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La Reyna Mexican Restaurant

4109 S. Capital of Texas Hwy.
Austin, TX
(512) 443-1911

Note: This review was written for the former location at 1816 S. 1st St. La Reyna has now moved, and has new ownership.


La Reyna is one of those Austin Tex-Mex institutions that has been around so long that you may tend to forget about it, but it would not be advisable to do so. Primarily a neighborhood restaurant, the quality of the food is high enough to attract people from other parts of the city for an "authentic" experience in which the food was never adulterated for tourists or "angolsized" to try to attract customers.

When I lived in Austin a number of years ago I tried just about every Mexican restaurant I could find, particularly the ones on the south side of the city that did not require me to drive very far. La Reyna stood out for its Carne Guisada, a flavorful treat that I always thought competed favorably with the much vaunted Texas barbecue. I am sure La Reyna has other good dishes, but this is the one that was most memorable.

Very popular for its breakfasts, this is a good way to sample the excellent Flour Tortillas. These are the oversized light and fluffy ones that are typical of the tortillas my friends made in their homes. Of course the tortillas are available all the time, but they go well with the various breakfast dishes that are served.

One popular breakfast dish is the Huevos Rancheros cooked Tex-Mex style-- not extremely spicy and somewhat greasy, but about as typical an example as you will find in Austin.

Having been forced to endure various hotel breakfasts, going to La Reyna is a treat of which I will avail myself at every opportunity possible.

RESTAURANT DETAILS

RATING: 20

Cuisine: Mexican Tex-Mex
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Special Features: Serves Breakfast

Chile Index:

Most Recent Visit
Jul. 10, 2003

Number of Visits: 10+

Best Item
Carne Guisada, Flour Tortillas

Special Ratings
Carne Guisada:
Huevos Rancheros:
Flour Tortillas:



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