El Refu Tex Mex — Restaurant in Port Arthur

I haven't had something here I don't like. Now I stay away from the enchiladas, tamales and other plates.  I stick to a lot of grilled items.

Street Taco Platter is real good. The onions are grilled and if you like the raw like I do just ask and they will provide.

Salsa "Red" - served hot with chunky onions. I feel like it needs to be blended more. Not a fan of the chunky onions.

Green Salsa - the best in town. It's cold, refreshing, packed with flavor.  I put that on everythang!

Habanero Salsa - Packed with flavor and the heat is some hang time.

Fajitas - Flavorful, tender but not the best in town. Better than a lot of other places though. The onions are caramelized and good.

Charro Beans - Could use more flavor I feel like it's missing something. They get cold real quick.

Fish Ceviche is great. I love it. Add a little tapatio on top and eat up.

Shrimp Cocktail is a little sweet.  With some more pico de gallo and a squeeze from like 4 lime wedges just makes it that much better.

Queso - Yellow or White queso is really good. It's not plain cheese, it has some flavor. Now I'd probably do a mix of both maybe with the ground beef. Yeah buddy.

Guacamole - Chunky guac is the only one I recommend. Super delicious.

Recommendations:

Appetizer - 4 amigo sampler.  queso, chunky guacamole,  ceviche and shrimp Cocktail.

Entree - No Name Plate  or El Refu Mix fajitas

Margarita - Mango Margarita

Salsa - Green Salsa

Service is awesome as always. The margaritas are amazing. Atmosphere is good. Music can be really loud. Makes it hard for me to talk sometimes cause I don't like...

It was easy to find parking even with the restaurant being completely packed. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and feels very open. With the restaurant layout being open and music playing, and staff occasionally making announcements on their sound system, it can easily get very loud and chaotic. The food tastes great and the staff was very friendly and attentive. We actually had 2 waiters coming by regularly to check if we needed anything. While the service was quick, there was a few fixups. Our group ordered Dr Pepper and was all given a drink that tasted like Mr Pib. When getting refills later on, we were given Pepsi. If I had to guess, they don't have Dr pepper and was trying to give us something close enough to it. We did get chips and salsa, and the waiter even asked if we'd like any other dips like guacamole and such when bringing it out. Ordering went as smoothly as it could with how loud it was. Just need speak up a bit for them to hear you. The food came out hot, fresh, and tasted delicious. Our orders took a little longer than anticipated, but at the time the restaurant was very busy. This restaurant is relatively new, but the service is on point. Staff and food is great, parking isn't an issue compared to similar restaurants in the area, and you'll be checked in on more times than you'll remember by the time you leave. Can't wait to...

We tried it first week they opened and it was super loud, I couldn’t hear myself think nor the family and friends I was with. We sat there just looking at each other and the decorations. The food was not good and they brought us stuff we didn’t order. It seemed like they weren’t put together yet being a new restaurant. So we figured we would give it a try in a month or 2. Fast forward to todays date(10/12/24) here we are again and it’s like things never changed. This time we sat outside and still couldn’t hear each other. The waiter had to get SUPER close just to hear our order. He brought our sides out before the main dish so it was cold and when we told him it was cold all he did was put it under the heat lamp or microwaved it. We knew it was the same plate because the big piece of tomatoe and onion that was on the plate was still there in the same spot. Carnitas was mainly fat and had no taste and the chicken was dry. It seems like the owner is more worried about the atmosphere and the little concerts they have going on than the quality of the food. If I could give this negative stars I would. Would not recommend going for the food not if you were going to drink and listen to a band then maybe this would be for you. 10 out of 10...