If this was based exclusively or mostly on ambiance or service, it would easily be a 5/5. The look and vibe of the restaurant was great, having a nice level of energy, dim lighting, and general decor. One of the most friendly and helpful staffs I've ever encountered at a restaurant. The food, however, was definitely hit or miss. For starters, the Texqueno was great, especially the cilantro lime sauce that came with it. The cacio e pepe risotto was just eh, as it was far too fishy and a little salty as well. For the main courses, the beef ragu bolognese and vacio steak were both delicious and with hearty portions at that. The pesto gnocchi was disappointing though, as we barely had any actual gnocchi in the dish (the plate was basically filled with veggies). Even with the mixed bag of results with food, this was still a place I'd recommend checking out (while saying results might be a bit of a toss up). read more

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Always great food and service!! The chefs are always so kind and will typically come around to talk with the guests. Very personable.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR SCHEDULE ONLINE. We came here because of the reviews and the type of food but when we arrived 4:20ish. It was closed and a lady came out yo say they haven't open yet. Online it says they open at 4pm. It is 4:39pm and still closed. read more

Mastrantos - Hours scheduled - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

Where do I start? My girlfriend arranged this restaurant in advance for a party of 12 to celebrate my birthday. She spoke to a gentleman that was happy to advertise their bottomless mimosa specials for $25 and we thought - perfect! We were told we needed to put a deposit to reserve it - fine, no biggie. When we got there the waitress told us they didn't offer that any longer despite us being told about it 4 days earlier. Then she said they just got their liquor license and would be focusing on cocktails going forward. When I pressed her on the fact that we were told about the special, it is literally on the menu I was looking at and it factored into our decision to visit she admitted they only had 4 bottles of champagne so they couldn't offer the special. I said okay, then can we have a bottle at the special price rather than the $38 for a single bottle they were charging. She refused. I asked if I could speak to the manager or if the gentleman I'd talked with on the phone was there she said there wasn't a manager on duty that day. How is that possible? Fast forward to ordering - they were out of 2 dishes that were featured on the menu they gave us. They were also out of biscuits. So we all had to pivot on our selections - again, okay, fine. The food took a long time to arrive (which makes sense bc there were only 2 ppl in the kitchen from what I could tell) and then some dishes were cold. I ordered the chorizo arepa and it was cold in places. The waffle dish was also cold and bland. They offered "berry butter" with the waffle but when it arrived it was a small ramekin that had hard butter on one side and a handful of blueberries on the other. Some of the berries still had the stems on them. Pics attached. Overall, the entire experience was very disappointing. The food was not good. The drinks weren't good. The service was not terrible but considering I was unable to speak to a manager re: my concerns, I'm not sure what to make of it. It was significantly overpriced considering all of this. I will absolutely not go back to this place and frankly, if I'm ever asked I will suggest other options. Houston has far too good of a food scene for someone to settle for this place. read more

Mastrantos - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

Mastrantos was a complete disappointment. I was so looking forward to trying this place and it was a let down. Firstly, the restaurant packs in customers to the max! Our table was so close to the next one I could have practically taken a bite off the next tables plate if I wanted...way to keep space between people during covid times and when people are finally feeling safe enough to dine inside The waiters couldn't even stand and serve between tables because there wasn't any room to stand...wild! Secondly the food was subpar, and it came out cold! The flavors weren't bad, but nothing tastes good when it's coming out cold. Really blah food. Mastrantos also just recently obtained their liquor license but their drinks were weak. My husband had to send back his Old Fashion because it was so watered down. Just wasn't at all impressed with Mastrantos and for spending more than 100 bucks for two people, I expected A LOT more. Never going back. read more

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We are sad to report our revised review. Our experience tonight was lackluster and expensive for two for dinner with drinks $100 pre-tip. The passion spritz lacked any oomph. The cheese plate was bland and more of a lack of cheese plate due to the very small amount of cheese. The seared snapper was overly salty and lacked any flavor apart from salt and the combination with cold soggy farro was gross. The white Bolognese Bianco came out cold and they reheated for us, but even that could not revive a tasteless turkey pasta dish that had over cooked pasta. We had enjoyed our previous two visits but can not recommend anymore. read more

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I really don't recommend this place, the menu is small and we didn't like the food. The chef try to create a fusion food that doesn't taste good. We didn't like The sweet potato Gnocchi and the secreto pork was fatty. Bad experience. read more

Tiny restaurant with great service butttttttttt the food was bleh. Pretty underwhelming. I just wish the food tasted as good as it looked but mostly everything lacked flavor. The best thing we had was dessert which I forget the name of but I remember it had rum in it . Sad because I really love supporting new restaurants in Htown. read more

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Went for a belated birthday dinner last night. I was a bit worried as I'm not a big fan of pasta but didn't want to disappoint the friend taking me out to dinner. What can I say...the energy, ambiance, swank feel was fantastic! The hosts and wait staff were so attentive and knew their menus well. Everyone had a smile and was so welcoming! We tried the Texqueńo appetizer, really unusual but delicious and certainly worth the try. I had the sweet potato gnocchi sooooooo yummy. I had to pace myself and savor each bite, the herbs and the basil pesto and Gorgonzola was the "bomb". The wine was good. Only drawback is I would have loved some crusty bread to lap up the basil pesto sauce. Excellent overall. Will definitely be back read more

My lady and I enjoyed our dinner in the dark experience here. The food was so good we cannot wait to come back. Being blind folded I felt like I could hear so many conversations about the food. All were good. Everyone around us enjoyed everything served. The pork dish that tasted like steak blew my mind! Meeting the chef was really cool. The fact that you can sit at the chefs table is an added perk for sure. read more

Best restaurant in Houston hands down. Food top level and service surpasses that. I feel like I'm dining with family when I come here. The menu is fresh and it feels like a local spot. And that is very very hard to find in Houston. Try the secreto and the passion fruit desert. For sure. But everything is great here even if I can't pronounce half of it :). I'm always happily surprised. My only regret is not coming more often. read more

Mastrantos - Compliments to the chef and the great staff. - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

Excellent food! No pretentious just simple superb taste. Every course was amazing and of course the home made pasta was the star of the show, however the bronzine that's not on the menu yet is perfectly cooked and must try. read more

Love this place but tonight I ordered the Paesoto and 3 of the 5 mussels did not open and so were inedible and I have heard could cause illness. I told 2 people about them, and neither person offered anything to address the potential dangerous meal. I wasn't expecting a comped meal but maybe a dessert or an after dinner drink after our meal where we also had a bottle of wine? We'll be back but won't get anything with mussels in the future. I hope they make it, but there were only 4 tables in the whole place Sunday night during spring break. Please go here but avoid the shellfish. read more

Definitely coming back for more. I love the ambiance, the staff, the owners, and the food. I also really appreciated the precautions they took to take care of the staff and the customers. My favorite was the spaghetti, really sad I didn't get a picture. read more

Mastrantos - Hand sanitizers at the table - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Service and food was excellent- I had the pork dish and it was tender and the wine selection was diverse from California to New Zealand to chile - service again was top notch read more

Nice ambiance and great service. Hostess was great help with a smile. Music was easy listening

Solid 4.5 star experience, with a slight knock on the parking / lack of valet situation. Parking - A bit tricky, with a small lot in the back. It is in a residential area, so street parking is on the side streets, where available. Service - Best I've had in a while. Very attentive, but not overly so. They gave us time to settle in and explore the menus before asking our drink selection. Food - Amazing! Do yourself a favor and get the texasqueño. The menu does not make it sound appetizing, but it really is. I saw the recommendation on yelp, and was happy I got it. Cheers! read more

My husband and I went to a recent event at Mastrantos and we were looking forward to the French wine and dining experience. I moved from Chicago and I am constantly disappointed in the Houston offerings. Mastrantos ambience is great. Love the lighting, decor, and intimate quaintness of this establishment. The owner and the service were very friendly! When I look at the standard menu, I wonder why none of these selections were offered Wednesday evening. They offered 4 courses which included pate, a salad leaf wrapped with cucumber, French fries with a dab of aioli and mashed potatoes with dark gravy with a few pieces of chicken. We were also surprised that no dessert was offered. The wine provided was a sample of 5 French wines that were very small pours and didn't offer fresh glass or opportunity to rinse the glass as you'd see at a typical wine tasting event. The cost was $90 per person with tax and tip. The pate was superb, the salad dressing was good, but the other two offerings were an odd combo and quite frankly nothing special. The 5 samples of wine did not even equal one glass of wine...Our Uber ride was totally unnecessary!! I really wanted this to be something we could brag about and look forward to being a routine diner at Mastrantos, but it was not worth the money nor the time and effort to go out in middle of the week. read more

Good food. Ambiance is laid back but classy. I love the ethnic tilt to the menu including Latin and Asian. We are big fans of the Texquenos. The green sauce (that comes with Texquenos is the bomb). read more

Mastrantos is a good date night location, with an interesting but somewhat limited menu. Pasta rules most of it, with 7-8 options. We has the texqueno and pork belly appetizers. The texqueno sounds weird but its great. Pork belly was average- flavor not great. Entrees- we split the goat cheese tortellini, the dumplings, and the chef's cut beef. Each of them were pretty good, with the beef being surprisingly great. The only disappointment was the portion sizes- the pastas were especially small for an entree. Service was good, nice waiters! read more

Love this place. We will definitely be back! I got the dumplings which were amazing The waiter was super nice and told us All about the menu. It was a very cute small place which I absolutely love. read more

Great food, incredible experience will return. Did dinner in the dark and was a great date night with the wife to try something fun!

Well this might become our favorite place in the Heights, until the next place we find. It was just a perfect evening from start to finish. Greeted with a smile and quickly seated. I am amazed how that simple activity sets up the whole experience. Our server, Jamila, was friendly and had great suggestion from the menu. There were four of us and we were not shy in ordering. We had three appetizers. Summer salad, TexQueño, to die for, Croquetas, just okay we ate it all but probably will not order again and the Texas Summer Fruit. The last one was amazing. A strange combo of ingredients, but all worked perfectly together. That will definitely be ordered next time! For dinners we had the Tri-Tip, Ragu Bolognese, Tortelloni and the Pasta Dumplings. All perfect. Don't make me choose my favorite. Okay if I have to I would suggest the Tri Tips and have your date get the Pasta Dumplings and share. That's our plan for next trip. Then we had dessert. OMG. The chocolate ravioli was so perfect. And perfect size to share. If you are not a dark chocolate fan, stay away. But if you are, this is your new go to dessert. Jamila also brought us a complimentary dessert that she had created for our honest opinion. It was sorta a deconstructed key lime pie, but much better. A great item that we hope will be added to the menu. One last thing. The bar tender came to our table to check on our cocktails. What an awesome gesture. And they were perfect by the way. All this to say , we will be back. Oh one last thing. Very good price point for four without the alcohol the total was only $145. Not bad at all for a 5 star experience. read more

Mastrantos - Pasta Dumplings - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Sunday night dinner for two at Mastrantos. They've put several tables right out front of the restaurant to give an outdoor space. This was a great place for dinner on a Sunday night. Even though most of the tables were full and you are right next to the street, it was nice and quite outside. So I really enjoyed the atmosphere. Food was good, but nothing overly special. Some good pasta dishes for main courses. We split the Three-Way Brussels for an app which were fried, grilled, and raw brussels all mixed together with an aioli sauce. I got the Ragu Bolognese for my main, which I completely finished, so I would recommend that. They had a variety of mixed drinks and glasses of wine to drink as well. read more

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I mean honestly any place that has Victoria beer gets 5 stars from me! Yes it's me I've been MIA but came back to rave about the food. I mean just because it's a pandemic does NOT mean you shouldn't enjoy great food!!!!! Let's kick this off with saying there is parking! Yes parking on site no joke. The restaurant is super cute! Dare I say "date night vibes" yes, yes that is correct if I dated this is where I would come. We got greeted at the front and sat right away. Only one other couple was there but it was 7pm on a Sunday night but something about the place winding down for the day felt so relaxing making our meal more enjoyable. While they do have a reduced menu it has some great options to have. I went for the chorizo carbonara with shrimp! Yes y'all shrimp Y chorizo what a twist right!?! The shrimp was perfectly cooked and my pasta was great. For dessert I had the raviolis now I'll say I only ate a few bites but I'm JUST getting into liking chocolate so they were not my favorite but the ice cream was really good! My mom really enjoyed her peach cobbler also. Overall we loved it and I'd love to come back for brunch to see if they offer a different brunch menu to try. Will definitely be coming back! read more

Overpriced, no real appetizer menu, and automatically selected a 20% tip with the waiter watching to see if you change it. No thank you. Will not be visiting again. The portions were decent but the price for them is outrageous. In what world is this $40a worth of sangria when it only has 2 pieces of fruit?? read more

Mastrantos - Outside patio - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

We enjoyed dinner here after our flight back from Cabo. Waiter was helpful in deciding what to eat. Thoroughly enjoyed the summer salad that had watermelon, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. So refreshing for us. Definitely will find myself here again! read more

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Enjoyed the brunch. Almost left because as we walked in we were asked if we had reservations. No one was in the restaurant. We felt that the hostess was pretentious. Waitress Emelie was very nice. read more

Mastrantos - Egg tostadas - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

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When I say everything they set on our table was a miss, I mean it. I ordered a cocktail (can't remember the name) with cucumber. It lacked depth and basically tasted like a flat sparkling water with alcohol. On to the appetizer. A "ceviche" style dish that was drippy, wilted and excruciatingly spicy. At this point, my hubby and I considered counting our losses and leaving. We decided that would be rude and took a gamble on dinner. Not a big gamble, as I passed on the entrees that sounded interesting and played it safe with a ragu pasta. It was on par with something in the frozen foods section. I'm sorry Mastrantos, but not even the pretty interior could entice us to return. read more

Delicious homemade pasta and great ambiance! Celebrated a birthday dinner here and it was the perfect ambiance and food to start the night. I'm a big pasta snob and Mastrantos definitely passed the test for me. The two dishes I'd like to highlight: - H-Town Chorizo Carbonara: My favorite pasta dish. The chorizo isn't too overpowering (sometimes chorizo can get too chorizo-y in a dish it's not conventionally for, y'know?) and complements the flavors in this dish well. Overall was just a hearty, satisfying pasta dish with great flavors - Porchini Pappardelle: although not my favorite, definitely a must-try.... Especially if you love truffle oil and/or mushrooms. Can't go wrong with this dish at all, just obviously a different palette from the Chorizo pasta dish. Ambiance is dark/moody inside and service was good. Would return! read more

We went there to celebrate my daughter in laws birthday. I ordered the steak and it was delicious and very tender. My husband ordered the Lamb ravioli and it was ok. The pasta seemed a little undercooked. The sour dough bread was different and you had to pay for it. I ordered the grilled artichoke hearts as an appetizer and it was very good but my husband didn't like it much. There were only 6 of us and it seemed to take a long time to get our food even though it was Sunday afternoon and there were very few customers. We asked for a cake for my daughter in law and they brought out a tiny cake the size of a muffin with one candle. This was disappointing so we ordered 2more for the table. I think it was carrot cake. It was good. The bill ended up being quite high because we drank several bottles. of prosecco. The next day my husband looked at the bill and realized that they had charged us a 23% tip charge. They never informed us of this charge and it was not on the menu either. Not realizing this my husband and in law whom we split the bill with both added tips. My husband called the restaurant the next day to complain but was told that the manager was not there but would call back. We're still waiting for the call. Our editor was very friendly, but he should have informed us about the extremely high service charge. Needless to say we won't be going back. read more

Had the most enjoyable dinner at this cozy restaurant. The food was beyond delicious! The carrots on carrots was yummy, the carrot hummus was amazing. Our server Eid was knowledgeable and very good at his job. He had impeccable timing. I didn't catch the hostess's name but she to was very good at her job. We will definitely be back!! read more

Found out about this place from instagram. I appreciate the family owned small business culture. my family also owns a restaurant, so I know how it is. They seem like great people who care about their food and service. I ordered the ragu bolognese and chicken noodle soup. And I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I'm sure they have a lot of other great dishes, but this virus is really making it tough for small businesses. The chicken noodle soup is amazing! Probably the best I have tried. read more

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I was in with a girlfriend for dinner and we were immediately greeted with big smiles. Everyone is lovely and welcoming there! They had just started the summer menu; it included and African-inspired pasta dish that we just had to try. Amazing! We also had the summer Texas salad that includes watermelon SO GOOD!! Dessert was chocolate ravioli... dear heaven, if you've not tried that, you're truly missing out. And their carrot cake is better than my mother's, but please don't tell her! read more

Mastrano's is such a wonderful restaurant! The staff is so welcoming and accommodating. The food is incredible, fantastic chefs!! Highly recommend for your next Italian food craving!!! Will be back soon! read more

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Unbelievable experience with these clowns yesterday. Must be children running this place. Made a same-day, 4pm reservation for the happy hour advertised on Resy. When we got there, they said the happy hour had changed, so we left. Wasted time and money on an Uber. Got an email from Resy that our reservation was cancelled. Replied to clarify that we hadn't cancelled and that they refused to honor the advertised happy hour. Then got an email from the restaurant questioning where we got the happy hour info, with a screenshot of the revised Resy details. I guess they didn't expect me to have already taken a screenshot myself after leaving. What kind of immature, pathetic people would change the Resy details and then email me to lie about it? That's clearly the kind of sad, little people running this place. read more

Mastrantos - Pasta Shops Near Me - Houston, Texas

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as a pasta shop, the menu is limited and food is sub-par.. i ordered shrimp crudo and the parpadelle. they were ok - the pasta wasn't the best i've ever had. it could've also been the lighting because the bar lighting was blue and so the food looked unappetizing. i give them 3 stars because of the service i got. i walked in on a saturday evening and sat at the bar. the host was friendly and so as my server. I asked for a recommendation and Pablo made me a mocktail, a portland's autumn. it tasted really good, like a sparkling blackberry drink, which i enjoyed. for dessert, i requested ice cream and they gave me a scoop of vanilla ice cream + nutella and caramel drizzle on top..which was so tasty and i loved it. i do like their private parking lot and the cool designed bathrooms. read more

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Food - The menu is overly simplistic, you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. We ordered a few entrees, appetizers and cocktails to get a good tasting. The texasqueño was out favorite appetizer and the entrees were too different to pick a favorite but both excellent. Drinks- Cocktails were well balanced and very impressive. Mezcal cocktail was smoky and smooth, Rum cocktail was tart and sweet. Service- On point, never an empty glass and never had to flag anyone down. Parking - No issue, there is plenty in back. Other places opening in the neighborhood may making parking more challenging in the future. No valet. read more

Last time I came here it was LEGIT. The food was all good, and the staff was very nice. There was an oops and the plates were dropped for two in our party. No biggie, they got theirs about 15 minutes later. I would say disappointed because they offered the two each a mimosa or dessert to comp the wait. That was great! But if we were to sit their while they drank mimosas, the other two of us ordered one as well. Our server suggested a carafe instead because of this and we agreed. When he came back with the check, a small percentage was taken off the carafe. We are all nerds and immediately noticed the original promise of 2 mimosas was ~$6-$8 each. With the carafe they suggested, we only got a $2 discount. Just not very customer centric. read more

I did the dining in the dark experience and it was fabulous! I had the seafood meal and everything was delicious. The bar tenders Emily and Pablo were very friendly and helpful. All of the staff members were professional and courteous. The atmosphere of Mastrantos is quite pleasant, with Latin music playing and warm lighting throughout. The design and decor was modern with a calming ambiance. I'd love to go back for a regular dinner service! read more

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