Johnny Tamale Cantina

I have worked here and live within 5 min. so we come here often. Probably not for long, they continue to raise their prices and the waitress just informed us that we couldn’t order beef taquitos because they are pre made!!! Service is not that great either. Looks like we will have to just travel further from now on.

Food is good, service however is poor. Got there, placed the drink order, she only brought out 1 drink and left, had ordered two drinks, no explanation as to where the other drink was, decided to walk out, was not in the mood for mediocre service. The previous time I had ordered flour tortillas, she never brought them.

It’s an okay place to dine in at. The customer service is good. The food is of good portions. And it’s in a good area. They have mostly Tex-​Mex food. Not pricy at all. Drop by and see for yourself.

Phenomenal enchiladas! Say that 5 times really fast. This place has a large bar area that you can eat and large tvs to watch the game and a large traditional dining room where you can sit down and concentrate on their chips and salsa (red is spicy with heavy serrano and jalapeño peppers and the green is a smooth change up, both very good). This food is meant to be eaten at the restaurant. The same dishes that are excellent eating in-​house (fajitas, a la parrilla, and the aforementioned enchiladas) seem to lose their magic when prepared for take-​out… I guess you could try to take the chef home.

The Mahi Taco portion was a bit small, better suited for an appetizer. The beef fajitas were (and I’m being nice here) a bit tough and chewy. There was one very small itsy-​bitsy piece of red bell pepper mixed in with all the onions which were not that tender either. Not real evident where the to go order pick up spot was (it is at the end of the bar).
We’ve passed by it countless times and finally stopped there. Will be passing it countless times again.

My boyfriend and I like to go here on Tuesday nights because they have Mixed Fajitas for 2 for only $ 19.99! Their fajitas are REALLY good! Very juicy, flavorful meat with grilled onions, bell peppers and fresh cilantro. YUM!
I judge Mexican restaurants on their salsa. I’m not gonna lie. If you win me over with your salsa, I’m a loyal fan. I do enjoy their red and green sauce A LOT. Maybe a little too much to be honest. I could literally eat a whole basket (or two) of chips and finish off the sauces on my own. Sometimes we go to the bar to order drinks and then we fill up on the chips and dip. Speaking of the bar, they have some awesome drinks! My absolute FAVORITE drink is their Strawberry Mojito. It’s AMAZING!!! I love mojitos as it is but with fresh strawberries? OMG, I just can’t…Also, they have really yummy Pina Coladas. They are served in a pineapple with fresh whipped cream and a cherry on top. What’s not to love right?! Their margaritas are good too especially their Italian Margarita. It has Amaretto in it.
As far as their food, I have really liked EVERYTHING I’ve ordered. Their fajitas are great. I like their combination platters too. My favorite is the Bailito. It comes with a cheese enchilada, taquito, small side of queso, 2 quesadillas plus rice and beans. It’s A LOT of food! My boyfriend and I usually share it and it’s PLENTY for us. He’s pretty picky when it comes to beans and rice since he’s Mexican. And he did give this place his «stamp of approval!»
We are repeat customers and will keep coming back! Oh, and they have free ice cream. No matter how full we are, we can’t leave without our ice cream cones!

My favorite Tex-​Mex in Pasadena/​Deer Park! The green sauce is excellent! Fajitas, enchiladas, queso, stuffed avocado are all very tasty. The margaritas are delicious! Service has always been friendly and the wait time is never too long. It is loud, but it is festive and fun. The party room is spacious. Go, eat, and be happy!

Amazing Tres Leches. Awesome service and Margaritas are on point. I will definitely return for the Tres Leches… Did I say the Tres Leches are amazing??? Oh yeah, AMAZING

So if your in the mood for a «self serve» atmosphere then this your place to go! Friends and myself got there at 2 on a Friday and the order was taken at 2:32pm. Then the drinks returned 10 minutes later and the food came shortly after. By shortly, 20minutes later is what I mean.
The best thing about this place is the green salsa that comes free with the complementary chips and the fresh guacamole they make in front of you. Then again, we are in the 20^th century and I feel as if people need a bit more to be WOWed.
Anywho, good luck and bring your patience if your looking to eat here. Also make sure to clear your schedule ahead of time because your going to be there for a good while.
Cheers

Go see Patty serve! Service started here kind of rocky. It was around the holidays so there were larger parties. We were just there as a family and thought it would be quick, however, a mix up by the cooks pushed our food back longer. We didn’t have to fuss or anything. Patty assured us it was an accident and had not one but 2 managers come to check on us. She made sure everyone was happy and provided a top notch service. Our food came out hot, fresh, and tasted great. Thanks for the awesome service guys! I have already recommend this location to friends.

This has been my families go-​to Mexican restaurant for years. I have never been let down and the staff is very helpful. Food is great and reasonably priced.

Nothing too crazy about this restaurant. I came here around 6pm on a Sunday with the bae and was seated immediately.
Mahi Mahi taco and tostada (⁵⁄₁₀): Average fish taco filled with pieces of Mahi Mahi and some mushrooms. I used their avocado creamy sauce (that comes with the free chips) to add more kick to my taco. The tostada is basically a bigger tortilla chip with beans, melted cheese, some shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes. The entrée comes with cilantro rice which is strangely what I like the most. I would probably get the regular tilapia fish tacos next time because I would get more bangs for my bucks.
Spinach enchiladas (⁶⁄₁₀): My boyfriend thought it was too creamy even though it was good. This entrée comes with 3 enchiladas stuffed with chicken, spinach, and their white sauce. No doubt you will be full with this decision. You also get beans and Spanish rice. Their Spanish rice is great simply because it has small chunks of corn! However, this is a pretty heavy meal so you might want to skip it if your health is in the red zone.
I do enjoy their free chips with creamy avocado sauce and house salsa! Oh and did I mention free ice cream?! Choose from vanilla or chocolate. Can’t decide? Pick the swirl!

Many fam has been going here once a week at least ever since we moved to clear lake 4 years ago! Excellent food, drinks and service!

Another bad experience @ Johnny Tamale’s, this place has issues. I have had numerous bad experiences but come back hoping they rally… sometimes they do but the past 2 – 3 times we have eaten here things have been bad so I won’t be going back. We literally got our queso dip with no chips and by the time they brought chips (after numerous requests) the dip was cold and congealed… not appetizing at all.
The wait staff has attitude and the last straw is that the so called bartender doesn’t know how to make a skinny margarita, and they call themselves. TexMex Cantina… I don’t think so!

Our family’s favorite Mexican restaurant! We love the chips and salsa and of course the green sauce! There is something for everyone!

Service was pretty good considering that it was crowded for a Sunday with the Texans playing and so many screens to watch them on.
The negatives: it was loud. Hard to have a conversation but then again it was football Sunday. It also was cold. A/​C was blasting.
The positives: Food was very good and tasty. I had the Desperado which was huge. Wife had the Mahi taco which she did not like.
Lots of chips with green sauce and a spicy red sauce while waiting for our orders.
Not bad but I prefer smaller mom and pop restaurants.

This may not be an authentic, family-​owned Mexican restaurant but it is a nice place for family friends to go out and enjoy good food and service in Pasadena.
Johnny Tamale has a good atmosphere and I’ve never had a bad experience. The bar area has tons of TVs and TONS of seating. It can get really packed in there during happy hours and it’s really fun. They do a good job paying attention to the details here. For example, the table tops are cute and have patterned tiles, the chip baskets are also colorful and nice, the place is clean and well-​kept, they have cloth napkins etc. It just adds a little bit of a nice, special touch to a dinner here.
Their prices are very reasonable, and they do have a lunch menu and happy hour menu with savings. I had the Loco Nachos last time and they were really good. I preferred the nacho half to the quesadillas personally because the quesadilla (while yummy) was a bit heavy for me.
The marg I had was a Sangria margarita (called something else on the menu so just ask) and it was strong and delicious! After 2 I was feeling pretty good haha.
And then the sopapillas were AMAZING. So delicious. Our server Kim was also really fun and attentive and this last time I was there just solidified my opinion that you can’t go wrong for casual Mexican dining in Pasadena with Johnny Tamales.

Service was great. Mikaela was our waitress and she was on top of her shit.
Food was meh…
House margaritas are way too sweet for my taste
I got the bailito dinner
Cheese enchiladas were edible but nothing worth ordering again. Quesadillas were good and the taquito was delicious
My boyfriend got tacos al carbon and said they were delicious.
Service was good so we walked away with a pleased feeling

Had the El Dorado Style a la parilla. Great meal for great price with ample portions. Meal includes shrimp, crawfish, chicken, avocado, and beans/​rice/​tortillas.
Not a single negative thing about this place for my first time eating here

Tonight we had a huge dinner party to celebrate my 60^th birthday with my family and friends. We had fajitas, buffet style, with all the fixings – guacamole, Pico de Gallo, shredded cheese, rice, refried beans, and fresh flour tortillas. The wait staff was very friendly and helpful. And the room we reserved was very tastefully decorated. We had the whole room for our party, even though we only had to pay for the smaller room. The staff all came into the room and sang Happy Birthday to my cousin and to me. My husband accidentally overpaid the bill. The waitress brought the money back to us. She was also very attentive to our whole group.
I would highly recommend Johnny Tamale’s Restaurant. The fajitas, both beef and chicken, were tender and full of flavor.