Backstreet Cafe, Hugo's, Caracol Review

I finally made it here for the end of Houston Restaurant Week. I don't know where to start - my entire experience here was enjoyable.

Quite simply - this place is great. It's problem is that it's too easy to pigeonhole as a Mexican restaurant. Which, it is, but that label doesn't really capture what this place is.

I think you should think of this place as serving rural Mexican food, done high end. You don't come here for chips, fajitas, or burritos. You come here for rustic Mexican oxtail, or roasted pig, or roasted goat, or grilled trout. Think high-end food - be it American, French, or whatever - with a Mexican twist. If you want to go out to a fancy restaurant and normally go to a fancy American, French, or Italian place, take a moment to stop and think, "What about something different? Fancy Mexican?"

Great place for group dinners; a bit pricey but the food s worth it.

I usually go sit at the bar by myself to get my weekend started and the bartenders are attentive and make excellent drinks

Hugo's is a delightful experience, culinary delicacies, authentic Mexican food, artistically presented. The service and ambiance are excellent.

One of my favorites from chef Hugo Ortega. Great atmosphere and service. Food is exceptional. Authentic Mexican food with an upscale flair. I recommend their Sangria, it's perfect!

If you're visiting Houston, coming here is a MUST DO! The food is great, you won't find anything like it in this part of the country. Guaranteed. Their fried Bananas are just delicious. I totally recommend.

The best Sunday Brunch in Houston! Beautiful atmosphere and delicious cuisine. Can't wait for our next visit.

Had the grilled chicken sandwich for lunch. IT was very tasty and it was huge. I cut it in half and could not eat it all. Yum. The river my daughter had was cooked exactly as ordered and was great

The food is delicious, the desserts are definitely the best, and the attention at the bar is wonderful.

So I went off of reviews! Fly into town to have dinner with a great friend of mine and thought it was the best choice! Food portions were for kids and overpriced! Food was greasy and everything just came out horrible! Either cold or oily. I do not recommend!

In Houston for the night, my wife and I were looking for a good place fro dinner. We found Hugo's on the web on recommendation from a friend. The experience was marvelous, starting with the friendly, welcoming valet. Inside, the service was Mexico City level -- which is to say top notch. The food was fantastic. Well worth the money. We'll be back. I want to work my way up and down the impressive menu.

Excellent service and great scenic views. The staff here is super friendly and the place is very clean. I surprised my wife for our 10 year anniversary here and the wait staff prepared us a special table in the corner with a white linen tablecloth and red rose pedals. They gave us a chefs special order menu and gave us complimentary dessert and wine. We had a dedicated waitress and she was excellent. We can not thank the Hugo staff and manger for taking such excellent care of our needs. We have come back multiple times and their brunch on Sundays is out of this world with live music. Ole!

More informal than expected. Food is above average but NOT TEX MEX. Valet parking only.

If you enjoy a wide variety of foods and feel comfortable in jean's, this is a good place. If you're expecting tamales and/or want to impress your guest(s) it is recommended you look elsewhere.

Good Sunday brunch buffet with a good variety of dishes. The refried black beans are delicious. The buffet was around $30 and it gets pretty crowded.

Omgsh the Sunday morning brunch! Live music, professional helpful staff and great cocktails

No texmex here. If you want authentic mexican food, this is a great upscale choice.

Very impressed! I was cold at my table and they were quick to move us to a warmer spot. Excellent food, beautiful restaurant, with a nice atmosphere.
Very impressed! I was cold at my table and they changed table that was much better. Excellent food, very nice restaurant with a good atmosphere.

Delicious high dollar mexican food.
No complimentary chips and salsa.
Try the crickets. They're yum.
Impressive Sunday brunch buffet.

Went for brunch buffet and was I witnessed astonished me. Their wide selection of authentic Mexican cuisine was only matched by the amount of wonderous flavors they presented.

Only issue is that the churros were cold. They need to be kept under constant heat or scraped.

By far one of my favorite brunch places to be in. Surrounded by a live band with class, with infinite amount of food with fully satisfying quality. Ambiance is simply great. Muy bueno.

Amazing brunch......just got to make sure you make reservations.

Hugo's is the best Mexican, not Tex Mex, but interior Mexican place I've been to in Houston. It's s people watching at because always so crowded. Margaritas are very creative. Menu is like no other from one of Houstons top chefs

Love this place and it s summer squash blossoms menu.

We love to go for the brunch. It is excellent. Nice for family dinner too.

I love it, deli food and nice presentation, excellent service, highly recommended

Best authentic food in Houston. Great service and atmosphere

Never disappointed with Hugo's. Love going here for Sunday brunch. The ambience is on point with the live band. Perfect for an intimate brunch/dinner. Family friendly. It is pricey, but totally worth it if you have a palette for good food.

I took my girlfriend here for her birthday. The restaurant did not disappoint. The atmosphere was elegant. The appetizers were tasty. We had octopus and stuffed plantanes. We could have eaten three plates of this. The entrees were outstanding. The presentation spoke for itself. We will definitely be back - especially for the appetizers.

I am a Mexican American and grew up on the border. Lived in Mexico City for a few years. Been in sales my whole life and have eaten in hundred of Mexican restaurants, so I am picky about Mexican food. This was very average. Some good, some bad, service very OK. Over priced for Mexican food. I would say the restaurant has been living off it older reputation. Many, many better Mexican choices in Houston for the price. I won't be going back.

Restaurant did not disappoint. Food is really good and well presented. The experience overall was great, except for parking, as you would have to park curbside in the area. Would easily recommend.

Forget about TexMex if you want to try real Mexican food this is one of the best places in Houston.
Warning this is not a cheap place or Taqueria.
SOUTH MEXICAN KITCHEN.

I love coming here because of the quality food and amazing drinks and hospitable staff. My steak is always cooked perfectly, just the way I like it. They also hold the trophy for the best margaritas.

Best Mexican restaurant in Houston! Authentic gourmet Mexican food. I'm yet to try something here that I don't like. Amazing customer service as well.

If you haven't tried this place you will not be disappointed!! Great food and great staff!!

Our server, Raul, was excellent (knowledge of menu, timing). The meals were phenomenal. Definitely worth a second (third, etcetera) visit.

The food was excellent, the only reason why I'm giving it 2 stars is because it's hard to enjoy your meal while you are sweating all over your food. The temperature inside the restaurant was in the mid 80 with no air flow. For an upscale restaurant, they fell short in making their customers comfortable while they enjoy their meals. Our servers were constantly trying to dry the sweat of their arms and heads as they provided excellent service. Chef Ortega your staff and your customers at least need decent a/c have a pleasant experience!

We ate here last night. We had the carnaritas and smoked chicken. The pork was over cooked , dry and flavorless. It resembled a chunk of fatty roast from a poor cut of meat. The chicken was bland. You can get better rotisserie chicken for eight dollars at Sprouts for much less.
We had eaten here twice before and it was ok so we thought we would give it one more try. Defiantly won't be back.

Any restaurant can have an off night. The reason we won't give Hugo's another chance is their response to our complaints about the food. The server couldn't have cared less and the manager was equally unconcerned. We ask for the manager after we had paid, so it wasn't like we were trying to not pay for the meal. As the foid laid mostly untouched on our plates she just said sorry you didn't like it and shrugged her shoulders. It was obvious she really wasn't concerned about the quality of their food.
Not sure what is going on with these restaurants. We also ate at their sister restaurant Caracol and it was not good either.

Pro Tip: You can order the habanero salsa to-go by the pint or quart. We put that stuff on everything!

beautiful restaurant, exceptional service and delicious food!!

Went in thinking it's just another Tex-Mex place. Boy was I wrong, this is pretty close to authentic Mexican food. Yall need to try the Cafe de Oya, dont add sugar to it. Yes a bit pricey but it's worth it. Would highly recommend this place, need to try it at least once.

I went to eat there with my co-workers for the "get together" organized by the company ... Food was tasty with many options. The cocktail was good and the people ready to help.

Great food and vegetarian-friendly. They were also more than happy to remove dairy to make options vegan. Huge plus. Bravo, Hugo. Started off with the Tacos Dorados de Papa (little potato tacos for the layman). They were tiny, but loaded with filling and toppings, and tasty, so so tasty! Highly recommend. Just get them, believe me.

The food is amazing. The drinks are inventive but authentic. The staff is friendly and attentive. The ambiance is lovely. I highly, highly recommend!

Authentic selections for brunch with a friendly waitstaff the food was pretty good.

Hugo's is one of my favorite restaurants and I couldn't wait to go back after it reopened post COVID stay at home order. It was amazing as always and the staff was excellent in making sure guests were safe. We sat on the patio and had a beautiful lunch. Will be back soon!

The food was great but not at all happy with the service. We were with a party of about 20 people and the restaurant refused to split checks and basically made us figure out everyones share on our own. I find this absolutely ridiculous considering the amount of money we paid for our meals. To top it off it took our waiter 30 minutes to come back with everyone's card, when he did he threw pens on the table for us to sign the receipts. I will not be returning to this restaurant. The valet guys were awesome, so I give them 5 stars.

Great fine dining Mexican. Their cochinito pibil is one of the best I ve had stateside.

Sunday brunch. Some food excellent, some not. Overall good experience but overpriced for a buffet.

My top site for quality mexican food. Food was so fresh. Nothing but pleasant experiences here. It has a good interior.

Everything we ordered was superb. Highly recommend the Lechon!! Wait staff is very friendly and helpful.

Came here for our anniversary and it was a treat. We had the crab salad, barbacoa, Yukon potatoes and brussel sprouts with some chocolate cake for dessert. The portions are not huge, but the flavors are excellent! We both left happy and appropriately full. Our water did run dry at one point, which was a little disappointing, but the rest of the service was on point. The food came out surprisingly fast. This is an upscale establishment with upscale prices, so come prepared to spend 40 or more per person (with drinks, tax and tip).

Lovely restaurant with fabulous service and fantastic food! We loved the empanadas de platano as an appetizer. I had the fish tacos for my entree and they were delicious. And for dessert we thoroughly enjoyed churros stuffed with dolce de leche with Mexican hot chocolate on the side for dipping/drinking. Everything was so good and the staff were extremely welcoming and attentive. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that children are welcome here. Great restaurant! I'm sure we'll be back!

Went for a sponsor appreciation dinner! OMG, literally clapped and asked for the chef to thank him for making my heart happy! You won't be disappointed!

Excellent true Mexican food, imaginative cocktails and superb wine list to match!

Perfect place for family and friends, the staff are very kind..