Taquerias Arandas #16

In search of the best enchiladas in BCS tried here on a whim. The food was good, the enchiladas were different than all the other enchiladas in town, they used the «milk cheese»… Not sure what to call it but it was very good. Refreshing change from the usual want to be enchiladas we have been getting. The tacos looked awesome too.

Delicious Mexican food and great service. Make sure you try the super California burrito.
Check out my video about it.

NOTORIETY: Franchise chain Mexican Restaurant (H-​Town)
FOOD:
Huevos rancheros ($ 2.99 before tax): Great value for pretty good food. Two eggs (w/​runny yolk) in a sea of a tart, tomato based ranchero sauce. It also comes w/​2 strips of bacon (crispy but tasted a bit dry), breakfast potatoes (decent seasoning w/​slight sweetness but not crispy=I’ll pass), refried beans (fresh & smooth texture) & 3 warm tortillas.
Egg & ham tacos ($ 1.49 before tax): They require you to buy 2 of a taco at a time. Nevertheless, it was a good taco, w/​tender, juicy ham. You have the option of a semi-​chunky, semi-​spicy red sauce or a much spicier green sauce to add additional flavor.
OVERALL: Decent food for a franchise Mexican restaurant. Based on the other reviews, I’m hesitant to try their lunch/​dinner, but their breakfast was very reasonable in price.
RECOMMENDATION: Breakfast tacos
TIPS:
1. 99 cent breakfast tacos Monday thru Friday before 11 am.
2. $ 2.99 Commercial breakfast daily before 11 am.
3. Hours: Monday-​Sunday 7am-​10pm.

Excellent Tex-​Mex at good prices. When I moved to College Station, a friend and I embarked on a search for the best place to get Mexican; she’d always order cheese enchiladas and when we’d leave, I’d hear nothing about how they didn’t compare to her mom’s. Well, when we ducked into Taqueria Arandas, she seemed a bit shellshocked so I asked what she thought of the place. She leaned in and whispered, «They’re better than my mom’s.»
I’ve hopped around the menu and found I liked everything I order. Once in dozens of times I came here and they made everyone’s food bad, but otherwise they’ve been consistent.
The service is fine, but come for the food, not the service and definitely not the ambiance.

Nope. It was really sad to see that a Houston based chain failed so hard when we stopped by a few days ago. I trusted their name after having tasted what they can do. The food we received was disgusting and was old.
My wife and I ordered about a dozen tacos of almost all types and we could not eat any of it. I rarely complain so much as to return food but I did and paid about half the bill, tipped a few bucks and won’t ever return.
It was just disgusting old food that should have never been served. It digested somewhat okay but not great and I wouldn’t eat here again if they gave us lifetime food for free.
Friendly staff and just a shame that their tacos have for some reason become horrid old food that should have been tossed out.

I’m so mad at Arandas. It used to be our «go-​to» breakfast place because the food’s good, large portions, cheap prices… but the last two times we went, the service and the food just got worse and worse.
We went on a typical Sunday morning, the last time, and it was super-​obvious that there wasn’t a manager on-​site. The floors were dirty, the servers could barely be bothered to service us or any of the other patrons, and the food was just crap… bland, lukewarm crap.
I will say this much: Being mad at Arandas helped us find Coco Loco and La Familia. Which are ever so much better.
p. s.: An very kindly-​worded email to Taquerias Arandas did nothing at all. Poop on them.

I’ve dined here once, and gone in on take-​out a couple times. This place is packed at lunch & dinner peak hours, and has a very small parking lot, and some of their customers you wouldn’t want to scowl at, much less compete with or argue over a parking spot. The restaurant itself is fairly small, so you may be jostled a bit at your table, by other customers being seated or leaving. And if you’re with a group of more than four, forget it. The tables are too small for four, and although I never asked, I haven’t observe any customers moving tables together for a group.
The last time I had their Quesadillas, I was disappointed. They weren’t ready when I came to pick up the carry-​out order, so I know they were fresh. The tortillas were quite greasy, soggy, and the usually juicy beef was tough & dry, like it was on a steam table too long, or was reheated.
To be fair, I have always had good service there, and they always give me plenty of sauce, and never charge for extra sauce cups to-​go.

Taqueria Arandas is a family owned chain of Mexican restaurants that is growing quickly across Texas. I have been a fan for 15 years and used to visit their restaurant on Burnet in Austin almost every weekend for some great breakfast tacos. Their specialty is grilled meats and I highly recommend their Arandas’ Special (#1 on the menu). Grilled beef served with rice, cactus and beans. I recently tried the Alambres (#3 on menu) in Bryan. It was excellent — grilled beef kabobs with peppers, bacon and onion served with guacamole, rice and beans. This is a very casual family oriented restaurant and so don’t expect anything fancy. The key attraction is the food — simple, cheap and fresh.