El Tiempo Cantina - Richmond

The original location of El Tiempo in Upper Kirby is a great reminder to fear your successors. Started by the son of Mama Ninfa (of Ninfa’s on Navigation), El Tiempo has been a Tex-Mex institution for 25 years. And the Houstonian debate about which spot is better has raged on for about the same amount of time. While these two family-run restaurants are strikingly similar (family relics line the walls, high archways, and wooden tables ready for the hottest of enchilada plates), at El Tiempo there’s all the fun and food of Ninfa’s but you can hear your own thoughts, even when it’s busy. And only El Tiempo serves smoking hot carnitas served over a bed of coals. Let them sizzle while the table knocks back pitcher-after-pitcher of house margaritas and bowls of queso.