El Trompo Loco — Restaurant in Texas

⭐☆☆☆☆ (1 out of 5 stars) We were excited to try El Trompo Loco after seeing all the positive Google reviews and made an hour-long drive to visit. Unfortunately, our experience did not live up to the hype.

We were greeted quickly and seated ourselves. The waitress took our drink order — I asked for a margarita, which tasted awful. I returned it and asked for water, only to find out they only offer bottled water at $2.50 each. We also ordered aguas frescas, but were surprised to learn that only the lemonade is homemade — the rest are powdered mixes, still charged at $4 each, with every refill being charged as a new drink (which we weren’t informed about).

For food, we ordered choriqueso, menudo, a barbacoa taco, and a parrillada for two. We asked if the tortillas were homemade — unfortunately, they’re packaged. The food took 30-40 minutes to arrive, despite the restaurant not being busy.

The choriqueso was underwhelming and came with just three tortillas. We had to eat off napkins because our waitress never looked our way to bring plates, despite us trying to get her attention multiple times.

When the rest of the food arrived, the portion sizes were generous — but the quality was poor. The beef was extremely tough and chewy, and the skewer had an unpleasant taste. We ended up leaving more than half the food untouched.

When we asked for the bill, it totaled $95, which seemed off. After requesting a paper itemized receipt, we found we were charged for a drink we didn’t order, on top of the overpriced waters and aguas frescas. When we brought this to the waitress’s attention (again having to approach her because she never looked our way), there was no apology — just a quiet cash refund for the extra drink.

I also politely suggested that customers should be informed if refills are an extra charge, instead of being surprised on the receipt.

Sadly, this visit was a big letdown — from service to food quality and pricing transparency. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to...

Tried this place because a food blogger posted about it and for ONCE they weren't exaggerating about the food. My family has been out here 3 times now, at a 35 minute drive because we liked it so much. The food was good. We've gotten the loaded papas, there was so much we took half of it to go and it reheated great the next day. The tripa tacos are our favorite. The beans are really good and a big serving. I favored the regular beans over the special ones with cheese and meat but both were delicious. The Mexican hamburger and torta was also enjoyed. The salsas tasted great in all visits. My only food complaint was the queso flamedo was cold and hard not even 5 minutes after it arrived and the flour tortillas that came with it were so bland, like did ya'll forget the salt? Wouldn't order that again. Place is small and it gets packed but we never had a problem getting seated pretty quickly. The service has been hit and miss. 2 of the 3 times we had the same male waiter who was rude and either kept rushing or ignoring our table. He definitely needs to brush up on his customer service skills but not all the staff has that attitude fortunately. My last complaint is that there is only one bathroom for each gender and they're located way in the back of the location, literally not inside, and the last time we were there the women's restroom didn't have a functioning lock which is really inconvenient and unsafe due to...

Title: Disappointed with the Manager's Hospitality at El Trompo Loco #2

Intro: My family and I were excited to try out El Trompo Loco #2 for a Sunday lunch, but unfortunately, the manager's hospitality left us feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome.

Ambience and Service: Upon arrival, we were told to sit anywhere we wanted, but when we chose a six-top table, the manager told us that they prefer to reserve it for six people. We decided to move to another table, but the manager then directed us to a small two-top table that was not suitable for a family with a toddler and a stroller. He did not even offer us a high chair. We felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with his tone and demeanor.

Experience: The manager's lack of hospitality ruined our experience at El Trompo Loco #2. It was disappointing to see that they did not want to accommodate a small family with young children. We ended up leaving the restaurant without ordering anything.

Conclusion: Hospitality is an essential part of the restaurant experience, and the manager's behavior at El Trompo Loco #2 was unacceptable. We will not be returning to this restaurant and hope that the manager reads this review and realizes how his actions...