Small Houston-based chain offering Cuban and Mexican specialties in a no-frills, fast-food environment. The tortilla soup is especially worth a visit.

910 Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77007
(713) 802-9145
Website

7am–12am (Mon–Wed); 7am–3am (Thu–Sat); 8am–10pm (Sun)

Honestly, a woolly beast of a head cold was the main reason we chose this place. Back in the fall, a friend who is a long-time Houstonian advised us newcomers that every time she caught a cold, she ordered a large tortilla soup with no cheese from El Rey. Our first time taking this advice had proved helpful, and on a recent drizzly February afternoon, we returned to this small, fast-food Houston chain offering Cuban and Mexican specialties, hoping it would work its magic again.

After ducking out of the cold into the blue interior of the Shepherd Drive location, we were momentarily hypnotized by the bank of rotisserie chickens rotating behind the counter. Once our trance broke, we placed our lunch order along with two small, fresh-squeezed lemonades ($3 each), and then gathered lime wedges, pickled jalapeño slices, and some (fairly thin and pedestrian) green and red salsa from the condiments bar.

Tortilla soup (large, $7.75): Our name was called and a kitchen worker slid a large plastic bowl full of tomatoey chicken soup across the counter. El Rey’s tortilla soup is exactly what you want if your head is full of toxic mucus (and you already had the phở ga at Les Noo’dle the day before). They are not stingy with ingredients: this bowl submerges a whole breast’s worth of meat—maybe more—and comes topped with numerous cubes of perfectly ripe avocado and a handful of crispy tortilla strips. It normally includes cheese, but we omitted it to maximize the soup’s potential head-clearing effects. This is tasty, filling soup, elevated to the next level of satisfaction by squeezes of lime juice and pickled jalapeño. It’s probably even better if you are feeling well and order it with cheese.

Tacos ($2.85 each, 3 for $5.70 on Tuesday): To fend off the head cold and raw weather, we had planned to order two bowls of tortilla soup, but it was “Taco Tuesday”; so we decided to seize the moment and gather enough info for a review. We ordered ropa vieja, al pastor, and chicken “Cuban” tacos on fresh, doubled-up corn tortillas. Ropa vieja (literally “old clothes” in Spanish) is a Cuban dish of stewed lean beef in a tomato gravy. El Rey’s taco version, paired with cabbage and creamy cilantro salsa, tastes good but has some issues as a taco filling because it is tricky to bite all the way through the large chunks of meat without ending up with most of the filling in your mouth and a deflated taco to boot. Next time we’ll order the plate. Al pastor is a dish that can vary widely from place to place. El Rey’s had some nice crispy edges from a trip to the flat top, but lacked excitement in terms of flavor. The star of our Taco Tuesday trio was the Cuban, featuring a comforting melange of chicken fajitas, black beans, fried plantains, and sour cream.

Is El Rey the best taqueria in town? Probably not, but they are definitely a solid lunch option, especially if you’re craving tortilla soup or want to try out the Cuban specialties. We will probably return again the next time a rogue rhinovirus chooses one of us as its unlucky host.