Ted's Cafe Escondido

[Pete]

I drove by last night and the place looked packed both on the patio and inside.

[catcherinthewry]

I drove by last night and the place looked packed both on the patio and inside.

I was there and can confirm the patio was packed. At least it was until the mini-derecho blew everyone away.

[Pete]

I was there and can confirm the patio was packed. At least it was until the mini-derecho blew everyone away.

How was the food, drinks, vibe?

[catcherinthewry]

How was the food, drinks, vibe?

This may be my favorite patio in OKC. Drinks were good. Food was fine, but nothing to write home about. There was an oak tree that spreads out above the patio's metal roof. When the front came through last night the wind was so strong that the acorns hitting the roof sounded like hail.

[Pete]

Went there last night as a friend was visiting from out of town and knew it was one of the few places in town with a well-heated patio. I haven't been going out much at all and of course Mayor Holt asked for a 10-day voluntary lockdown, so it wasn't very busy as you can see.

I was impressed. The interior is bright and looks great in person and that patio is fantastic. Well-heated, large fireplace, good sound system and several TV's. It's also a cool setting right on 23rd where there is lots of life but you aren't overwhelmed by the traffic noise. The Tower Theatre marquee can be easily seen.

They have a big drink and food menu. I had the Nashville chicken tacos and I really liked them. Not particularly spicy but they have 3 sauces on the table, and 2 of them actually had a good kick. They serve everything with chips, salsa and queso. The dips were really bland to me, so I put in some of the hot stuff to kick it up a bit.

I had a frozen margarita that was fine but too sweet for my tastes.

Looks like this place is already a big hit and a great addition to Uptown. Hopefully Big Truck will keep its loyal patrons and both places can thrive.

[AMinEdmond]

Great review Pete! This is a great idea and love the new concept by Ted's. I'm going to make it a point to make it down there to try it out, but for breakfast. I really hope the plan is to expand and put a few of these around town, I would love to see one of these in Edmond!

[SoonersFan12]

The only good thing is the inside, the food has been disappointing so I will not be going back

[SEMIweather]

Great review Pete! This is a great idea and love the new concept by Ted's. I'm going to make it a point to make it down there to try it out, but for breakfast. I really hope the plan is to expand and put a few of these around town, I would love to see one of these in Edmond!

If it does well, I'm sure they'll expand. Hal Smith always seems to be very flexible with their concepts, expanding the ones that do well and shutting down the ones that don't.

[Pete]

Great review Pete! This is a great idea and love the new concept by Ted's. I'm going to make it a point to make it down there to try it out, but for breakfast. I really hope the plan is to expand and put a few of these around town, I would love to see one of these in Edmond!

Yes, the plan is to have multiple locations in the metro area and you can bet Edmond will be high on the priority list.

It's very similar to Fuzzy's which really draws a crowd.

[David]

Here's hoping the eventual Edmond site is either in the downtown strip or somewhere else within walking distance of UCO.

[sooner88]

I'm excited to try it out, but the only let down is they don't use their homemade tortillas that they have in their full-scale restaurant. We typically pick up their tortillas when we're making fajitas and was looking forward to having a shorter drive to get them, but I also understand this is a smaller space with less room for their machine.

[sooner88]

If it does well, I'm sure they'll expand. Hal Smith always seems to be very flexible with their concepts, expanding the ones that do well and shutting down the ones that don't.

Is Hal Smith involved in this anymore? I thought he was out awhile ago.

[BoulderSooner]

Is Hal Smith involved in this anymore? I thought he was out awhile ago.

teds is operated separately from HSRG restaurants

but Hal smith is the operator

[sooner88]

teds is operated separately from HSRG restaurants

but Hal smith is the operator

Gotcha, thanks. I couldn't recall how that was structured / if he was involved. If that's the case it makes much more sense that they'll start to scale this new model with him involved.

[BoulderSooner]

Gotcha, thanks. I couldn't recall how that was structured / if he was involved. If that's the case it makes much more sense that they'll start to scale this new model with him involved.

i have been told they will expand this concept very quickly

[Pete]

Ted's Cantina in Uptown has been closed since Feb due to a burst pipe on a floor above them.

The Oklahoman has a video with the operator saying the water actually damaged the foundation, and they are still 2-4 weeks away from reopening.

https://www.oklahoman.com/videos/new...es/4674980001/

[HOT ROD]

uggh, I saw "pipe burst" and it brought back HORRBLE memories from Nov 2020. ...

[Libbymin]

Ted's Cantina in Uptown has been closed since Feb due to a burst pipe on a floor above them.

The Oklahoman has a video with the operator saying the water actually damaged the foundation, and they are still 2-4 weeks away from reopening.

https://www.oklahoman.com/videos/new...es/4674980001/

Yikes, what a nightmare.

[rizzo]

Visited Ted's last night 150th & Penn. We've been there 2x in the past yr. After last night I think it's off the list of frequented places for us once everything opens up. Both visits in the past yr at this location were not the Ted's we are accustomed to. Servers were not on point at all. We had to wait for tortillas for the fajitas and 2 plates rice and beans were cold. The plates obviously did not go thru the warmer they were not scorching hot as usual. Anyone else notice this at any location?

[corwin1968]

Visited Ted's last night 150th & Penn. We've been there 2x in the past yr. After last night I think it's off the list of frequented places for us once everything opens up. Both visits in the past yr at this location were not the Ted's we are accustomed to. Servers were not on point at all. We had to wait for tortillas for the fajitas and 2 plates rice and beans were cold. The plates obviously did not go thru the warmer they were not scorching hot as usual. Anyone else notice this at any location?

Every experience we've had at the NW 150th & Penn location has been bad.

I even left a very negative review on Yelp and the manager responded with the usual "that should never happen......". That was several years ago and apparently nothing has changed.

I will say that even our last three trips to the Danforth location were not up to Ted's usual standards. The service wasn't any better than any other restaurant, which is a HUGE change for that place, and the food hasn't been as good as usual. These three trips probably span over a year's time, so it's not something that just changed recently.

[Bunty]

i have been told they will expand this concept very quickly

Lots of Stillwater people love Ted's and hope one will be open in Stillwater. But it will have the very popular Mexico Joe's to try to compete with, along with two popular Mexican run restaurants plus several smaller Mexicans. El Vaquero has been closed and for sale for over a year and needs to reopen. Hint to Ted.

[AMinEdmond]

Every experience we've had at the NW 150th & Penn location has been bad.

I even left a very negative review on Yelp and the manager responded with the usual "that should never happen......". That was several years ago and apparently nothing has changed.

I will say that even our last three trips to the Danforth location were not up to Ted's usual standards. The service wasn't any better than any other restaurant, which is a HUGE change for that place, and the food hasn't been as good as usual. These three trips probably span over a year's time, so it's not something that just changed recently.

If you're in the Edmond area there are tons of options for really good Mexican food that put Ted's to shame. After they sold out a few years ago we could tell immediately that their food quality and service were going to go downhill.... Some of the places we frequent are Hidalgo's (2nd & Santa Fe) Cantarito's (Danforth & Santa Fe), Leonardo's (178th/2nd ST & Penn), 3 Tequillas (2nd & Broadway)

[corwin1968]

If you're in the Edmond area there are tons of options for really good Mexican food that put Ted's to shame. After they sold out a few years ago we could tell immediately that their food quality and service were going to go downhill.... Some of the places we frequent are Hidalgo's (2nd & Santa Fe) Cantarito's (Danforth & Santa Fe), Leonardo's (178th/2nd ST & Penn), 3 Tequillas (2nd & Broadway)

3 Tequilas is definately on our "to try" list. We've tried all of the others and weren't impressed, unfortunately. Alfredos and Arcos are our go-to spots for Mexican. We wish there was a really good taco truck in the area around NW 178th & May.

[Plutonic Panda]

3 Tequilas is great and also has a great atmosphere. I wish Edmond would do more around this area to make it more ped friendly and active.

[KTB]

Visited Ted's last night 150th & Penn. We've been there 2x in the past yr. After last night I think it's off the list of frequented places for us once everything opens up. Both visits in the past yr at this location were not the Ted's we are accustomed to. Servers were not on point at all. We had to wait for tortillas for the fajitas and 2 plates rice and beans were cold. The plates obviously did not go thru the warmer they were not scorching hot as usual. Anyone else notice this at any location?

We used to go to Ted's all the time but that location is awful. We were excited when they built it but we haven't been there in a couple of years. Our go to Mexican is now Uncle Julio's and Pablano's.