Pappasito’s Cantina

This is my go to breakfast stop when flying out of Hobby Airport (which my flights are usually late morning). It’s conveniently located in the front of the food court which splits the two sides of the terminal.
The food is 4.5 stars. Tastes fresh, much more like restaurant food rather than fast (or food court) food. I usually go for the breakfast tacos, which a pair more than fill me up. Meat options include sausage (which note, is link sausage, usually with jalapeño), bacon, or barbacoa. Unfortunately, the barbacoa seems to be frequently out (last two trips) which was disappointing. Their barbacoa is definitely a discriminator even over other Tex-​Mex restaurants.
The staff does a great job of moving the line through (which can be long at busy times). With a few registers, they jump up and open as many as necessary. Also very friendly service.
Once you order, you move to the window and wait for your number. This usually works well, but a couple of busy times seemed to not be as efficient as possible. For instance, I don’t see why my simple two tacos order (let’s say #50) would take longer then #52, #56, #58, or even #60 that came after me but got called first. One time I wanted about 20 numbers past mine before approaching the counter and asking. I could have gone sooner, but they had been calling numbers plus or minus 20 for some time. Just was frustrating. Almost moved the 3 stars, but out of all my visits, this was just once (with maybe one other long wait which was just busy time).
I will continue to hit this place up to set me right before I fly out!

Ok, so I’m here in TX visiting friends/​family and on every street corner I’m seeing this TexMex restaurant Pappasitos. Wazzup, man!
But, anyways, I gotta say for a fast food TexMex joint this really hits the spot. I did a breakfast run and even though the options at breakfast are limited it was sufficient and did the job well. I had one of the hearty breakfast platters which consisted of scrambled eggs, refried bean w/​cheese, Mexican breakfast potatos (seasoned with fresh thyme and cilantro) and genuine Spanish sausage (I wish I got a whole one, that would have made my day)
If you want yo opt for a smaller breakfast option, the burritos are a delcious package of eggs, potatoes, and bacon/​sausage.
I was really pleasantly surprised by this locale TX fixture!
Service: A+ Food: A–

The prices are a little outrageous, but that’s to be expected in an airport. We had a loooong flight delay, so pretty much everyone on my flight was starving and got food at this place. And I heard them all complaining about the prices afterwards. Someone said he ordered an entrée and drink for $ 32.
I ordered a shrimp cocktail and a tea and it turned out to be $ 16. Definitely not cheap, but about expected. Plus there was lots of shrimp and crab in my cocktail. And I got free chips and salsa, so I was full. Actually I didn’t even finish all of my shrimp cocktail!

I really enjoyed our breakfast here and I would return in a second at the same time of day!

Our flight is delayed so we took this opportunity for a snack. Of course, alcohol. But also some chicken quesadillas. The quesadillas were great.
The chicken and cheese was between more of a flatbread than tortilla, soft and delicious. My top shelf margarita was just fine. A good stop for a snack and puck-​me-​up.

The original founder is Pappas, a greek guy, circa 1960’s.
Do you want to get a feeling of Houstonian or Texan generosity? Have a BREAKFAST at Pappasito’s. You don’t need to come to Hobby airport for this, they have several branches in the city.
Atmosphere:
While waiting for my flight to Boston, I stopped by this place for a breakfast. The entire section of the terminal in this area is brand new, with shining white floors, super clean white-​grey walls, comfy chairs with USB and power ports for each seat. The hallways are spacious or gigantic. And colorful Pappasito’s is sitting right there like an oasis in a desert. From a distance you think it’s a casino or something. Red is the overwhelming color. There are some Mexican murals on the walls. I stared for minutes at the wall paintings, looking at that Mexican lady drinking a glass of something on a horse back.
Staff:
5 stars! The front reception lady and the waiter were super friendly. They all will greet you warmly when leaving as well.
Food:
Coffee was fresh and hot. I enjoy coffee by its smell and first few sips. And the coffee here did the job. Ordered pecan pancakes and 2 eggs and totally forgot about the portion size in Houston. The meal was humongous! Literally, it could be a meal for 2.5 people. Pecans were mixed with pancakes and on top. They were beautifully crunchy, tasty and with the perfect amount. Pancakes were 3 huge ones, I think one is enough for a 200 lb hungry dude. Pancakes were so fresh, delicious, hot, fluffy, not-​soggy, and done to perfection. Eggs were great too. They definitely need to make a note that pancakes are 3 large ones.
No gripes about this place. It’s nice when you stumble into a place without recommendations or Unilocalerites and it turns out great.

Was trying to figure out where to get some breakfast at Hobby. I was between Dunkin Donuts and Papasitos but went with Papasitos because the breakfast menu sounded intriguing.
I ordered the breakfast quesadilla with bacon, egg, and cheese, and a side of skillet potatoes. Pretty good amount of food for only 10 bucks, especially at an airport!

I had a layover at the airport and needed some food in my stomach. Ordered an $ 11 Monterey Chicken Burrito. It was huge and delicious.

If this is your introduction to the Pappasito’s brand for tex-​mex, you’ll be underwhelmed.
Maybe because this is an airport location without the resources, space, or desire to be better, but the food tasted as though the ingredients were straight out of a can. I can deal with food supplied by the normal food supply services, but I don’t want it to taste like the can it comes in, and as though it were warmed only by the sun on a typical Texas summer day.
Maybe I should have just kept with the margaritas. Those were fairly decent and helped wash down the bland nachos and the quesadilla. Perhaps the secret is to drink a lot before you order the food to numb your taste buds. I think I might be able to work with that concept, actually — especially if eating at this airport location again is a requirement.
The employee working the counter was great: cheerful, seemed happy to be working and customer-​focused. She gave me hope the food would be as tasty as some of the standalone locations. Too bad her enthusiasm was just a big tease. Other than the customer service and the margarita, everything else was no bueno.

Pappasito’s is one of my favorite things about Houston! I especially love grabbing a bite at the airport.
Great fresh salsa! I’d put it on everything if I could.

Not a fan.
I heard the so much about this, ‘chain’ so when I saw it at the airport, I was like bet!
I ordered the chicken soft tacos and a Modelo.
Just awful. Okay, the Modelo was cold…
Bland and the chicken was over cooked. In fact, I could not even chew many pieces due to it being dry and tough. Great courteous lady taking my order, I wish She would have warned me. This was the last and worst meal I ate while visiting Texas.
I can say nothing more than, Avoid!

Usually very good for breakfast. But I came in just after the breakfast section was closed. Lunch food was ok and not that great. But if you really want the best out of them. go for breakfast

So this was a stop in Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas. There were two cashiers, one who looked like she was extremely bored to be there and decided to play with her hair and chew gum and the other cashier looked like she actually was there to help people. We decided to try our luck with the latter cashier and with the Fajita Tacos: Beef or chicken (or one of each). They were served with a little pico de gallo refried beans and rice. We opted for the «one of each» option. The steak was by far the best good and flavorful. The chicken was a little dry. The rest of the food was your standard Tex-​Mex fare. The rice was «orangish yellow» and slightly crunchy in places, and the refried beans had a little spot of melted cheese. A little Shiner Bock Helped to wash it down a little better though and make the flight back to North Carolina a little more palatable.

A poor representation of the Papas chain of restaurants. Stopped to get 2 beef tacos, and first advice I can give you… Don’t get any of the cheese they serve. It is the run of the mill Sysco foods, generic shredded cheese. Dry, and tastes terrible. They put it on everything, which next time I will ask for goods without cheese. Price for 2 plain tacos, a beer, was $ 20… Yeah, not cheap.
So, poor place to get good Pappas food…
Not recommended
Maybe just a taco salad with no cheese next time…

While waiting for our flight to DC, I ordered Cheese Quesadilla, Bottled Dasini Water, and Bottled Heineken Beer for under $ 20. The Cheese Quesadilla consisted of flour tortilla loaded with cheese, cut into 4 large piece. It came with pickled banana peppers, sour cream, pico de gallo, and mildly spicy salsa. I liked the cheesiness and flavor of the quesadilla and how it was slightly burnt all around. However, it was extremely oily and messy to eat.

Great quality food, but not cheap. I recommend the beef fajita tacos with chips and salsa. Finish things off with a platinum margarita and you’ll be flying high soon, both literally and figuratively…

I had a quick layover in Hobby and looked for a bite to eat. I am SO glad to have gone here!!!
I had a fish taco — really good
My friend and I split the chips and queso — they were amazing.
It couldn’t get any better until I had the nachos! Perfection!!! It was the same chips and queso but with meat, jalapeños, pico de gallo & sour cream if you want (I don’t)
Amazing!!!
I wish there was one closer to home — but maybe it’s good that there isn’t one…

Ordered the Tampico burrito without cheese and sour cream.
This is the amazing part: THEY OFFERED GUACAMOLE.
At no extra charge!
That level of courtesy is greatly appreciated. Would totes eat here again!

Straight off of security — a quick in and out. They were open before 6 am and provided me with the best breakfast burrito I’ve ever had. Retried beans are a game changer! Burrito was huge and I was unable to finish it. Reasonable price is relation to size of the portions. Choice of meat — I had sausage and it was super spicy. A pleasant and unexpected airport surprise.

Pretty darn good — especially for airport food. I had a fajita plate with rice and beans. The meat was well marinated and juicy. The vegetables tasted pretty fresh, and the tortillas were above average too. The rice was meh, but the beans were particularly savory and flavorful. My wife had the chicken quesadillas and what quite happy with her dish as well. Anyway, I would definitely stop by here again, confident I could get a good meal at an airport.