Guadalajara Del Centro

Food:
The Ceviche was great! Wife had just the Ceviche and I had the $ 15 Ceviche salad with lime vinaigrette. Both light and filled with medium sized fresh shrimp and sturdy white fish. I would order these again.
Happy Hour: $ 5 house margaritas. Stout, tart, limey and a nice size for $ 5.
Chips were thin and crisp. Salsa wasn’t over hot but had a great chili flavor. Yum!
Service: The manager came by to check on us after we got our drinks. The waiter we had seemed to have a lot of tables in our area but did come by a couple times to see if we needed anything. Water refills were constant. No complaints.
My only concern was we were shoved in a little corner table up against the wall. There were a ton of 4 tops with 2 people dining. So I’m not sure why we were steered toward a tiny little cramped table in an almost empty section. And when I started to sit down I had to wipe lime chunks off my seat. The hostess saw me wiping off my chair and did nothing to help or correct the issue. She sat down the menus and walked away. Bad hostess, bad. Hence my 3 stars instead of 4.
The beginning of the meal starts with the hostess and here I felt as though she just wanted to get a little table filled up by a couple middle aged gals in shorts and could care less about our first impression.
Very large restaurant. But it seemed small because of the HUGE booths lined up throughout the center area. They didn’t seem to ever sit anyone in them but they looked like they could hold about 6 folks.

This was my first time here and it was beyond what I expected! When you first walk in, you definitely catch the fun colorful vibe they have going on. We were promptly greeted at the front door and there was no wait to sit at the bar. Once we sat down, we were quickly greeted by two different bartenders. No looking around for service here! We ordered two margaritas as well as tacos al carbon and chicken verde enchiladas… and WOW!!! The drinks and food are a little pricey but you are definitely paying for what you get! Our margaritas were strong and our food came out quick and the taste was out of this world!!! Exquisite to say the least. This place has good vibes, great drinks and even better food. If you’re looking to try something new in downtown Houston, I HIGHLY recommended this place. Don’t forget to ask for Alexis!

My boyfriend and I couldn’t decide on what to eat so after 30 minutes of searching we finally stumbled upon Guadalajara. We were a little skeptical as we really enjoy authentic style Mexican food but we were pleasantly surprised with the taste of their food. The environment was clean and the staff were very attentive to our table. We enjoyed the fresh chicken fajitas along with fresh flout tortillas and also the Verde Enchiladas. We were quite impressed with the table side guacamole, which was also delicious! We definitely keep this one for round two.

I’m surprised at how much I loved this place.
1. The bacon-​wrapped shrimp had an equally balanced bacon to lime to shrimp flavor profile.
2. The chips came out warm and thin. The salsas were savory (the greenish, mayoish, cilantroish stuff was exactly what mayo + cilantro and maybe sour cream should taste – delicious) but not overly salted.
3. I had the grilled chicken, and found the chicken large (maybe 12 oz? 14?) and tender. They marinated it in some sort of house marinade that, if I remember correctly, contained lime flavors more than anything else. I usually don’t order chicken like this because giant chicken breasts are hard to get right – they’re usually dry and overdone.
Not here. It was perfect.

I have eaten here many times and it has been good. Tonight was not good at all. Cold food everywhere. When I can grab the iron fajita platter that is «sizzling» not a good thing. The waiter was not very friendly. I got the feeling that he was only worried about getting the service done.
Gave them a second star just because they reacted and solved the problem quickly.

This is one of my new fav spots in the area! Met some friends here before heading to a local piano bar and started with drinks. I had the flamingo and the mexitini and both were really delicious. My meal was the beef fajita nachos but I was able to try the empanadas and the bacon wrapped quail legs. All the food was amazing. Came out hot and fresh and the green sauce was yummy. I poured a little on each nacho and it added just the right kick. We will be back for more drinks and food for sure!

I really wish this place was good — it’s right next to my office and I often crave Mexican food for lunch. Because I have a soft spot for queso, I’ve given this place more than a handful of opportunities to shine. I’ve been to this location probably 10 times — and every time I walk out feeling robbed. The service is horribly slow, the waiting area to be seated is hectic and cramped, it’s really loud, and the food is mediocre at best. I’ve had my order messed up on more than one occasion (where I’m brought a completely different dish than I ordered). The chicken dishes I’ve had here are bland and the shrimp has been rather chewy. But let’s be real — it’s right across the street from my work and they do have queso… so I’ll probably go back and continue to complain about it like an addict. A Mexican Food addict.

Guadalajara is a great (underrated) Mexican restaurant in Houston’s downtown! We were headed to a concert at the House of Blues, and Guadalajara was the perfect place for a bite before!
The food is great! I wanted something light, and Guadalajara has a vegetarian section to the menu — so I started there! I was tempted by the avocado relleno, but went with the vegetable fajitas instead! And they were — HANDS DOWN — the best veggie enchiladas I’ve ever had! Whole mini squash, asparagus, whole baby carrots, peppers, and onions — with great seasoning! It came with great corn tortillas, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro rice, black beans, and cheese! Absolutely delicious! If I make it back to Guadalajara (we’re saying adiós to Houston in June), I would absolutely order the vegetable fajitas again! We also shared the queso as an appetizer (and saved some to drizzle on our entrees) — definitely delicious!
Great service. Great drink options. Lots of seating! TVs at the bar. Full menu at the bar.
All in all? Guadalajara is a great place for bite to eat if you’re in the downtown area!

Poor service and average food. I think if you know that a Mexican place charges $ 2.00 for chips and salsa you can make your own call on what kind of spot it is.

The food was decent enough, I had the grilled mahi, which was good, and my friend had the nachos. But the prices are very high, $ 16 for a margarita that I don’t think had much, if any, alcohol in it. My grilled mahi was listed as $ 19 on the menu, but was $ 20 on the check.
But the worst of it was the service. It took an hour to get out entrees, and they took up our chips, and left the depleted sauces, 20 minutes before the food came. Then brought a new bowl of chips after we got our food. But no more salsa. Weird.
In their defense it was crowded, but I just can’t justify more than 2 stars. Not horrible, just nothing out of the ordinary either.

Casually swung by for dinner on a Sunday night during the Final Four weekend. We selected it as we were walking to another restaurant but based on what we saw through the windows it looked like a hit. We had a short wait (~20 mins) for a table but nothing to complain about.
Chips were complementary and we ahead and ordered guac as well. Easily the blandest guac I’ve ever eaten. This guac was in desperate need of salt or more flavor or something — it was terrible. And the cutely decorated chips they had placed all over it were stale! It was not a cheap appetizer either at $ 12. Chipotle has better guac! I make better homemade guac than what they served up! And when we told the waitress in the end that we thought the guac was bland she blew it off and said she’d mention something to the chef…
I ordered the Tex Mex tacos, the steak was delicious but the chicken and shrimp ones were just so so. Beans were also super watery — borderline soupy.
This place probably wouldn’t be in business except for the fact that it’s conveniently located in downtown in a vibrant neighborhood and has an appealing looking setting.

This place was recommended to me by the hotel I was staying at. Turned out to be way over priced for what you get. The food was just so so. For the price I paid I define expected a lot more. You can get better food at a family Mexican/​Tex-​Mex restaurant for less than half the price and probably get just as good of service.
If you are staying downtown and this turns up as an option and you are really craving Tex-​Mex then this would be an option but be prepared to pay a lot. There are plenty of other decent options close by for food to choose from.

Who doesn’t like Guads, or Guads margaritas! Besides their drinks the food is decent and their service is awesome.
It’s the place I usually stop at to have dinner or pre-​drink before a Rockets game or concert at Toyota center since it’s just a block or so away.

Good happy hour in downtown, good setting, but food is just okay.
The ambiance is nice, and it is clear that the restaurant has put forth considerable effort in making it look nice.
Food portions are relatively large and the food is reasonably priced. This is a great place if you need to take someone out to eat in the area or if you’re headed to Toyota Center/​House of Blues after, but if you’re looking for great Mexican food, look elsewhere.

I went here today for lunch and ordered the vegetable fajitas. They were outstanding! There was asparagus, eggplant, onions, carrots, zucchini, and bell peppers. Sides were rice and beans and it also came with guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheese. I probably should have asked for a box, but I just couldn’t stop eating them! They were that good. I look forward to coming back here in the future.

Best Happy Hour in Downtown!
If you’re going to an event downtown, The Toyota Center or House if Blues, this is THE PLACE to be! Delicious drinks, great appetizers and excellent service. I always ask for G.Z.
LOVE this place!!!

Nice place for lunch. Met some old friends there and we all enjoyed ourselves. Parking is interesting. I ended up parking two blocks away on the street.
The ambience is nice as they have invested a lot in the «feel» of the restaurant. The wait staff is attentive and pleasant. The margaritas are pretty good.
I tried the fish tacos — good seasoning! I liked. We also tried the deviled eggs with fried jalepeno. The deviled eggs were good without the jalepeno. I don’t think it added much flavor. There wasn’t a kick. It was ok for a one time try.

A staple of downtown houston lunches — this place is busy up the wazoooo. If you’ve got a large party, make sure you’ve got a reservation, or you’ll probably end up waiting a while for a table.
Overall, it’s a good place for some upscale Mexican/​Tex-​Mex. Good fish options, and the basics like tacos and fajitas are up to par here. My biggest gripe here is the wait — I’ll generally have long filled up on chips here before the food comes out. I think last time it was probably closer to 50 minutes for our party of 8 — a little hard to swallow if you’re trying to grab a work lunch.
Ask about the daily specials, because I’ve generally enjoyed the fish served here.

On my first day at my new job, I came here with my coworkers. There are a lot of steakhouses or seafood restaurants downtown for nice lunches with clients or coworkers, so Guadalajara is a nice option to have for Mexican food.
The lunch menu is extensive and has smaller portions of dinner favorites like fajitas and enchiladas. I really enjoyed the roasted corn and quinoa salad with a salmon filet. The portion was very filling, but not heavy. I usually slather dressing on salads, but the quinoa and fish was so flavorful and moist on it’s own that I barely used any of the vinaigrette.
The only flavor the salsa has is cilantro, which I like, but I’d prefer some heat, too. The seating and interior is comfortable and plush and feels upscale.
The waitstaff is very friendly, but the kitchen was a bit slow. Lunchtime service should be fast and possible in under an hour, but we needed about an hour and a half for our meal.

Guadalajara is a Tex Mex restaurant with solid vegetarian options beyond just permutations of cheese, lettuce, beans, guac, and carbs. Not by much, but still, it’s nice.
I was having lunch with a mentor and ordered some vegetarian enchiladas topped with sunny side up eggs. I was pretty impressed by the entire dish — it was the first time I’ve ever had runny eggs on my Tex Mex. The enchilada sauce was playful and not overpowering. The guac we ordered was also excellent. Sometimes I tire of avocado, but the guac from Guadalajara didn’t produce that feeling. If you don’t tire of avocado, you’re a liar: it’s like eating mayo, except remarkably more socially acceptable.
For dessert, I had the fried ice cream. I wouldn’t recommend getting dessert: it’s just too much food on top of the appetizer and entrée, and it’s hard to not eat it once it has been ordered because it’s delicious. The mental exercise of ordering dessert and not eating it should be avoided at Guadalajara.