The octopus appetizer was great, but the scallops were sub-par. Very little flavor. Entrees: the lamb chops were good, could not taste the advertised goat cheese in the mashed potatoes. The butterfly pork chops looked like something you could get anywhere. The service was wonderful until we paid and tipped the waiter; then, everyone disappeared.
The food is very expensive and although it looks like a Spanish Restaurant, there is everything, I gave up and left, I would not advise it any more without going as I am thinking of eating a delicious Spanish food
Amazing food. Great service - it was our first time there, and it was unintentional as we were driving around looking for restaurants that had outdoor seating. I m glad we chose this place...Armando was our server and he consistently checked on us to make sure we were properly served, provided great suggestions (the jump shrimp tapas and egg drop soup were amazing) and the ambiance was great. We ll be back! They have a variety of Cuban, Spanish, and Tex-mex items on the menu which we thought were pretty cool
Fantastic menu, food for every pallet. You would be challenged to fine a better value in the Houston area. Will plan on returning soon to try another dish.
We went there for a dinner. The place was averagely busy.
The food in general was below average and the only thing that was really good was the complimentary salad!
It is overpriced compared to the quality and quantity they serve!
They have a big menu and we were rushed to order, which we did not appreciate.
We are probably not coming back!
The service was excellent. I ordered the salad with avocado and tostones and palomia with mushroom risotto with vegetables. Great flavor.
Good food. Excelent service. Great place to enjoy with the family
Haven't had great tapas in a very long time. Great service and pleasant staff. Will be returning while we are in Houston. Wish we could bring them to Naples, FL.
If you miss the old world excellence only found at restaurants from long ago, make sure to visit El Mason. They have preserved a regality and careful quality rarely found elsewhere. Perfect for anything from family birthdays, first dates, and popping the questions. I started with the salsa and lemonade made from scratch, and they had me from there on. Every dish was abundant in every flavor you re missing (with the typical salt pepper onion garlic western world). This place should require a passport to enter!
Porkchop was the bomb! Paella lacked flavor. Don't get the chocolate cake unless you like that strong cacao flavor.
Good food. Excelent service. Great place to enjoy with the family
Cheap alcohol in drinks. Paella is awful (seafood). The shrimps are dry and seems they ve been frozen a few times (old). They open a new bottle of sparkling water not even asking
This is the worst place I have ever visited in my life I really do not know what experience they have or anything but it is the worst experience I have ever had in my life I was served a paella which is a lack of respect for Cuban food and culture and Spanish
Fun atmosphere, attentive service, wide selection of authentic food.
While the food was fresh & tasted incredible, the service was not good at all. I had to wave the staff down to order, as did another table. Furthermore, it took much longer than it should have for the food to arrive.
The food is fantastic. There's not a lot of flash in the food presentation like at some of the newer restaurant, but the focus is always on the taste. And El Meson never disappoints!
El Meson Cuban cuisine is superb. My favorite meal is the POLLO AL AJILLO
chicken breast, garlic sauce, white rice, black beans, sweet plantains served with a garden salad with a cilantro mint vinaigrette. The menu has so much more..I love this place.
Excellent food and dish presentation. Service also very good.
Such a fun experience! The food is incredible, and the service was great. A great space for a date night where you re looking for a casual atmosphere, while looking to impress with incredible food. El Meson is definitely on our short list of restaurants!
Excellent service, nice atmosphere, but the food did not meet my expectations.
The clerk threw me the sauce on my plate when serving me and yet there was no compensation, on the contrary, a tip of $ 58 USD had to be paid. That lack of respect and professionalism
This restaurant might feel like Cuban but it does not taste Cuban. The ropa vieja is a joke.
Myself and 2 friends were visiting from San Antonio. After a long day of tourist activities we were looking for someplace restorative to have dinner when we found El Meson. Just what the doctor ordered! Great food, great wine, great service. I left feeling like a new person.
The food was okay, but the service and atomosphere were a little off. The restaurant was mostly empty but they sat us in a half booth next to another table. Staff were not inviting. Didn't ruin our night but would not go again
We went for Valentine s Day and I was pleasantly surprised! I did not expect it to be so good! We waited a bit even though we had a reservation but so worth the wait plus we had a cocktail at the bar while we waited. We ordered a bunch of the tapas and everything was delicious! The food, service and ambiance was great! We will definitely be back!
Favorite go-to local spot for tapas. Convenient location, great food and service!
We shared ceviche, morcilla, gambas al ajillo, 2 other tapas and a paella for 2 amongst 5 people. It was amazing. I ve been to Spain and I m familiar with authentic Spanish food. This was just as good if not better. Will be back.
A very tasty place with a good atmosphere. Recommended
Having grown up in Miami, but living in Houston area for many years, I'm always looking for good Cuban food, and this place is GREAT.
I went today and I did not like the attention, the waiter I throw the plate as they are thrown to the dogs. Well pedant, not at all kind, all bitter and it's the first time we went with my boyfriend, he just sat us down and asked us what we were going to drink without even offering the drinks menu, I do not even know what his name is because he did not show up but it was the Only waiter who was attending to the people. He did not fire us and when he was charging with a bad temper. It was not worth going to pay $ 80
Wait staff was very attentive. Food was delicious.presentation was very well done .and atmosphere was cozy and clean .will be vback again
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome... Did I say Awesome??? You have got to give this place a try.
We shared a bunch of the Tapas, and then a big Paella.
This is my favorite restaurant to eat in Houston. I came in one day to grab a quick lunch while shopping and immediately knew I would be coming back. The atmosphere is very relaxing - quiet, low lighting, good music that s not too loud. The alcoholic drinks are especially delicious. I recommend the mojito.
Went to this restaurant on Mother's Day, at the suggestion of our daughters, who had made a reservation in advance.
Was very pleasantly surprised: not a Tex-Mex restaurant, but a Spanish/Cuban restaurant. Excellent service, and an overall very enjoyable experience.
For appetizers, I had the Sea scallops wrapped in serrano ham with asparagus, and we all shared the Assorted artisan cheeses served with olives, hazelnuts, and quince paste.
As an entree, I had the Cod, jumbo shrimp, and crab meat in parsley and white wine sauce. The food was very good, and the best part is that this wonderful place is in Rice Village, very near where I live.
I was here for a party and let me just say it was probably the worst place to have our Christmas party. The waiters were rude and inattentive. Most of them seemed like they didn t want to take care of us and never pre-bussed the table. Service was beyond terrible. Empty wine glasses everywhere, didn t keep up on who ordered what dish, and would get extremely annoyed with anyone who would ask for something.
The food was not anything to rave about either. Overcooked and not very flavorful. Some people were served way before others and the food was cold by the time it hit the table. It was beyond awful to say the least.
I m not one to be too hard on people in customer service, since I too am a waitress; but this was just a terrible experience in every possible way. Not only will I not return here, but I will not be recommending it to anyone.
When we are in Houston, this is BadBrad's and my favorite restaurant. Wonderful European Spanish decor. Make you feel like you are a celebrity wait staff. Unbelievably tasty and juicy melt in your mouth steaks and Filet Mignon. Perfectly executed side dishes. Beer served in tall chilled glasses. And the flan plus tres leches cake are an excellent way to top off the truly best restaurant experience we have had in decades. Do not miss this Rice Village treasure. You will love the warm happy fun restaurant event.
I asked for extra jalapenos, they changed $2. Good food, terrible vibe.
I thought the food was horrible. I do not recommend it. Very bad attention ......
Excellent food, good prices, service can be a bit slow at times but not annoyingly so.
They do a great job. Its not a 5 star restaurant but they get 5 stars for being great at what they do. Solid product solid service. A great experience
So Delicious the lechon was out of this world I'll be back!
Last night we invited my son and his wife to eat paella. My wife wanted that before she went into back surgery.
What a disappointment, we have never eaten such a lousy paella
We have and had great cooks in our family of descendants from Spain (my wife, my mother, my mother in law and my wife's aunt) they would have turned the plates back
Get someone that knows how to cook before you advertise food from Spain
Superb food (get the paella) with a cozy and romantic atmosphere.
I love their spanish tapas and cocktails. The service is great. And, did I say the tapas? Every dish has it's on flavor and heat. My husband and make it a point to go atleast once a month.
The interior of the place needs a bit of refreshment, but we enjoyed the gazpacho, the sea bass and the peppers with vegetables. Oh! And do not miss the super rich flourless chocolate cake. It is delicious. Beautiful selection of wines. Good price-quality ration and we had a great server.
Best service in the village ! Awesome staff. Great food. Lunch prices are very reasonable too !
The tapas are the maximum !! Prawns with garlic and octopus. The dates with bacon and the excellent Spanish torret! Lechon the best!
Delicious food, excellent service and amazing drinks
Great food, great place for a business lunch. Lots of customers but quiet enough to carry conversation.
Food was great!!! Service was a little slow and it was only 3 couples in the restaurant.
It was better before. Food does not have the same flavor.
Pros: Owner will personally come see how you are doing, the guy who just refills drinks does a spectacular job, decor is nice.
Cons: Actual waiter is slow to come check on you, food is bland, food is ridiculously overpriced, desserts are small for the price paid, parking is difficult to get out of.
We got there right as they opened, so it was us and maybe 2 other groups. We ordered paella; it took almost 1hr to get us our food. The amount of food was fine, but it was SO BLAND!!! I could have made this at home with canned vegetables and canned tomato paste and it would have had more flavor! Then we were waiting around for the waiter to come back so we could order dessert; they didn't have that many groups to wait on, so there was no reason for such slow service. The manager ended up taking our dessert order. Dessert was actually tasty, but the $8 tres leches was 1.5 in^3--that's a cube roughly 4 centimetres to each side! For $8 I expect a bigger dessert.
As nice as this place looks, and as nice as the people are, I just can't recommend eating here.
With a creamy gazpatcho. A tasty paella, only two words to say..viva Espana
I took my friends there when they were visiting from Miami. Being used to good Cuban food, they were not impressed. The food was just okay.
Service was horrendous. Took forever to get our chips and salsa. Promised more salsa, never got it. Waiter had difficulty understanding us. They serve water in cold water bottles with water fresh from the city. Gross. Never got the lemon we requested for the water. The food was good, but nothing spectacular. My wife and I have been going here almost 20 yrs. last two visit were just average. Used to be great!!
The food was beautifully great, we ate a paella and ordered 2 to go......oh and the shrimp quesadilla......perfecto
Tasty tapas, scallops are delicious with nice sear. Shrimp with mushroom wine sauce big on flavor was disappointing as it only had 4 tiny shrimp. Bacon wrapped dates were very tasty with good balance of sweet and salty. Parking is minimal. Valet parking is available.
This is the best Cuban food place I have visited in Houston. The dishes are incredible and delicious. I recommend 100% this restaurant.
El Meson serves Delicious tapas such as octopus, ceviche, shrimp, tostones, great sangria, and a wonderful Paella.
We were three couples.
Service was excellent. Waiter was Armando.
We just went today 1/23/2020.
Last week for lunch the waiter s name was Jesus. Very nice too.
One of my favorite spots in Rice villages specializing in Spanish-Cuban fusion cuisine which is an amazing blend of complementary cultures since ones flavors do derive from the other, the to go orders come out pretty quick and all entres come with a super yummy salad and a pesto sauce which is a nice change from the generic house Caesar salad that they give at most places, one thing I can say to watch out for however also the most delicious thing on their menu is the paella and I say watch out because there s a little loop hole with the price a single serving as in a plate for on person is about thirty dollars but you aren t allowed to order for just one person it has to be for at least two and often times people will order thinking that what they will be billed for the paella is 30 or so dollars but instead it s 60 or so but other than that everything else is pretty straight forward and delicious!!!
Long time customer. Ask for the Pargo Vera Cruz. It's not on the menu anymore but should be if you're looking for terrific, delicate snapper. Great waitstaff, but management needs lighten up. My wife asked for extra chopped onions with one of the Mexican dishes. When the check came we noticed they had changed extra for it. It was only 75 cents, but they should pay attention to the small stuff that might be "memorable" in the wrong way.
This place set itself apart from the other hundreds places that claim to be Cuban or Spanish food in the Houston area. The food is excellent. With the right seasoning and very well made. Home made taste. If u want to experience real Cuban or Spanish food come here. One of the best paellas, the Spanish tortilla is great. The place is quiet with some music, the waiters are courteous and quick to serve. Overall is a great experience for a family Saturday or Sunday lunch or for a date
MMMMMMM ... El Meson. Order absolutely anything! The shrimp quesadillas, any of the soups or tapas, or paella if you're sharing with someone. I always ordered the Carne Guisada, but I don't see it on the menu anymore. That's too bad, it was fantastic. But everything here is good and you really can't go wrong with anything you choose. They have a nice wine selection as well.
Excellent food, atmosphere, and, background jazz music.
It was just ok. Steak was kind of tough. Dessert and the crab cake was good. No happy hour menu, and the inside vibe or environment was just.... mediocre. Nothing fancy in my book. Probably will not go back.
Although it had been a while since i ate here last the friendly and attentive staff made me feel right at home! I ordered the grilled Pork Chop with sauteed Spinish and Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes. The chop although its was overcooked a wee bit was flavorful and the grilled onions on top was a nice touch! Both the side dishes were executed perfectly! All in all I've been gone too long and will be back soon!
Tapas was great. Definitely get the chocolate cake!
Not cheap, but reasonable prices for a romantic dinner. The paella and the ropa vieja were my favorite.
Been looking for a good Spanish restaurant since I moved to Texas from New York. Ordered Gambas and Paella to go. I was so excited to try it but the food was so disappointing, they did not taste anything like Paella and Gambas. Just spent $75 over food that didn t have flavor. Never going back.
Food was delicious. I had the Red snapper, so good. Plantains were perfect.
I travel on business and eat in restaurants 2 -4 days a week. My experience at El Mason was amongst the worst that I have experienced in over 20 years. That said, the food was very good. However, if you are a lone female out for a good and relaxing dinner, this is not the place to choose. I actually had to ask the hostess to send a server over so that I could order dinner. And no, at the time I was there, it was not busy until later.
The hostess is subpar and gives a negative attitude.
Great authentic Cuban food. literally the best I ever had!!!!!
elmeson.com
