Tia Maria's Ranks as the No. 1 Most Fairly Priced Restaurant in the United States

One of the many benefits of living in the Bayou City, as most Houstonians will tell you, is the city's immense cornucopia of diverse restaurants throughout the city.

One of the many great things about living in the Bayou City, as most Houstonians will tell you, is the city’s immense cornucopia of diverse restaurants throughout the city. Thanks to Houston's large ethnic population, there's a wonderful variety of cuisines from all over the world, and the city's economy affords many restaurateurs the ability to offer fair-priced menu options. Tia Maria's, a favorite among Oak Forest and Heights area residents, was recently highlighted in a national survey for having the fairest prices in town.

One good resource many diners turn to in making their dining choice are reviews on Google or Yelp. By the same token, these platforms are a way for restaurants to view their patrons' experience, as diners will often turn to these internet platforms to write reviews. A company called Preply, a language learning platform, conducted an analysis of the language used in 57,245 reviews, spanning over 10,000 restaurants in 50 U.S. cities, to identify the most fairly priced restaurants in the United States.

(Photo courtesy of Tia Maria's)

As it turns out, Houston ranks 8th in the country where diners find the restaurants and food establishments to be the most worth their value and fairly priced. And number one on the list? A Houston favorite for over 40 years, Tia Maria's! They not only rank numero uno in H-Town, they grabbed the number 74 spot in the nation for a fair-priced menu.

A family operated business, Tia Maria's has been serving quality Tex-Mex food for over 40 years in the same location, at 4618 Dacoma Street, just barely on the westside of U.S. 290 at I-610. Started by his Dad, Pedro Lopez, son Peter assists in managing the business with his mother and his sister, Cindy Lopez.

“We’ve been around for 40 plus years and we’ve always focused on managing quality and affordable food for our customers, especially during this time of inflation.”

Peter's Dad Pedro started at the restaurant as a dishwasher 40 years ago when the business was not doing so well. The original owner approached Pedro about buying the business, so he took a gamble, bought the restaurant, and turned it into a legacy for the Oak Forest area.

At one point during Tia Maria's 40-year history, Pedro purchased the entire retail shopping center that houses the restaurant. Having ownership in the real estate helped to control operating expenses allowing workable margins on their food options. Eventually Pedro would sell the retail shopping center to a new owner, signing a lease allowing them to stay in their location. Taking advantage of customer volume and square footage of the restaurant, Tia Maria's has an occupancy of up to 250 people with a party room that can host up to 80 customers.

“We can operate at a higher volume, allowing us to offer more affordable pricing to our customers.”

At lunch time, Tia Maria's is sufficiently packed with dedicated customers from many of the surrounding businesses in the area.

“We know people only have 30 or 45 minutes for lunch during the week, so we pride ourselves on serving good food fast so our customers can get back to work on time.”

(Photo courtesy of Tia Maria's)

In the evenings, Tia Maria's typically can get large groups, families, or companies requesting after-work reservations for 20 people or more. With plenty of tables, the restaurant has no problem accommodating these same-day request.

When asked what dish was a favorite amongst patrons, Peter said: “Enchilada Sweet Sauce is a favorite of mine; it’s green enchiladas with white cheese and tomatillo sauce served with rice and beans. But, we have options that offer a little bit of everything so there’s a lot of items on our menu that people like to order.”

WHAT: Tia Maria's

WHERE: 4618 Dacoma Street Houston, 77092

INFO: