The Petroleum Club is an excellent venue space especially if you're related to O&G and/or love big…read moresweeping downtown Houston views. The club is on the 35'th floor of the Total building in downtown Houston and has a multitude of rooms available for just about any function, ranging from the intimate private dining room for 8, to a large event space fit for 200+. I've attended industry luncheons, fundraisers, birthdays, and weddings at The Petroleum Club over the years, and have always been happy with how it turned out.

Oh the views! You need to visit this Club for the views. There are several rooms and you certainly…read morethink you are living amongst the oil patch fat cats in this upscale dining Club. My meal was prepared and presented well. Server staff were helpful and friendly. It's a great experience especially if someone else is paying.

David and his team at Swift Events were fantastic to work with. David helped me create a lovely…read morevenue for my daughter's hill country wedding. I highly recommend!

Ali is so incredible! Of all my vendors for the event she was the most responsive, helpful and…read morepatient. I cant say enough good things about my experience with this company. I looked at multiple places across Houston for event rentals and this place either has it all or hunt it down to will get it for you! I'll never know how she was so organized but wow! Can't wait for the event to see it all come together!!

Etta's Little Kitchen is a pop up restaurant on Wednesday and Sunday at Bar 5015. This was my first…read moretime visiting bar 5015...really cute bar! I also enjoyed the music collaboration with DJ RedSoda. We came on a Wednesday for dinner. We ordered at the bar and were given a number. I think the menu changes. I tried to shrimp and grits and oxtail: the grits are served in a tasty fried square. The oxtail was very tender. Excited to come back for more and maybe brunch (although it sounds like there's a wait!)

I decided to give Etta's another chance after my bad experience. The customer service was amazing…read more It was a complete 360 from the time before. The food was delicious as usual. I'm glad I didn't give up on Etta's. I will be continuing to support!!

First time at Magnolia Ballroom and I was only here for a World Cup watch party (Dutch fans…read morementioned this spot after the walk to the stadium).. It's more of an event space with a lot of history rather than a typical bar, but they transformed it for the Netherlands/Sweden watch party and did a great job... International flags hanging everywhere, a big screen, and small tables set up that kept things intimate. We watched the game with a mix of fellow Netherlands and Curaçaoan fans, which I know can be a complicated relationship, but we were all there in orange so it was all love. One thing I really appreciated was they let you bring in outside food.. they made a special menu for drinks, and the cocktails were pretty decent too. (I ordered a margarita).. Service was friendly, and honestly one waiter was all they needed. Glad I got to check this place out. The natural sunlight coming through, the old wood floors and staircases.. you can really feel the history in there. Vintage vibes all around... Cool spot.

The setting is very 'Texas'. As in, flags everywhere. The entry is a bit musky but once you get…read moreupstairs the smell clears right up. Table settings, wood floors, and natural light inside the (small) event space make for a nice enough atmosphere. Service: considering that I had gone to the trouble of setting up an appointment and they completely ignored me - even after I knocked on the office door, watched them look at me, and continue about their business - I'm gonna go with "unfriendly" Location: in the heart of downtown, which could be sketchy later in the night. Food: They do allow outside catering after all (hooray!) and beverages Overall: meh. A definite no.

The hubs conducted a happy hour Yelp search, zeroed in on Lawless, as there aren't many in the top…read more10 that we haven't tried, and we made our way over! Lawless gives speakeasy vibes as from the entrance (I wish they'd pull that carpet as there's a stale smell when you walk in), you don't get the full glory of this spot. Now, once you head upstairs, there's a different (and much more exciting) story to be told! The street view, the balcony, the decor, and the "dark loungey" aesthetic is giving! We had a round of drinks ($3 off for happy hour)! The hubs had an old fashioned, and I ordered the pineapple ginger beer -- which is actually on the mocktail list, but I wanted it and added tequila. Danny, our fantastic bartender/server, was excellent (personable and attentive). He manned the bar and checked on us frequently. We ordered the fried ravioli and the meatball appetizers and (although they took quite a while to arrive) they were delicious! All in all, we'd definitely recommend and return with friends. Cheers!

If it's not clear from the Yelp listing, this place is an event-only space. Not open to the public.read more

Attended a private event at The Houston Club. Parked at 811 Louisiana Garage that was catty corner…read morefrom the club. I followed 2 ladies that were headed to the same event via the underground tunnel since it was hot outside. However, she led us to another similar sounding club - never knew there was another club. The other lady led us back to the garage elevator where we then followed the reliable directions provided by the host of the event. Arrived, checked in and enjoyed the evening event. The view from the 39th floor was quite spectacular - it was like watching live traffic on the highway. The Hors d'Oeuvres at the club were quite good. That makes sense as they are a long standing eating establishment in this city. There were spring rolls, chicken fingers, beef skewers, various dips with pita bread or pretzel bread sticks. Loved the spring rolls and chicken tenders best. Some of my company had beef skewers dipped in crab dip. I tried dipping the chicken fingers with the crab dip - quite good. The desserts of chocolates and mini tarts were just enough to round up the evening that flew by in the wink of an eye. Tried a sparkling brut and it's the pairing to do. There was a tequila tasting event and we tried swigs of 3 different types of tequila. They also made a refreshing citrus tequila on the rocks for my table of 4. After that, I started hydrating with 2 glasses of soda water. Time flew by so quickly and it was time to go. The kind host made sure the parking ticket had a validation sticker. Exiting the garage was a breeze.

Luvz. Always a wonderful experience. Steeped in Texas history and with the greatest service in…read moreHouston to boot.

Everything is good here! Ask them nicely, and they might make you something from the breakfast menu…read morefor lunch. I love their lentil soup here. It's a pretty random thing to order nowadays, but I love their take on it. Easy on the stomach and healthy, I always make it a point to order it. There's something for everyone here. They have salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pastas. The place is always clean and the service is friendly and pleasant.

Made a visit with a friend for Houston Restaurant Week (HRW) $20 lunch…read more Entered a fairly quiet dining room with 3 other tables, and was greeted immediately by a friendly waiter. I opted for the charcuterie board and the salmon. Presentation was a beautiful work of art for both plates. Charcuterie board had a decent variation of meats and also had a sort of super rich salmon pate (initially I thought it was cheese). As far as the entree goes, I felt as if I had a plate of salmon alongside a bunch of random decorative vegetables. Presentation was very nice, portion was fairly large, just more so random to me. Taste was ok. We didn't opt for the $5 supplemental dessert, however we were given 3 delightful complimentary coconut and banana white chocolate truffles upon receiving the check. I'm thankful for opportunities like HRW to give me a chance to try places that I normally wouldn't go to. Not sure if I'd return though.

Le Bistro is a French restaurant located inside the Culinary Institute Le Notre. What initially…read morestarted off as a bad experience made a dramatic reversal. I tried to stop by on a Friday evening for dinner. Le Bistro is located on the north side of town, is not in the best area, so it was a bit of a drive. Once we arrived, we were asked if we had a reservation. We did not. They were unwilling to accommodate us as they require reservations. We had to leave and dine elsewhere. For the inconvenience, we were offered a free glass of wine on our next visit. Le Bistro is a small restaurant so I get it. But, when we visited the next week, the restaurant wasn't full. That's not to say it wasn't when we tried. Either we were unlucky or they use an antiquated system without the flexibility that diners expect in this day and age. Rant over. Fast forward to the following Friday and we stopped by for Houston Restaurants Week. They start you off with some warm bread, fresh out of the oven, with butter. A lot of it too. We demolished all of it. For my appetizer, I had the scallops which are served with risotto. Scallops are easy to mess up but they cooked them just right. Soft in the middle with a nice crispy sear on top. The risotto complimented the scallops nicely. For my entree, I had the waygu strip which is served with potato sticks (the fancy kind) and green beans. For all the steak eaters out there, you know that waygu is an expensive cut of meat. I was expecting a small portion as a result. It was not. 10 ounces which was a lot more than I expected. This dish alone is probably worth more than the $45 you pay for three dishes during HRW. This was my first time having waygu and it was as advertised. A little fatty on the outside but flavorful, chewy, and buttery when you take off the fatty ends. An excellent cut of steak that everyone should try at least once! The sides were also good. For my dessert, they were out of two out of three of the desserts listed but offered us some alternatives. I went with an apricot flan which was alright. Throughout the meal, we had a bottle of red wine which was also great. Eating at a culinary institute is an experience in itself. You're going to receive excellent service. The waiters and waitresses are students so they have an incentive to provide great service. Not only are they getting a tip but they're being graded. At the end of the meal, they give you a card to rate your experience and sign up for any culinary classes that you're interested in. Not only do they have several classes available, but you can also get a diploma as well as an associates or bachelors if you're trying to become a master chef. The chefs are from France so you're learning from the best. The presentation of the food should also be noted. The food looks like art. Which is what you would expect at a fancy French restaurant. We had a 5-star experience. The service was friendly and efficient. Just make sure to make a reservation.