Co-owners Yaneth Herrera (right) and Gustavo Gameros (left) pose with tacos, chilaquiles and agua frescas. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
When dining at Grill-eria, patrons won’t find Tex-Mex classics like fajitas or enchiladas. Instead, the menu is stocked with authentic Mexican dishes that remind guests of their aunt’s home cooking, co-owner Yaneth Herrera said, including warm soups like pozole and menudo.
“I love cooking," Herrera said. “It’s the way that I show love to my family and to my clients. It’s like hugging them—like trying to make them feel love with the food.”
The background
Herrera is not a classically trained chef, she said. The Monterrey, Mexico, native’s professional background is in accounting. However, when she and her husband relocated to Texas nearly 20 years ago, she couldn’t stop thinking about the authentic Mexican food she missed back home. Many of the restaurants that served more traditional Mexican flavors were food trucks, and she wanted something different.
With encouragement from her husband, Herrera opened Grill-eria in 2023, pursuing her passion for cooking. She collaborated with Gustavo Gameros, owner of Folklore Artisanal Mexican Eatery—with locations in New Jersey and New York—to launch the North Austin restaurant.
Grill-eria offers rib-eye tacos served with housemade tortillas, roasted bone marrow, grilled onions and guacamole ($24.83). The chilaquiles are tortilla chips topped with refried beans, green or red salsa, the customer’s choice of protein, onions, cilantro, panela cheese and sour cream ($17.58).
(Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
On the menu
The Grill-eria menu features tacos, burritos, soups and crispy tostadas. The rib-eye tacos are one of the most popular dishes, Herrera said. The plate includes four tacos served on housemade tortillas with roasted bone marrow, grilled onions and guacamole. The restaurant also offers chilaquiles, which are tortilla chips topped with refried beans, green or red salsa, the customer’s choice of protein, onions, cilantro, panela cheese and sour cream.
“Every single dish is authentic Mexican food,” Herrera explained. “All of the ingredients are made from scratch [and] all of the ingredients are quality ingredients. We use really, really good meat [including] pork [and] chicken.”
For drinks, Grill-eria serves up four agua fresca flavors including limeade with cucumber and pineapple, hibiscus, horchata and tamarind.
The restaurant's Tacos Matamoros are authentic street-style tacos topped with fresh onions, cilantro, avocado and panela cheese served alongside grilled onions, Mexican rice and refried beans ($19.65).(Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
What’s special about it
Something unusual about Grill-eria, Gameros said, is customer reactions to the dishes.
“They cheer every time that we give them the dish,” Gameros said. “They're cheering for the food, you know. That’s not normal.”
“Sometimes they even clap,” Herrera added.
Customers often connect to the food because it reminds them of a memory from their past, and it creates a whole new experience for them, Herrera said. However, the traditional Mexican flavors are not just for people with Mexican heritage, Gameros said. Plates are crafted for customers of all cultures who want to dine on authentic Mexican food.
The Grill-eria team hopes to expand operations in the future with additional locations in Austin or beyond. (Courtesy Grill-eria)
What’s next
Grill-eria will soon expand seating options to feature tables and umbrellas in the outdoor area. The team may also expand menu offerings to include some exclusive backyard bites, Gameros said.
The Grill-eria owners are also exploring the idea of expanding, the team explained. Possible locations for a future Grill-eria restaurant include Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
“We are now giving so much effort and importance to this brand because it has potential to grow to a lot of places,” Gameros explained. “To a lot of places that are looking for real Mexican food.”
