Iguanas Ranas Cantina

Food is good but service is extremely SLOW!!! They should hire enough staff. There was one person doing it all apparently.

It was always poor service but it seems they are really trying this time. Hiring better staff and so on.

We go here all the time. It’s usually good food with mediocre service but this time was absolutely ridiculous. Have you ever asked what the drink specials are and then told everything and then when you’re brought your beers you’re told these aren’t on special?! I mean how idiotic of a server can you be? So then we are told to ask for bottles. So we order bottles. We receive our tab. NOTHING IS ON SPECIAL! He went on to say no the bottles weren’t on special… Okay??? Why would I ask for the specials and then you serve me full price drinks. On cinco de Mayo? Look this place needs to get it together. We just moved here a couple of months ago and have came here at least once a week and we actually enjoy the food and the drink specials are usually good. But this was absolutely the worst dining experience we have ever had ever! We will no longer be going here and neither will any of our friends and family and I will absolutely never recommend this place again! In fact I will make a point to ridicule this establishment for this just totally unacceptable service. We went in hoping to have good food, cheap drinks, and like I said before mediocre service but instead we are served cold food, full price drinks and horrible service. I just can’t get over how this server is actually walking and talking because like seriously the dumbest thing you can possibly do as a server. And this is his job? I’d say don’t quit your day job but… I’d probably go back if he wasn’t there anymore. I believe he was mentioned before in another disappointed review, his name is Manuel.

Meh.
Nothing of note, seems to be another non-​descript tex-​mex restaurant trying to rip-​off Jimmy Changa’s. They have the animal mascots, the soft-​serve ice cream machine, the cutely/​dumbly named drinks (i.e. the Fruity Froggy — which was actually pretty good. Amaretto, rum, pineapple juice and grenadine)
We’ve had pretty miserable service both times we’ve been here, and this past time we sat at the bar. The bartender only had 2 other people at the bar, but she was so busy making drinks for the people at seated tables that our service ended up being SO SLOW. They need another bartender back there to field the dining room drinks.
Also I asked for/​was charged for sour cream I never received :/​I love sour cream. I LOVE SOUR CREAM.
the search continues for the best seabrook tex-​mex. and mex-​mex.

This is a great place for lunch and dinner. Very affordable and the food is just as good as any other Mexican restaurant. I’ve eaten there probably 15 times and I’ve never had any complaints. You should try it.

This is a nice clean restaurant with freshly prepared food and polite service. So, why the low rating?
Iguanas Ranas Cantina anchors a small strip mall along NASA Road 1 in Seabrook (it sits just a few doors down from a Chinese food joint that I frequent). It features comfortable tables and booths and is comfortably lit and not too kitschy, like many other Tex-​Mex joints. ~ I was promptly shown to my table and was immediately met by my server. I told him I’d like a Dos XX (amber) and a glass of water, and that I was hitting the restroom to wash my hands. (Bathroom was clean, by the way.) He was a very polite man … almost cruise ship polite.
I ordered a beef chimichanga and a been/​cheese/​lettuce chalupa a la carte. All were beautiful and were fairly impressive in the flavor department. The beef was nicely seasoned and they didn’t skimp on the portion. Most impressive was the lettuce on the chalupa. It was a cool fresh mixture of various lettuces. Nice.
The red salsa, albeit served just this side of warm (I despise warm salsa) had a nice flavor. The green avocado sauce was laden with chunks of avocado and had a nice cilantro/​serrano flavor. This is probably some of the best (avocado sauce) that I’ve had outside my own kitchen.
And now, my concerns…
This is the first time I’ve ever been served a chimichanga without some sort of topping. No queso, chili or ranchero sauce. It did come with a 2TB cup of queso and sides of sour cream and guacamole. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me, but accoutrements like these are more appropriate for handheld food like tacos and burritos.
I asked my server, as he brought my beer, if they had a salsa verde and he said he would bring some to the table. What he brought was another bowl of the chunky avocado sauce, which I didn’t need. I could never get his attention to correct this (more on that in a second) and, to add insult to injury, I was charged for the extra chunky avocado sauce.
Back to my server, who (again) was very polite… I think he was lacking in training. When he said «With your permission, I’ll place the beer on the table,» I thought he might’ve been joking or at least going overboard with the politeness. But I really think he didn’t know a lot about what he was doing. (He even asked me if it was OK to remove my menu from the table after he took my order.) Though I didn’t again see my server until he brought my check, something in itself that was prompted by me leaning from my booth and staring back toward the kitchen, I was checked on by another man. Once.
All the while, it sounded like there was some major grab-​ass being played in the kitchen. It reminded me of the 7^th grade boys locker room. If I were eating at Dave & Busters, I wouldn’t bother even bringing this up. But such behavior is inappropriate here.
While I was eating, a couple came in and picked up a to-​go order. I think they might be on to something. Had my order been to-​go, just about every negative part of my experience at Iguana Ranas Cantina could’ve been avoided.
Unfortunately, first impressions last a while.

So, I’m from Cali and we have a great selection of Mexican food. I have always heard that Texas is tex-​mex but not this place. This place is amazing! The food is fresh, the salsa is awesome and the Margarita’s are to die for. Greg was our waiter and he was the best. I highly recommend this place!!!

My co-​worker and I have been here a couple of times for lunch and it’s solid. Not the best food, but the service was decent and the food was as well.
The first time I got chicken quesadillas which were good, the second time I got a queso covered burrito with chicken. Both were good and filling, but nothing amazing. The chips and salsa are good though, and they keep them filled up, which is nice.
It’s not a terrible place, it’s not a fantastic place, but it’s decent and quick for lunch without breaking the budget. I wouldn’t hesitate to go again, but I probably wouldn’t go too far out of my way to go either.

if your a fan of GREEN SAUCE just GO!!! I order by the pint, its the best in Texas in my opinion. I only get a quick to go order here but their always super friendly!

Food was really tasty and seemed very fresh. We had enchiladas, Burrito con queso and chicken del mar. Chips and salsa was also very good. Arrived around 545pm. Service was quick. Menu is typical TexMex found in Houston.

After just now eating here for the first time, I think the bad reviews must be from competitors. Everything was really good. The red salsa is the best I’ve had in a while. The Fajitas Flameados were juicy and flavored just right. Only two criticisms: the margaritas tasted good, but could be a little stronger, also the young waitress took my wife’s order last and served her food last. At a table with four males and one female, common courtesy is you take care of the woman. We will definitely be back! Great food and a good value.

Came here not expecting too much based on other reviews but was completely surprised by how wonderful everything was. The salsa alone would have made me write a review. I have never had salsa so fresh in the states!!! You cold see every ingredient in the red salsa and the green was so delicious, there were even chunks of avocado in it. I couldn’t get over this throughout the entire meal, my boyfriend found it quite amusing. Additionally, the service was great. There was never a point in time I was able to even think of something I wanted because our waitress had already noticed and given it to us. Other staff members also came by occasionally to make sure we were doing alright and enjoying everything, which we always were. The fajitas were really good as well, seasoned to perfection. I could say more but this is already really long, all in all, great place. We left very happy and will be going again!

Food was GREAT! Possible the best I’ve ever had. The service was awesome! This is totally going to be our «go to» place!

I loved the pinto beans here! We order out often here and get the «Fajita dinner for two» which feeds my boyfriend and myself. The red salsa is delicious but they do need to work on the green one. I would definitely come back!

Food is good, but service is usually subpar. The waiters and waitresses are rather unfriendly and mess up the orders more often than not.

Love the fajitas with chorizo! Great combination. Prices are fair for the amount of food they give you. New favorite Mexican food spot.

Last night’s visit has me feeling the need to update this review. First and foremost, the waiter that we like, Juan, quit (maybe he knows something we don’t?).
They were having music on the patio, so it seems the staff must have been really wrapped up in helping those people, which meant that the people inside basically get shafted on service. Our waitress was super slow and seemed confused by us requesting to put «cheese and jalapeños on top of the fajitas». It took her about 10 minutes to bring my margarita over to me, which is way too long to wait for a drink.
I agree with another review that was posted a few days ago, the staff were behaving unprofessionally last night, too. The hostess and our waitress were throwing things (like a to-​go box maybe?) at each other right alongside our table. Cool. Then they were skipping through the restaurant arm-​in-​arm. This is not how you act in front of customers. It seems to me that they hire high school kids and give them zero training on how to handle multiple tables and how to act like an adult.
The women’s restroom was not clean … toilet paper in one toilet and poop in another. Gross. I guess I could have flushed either of them, but why should I if I didn’t leave that stuff there? I ended up having to use the ADA accessible stall since it was the only one clean.
I am not sure at this point if we will ever return.

Food was acceptable. Not fantastic where have to come back. Not a big crowd at all on a sat night at 7. Wait staff was very attentive. Menu had lots of options and the prices where reasonable. I have only been once. I will need to try I again and try other dishes to see if I put it in the rotation. There are too many other Mexican restaurants I like to choose this one over others I regularly go to. They did have free ice cream. Chips where thicker than others but where ok. The sauce was good. Tortillas are home made a good.

This place replaced a local neighborhood diner. Early reviews suggested a place still going through pre season shake down…
Tonight’s service was crisp, timely, courteous and pleasant for a relaxed Sunday evening neighborhood dinner crowd…
Food presentation, a vital part of dining, was pretty darn good…
What was missing was the aroma and noise in the air of the kitchen, implying freshness, reflected in the taste.
Prices were neighborhood friendly — above hole in the wall and under linen napkin places…
I give 4 stars as they’ve come s long way from early days — That and their AC runs great, very important come them dog days of summer…

Wow the El eatronsito platter was amazing. Along with mango salsa in the center. I will make this our first Mexican restaurant to go when wanting Mexican food. As a California girl the is close to the border. Five star for sure.