GRINGOS restaurant was inaugurated in 1993 in Pearland, Texas. Russell Ybarra is an entrepreneur and restaurateur who has worked tirelessly to make GRINGOS a successful chain of Mexican restaurants. His vision of offering authentic Mexican cuisine in a welcoming and fun atmosphere has been key to the brand's success.

I recently visited the GRINGOS in Katy, Texas, and was highly impressed by their excellent happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. This particular GRINGOS is conveniently located and boasts a vibrant atmosphere with tasteful decor. One unique feature that caught my attention was the soft-serve ice cream machine offering vanilla, chocolate, and swirl flavors available for self-service at no additional cost.

Among the standout dishes on the menu are the sizzling fajitas, flavorful enchiladas, and mouthwatering tacos. The variety of options ensures that there is something for everyone to enjoy.

During happy hour, GRINGOS offers margaritas at a discounted price, starting at $5.99. This special deal adds to the overall value of the excellent happy hour experience at GRINGOS in Katy, Texas.

Here is a list of the cities where GRINGOS has expanded over the years, including the year each restaurant was inaugurated:

Pearland, Texas (1993) La Porte, Texas (1996) Texas City, Texas (1998) Stafford, Texas (2001) Champions, Texas (2006) Fuqua, Houston, Texas (2007) Katy, Texas (2010) The Woodlands, Texas (2012) Rosenberg, Texas (2013) Cypress, Texas (2014) Spring, Texas (2016) Webster, Texas (2017) Atascocita, Texas (2018) Sugar Land, Texas (2019) Tomball, Texas (2020) College Station, Texas (2021)

Overall, GRINGOS provides a fantastic dining experience with great food, a lively atmosphere, and an excellent...

First time dining here with 4 friends from church after playing pickleball at Pace Pickleball in Katy (short drive). Gringos is part of the same restaraunt group that owns Jimmy Changas (with a Katy location also). Menu options would be similar at both places but the Jimmy Changa’s has an outdoor play area for kids which is good distraction for younger kids.

We arrived around 1215pm. It was busy but we were seated quickly at a large booth. Parking was easy to find a spot. The decor is was typical for a Tex Mex place. Restrooms, dining are and common areas all seem to be clean and well maintained.

Our server Alex was quick, friendly and he got our drinks out quickly and was ready to take our order right away, even though it was pretty busy.

Two of us ordered their taco / fajita salad..I tried with the fajita chicken option.

Their chips and salsa were pretty good, their avocado ranch dip was good as was their red salsa. Chips were average but fresh.

The meals came out pretty quick considering how busy it was.

The Enchilada combo and steak quesadilla that our friends ordered looked good and were appreciated for their good flavor and large portion.

My chicken taco salad with lime / ranch dressing was ok but not outstanding. Tortilla strips on top were a bit stale and lacking flavor. The chicken seemed a bit dry and not much fajita flavor that I could tell…but ok. The salad dressing was kind of thick and so/so on flavor…but might try the salad with steak or ground beef and regular ranch or order with their Avocado Ranch dip which had more flavor. Probably bacon bits would be a bonus to the flavor, and grilled onions and gilled bell peppers would add flavor (and using a different dressing option).

Their Charro Beans are really good (like Jimmy Changa’s). Free Ice Cream is also a plus.

I would likely come back and try a different traditional entree, or maybe the steak quesadilla which looked...