Mary Lou's Cafe Reviews

The restaurant is lovely inside and has a lovely bar; however, the food is not as good as what many other San Antonio Mexican and Mexican American restaurants offer. They do offer lunch specials. The salsa that was brought to the table was OK. My husband ordered a diet Coke and I ordered a fresh lemonade. The lemonade was OK and not as tart as I like but it is fresh-made. My husband ordered beef enchiladas and I ordered beef flautas. I asked for a green salsa and it was ice cold and not very flavorful. The rice had comino (cumin), which I do not like. Some people think that unless the food has cumin, it is not Mexican. The refried beans had an off taste. We asked for corn tortillas. They had a lot of condensation and arrived kind of moist. My husband was not impressed with the enchiladas. He said that the Blanco Cafe makes better enchiladas. I also like them at the Blanco and at Chilladas. My beef flautas were good, not greasy and had a lot of beef. The meal was not good enough to go back. For two, with tip, it was $33.

The waiter was nice and my salad was ok. Just not a place on returning to for lunch or dinner. The music was loud and couldn't hear my friend who joined me for lunch.

I had just flown into San Antonio for the very first time from California. My very best friend picked me up & we saw Mary Lou's Cafe on our way to her home. I felt like I was at my families home the moment I walked in, the food was so delicious, just like Grandmas! Very Classy, the people were so Warm & Kind... Yes I will be back!!! Yvette~

Whenever I'm in town I head over to Mary Lou's for a pancake with strawberries/whip cream and a huge potato and egg taco. They have strong coffee and their tortillas remind me of my Grandmother's. The margarita's were a bit expensive and small but they really rock their breakfast. It's a must to check out. I take all my relatives to eat breakfast here when we're in town.

This is a very nice and well designed restaurant. The food is authentic but the wait staff could be better. I recommend the carne asada tacos on corn tortillas. Big homemade corn tortillas and excellent green sauce. The location is in a little town surrounded by San Antonio on McCullough Avenue but is worth driving to. Just make sure you watch your speed because Olmos Park is good about speeders. Moreover, do not park in the lot next to the restaurant and even on weekends. You will get towed!

Went in on a busy Friday night. Had to wait for Margarita machine to kick in. By the time we got our food we were ready for another Margarita and had to wait again for the machine to freeze up...when we finally got our drink it was super watery...and the waiter promised to come back and fix our watery drink and never did. Just not worth the hassle to go back for a second visit.

My husband had been here many times before for lunch. We came for breakfast on a Sunday. The restaurant bar area is beautiful. The food was great! All three of us were pleased with our food and the restaurant was packed by the time we left. We'll go back. The tortillas were just like grandma's!

This has to be the best Mexican food that I have ever ate! I was visiting San Antonio, and some friends recommended that we eat here since we wanted some Mexican food. I ordered the taco plate which came with the best refried beans that I have ever had! Everything on the plate was delish!

Good place to eat with a great Mexican restaurant atmosphere in a neat neighborhood. Had the fluffy tacos and they were delicious! Would definitely eat here again.

i went to mary lou's restaurant on mccullough on monday for lunch.i had the green enchiladas which the waiter highly recommend and he was right. the plate came with refried beans and rice. it was plentiful and i could not finish it and very tasty. be aware of their green sauce. i like spicy food but i went whoa. the service was unobtrusive, just there in a timely basis. check it out ......

This is one of my favorite Mexican food restaurants in San Antonio. The chicken fajitas are really good. The chicken breast is not mixed with dark meat. The margaritas are really good too. Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner, you will get a great meal.

We have been going here for several years and never had a bad experience. Their staff is well trained and provides excellent service. Food is prepared using family recipes and is outstanding. Try the salsa! It is spicy but not too hot and very flavorful.

I like the food here as I did for the Pleasanton Road location. But I did not like the # of health inspection demerits there. Hopefully, this place is doing a little better in that department. Food Logic - a brief dissertation (thought it was warranted based on the dichotomous reviews; take it or leave it as it suits you): As with all continuums, there are two ends to the measurement. Applying this measure to restaurants and the affinity/dis-affinity for their food's flavor; there are those that offer flavorful and spicy (sometimes to the extreme), those that offer extremely bland on purpose (like Luby's for the mundane and unadventureous eaters), and those that are in the middle of the flavor continuum trying to be all things to all people. The middle proposition is where most restaurants reside in order to gain the most patronage. In this same metric, overlaying the preference of consumers, you would have a bell curve representation. As such, you will always have some people that say the food is too spicy or off-beat or lousy, and some that say the food is too bland or offbeat or lousy. But if the majority seems to agree that the food is acceptable to delicious, you will probably agree as well unless you are one of those that resides on the far ends of the contimuum. My 2 cents for preference logic - now back to the review. The new digs are nice and popular with the '09 crowd. Unless you get here early for Sunday breakfast, you can expect to park in some distant location around the block on one of the streets behind the car wash and across the field. The tortillas are fluffy and pliable with just the right amount of lard; and the ingredients nestled inside of the breakfast tacos are tasty - sampled the chorizo and egg, bacon and egg, bean bacon cheese, and potato and egg - all good. I cannot speak to any of the other offerings so you will just have to try the rest for yourself.

We had family of 17 for Friday night. Atmosphere welcoming, casual but nice dress, service attentive, Happy hour to 7 pm great! Super fresh hot chips & homemade salsa. Delicious borracho beans. Tasty Mexican dishes.

I am Mexican so it is hard to impress me This fine establishment was something I will always cherish Margs were awesome I would stick to enchiladas Value is above what is expected !!!!!

Wow a great generous portion of food. I had Mary Lou's sampler not bad nice taste.. The meat was excellent. I wanted a small chicken soup but the manager said it only came in a bowl. I passed .. One would think that they could have had half of a sale instead of none. I am sure if the owner was there they would have accommodated a paying customer. We will try again maybe this time I will get a cup of soup.

Went for dinner on a Saturday evening. Can't say enough about the salsa and chips. Salsa tasted fresh and home made ! Tortillas were warm and fresh as well. My son had beef fajitas ,hubby had Carne guisada,and I had crispy tacos all of which were tastey. Will definitely be back for another eal !

I would not have known about this restaurant without Groupon. This is a four year old establishment that looks great inside and out. The initial reaction from the servers here was not very friendly. We arrived later in the PM, so a lot of tables hadn't been bused. The chips were old school like those from Mexico, thick and crisp, and the salsa had lots of character and kick. They have daily specials and this day's special was enchiladas. My BW had chicken and I ordered 1 cheese and 1 beef. They were delicious. The rice and ranchero beans were cooked just right.

Today my sisters and children went there to eat after church. The restaurant was not extremely busy but we had to wait 20 mins for a table. There were 6 in our party and we were the only one's waiting for a table. I noticed one hostesses went over to get our table preset. But we still waited. The whole time on other hostess was sitting texting on her phone the whole time. WE finally had to ask if our table was ready and were lead to the table that had been preset for some time. Also our waiter (Gil) was slow in getting to our table and was not very attentive to us. I noticed he was sitting with another table on HIS cell phone showing pictures to them while we waited on refills for coffee. There was a table of at least 12 people who ordered after we did (10 mins after) and there were served before us. I am sure our food had been sitting in the back for a while because it wasn't until after we said something that our food came out immediately. This is the second time I attempted to eat there (I cancelled my order) but again was disappointed on the lack of service. And it you are running a business the customer before you is the one supporting your business, not the one you are texting with. There was another server we witnessed on her cell phone.

The food was great. We both had Mexican Plates - cheese enchiladas, rice, beans and taco. It was all delicious. The flour tortillas are homemade and some of the best. Service was attentive and quick.

Good food, quick and friendly service. Lunch specials are great. Green chicken enchiladas on Thursdays are the best!

Just had beef enchiladas. Excellent. The gravy is real Tex-Mex. The restaurant is very open and clean. Full bar, great food.

My group has been going there the 3rd Wednesday of every month for the past 8 years but today that has come to an end. Went in for lunch and to make my monthly reservation for 13 but was told our area had been reserved for a larger group from HEB. The manager would not accommodate our request to seat us by the bar. I have been going there at least one time per week and have seen those tables put together for large groups. She has no managerial skills and should be removed by her mom or brother. They have lost a loyal customer. Waiters and food are great but manager is incompetent.

Loved the chicken puffy tacos and the side of guacamole. Can hardly wait to come back and try more ! The two hot sauces were delicious, great atmosphere and service. They have a nice small bar and an extensive margarita menu. I appreciate a restaurant that serves non breakfast items in the morning. I will be back!

Had a wonderful breakfast I ordered the egg white omelette with four ingredients came with beans, potatoes and hand made tortillas sooooo good. Atmosphere is nice clean and friendly staff. Check it out you will be glad.

Introduced to this place a few years ago by a friend. I am from SA and have eaten Mexican food my whole life (59 yrs old). This is the type of Mexican food I remember as a kid. In my opinion, best puffy tacos in SA. I order beef, but ask them to drain it well. My favorite chips in all SA too. Their salsa is one of the few I will eat. It is always fresh and very tasty. Service has always been very good, polite servers and they take care of all needs at the table in a timely manner. Great experience and I recommend it highly. As stated in other reviews, location is a bit out of the way, but well worth the drive. Try it you will like it.

The food and service are always excellent. Of all the Mexican restaurants in San Antonio, this is the one I recommend to everyone.

The tacos at Mary Lou's are out of this world, especially the carne quisada with cheese. OMG...they are delicious. I also was very skeptical in trying the menudo since I am not a fan of eating menudo at a restaurant, BUT the menudo at Mary Lou's is out of this world. Very delicious, good, and they give you a heealthy serviing.

This place has a great atmosphere, great service and fantastic food!! As another reviewer said, the Carne Guisada taco is great...meat very tender. The egg white omelette is great especially when combined with their homemade salsa....YUM!!! And....homemade tortillas...The best I've tasted in SA...and I'm from here! The service was tops, our server, the very beautiful Veronica was fantastico! My dad and I love this place....and you will too!

I have dined there many times over several years and find the food and service is consistently above average. Servers are friendly and the kitchen is usually fast. There is also a full bar. Seating arrangement is unusual with long benches and tables along them. There are three seating areas, one being outside. The acoustics are hard so it can be noisy.

I called a friend and asked for a nice or higher end Mexican Restaurant as I had a business associate visiting from the Midwest who requested Authentic Mexican Food. Well, I think it was a mix of Tex Mex (I prefer) and Authentic Mexican (friend preferred) Nothing set him on fire, and the refried beans were a small side served in a custard cup, he was disappointed by that. I had Barracho Beans as a side, and they were served luke warm, but good. I had the fish tacos, and flan. They were good and the sauce was plenty spicy for me. My dinner guest had the Mary Lou Plate or special, heaping amount of food and he must have liked it as he took the leftovers to the hotel. We sat outside it was a beautiful night, too bad the car wash is right next door, that being said, it was not annoying or loud.

We wanted to love Mary Lou's because it's in the neighborhood but I got gristly tough beef just once too many times. The margaritas are very good though so if you are only looking for drinks, by all means go to Mary Lou's

Referred by concierge at our hotel--her favorite Mexican restaurant. Spivey salsa. Wonderful home made tortillas. Some unique dishes. My husband had fish tacos and I had chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. Both were excellent. Between 4-7 pm they have a happy hour. We had their house margarita, very good, for $5 each. Very reasonably priced food.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch/ dinner (Late lunch early dinner). It was sister's weekend and the four of us were a handful. Ben did an excellent job guiding us through the menu and took excellent care of us during our visit. The food was wonderful. If I am ever in San Antonio again I would most definitely go back. It's a little off the beaten path, but definitley worth trying. I'm sure Ben will take care of you as well.

We decided to try Mary Lou's as a change on our visit to San Antonio. Glad that we did! Must say, though, the salsa was really a sinus opener! QUITE spicey! The food was good and very filling. We shall probably return!

The original place was down the street from my moms on the Southside that used to be a home converted to a restaurant. That same style food has been extended here and is fantastic. Don't go for drinks and margaritas, go for the food and tortillas. All the enchilada and puffy taco dishes are awesome, the salsas are great and the tortillas are the best in town...yes they will charge you if you ask for more....yes there's an old Mexican lady in the back making them. My favorite dish here are the Enchiladas Verdes....they are the best. Come check it out

all of the mexican dishes are excellent but, in particular, we are fond of the caldo de pollo and the enchiladas verdes

Had a great, late breakfast. Always been a good to restaurant for me, when i'm in the area. Their tradional Tex Mex breakfast selections are consistantly excellent. I had the egg white omelette with refried beans and cubed hash bronze potatoes and excellent, large corn tortillas. I was totally satisfied with the service and quality of the food. Great place to grab a quick homemade breakfast or lunch!

Great service, very good food, perfect to meet with friends or for business meetings. Very comfortable and welcoming environment. The chicken fajitas were very tasty!

Food is excellent. I would say tortillas are the best I've tasted except for maybe the ones my grandma used to make. The only thing that kept me from giving an excellent rating is that on occasion the waitstaff gave poor service.

They don't abide by the prices in their menu. We were grossly overcharged for a la carte enchiladas, making the a la carte choice even more expensive than the full dinner entree. When we politely pointed out the problem and showed them the menu they refused to change the bill. We will avoid this restaurant in the future. They do not value their customers. There are plenty of really great Mexican restaurants nearby, with better prices, great food, and excellent service. No need to suffer the poor management practices at Mary Lou's.

The food was really good but the dining room is rather small. Therefore, when the place gets crowded (which is quite often) there's not much room to move around comfortably. The prices were great and the portions were decent as well. The only thing is that the servers all seem to disappear after the food has been served, making it hard to get refills.

Overall very good service, the atmosphere was nice and the food is ok. We had a party of 7 and arrived at an off-peak hours. Our meal consisted of 2 large appetizers, queso, a large entree, 3 tacos, 2 sodas and water... The cost was just over $60 before the tip. The food was good and good service, but the value was average.

My title says it all!! But the service is unbelievably horrible! The only reason I am a recurrent customer, is solely because I believe these are the best breakfast tacos in San Antonio!! Aside from Patty's Taco House on Hackberry. They make the best bacon and eggi have ever had!! But aside from that, this is reason I order out because of the horrible service!! I am weekly customer one would think that they should know me by name by now, but since I am not a white customer that shall never change, aside from the fact that I am an Olmos Park resident and those people are mostly not, the service has always been crap! So for those who want excellent food without the crap service order out! Oh! I cannot leave out that when I do order out, and I pay with cash the waiters always keep my change! As if it is owed to them! My order maybe $6.01, the waiters will keep my .99 cents. Why when they they are rude and one must go to them, almost to the kitchen, just for them to hand me the bag. So beware, do not pay with cash!

Don't be put off by the plain exterior of this charming little cafe. Inside is cozy, but not crowded. We had breakfast here one day and a week later we had dinner here with friends. The breakfast was fine but nothing special, although the service was excellent. The dinner we had was terrific. Our friends ordered the soup and loved it. They are Mexican and said it was at the top of their list. Personally the soup did not appeal to me, but if they say it was that good; I believe them. My partner and I had the combination plate and it was just terrific, if not too much. The tortillas we so good we took them home and had them for breakfast.

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon when we ran from the car to the entry foyer of Mary Lou's. We were there greeted with two signs; one touting the week's daily specials - today's was an enchilada plate for $5.95, and the other, "Please Seat Yourself", so we did. There were only two other tables of customers at this 2 o'clock hour. Chips and salsa appeared shortly along with menus. We decided on the Botana plate for an appetizer and figured we couldn't go wrong with the daily special. Wow! What a sampler plate!! Crispy chicken flautas, bean and cheese nachos, beef fajita quesadillas (these could've been a little hotter), jalapeno poppers (these were molten and made up for the heat that the quesadillas were missing), guacamole, sour cream and lettuce and tomato. Several bites into this plate and we were thinking, Uh-oh! . . . we have an enchilada plate coming. We stopped appetizer consumption immediately, but were thinking it was already too late. We each ate one of our two enchiladas, some of the frijoles and a little rice. The rest got packed up for a return engagement . . . at home. As far as the lunch specials are concerned, you just can't lose. Especially when tea is served as part of the price. We had two drinks (Cokes, so we paid and extra $2.25 ea. for these but could have had tea for free), a huge appetizer plate and two specials for around 30 dollars. And we will be having a second lunch soon out of the left overs (never even got to the fluffy flour tortillas). So, two lunches for two (of some very good food) for $30 . . . I think we will be back.

Just left the place and am not at all happy about the experience. When my plate was presented I mentioned that the ranchero sauce, as described in the menu, was absent from my dish. I was told "Just wait, it's coming". I waited and it did come, but why was it not on the plate? No big deal. About halfway through the meal I found egg shells in my food as I ate it. I removed a few shells and tried to eat more but egg shells came up again. The waiter, after dropping off the salsa, never came back to the table to check on the food or our beverages until he presented the check. I mentioned the egg shells and pointed them out on my plate to the waiter who said he would look into it as he took my plate with ½ of the food left on it and my credit card. I got the bill back with no discount or explanation. I mentioned the egg shells to the manager on the way out and she said "That happens some times". Go here if you want service with an attitude, mediocre Mexican food and fresh egg shells in your meal. There are far too many Mexican restaurants in San Antonio to ever have to go here again.

We used to like this place a lot and have been here many times in the past but during our last visit, the food had no flavor. The beans and rice were bland.

I have been looking for a really good Mexican restaurant and I think I have found it! Great service and really good food. We had the green enchiladas and carne a la Mexicana. Both delicious. They also serve alcohol. We will be back!

joined a buddy for a quick lunch taco this week, wanting traditional Mexican fare. This is a well established eatery, found on the fringes of Olmos Park....careful...radar is waiting to ticket the unsuspecting! There is parking front, left and behind the restaurant, parking aplenty for out 11:30 AM visit. We were immediately seated in the entry dining area, left of that is an additional dining room and left of that, patio seating protected with mosquito netting. Right of entry is an impressive full bar, with additional seating around. Our orders were limited: carne guisada, bean and cheese, pork chop taco and chorizo con papas taco. Our impression: well executed offerings, but the winning element was the flour tortilla. Fresh and just as delicious as any abuelita can prepare for table. Service time was acceptable, but our waiter Carlos was a man of few words, of indifferent attitude. Aside from his demeanor, we considered our menu items delicious, and can recommend. Enjoy Trip friends!!

The food is good, but some of the prices are ridiculous. Two crispy tacos for $9.00? Really? I can get better meals than that elsewhere with sides for $9.00. Not going back.

We had no major issues, but the main course of the meal was small compared to the amount of rice and refried beans on the plate. Took a while for the chips and salsa to come out. Server never checked on us after the food came out; only to give us the ticket. They were all nice though, and quick on the food coming out.

First time visiting . Corn and flour tortillas were the best ! Our waiter was great . We ordered pollo de caldo , gets a 5 . The carne guisada a 8, menudo gets a 8. Think next visit will be breakfast tacos. The over all experience was good , nice , clean restaurant !

Despite the address, this restaurant is actually located in the City of Olmos Park, a quaint little city surrounded on all sides by the City of San Antonio. Mary Lou's Cafe is a great fit in this community with its high quality food and great looking building. The food was excellent today and the service was good. But occasionally this varies slightly with absolute consistency still on the horizon. But I can say with confidence that you will always have a very good meal here. Ambiance is great also. Bring your family and visit Mary Lou's for a satisfying Mexican food experience.

The food here is average to below average. The atmosphere is ok, duded up to look authentic but it can't cover for the blah food. I'm a huge fan of great Tex-Mex food which generally is found in places with NO atmosphere, staffed by and filled with Hispanics.

Went here for a birthday Party and they gave us a separate room just for us in the bar. The food was very good at a reasonable price. Service was very good.

We spotted this Mexican restaurant as we were driving down McCullough Road, heading for one of our favorite Mexican restaurants near downtown San Antonio. Decided to try this one instead and did not regret the choice. A Crispy Chicken Taco, Bean Chalupa and a couple of Enchiladas Verdes dishes plus a margarita to go along with that, satisfied the taste buds of all three in our group. The chips were great. The only item I will not order again next time are the borracho beans, they were just too spicy for me.

I just had a party for my 85-year-old mom there. I had 46 guests and I must say they were well served. The waiters were on top of things and very polite. The food was delicious. They have a patio area that you can also rent if you like besides the bar area. We had anticipated using both sides but a cool front arrived. All in all, we got all the guest seated well and the party was a great success.

Today is the second time here and same issues...after 15 minutes our drink order was taken, small tequila list for a Latin restaurant and nothing special. Food is similar to a Mexican diner...and not meat free friendly...one fish item..tilapia tacos. Guess the neighborhood supports this place.