Best Mexican Restaurants in Katy: Tex-Mex, Tacos and Margaritas

Katy runs on Tex-Mex. Sunday lunch after church, a team dinner after a Katy ISD game, a birthday with a sizzling platter and a frozen margarita: around here, the fajita platter is a love language, and the frontage road is the menu. The trick is knowing which frontage road.

Here's one we love: on a single short stretch of Mason Road south of I-10, you can buy warm tortillas and chicharrones made in-house, eat weekend breakfast churros with hot cocoa, and finish with a margarita, all at addresses between 803 and 870. Call it the Mason Road Mexican mile. We built a route around it below.

This is our shortlist of Mexican restaurants in Katy: Tex-Mex institutions, taquerias, a tortilleria and the places to order a margarita. It's organized by part of town so you can plan around where you already are.

The quick list

• For the big family fajita night: Lupe Tortilla or Gringo's, both on the Grand Parkway.
• For a long-running Katy institution: Los Cucos, which has been serving Mexican food since 1991.
• For margaritas first, dinner second: Alicia's Mexican Grille or Ray's.
• For late-night tacos: Tacos Adrian's on Westgreen, open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
• For weekend Mexican breakfast: Las Mañanitas on Mason Road.
• For tortillas to take home: Tortilleria La Real.
• For kids who need to burn off energy: Jimmy Changas, with its Jimmy's Jungle playground.

How we chose (and where Katy starts)

Katy means different things to different people. The City of Katy is small, but the Katy most people mean stretches across Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties. For this guide we counted any restaurant with a Katy, TX mailing address on its own official website, which covers the city plus the Katy-addressed suburbs along I-10, Mason Road, Westgreen Boulevard and the Grand Parkway. We left out places with Houston, Fulshear, Brookshire or Cypress addresses, even when they're a short drive away.

Every pick was confirmed open on its official website as of October 2026. We looked for places that do something specific well, whether that's a fajita platter, a breakfast plate or a stack of fresh tortillas, and we favored local and regional restaurants over national chains. Hours change, so treat the times below as typical and check each site before you go.

One honest note: Katy's Mexican scene leans heavily Tex-Mex. If you're after regional cooking from Oaxaca or the Yucatán, our guide to the best Mexican restaurants in Houston is worth the drive into town.

Mason Road

Las Mañanitas

803 S Mason Rd · Tex-Mex and Mexican · family-owned since 2004

Las Mañanitas is a family-owned restaurant that has been serving Tex-Mex favorites and Mexican dishes since 2004. Here's a detail locals love: all three of its restaurants, in Katy, Cypress and Richmond, are on Mason Road. One road, three towns.

Come on a weekend morning. The site lists Mexican breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with breakfast tacos, a breakfast burrito, omelets and breakfast churros with hot cocoa. Happy hour typically runs all day Monday and Tuesday and 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, per the restaurant, and there's a margaritas-to-go menu.

Order: breakfast tacos, then the churros with hot cocoa for the table.

Best for: a slow Saturday breakfast with the whole family.

Tortilleria La Real

811 Mason Rd · tortilleria · open from 8 a.m. on weekends

This isn't a sit-down restaurant, and that's the point. La Real is a neighborhood tortilleria, the eighth in a small Houston-area group, and it makes its chips and chicharrones in its own kitchens seven days a week. It typically opens at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, which makes it the first stop on any weekend Tex-Mex plan.

Order: a stack of warm tortillas, a bag of totopos and chicharrones for the drive home.

Insider tip: pick up tortillas here before a backyard fajita night. Everyone will ask where you got them.

Ray's Mexican Restaurant

870 S Mason Rd · Mexican and Tex-Mex · open daily

Ray's is a straightforward, neighborhood Mexican restaurant with a confident claim on its own website: the best margaritas in Katy. We'll let you be the judge. The kitchen talks up its authentic Mexican seasonings, and the house signature is camarones adobados, shrimp in a chile adobo, alongside sizzling fajitas. It's typically open from 11 a.m. daily, until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Order: camarones adobados and a house margarita.

Best for: a weeknight dinner that doesn't need a reservation.

Westgreen and east Katy

Tacos Adrian's

1603 N Westgreen Blvd and 1997 Katy Mills Blvd · Mexican street food · late on weekends

Tacos Adrian's sells Mexican street food, not Tex-Mex, with tacos, aguas frescas and Mexican cocktails. It has two Katy locations, and they keep very different hours. The Westgreen taqueria typically stays open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, which makes it one of the few places in Katy for a proper late-night taco. The Katy Mills location typically closes at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Order: street tacos and an agua fresca.

Best for: a late bite after a night out, or a quick lunch near Katy Mills.

Jimmy Changas

300 Westgreen Blvd · Tex-Mex · playground

Jimmy Changas is a sister restaurant of Gringo's Mexican Kitchen, built around a simple promise: "Fresh. Mex. Fun." The Katy location has the spacious Jimmy's Jungle playground for kids, so the adults can finish their enchiladas while the kids run laps. It's typically open from 11 a.m., until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Order: a Tex-Mex combination plate, so everyone gets a bit of everything.

Best for: families with kids under ten.

Along I-10 and Katy Mills

Los Cucos Mexican Cafe

5831 Highway Blvd and 5305 Bell Patna Dr (Katy Mills) · Mexican and Tex-Mex · since 1991

Los Cucos has been serving Mexican food since 1991 and now has restaurants across Texas and in Utah, with two in Katy. The menu is broad, from enchiladas and fajitas to ceviches and seafood, and there's a full bar. The Highway Boulevard restaurant is typically open until 11 p.m. every day, which is handy when you're coming home late off I-10.

Order: a ceviche to start, then a mixed plate if you can't decide.

Best for: a dependable, something-for-the-whole-table Tex-Mex dinner.

Alicia's Mexican Grille

25725 Katy Fwy · Mexican and Tex-Mex · margaritas

Alicia's is the Herrera family's restaurant, part of a small Houston-area group, and it says plainly that margaritas are kind of its thing: classic, frozen or something more unusual. The menu goes deeper than most Katy Tex-Mex spots, with a shrimp-and-octopus campechana, red snapper ceviche, caldo de pollo, and tenderloin tips simmered with charred poblanos in a smoky roasted tomato chile sauce.

Order: the campechana, then fajitas for the table.

Insider tip: check the weekly specials page before you go. Alicia's runs day-by-day specials early in the week plus a happy hour.

Grand Parkway and Cinco Ranch

Lupe Tortilla

703 W Grand Pkwy S · Tex-Mex · fajitas

Lupe Tortilla's whole menu orbits its sizzling fajitas: lime-pepper marinated, served with hand-pressed flour tortillas, guacamole and pico de gallo. The big platters are built for groups, including one with bacon-wrapped pepper shrimp and another with jalapeño bacon-wrapped quail. Our sleeper pick is the spicy shrimp and rice stew, which the menu calls Tex-Mex gumbo. There's a separate brunch menu too.

Order: beef and chicken fajitas, plus a cup of the Tex-Mex gumbo.

Insider tip: use the waitlist on Lupe's website before you leave the house on a Friday night.

Gringo's Mexican Kitchen

230 W Grand Pkwy S · Tex-Mex · open daily

Gringo's started with one restaurant in Pearland, opened on January 11, 1993 by Russell Ybarra, who the company calls its master enchilada roller. It's now a Houston-area Tex-Mex family, and the Katy restaurant sits on the same Grand Parkway frontage road as Lupe Tortilla, so you can pick your fajita house on arrival. It's typically open from 11 a.m., until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and you can join the waitlist online.

Order: enchiladas, given the founder's job title.

Best for: a reliable family dinner with a big group.

Torchy's Tacos

23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd · tacos · breakfast tacos

Torchy's is the most chain-like pick on this list, and it earns its place with its green chile queso, topped with guacamole, cotija and Diablo sauce, and a menu of creative tacos you won't find at a taqueria. Our pick is the Trailer Park, with fried chicken, green chiles and poblano sauce. Breakfast tacos are served too.

Order: green chile queso and a Trailer Park.

Best for: a quick, casual lunch around Cinco Ranch.

Save this: the Mason Road Mexican mile

A Saturday route you can do in one morning, with no backtracking:

1. 8 a.m., Tortilleria La Real (811 Mason Rd): buy tortillas, totopos and chicharrones while they're fresh.
2. 9 a.m., Las Mañanitas (803 S Mason Rd): weekend breakfast tacos, then churros with hot cocoa.
3. Afternoon, Ray's (870 S Mason Rd): come back at 11 a.m. or later for camarones adobados and a margarita.
4. Late, Tacos Adrian's on Westgreen: if the day runs long, the taqueria is typically open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The margarita checklist, for the crawl-minded: a house marg at Ray's, a frozen at Alicia's, and whatever's seasonal on Alicia's specials board. Please pick a designated driver; Katy is a driving town.

Before you go

• Weekend waits are real. Lupe Tortilla, Gringo's and Jimmy Changas all take online waitlist sign-ups.
• Check hours on the official site. Kitchens often close earlier than the bar.
• Make a day of it. Our things to do in Katy guide pairs well with a long lunch, and our Katy area guide covers the neighborhoods.
• Not in the mood for Mexican? See the best restaurants in Katy, or head east to the Energy Corridor.
• Thinking of moving here? Start with living in Katy, TX.

Want the Houston-wide view? Our best Tex-Mex in Houston guide covers the family empires that started it all.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Mexican restaurants in Katy, TX?

Our shortlist includes Lupe Tortilla and Gringo's on the Grand Parkway, Los Cucos (serving since 1991), Alicia's Mexican Grille, Las Mañanitas and Ray's on Mason Road, Tacos Adrian's for street tacos, and Tortilleria La Real for fresh tortillas.

Where can I get late-night tacos in Katy?

Tacos Adrian's on N Westgreen Blvd is typically open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, per its website. Check the site before you go, as hours can change.

Which Katy Mexican restaurants serve breakfast?

Las Mañanitas on S Mason Road serves Mexican breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., per its website. Torchy's Tacos on Cinco Ranch Blvd serves breakfast tacos, and Lupe Tortilla has a brunch menu.

What is a kid-friendly Mexican restaurant in Katy?

Jimmy Changas at 300 Westgreen Blvd has the Jimmy's Jungle playground. Lupe Tortilla and Gringo's are also popular with families and take online waitlist sign-ups.

Where can I buy fresh tortillas in Katy?

Tortilleria La Real at 811 Mason Rd makes its chips and chicharrones in-house and typically opens at 8 a.m. on weekends, 9 a.m. on weekdays.