Danny’s Restaurant

Fantastic food, good price, very friendly staff. If you want authentic Mexican food cooked to perfection check this place out

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Danny’s, but my family loves to come here. So I end up here too.
First, the style is typical old Laredo. It’s a little over the top and gaudy, but it’s not horrible. Speakers are set up outside so you can hear the music playing as you enter. I don’t really care for the waitress uniforms (pink button up shirt, black skirt, and I’m pretty sure they wear pantyhose, even in the summer); they are dated and give off this old school flight attendant vibe (minus the hat… I think).The restaurant itself tends to get crowded and very loud, but one could say it’s an electric vibe.
Anyway, my favorite time to go is breakfast because TACOS! or mariachis as they are called here. I’m going on a tangent here to talk about my favorite menu section, the“Diet Plates.” Remember when diet meant cottage cheese and peaches? No? Well it happened once upon a time and you can still order it at this restaurant! I tried to snap a menu pic, but I think because of the dim lighting, my pics never comes out right.
So now that you have the scene, let’s talk tacos and coffee. The coffee floweth like water. Half way through the cup you’re offered a refill and again and again until you notice you’re a little jittery. A++++++ in my opinion. Coffee comes with tons of half and half, but the sweetener options are kind of in the same era as the peaches and cottage cheese– sweet n low, equal, or white sugar. I went for the pink stuff in one cup and made it last.
The tacos are huge! Two and I lasted the entire day until dinner time. Although they were good, the tortillas were a little tough, but that could be because I was talking so much (kinda like I am in this review). The tortillas were stuffed and overflowing with potato and egg and bean and cheese so I had to start with a fork. The salsa is a little runny, but a perfect blend of spice and seasoning.
Oh I also heard about how great their pancakes were. So we got one on the side. Yummmm! And I don’t even care for pancakes. It was thick and dense and delicious! I can definitely do that for breakfast again.
My one complaint. Everything is served with a sprig of parsley! Even the pancake. But that’s not enough to remove stars.
On a side note. One reviewer said the staff were rude to people who don’t speak Spanish. I don’t speak a lot of Spanish, but I know enough to order and say please and thank you. My fiancé speaks no Spanish. He ventured out to Danny’s very early on Christmas morning (as we all decided to sleep in and he’s a morning bird). He said he didn’t think the waitress understood him, but he managed to order. Although he said she brought out more food than he ordered, she was never rude to him. He even spoke to the manager and asked about learning his Lyft cards there, which they happily did (and which we saw were still out when we came here this morning).
Everything in this place runs with crazy efficiency. I can’t think of a reason to remove stars other than some of the dated feeling, but even that isn’t too terrible.
Yay tacos! Mariachis!

Had their western omelette and it was delicious
Salsa was excellent
Strongly recommend this place!

Why is this place still in businesses?
Food = gross
Service = terrible
Décor = none
Bathrooms = unsanitary

Ok food. Bad service. The wait staff is particularly unfriendly to those who cannot speak Spanish … Disappointing.

Worst place ever they recycle the tortilla chip. on every table totally gross and unsanitary I cant believe this place is a chain totally gross place to throw ur money. and the margaritas were virgin couldn’t taste the tequila so. for sure nothing is good here

I wish someone would explain why this place is in business. I feel bad bcz the staff is so great-​but Danny’s food is NOT good Mexican food. Its blah and easy– cheap imitation of REAL authentic fare you find in the incredible hole-​in-​the-​wall spots dotting Laredo (go to South Laredo-​although sketchy– SUCH BETTER FOOD for waaaaay less). Dannys (in)famous Chachos, their crown jewel-​is the type of crap my college roomates would make in their apt after getting high and throwing together whatever taco bell leftovers and meat from last night’s barbque they found in the back of the fridge. PALENQUE DESTROYS THIS INSULT TO LAREDO’S AWESOME MEX CUISINE. Sorry, just sux THAT much. My 1 Star has an invisible minus sign to the left of it…

Visiting from out of town, it caught my attention on how many Danny’s restaurants there were. They were literally more numerous than McDonalds. My family and I were in the mood for some Mexican food, and my grandmother had recommended this place.
Before entering, they had some really loud Mexican music to get you in the mood. Upon entering, they had a little store on the right where you could buy candy & snacks. We were seated very promptly by the smiling waiter.
As we were seated, we were given fresh chips and salsa. The chips were made in the restaurant using real tortillas, they had a nice crunch but were a little on the greasy side. The salsa was very runny, but had good spice and a decent amount of cilantro. I ordered the enchilada plate chili con carne, with rice and refried beans. My mother ordered the tortilla soup.
The tortilla soup was gigantic! It seemedto have a whole chicken breast shredded, and came with a nice portion of seasoned tortilla chips and avocado. It had a really great seasoning and a nice kick to it. Overall, my enchilada plate was okay. The tortilla was a bit thick and dry, but this was compensated for by the delicious chili con carne sauce. They gave a very generous helping of beans, which tasted great, and the rice was fluffy but very light in taste.
Our waiter was my favorite kind of wait staff. He was non invasive and always ensured that our drinks were full and our needs met. They have live music on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I would give this restaurant another chance to see that.

They just won the prize for the worst margarita in this earth… I’m so disappointed.. dinner was a disaster..

For some reason my in-​laws or friends always want to meet up at Danny’s whenever we go to Laredo, and after six years I still can’t figure out why. Prices are pretty high, flavors are generic, portions and selection are standard. I’ve tried lots of different menu items but there isn’t anything special that makes this place stand out.

Much better than some its more «Americanized» counterpart locations in Laredo, this Danny’s location still failed to live up to my expectations for quality mexican food this close to the border.
By the time I got there they were out of the location’s signature dish — the cabrito al pastor — which I had been anxious to try upon landing in Laredo. I had to settle for the enchiladas poblanas, chicken and cheese enchiladas covered in a rich mole sauce. I love mole, but this sauce was cloyingly sweet over its signature dried chili body. I would suspect a bottled sauce was used. The enchiladas themselves were nothing special. Machine made textureless corn tortillas filled with unseasoned chicken breast. The boracho beans must be a Laredo staple, because I’ve never found beans that taste quite this good outside of this metro area.
There appears to be live bands some evenings, though the best I can do to describe the talent tonight was «enthusiastic Mexican lounge singer karaōke». The crowd seemed to have mixed feelings as well depending on how many margaritas had been consumed.
While this Danny’s was recommended to me as the «Mexican» Danny’s, I couldn’t really find much to favor it over one of it’s gringo counterparts, except oddly that the staff at this location spoke english much better than my previous trips. The one saving grace was that dinner, drink, tip and dessert cost me less than a McDonalds «value» meal. My reccomendation? Save yourself for the much superior Palenque Grill and go to Danny’s for a quality mexican brunch. Go with the chorizo con huevos y café con leche for a filling meal.

The place and the food is great, but if you want to make a better evening out of it, go Friday Saturday or Sunday. Music, friendly people, great food, try the Tampiquena