El Rey Taqueria, Houston TX

Used to be great. As with so many restaurants post-covid the quality and service have dropped so low that I don’t know if it’s worth returning.

Tortilla soup was broth, no avocado, no cheese, very little chicken and this was a large order I can’t imagine what the small looks like.

I got Mexican Egg breakfast tacos. The eggs had too much liquid and the tomatoes tasted like they were left out too long. The mulatto coffee is really good though. If they fixed the breakfast tacos it could be a great breakfast spot.

I go through the drive through usually. The staff is friendly and the food comes out hot. Latte is way better than the other big coffee houses.

A gem taqueria, the cubano influence in the menu, is wonderful. Must try you'll love the ropa vieja!

Live the Cuban tacos! The salmon, grill shrimp, and fajita so good! Get a side of plantains, you will not be disappointed! Aguas are always a hit limeada to top pick them melón! Highly recommend

Lobby could use some work. Drink station had wrappers and spills. Floors were littered with napkins and bits of food. I ordered the pork torta and my company ordered a chicken quesadilla. The food was on level with a taqueria I would be willing to frequent. Unfortunately while I was eating I noticed the staff was also eating in the kitchen while wearing the same gloves they were using to make orders. They were refilling drinks at the bar dispenser and taking them back to the prep area while continuing to eat. I immediately lost my appetite and left. No plans on returning. I'm pretty sure this is a health code violation. If they're doing this visibly to customers I'd hate to think what's going on that I didn't see. I would eat somewhere else.

Love this place it never disappoints! I had a Cuban sandwich and omg it was all nice and toasty as I like and hubby had rotisserie chicken plate cuban style so delicious with plenty of flavor. We had cantaloupe juice always hits the spot with a tres leches cake which was cold and perfect sweetness. Wish I had one closer out in Cypress.

Friendly staff and they made sure we were taking advantage of the Taco Tuesday deal of “Buy 2 tacos, get 1 free. ” Also the staff noticed that we talked about taking two tacos home and so he clarifies to have them wrapped and bagged to-go.

The tacos were freshly made and delicious. The salsa (green and red) are tasty and spicy).

The fresh juice is very refreshing.

These aren’t fast food tacos and the prices reflect that (about $3 per taco) however the amount of eggs and meat I thought was appropriate given the price.

The burritos were delicious too.

I’d highly recommend and have been To this location many times, and the experience today will keep me coming back!

Very clean environment friendly fast service. Horchata is awesome so yummy and highly recommended

Update, 4 months later 7/10/23:
Apparently no one in El Rey management reads their reviews or uses them as a means to improve products/service. I had the #12 breakfast club again this morning after much time had passed and they still use unripe hothouse tomatoes with the texture of raw zucchini. It's unbelievable to me how little they care about customers or even just getting things right. How difficult is it to find decent, ripe tomatoes like everyone else is able to do?

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March 2023: I went this morning and ordered the #9 breakfast in the drive thru, requesting eggs over easy, not runny and bacon crispy. I got runny eggs and flaccid bacon. Anyway, here's the menu in case anyone else is interested in them not.listening.to.a. Single.word.you say. Why give someone a job that they just don't care to do?

Also below, the typical quality of tomato they use. Yum. Not.

Unfortunately, we were not impressed with the breakfast tacos. The bacon and eggs were not cooked together and there was barely any bacon so it tasted like a plain egg taco. The chorizo and egg was also lacking chorizo flavor. I tried my bf's "mexican" taco and it was also lackluster. Somehow all three just tasted like egg

All good but the only bad thing is that they don't give you chips and salsa to wait for your food

Couldn't wait to come back again, so we did!

Best, most delicious tortilla soup I've ever had.
Must go!

Fresh food at a reasonable price. Good friendly service. The drive-thru is fast and efficient.

Unbeatable Taco Tuesday. It was my first time at this location and the quality is as good as the others around town. Try Taco Tuesday deal, 3 tacos for $7.99. I like to order El Rey, beef fajitas and Cuban. Yummy!

In general they're food is very good. I have always enjoyed their tortilla soup. 30 minutes before closing, staff was ready to go home, not very friendly. Food came out luke warm, yet still very tasty.

Trying to be nice I left a 20% tip, not sure why, Food is ordered counter service and you have to go pick it up. Didn't seem like they cared one way or the other. Doubt I'll do that again.

Cuban sandwich and a bowl of tortilla soup is such a great combination. Surely I'll be going back.