I promised myself I would never eat there after reading Sylvia's condescending response to a complaint. However, we were in the neighborhood of the Woodway location and decided to give it a try. It was a Monday night. Nicely decorated, seated immediately. Our waiter was incredible and he recieved an extra size tip. Enjoyed the salsa, very "fresh made" tasting. Husband had "The Lubbock", beef enchiladas and said it was the best Mexican food he has had in a long time. I had the Chili Relleno (cheese). It was the best Relleno I have had this side of the New Mexico state line in a very long time. Next time we are entertaining clients on that side of town, will definitely go again.

Great Food and Great Service!

I do not consider myself a "foodie" but I would like to think I know good food when I taste it (and I'm a picky eater). I have visited the Westhiemer location many many times and the Voss/Woodway location twice. We almost always start with their creamy chili con queso and order pickled jalepenos on the side to mix with it (they have never charged me for those, so they must be complimentary). Sometimes we order the queso flameodo, which comes out flaming... Literally! I am usually full after appetizers but I can't leave there without ordering one of my favs.... cheese enchiladas with chily gravy, chicken enchilada verdes, or the chile relleno mexicano - goat cheese, Yum! Plus, we always take a chocolate tres leches or flan to go. The menu does not lie when it says it's the best flan you have ever tasted! We have never had a problem with service at either location but I do prefer the Westheimer location. The prices are cheaper and it seems a little more laid back...

Reading these complaints, I can't square up any of the complaints with any experience I have ever had at Sylvia's. I have eaten there (Westheimer) maybe 100 times, lunch, dinner, odd (slow) hours, rush hours and have never observed anything like bad service, rude staff or bad food. Makes me wonder who these complainers are and if they have an agenda??

I ate here about 3 months ago because I kept hearing about how good the enchiladas are. Well I must be missing something. I don't get it. I didn't like the enchiladas AT ALL. Not one bit. I can't even describe how unpalatable they were. Ick. Never again.

This place is horrible these people must be high

Sylvia’s quality food and service must be getting under her competition’s skin.

I find the complaints here very suspicious as we’ve been regulars at her restaurant for ten years and always find both the food and service to be excellent.

If your expectation is Los Tios, La Finca, La Hacienda, Lopez, etc. style food then you will be disappointed. Her recipes are South Texas style and therefore a refreshing change that’s created and delivered with consistent excellence.

Excellent food
Horrible employees

I stopped in the Woodway location of St. Paddy's day and had a bartender from h@ll. I told her I had lost my appetite and went somewhere else. I wanted to tell her to anger management and bias therapy.

We ate at Sylvia's a while back. We went during happy hour so the service was very, very slow as the waiter was more concerned with the happy hour people than people having dinner. I agree with the above poster that the servers had an "attitude". Terrible service i.e. waited forever for our food and check, bland food, rude employees. Never again. Sylvia needs to stop chatting with everyone and concentrate on getting better employees to make better food. We much prefer Pappasito's,Guadalajara, Las Palmas, La Finca, Chapultepec....

My wife and I regularly have lunch at Sylvia's Westheimer location and the Woodway location for an occasional dinner. The food and service at both location has always been excellent. Sylvia's touch is very evident with a great atmosphere with food to match.

When our international clients are in town they always asked us: "When are you going to take us to that great Mexican restaurant. We say "Silvia's?" They say "SILVIA'S!!"

There are several sometimes off-menu items that we enjoy. One is the Sampler Appetizer Platter. My wife also enjoys the Menudo Soup one a cold winter day. This is definitely an acquired taste.

One note is that Silvia again saw the light and is serving Brunch on Sundays. Thanks Silvia!!

Enjoy both Westheimer and Woodway locations. The food is excellent, with the best Carne Asada I have had anywhere in Texas being at Sylvia's--in fact just last night (Westheimer). The rita's are tasty and strong (just right to my taste), the salsa is fantastic, and the enchilada's are amazing. A+ quality food consistently prepared, in a family-run atmosphere. If you want what I consider the best "mexican" in Houston, give it a try. I will be there tonight, again, enjoying the vibes, the rita's and the great food. Happy Spring!

The Westheimer & Dairy Ashford location is great. Service is great also. I'm rather surprised at the above reviews and maybe its the Woodway and Voss location that's bad.

WESTI. LOCATION FIXING TO CLOSE , AND THE FOOD SUX THERE.

WESTI. LOCATION FIXING TO CLOSE , AND THE FOOD SUX THERE.

This was the worse place I have ever eaten. The service was horrible the food had no flavor. We tried to make it better by having a few margaritas and it still didn't help. My mom ordered chicken tacos of some sort with a surprise. There was a chicken bone over an inch long in it. Can you imagine what could have happened? While I am glad the chicken is clearly fresh and pulled off the bone there, wouldn't a little quality control help? She told the manager ( looking all wanna be in his chef coat, ) and he said " That happens." REALLY??? Sylvia was there talking to regulars.....LAME
WOODWAY AND VOSS

Sylvia's TexMex food is OK, but the prices are way too high!!

i poop better mexican food than this chump shack dishes out. sylvia's sucks el dongo de chuppacabra! stay far, far away!!!! You'd do mucho better hitting a dump like taqueria cancun or fajita flats. you've been warned!

This place has mind-blowingly amazing food. Get the Lubbock enchiladas and the mesquite-roasted cabrito shoulder, and I will be your new best friend in the whole wide world.

I had the South of the Border Enchilada Combo. This combo had four authentic taste enchiladas from different areas of Mexico. The different combinations of enchiladas was really good and spanned a good deal of Mexico. The rice was really flavorful and moist, unlike a lot of other Mexican food places. I normally don’t eat the rice, and I cleaned up the entire plate of this stuff. I decided on charros beans because those are usually my favorite since I don’t like refried very much. The beans were very flavorful and tasted like they had been cooked for hours and had a very homemade taste to them. I tasted Jenny’s refried beans, and I have to say, I actually liked them better than my charros beans. I rarely eat refried beans, so the fact that I liked these was pretty amazing. I would order refried instead of charros next time around. My order came with picamole, which is a chunky version of guacamole. This actually tasted better than guacamole. I would love to eat a whole bowl of this one day.

1. Chicken with salsa verde. Wow this was amazingly good. The sauce was tart and bitter and tasted of tomatillos, but didn’t have an overwhelming tomatillo flavor to it. The chicken was stewed in the traditional Mexican way and was very moist and tender. The crema was the perfect touch to the tartness of the salsa. These enchiladas tasted just like the ones I had in Mexico City when we went they were that good.
2. Queso fresco cheese salsa with spicy chili salsa. This was filled with a cheese that was creamy and smooth. The sauce was very spicy, but flavorful. Reminded me of normal enchilada sauce, but much spicier. It was topped with cotija cheese crumbles, fresh lettuce and red onions. This was a good enchilada, but not exactly my taste in enchiladas. This was much better than any other cheese enchilada I have had anywhere else though, so that accounts for a lot since that is how I judge how good a restaurant is.
3. Pork carnitas enchiladas with green sauce. Wow these were good. The pork was flavorful and very moist. The sauce was like a creamy tomatillo salsa. The combination of flavors was fresh and not one I have had before, so it was very good for me. I enjoyed these very much and would probably order these as a full order when I go back.
4. Chicken mole. I had this exact same enchilada last week at a different restaurant, and I do believe this will be the enchilada I base all other Mexican restaurants on. The mole last week was amazing, but this was even better. This one had the perfect combination of savory, sweet and spicy. I made sure I had all of the sauce off of my plate too I liked it that much. The chicken was very good, but I was so enraptured in the mole, that I honestly didn’t pay that much attention to it. I will be ordering these again for sure. I find it amazing how different the exact same mole is from restaurant to restaurant.

We never wanted for anything while we were here, which I find absolutely amazing. The chips were fresh, hot and thick. The salsa they serve with the chips was perfection. It was constantly refilled throughout our meal. I found this touch to be extra special. Even Sylvia came and said hello to us, which was great. We had a very nice conversation with her, and it is little things like that that will get me to visit again and again. I like the concern she had with internet reviews and how word of mouth is everything. And in all honesty, it is everything. One bad review will keep a lot of people away from that restaurant. People have to remember that food is subjective and just because one person didn’t enoy what they had, doesn’t make a bad restaurant. I always try to keep that in mind when I go to places people have reviewed badly, as everyone should.

Have always enjoyed the Woodway location; very friendly service and usually see Sylvia. ... Not so on Westheimer. In April 2010 there we got burned fajitas; they were like charcoal briquettes. Manager said, "That's the way we do them here" and continued loud personal conversation with loud regular at the next table. Server was nice but clueless.

Don't waste you time or your money. IF you like TexMex, you will be sorely disappointed. If you like bland tasteless food served with an "attitude" you will like Sylvia's. Fourteen bucks for two enchiladas in Houston is robbery, particularly of Sylvia's quality. I've tried Sylvia's four times, and it never improved. Go somewhere that appreciates your business and the servers treat you like a customer.