We absolutely love a'Bouzy! It has been our local for years. The service is great and the menus are…read morealways varied with something for everyone. We absolutely love the fresh entrees and food. The complimentary popcorn is divine. The atmosphere is always upbeat with an amazing vibe. The restaurant has been going above and beyond with the specially themed happy hour menus this year. We have loved every one of them. We are very impressed with the World Cup watch parties. Every staff member made sure we were in the best position to watch the matches. They even accommodated 14 of us at the last minute!!! The sound and video is incredible. You will love it too. Trust me.

First of all, what is this forced valet situation? There's…read moreno signage, one-way entry with traffic to the restaurant/lot with no way to turn around. This is predatory practice. One valet guy pointing for me to move up to the right and one valet guy pointing for me to move up to the left. Then one guy comes up to my car window and rudely asks what I'm doing when I'm looking at them confused on where to go or what to do because there is NO signage on the parking situation. They just said "valet". I said no, and asked if they have self parking. And he says no. And they don't tell you how much it is either. Literally the worst parking I've ever experienced in my entire life in Houston. There is street parking in the back which majority of our party self-parked at within minutes. Came for brunch with a party of 10 with a semi-private reservation. Table wasn't ready for over 45 minutes. No where to wait except stand in front of the front door in everyone's way. Another 20 mins to take our order after being seated. I ordered the ratatouille and I'd honestly rate it as a 2/10. First bite was good but it progressively got saltier with each bite. I got tired of it after 3 bites. Nothing special about it. Got back to my car to find my car had recorded a video of one of the valet guys bumping a car door into my car. Who knows what else these people are doing in/to our cars??? I was really really looking forward to trying this place, but it's been a major disappointment. I will never be coming back and I will be everyone not to come here. I urge everyone reading this to not waste your time and money here.

Came in with reservation on Thurs night and seated immediately upstairs. Seemed to be a large group…read moredownstairs and maybe 3-4 groups upstairs. Dress code: smart casual. Plenty of people dressed more comfortably but you wouldn't look out of place in a blazer either Food 5/5: we got their stuffed mushrooms, garlic bread, brisket and sausage bolognese and their bass with lobster topping special and everything was fantastic. Especially recommend the sauce from the mushroom and the garlic bread together Service 4.5/5: chef came out and greeted us which was a nice touch. Service was friendly and quick, seemed a little confused about the wines available by the cup but otherwise fantastic service Ambiance 5/5: very clean and homey, brightly lit with Italian music playing the background Value 3.5/5: not cheap but you get what you pay for with great food. Portions for the pasta are quite large. Overall 4.5/5: overall a fantastic experience, will likely be back to sample their other pasta options. Parking: small lot used for complimentary valet after 5 pm which we used. Otherwise street parking is available but might be hard to find depending on when you go.

My youth group needed a caterer for our banquet, and Chef Triola blew the roof off with the food!…read moreHe was the friendliest of all Sicilians and made sure that we had everything taken care of. Our menu included chicken parmigiana, beef tenderloin, pasta Alfredo, salad, breadsticks and dessert. Our party of 55 ate wonderfully; our compliments to the chef please! 100% recommend. I've been to their restaurant and it's truly a gem. Will come back for a dine-in experience soon!

3.5 ~ Service was great, the experience of eating here was memorable, amongst live piano music,…read morenicely dressed patrons and retro interior definitely adds to an overall positive impression. For such a big restaurant it's nice to see that the details were not lost. Great for groups or smaller parties alike. The oysters were probably my favorite, followed by the trout which was perfection. Some dishes not too memorable. This meal lost a bit of impact for me because two of our dishes tasted a bit stale, moulles and the pate. Otherwise, a nice bustling place to dine and enjoy the ambiance.

I am quite pleased with this place! It's a good French restaurant. You can find free parking in the…read moregarage behind the restaurant if you don't want to do $10 valet. The service is amazing here - servers told us all the recommendations and can describe how they cook each dish. The place is nicely decorated - good for special occasions like birthdays and corporate team dinners. You first get complementary bread and butter - they're so good especially the salted butter. We got the streak tartare, burgundy escargots, buncatini & claims, and duck two ways. They're all so good and highly recommend!!

Since our first visit to Baso, have been eager to return so we went for our anniversary dinner…read moreyesterday evening. Waited too late to book reservation so got bar seating but it was just fine and service was great. Upon arriving we were so nicely greeted by the hostess, felt very welcome. Our cocktails were very good--and Old Fashioned and a "Crime!". For a starter we had the aka obi, then the endive salad (best I've had!) and for entrees we shared the shrimp and the whole striped bass which is butterflied. For dessert we got the Basque Cheesecake and it was heavenly. Baso has quickly become my favorite high-end restaurant in the Heights. The portions are nice and the flavors are outstanding. We left beyond satisfied and looking forward to our next foodie adventure at Baso.

This is honestly some of the best cooking in Houston right now, although with a price point that…read moremakes it a bit out-of-reach for a regular occurrence. This is a bit of a dated review, but we came here for a Valentine's dinner as a special occasion. We got seats at the bar counter behind the fire (which to me was the best seat in the house) so we could be close to the action. One thing you'll notice is that the place is quite loud, I think which owes to the low ceilings (so don't expect like a quiet and romantic vibe). The meal started out great with the bread and butter - bread was sourced from Magnol, which was a huge green flag to start. The oysters were extremely fresh and absolutely delicious. We also had a dish with tuna over crispy rice which was my fiancee's favorite of the night. My personal favorite was the salad (I know that is crazy to say at a restaurant that specializes in live fire cooking) - but the way they zested all different types of citrus/lemons, peppers, chiles, and the way the herbs they put into it, created what was one of the most memorable salads I have ever had. All in all the food was excellent. Service was great (the night we were there, Max Lappe was there sending out food to customers himself). I do kind of wish the atmosphere was a little more quiet. With that said, expect to spend around $200pp (we did share a bottle of wine though).

I really enjoyed my whole experience here. The vibe is unique for Houston. The building has a…read moreunique vibe and i'm obsessed with the front door. After entering, you are immediately greeted like family in a relaxing environment but with top notch food. It was my friend's bday so we celebrated with complimentary bubbles which was a nice touch. We enjoyed a large portion of their limited/rotating menu that did not disappoint. The tuna was my favorite. 10/10. A very extensive, higher end wine list complemented the meal nicely. Definitely need reservations -- book as early as possible. Seating is very limited especially for larger parties. Parking --- street parking around the block. Wasn't too difficult. Definitely a must try!

I was finally able to try this Houston staple last weekend!…read more Food: 4.5/5 - I loved the tomato toast and warm broth the best! The tomato toast was not overhyped and definitely worth getting. The bread is nice and oily yet still crusty and crunchy. The tomatoes and greens on top paired perfectly with the sourdough. - The warm broth doesn't seem like much from pictures and description but it was just so comforting and had nice umami. The green onions really bring out the rest of the flavors. - Ratatouille: this was one of our server's recommendations. I thought it was pretty good but slightly too sour/over-pickled for me. (I'm also not a big pickle person) - Butternut squash: This was probably the next best dish after the toast and broth. All the flavors and texture were there except the squash was a little hard. It could've been cooked a little longer to make it easier to cut through. I guess it is out of season, but still. - Squab aka pigeon: Also pretty good. The dried raspberries actually pair very well with it. Ambiance: 4/5 - The space is extremely small so you really need reservations. - It's so small that the tables are quite close together. But they were also not evenly spaced out so we tried to move our table away from the people next to us (we were practically touching!) and the staff insisted that we don't move them because they need to access the cutlery in the drawer on the side of the table?? First of all, they could've still accessed it after we moved the table. Second, if the space is that tiny, why not just store the utensils elsewhere? Very odd and didn't like that vibe.

I came on a Friday evening. We were seated in the first floor and it was quite busy and loud but…read morenot necessarily in a bad way. Our waitress was very attentive. I got the chicken soup which is basically Tom kha. It was good and a nice size for an app so I didn't get anything else. My friend had a noodle dish that she described as ok. After dinner we went upstairs to the cocktail lounge which was much more quiet and relaxed. The restrooms are also located upstairs assessable via stairs or elevators. Parking is valet out front ($10) or the district garage (free). All in all I would return.

I was very excited to try Le Colonial based on friends reviews and the menu for HRW. However, I…read morewould say that I was less than thrilled with the entire dining experience and I'm unsure if I would return. Though I was seated pretty immediately upon arrival, it took about 15 minutes to get a glass of water, let alone place my order. I chose to do the chicken dumplings, green curry shrimp and garlic green beans, and the vanilla crème brulee for dessert. My appetizer came out pretty immediately but my entree didn't come for about 45 minutes. While it was busy, my server didn't acknowledge the amount of time that had passed. I hadn't intended for this to be a 2 hour dining experience but given how long everything took, it was inevitable. Separate from my dining experience, I wanted to note that there is a dress code posted on the website but it seemed that it was not enforced (or only enforced with some people?) which was quite confusing. The crowding by the bar that spills into the seated dining area was also quite overstimulating if you sit in the front of the dining area upstairs. Overall, I have heard great things about some of the menu items and I would be open to returning but not any time soon.

Lucio's far exceeded my expectations. The ambiance is modern and romantic in an intimate space. The…read morewalls are covered with sensual artwork from the owner's wife. The food was outstanding across the board. The beef carpaccio was slightly salty but was still very flavorful. The spinach dip, served with crisp fried chips, was a comforting starter. The sea bass special with risotto and crab meat was delicious. The duck breast was tender, and the sea scallops with risotto were simply amazing. For dessert, we ordered the vanilla bean creme brûlée, brownie with raspberry sorbet, and apple pie à la mode, The whole table agreed that the creme brûlée was the best. The other desserts were good as well but didn't top the creme brûlée. What truly made this a great experience was the service. Irina was remarkable and wears many hats - owner, artist, hostess and server. Despite being the only server in the restaurant, she managed many tables effortlessly. She was attentive, personable, and incredibly friendly, making us feel well cared for throughout the night. Her memory is impressive - she didn't write anything down yet got every detail perfect. There is valet and street parking available. Would highly recommend this restaurant, and I will definitely be back.

I almost don't want to review this place because it's a hidden gem. Great food. Great service and…read morenice wine selection or you can bring your own. Nothing that we had there was average. It's definitely top 5 restaurants in Houston without all the hype

I came here for Houston Restaurant Week and completely blown away by the whole experience in the…read morebest way possible. I enjoyed the smoked duck gumbo, which was a great ratio of tasty duck and sausage to the right amount of rice. I also loved the loch darte salmon, which came with corn milk spatzle, corn, caviar, and fennel and parsley salad. The salmon was cooked wonderfully, and all the ingredients harmoniously combined to form a glorious, unforgettable meal. As we were celebrating a birthday, they also kindly provided a candle and cheesecake square, which was a great touch. Not to be outdone, the bread pudding dessert was not only ample in size but also came with a yummy brown sugar whiskey sauce, almond wafer cookie cup, and vanilla ice cream. Overall, I would recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for a unique and delicious dining experience (think classier Bass Pro Shop) in the area.

Went for a couple drinks and ended up trying a couple things. The cabin feel and sportsman's decor…read morewelcome and the bar area is tucked away facing the outdoor eating. Had a couple old fashioned and tried some tequila pours. Started with the taste of the wild and it was really good, each of the cuts were unique and cooked just right. Tried the South Texas Nilgai Antelope which was perfect; tender cut of meat with a mustardish flavor, the chosen sides compliment it well. Overall great choice for happy hour or dinner.