Don Benito’s Mexican Cafe — Restaurant in Tyler

I know this has been open a while but just discovered they reopened casa ole under this new name. Im sure some people like it, just like they used to like casa ole. Food isnt for me. The waiter claims this place has the best queso in town, so I ordered a bowl. He was really trying to push it. I would give that about a 7/10. Definitely not the best in town, but opinions will vary im sure. I make almost the same queso with a small can of green chili's and some Velveeta. My kids woth agreed. The red hot sauce i would rate 4/10. The green maybe a 6/10. The red is real tomato-ey tasting. My daughter and I both ate the tacos al carbon to get a handle on what kind of fajita steak they were serving. Most places serve these like rolled soft tacos. Here they make them like flour tortillas enchiladas, and smother them in that 7/10 queso. The guy said they come with queso on the top, and I assumed he meant they put queso on the tacos. Im sure most Texicans from tyler would agree a "taco" is something you can pick up and eat. This is more like a burrito or enchilada, regardless of the traditional definition of a "taco". So there was that. The quality of the steak was fair but definitely not the best I've ever had. I'd compare it to John Soules brand. 6/10. I would rate the Mexican rice up there with the very worst in town. One bite is all I could stand. It was hard and crunchy in places like it wasnt cooked correctly and flavor really wasnt too good either. The refried beans had a good texture but lacked a good flavor and were sort of bland like they needed some salt or spices. 1/10 on the rice, and 4/10 on the beans. In any case this place is getting 2 stars. Wish I could do better but not really happy with my food, and my kids agreed. The waiter should not be putting himself out there like that, trying to push that queso. "Best in town" is a huge statement since half the restaurants in town are...

The food and service were great. The problem we had was trying to pay. There was something going on with their machines and they wouldn't take Regions cards. I had taken my sister for lunch and she's special needs, because it would not accept our regions card the manager wanted me to leave my sister there and run to an ATM and bring the money back and I was like I'm sorry but that's not an option. And this was all through the server by the way, the manager wasn't coming out to talk to us. When I told our server that I couldn't leave her he said he would speak to the manager again. While we were waiting I called my husband, he has a card with a different bank for emergencies and I made sure I could use that card before just trying it. It took 15 minutes for the manager to come over and when I said I have one more card I can try she rolled her eyes and watched as the server tried it. Thankfully it worked but the manager rolled her eyes again, huffed and walked off. Not a word said to u. No sorry for the inconvenience, nothing. Acted like we had done this in purpose to try and get a free meal... At least that's how I felt. We will not be returning despite the food and...

05/13/23: Google keeps asking me to update my review, so... I added the 5th star to food above. Don't know what else to say. Since 11/09/22 update we have returned several times for our taco & chalupa, chips & salsa/green sauce. It still is soooo good. Same waitress as the last several visits, so that's another good 'vital sign' of a business is that the wait staff is not revolving, the company probably prides itself in how it treats it's staff as well as the customers. Great job

11/09/22 update: something has changed and we're not sure what. The food was good, people are still just as nice as ever, service is still good, but they have made some changes to the green sauce and it's not like it has been for years. I'd be interested to know if ownership has changed in the last 6 months or not. We will still return because the food is good but we miss the green sauce.

03/2022: We love this restaurant, even before the name change. We've been eating here for 10+ years. Even if we just come in to eat a taco and chips. Staff has always...