El Emperador — Restaurant in Tomball

We have been eating at this Tomball eatery for about 15 years. The food is good and the prices are also good. For Mexican food this is our choice in the Tomball area. Like most smaller restaurants, they do have turnover as far as the wait staff goes. I think that is pretty standard across the board for most food establishment. While I have personally gotten a few rotten waitresses, most of the time we get really good service. The food is good and I did not see the jump in post pandemic prices that I saw almost everywhere else. I especially like to order any of the TexMex breakfast offered on the menu. We do come for lunch and dinner, but most of the time, we come for breakfast. The owners are nice people and I have always felt comfortable giving them my business for many years. It's a comfortable place that you can enjoy with your friends and family at reasonable prices. It's also very close to Tomball Regional Hospital so if you get sick of eating at hospital cafeteria prices,...

Very disappointed! I took my two 12 year old grandkids there for lunch yesterday (Saturday) and was not at all impressed. To start off with, we had to flag down one of the staff to ask if we would be seated or if we just pick a table. It wasn't all that busy yet it took about ten minutes just to get our drinks. One order of nachos and two orders of the crispy beef tacos with drinks was $39.74, not including the tip. Most places have a lunch menu (even on the weekends), but apparently they do not; if they do, we were not offered one. The food was very bland. I kept having to add salt and salsa to everything just to try to get some flavor. Even the pico de gallo was bland; just tasted like chopped tomatoes. The jukebox was so loud it was difficult to carry on a conversation. We were never given a check. I finally just walked up to the counter to pay. Needless to say, I won't...

The food is always good. The Barbacoa is decent. My problem is that I have caught them two different times adding things that we didn't orord at the register. Your never handed a guest check. The waitress puts the order in and gives the check to the register. You go to the register to pay and they just start adding things up without letting you see the guest check. I add things up as I decide what I qm going to ordet. The 1st time was off by $12 and $10 the second. So, I asked to see my guest check and each time they were reluctant to do so. They argued with my wife about it and I had to step in. The second time different waitress same register host made excuses. So, keep track of what you order and whatch them. I am sad to onow how many people just pay without watching if they are...