Verde Cali-Mex Grill & Cantina

There is a strange attitude in this place. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like none of the staff cares about the customers or any of the food they put out. Worst michelada on the planet. Wow, this bartender gives zero fucks about his work. I ordered a chimichanga and out comes a burrito with cold, unmelted cheese in the center. Like what the hell? Really? The chips were stale and we asked for more and out came more stale chips. Just. Horrible. Management really needs to do something. Looks like it used to be good if you go back far enough in reviews, but maybe there was a change of management or something because it’s the worst. I’d rather go to Taco Bell.

Wow, I wish I had something nice to say about this place. Wait, the waitress was sweet. I mean, it seemed like this was her first job ever and she got several things wrong but… she was sweet.
The chips: Stale
The salsa: Bland
The Quacamole: Meh
The Micheladas: Horrible. Absolutely undrinkable
The Fish Tacos: Not the worst I’ve ever had but lacking.
The Carne Asada Burrito: Disgusting. Salty and cold.
Literally never coming back here.

The food was really
good and fresh — the service was sloooooooooow. Despite our large party, the place was empty –so not sure if not enough cooks in kitchen…,

Walking in we were greeted warmly by the hostess who turned out to be our waitress.
The atmosphere is very nice, only 2 other intimate parties at 6pm.
Chips were warm and wonderful
Red salsa was spicy
the verde salsa had avocado I believe but was delicious.
The meal could have been more flavorful but it is what it is.
This has been 6 months ago and I have not been back.

Psssst. They have $.99 mimosas at brunch. Hay, if you’re gonna get day-​drunk why not do it with some awesome food, too?
Just go here because they never let you down.

I was a little apprehensive when I came in due to the fact that the restaurant was empty! I later found out that they close from 2−4pm (and I came in a little after 4) but this place has one of the best happy hour specials that I’ve ever come across. 99 cent margarita Monday’s that are made with top shelf liquor. Honestly, what more could I ask for? These margaritas were well made and our bartender, whose name I can’t recall, was very friendly and attentive. My boyfriend and I shared the flautas as well as a mini dish of chicken quesadillas that we thoroughly enjoyed.
They apparently offer a free mini appetizer dish every day.
The dish depends on which day you check in *~

Excellent food. Nice combination of California/
Mexican food. The best jalapeño grits I have ever tasted. Taking home the sweet potato bread pudding to enjoy fully. We are big Mexican food eaters from Michigan and loved the food! Great service from Kyle!

Third visit. Had a variety of samples this time. Salsa is still like water and the chips were cold and border line stale. I had thai ribs, street tacos, quesadillas, and nachos. The nachos were good, the rest really neutral on. I don’t know what the deal is with everything being cold here. Nothing ever comes out steaming hot. Mixed drinks are ok. $ 2 off during HH although it’s not advertised and the server forgot to discount it. Live music on Thursday. Still don’t like the paper on the tables.

Only fresh Cali– Mexican restaurant in Houston, and it’s a gem! Friendly staff, delicious food and best of all the margaritas! Definitely check out their happy hour 4 – 7 daily– great deals on food and drinks. We’ll be back!

Oh man… I really wanted to like this place but I just couldn’t. The good was the Chicken tortilla soup and the drinks. The soup was a bit different than your standard… maybe coconut milk or something? Not sure but it was good. Strong drinks for sure.
Enchiladas were def. not the best. Seemed like they used Ragu tomato sauce you get at the grocery store to smother the enchiladas in… just not good stuff…
Probably won’t be back.

We stopped for the pre-​birthday drinks here and a snack.
Grey food and fab drinks! Outstanding service, special mention to our amazing bartender Lori, who has been fabulous!
The place is new, only opened in October 2014 and I can safely say that it will be my regular stop over every time I’m in Houston!
Black and blue slider is a must, seriously. Their happy hour is from 4 — 7pm, highly recommend.

Great food… Great drinks… Amazing service! What’s there not to like?
Andrew the owner. Thank You
Mike the chef… Very pleasant and cares about the customers!
Kyle the bartender … Njoys his job!
Fantastic queso … Wonderful watermelon margarita … Off the charts red velvet cake!
EAT HERE!!!

Let’s get this review on the road.
My family and I walked in and smelt the most awful smell. Like sewage or if you don’t clean your turtles tank for awhile smell. It was not a good smell. Maybe some air freshener or some Febreeze vent sheets would help that.
I was not impressed already.
It was quiet and nestled in the corner of a strip center. Nice patio seating, but they were mowing outside when we were there. We sat in a booth right behind the hostess station on the right side of the restaurant. Others were seated on the left. Maybe we sat on that side because we came not dressed up. Oh well.
They gave us a lunch menu and the full menu. WARNING THE LUNCH MENU IS NO LONGER VALID. Only the kids meals listed on it. I guess they don’t want to scrap it and just make a paper kids menu, that’s what the paper on top of the cloth is for? Hmmm.
The food was noting to rave for and the verde rice it lacked flavor but lots of mush.
We ordered a Torta con carne, two kids chicken tenders, enchiladas suizas with beef & 2 sides-​jalapeño cheddar grits/​Spanish rice, and enchilada and taco with verde rice and grilled veggies of the day.
Torta ²⁄₅ — expensive for a street Torta lacking meat for the price. It wasn’t as flavorful as the cheap street vendors.
Kids meals — ⁵⁄₅ the best looking and flavorful. Love the chicken and fries. The Spanish rice was delicious. (Best value for sure!)
Enchiladas suizas (beef) — ³⁄₅ it was tasty, price not so much, the right amount of enchiladas but drowned in green sauce (tasted like from a bottle not homemade)
Enchilada and taco (chicken) — ³⁄₅ the enchilada was alright, taco okay, verde rice no! But the grilled vegetables were delicious!
Chips and salsa, the chips were delicious and something I would plan on coming back for because you can’t find them like that anywhere. The salsas were too spicy so the kids couldn’t dip into them at all.
Overall, food was nothing to come back for especially at the price. But the chips maybe. Also we had a one time coupon, which eased the pockets of total cost.
Service was good and she was nice.
The bill we looked over, let me just say this the enchiladas were charged a $ 3 fee for meat, and the menu didn’t mention this. Waitress skipped that part so you will be surprised unless you like spending that kind of money. Just beware and ask if there is an extra charge. So I assume the combinations only come with cheese then.
The goal of the restaurant is to be fine dining, but far from it. Don’t waste your money here unless you can afford it.
Happy Eats!

We finally got out of the house to try Verde! It’s such a nice location close to the park. The interior is beautiful and inviting and gives you the impression your about to enjoy some really good food! I also love that they have a nice outdoor patio (wonder if it’s dog friendly?) if you enjoy sitting outside. So far this place is a gem, but sometimes first impressions can be misleading!
The second impression was the wait staff. I couldn’t tell if our so sweet gal was just slow or they were understaffed. Was our waitress really the bartender too? Please — any good restraint will tell you this is a terrible idea! As a previous bartender I personally know this is a bad idea! Unless you’re young, athletic, quick and can multi-​task like a bad ass, don’t do that to your customers! Our service was slow as molasses, but she was trying! She was personable and our margaritas were good.
As for the food: the chips were crisp, light and enjoyable. The salsas were also decent, though I’m a salsa whore and they weren’t my top favs. My man however, loved the red salsa, so to each their own. The guacamole was average as well and a bit too pricy for what you get. It was just mashed avocado with some seasoning. I do prefer mine with more too it (fresh tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeño). We ordered the fish tacos (grilled and fried). My man was disillusioned in the portion size of the grilled fish compared to my fried ones, but overall said the taste was fine. The cream sauce was popping with flavor which help to disguise the ‘what seemed to look and taste like out of the bag’ carrots strands and cabbage. My fried fish was decent, but I think a bit heavy on the batter for a Cali style fish taco. The grits were a good texture and full of flavor and I enjoyed the grilled veggies. They were seasoned well and not laden with salt.
I might try this place again to see if certain areas increase in quality, but if they don’t I’m not sure if this place will fall to the curse of the building — it’s been so many other things before.

Here are the highlights for dinner:
Chips are delicious, whatever the seasoning is, I need it.
The beers were room temperature
They were out of chorizo
The steak fajitas were served cold
The chicken fajitas were good (though served later than the steak)
Service was meh
I enjoy their breakfast but would not come back for lunch or dinner

Honestly the worst Mex/​Cali food we ever had.
Toooo greasy!
They’re trying to combine too much flavors in one simple dish.
We ordered the lobster tacos with grits and vegetables. — the lobster was gummy and greasy. The grits– too much cheese on it and the poor vegetables too salty.
Please don’t ask me how was the crab nachos!!!

So far… been 20 minutes waiting for eggs. I have a crossword puzzle to keep me busy, but there are literally 2 other tables occupied…
25 minutes. 3 other tables. Food delivered to tables who came in after me. Clearly she forgot to put in my order.
…
Finally. But no toast. Yet.
No offer to refill my drink which is empty because I have has 28 minutes to drink it.
So I finally have my whole meal and an acknowledgment from the owner that this should have never happened.
The food is delicious.
Meal was comped but I told them I’d much rather them charge me and let me reflect my disappointment in the waitress’ tip rather than the restaurant’s bottom line.
The three star rating is generous for this experience because of the manager’s apology and my previous experiences here. Several restaurants have failed in this location and I always champion the ones with potential. This should not be the reason people quit coming or never come at all.

Great for a casual Friday lunch when u want to take it easy, and enjoy the food. The service was great checking up on us multiple times, THE PLACE HAD TABLE CLOTHS! I love that!
Food as made well with the extras that I requested, music gave a great ambiance.
Prices ranged in the 8 – 15 per person range.
Good for vegetarians

The other night it was drinks and appetizers. Tonight it was their Valentine dinner special. The sea bass with cheese grits and smothered with étouffée was superb. The fish was perfectly grilled with just the right crisp on the edges and paired perfectly with the grits and sauce.
I ordered steak Diane. A seared filet with the perfect char on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes with a side of asparagus. The plate was smothered in a brown mushroom sauce that was rich without being heavy. I could cut my steak with a butter knife. Delicious.
Verde has quickly become a favorite. Andrew (the owner) has a terrific staff. Accommodating for every request. And David, the bartender «king» had a bourbon waiting at our table before I even sat down. That’s the level of service that builds loyal customers.
Highly recommend a visit to Verde.

Decent lunch place if in the Tex Mex mood. Two types of salsa one is avocado based and other tomato, bean, cilantro based but and somewhat unique. Green does not mean go here… as the green salsa has some bite to it that sneaks up on you.
Service was okay. Servers were pleasant but had to flag them down on a couple of occasions– so slow on attentiveness. There was a mix up with how my group interpreted the lunch special menu vs what server told us came with our orders. Servers extended apologies and for the most part worked out a comprise. I would try them again if/​when I get into my bi annual Tex Mex mood. All about second chances!