Texas Embassy Cantina

Two words. Frozen margaritas. The real kind from a machine and not the pitiful concoction from a blender. The food is about as close to Tex-​Mex as one would expect in London. If you live in the UK, it’s a quick fix, but not the real thing. If you’re visiting from Texas and are craving Tex-​Mex, and can’t keep an open mind — go home for the real thing. Otherwise have a go, nothing cooler than a frozen margarita on a hot day watching the tourists go by.
Do not know if this place is still open; was on Trafalgar Square.
Good scotch, neat is always a winner.

This is just a fun Tex-​mex restaurant in London. The food is average but it’s just a cool place to go if you are a Texan on an extended trip abroad and want a reminder of home.
There are tons more options of delicious food in London.
Tip: If you show a Texas license, you get a free drink!

I have been going to the ‘Texas Embassy Cantina’ for a number of years and what keeps me coming back are few dishes that I can’t find elswhere.
The Cheese Enchiladas are a must have everytime I go here — no other Tex-​Mex in London does them the way they make them here.
The Fajitas are up there with ANYWHERE I have had in London and I like their Salsa more than most.
The Southern Fried chicken is milder in taste than from the Colonel’s KFC chain but at least I do not detect any MSG in the recipe.
Burritos & Chimchangas are other top choices.
The Burgers are decent, and if you go for the more unusual toppings they are very good.
The Ribs are fine but not outstanding.
The chilli con carne is the about the best of the minced meat kind you will find in London.
Service is hit & miss depending on the indvidual server.
AVOID getting seated upstairs as you are liable to be forgotten if you are anything other than a large pre-​booked private function.
RECOMMENDED!

I’m from Texas and I didn’t think the place too bad. Expensive but so is everything else in London. We didnt have Mexican because you can get that elsewhere. I got the chicken fried steak which was a bit salty but not bad considering this is the UK. Drinks are quite good. Service was fine when we were there.

Have drinks here but don’t eat here if you like good Tex Mex…
I have always wanted to like the Texas Embassy, having grown up in Texas I feel the need for proper enchiladas after a few weeks working in London. Let’s just say that the Texas Embassy always fails to fill the need. It brings a tear to my eye to relive the times that I tried to give the TE «another shot»…
Come here for corona or lone star or even just a bit of Americana.
Just don’t come for the food…

I took a long wander round London town today and when I took a hankering to some grub in Soho I thought I’d mosey on over to my Embassy. The Texas Embassy. See I am a wayward Texan living in London. and I was feeling a bit homesick.
I had been to the joint once before for drinks when my parents were in town. We had margaritas and had to teach our Canadian bartender how to make one that wasn’t premixed. She complained about having to squeeze the limes. poor girl. and told how she was a student and would really prefer not to be working at all. Hook ‘em!
Anyway, this time I came in for food. The menu looked fairly diverse for a Texan themed place, the menu leaning more towards Mexican food. Ribs. pork only, such a shame. brisket. steaks. and the typical nachos and the like. My eyes were eager and excited to read SOUTHERN FRIED STEAK. which should have read Chicken Fried Steak if it was being true to Texas. I have tried to explain why it is called Chicken Fried Steak to some Englishmen and they can’t get it. One said why not called it Cod Fried Steak… but I digress.
I consider myself a Chicken Fried Steak aficionado. I ordered it everywhere in Texas and it was almost always pretty dern good. It was much more difficult to find a good one on the west coast but I had once or twice. So. my expectations were low for an English attempt. But ALAS! I was surprised. it was actually spot on. delicious! It hit the spot and made me feel at home.
Now for the negatives… the portion was way too small… about the size of a hamburger patty. and it was served with some mushy canned corn with some chillis mixed in for a Tex-​Mex flair, and an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes. In TX your Chicken Fried Steak is almost always falling off the plate big and could feed you for a few meals. Add to this the fact that it was priced at £13.50 and you have a bit of a let down. thats a $ 22 dollar piece of beef. which would buy you a real nice proper steak back home. So it is the portion that loses you the two stars my amigos.
If you’re feeling homesick pop in for a beer and enjoy the music. Don’t expect much hospitality, but if you listen closely you’ll hear a few Texans scattered amongst the room. They will all be saying. well it could be better. but it feels like home.

Our visit to this restaurant was like a real-​life episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Disgusting food, unacceptable sanitary conditions, and overpriced menu and drinks.
Two «rib men» in our group are on a search for the UK’s best ribs, and so we had to stop here. Two friends ordered the full rack of ribs, I ordered the half-​rack of ribs with brisket, and the fourth ordered nachos.
The ribs were small (about 2−3″ wide). A full rack contained 8 ribs (and was barely 10 – 12 inches long). A half rack had 4 ribs. Last I checked, an adult pig has 14 ribs, and typically 11 – 12 are served per rack by the butcher, are at least 3 inches wide, and at least 16 – 18 inches long. According to Wikipedia, «If there are fewer than 10 bones, butchers call them ‘cheater racks’.» The ribs were tough, did not fall of the bone, and contained a minuscule amount of meat. Fail on the ribs. You will be cheated.
There was NO sauce on the ribs. The sauce on the brisket was a very bad attempt at BBQ sauce, with way too much vinegar and sugar. When I asked for bread to go with my brisket (which is how brisket is served in Texas), I was told «we have no bread.» The brisket was basically flank steak sliced thin. It was not juicy and held together by a little bit of fat, like brisket should be. Fail on the brisket.
The corn had chilies and jalapenos mixed in, and was inedible. The nacho man expected a full plate of stacked up nachos for £12; instead he got 10 nachos arranged in a circle with cheese that looked like it was melted and solidified about 8 hours earlier. The nacho chips were store bought, and not made in house. The salsa was watery and gross.
When talking with the wait staff, I asked «Are the owners from Texas or America?» He said, «Yes, they are.» I replied that «This place is a disgrace to Texas.» He said «Yes, the owners don’t really care.»
The bill came, and because the ribs had NO sauce on them, we asked for sauce in a pot. We were charged for 3 sauces at £1.50 each. We asked for the manager, and the manager agreed to take them off the bill. We then complained about the size and quality of the ribs.
The manager started making excuses for the chef. He said «the chef can’t be expected to make every dish perfect, because he has to prep so many dishes.» That’s simply a poor excuse. If Texans can make the world’s best BBQ from the back of a gas station in Austin, then your chef in a multi-​million-​pound restaurant in central London has no excuses for preparing inedible food.
To top the night off, we looked up and noticed a metal cage above our booth with fake plastic plants. The plants and cage were covered in AT LEAST a half inch of dust and dirt. It clearly had not be cleaned for months. This could have fallen into our food. Simply unacceptable and I told the manager it was «absolutely disgusting.»
DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. The sanitary conditions are below health and safety standards. The food is poor. The beer is over-​priced. The staff does not respect the owners (for good reason) nor the customers.
Owners: You’re a disgrace and embarrassment to Texas and America. As an American who frequently cooks ribs on the BBQ, you should be ashamed and close your restaurant until the sanitary conditions are brought to required levels and the staff is actually proud to serve the food.

Being Texans, we had to hit up the Texas Embassy. It’s a pretty cool place. I can’t judge the food because we didn’t eat. We only had beer. The ambiance is very Texan. After roaming through the London streets surrounded by so many new sights and so many people, it was comforting to sit down in a place that felt like home. Country music was playing and they put a slice of lime in my beer.
Apparently, if you’re from Texas and you spend 10 pounds, you can get a free margarita.

Distinctly two-​star; very mediocre in basically every way EXCEPT that it’s huge so if you’ve got a big group, it’s a weekend, and you need a table without a reservation, this could work.
They do have budweiser drafts and lone star longnecks, for those who get excited about such things.

I am not a fan of Tex-​Mex to start with, but I do love Mexican food… and so does my UK buddy Russ… So everytime I go to London to vistit, or we travel somewhere together, we usually have to have some variation of Mexican food. This place looks pretty cool inside… It is definately very funny to see a place like this in the center of London. But, besides the decent selection of U.S. beers, the place kind of falls flat. Unfortunately, for some reason, unknown by me, Tex-​Mex and Mexican food can’t be easily reproduced in London. This place is on par with the other Tex-​Mex or Mexican places I’ve been to with Russ, although I would have to say the décor is definately Texas!

I don’t know why I always go into Mexican/​BBQ restaurants here in the UK with such high hopes… it must be the optimist in me, but it also means that when the food doesn’t live up to my expectations, it is a bit of a downer.
My mom was willing to try this place out with me, so in we went. I guess the first clue should’ve been that there weren’t a lot of people having dinner here… the optimist in me was thinking that maybe we got there before the dinner rush… it never got busy while we were there. However, there were chips and salsa to start with, so that was at least a plus. My mom ordered the fajitas and I ordered the BBQ Platter which was half rack ribs and beef brisket with corn and fries.
It took awhile for our food to come out, but when it did it looked really good. My mom seemed to be satisfied with her fajitas, although I find it difficult to mess fajitas up. My BBQ… the ribs were pretty tender, but I didn’t enjoy the beef brisket. The BBQ sauce was not quite right, but I continued to eat. The corn was so dried out it was like plastic. And the fries, well they were just fries. To be honest, even though my mom seemed to be satisfied with her meal, I felt bad for bringing her there.

Why is it that nobody in the UK can produce GOOD Mexican or Tex-​Mex food? I guess for the same reason there isn’t any good Indian curry in America.
I live in San Diego, so I know GOOD Mexican and Tex-​Mex when I taste it. But the food in this place tastes like it was prepared in a factory months before being canned and then served to people who have no comparison for what good Tex-​Mex really is.
And for eating a bowl of shite you sure pay up the nose for it!

Being from Texas I just had to check this place out. Don’t worry, I didn’t try the food — no one does Tex Mex better then Texas! You can have a native beer — Corona, Lone Star in a bottle or Budweiser (the american Bud) on tap. Absolutely nothing impressive with the drink selection.
The staff left much to be desired. When I told the bartender I was from Texas, hook ‘em horns! he sort of nodded and wandered away. Whatever dude.
More importantly is the history here. The Texas Embassy is the former Oceanic building. Oceanic as in… Titanic. A bit erie to enjoy a drink at the bar knowing thousands of people walked through the same doors to buy their tickets for the Titanic’s first and last cruise.
Head to the Embassy for no other reason then just to say you did.

They have Lone Star! Usually that beer is only available in Texas.
I’m a big fan of this place, if for no other reason than they have a TCU flag flying upstairs.
I’m from Texas, so I feel like I know Mexican food pretty well. I tried it twice in London and this place was FAR superior to the place in Liecester Square (Chiquito).

God Bless Texas!
Amazing! A piece of the promised land in the United Kingdom.
It was like stepping into the Twilight Zone– I was wandering around Cockspur Street, and the Lone Star flag was waving like a beacon in the fog. I felt instantly at home as I walked in, and was stunned to see that I could order a cold Lone Star Beer. Amazing! The food is decent, even by Texan standards. The décor is truly authentic Texan.
The staff was friendly, but not from Texas. I had never been offered chips and salsa in a cockney accent before. I was just glad that they don’t dress up in ten-​gallon hats and spurs, and try to fake being Texan.

This is from a real deal TEXAN. :) I was in London for 2 weeks for work and got a little homesick. I stopped in because I wanted a Tshirt and decided to stay for a meal.
It’s in a GREAT Central location. I loved seeing the Texas flag flying outside. I am obsessed with tortilla soup, and theirs was pretty good! I was also happy to drink a Mexican beer.
They were playing Robert Earl Keen and other Texas country music, and it really made me so happy. It’s not the best Tex Mex/​BBQ you will ever have, but if you’re in London and need a place to remind you of home, then it hits the spot.
My Tshirt was a great souvenir of a fun visit. A must stop if you’re near The National Gallery/​Trafalgar Square.

I came all the way to London for mediocre Texmex? Well, at least the shirt was kinda cool and reasonably priced (£14). Wait staff was chipper and smiled a lot, as you might expect.

No frills Southwestern US/​Tex-​Mex food with indoor facades of a rough, Mexican street corner. Texas beer (Lone Star) in the bottle and «real» frozen margaritas out of a machine, not blended. This is as Texas as I’ve had out of the States.
The food is surprisingly flavorful served with crisps (tortilla chips) and a sweet tomato salsa. I opted for a side of guacamole that I’m sure was out of a bag but it was a good bag baby. The Chicken Chiloso, «Hot hot hot» grilled chicken…” was spicy but not over the top. I’ve had spicier curry in the West End but this breast was nice.
Mixed age proprietors but leaning younger, their Southwest favorites led more than one patron within ear shot to ask, «What’s an enchilada?».
Food: better than expected
Atmosphere: authentic like Tex-​Mex that’s 4,747 miles from Dallas. Think «On The Border» restaurant chain look and feel
Price: much better than expected for the tourist neighborhood on the edge of the theater district
As a Texan, I suggest you give it a try for the closest thing outside of the Lone Star State. Or at least this side of the pond.
Fun time had by all. Love the bar scene! Please have a frozen margarita and crisps with guac for this Texas boy. Overall, it’s a 4 but food’s a 3. Have fun ‘yall!

As a Texan, I had to go in to see what the place was like. They had some good beers and the nachos were just ok, much like the ones I’ve had at a movie theatre.
The decorations are pretty good. The inside looks like many a bar I’ve been to in Texas.
Overall, it’s worth stopping in to have a drink with friends here.

I went to the Texas Embassy for an Obama/​Democrats Abroad victory party. If you are the Holmes-​like sleuth I know you are, that should tell you two things: 1. I was in spirits higher than a skydiver who has just jumped out of the plane and 2. I am probably American. Yes, I weight 500 kilos and eat McDonald for breakfast and drive a Hummer and never, NEVER walk anywhere. Yes I am just like all Americans.
If anyone know anything about Texas, they know that Texas is the ‘lone star state.’ They think themselves their own country. Probably has something to do with the Alamo or Machu Pichu or something like that. So, it’s no surprise that there’s a Texas embassy. And, well, this place struck a chord (middle C) in the heart of my nostalgia for good old boot-​strappin’ Tex Mex Food, the rations of realllll Americans. Yeehaw! The atmosphere was so down home ranch-​like that I felt like galloping around on my horse flinging my twenty-​gallon Stetson back and forth like a bulls eye in tricky arget practice.
The drinks were a bit on the pricier side, the food was greasy Tex Mex goodness (read: not haute cuisine, but comfort me some nachos). If you feel like lassoing yourself some tacky themed tasties, you probably won’t be disappointed.