La Olla Restaurant

Great service! Their empanadas were delicious. I ordered a rice shrimp dish that was made w/​coconut milk. I wasn’t expecting it to be a sweet dish but I was pleasantly surprised, it was delicious. My husband got the large bandeja paisa and we both probably could’ve ate off that one plate. It was HUGE! The chicharon was absolutely delicious! The lemonade here was AWESOME! I’ll definitely be coming back to try more things on the menu.

Todo muy rico. La comida deliciosa. Desayuno la olla es grande no me la acabe. Arepa con queso y recalentado de arroz con frijoles y chicharrón y salchicha. Definitivamente regresaría.
La empanada llena de carne con papa. Que rico todo. El servicio muy bueno. Fueron a mi mesa varias veces a que todo estuviera bien. Mi pareja pidio café y lo relleno varias veces. El precio bueno. No caro.

This place is just okay. I was excited to go, because my husband is from Colombia. I make several Colombian dishes myself, but liked the fact to have a Colombian restaurant nearby. The empanadas are good. The prices are really high for the place. We easily spent $ 75, and that’s without alcohol, for 2 adults & a child. We’ve found hairs, (multiple) in the Aji, which really grosses me out. We’ve been a few times, and really want to like it! Also the cups for Aqua panela were much larger, I noticed after going back they switched to smaller glasses, but kept the same price. My husband always jokes that Colombians are tricky! Haha I really hope you guys correct some problems, and wear hair nets– also possibly making your prices a bit more reasonable. Ciao

This is not authentic Colombian. First time and last food took long and it was cold, greasy, and soggy when it came. Never eat here again so very disappointed…

The food is very good! It tastes very homemade and that’s what I enjoy most about it. I always get bistek a caballo… It’s sooooo delicious!!! Not to mention their empanadas with ajil are the best by far! My husband always gets the bandeja paisa. They serve ranch and what I think is thousand island dressing with everything along with ajil on your table. I can’t review on anything else because that’s all we get when we come. But it’s delicious and the portions are very filling. The atmosphere is nice as well, very quite and relaxed. You can enjoy a good meal alone or with your family.

THIS IS NOT TRUE COLUMBIAN FOOD JUST PRE COOKED AN PREPACKAGED FROM A VENDOR. well lets see what good i can say an for that nothing to say except «TERRIBLE».
Service was so so but if you going to serve american people try speaking english but that was the least of my problems, the food is tasteless no seasoning what so ever (pre-​packaged) an wondered why we got it fast. Cutting the prepackaged food an warming it is what it sums up to be. Paid 60.00 plus an over paid for sodas an no free refills an when you ask for another soda they charge you 1.50 for a can of soda (wow). If you present as real columbian food then show us your true cooking an not prepackaged food. They push for you to get some side dish (empanada) which you can tell is frozen from a wholesaler an fried so not real empanadas. The tortillas are (mission) tortilla from the store an just thrown on a dirty grill an served like they fresh (NOT). I asked for jalapeño an they charged me 1.50 for two little bity ones an they pretend not to speak english so they dont have to take complaints. Who in there culture serves empanadas with iltalian dressing. I wouldn’t even suggest to my worst enemy. The owner needs to understand that reviews account for some of your buisness an if you stuck doing an serving food this way then you need to close your doors, sad part is you have couple of resturants an sad part is you are not true columbian food company heck a food truck would an does better food then this place. THIS IS NOT TRUE COLUMBIAN FOOD!

I think this restaurant is by far better than any other Colombian restaurant I have visited in areas not colonized by Colombians. It cannot compete with the quality of food you find in Miami, New York, but I see a good effort to have a real and fresh colombian menu. The waitresses are genuine friendly. I have been there 4 times, it is not perfect but it will come back. Delicious juices, liver with onions, cola de res, tostones, yuca. It was disappointed to see the place empty on a Friday night. I would suggest to reduce the menu and improve it, and add a couple of international dishes to attract more non Colombians.

To start off I have driven by this place a million times since moving here last summer. I was driving around looking to place an order for takeout and noticed this place while turning from the road beside it. I recently had a bad experience at a Cuban place.
I walked in and was immediately greeted and asked to sit at the bar area since I was ordering for takeout and was given a menu to browse over. The service here was awesome I was greeted by several of the staff and asked if I wanted or needed a drink while waiting. I politely declined each time because I wanted to save room for the food.
My food was timely prepared and I was on my way home. When my wife and I sat down to enjoy our plates all that we could do was roll our eyes and tell each other how good our food was. It was reminiscent of just listening to soft core porn with mentions of food rather than other things. I had the paisa plate and my wife had a plate of shrimp rice. I highly recommend this place and will no doubt be frequenting this establishment from here on out!

This place has really bad service the waitress never checked on us and the food is not good at all. I paid close to 60 for two stakes and two lemonades ridiculously overpriced for what you get.

(Update: corrected spelling. :/​Thanks to Ivanna for catching the typo. I’m just glad I’m not the only one who misspells Colombian, apparently it’s very common.)
I hate giving bad reviews, but I had really high expectations for this place and it was a very disappointing experience.
We started with empanadas de carne, I ordered the viudo de pescado en salsa de coco, hubby had the fajitas mixtas.
The first thing that put me off was a moth flying around our table; ignored it. Then fruit flies ensued; couldn’t ignore that.
Now to the food…
The empanadas were good: that’s the only thing we liked.
The server told me my plate was steamed tilapia, so I thought I was supposed to get tilapia, I got red snapper instead. The fish tasted old and dry and it was almost twice the price at 19.99. It was awful. But I ate some of it, as to not be rude or cause a scene.
I asked hubby how the fajitas tasted, he told me to taste it and see for myself… that is never a good sign!!! The fajitas tasted like asian-​mex fusion, but not in a good way.
I’ve had real home made Colombian food made by my Colombian friends. I’ve also had empanadas and bandeja paisa from other Colombian restaurants, it’s not like this was my first time eating Colombian food.
It’s also never a good sign when your stomach starts growling and you start getting cramps half way through finishing half of the meal.
It only takes one bad experience for me to never return to a place. And I’m really disappointed because all the good Colombian restaurants are closer to downtown.

Clean, amazing food, pleasant atmosphere and wonderful service.
Only 4 stars, because nobody speaks English. It was fine with me, but my husband had no idea what out waitress was saying. I still loved it!!!

First visit was great. Good value. Waitress was helpful in choosing a perfect dish.
The Pechuga en salsa de champinones with the sauce on the side. Grilled chicken by itself was a flavorful meal. The side sauce could almost have been a dish on its own. I was really full esp since the dish come with rice, salad, and plantain. My family thoroughly enjoyed the left overs.
The Venezuelan waitress was very helpful and attentive to our table.

I usually go when craving for bandeja paisa for brunch, also love the soups they have on weekends but I wish they would have a bigger big bowl. Great aji to pour over your empanadas as well. The staff is lovely and warm, the place looks clean. And the menu is bilingual. I love that they have fruit juices made in the restaurant, and that is something I almost gave up looking for a long time ago.

Awesome food !! And excellent staff I highly recommend the «bandeja paisa»! And their «empanadas de carne» are great!

I have visited La Olla once every two weeks since they’ve been in spring. Eating mexican food every time we go out gets a little boring. We love to change it up and love the fact that we have a colombian restaurant on our side of town.
Our family was over for the holidays so we wanted them to try something different. It nevers fails, whenever we talk so highly about a restaurant they somehow find a way to disappoint us. My wife ordered her usual fried tilapia, when it arrived it was way overfried. We hate sending food back so she tried to eat it, but there was about a gram of fish salvageable from this fish. So we let the waitress now, the cook (or manager) comes out to see who sent the plate back. Never does he approach us but stares at us for a couple of seconds and takes the plate back. About 20 minutes go by and another tilapia comes out, this time they bring it out undercooked. The cook (or manager) comes out again, stares us down, and then goes in to the back.
I hate to write this bad review because it was a one time instance but the stare down was unnecessary. If you felt that the fish wasn’t overcooked bring it back to the table and let us know we are crazy. Then bringing out the practically raw fish to us was again unnecessary and rude. That’s a shame because we always talked about how great the service was and how friendly the waitresses are.

Wow! We were very pleasantly surprised! I had the Lengua in salsa and it was tender, flavorful and delicious! My husband had the liver, and practically licked his plate! We had an appetizer of chorizo arepas and it was super flavorful too. The plantains that come with the dishes are always my favorite part, and they didn’t disappoint.
We had read a few reviews about slow service, but we’ve had great timing and attention!
We finished the meal with the fig dessert, and it’s amazing!!!
We’ll definitely be back and look forward to it!

We had breakfast only once at this place, and we loved it big time; it is very well served, staff very nice, food was delicious. Even we haven’t had lunch or dinner we feel those dishes will be fantastic too. Friends that have been there tell us how good food is. Coming back soon for sure. :)

Best Colombian Restaurant, hands down! The food is a 10, the service is a 10, and most importantly the owners make you feel part of the family!

great food service and very well priced. Great date night or family restaurant

Ummm cuando se trata de comida auténticamente colombiana, no hay nada como comer en La Olla!
Les recomiendo un Viudo de Pescado en salsa de coco. Eso ordené y Ummm estaba delicioso!
El lugar es limpio y la atención al cliente es de primera calidad. Estratégicamente localizado en el norte de la ciudad. Delicioso! Mucho cuidado porque es ADICTIVO!

Living in north Houston you are limited to certain ethnic cuisines, especially authentic ones. We used to have to go to the Westchase area just to get good Colombian food but recently La Olla opened up near us, and we were so excited! We have frequented their other location off of Fry Rd. and enjoyed the food there immensely.
My family has visited this spot on several occasions, and the staff is always friendly and helpful. The owner is working often times than not and comes out to visit with his clientele to make sure they are happy with their entrees. Without fail we order empanadas every time and each bite has the perfect crunch and ample filling. My better half LOVES the Cazuela de Mariscos (special coconut sauce mixed with seafood) — he says the sauce is not too rich and brings out the flavor of the seafood that much more. I always order the small Bandeja de Paisa (beef steak, rice, beans, fried sweet plantains, deep fried pork rind, one fried egg, corn patty, chorizo and avocado). I am not a big fan of beans, and they will cater your entrée to your desire so I ask for an extra egg.
Come support your local business — you won’t regret that you did!

New Colombian restaurant just opened up on Spring Cypress near 45 and 2920 this week. The restaurant is located in the same shopping center as the ill-​fated Mabuhay Filipino Buffet and the defunct Koya Asian Kitchen. Apparently there are 2 other La Olla’s in Katy/​West Houston. Walking in, the atmosphere is lively and inviting with its pastel colored walls and décor. Didn’t have time to eat, so ordered to-​go. Staff seems friendly but they seemed to speak little English which is no bueno since my poquito Espanol es muy pathetico. Only thing I’m familiar with Colombian food is empanadas that I used to eat regularly in SW Houston, so I’m in over my head on this one. Ended up ordering soup-​of-​the-​day, sancocho de cola (oxtail stew), pechuga de pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken breast), and empanadas.
Starting off with the empanadas de carne, the filling contains a mushy mix of corn meal with ground beef encased in a deep fried corn casing with some kind of green salsa dip.
The sancocho de cola (oxtail stew) was decent. It’s a thick hearty stew with potatoes, yucca, plantains, corn, and of course oxtail. The oxtail wasn’t bad, meat was quite tender. The broth was quite starchy from the potatoes and yucca soaking up the stew. Reminds me of comfort food, but somewhat bland and lacks a packing punch I like in my oxtail stews I’ve had in other cuisines (Cuban, Vietnamese, Spanish).
Last dish, pechuga de pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken breast), was a plain grilled chicken breast. Accompanied with salad, fried plantains, rice. Wish I had more of their salsa to flavor up the meat in.