The first Houston-area location of Mi Cocina, located at 4410 Westheimer in River Oaks, has introduced a new prix fixe menu starting at $35. It’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of vibrant Tex-Mex cuisine and want to try a little bit of everything! It incorporates traditional Tex-Mex staples with new Gulf Coast-influenced dishes exclusive to the Houston outpost, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary on November 29. Houston Food Finder was invited to taste through the three-course menu, and the offerings from this small chain, with several Dallas area locations and one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, far exceeded expectations.

This was my first visit to Mi Cocina, and I had not heard much about it from others, so “going in blind” provided an exciting opportunity for a review. I decided to invite Jonathan Elkins, taco fanatic and proprietor of White Tile Café — a specialty coffee bar inside of the lauded Tío Trompo Taqueria Mexicana, which he also helps manage, as my guest.

The menu is available for dine-in only and all items are also sold à la carte. It’s all paired with the Mambo #5, a frozen sangria-swirl margarita with a float of frozen Midori Japanese melon liqueur.

The appetizer section has four offerings: a thick, texturally dreamy queso blanco con chorizo topped with a heap of crispy fried onions and pico de gallo, freshly-made guacamole “Mexicano”, a bowl of comforting sopa de tortilla con pollo and a colorful Texas redfish aguachile with thinly-sliced red onion, brunoised yellow bell pepper and tomato, toasted sesame seeds, aji amarillo aguachile and drops of chili oil. All of the starters were excellent, and the portions were larger than you’d expect to see on a prix-fixe menu. Even the complimentary chips and salsa had us talking. At first, we were dubious of the bright red picante sauce-like hue of the salsa, but it was tangy and bright with a slow-growing heat that nearly had us spoiling our appetites. 

Six different entrées are available with choices of beef, seafood and chicken. The star of the show was the Ribeye Tampiqueña. It’s a hearty portion of Certified Angus steak cooked medium-rare and served with a cup of sopa de frijol con cilantro, pico de gallo, guacamole and a cheese enchilada smothered in an authentic, deeply-flavored Texas chili con carne gravy that had me grinning from ear to ear. The tenderloin medallones were a tad overdone, but still enjoyable over the smoky and slightly fruity poblano-guajillo sauce with chili crisp green beans, papas bravas and a fiery chile toreado. 

The Pollo Pica Pica was tasty, though the chicken was a little dry, and it also seemed like the healthiest option. The grilled chicken breast was drizzled with the pica pica sauce, which is made of red Mexican chilies and spices. tPickled onion, queso fresco and cilantro with mixed sautéed vegetables and arroz verde came alongside.

The tacos de redfish had a split verdict. It includes two Texas redfish tacos topped with coleslaw, saffron aioli, queso fresco, cilantro and pico de gallo with arroz verde on the side. It would have been a favorite, but a few bites of the fish weren’t trimmed of the line of fat, which made the flavor just a tad too fishy for our liking. The other two seafood dishes were fantastic. We had better luck with the Redfish y Camarones with a Texas redfish filet topped with shrimp covered in a poblano-guajillo sauce with chili crisp green beans and papas bravas on the side. The salmon adobo featured a beautifully seared portion cut straight across the filet and served over aji amarillo aguachile with pico de gallo, fresh pineapple and chili crisp green beans on the side. It was almost too pretty to eat. 

I could have made a meal out of the snappy chili crisp green beans cooked in roasted garlic chili oil and papas bravas tossed in adobo sauce with cumin-lime sour cream. 

There are three choices for dessert including flan, tres leches or chocolate tres leches.

The flan was far and above our favorite, with a luscious, silky texture. I grew up eating flan, and this one was perfectly executed. Cake lovers will be pleased with either of the oversized slices of tres leches, though neither were quite as moist as a traditional tres leches.

One might expect a River Oaks Tex-Mex joint to automatically charge exorbitant prices, but the prix fixe menu at Mi Cocina provides great bang for the buck, and the regular menus are also reasonably priced and offer large portions (especially when compared with other longstanding Houston Tex-Mex establishments). Mi Cocina also offers 12 options under $12 during lunch and happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. which includes $3 off margaritas and wines by the glass as well as select $8 appetizers.  

With over three decades in business, the brand has had time to dial things in and that showed in the memorable meal. The service was eager and amiable, thanks to restaurant director Armando Villalobos and our server, Jennifer. Jonathan ended up bringing leftovers to the kitchen staff at Tío Trompo, and the dishes were met with unanimous praise.

Every Tex-Mex restaurant has its own spin, but the bottom line is that it should be a fun, approachable dining experience whether for a casual lunch with friends or a special occasion with the family. Mi Cocina delivers on all counts. The salsa is hot, the margaritas are cold and we both left fat and sleek with a little bit of a buzz. In the end, what more could you ask?

Mi Cocina is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Valet parking is available for $9.

Mario-Sebastian Berry

Mario-Sebastian Berry is a wine and spirits vendor who has been in the hospitality industry since 2002. Currently, he represents Blanco, Texas-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. He holds numerous wine, beer and spirits certifications including Certified Sommelier. Somehow, he also finds time to be Houston Food Finder’s associate editor and social media manager.