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1308 Cantina, El Tiempo

MY REVIEW: Great service and atmosphere, it was busy! Good food and margaritas and they have added parking in the back with a security patrol which is nice.

NAME: Hate to cook!
SUBMITTED: 7/20/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2012
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Usually go to the El Tiempo on Washington. Great food and service there. Had dinner at 1308 on Saturday night and the chips and sauzas were very good. Had a side of Guac that was good too. Ordered chicken and beef fajitas. The chicken was tender and tasty but the beef was tasteless and tough. It was the chewiest beef I has ever had this side of the border. The prices are very high compared to some of the other Houston Mexican restaurants where I have had excellent fajitas. The flour tortillas were pasty and needed to be cooked a bit longer. Service was OK. Waiter was on his first day but he did fine.

NAME: Esteban
SUBMITTED: 7/25/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The refried beans were sooooo thin, almost soupy texture and the portion size was extremely small....Come On Guys, why so stingy with the beans???? I'm mean really!!!

NAME: cyn
SUBMITTED: 4/29/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2011
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My first visit, my husband's second to this restaurant. He raved about how unique and delicious the food was and I have to agree.

Good Points: best margarita I've tasted in a long while, delicious and fresh chips and salsa; we shared the carnitas main dish which comes out in its own mini grill. It was delicious, especially dunked in the decadent lemon-garlic-butter and wrapped in a very hot, fresh tortilla. Also wonderful flan, with hints of orange and chocolate.

Mediocre points (nothing really bad!): very average queso, like rotel tomatoes and velveta you'd make at home. Also, do not be surprised about the prices--this is definitely not cheap Tex-Mex food, but sitting on their patio while eating some carnitas and sipping a margarita will have to be repeated for the next "special occasion" I can come up with!

NAME: tex-mex girl
SUBMITTED: 12/4/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: November/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Decent atmosphere, expensive for Mexican food though.

Strong points: Ritas, ambience

Weak points: cost

Weaker points: For a Laurenzo spin-off establishment, the food could be a bit better!!

NAME: hlg1102
SUBMITTED: 7/2/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/2/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: We go to this restaurant about once a week. Most of the time we love the food, and the margaritas are amazing.... but saying that... the "tenderloin fajitas" were chewy and fatty the last 2 times we tried them, and the chips were stale. We will not be back for a while, as there are too many other (cheaper) Mexican restaurants in the area that are as good or better.

NAME: chickenfajita
SUBMITTED: 12/13/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My wife and were going here several times a month, until recently...

For the last 6 months the qualtiy has been going down steadily. It culmintated last night when my wife's chalupa was soggy and my pork fajitas were not cooked. What's more is the restaurant was not even busy when we were there. The waiter was very helpful and the manager paid for our entrees but it was the last straw. It's a very sad situation to see a once splendid restaurant deteriorate so acutely.

NAME: busakisama
SUBMITTED: 1/12/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 1/2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Two weeks ago, I took two guests to 1308 la Cantina, intending to use a $25 restaurant.com certificate I'd purchased for $10, on line. I confirmed the certificate's validity on entering the restaurant (hostess even went off and asked someone else and came to our table to affirm), had about a $70 meal (no alcohol included) and was then told at bill time by the manager that the restaurant no longer accepted these discount coupons but would grant me a "courtesy" 6% off my bill. I did not want to embarrass my guests so I paid but am not inclined to use Restaurant.com, again. I later sent an email to Restaurant.com and requested reimbursement of the $10 I'd paid for the certificate and $10 for another certificate bought for the same restaurant that would presumably also be rejected if presented.

Restaurant.com emailed me a $25 certificate to any of its participating restaurants, which was fine, but I still probably will not return to 1308 Cantina because, without a certificate, the food's not worth the price.

NAME: silver screener
SUBMITTED: 11/13/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: October 2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: The food here is entirely mediocre which is inexcusable for their extremely high prices. (You can pay up to $40 per entree if you are curious enough to see what a restaurant that makes mediocre TexMex will do with lobster.) Their sister restaurants "El T*iempo Cantina" have always been somewhat pricey, but very well worth the splurge. I cannot say the same about 1308 Cantina. I've been 3 times and service ranged from adequate to terrible. (On our last visit we made the mistake of going in 30 minutes before closing. The waitstaff was far more interested in closing activities than bothering to help us. His tip was based on $20 less of a tab since he neglected to get our 2nd round of drinks.

Strong points: Nice atmosphere, bar area, free valet parking. That's about it.

Weak points: Everything else. Mediocre food at outrageous prices served by indifferent wait staff. (I don't mind outrageously priced food that's FANTASTIC. This is forgettable.)

NAME: festusbodine
SUBMITTED: 11/8/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I visited 1308 twice in September; once for Sunday brunch and another for Happy Hour and dinner on a Friday. Both times, the service was slow and there were not many people in the restaurant or on the Patio. Also, both times, a waiter dropped an entire tray of glasses! The first time I went, I found the fajita marinade absolutely delicious. The second time I went, the fajitas did not taste the same at all and were undercooked. For a Laurenzo restaurant, the service needs to be better as well as the consistency. My friends and I have given this place a try and we will not be going back.

NAME: Fleurdelis
SUBMITTED: 10/10/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Sept 2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: The jalapeno sausage is great - worth going back for all by itself!!! I had it with the fajitas and an appetizer of ceviche. Others had pork fajita, beef taco, cheese enchiladas & drank Sangria. All of the food/drink was very good. The atmosphere at a weekend peak period was somewhat loud, and the service could have been more attentive, yet I still did not feel ignored. The left-overs from my own appetizer and meal was enough for a whole 'nother meal! I will be back.

NAME: John Q. Publique
SUBMITTED: 4/16/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/14/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The place is laid back and a bit casual for the prices charged. We went on a week nite so getting seated was no problem. The waiter was a bit inexperienced. Our appetizers arrived with our entree. Otherwise we thought the food was excellent. We had the Spicy Snapper & Beef Fajita..enough for two to share. Also had the ceviche. Matre D' was great ( & cute), he ended up giving us our appetizers for free because of the inexperienced waiter. We will definitely be back.

NAME: Charles
SUBMITTED: 2/26/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Saw the interview (did someone call it a 'review'?) with Jon Paul in the Houston Press and was curious; so stopped in for lunch and was well taken care-of, although the sweetbreads were missing, and I received fajitas instead of the ordered carnitas. But hey, it will take some time to work out the kinks, I guess. One thing I'd like to taste more of is heat, and bold flavors. God knows we don't need another wimpy, dumbed down Tex-Mex joint, even if the service is stellar.

NAME: Candida
SUBMITTED: 2/4/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 1/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I wanted to try this place after I saw the review in the Houston Press earlier in the week, so I convinced a friend of mine to go come with me on a Saturday evening. Evening though the place was packed, we were able to seated immediately. A really busy atmosphere, so if you are coming for a nice, quiet meeting, then this is not the place to be. However, this is not an ultra-chic or pretentious dining ambience, so don't feel like you have to dress up to come in. Once seated, we were quickly taken care of. The entire meal went without a hitch, though it did appear the staff was extremely busy, as obviously they were. The food was brought out quickly and very hot, just like I like it. The combination platters are probably the best value, and they did not dissappoint. I would totally recommend eating here and will come again. The only issue is parking - not in the best part of town for sure, but that won't stop me from coming again!

NAME: Anonymous
SUBMITTED: 1/28/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: It was good to eat again at the location of the old La J*alisiencia (Jolly Science!). I never went to it while it was S*abor so this was my first time being in the location since it is a new resturant. Fun atmosphere like La J*alisiencia but with food that is WAY better. I ordered the number Seis while my friend had the 1308 Dinner. Lots of food for the money. Excellent margaritas. The service was also excellent! Chips and drinks were refilled without asking as well as several waitstaff dropping by asking if we needed anything. This is not like many resturants where you know you better get what you need when they bring your food because you will not see them again ever unless you flag them down if you can only make eye contact. Great first experience which means I will definately be back.

NAME: FredinMontrose
SUBMITTED: 1/28/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/28/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

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