El Imperial Mexican Restaurant

Awesome chips and salsa and the best Ranchero sauce you’ll evah have! Great service. Been eating here for yeeeeaaars.

We have frequented this restaurant for 25+ years and have never been disappointed. We have seen the same waiter and visited with him in all of those 25 years! Who else can boast of that kind of loyalty. The food is always hot and delicious! The margaritas excellent! The only problem we have is deciding on our order because their menu offers so many items!

Dropped in for lunch yesterday & this place is alright. Was greeted & seated quickly. Very friendly service.
The chips were okay, but I wasn’t a big fan of the salsa. Spice level was right, but didn’t have much flavor. I went for the shrimp enchilladas from the lunch menu. Also ordered a side of guacamole.
The guacamole had a very fresh taste to it & wasn’t heavy w/​too many seasonings. The enchilladas were full of shrimp & cheese. They had just enough cheese & verde sauce on top. Rice was good, beans not so much.
All in all it was a good experience. The food could’ve had a bit more flavor IMO, but it wasn’t bad. And for a nice size lunch for a little more than $ 7, can’t complain.

I have eaten here for more than 15 years, ever since my dad took our family. I still see the same employees working there! Must be family run. Customer service is great and the tex-​mex is awesome. The salsa is the best by far.

Decent tasting food, but very expensive for what you get. Boring atmosphere, so I’ll try to get takeout instead. Friendly employees though.
I only come here when I want something different but don’t want to go too far.

I have been coming here for at least 25 years. Enchiladas, Tacos Al Carbon, Fajitas, Nachos, Sopapillas and more are all good. Service is great.

The best Mexican food in Houston! Real, hand-​made tortillas, no machine here! Best chili gravy there is and the taco meat is superb. You can’t go wrong with just about anything on the menu. I should know, I’ve been eating here for 25 years!

First let me start with the main reasons for the 5 star review. I’ve been coming here for over 20 years, and the customer service is always excellent. Almost everytime I’ve been there, I’ve seen the owner there and working or helping out in some way. They don’t have a lot of turnover in staff which is probably why the food and service are so consistent.
I prefer the Mazatlan which is a taco, 2 enchiladas (I get beef), rice and beans. My second choice is the Tacos Al Carbon, which is 3 taco with fajita beef (or chicken if you prefer), rice, beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo. I’ve had several of their other menu items through the years, and have liked everything.
It’s nice to eat somewhere that you run into old friends, and even recognize some of the other customers. This restaurant gets a lot of repeat business.
Oh, and on my moms 90^th birthday this year, they were especially nice to her. I can’t thank them enough for making her smile so much!!!

My absolutely favorite place for enchiladas. I use to come here more often when I lived and worked nearby but every chance I get when I am in this neck of the woods I stop in for my favorite plate… The Isla Mujeres, first they serve you and upside down taco shell bowl smoothered in chile con queso. Along with that is a bowl taco shell filled with the perfect amount of seasoned grounded beef, lightly topped with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoe. Then they bring you a hot plate straight from the oven of beef enchilada topped with my favorite gravy and cheese sauce along with a side of the creamiest refried beans and rice. Love love this dish…
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Naw mayne, naw … Microwaved!!! Warning, if there isn’t that many tables occupied then your food will not be fresh, will not taste good! Maybe during peak times, the taste is better but not last night, nope food was def m-i-c-r-o’d. Submitted for your approval, if it may please the court, evidence:
Exhibit A: Tortilla was only semi –warm on the edges, was hard and cold on the bottom
Exhibit B: Chicken in said tacos was also lukewarm to cold!
So they must have zapped them for 25 seconds or so. Being Mex I can def tell the difference between a fresh made tortilla to one heated on a comal and one microwaved … I never microwave, nope I have my comal ready at home should I need to warm one up
My friend’s food also sucked balls. Her pork guisado had a freezer burn after taste. No bueno.
The chips sucked, the salsa was watery kind which isn’t bad but was very bland. Service was OK. We were at a family type deal so complaining wasn’t something I wanted to do. But I now know that the Casa Olé half a block down does it much better, which isn’t saying much.
damn taco bell would have tasted better …

This place was definitely a hit as far as watching the NCAA men’s basketball game.
It was nice and empty and had lots of screens. Their margaritas were good, but too pricy at $ 7.
Their enchiladas are good and were on special at $ 4. You certainly can’t beat that. Their chiles rellenos were kind of sad. I was disappointed, but I must admit my standards are normally too high to begin with.
Their tacos al carbon are okay.
Overall my visit was anti climactic, just like the game. However, I had so much fun getting to watch the game with great people!

Great service, tasty food, and salsa you can not stop eating. Alway giving discounts too!

This is about the best place to eat on Federal Road. There used to be a lot more places but crime over the last 20 years has ravaged the neighborhood. Sadly you can even see crack houses (those apartments across the street) from El Imperial. In fact I was simply riding my bike down the street by this restaurant and was jumped by what I guess was a gang of 6 men that lept out of the trees. Stole my bike, iPod and wallet then attacked me, putting me in the hospital overnight with cracked ribs.
But because of having to do some business nearby for a number of years, I have continued to eat at El Imperial. It’s actually safe there as long as you go straight to your car and lock it immediately when at night. Daytime you should be fine.
The interior is just a pretty as the outside, service is always great and the food is top notch. The bar does serve some pretty potent drinks for a fair price and you will always see Mexican sports on TV in the bar area. This is a family friendly restaurant that has survived the neighborhoods decline for decades, so that should be a prime example of the good quality food to be found here. Just go during the day if you can, yet at night being with a group is helpful, don’t linger outside and just be extremely aware of your surroundings.
This can get pretty full at lunch time, yet I have called in reservations for small lunch groups, including a larger family dinner and they do accept reservations no problem.

A good lunch spot. I work in the area and decided to stop in, as there is NOTHING decent to eat on Federal. With 3 guys, I had the fajitas. The other guys with me had crunchy tacos, and burrito del carne.
We started with your average chips and salsa. Salsa was good, but nothing to write home about. Then I was brought a bowl of charro beans which were the most delicious thing Ive ever had. A big bowl filled with beans, vegetables, bacon, sausage and things. My chicken fajitas were pretty good, but not the best I’ve ever had. The burrito was smothered in queso, which added some good flavor to the beef fajita meat. By far, the crunchy tacos were the best thing at this restaurant and I would highly suggest them. The ground beef had great seasoning and they add just the right amount of veggies and don’t overload them like some other places. Something interesting to note, they serve them in a taco bowl, not a shell. Nice touch.
The price is right and this place is a good break from the average Subway down the street.

I’ve eaten at El Imperial for more than a decade and have always had very good food and service. I prefer the numbered combination plates to the specialty dishes. The chicken enchiladas have a sweet kick which originally made me think «Chef Boyardee» but that I now think is genius. The tacos are greasy but wonderful. This kitchen isn’t as consistant as it once was since they have expanded… but the difference (when present) is between great and very good.
They generally are consistent with the simple Tex Mex fare but the Pollo Con Aja and other top drawer dishes aren’t as even.
Warning: I am not a squeemish the East End is full of hoodlums and thugs wimp. But avoid the convienience store closest to El Imperial, there have been shootings in the parking lot. El Imperial itself is safe as houses.