For those of you who missed the introduction, we're in the midst of a search for Houston's best margarita. Now before we dive into the first 'rita review, we must say we were overwhelmed by the positive response and the numerous dining options that readers ranted about. We'll do our best to visit as many spots as our livers will let us, but if you'd like to assist in our margarita march through Houston by being a Deputy Drinker, please feel free to use our criteria and scorecard to judge for yourself. You can submit your analysis to us here! Happy drinking!

Public service announcement: As always, please use a designated driver or “cab it.” Stay safe and smart out there, Houston.

The first stop in our search was Las Alamedas, cozily nested at Katy Freeway and Voss Road.

Taste

We opted for three different margaritas, including frozen, on-the-rocks, and a strawberry-flavored icy concoction. By the time we found ourselves consuming our third drink, we came to the realization that each margarita tasted better than the previous one, and we were in the midst of a Las Vegas Corollary. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, allow us to explain. In Sin City, when one spends hours on end gambling, one often works up quite a thirst. Luckily, an assortment of cocktail waitresses traverse the gaming floors to quench said thirst. Upon ordering and consequently receiving one’s first drink order, the beverage is always poorly mixed, through the combination of cheap alcohol and a lack thereof. A sinful combination to say the least. However, upon receiving a generous tip after delivering the first drink, the second cocktail always magically tastes much better. When an equally generous tip is provided for that second drink, every beverage for the rest of the night tastes like a drop of heaven. That, our friends, is the Las Vegas Corollary.

However, there was no reason for us to experience this phenomenon in the middle of a restaurant in Houston where no cash was to be exchanged until the final bill arrived. Thus no logical justification could be provided to explain why our drinks tasted substantially better as the night progressed. Except that perhaps it was all an illusion and we were simply drunk? We probably should have taken that into account when we came up with the idea to analyze beverages. In the future, we’ll likely limit ourselves to only two drinks. We said likely!

Now, to get back on track, the margaritas themselves were quite smooth, but nothing to blog about (wait a minute!). The last few drinks were extremely high in alcoholic content, to the point that our palate was a bit overpowered. For fans of salt, such as ourselves, we found that the bartender placed the a desirable amount around the rim. This tends to be an issue because most margaritas glasses are either caked in sodium chloride, to the point that we’re two sips away from heart disease, or are severely lacking in salt, leaving us to swig half of our drink without the desired condiment. In the case of Las Alamedas, the bartender achieved an acceptable salt-to-margarita ratio.

Taste - Score: 15 of 25 points

Restaurant Ambiance

This establishment does not conform to the stereotypes of Mexican restaurants in Houston. Las Alamedas lacks in a jovial and festive atmosphere. There are neither mariachi bands nor little tabletop Mexican flags in sight. Instead Las Alamedas attracts a quieter crowd in search of fine Mexican dining by offering a serene candlelight dinner in a windowed atrium overlooking lush greenery reminiscent of a Colombian rainforest. If you’re in search of a wacky atmosphere where loud and obnoxious behavior is encouraged, this isn’t the place for you. If you’re looking for a tranquil spot to sip a quality margarita with friends and family, you’ve found a home. We were pleasantly surprised with the restaurant’s setting, seeing as how we were not seeking out a night of madcap hi jinks on a Monday evening.

As for the waiter’s recommendation, we were told to try the house margarita on the rocks. That was our first drink, which proved to be poor in taste, as previously discussed. Rather than complain to the waiter and skew our analysis, we instead switched to a frozen drink, which was remarkably superior. We then decided to try a frozen strawberry margarita to be meticulous in our investigation. Our order was received with a look of ghastly shock from the waiter, who seemed to think we had just committed a cardinal sin.

Restaurant Ambiance - Score: 14 of 15 points

Miscellaneous

Remember how we stated that we may have been a bit tipsy by night’s end? When you couple that detail with the fact that we lost our receipt, you’ll understand why we’re telling you that we have absolutely no recollection about the price of the drinks. As was stated above, we’re going to have to work out some kinks in this system, one of which being that we cannot get inebriated in future outings. Though it’ll make our taste tests less fulfilling, we hope it will provide better insight to you, our readers. We’re willing to take one for the team so that you get the accurate breakdown that you deserve. As for hangovers, we're proud to report that there were none to speak of this morning, and we awoke just as perkily as any other typical morning (which is to say not at all). For us, a lack of hangover often means that the bartender was pouring the good stuff all night long!

Miscellaneous - Score: 10 of 15 points

Las Alamedas earned a final score of 39 out of a possible 55 points.

Las Alamedas
8615 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX 77024

The next stop on our journey is Pico's Mex Mex. Stay tuned!

Houston's Best Margarita Archive
Houston's Best Margarita - Introduction
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #1 - Las Alamedas (39 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #2 - Pico's Mex Mex (38 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #3 – Armando’s (34 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #4 – Canyon Cafe (21 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #5 – El Patio (41 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #6 – El Pueblito Place (37 of 55 points)
Houston's Best Margarita - Installment #7 – Kobain (22 out of 55 points)