Chef Mark Holley is a man that knows his craft. We were regulars at his namesake restaurant, Holley's up until closure. Located near Hermann Park, Davis Street is unassuming yet inviting. Street parking is available around the area. Now for the visit itself.
Food / Drink - 5*
We came here for Houston Restaurant Week on this particular visit and the dishes did not disappoint. The Seafood Tortilla Soup had a nice kick and good portions of seafood. The salad was light and refreshing with fresh strawberries. The Korean Beef Wraps were a surprise, but the table enjoyed them.
For entrees, the French Toast and Southern Egg Benedict did not disappoint and the chicken and waffles were killer. Definitely recommend any of them with a lean to the chicken and waffles.
The drinks were great, albeit classics. The Bloody Mary was delicious with celery, olives, lime, and bacon.
Service - 2*
Here's where the entire visit fell short.
From the jump our waiter was just extra pushy on upsells to the point we were all annoyed. The Bloody Mary states it comes with Texas Vodka. I said something to the effect of, "I'm good with what's listed on the menu, nothing extra needed." I reiterated, if Tito's is the Texas Vodka, great, but made it clear I was fine with regular whatever "Texas Vodka" they were using. He upcharged me for Tito's. The same for the other patrons in our party. They all were content with regular wells, but he twisted their arms to a point they felt uncomfortable saying no. When two others ordered another French 75 and made it clear to him "bottom shelf" or wells was more than fine, he still charged them for Hendricks.
Look, nobody is unwilling to pay for something they want or drank, but don't push it or overtly go out of your way to charge for something the patron clearly doesn't want. We were all charged an upsell for every single cocktail because of his shady a$$ practices.
Furthermore, the waiter seemed annoyed when we didn't say yes, but yet, we were still charged for it. He seemed to be disappointed when we didn't ALL order desserts (we were quite full so we split). Further, we were constantly having to ask for more water. And to top if off, we asked him to split the bill at the beginning and he did not. Atthe end, he seemed very annoyed he had to split it up.
At the end of the day, we drank the cocktails so we'll pay it, but it isn't what we asked for in most cases.
As some who have read my reviews know, I came from this industry, worked in it for years in both front and back side of the house, it put me on the path I am and paid many a bills for me - the worst thing a waiter can do to boost their total bill is pushy upsells. It completely ruins the experience, it makes the patrons less likely to return, and ultimately, that is bad for everyone. Chef Holley has a fantastic restaurant, but we were all left with hesitancy to return if this is the type of practice that exists.
Cost - 4*
The pricing for the regular menu was in line to what one would expect, and of course HRW menu is fixed pricing, with a few extras for specific dishes. Subjectively, no complaints here. Notably, we were charged 20% gratuity for a table of five. Not the end of the world, but my experience is this is usually reserved for 6 and up. It was particularly frustrating given the experience we had with the waiter. If I could have, I would have deducted solely for his behavior, which is on him exclusively.
Overall - 3*
Davis Street is another creation that delivers on flavor, Chef Holley and his team know what they're doing and it's evident in the sustained success he's had. That said, our experience fell short on service and left a damper on it, particularly since it was a birthday celebration as well. I would like to think this is an exception to the norm and maybe our waiter is just in it for himself rather than the business, but that ultimately hurts the business owner. Would I race back, probably not because of the experience but we would come back and explicitly seek another server. read more