06/23/09

give this a miss and head to park ave location

by speakyourmind

dont walk passed... RUN

poor excuse of a houstons restuarant, goto the park avenue location.. the difference is for all to see.

staff not friendly here, or the least bit helpful, and whats with the limited menu. Really cant stess enough goto the park ave location,

went here at the weekend to give it the benefit of doubtand walked out after waiting 20 mins for our drinks.. and it wasnt busy forget it

• Cons: limited menu, location, service

02/07/09

How can you say no to a paying customer?

by pgluck

We went to Houston's on 53rd Street. In all my years of eating in NYC, I experienced a first. At dinner, my friend ordered a second glass of wine and the waitress insisted she finish her first before agreeing to bring it. There was one sip left in the glass. No one was drinking excessively or acting inappropriately. When we expressed our dismay to the waitress (who otherwise did a very fine job by the way), she told us it was corporate policy and was clearly uncomfortable talking about it. Who makes the rules in this place? This is New York. If you order a glass of wine, you shouldn't be refused or given ridiculous conditions.

Last year I went there on a cold day and the hostess insisted I remove my winter hat. Company policy. Before she even got us to a table. I thought that was rude, and potentially embarrassing. What if I had been disfigured or undergoing chemo? I dismissed that as poor judgement, but after the wine incident, I can say they've lost a table full of customers.

01/04/08

Bad for large groups & questionable kitchen practices

by mattmm13

Six months ago, I dined at this Houston's location and really enjoyed my meal. The food was good and the atmosphere was cozy with dark wood cubicle-type tables. Although the restaurant is a bit dark, my visit would have garnered a 4 star review. Last night I had a completely different and uncharacteristically poor experience. This review will focus on this most recent visit.

WE CALLED TO MAKE A RESERVATION for a table of eight. We were only told that they do not take reservations. At any other restaurant, that wouldn't have been a problem because we were willing to queue for a table. However at Houston's, they don't have a table that can hold eight diners. The reservation operator failed to mention this fact. So after we arrived and waited about 40 minutes, for what we believed to be the forthcoming table for eight, the hostess said the largest table they have will only hold seven. She also said, "It's a tight fit."

THE MORE DISTURBING PART OF THE EVENING occurred while we waited for the table. Houston's has an open kitchen were you can see almost everything that happens there. A waitress brought a plate of food back to the grill chef. The plate was obviously from a diner that was finished with his/her meal and not eaten the lettuce, tomato, or the remaining the french fries. I personally observed the chef throw out the leftover fries and then he removed the lettuce and tomato from the dirty plate and placed them on a clean plate. The chef served ribs on the plate with the "returned" lettuce & tomato and sent it out to a different customer. I was unable to wait to speak to a manager about what I saw, although I will be returning to make the complaint.

I REALLY DID ENJOY MY FIRST VISIT six months ago and I am terribly disappointed about what I saw. I'm not sure if I'll return to eat there or at the other locations. I'll speak to the manager and listen to what s/he has to say before I make my decision.

• Pros: Romantic atmosphere, Good value, Portions are good size
• Cons: Chef reused food from other diners, Loud jazz band, No reservations, No tables to hold more that six, Crowed bar