Johnny Tamales (Missouri City) — Restaurant in Missouri City

While the food and margaritas are undeniably good, the service leaves much to be desired. The convenient location and the fact that my family enjoys the food are the only reasons we keep returning, but if it were up to me, I’d avoid it entirely.

From the moment we arrive, the issues begin. We're often crammed into a table that's too small for our group, though with small kids, we manage. The chips and salsa arrive promptly, but then we wait... and wait... and wait some more. During our most recent visit, I had to go back to the hostess stand to ask if we even had a server, as no one had come by. Eventually, a waiter appeared, but his soft-spoken manner made it difficult to communicate. He didn’t write down our order properly, leading to repeat visits to clarify items. But it meant we got drink refills which was nice.

Once the order is placed, the food arrives at a reasonable pace, and while it’s mostly accurate, there are always small mistakes—forgotten extra tortillas, cheese not on the side, charro beans instead of refried, corn tortillas instead of flour. Minor issues, but frustrating when they happen regularly. Still, the quality of the food itself is good, and I really can't complain about that.

The real problem is the lack of attention from the staff. Drink refills are rare—if you’re lucky, they’ll come around once. My six-year-old has even learned to ration his lemonade, knowing he likely won’t get a second glass. Most times, we have to walk to the bar or flag someone down just to get more water or soda. Your next birthday would come around before getting another bar drink so don't even try unless you walk up there and order it directly. (Bar staff are attentive)

Then comes the dreaded wait for the check. It always takes far too long, and you have to remember to ask for to-go boxes when they bring the check because otherwise, you may never get them. On our last visit, and against my advice, we regrettably tried to use a coupon, which turned into another ordeal. Our server didn't know how to apply it, and after waiting again, the final bill came and ended up higher than before the coupon was applied. We just paid it and left. The time it would take to try to get it rectified wasn't worth the few dollars.

The self serve ice cream is another win for us. The kids like it and it's easy because it's self serve and not dependent on any of the staff.

In short, while the food might keep some people coming back, the service consistently ruins the experience for me. I dread...

i went in around a week ago. food wasnt good, bland queso, my soup was salty with barely any ingredients and the squash was still raw and hard in it. they said the kitchen closed and wouldnt bring even a side of cheese out but magically brought out tortillas after we said something. the waiters were nice but it took over 5 min for someone to notice me standing at the front when they were dead and no one else was around. salsa was watery and gross. i spoke with a manager the next day abt the situation and all he said is they would take care of me. idk what that means. i gave him my name and number to write down. here i am calling back today to explain the situation and after being put on hold by 3 dif people i spoke to a manager telling me the previous person i spoke to no longer works there so i guess he was just fired in the past 5 days. the manager put me on hold 10 min and said he couldnt find my name or a note anywhere and at first didnt wanna give me more than $13 credit on $20+ of food i was told would be "taken care of" then he passed the phone back to a worker and said i could have a $20 gift card in a reluctant tone like its my fault this happened. now ive been on hold 5 more minutes after telling the cashier otp what i wanna order. the customer service is horrible especially with to go and i prob wont be back. ive been on the phone over 20 min and when the guy finally came back, he said since the manager agreed on a $20 gift card that basically I can't spend more than that, I've never heard of this in my life. I could just pay the difference for something else so instead of getting fajitas, he wanted me to order something entirely different. That's crazy most restaurants would just cover the extra dollar or let you pay the difference for what you want. I don't even want the gift card anymore. I'm just gonna dispute...

There’s an update since I left the first review! Since the first review we’ve dined here several times. Last week was me and my husband’s anniversary and I chose to order here being we frequent this restaurant since they’ve opened. Last week, when I got home my order was not complete, I called and spoke to the manager, Sam, and he was very apologetic and nice and told me the next time we ordered, he’d give us an appetizer and dessert. Well, today my husband and I decided we wanted to eat Johnny tamales for dinner, so I called my order in and told the young man that answered what we were promised and I wanted to place an order. He said that he’d need to speak w the manager, he put me on hold, comes back and said the GM told him tht he couldn’t honor what Sam said bc Sam isn’t working today. The customer service here has gone DOWN! For my sons bday, we came here to eat, the waitress spilled a tray full of water on half of our table yet, we still tipped her very well and the audacity of the GM to tell us he can’t honor what a manger said he’d give us. We were about to spend well over 50 dollars here. It’s disappointing once again! I love their food, obviously, but I won’t be coming back! GM let this be a lesson for you, that your customers can make or break you. Now I have to eat somewhere I really didn’t want to eat!

My husband and I went there last night and OMG!!! We had a short wait on seating but when we were seated it was up from there. The appetizers came out fast and EVERYTHING on the platter was DELICIOUS! The adult drinks were good and strong (they are not stingy w the alcohol)! The food came out shortly after and it was SO SO SO GOOD!! Our waitress was good as well! Everything overall was very good!! We’re going back definitely!!! Oh and the ribs…OMG!!! Fell...