Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen {Texas City} — Restaurant in Texas City

Upon walking in we were not greeted, this set the tone immediately. The hostess sat a family about 2 minutes in the door, 2 of the kids held the door for us. We stood there waiting for the hostess to return, that never happened. I watched quite a few employees chit chatting, walking by us & avoiding eye contact as we stood at the door but no one came our way. I took a seat, the same thing happened, employees walking to the hostess station, putting papers down with their back turned to us, at that point I asked my daughter how much time should I give them, she knew exactly what I meant because I NEVER leave before being seated. After she and I talked we agreed I should give them 10 minutes total before I exit the building and post my review. I had already put 1 star by time someone acknowledged and I was not adding any more until we left, so at that point they had to earn their stars. Here we go…

Our server, Angela, was kind, but I feel she could’ve fell back a lot and allowed us to enjoy our meal, I swear it felt like she came to our table to discuss whatever every time I tried to put a forkful in my mouth. Then 1 of the servers kept peeking around the corner from the kitchen and when we’d make eye contact he’d shift his eyes. Another sever would watch us through the mirror from the opposite site of the room and through the plants as he walked to pass our table. There were others who walked out of the kitchen and peeked around the corner as if I wouldn’t notice them and the second I pulled my phone back out it got worse, it became more obvious they were watching when I began to take pics of the food when it was served. I know the tall, slim, Black gentleman with curly hair said something to someone because he overheard me tell my son, “They’re lucky, I was about to post a review and it wasn’t going to be a good one, I won’t hesitate to leave a negative review if it’s deserved”, I said this to my son as we walked pass the bar to table 1, right behind the kitchen.

Anyway…

My daughter ordered the Beef Fajita Bowl, she didn’t care for it at all, she said it was too cheesy, but she was going to eat it anyway. My son tried it, he agreed, the cheese was overpowering. Although she didn’t care for it, she still gave it ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My son ordered the Fajita Enchilada Dinner with Amazon sauce and a side of black beans. My son absolutely loved EVERYTHING! My son ranked his meal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I ordered the Seafood Enchilada Dinner with a side of veggies. My seafood enchiladas were out of this freaking world, ya hear me? Them veggies? Trash. I said what I said, all I tasted were red bell peppers. Other veggies were present along with seasonings but I didn’t taste the seasoning, I saw it but tasted red peppers.

I ordered a few extras for the table, the chips & dip were like free bread at other spots across the country but they were tasty. I ordered 3 shrimp empanadas as an appetizer for each of us to try, we all gave them ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There were no words, only solence as we all took a bite into the flaky empanada. The Pollo El Dorado was to die for, it was perfect! The chicken was well seasoned and tender. I wanted to try the free dairy-free frozen yogurt at the front door as we left but I was too focused on making sure Angela got the receipt.

Will I return? Your guess is as...

Alright y'all. I gotta be honest. I've lived here since '08 and I have never once been here until the other day. I've always been biased to my TexMex places up in League City and Webster. I know y'all know which ones I'm referring to. Anyway. This place is not far from where I live and I finally decided to bite the bullet and try it. I don't like trying new places and being let down and then paying for food that was mediocre. But.... That was NOT the case here. I honestly did myself dirty by not trying it sooner. My expectations were low but they EXCEEDED my expectations. First off. The design? Love it. I'm an interior designer and I LOVE it. It's giving modern hacienda vibe. It was so vibrant, balanced and rich. Now the food? Yes. Just yes. Lol To elaborate. I'm half Hispanic. (Puerto Rican and Dominican to be exact.) So, I'm partial to our rice. (No offense my fellow Mexicans lol) HOWEVER. Their rice AND beans were 😚🤌🏻 chefs kiss. I truly have not enjoyed rice and beans more from a restaurant since leaving Puerto Rico. I'm pleasantly surprised. To top it all off, for me, they had a GLUTEN FREE MENU. And if you are gluten sensitive or have Celiac, like myself, you know how rare that is. Idk how to explain the feeling but I felt so.... considered, I guess. Like. They took the time to sort out and tell you what is and isn't gluten free. And that says a lot about a company and how they view their customers. Thank you, Gringos, truly. We will be going back and my husband and I are going to be regulars for sure!!

P.S. they offer veteran discount! We love companies who help out our vets in anyway...

So this is an update! The other part of my review was posted about 2 years ago. We came to eat here in Texas City while visiting fam. We've been here before as you can read below and I'm shocked that the ll chips and salsa were great because this time around... they were so bland. The green sauce stuff was bland! Ok so my bf orders a beer and when Alexis brings it to our table she is literally looking away, trying to place it on the table in front of me. She never once turned around to look at us or to see where she was placing it. Ok, no biggie. I sound like a baby complaining about minute details so let me get to the food. The blandest rice, fajitas, and tortillas I've ever had the misfortune of being served. I added pics of the tortillas which were uncooked, cold, and the pic is after I asked our server to take it back and put it on the fire again for a bit. The rice pic is what i left on the plate after stuffing it into my beans so that it could have flavor. Several ppl were complaining nearby. About what? I couldn't hear but this raised red flags. I thoroughly did NOT enjoy the food. It tasted like... nothing. I mean, it was food. 🤷‍♀️ The second ⭐️ is for the strong Coke I ordered. It was strong and good. Service was mid, no personality, no care about what she was doing it seemed. I'm happy though that now I know that I can get great chips and salsa somewhere else with good tasting food as well.

2021- I know places are desperate for staff but we were there at 2ish which isn't usually busy. Staff was no where to be found. Food was good. I loved the...