Cafe Le Jadeite
Houston, TX 77019
Phone: (713) 528-4288
- Price:
- $$
- Cross Street:
- Driscoll Street
- Hours:
- Sun-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
Editorial Review for Cafe Le Jadeite – by Eric Gerber
The Scene
Guests visiting this lavishly decorated Chinese restaurant for the first time (and maybe a few after that) will be left slack-jawed with astonishment. So copiously bedecked with artifacts is Café Le Jadeite, it's more like a museum than an eatery. Enormous brass castings on the walls, crystalline Buddhas, carved stone tomb guards and even a life-sized chariot adorn this white table-clothed River Oaks establishment. White-gloved service can be spotty and even a tad snooty.
The Food
The mostly Hunan menu focuses on well-prepared standards such as orange beef and kung pao chicken. But there are also intriguing alternatives for culinary adventurers, like a luxuriantly creamy pumpkin seafood soup, a delicately sweet cod with pine seeds and a surprisingly tender pork with bamboo shoots. In a wise nod to healthful eating, the kitchen offers some steamed entrees in a zesty but low-cal ponzu-like sauce.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Save MoneySome fixed-price lunches let you ooh and aah much more reasonably--choose from different three-course offerings for less than $10.
User Reviews for Cafe Le Jadeite
06/14/2007 Posted by delanyb
I have been to CLJ several times for dinner and drinks and I just keep going back. They have an awesome menu of martinis to choose from that is sure to please all the way from the serious martini connosuer to the occasional glass tipper. My favorite is the Chocolate martini. The menu is completely different at lunch than at dinner. For lunch the menu is traditional Chinese and reminds you of upscale Chinese food (Americanized). So far everything I have had for lunch was very fresh, hot, and delicious and at prices around $10 make it a top contender in my A list of lunch spots. Dinner has a more continental and gourmet flare with items such as the Quail flambe' appetizer which is visually stunning and fun as well as tasty. Their calamari is some of the most tender in town. Last time I had dinner there I had a seafood combo with lobster tail, skewered scallops, skewered shrimp and crab. They have steak, seafood, everything at night. All this wrapped up in excellent service and an elegant atmosphere with live music just sets the moment and all of my dates have been impressed. I stop in at the bar occasionally just for a drink. The interior decor is over the top in Chinese elegance which makes you feel like you are in New York. Your money spends well and even if you happen to stop in looking very casual (in shorts), you will still get the royal treatment - not turned away. Bring your wallet at night though, a nice 5 course dinner for two with drinks and appetizers, and dessert will clock in at about $150 or more regardless of whether you are wearing shorts, or not. Check in next week when I will review Bijon - a Persian Grill.
Pros: Atmosphere
09/19/2006 Posted by davidderick
My wife and I just built a home in the River Oaks area and we have been eating out nightly because the kitchen isn't ready yet. (Building your own home is tedious, but worth it!) So, what a welcome shock it was to walk inside this artfully glorious restaurant that made my wife, a native New Yorker, feel right at home. The menu was dazzling, the dishes were well-crafted with fresh ingredients and beautiful presentation and the service was supreme. I love highly spiced food, and when I asked them to amp it up, they did! We will be back! What a delight!
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