Recuerdos at Backporch Social — Restaurant in Round Rock

The customer service was very good, and welcoming, very, very nice and that's how customer service should be. The restaurant was very clean as well. Not your typical waiter service in sense of napkins, spoons and fork type of deal, that you have to get up and retrieve. I don't mind getting up for that either, at least I can get as many napkins that I need. The reason why I am posting 2 star is because I was really looking forward to homemade tortillas, that was the only reason why I tried this place out. However I was told they no longer make homemade tortillas. Which really angered me because that's what I aim for when dining out at a Mexican restaurant. So that now became a false advertisement to me in my personal opinion, however I don't know how long they stopped making the homemade flour tortillas. My second big issue was the enchiladas red sauce was a dark red, wish indicated too much chili powder, or paprika whatever it was, it was way way too too much, I couldn't eat a bite, just the smell of it was itching my nose. It was terrible, too heavy on that spice, and I can' eat anything spicy but this was just drowned in either the paprika or Chile powder, one or the other. If they can get a better ratio I'm sure it could have been great I tried to have a positive outlook but just couldn't. The 3rd issue was they brought my daughters plate of food out before the rest of us, we were only a party of 3. She got her plate which was a burrito and our plate were the enchiladas. They brought her burrito out and we waited 20 minutes for our plates. No Brainer, should of made enchiladas 1st since it was too hot to eat or touch plate. They could of cooled down, while burrito was being made. Then brought the plates out in a closer time frame. Out of generosity I went ahead and paid for my meals however I didn't eat it and my daughter didn't eat hers, but I usually would of not paid, I felt bad because it was a family restaurant that may have needed that vs losing profit. Also it may not hang in there for long if they don't make those corrections. However if they can fix these minor issues it would have an...

We stopped here in downtown Round Rock on the way to run an errand in Georgetown. We weren't sure about local options as we were trying to avoid the usual chains along I-35. Coming into downtown Round Rock, we started using the Yelp app to help us choose an option. What looked like just another small Tex-Mex joint had the best score on Yelp, so we decided to stop in at Recuerdo's.

Fair warning. It's a small place, so you may want to visit at an odd hour to avoid a crowd. They don't have fountain drinks either, so you can either get a canned/bottled soft drink or get iced tea. Also, because it's a small restaurant, the service can be a bit slow, although they're beyond welcoming and justifiably proud of their food.

Now, to the important part - the food. The chips and salsa are good. The salsa has a surprising delayed kick of heat and is clearly homemade. The queso is pretty standard Tex-Mex queso. My crispy taco was a classic small town Tex-Mex taco with plain ground beef and plenty of yellow cheese on top. I tried two enchiladas, which our server recommended getting one in beef and one in cheese. The cheese enchilada was great, but the beef enchilada now represents the standard by which I judge all enchiladas. The beef enchilada was filled with the same plain taco meat. Both enchiladas were covered in both yellow and white melted cheese. The enchilada sauce is the real winner. The sauce isn't quite chili gravy nor is it a plain red sauce. The best way to describe it is as a chili gravy without meat and with a lot of chili powder in it. Both enchiladas were great, but the beef enchilada was just sublime.

My dining companion had similar compliments for her taco and enchilada, although she'd have preferred the guacamole, which was served as a salad, to be without the yellow cheese.

This is classic small town Tex-Mex that you used to be able to find from Amarillo down past San Antonio before tastes got trendier. And now that I've found this, I need more excuses to go...

I never really leave reviews.

Short lunch goers beware. 1hr is NOT long enough.

Gonna be the unpopular opinion for sure, but here goes (additional empathy for the pandemic):

The service was not that good. And i mean that not from a 'short handed' point, but rather a 'having to repeatedly asking for simple things and waiting longer than it should take' Point. Out of water? 15mins. Need some more chips and salsa? 15mins. Want an extra side of something WITH your meal? Nah, ask for it to go, so it can fill your fridge when you leave. Its frustrating because the server would walk by the table numerous times acknowledging empty cups and such and say "ill be back with that" and never show up.

Before you think of me as a karen.. im just curious why it would be like this with only 5 other tables, and everyone chillin in the back talking. I just wanted water :(

The fajitas.. meh. Was more of a barbecue-like flavored plate of onions, peppers and thick cut steak strips.. was ok.. nothing special imho. Wouldve been happier with just fajita seasoning. But.. oh well, its 'quirky' right? The salsa they make must be literally loaded with cilantro. Not bad, it was actually really good.

Would be cool if TWO orders of fajitas didnt take 55 minutes from order to table. Almost lost my appetite. :(

The place wasnt that busy. They were well staffed. The service was sloppy. The food was.. food. Sorry. Just...