Houston Restaurant Reviews

I have decided that since Blake and I are always trying new restaurants either on date nights or with friends, that I will every so often write up a restaurant review of the latest places we have been. We love to try new places. My sweet parents are stuck in their ways of the five or so same restaurants in their west Houston bubble. Usually, Carraba's, Guadelajara, McCormick and Schmicks, Esclante's, and Smash Burger are among the most chosen. Blake and I's thought is that we would rather try someplace new, unless we really LOVE a place, than go to the same places over and over again. We are working on branching my parents out.

Here are some recent places we have been in the past few months. My rating of the restaurant is in stars next to each name, one to five, five being the best.

1. Brasserie Max & Julie (*****) We went to this place on Montrose for brunch with Sarah and Dan. I can honestly say it is my favorite brunch place in Houston. The truffled eggs and mushrooms are to die for. The homemade croissant was delish as well. Such a great french bistro feel. I would like to try it for dinner sometime. It was a little pricey for it being brunch, although we did order a lot of food. We got a nutella crepe for the table to share.

2. Coppa (****) We went to this Washington restaurant for dinner with Katie and Austin. I thought it was way better than the place it was before, Catalan. The chick pea appetizer/snack was great. Although, I did think that the pasta dish with the egg they are known for was a little bland. I LOVE the atmosphere. The price point may be a little overpriced.

3. El Real Tex Mex (**) We have been here a couple of times with different friends, once with Sarah and Dan and once with a group of Blake's friends that were in town. I REALLY am not a fan of this place. There was such huge hype about it when it first opened, but the food is only mediocre, the atmosphere is weird, and I had a really bad stomach ache after eating there one time. The only cool part about it is that it is in the old theatre on Westheimer. It is odd that I don't like it because I do love the other restaurants the owner owns - Stella Sola, Little Bigs, and Reef.

4. Gigi's Asian Bistro (***) We went here with Todd and Christina. It is connected to the Galleria, and it reminds me of an Asian place that would be in Vegas. It is super nice and chic. Pretty overpriced though. They boys were not a fan.

5. Goode Co. Seafood (***) This is one of the places we have got my parents to branch out to. It is on their side of town, but they never go. I would say it was similar to a Pappadeaux's, but a little nicer. Our service was pretty bad that night, and the space is just a rectangular room. It was okay.

6. Giacomo's (****) We LOVE Giacomo's on San Felipe. We went here on date night before a movie. It is pretty casual, which we liked, the service was quick, and the food was good. Blake still talks about it, so I am sure this will be one we frequent.

7. Kata Robata (****) We went to this sushi place off of Kirby just last week with Cort and Katy. We got there at 6:30ish and so happy hour with still going on. Man, does this place have a great happy hour. Their house wine was $2.50 a glass. The boys ordered three in 30 minutes just to get the prices (we were there for over two hours). The rolls were also insanely cheap for happy hour and were really good. We did order more after happy hour ended and those rolls were quite expensive. So, go during happy hour and you won't be disappointed.

8. Patranella's (*****) We have been here twice, once on a date, and once with my parents (branching out again). This is a FAVORITE of ours. It is a cute Italian restaurant off of Jackson Hill near Washington. The food is so good, and I love the little neighborhood joint feel it has. The prices are moderate, and my parents loved it.

9. Pizzitola's (***) We had heard a lot about this BBQ place on Shepherd so we decided to go one night when Blake had just picked me up from the airport from being in Austin for work. I am not a huge BBQ fan, but I do love a good bbq baked potato, which is what I got. Blake got the rib dinner. When you walk in, you feel as though you were time warped into an east Texas diner in 1986, including the people that work there, but it was good. I think my rating is just because bbq isn't my favorite.

10. Queen Vic (*****) I have been here twice now and LOVE LOVE it. Blake and I went on a date here, and then I met some girls for drinks here as well. It is the best little English pub/restaurant. A lot of the dishes do have curry in them (I don't like curry), but they do have plenty of choices without. It makes me feel like I am in Europe a little bit. I love the casual, comfortable vibe.

11. Roost (****) We went here about a month ago with Sarah and Dan. It is owned by a guy I went to middle school with, Kevin Naderi, who came from Haven. He recognized me when we walked in which was nice, and he somewhat gave us preferential treatment, by seating us quickly. We got there at 7:00 p.m., and there was a rush of people getting there at the same time. The place is really small with no waiting area or sitting area, so get there early. It was really good. I got the scallops with lentils and it was amazing. Great new restaurant!

12. Zelko Bistro (*****) We have been here a handful of times. We just went again a couple of weeks ago with Todd and Christina, who had never been before. I just love this little heights gem. It is up there as one of my favorite restaurants. The meatloaf is one of the best things on the menu, and the truffle fries appetizer is the bomb.com. I could go as far as saying one of my top 5 favorite restaurants.

As you can see, we like to go out to eat. It is the perfect weekend night activity. We aren't really ones to go "out" much anymore. Having a little too much wine and a nice long, late dinner is what we love to do! We always eat in Sunday night to Thursday night, so we like to indulge on the weekends. :)