Margarita Texas

Ritas on The River - San Antonio Riverwalk

Address: 245 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Don Juan and The Platinum on the rocks

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Don Juan - Don Julio Blanco; The Platinum - Three G's Anejo

Review: Rita's on the River has an extensive margarita menu that suits anyone's tastes. Customers are encouraged to choose a specific blanco, reposado or anjeo tequila for their beverage. Our Platinum margarita with Three G's anjeo was the superior of the two drinks. The agave flavor from the tequila was at the forefront while the sweetness was almost hidden. The Don Juan had more of a muddled tequila flavor accentuating the balanced sweet and sour.

The Original Mexican Restaurant and Bar - San Antonio Riverwalk

Address: 528 River Walk, San Antonio, Texas 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: The original top shelf margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Azul Reposado, Gran Gala and sweet & sour mix

Review: Our next margarita sampling brought us to The Original Mexican Restaurant and Bar situated in one of the busiest sections of the Riverwalk. As the drink was placed on the table, we noticed that the drink appeared to have a thicker consistency. The sweet and sour mix used to create this margarita provided this quality and exhibited more sweetness than sour. While the original top shelf was enjoyable, the borderline syrupy mouthfeel left it hard to order another.

Acenar - San Antonio Riverwalk

Address: 146 E. Houston St., San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: On the rocks

Ingredients Listed on Menu: El Jimador Reposado, Grand Marnier, simple syrup and lime juice

Review: Positioned in a less trafficked portion of the San Antonio Riverwalk is Acenar, one our latest margarita samplings in the area. At the time we arrived, the restaurant was closing so we made our way to the bar to order a drink. Two unmarked bottles sat in the area in front of us, one which appeared to be simple syrup and the other lime juice. Our bartender quickly mixed the drink including the contents of the bottles and served. Upon tasting, all of the ingredients came across as extremely fresh and complimented each other in this perfectly mixed margarita.. As of this writing, Acenar serves up the best margarita we have tasted on the Riverwalk.

Mamacitas Mexican Restaurant - Northwest Houston

Address: 15335 North Freeway Houston, TX 77090 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Mamarita, The Ultimate "Almarita" and Horni Rita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Mamarita - 1800 Reposado, Grand Marnier, Cointreau and Sweet & Sour; The Ultimate "Almarita" - Cointreau, Jose Cuervo Gold and fresh lime juice; and Horni Rita - Sauza Hornitos, Cointreau, sour mix and a splash of sprite

Review: During this visit to Mamacita's, we brought along a few friends as taste testers and were able to sample three margarita variations from the handful listed on the menu.� Two of the drinks used sweet and sour mix, while the third consisted of fresh lime juice.� We found their choice of mix slightly sweeter and possessing much less lime sourness.� It was hard to understand why they would use fresh lime juice in a margarita with a mixto tequila (Jose Cuervo) and not accompanying their higher end spirits.� All three margaritas had high drinkability and even though two were sweeter, another round could be tolerated.

Ruby Tequilas - Northwest Houston

Address: 7748 FM 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX 77090 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Tres Amigorita and House Margraita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Tres Amigorita - Sauza Tres Generaciones Anejo and Patron Citronage; and House Margraita - none

Review: Ruby Tequila's offers patrons a generous selection of margaritas including one that features an entire bottle of Dos Equis inside of the glass. While that version wasn't sampled during this tasting, we did have the opportunity to try two others off their menu. It was not a surprise that the Tres Amigorita ended up the better of the two drinks with it's higher end ingredients. The alcohol in this margarita was the dominant flavor backed by a subtle sweetness. Our house margarita featured the opposite, sweet upfront mostly concealing the tequila and other components.

Don Julios Mexican Restaurant and Cantina - Cypress

Address: 25250 Northwest Fwy, Cypress, Texas 77429 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: 24K Margarita on the rocks, Don Julio Platinum frozen

Ingredients Listed on Menu: 24K Margarita - Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia anjeo tequila, fresh lime juice, Grand Marnier; Don Julio Platinum - Don Julio Blanco tequila, fresh lime juice and Grand Marnier

Review: Don Julio's is brand new to the Cypress area, also serving up margaritas at locations in Sea Brook and Dickinson. We started the evening with the frozen Don Julio Platinum which came with the tequila poured directly over the top. After stirring in the main ingredient, the lime flavor became pronounced and there was no alcohol burn. Next came the "24K Margarita", registering in at 19$ for a 10oz drink. Typically, such an expensive tequila is better enjoyed all alone but we couldn't resist ordering this off the menu. The 24K was golden in color and had a slight orange presence. Every sip was remarkably enjoyable and although we committed a tequila "no-no" it was definitely a flavorful experience.

Fiesta en Guadalajara - Northeast Houston

Address: 3522 Irvington Blvd, Houston, TX 77009 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: 1800 on the rocks

Ingredients Listed on Menu: none

Review: Fiesta En Guadalajara is operated by the same group that owns El Palenque so we had high expectations entering this establishment. The first few sips of our drink had a non-alcoholic juice taste which eventually transformed into a respectable margarita, leading us to believe that the drink was not mixed properly. After swirling the straw around in the glass a few times, we were able to get a better feel for this low-sweet mostly lime pronounced margarita. In the end, after the jumbo margarita was consumed, the initial impression and slight unbalance prevented it from rating higher.

Tila's Restaurante - Southwest Houston

Address: 1111 South Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77019 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Riazul Blanco and house margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Riazul Blanco and Grand Marnier

Review: You will find no margarita menu at Tila's Restaurante on Shepherd, just an extensive list of tequilas ready to be transformed into a margarita. After a lengthy process of selecting a tequila off their menu, we decided on Riazul Blanco, a 100% de agave tequila and some Grand Marnier to compliment. The drink served was on the small side but the flavor was huge on our palates with the tequila and lime dominating over any sweetness . Tila's house margarita is similar in taste but you will get better results picking out a smooth Blanco right off the menu.

Victors Casa Garcia Mexican Restaurant - Katy

Address: 1939 N. Fry Rd, Katy, TX 77449 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Victor's Top Shelf Margarita and Grand Gold Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Victor's Top Shelf Margarita - Corralejo Anjeo tequila and Cointreau; Grand Gold Margarita - 1800 tequila and Grand Marnier

Review: Victor's drink menu is fine tuned for margarita enthusiasts, all feature 100% de agave tequila and quality components. For testing purposes, jumbo sized margaritas were ordered of both variations to make sure we had an adequate sampling size. The top shelf was phenomenally smooth with the agave flavor from the tequila featured above all ingredients. The Grand Gold margarita was sweeter than the top shelf which worked well to balance the rich flavors found in a reposado. Victor's Casa Garcia absolutely knows what they are doing when creating and mixing their margaritas. When we are in the area, this will be an unquestionable stopping point for quality refreshments.

Gringo's Mexican Kitchen

Address: 12348 Gulf Fwy, Houston TX 77034 (map)
                6925 Cypresswood Dr, Spring TX 77379 (map)
                24108 SW Freeway, Rosenberg TX 77471 (map)
                12330 SW Fwy, Stafford TX 77477 (map)
                2601 Underwood, Rd La Porte TX 77571 (map)
                2202 E Broadway St, Pearland TX 77581 (map)
                3005 Kirby Dr, Pearland TX 77584 (map)
                10200 Emmett F Lowry Expy, Texas City TX 77591 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Silver Star on the rocks, Texas Tivo Margarita on the rocks and Sangria Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Silver Star - Patron silver tequila and Patron citronge, Texas Tivo Margarita - Sauza Conmemorativo Anjeo tequila and Gran Gala

Review: Visitor's to our website can be credited with introducing us to the margaritas at Gringo's Mexican Kitchen. Various drinks from this location were recommended so we thought we would start off with the restaurant specials. Our waiter described the Silver Star margarita as exceptionally smooth, which was confirmed by its rapid (but responsible) flow rate through the straw. The taste of tequila and fresh lime were present in every mouth watering sip. We ordered a second to validate the bartenders consistency. Customers that order the Texas Tivo margarita, will not only get a excellently presented flavorsome beverage, the shot glass is included to take home. Following suit, Gringo's sangria margarita was as equally balanced as the rest. This will surely not be our last visit to this restaurant as more variations remain to be conquered.

Rio Rio Cantina - San Antonio Riverwalk

Address: 421 E Commerce St, San Antonio, TX 78205 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Rio Rio Margarita and Rio Don Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Rio Rio Margarita - Gran Gala and gold tequila with orange and lime juices; Rio Don Margarita - Don Julio Silver tequila and Gran Gala

Review:� At the counsel of our bartender at Rio Rio Cantina we ordered the Rio Rio margarita and its premium tequila cousin the Rio Don.� Our first impression was the upfront orange flavor and immediately knew OJ was a key ingredient.�� Although, behind all of that citrus hid a fine rita looking to escape.�� We would like to note that we are not the biggest orange juice in margarita fans so its difficult to have an overall opinion about all of their offerings.� Upon further review of their menu, most of their selections do not include orange juice so a trip back to this location is required.

Scenic Loop Cafe - San Antonio

Address: 25615 Boerne Stage Rd, San Antonio, TX 78255 (map)

Our Rating:

Type of Margarita Tasted: Top Shelf Margarita and Sangria Margarita

Ingredients Listed on Menu: Top Shelf Margarita - Antigua Cruz Anejo and Grand Marnier

Review:� Dining out on the patio at Scenic Loop Cafe provided the perfect environment for partaking in some serious margarita research.� The ingredients for our top shelf margarita were hand picked from the menu listing of various tequilas and orange liqueurs.� This was a notably flavorful margarita but the saccharine taste slightly outweighed the agave.� A bump in tequila or recalculation of sugar or mix could potentially make this a special drink.� On the other hand, the finely balanced sangria margarita could possibly be one of the best we've tasted.