Pennies Tex Mex Take Out in Galveston

The food was great. The staff could have been friendlier.

Best barbacoa on the Island! Tortillas on point! Super friendly staff! I love Pennies!

Been here twice and love the tacos, bbq, and tamales. But the sides are overly salted and generally no good. Still going with five stars since its easy enough to avoid the sides.

The brisket is the best you will find around here and the people there are super friendly. The tamales made from yesterday’s brisket and pork, I assume, are excellent, as well. They are my go to place on the island for bbq or tamales. I’m going for the barbacoa tomorrow. I’ll let you know, but I’m expecting awesome.

The BEST tamales around. Too bad we have to wait until Thursday…but well worth the wait.

I had brisket tacos and tamales, both were delicious.

Weve only come here on Sundays for the tamales and barbacoa, but we have also tried the brisket. Everything has been superb. Worth a visit

I drive 1 hour just for the barbacoa and tacos. Costal BBQ is by far one of my favorite spots in the Houston area. Really appreciate the detail to the food and great customer service.

Best Tamales anywhere! Small family owned take out BBQ place. I try to visit every time I go to Galveston.

For two years Ive lived ten blocks from Pennies & finally today I passed by & there was not a line out the door into the sidewalk so of course I flipped a youey & waltzed right in. Brisket tacos & barbacoa tacos were dang good, all made right in front of you. Its been said restaurants with long lines are the ones to try...words to eat by.

Down the street from our short term rental Hatties Place Too! Guest have been introduced and agreed...you got get their Que!

Do yourself a favor and experience Pennies take out. Delicious Brisket tacos.

Good BBQ, friendly people. I think personally pennies is the best BBQ in galveston over queens and Leons.

I own 3 smokers and although Im not a pro with my skills, Im just good enough that Ive become pretty critical of eating out. Ive just had waaaayy too much overpriced mediocre BBQ. These guys had absolutely fantastic ribs and chicken. The homemade tamales were an excellent side. 4.6 stars and will DEFINITELY come back to try the brisket and sausage. Im one happy customer!

It was our first time visiting and the food was so delicious and the staff was very nice. We ordered the tamales, and 2 two meat plates...with ribs, brisket and sausage. We enjoyed it very much, the ribs had a nice smoke flavor to it reminiscent of good ol backyard bbq...we will definitely return when we visit Galveston again! We look forward to trying more of what Pennies has to offer.

We ordered a few pounds of brisket and sausage along with pinto beans for a family gathering today and everything was delicious and perfectly cooked. The brisket was sublime--melt in your mouth tender with crunchy burnt ends.

This was my first time there. Ive lived in the area for 40 years and man have I been missing out on some awesome food!!!! I had the brisket taco A+. The tamales were probably the best Ive ever had. So glad I bought a dozen of them. Love the hard work this family is doing to keep the grandparents legacy alive!

Pennies is awesome! The food is amazing always and Ive never been disappointed.

OMG! Brisket is so Bomb! Potato salad can use a little more mayo, too dry. But...That will never stop me from coming back for That mouthwatering Brisket! 10 stars!

Seen this gem of a place on a food review on YouTube. Loved knowing the history of the restaurant. During our trip from Ohio I knew I needed to stop here and try their Barbecue! The food did not disappoint best barbecue I have ever eaten. Only wish they would sell the tamales individually because I wanted to try one! Would highly recommend this establishment!

Asked for a baked potato and was told they had none. Got a sliced beef sandwich and asked for it to be lean cut. Guess what got a bunch of fat I had to take off to make it a lean cut I asked for. It was good though.

This place is a go to spot for breakfast! We go there at least once a week or at least try to. The tamales are spot on and are never bland. The same can be said for the Barbacoa, and sausage! I don’t think you can get much better than this. You can never get tired of eating the food here! Another must try food spot when you are in Galveston!

The tamales are delicious! They offered fast and friendly service and the location was clean and attractive. There was easy street parking.

Good food, we will be back. They didnt have any ribs that day. So we have to go back for the ribs.Barbara, Tamales and Brisket was Top Notch.

Very rude. Inconsistent. Not sure what has changed but customer service is out the window now. Also, hours have changed so they close early at 3pm. They dont seem to really appreciate their diverse customer base and seem annoyed if you have any questions or need and information. Truly miss the good old days. This place is in need of new management and quality assurance processes/feedback opportunities for sure.

Cameron and the crew are great people, very welcoming. Fantastic food and service. Tamales are some of the best I have ever had and I was raised eating on authentic foods from New Mexico and southern Colorado. I look forward to more fine meals frome them.Thanks guys.

So good! The Tamales, Brisket & Chicken are great! But for me the real standout was the Pinto Beans. Probably the best I’ve ever had. People are friendly and we found them very helpful. Ordering is a bit daunting as a new customer, but we did just fine and we’re very happy with the array of food we got. Even the meatless baked potato was a hit w our meat leery daughter. Son loved the ribs!!! They cook it all each day and don’t have everything all the time so call ahead if you’re intent on a particular item. The first time we went it was later in the day and Chicken & Ribs were our only meat choice.

Not really impressed. Customer service was ok but when being asked about your menu I was hoping for more help with determining what to order. Also if your open for business your full menu should be available.Food:Brisket seem oily to me and the sides were bland.The taco ended up being very good but I found the beans had pork in them. I dont eat pork and that information would have been important.

The food at pennies is always excellent. This was one of the strangest visits I’ve ever had there. I was behind a couple of fellows while they made their whole order and were directed by the server that they could get a better deal, so they started all over again. That I have no problem with at no time did she look up and think can I help you while I redirect them. I was just doing a pick up of a call-in that I already made.Even the guys working in the back looked at me like we should get him out of that line. When I finally got up to her and the other guys were stepping aside saying you go on. She found out I had a take-out order and all I had to do was pay for it. And after all of that she had the nerve to ask me had I been there before. When asked her why, she replied, to see if I knew how things worked around there. When all she had to say was sorry for the wait. A simple sorry for the wait!!!The easiest thing would’ve been to ask me do you have a take-out order or something I can get right away for you sir. But her option was only one just let him stand there while I go back-and-forth on one order.

I was looking for great bbq and found it. I wanted more real barbecue, the kind someone would make just for you in their backyard. The ribs were spot on where you could taste the smoke, but it was not overpowering. No sauce was needed, but it did provide a nice flavor. Im still not sure which way was better. The brisket had tremendous flavor as well. You could pull the slice and ti would not crumble, it had a nice smoke ring that was also not overpowering. The tamales were a nice surprise and were delicious as well although i was here for the bbq.I would have added picture, but the smell of the food on the way home was tourture. If there was not have been a warning about suffocating by placing your head in a plastic bag, i may not have made it all the way home. It smelled soo good. As soon as we got back we tore into the food very fast i just plain old forgot to take pictures.

Everything was so goodThe meat, the sides the home made bbq sauce and salsa...You can taste the love and many years of experience

Omg…their Tamales and Salsa is out of this world good! There is a reason they’ve been in business for so long! I pre-ordered the Tamales because I was told they run out! I’m so glad I did! I didn’t even try the BBQ on my first visit but it smelled delicious. I was going to get some sausage but they already ran out! Next time…

The brisket and barbacoa is to die for.. The salsa and tortillas are bomb.. Definitely a place to get some good food, a local favorite 👌🏾Although its not a place to stop and eat more of a pick me up place.. Better to place your order ahead because it sells quick. We drive about 45 minutes just for the barbacoca and brisket. Not bad on price for a family of 4 youll spend about 35.00 on breakfast.I would recommend this place to anyone who wants quality BBQ. A definite must stop!!! 🥰

Sooooo good. Bbq was good but they were out of ribs by the time we got there. The staff is very nice. Also, the barbacoa is so delicious, you have to try it!! (Saturday and Sunday only)

Some of the best ribs on the planet, cooked perfectly and super flavor and very tender. They know what they are doing. The tamales are excellent, you have to try them. Lots of meat and they are put together very well, not like a lot of tamales that are sloppy. Very friendly service and the place is squeaky clean.

The. Best. Tamales. We travel from Houston just to pick up 2-4 dozen. Ive had the bbq there and it too is great. If its later in the day you must call ahead because their food is so good, they run out. They have an outdoor patio for dining.

Amazing food. As another review stated, the smells were so good, my mouth started drooling just walking to the door.Had brisket, ribs, and potato salad. The potato salad was so-so, however that could just be a regional difference (Im from MN). The brisket, ribs, and sauce were AMAZING!!!The sauce was so good we had to stop again before we left for home and get 2 orders of sauce to go! Got chicken the second night too. The chicken was also AMAZING!!!If you are hankering some great BBQ in Galveston, stop at Pennies!

We go at least once every time we go to Galveston. The food is great, the family that runs the business is super friendly. The tamales are as good as you can find anywhere and the brisket and stuff is great too. they have limited hours and days open so go early for the tamales, they sell quick.

Friendly staff/family business. Clean place & outside seating. Excellent BBQ! Delicious brisket, pork ribs, sausage, beans, potatoes salad & huge bake potato. Will definitely dine here again.

Really liked the Sliced Brisket sandwich. They are actually only takeout,but they have 3 outside tables with umbrellas. Unfortunately, the flies descended on us and we were forced to finish eating in the car. The green beans and potato salad are really good as well.

Barbacoa was awesome, brisket also very moist and tender. Good tortillas and banana pudding. Ribs and sausage were good if not as outstanding as other items. Chicken was very good. Definitely a good place to go, get there early.

Not what I expected saw this place on Texas bucket list but it was not all that great there brisket was super dry every time I tried picking up the meat it would break up into a lot of little pieces. Also I think or hope they mest up on my order because I order a Barbacoa plate and the tacos looked just like brisket. The sausage and rice was good did have chicken also but its just chicken I would not drive there just to eat there

Best Tamales ever along with the Brisket and Ribs. Saw this restaurant on YouTube for Texas Bucket List by Shane McAuffie. A Must Try!!!

Went Friday for lunch and the the staff was friendly. Ordered brisket, sausage, and a 1/2 dozen tamales. We went back after eating one of my tamales and grabbed a dozen more to go cause the were that good. The brisket and sausage are delicious and moist.

Come support your local community!! This place has great food all the way around. On this day we came for breakfast tacos, although they only have barbacoa i will tell you that is all you need. The meat is not seasoned so you are able to taste all the natural flavors and are super delicious with some gentle salt. You will also get some hot sauce. You will see that the serving size is well worth the price. Im telling you, you wont be disappointed coming here. We will come back.

Hidden Gem of Galveston Amazing to find one of the best tamales in the middle of August! The barbacoa was great! It just needs seasoning added. The ribs were very tender and flavorful. The brisket were delicious. I dont normally like eating beans but I ate the whole thing! It was so good!

This place is awesome!!! Had the sliced BBQ sandwich, on point! Tamales are probably the best. Definitely best on the island. Its worth the drive from Houston, and will definitely be going back here.

Yum! We couldnt decide between brisket and tamales, so we got both and are glad of the decision. Both were delicious. Brisket can be lean, fatty or mixed -- your preference. Its takeout only (though there is a picnic table just outside if you truly dont have somewhere else to go. If you can plan ahead for an order to pick up, do that. Parking is limited, so its not a bad idea to have someone circle the block while another grabs the food.

Best brisket around hands down! The smoked sausage is amazing and the tamales are ridiculously good! Do yourself a favor and eat here.

Nice little family joint serving barbeque and tamales. They have an outdoor patio, but nothing inside. Mostly a takeout place.Sliced brisket had a good smoke taste to it, but the cut was more of a chunk than slices.The tamales are large and tasty, but spicier than we expected.The pinto beans also had good flavor but were also spicier than expected.Be sure to check your bag before you leave because ours was missing our tamale order and we had to go back to get them.