Picos Restaurant

Reviews

• RM

  Rocky M

  6 days ago
  4.0
  Mother's day 2026. The place was BUSY!!! Which is usually great for business. The food was good, a few different options to choose from in the buffet line. A bit pricy for that type of food however. Will probably just stick to Perry's next year, since it cost the same.
• RW

  Rafael “Rafa” Wolf

  May 10, 2026
  3.0
  I’m genuinely disappointed that Picos will be closing soon. This has been one of my favorite restaurants in Houston for years, and I’ve eaten here regularly, especially for their brunch buffet which I’ve always enjoyed. On my most recent visit, though, I definitely noticed a decline in quality. I’m not sure if it was because I dined closer to closing time, but the experience just didn’t feel the same as I remembered. The horchata wasn’t nearly as sweet or flavorful as it used to be, and the seasonal soft shell crabs, which were always one of my favorite dishes here, tasted a bit reheated and not as fresh as past visits. They were still decent, just not up to the standard I had come to expect from Picos. I was also very disappointed after making a reservation for their Mother’s Day brunch, only to later be told that my reservation was no longer in the system because it had apparently been canceled. That was honestly frustrating and a huge letdown. Even with the disappointing recent experience, I still have a lot of great memories here, especially enjoying their banana leaf tamales and mole. Because of all the amazing meals and experiences I’ve had over the years, I’ll still give them 3 stars.
• VL

  Veronica Lancaster

  May 10, 2026
  1.0
  We came for Mother’s Day fully expecting a wait since we didn’t make a reservation, so the 40-minute wait for a table was understandable. Unfortunately, once seated, the experience became incredibly frustrating. No one greeted us, gave us menus, or explained that the restaurant had both a brunch buffet and an à la carte system, we were just left sitting there confused. Meanwhile, a table seated after us immediately got service and drinks while we were repeatedly ignored despite making eye contact with staff multiple times. When a waiter finally approached us, he continued speaking Spanish to us even though I was clearly speaking English. He seemed to assume that was our preferred language without asking. It came across as profiling rather than hospitality, and instead of feeling welcomed, we felt stereotyped and dismissed. After another long wait just for waters, we spoke to a manager, who dismissed the issue by saying we “probably didn’t get menus because there’s a buffet”, but nobody had told us that in the first place. The manager offered to take care of us personally, only to assign us back to the same waiter who ignored us all along. At that point, we decided to leave. We were patient about the holiday rush, but there’s a difference between being busy and making guests feel invisible. Huge waste of time and a disappointing Mother’s Day experience.
• EH

  Erin Hayes

  May 5, 2026
  1.0
  Can’t even rate the food because we never got it. My party had reservations for 6 people at 7:30 and after being ignored for an hour, we finally left. When we asked about the status of our table, we were told that they had seated several walk-ins before us and that it wasn’t their fault that they did not have a table for us. Completely ridiculous and we are furious with the service. Will not be returning.
• LF

  Lori Fisher

  May 4, 2026
  1.0
  STAY AWAY! I rarely give bad reviews because I reserve the bad reviews for those who truly deserve them. The food was mediocre and pricey which is really not enough for a negative review but the server (Bruno G.) was SO RUDE from the get-go, AND they snuck some extra charges in, and there’s more. From the moment our large party sat down, the server was rude and dismissive. My husband ordered a cup of soup and he brought out a bowl, so my husband told him that he ordered a cup and as the server took the bowl away, he muttered 'well this is what you ordered' (it was not because everyone at the table heard my husband order a cup). When we asked what kinds of beans they had, the server said, pinto beans, black beans, and refried beans. So my husband ordered pinto beans. He got refried beans. When we told him that we ordered pinto beans, the waiter pointed to them and said ‘that's what you ordered, you should eat them, they are good.’ What are we, little children? Who wants to be treated like that? That's not what was ordered. And I had asked several times if the beans were vegetarian, and he said there’s no lard in the beans. So I said, yes, but are they vegetarian, and he said, yes, no lard. What? So I had to ask ANOTHER waiter if the beans were actually VEGETARIAN (no chicken stock, etc.). Then there was the overcharging. My daughter's boyfriend ordered two drinks and they charged for three, including for a margarita we didn't even order. We didn't figure this out until after we left the restaurant and the meal was paid for. They also brought out a birthday dessert and charged us for it. It was not the dessert we would have chosen, and it didn’t get eaten. If we were going to be charged, maybe give us a choice of what we wanted, and ask us if we want it? But the cream on top was the girl who goes around taking pictures of people and then brings them to the table and charges an enormous amount of $$ for washed out, terrible pictures. My 86-year old mother felt put on the spot and purchased them - but the whole experience left a very bad taste in our mouths. A lot of this could have been forgiven if the food was good, but the food itself was terrible! How do these people stay in business? The cilantro rice wasn't cooked all the way (it was crunchy) and the mushroom tamales were greasy and tasteless. I ended up eating chips and salsa at a dinner we paid over $500 for. Seriously, RUN from this place. There are so many good Mexican restaurants in Houston. Spend your money elsewhere.