El Tiempo Cantina serves quality Tex Mex cuisine and the best margaritas in Houston! We welcome each of our guests as part of the family, providing the same impeccable customer service Mama Ninfa instilled years ago.

In 1969, Thomas Laurenzo passed away, leaving behind a widowed mother of five children- Ninfa. Ninfa struggled against shrinking profits to keep the company going. As a family, they decided to close shop. This brought to life the dream of a Mexican restaurant. Ninfa introduced fajitas, as we know them and love them, in her restaurants in 1973.

She became known to Houstonians as Mama Ninfa. Within ten years, Mama Ninfa’s Tex Mex restaurant expanded into a multi-million dollar business before going bankrupt in the late 1990s.

The Laurenzo family did not lose heart. One of Ninfa’s sons – Roland Laurenzo – embraced the opportunity to do it all over again. In 1998, he opened the first El Tiempo Cantina on Richmond avenue along with his oldest son Domenic Laurenzo. Today, the family continues to honor Mama Ninfa’s traditions in the restaurants.