El Tiempo Cantina has marked the first anniversary of El Tiempo Cantina Kirby at 2360 S Loop W in Houston, a location the family-owned Tex-Mex group opened on September 8, 2025, after guests spent years asking for a restaurant near Reliant Stadium where they could dine before and after events. The Kirby site reached its one-year milestone in September 2026, capping a year that also brought multiple readers' choice recognitions from the Houston Chronicle.
El Tiempo Cantina Kirby sits at Kirby Drive and the 610 South Loop, minutes from Reliant Park, the 350-acre complex that includes Reliant Stadium, Reliant Center, Reliant Arena and the Astrodome. The complex was known as NRG Park from 2014 until August 2026, when NRG Energy restored the Reliant names. The opening announcement noted that the site adds convenient access near the area's venues and supports pre- and post-event dining.
"For years guests asked the family to open a location near Reliant Stadium so they could enjoy Tex-Mex flavors and warm hospitality before and after events there," said Domenic Laurenzo, Executive Chef and Owner. "The location at 2360 S Loop W answers that request, and the response over the past year has confirmed the neighborhood was ready for it."
Reliant Park hosts Houston Texans home games, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, conventions and concerts throughout the year. The 2026 season is the Texans' 25th and the first since the stadium returned to the Reliant name, and the 95th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo runs March 2 through 21, 2027. The Kirby restaurant operates seven days a week for guests attending those events.
The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with weekend brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Details about hours and directions appear on the restaurant's google maps listing, which places the site near the complex's main venues.
The menu centers on the group's staples, including mesquite-grilled fajitas, handmade flour tortillas and margaritas made with 100 percent agave tequila, served frozen or on the rocks and by the glass or the pitcher. Eater Houston's June 2026 guide to restaurants around the stadium included the Kirby location, citing pitchers of margaritas and mesquite-grilled beef fajitas.
"The first year near Reliant Stadium has shown how much event-goers value a nearby table," Laurenzo said. "The location is built to serve fans and families around the calendar of games, rodeo dates and conventions."
Houston Chronicle readers named El Tiempo Cantina the Margarita winner in the newspaper's Best of the Best 2026 readers' choice awards, its seventh win in the category according to the published results. In the same edition, Chronicle readers named El Tiempo Cantina the Tex-Mex Restaurant winner for the sixth time.
About El Tiempo Cantina
El Tiempo Cantina is a family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant group founded in Houston in 1998 by Roland Laurenzo and his son Domenic Laurenzo, continuing the culinary legacy of Roland's mother, Ninfa Laurenzo, who is credited with popularizing fajitas in Houston. The group operates neighborhood restaurants across Greater Houston. Its menu centers on mesquite-grilled fajitas, handmade flour tortillas and margaritas made with 100 percent agave tequila.
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For more information about El Tiempo Kirby, contact the company here:
El Tiempo Cantina Kirby
Destiny Escamilla
346-867-1608
destiny@eltiempocantina.com
2360 S Loop W, Houston, TX 77054