El Big Bad image

El Big Bad

Restaurant Bar Meal takeaway Bar and grill Mexican restaurant Cocktail bar Event venue Taco restaurant Banquet hall Gastropub Delivery service Tex mex restaurant Latin american restaurant

👍👍 Amazing themed place, only missing enough crowd. Maybe it was due to the late time of the day, but the exterior facade is just historic New Orleans style. Also, the guy at the upper bar was very friendly & attentive. The Chips & Queso were just the right crisp & thickness. I wish some of the expens... People often mention good, drinks, great, service, downtown, staff, tequila,


Address

419 Travis St, Houston, TX 77002, United States

Website

elbigbadtx.com

Contact

+1 713-229-8181

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

3.90 (1.2K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: good (11) drinks (9) great (8) service (7) downtown (6) staff (6) tequila (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Riyadh S. 7 months ago on Google
    Amazing themed place, only missing enough crowd. Maybe it was due to the late time of the day, but the exterior facade is just historic New Orleans style. Also, the guy at the upper bar was very friendly & attentive. The Chips & Queso were just the right crisp & thickness. I wish some of the expensive restaurants I have been to lately serve the same chips rather than their hard-to-chew ones. The burger was almost the perfect Tex-Mex Burger I have been looking for, for a while now. But truly, it wasn't bad at all. The crispy Baha Fish Taco was also crispy & fluffy. The sauce & garnish were just right. Finally, the balcony was looovely. I can't imagine how it looks & feel around Christmas time. 🎄🎅
    11 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jason M. 1 year ago on Google
    A very different sort of downtown spot. It’s like dance club meets Tex Mex restaurant. The food we tried was delicious and the drinks were very good and unique.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 rafa M. 1 year ago on Google
    First time here with my fiancee. We enjoyed our time here, we chair dance to the music they were playing. We do recommend this place.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Contact F. 1 year ago on Google
    Came here 4 months ago.... Elevator broken... and 4 months later STILL NOT fixed...!!! Place is horrible & terrible to dine & have to walk up 3 flights of stairs.... I guess the exercise is welcomed... but not necessary on my part. This place seem to want to take money from you but skimp or cut on quality. Do not give napkins... straws are completely open to the air... paper printed menues... you have to guess what you are going to get as you order your meal... NOT a real great place to make a real impression on your date or business colleagues. And... since people is still getting Covid out here... they still serving straws without coverings...!!! 😥
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jeff M. 1 year ago on Google
    Awesome adventure with Heidi & Jeni during the Rotary Convention. So great we visited two nights in a row. Music is pretty cool as we sat on the veranda enjoying Houston’s warm summer breeze.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Heidi S. 1 year ago on Google
    Came to Rotary Convention and fell in love with this place! Staff were amazing! Lady Gaga’s look a-like Stephanie was great! The balcony was fabulous! The food was amazing especially the enchiladas! Music eclectic and the atmosphere is one of a kind! Came twice!!!!!!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Andres L. 7 months ago on Google
    Really wanted to leave a 3 star review but after reading the replies from the "owner" I'm gonna leave 1. Why set up your staff to fail? Why charge 20% surcharge with no service. Trying to say you are doing it to pay your staff is just an excuse. This place is a bar. Owner needs to be more clear about it. Very poor service. It is clears it is a management/ownership problem. Great concept very poor execution. We had a server but after taking our order she never came back till the end. Again why charge a 20% surcharge if there is no service. Great bartenders, poor management/owner. Food was decent drinks were great but such a poor service experience.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Alexandra 1 year ago on Google
    I just went there today and it's such an amazing place with friendly staff and INCREDIBLE food! I hope to come to Houston again to sit down there with friends on another visit
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Wisco S. 2 years ago on Google
    delicious Mexican food, and maybe the best margaritas I've ever had. this whole place is top notch. food, drinks, services all get 5 stars. thanks Chelsea, Steve, and Paul for telling me some more places to check out. definitely plan on stopping here again and so should you
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Hernan F. 11 months ago on Google
    Pretty cool 3 story place with outdoor seating as well. Strong but good margarita. Had a really good burrito and definitely recommend. Whole place has a cool vibe to it. Definitely coming back to try more food soon. Parking can be as it is typical of downtown but shouldn't be too bad.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Eric M. 1 year ago on Google
    Came out to see @th3StonedApeMusic (SoundCloud) perform his show. The place is great. Big open space to chill and jam. The staff is awesome and food is delicious. If you're ever in Down Town Houston on the LAST Saturday of the month, come see @th3StonedApeMusic and the rest of BoomBoxCru perform!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Scott L. 2 years ago on Google
    No wait staff if that's important. You order at the bar and they bring the food to you. Fun place to eat and drink, particularly outside on the roof deck. My street tacos were superb.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Bigg M. 1 year ago on Google
    So I wanted to try somewhere new and downtown with a beautiful view of the city and this place checked all of my boxes. As soon you walk in there are containers and containers of tequila’s infusing. We were guided upstairs and went out to the balcony and it was awesome. We sat at a table that was right at the corner of Travis and Pierce and we were just high enough to not be distracted by the noises of the city but close enough to still enjoy the atmosphere downtown houston provides. The drinks were awesome and the bartender was great. The food is really good bar food but mixed with the drinks it was gourmet to me. Lol. I definitely recommend checking this place out especially during the week because you don’t have to fight people and traffic.

  • 5/5 Jessica L. 1 year ago on Google
    Love this spot. We always hit it when downtown for a show or game and is no easily one of my favorite places to drink. The staff is all so friendly and attentive. Super easy to order and check out with their cool ordering system. The drinks are fun and ever changing. The Cotton Candy Rita is sooooo good. Def 10/10. Nice patio, always a cool event going on and their food is great.

  • 5/5 Joe Y. 10 months ago on Google
    The place for infused tequila, which is immediately apparent upon walking in and seeing just the start of the gallons of infusing tequila. Tried a handful of flavors, and they all had their merits, even if some was just to create a rather strong tequila kick. The food was decent, but you're not there for that. And the luchadore ambiance is excellent and fun.

  • 5/5 Luxury Consulting M. 7 months ago on Google
    Mexican food, my husband don’t drink alcohol but we came for the food only, I did have one mule cocktail it was good, the steak tacos and quesadilla was good and the churros also. Music was ok but it was Tuesday. It was a little empty but it was the only place open till midnight so it was better than nothing. Waitress was super attentive, fast and friendly. She did gave us good service. It’s on the rooftop but we sat inside.

  • 5/5 Kareem A. 8 months ago on Google
    We were actually very pleasantly surprised by this place. We love tequila and mezcal and saw it was highly rated. We only got drinks but they were very good. We would return to try their other margaritas.

  • 3/5 Traveling M. 8 months ago on Google
    yeah the food is great and the service was good, but no AC inside really, and no fans outside on the patio.

  • 2/5 Roxy S. 6 months ago on Google
    Restaurant lives up to it's name in service. Food was pretty good. They had run out of a couple menu items we ordered. One without telling us and a substitute was brought without notice and a lot of confusion. A wrong drink was provided but then it turned out to be the right one. Some lady, I guess the manager, came to apologize and told us our next round was on the house. We had all already had 2 drinks so we were almost done but decided to take up the offer. Bills came and we were charged for the drinks. We asked to have them removed but it was too late?!?! We decided fine we won't tip as much. But there was already a 20% gratuity on a table of 4?!?! Left a really bad taste in our mouths after. We had to send our desserts back because our table was still packed with plates from the fajitas we were still eating. Service was lacking for sure.

  • 5/5 Emily 5 months ago on Google
    The best place downtown for birria tacos! I’ve come 4 times just to eat these tacos, they also have a large variety of infused tequilas. This is definitely the place to go if you’re a tequila drinker.

  • 1/5 Noel L. 5 months ago on Google
    I ordered a cheeseburger and it was probably the worst cheeseburger I have ever experienced eating. The chips and salsa were... you know what, never mind that. This place is terrible. We only went because Frank’s was full. And we regret every penny spent there. We should have waited at Frank’s pizza.


Call +1 713-229-8181 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Quick bite
    • ✓️ Comfort food
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Happy-hour food
    • ✓️ Late-night food
    • ✓️ Happy-hour drinks
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Catering
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway
    • ✓️ Kerbside pickup
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating
    • ✓️ No-contact delivery

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