El Gran Malo

I really enjoyed this place! It has a very casual, laid-​back atmosphere, with quirky décor that’s an odd cross between a Mexican hole-​in-​the-​wall (including kitschy statues of the Virgin Mary scattered around) and a mad scientist’s lair (what is REALLY in those massive funny-​colored jars on the wall?).
They infuse their own tequila here and the margaritas they create with that are amazing. You literally cannot go wrong. It is an indecisive person’s nightmare, though, so just ask your server and they’ll rustle up a recc. Fair warning: the habanero tequila is S P I C Y. I had it in the Champ #2 and daaaaayum it didn’t mess around.
For food we tried the bacon wrapped jalapenos (VERY spicy also as they do not de-​seed but SO GOOD), the quesadillas (these were all right, a little flavorless but the sauces were good — would not reorder though), the queso (MMMM!), and all of the taco flavors (yeah we’re fat kids). The tacos were good but not fabulous and not worth the price point compared to other taco joints around Houston. That said, they were perfect for soaking up alcohol and preventing us from experiencing a «one-​tequila, two-​tequila, three-​tequila, FLOOR» kind of night.

So really, the only reason to come here is if you want to be adventurous and taste some tequilas that you have never tried. This is NOT the place for the BEST Mexican food, service, or drinks. but it is a cool place to take a date if you want her to think her inability to make decisions is cute.
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The first time I went I didn’t have any food, so they got 5 stars cause the drinks were good! This time I had the food and they lost some star because it wasn’t that good and a couple of other reasons.
I am all about the come in and seat yourself shit, but tell someone that this is they style of restaurant or put a sign up! On another note. when you walk in the kitchen door is right in front of you which means if someone is coming out of kitchen and you are walking into the restaurant you could get KNOCKED THE HELL OUT like I did.
I was walking in and was SMACKED in the face by a lady carrying plates. I was hit so hard, I am still unsure as to what happened next, I just remember walking around the restaurant dazed, until I realized it was full and I stumbled outside. I was in pain throughout dinner.
Secondly, if it rains out side, but stops and your guest want to know sit outside. have someone in the area to wipe down the tables quickly. so your guest wont think they have to clean it off OR WORSE that they should leave because you are at capacity.
On to the FOOD. we tried a little of everything so here goes:
Flautas — the
Queso — Have had better
Quesadillas — WERE GOD AWFUL. Something was slimy on the inside.
Tacos — Chicken ones were a 4/​Beef ones were a 2
On to the DRINKS.
Paloma — Can get a better one at Grand Prize Bar
PB&J shot — First off it’s not grape Jelly it’s strawberry Jelly. Do people really eat that on a sandwich? Peanut butter and strawberry jelly? To make matters worse, my BFF asks the waitress are there any pointers you can give us on how to get the full flavors? this chick was like «no, just don’t throw up». like seriously. NOT the thing to say.
Margaritas — These were ok. but Tony’s across the street may have them beat.

Amazing variety of infused tequilas to make a personalized margarita. Everything we tried was delicious. Really great service, she really knew her stuff.
Want to try so many more combinations!

Awesome dive bar with tons of regular and infused tequilas to choose from. I ordered a tequila cocktail that resembled a mojito, the fiancé ordered a ginger margarita. I am 150% getting that margarita next time. Try it, you will thank me!
It was a Monday night so it was not very crowded and service was attentive. We didn’t have any food but it smelled great. Next time!

After attending a Co-​Workers goodbye Happy Hour here last night, this place has become one of my favorites!!!
Cocktails: I had the Blurberry, Jalapeño and Cilantro Margarita with Casamigos Tequila. OMG by far my favorite Margarita in town! The cocktails are prepared fresh and the bartenders are awesome! They infuse many of there tequila’s.
Food: We mainly had appetizers: Queso, Salsa (prepared fresh), Chicken Flautas and Veggie Quesadillas! All very good. There Fajita and Shrimp Tacos were also yummy!
I highly recommend this place for girls-​night, date night or just something chill. The atmosphere is chill yet stylish.

Freaking amazing margaritas. I’ve tried about 4 different kinds, and they were all awesome. The queso was just okay, but the tacos were pretty bomb. I think the corn tortillas are homemade because of their texture, and they are so good. My favorite taco was the carnitas.
Prepare to valet your car, but the patio on a nice night makes up for that :)

MARGARITAS! Simply amazing. I have yet to go anywhere that beats the margaritas here. They do thier own infusions in house, so the options are really limitless. They also do happy hour till 730pm, and its 3 bucks off the margs! Their are no mixes here, only fresh lemon/​lime juice and agave nectar (Hey, they are all skinny!). I really love the Champ #2, amazing spicy flavor. All the other cocktails are pretty darn good too, I really like the Paloma!
The food is also very good. I recommend the tacos for sure, namely, the Snapper, Camarones, or Pork Belly. The guacamole is also very yummy!
They have a pretty legit brunch too!
It is small, but they have a pretty large patio so seating isnt a HUGE issue.

What a unique little place. LOVE the whole infused tequila concept… and they have a plethora of flavor options
We had the habernero vanilla shot… it was good. But strong/​spicy
The hibiscus pineapple flavored tequila/​margarita & jalepeno blueberry margarita were everythang!
Waitstaff was more than friendly. Gave me a detailed mini tour & everything. Glad to know I’ve got a new lil drink hideout.

I love tacos
I love tequila
I love using tequila as a cure-​all because that’s what you do when you’re Mexican and borderline alcoholic.
With that being said, I should really stay away from El Gran Malo because it will one day become my enemy when I realize tequila has been the reason for many of the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into.
Until then, I’m getting as many blueberry jalapeño cilantro margaritas as I can until I drink that one that makes me wake up the next day and ask my friend why the hell I got some random tattoo of a cartoon character on a visible part of my body.
My friend and I tried this place for the first time yesterday and were already planning our next visit while eating our pork belly tacos. Speaking of the tacos, they were out of this world!!! The tortillas tasted homemade and the meat was so tender and well-​seasoned.
They also have great music and very friendly bartenders. Just about every song I heard was in my iTunes collection, so that’s definitely a plus because I have great taste in music.
The only thing I didn’t like is that we were overdressed for happy hour since we planned on clubbing afterwards. Wait. I take that back. We looked like hookers, so we were actually underdressed. It’s a casual atmosphere, so we will dress accordingly next time.
All in all, there wasn’t one thing about this place that I didn’t like. Great little spot!!!

I really like this place. If only parking wasn’t a hassle… By the time I arrived (7:30pm on a Wednesday), they had run out of spots and refused to valet my car. Thus, I had to park on the other side of the intersection. Lame. I guess they don’t give a damn when they’re just working off of tips.
The restaurant is extremely casual with an eating area outside if you prefer to sit outside. They have a bunch of different tequila infused drinks with different flavors. You can even customize your own mix. Pretty damn cool.
Since they are known for their drinks and tacos, that’s what I ordered. I got the strawberry cucumber (not on the menu), and it was quite good. As for food, I got two tacos: a beef and a snapper. The beef taco was extremely flavorful and delicious. The snapper was lemony and spicy — good in a different way. Wish I had saved the beef for last since it was my favorite of the two.
It’s a bit pricey.

El Gran Malo, reminiscent of Nacho Libre, with it’s huge luchador mural on the wall inside, has a trendy and fun environment. The staff is quirky, with one waiter sporting a tophat.
LIke Ignacio (Jack Black in Nacho Libre), this chef also has a complete appreciation for the use of fresh ingredients in his food. I tried the taco trio with the Snapper taco, Pork Belly and Chicken Tinga, and each was arrayed with tasty and complimenting fresh ingredients such as pomegranate salsa, shaved cabbage, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. If you’re a spice lover, you’ll adore the snapper taco with fresh serrano peppers.
It appeared that most of this Thursday evening crowd, at about 6pm, was just there to have a drink and chips and salsas. The chips and salsa are not free, but they are cleverly paired with three different types of salsas, or you can choose from the queso dips or quacamole. The price is fair for the amount of salsa you receive. I must admit, as far as drinks are concerned, El Gran Malo served the best Margarita I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. Sure, it was a bit pricey, but this homemade concoction was worth every penny I paid.
As I left this brilliantly clever & quirky restaurant, I was singing (to myself) «Encarnacion, Encarnacion» with as much spirit as Ignacio.
Tip: Valet is free. They park your car just a little down the street, where you can see it as they go retrieve it for you. It’s almost a joke, lol.

I came here for Cinco de Mayo and was impressed with all the kinds of tequila they offered. It was a little hectic with the crawfish boil going on and limited indoor seating, but their tacos were amazing. The waiter was super helpful in helping us decide on drinks, and while the drinks took a while to be delivered, he kept checking up. The margarita was good, some salt had fallen in and it tasted salty, but OMG the Cucumber Mint Margarita is a MUST! At $ 10 it’s costly, but it’s one of a kind. I ordered 3 tacos: snapper, beef, pork. All were delish, but watch out for those raw jalepenos. Order the chips and 3 kinds of salsa. The chips were perfectly thin, fried and salty and the 3 salsas were light, refreshing and zippy. I cant wait to try «The Texan-​Baller Rita: Milagro Single Barrel Anejo, Fresh Lemon, Lime, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao $ 25». But first, I gotta save my pennies.

I love El Gran Malo! They have deliciously crafted and infused margaritas. You can get anything infused into it… I’ve seen things like beef jerky and jalapeño on the menu! While I have mainly kept to ordering off the menu, rather than creating my own varieties, everything I’ve had there has been great! Makes for a great way to end your long day at work or for a weekend midday drink!
I haven’t tried much of the food, but the queso is good, guacamole, and mango and lime ceviche. All were good and went perfectly with their margaritas!
The service is always great, they have fun events that they advertise on their facebook page. I went one night and they were randomly play Loteria in the bar which was a lot of fun! They even have complimentary parking so you don’t have to hassle to find somewhere to park! Can’t get much better that that!

A good friend of mine lives in the area and wanted to stop off for a ‘night cap’ at EGM– otherwise I would have probably never heard of it.
We arrived just after midnight to a just-​closed kitchen. No bueno for us because my boyfriend was hungry. However, the cooks offered to cook us up something anyway. Awesome. My bf got 3 tacos, all were good, not extraordinary, but then again it was late and they whipped it up fast for us.
I am not a fan of liquor. Just don’t like it. I don’t do ‘shots’– I really don’t see the point when you’re an adult and can get a buzz at your leisure with any beverage of your choosing that actually tastes good. HOWEVER, it was IMPOSSIBLE to resist the plethora of infused tequilas literally covering the walls here.
My friend recommended the ‘peanut butter and jelly’ shot. It’s a small shot of peanut infused tequila (peanut butter) and a small shot of some berry infused tequila (jelly) that you shoot back and forth. I did. It was good. I actually want to come back and try other flavors.
Liked the chill atmosphere as well.

I love tequila.
Truly, tequila makes me feel like a goddess and I feel just as magical the next morning. That’s right, I don’t get hungover at all drinking tequila and hence, it is my liquor of choice.
So take it from me, these infused tequilas are AMAZING. Since I wasn’t partying too hard on my particular visit, I enjoyed my tequila in margaritas. However, I love tequila shots and I would drink the pineapple infused tequila straight. (I wonder if they sell their infusions to take home?) Mixed as a marg, it was magical — the best non-​frozen margarita I’ve had in recent memory. The strawberry-​horchata margarita combo I created was sweet and a little spicy from the cinnamon — a very unique combination. My hubs drank half of the strawberry-​jalepeno and then let me finish her off — this was my least favorite of the 3, but still pretty rockin’. These margaritas are about $ 7 during the LONG happy hour, so I’d never pay full price.
Our waitress, Megan, was REALLY great. She was at our table all the time making sure we were happy. She (with help from the bar and the kitchen) got our drinks out super fast and our food out even faster. She made great recommendations and was patient with our indecisiveness (due to the massive list of infused tequilas) even though she was busy.
For food, we ordered the salsa trio, and this is where you lose a star from me. If you’re going to charge me $ 5 for a basket of chips and 3 salsas, it better be the BEST 3 salsas I’ve ever tasted, but these were not. They weren’t even close. And the chips? They were just your average restaurant tortilla chips. Tila’s on Shepherd has fried plantains and assorted awesome chips, AND they are complimentary. This plate certainly isn’t offering anything above your usual complimentary chips.
The tacos and AMAZING homemade yellow corn tortillas redeemed the bad salsa plate though. I ordered the carnitas, pork belly (which is really more like authentic Mexican carnitas), and the snapper. My tacos all came with a large amount of meat and were not dry (as some have noted). My husband loved the pork belly but my favorite was the snapper. I love fish tacos and this one was top notch. Compared to the snapper and the pork belly, I wouldn’t order the carnitas again, but it was good, nonetheless. The tortillas were really magnificent — my husband wanted to order a few to eat alone.
Cool little joint. I’ll be back.

About twice a year, I fall in love. Usually I fall pretty hard, obsessing over every single detail of that very first night, and the exact moment I fall in love.
My Saturday night spent at El Gran Malo was the lucky guy.
A friend’s birthday and catch up session laid the groundwork, as I had been hearing about this place for at least the last year, but had never taken the plunge.
Having just returned from Mexico, I was burnt out on margaritas, but as soon as I sat down and was greeted by the bartender (I wish I could remember his name) which was so darn friendly you wanted to squeeze him.
Four of us sat at the bar (after complimentary valet, super important in the Heights) and got the chance to speak to the bartender as he mixed his creative concoctions of tequila goodness.
I started off with the Beet margarita which honestly was one of the best margaritas I have ever had. (and I have had my fair share) It was delicious, and whether or not it was true I left like I was having my veggies and getting my buzz on. Win. Win Right?
The second one up was the Jalapeño berry cilantro. OH MY! The perfect amount of zing, with fresh blueberry muddle. YUM! I sucked down that puppy in about 5 minutes.
We also sampled a variety of food that included the bacon wrapped jalapeño something (HOT, but good!) the ceviche (nah!) the pork belly taco (needs a touch of salt, but very good) guac (good) and the torta burgers which were good (I only had one bite, but worth it!)
The service was ridiculously outstanding. Being that we were able to sit at the bar, we got the full explanation of the bar, background, awards they have won (MANY!) and history of the place.
They have a nice outdoor patio area that was PACKED, and the area just has a cool Austin/​LA vibe to it.
Without a doubt I will be back. LOVE at first sight!

I love Gran Malo. I’m a big fan of all their infused margaritas — everything is fresh and they use real lime juice as opposed to sweet and sour (yuck!).
Yes, it is Valet parking but it’s complimentary. I’m not sure why David H. is complaining about that. I’m pretty sure the reason behind the Valet parking is due to the fact that the neighbors put up No Parking/​Will Tow signs. Free Valet is for customers to not have to deal with the hassle.
I really do enjoy their chips/​queso/​guacamole. I wouldn’t go there for their tacos but my brother loves them so maybe it’s all about your taste. Definitely worth trying though!

A funky little Mexican joint without the cheesy atmosphere of just about every other Mexican/​Tex-​Mex place in the country. A small bar area as soon as you walk in the door. Several bar stools and high top tables. The dinning area has an awesome mural on the wall. Some of those libro wrestlers, black cats, other slightly darker/​humorous imagery. Good music playing at a reasonable level, not generic crap. This is not your average Mexican joint with bright colors, lights, pinatas, or anything else that you would associate with such a place. If that is what you want, go across the street or On The Border, or any other crappy spot.
Anyway, the service here is excellent. As soon as I walked in, the bartender greeted me, and told me about the menu. A handful of local beers on tap. Saint Arnold, Independence, Karback, Buffalo Bayou. An amazing selection of Tequillas, and their own house infused options. The selection is aw inspiring. Their cocktails and margaritas are top notch. Only made with fresh fruits, juices, and they make as many things in house as possible. I am not a huge fan of Tequillas, nor do I know a lot about them. Though the bartenders are very knowledgeable and are ready and very willing to make recommendations. I can’t remember what it is called but I ended up with a pecan, cayenne infused tequilla, vermouth, and bitters cocktail. Excellent. Just as good as anything I have had from Down House or Anvil.
On to the food. The menu is small, with mostly small plates. Don’t expect globs of gelatinous, crappy refried beans that have no taste, or any other crappy filler you would expect from a Mexican joint. The ceviche and quac are freshly made, and excellent. There is a salsa sampler as well. I started out with some quesadillas, they added chicken for me. Very good. Again, small portions, so you can indulge and try some other things. Then the tacos, oh my. The best tacos in Houston. I had chicken tinga, pork belly, and snapper. All excellent. The pork belly is so flavorful and tender. To many places have tough pork belly, which make it a chore to eat (Petrol Station). The snapper was fresh as can be, and the tinga is excellent.
Tequilla is far from my favorite adult beverage, though they do it right. With knowledge, and passion. Add really good food and a decent beer list. This is a great spot.

The only thing I can say is the waitress was super nice. We had the house special margarita of the day. At $ 8.00 it was not all that.
We ordered the ceviche which came out smelling fishy and tasted worse than fishy. When we sent it back, the waitress replied, «It’s a fishy dish.» Like I didn’t know ceviche has fish in it? I do know it should not smell like a bait shop.
We got chips with the ceviche. But you have to pay $ 5.00 for the salsa sampler. A Mexican restaurant without complimentary chips and salsa? Given the total underwhelming experience, and the fact we were already in with the required valet parking, we walked across the street to Tony’s.

Woohoo! El Gran Malo is my new favorite spot to eat and drink.
After hearing all of the hype for months I finally ventured out here last Friday night. I met a few friends here at the bar area around 5:30. They were already seated at a table. When I arrived there were only a few other patrons in the bar, but the crowd soon showed around 7 or 8.
The atmosphere here is amazing. I have always been fascinated with Day of the Dead and the décor has that vibe to it. Catholic candles and skulls are everywhere, as well as Mexican wrestler paraphernalia adorning the walls. It’s also a bit dark and intimate. The music is pretty much playing my iPod. I loved every song.
Jason, our bartender was a bad ass. I was so excited to finally try El Gran Malo and I told Jason to just make me something. He asked how adventurous I was and I told him the only thing I DON’T like is horseradish and he just went with it. By the end of the night we had all drank our fair share of what El Gran Malo has to offer. I had 3 or 4, and my friends did also. I never had the same rita twice and I recommend you do the same your first visit. My favorites are a tie between strawberry, blueberry, cilantro with jalapeño tequila (yes, all of those ingredients in 1 rita!) and the ginger beer with jalapeño tequila. After all of those delicious ritas I of course took a cab home…
We also ordered some light bites. We all shared the empanadas, ceviche, and guacamole. I thought everything was extremely fresh and tasty, however I found the ceviche a bit too «limey» as I could not finish it, I had to make the guys eat the rest.
I cannot wait to go back!