Tonati Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Katy

I want to premise this review by saying we have always enjoyed visiting Tonati, however this last experience made us think it might be long before we go back. We used to take advantage of their happy hour menu, their soups, and semi-authentic Mexican dishes. We found out yesterday, to our shock, that they had risen the happy hour “deals” by more than 40% (about $3-$4). This meant that buying the regular menu items (which include rice, beans, guacamole, etc) would cost almost the same. I mean, we are ok paying a premium for premium food, but unfortunately yesterday wasn’t the case. The Flautas (3) were ok, but you can get better ones elsewhere for cheaper, the sodas were flat and when we told our waitress, she just brought us another one (also flat), we order tortilla soup and it was mostly chicken broth with a thin slice of avocado and some semi-stale tortilla strips… gotta say our son enjoyed the burrito verde, so that was good. On top of this, the service received was subpar. We got there at around 5pm and the place was quite empty, the hostess asked us the size of our party and proceeded to just take off without saying a word. When she arrived a the table we were assigned, she looked back at us still standing at the hostess stand as if she was bothered we didn’t followed her… waitstaff seemed bothered for some reason. I don’t think I need to itemize what we ordered but needless to say we didn’t enjoy the experience… and the bill topped $100… not worth it. To cap it off we had a free dessert reward that needed to be claimed, ordered the flan to go so we could let other patrons get seated… got home and apparently they give you the burnt one if you’re getting it as a reward. Really want to continue liking this place, but yesterday they made it...

5pm Saturday in August

Parking is shared with the strip center. It can be limited.

The ambiance is welcoming, friendly, and picturesque.

We were greeted and immediately sat. It was not busy inside the restaurant. The space is deceptively spacious.

Our server Ismael was awesome. He was knowledgeable about the menu, he made recommendations, and was extremely patient (I'll explain later).

My girl & I both had an order of tacos. I had street tacos. I can't remember her tank order. Both dishes were delectable. The kind of tortilla was different from what I'm used to. It was flavorful and added to the overall experience. The meat was well seasoned. There are added harbor garnishes that were surprisingly tasty. Pineapples are one of the additions. That was a great touch.

I don't drink so everything you see alcoholic wise is being rated from my girl. All drinks were good. The top shelf option in the flight was "strong." We called in reinforcements to help finish all the drinks posted. This is where our server's patience came into play. We arrived around 5pm and left the restaurant after 10pm. I know, I know, we were that couple.

My only complaint was that every batch of chips were stale. I'm not sure if that's the new norm in restaurants or if my mouth and standards to judge staleness is changing. This isn't the 1st restaurant with multiple batches of stale chips. I mean all 3 batches brought to the table were STALE!

Hopefully they take care of that. If I'm ever in the area again, I...

I happened to be working in the Cinco Ranch area today, and decided to lunch at Tonati Mexican Grill based solely on its great Google reviews. Service was very attentive and pleasant, the decor was comfortably understated and neutral, and the background music was a definite departure from typical Mexican cantinas. It even included one of my favorites by Hootie and the Blowfish! The food, on the other hand, was a bit lackluster. I ordered the shredded chicken verde burrito from the lunch menu, and it was flavorful enough. The chicken and black bean filling was moist and fresh, but the flour tortilla wrapper was terribly soggy and slick and very unappetizing. The order included a nice steamed pink rice, served totally plain (not even a cilantro leaf) and a salad consisting simply of very fresh shredded lettuce, topped with an overly acidic vinigrette dressing. That dressing overpowered everything else on the plate. Likewise, with the salsa served with tortilla chips at the beginning. It was unlike any of the jar variety most restaurants serve - very fresh, sort of a milky melon color, no detectable tomato and with a very mild, yet overly acidic flavor. Maybe this just isn't one of their better menu items, and if I'm in the area, I may give them a second chance. Unfortunately, the bland / acidic salsa and that lettuce "salad" accompany nearly every entree on the menu. That, alone, will impact my decision to eat...