Sorrento Ristorante Italiano

Fine Italian Dining in the Heart of Montrose

(713) 581-8212

415 Westheimer Rd (Whitney Street)
Houston, TX 77006 29.7446 -95.3861

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Neighborhoods: Neartown/ Montrose, Central

SORRENTOHOUSTON.COM

Hours:

Sun-Fri 11am-11pm

Sat 5pm-11pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 1.24.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express , Visa , Discover , MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Late Night Dining , Romantic Dining , Quiet , Private Rooms , People Watching , Online Reservations , Live Music , Notable Wine List , Prix Fixe Menu

Cuisine:

Italian

Smoking Permitted:

At the bar

Editor's Tips

Email Business

What People Are Saying About Sorrento Ristorante Italiano

The Owner

Sorrento Ristorante Italiano

Owner

Sorrento Ristorante is a complete Italian experience located on the lower Westheimer strip. At Sorrento, receive attentive service from their experienced, knowledgeable, and professional staff. They serve a sophisticated, creative and contemporary Italian menu along with an extensive wine list that ranges from the rolling vineyards of Tuscany to California. Some of our menu items include-the double lamb chop stuffed wth goat cheese. The atmosphere is completed by their live piano bar. Zagat Survey rated Sorrento "Excellent" for fine, Italian dining 2006-2007.

Provided by CityGrid

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – Handsome and inviting, this Italian eatery on Lower Westheimer offers high ceilings and higher prices, but the experience is worth it. Impeccable service, romantic atmosphere and quietly attractive, multiroom design foster an air of luxury without ostentation. A pocket-sized bar at the entrance provides an excellent vantage point while the solarium-like side room is a haven for less formal diners. – – The Food – Though the name salutes the resort town near Naples, the food isn't that provincially specific. It's neo-Italian fare, often sleek and delicately…

Editor's Tips

Where to Sit:
The bar is a smoking area and opens into the main dining room; make sure to request a table far removed if that's a concern.
Know Before You Go:
Best buy: A prix-fixe menu ($45 per person) takes you through five courses.
The Extras:
There's also a thoughtful wine list, with several by-the-glass options.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “Only recommendation I'd make is when booking, be sure to ask not to be seated on the patio if you are after a romantic experience.”
  2. “The restaurant is beautiful and very romantic with live piano music, I commented to my waiter one of my all time favorite melodies and shortly after in the middle of dinner they played it.”
  3. “My husband took me to Sorrento the other night for a romantic dinner.”
  4. “Their service was wonderful and is a great place for a family meal (perhaps not for younger kids), a business gathering, or a romantic date.”
  5. “Any time I want a romantic date, this is a good spot.”
  6. “requested a special table, and they sat us at a fantastic quiet table in the corner with excellent ambiance.”
  7. “perfect place for a romantic date.”
  8. “The bar was very comfortable while I waited for the rest of my party, we had some great cocktails.”
  9. “The atmosphere was wonderful and the food even better.”
  10. “As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted by a pleasent valet parking staff and the host at the door was very professional and accomadating.”
  11. “The atmosphere is very masculine, rich dark woods, floor to ceiling high wines, a fireplace room, a man playing the piano.”
  12. “It is a nice, dimly lit, romantic dining room.”
  13. “Romantic atmosphere, Excellent food!”
  14. “When we got there, there was valet parking, we walked into a beautiful dining room with a quaint bar and a live pianist.”
  15. “think these last reviews must have came from another place called "sorrentos" because this place is beautiful, great ambiance, everyone was so helpful, from annete, the day time manager, to the the wait staff, to the bus boy, they all made this such a s”
  16. “Great location”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “We were in the middle of another delicious dinner and they had the piano player play a song just for us, and gave us desert (which happened the first time we were there as well).”
  2. “To top it off they had an awsome pianist, she played Happy Birthday when dessert came.”
drinks
92.5% positive
  1. “The atmosphere is very masculine, rich dark woods, floor to ceiling high wines, a fireplace room, a man playing the piano.”
  2. “The bar was very comfortable while I waited for the rest of my party, we had some great cocktails.”
  3. “They toured me through the fireplace room,a room off to the side that is sort of like a patio looking out that is lovely and a wine room was fantastic for business or special dining.”
  4. “They have a great wine list and a menu that makes you want to come back the next night to order the other meals you were eyeing.”
  5. “cant stand bad plates, light silver and bad glasses, not her everything is so interesting to hold and look at even the iced tea glass was pretty differetnt.”
  6. “As owner of HoustonRestaurants dot com I dine out frequently and when I do not have a new place to try, I spend my time at Sorrento Ristorante on Westheimer sampling their fine food and excellent wines.”
  7. “To drink we had a nice 1998 Amarone that was not outrageously priced.”
  8. “The food is always great and I like their wine menu.”
  9. “He had good recommendations for wine and always made sure we were taken care of.”
  10. “When we got there, there was valet parking, we walked into a beautiful dining room with a quaint bar and a live pianist.”
food quality
89.80999946594238% positive
  1. “All of the food we had was great and highly recommended.”
  2. “went with my husband expecting a nice meal based on the comments that I have viewed about this restaurant but I honestly have to say that they surpassed my expectations.”
  3. “The focaccia was delicious and the roasted garlic garlic in olive oil was a veery nice touch.”
  4. “The lobster bisque is very yummy along with all the other food on the menu!”
  5. “As owner of HoustonRestaurants dot com I dine out frequently and when I do not have a new place to try, I spend my time at Sorrento Ristorante on Westheimer sampling their fine food and excellent wines.”
  6. “Awesome food!”
  7. “am used to fine dining world wide and will frequent this restraunt now for the wonderful food but also the waitstaff.”
  8. “had a salmon with crab and shrip special that was excellent.”
  9. “Their service was wonderful and is a great place for a family meal (perhaps not for younger kids), a business gathering, or a romantic date.”
  10. “Very accommodating, great food”
  11. “If you have a special ocassion to celebrate or just out for a terrific meal I highly recomend Sorrento.”
  12. “highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves great Italian food.”
  13. “It was cooked perfectly, and the green peppercorn sauce was amazing.”
  14. “Regardless if the food is good, this kind of treatment should not be given to customers!”
  15. “The basket of bread they bring out at the beginning is quite impressive and I wish I could have tried more of the varieties.”
  16. “The atmosphere was wonderful and the food even better.”
  17. “love food, and I'm usually pretty easy to please.”
  18. “There brunch food started at ten or so you can spend a little or have the 35 dollar three course like we did on that wonderful spare of the moment”
  19. “It was a beautiful restaraunt with fabulous food and great service by both staff and managers.”
  20. “We were in the middle of another delicious dinner and they had the piano player play a song just for us, and gave us desert (which happened the first time we were there as well).”
  21. “The food was also good.”
  22. “The food took a little longer than expected but our waiter was very professional and apologized because our food had been ordered after a larger party which is why it took so long.”
  23. “My meal was delicious.”
  24. “Beautiful restaurant, great food!”
  25. “The food is always great and I like their wine menu.”
  26. “It was a wonderful meal from start to finish and I would recommend this spot to anyone for any occasion.”
  27. “Romantic atmosphere, Excellent food!”
  28. “you could taste the layers of everything fresh and homemade.”
  29. “First course mushroom pasta was tasty if a bit rich for a first course; Caprese salad (roma tomato/mozzarella) good but average - and then the big disappointment- Sea Bass that unfortunately was aged longer than the cheese and both tasted and smelled spoi”
  30. “The foie gras was bitter, and the toast it sat on had been burned (literally black in parts).”
  31. “The food was fantastic and full of flavor and their menu is full of choices.”
  32. “Bad food.”
  33. “have always been a lover of good Italian food and this place has so many great dishes on their menu that you are hard pressed to decide what you want.”
  34. “They serve serveral types of italian bread warm from the oven with a three or four types of oil for dipping.”
  35. “Great appetizers - but our fish was not that great.”
menu variety
81.4799976348877% positive
  1. “The food was fantastic and full of flavor and their menu is full of choices.”
  2. “The lobster bisque is very yummy along with all the other food on the menu!”
  3. “have always been a lover of good Italian food and this place has so many great dishes on their menu that you are hard pressed to decide what you want.”
  4. “The waitress went out of her way to accomondate our requests, recommended options and rememberes every "odd one"through out the night!”
  5. “loved all of the choices, from brunch Items to full course dinners.”
  6. “The food is always great and I like their wine menu.”
  7. “The basket of bread they bring out at the beginning is quite impressive and I wish I could have tried more of the varieties.”
  8. “Ambience is pleasant and the menu comprehensive.”
  9. “They have a great wine list and a menu that makes you want to come back the next night to order the other meals you were eyeing.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “Their service was wonderful and is a great place for a family meal (perhaps not for younger kids), a business gathering, or a romantic date.”
  2. “have always been a lover of good Italian food and this place has so many great dishes on their menu that you are hard pressed to decide what you want.”
  3. “think these last reviews must have came from another place called "sorrentos" because this place is beautiful, great ambiance, everyone was so helpful, from annete, the day time manager, to the the wait staff, to the bus boy, they all made this such a s”
  4. “simply the overall best italian restaurant in Houston!”
  5. “He can also be turned off very easily if things aren't exactly right (especially for a nice restaurant).”
  6. “went with my husband expecting a nice meal based on the comments that I have viewed about this restaurant but I honestly have to say that they surpassed my expectations.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “They have a great wine list and a menu that makes you want to come back the next night to order the other meals you were eyeing.”
  2. “think these last reviews must have came from another place called "sorrentos" because this place is beautiful, great ambiance, everyone was so helpful, from annete, the day time manager, to the the wait staff, to the bus boy, they all made this such a s”
service
92.30999946594238% positive
  1. “The owner and the waiters have always been very nice and assertive to all of our needs-GREAT customer service.”
  2. “The service was excellent and very attentive.”
  3. “The owner is very friendly and introduced himself to us.”
  4. “Very nice manager and wait staff.”
  5. “We got excellent service.”
  6. “Raul and our waiter Sergio are one of Houston's best waiters.”
  7. “Bad staff.”
  8. “Just excellent service.”
  9. “Maybe we just visited them on an off night and got a bad waiter.”
  10. “His staff is very attentive and makes you feel like family.”
  11. “The service was outstanding.”
  12. “Food is always excellent and service comparable.”
  13. “very nice bartender named Fernando took care of me.”
  14. “We had a fantastic waiter, Sergio, who made sure we had everything we needed.”
  15. “think these last reviews must have came from another place called "sorrentos" because this place is beautiful, great ambiance, everyone was so helpful, from annete, the day time manager, to the the wait staff, to the bus boy, they all made this such a s”
  16. “am very very huge on service and Sorrentos blew me away with how wonderful the service was.”
  17. “The food took a little longer than expected but our waiter was very professional and apologized because our food had been ordered after a larger party which is why it took so long.”
  18. “As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted by a pleasent valet parking staff and the host at the door was very professional and accomadating.”
  19. “The waitress went out of her way to accomondate our requests, recommended options and rememberes every "odd one"through out the night!”
  20. “Our waiter, although very intense and not outwardly friendly, was an excellent waiter.”
  21. “It was a beautiful restaraunt with fabulous food and great service by both staff and managers.”
  22. “They had awesome service!”
  23. “The waitstaff was attentive and knowledgeable.”
  24. “The restaurant is beautiful and very romantic with live piano music, I commented to my waiter one of my all time favorite melodies and shortly after in the middle of dinner they played it.”
  25. “Their service was wonderful and is a great place for a family meal (perhaps not for younger kids), a business gathering, or a romantic date.”
  26. “It's consistently very good and the staff is friendly and helpful.”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “There brunch food started at ten or so you can spend a little or have the 35 dollar three course like we did on that wonderful spare of the moment”
  2. “am very very huge on service and Sorrentos blew me away with how wonderful the service was.”
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. “The food took a little longer than expected but our waiter was very professional and apologized because our food had been ordered after a larger party which is why it took so long.”
1 Star Rating: Poor

12/05/11

Zero Stars. Avoid at All Costs.

by jdmorton at Citysearch

What an incredible disappointment.

My girlfriend and I dined at Sorrento on Friday, 12/2/11 at 7:30 pm. We waited 45 minutes for a table WITH reservations and were ultimately seated adjacent to a restroom (the hostess advised us that no other tables were available).

Our appetizer, the beef carpaccio (which does not require oven preparation), took 30 minutes to arrive.

Even after we had been seated and ordered entrees, the restaurant took an additional 45 minutes to serve our table.

Portion sizes were LAUGHABLY small. Prices were extraordinarily high relative to significantly higher-end, well-established Houston restaurants.

I had ordered an off-menu entree, which our server neglected to mention cost almost $20 more than the restaurant's highest-priced menu entree until I received the bill.

The noise level made dinnertime conversation difficult at best.

We attempted to address our concerns with the restaurant manager following dinner, who was patronizing, argumentative and completely unapologetic.

Zero stars.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/10/11

Amazing!

by KGSG at Citysearch

1st time , went for our anniversary dinner - PERFECT Choice! Bar was acceptional, The food was unbelievable -Fresh Mozzerella, Wild Salmon w/ Lobster Risotto, Double Chocolate Cake with Moscato Praline Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream ~ just the Ice cream alone was worth it!, & finished w/ Lemoncello made in house ~ an incredible end. We took all of our server's suggestions, Anthony was fabulous! Thank you so much Sorrento's for an unforgettable evening!

2 Star Rating: Below Average

10/02/11

Good food, but not same about the service

by clausmte at Citysearch

We went there for dinner, after reading all the nice reviews.

Main points:

-Have to valet park due to limited space. That didn't bothered us.

-The host greeted us with a nice smile. We had reservatinos (recommended).

- We waited at the bar, and the bar tender did not acknowledge of our presence, even though there were only two more couples sitting, he didnt even look at us.

- We had a similar experience with our waiter who simply didn't smile, and didnt bring us the menu for about 10 minutes. I told him with a smile that the food was good, and he didnt even move a muscle on his face.

-The food was good, well presented nice flavors, and a good list of wines.

Even though the food was good I am giving them only 2 stars because the service does not deserve more and service is very important. We left the place feeling disapointed.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/27/11

Excellent Fine Dining

by kdjinor at Citysearch

We were visiting Houston and wanted to go to a nice restaurant near downtown. Sorrento came up in our web search as an excellent choice for Italian food. We were able to make our reservations on the web, get quick directions and we were off for our night out. We drove directly to the restaurant, and the experience began. We were greeted by valet parking, and entered the restaurant a few minutes before our reservation. We were seated at the bar while our table was prepared, and I immediately notice the large variety of wines available. Our service was excellent, the food was wonderful, the choice of wines was far greater than typical. My wife and I shared a salad, a pasta first plate, followed by our main dishes. The selections were cooked to perfection. Our waiter was more than attentive, actually very professional and polite, as were all the people. We were checked on by the owner of the restaurant, and finished with polite conversation. A truly excellent dinning experiance. I can guarantee an excellent night out for anyone. Don't hesitate to go...

4 Star Rating: Recommended

02/26/11

a keeper

by dmatthes at Citysearch

very good food and service; live piano was a nice addition to already lovely ambiance

The Details on Sorrento Ristorante Italiano

Place Categories:

  • great italian food
  • excellent amazing service
  • great experience
  • very professional waiter
  • favorite place
  • helpful staff
  • great atmosphere
  • nice meal
  • very nice owner
  • beautiful romantic dining room
  • great ambiance
  • just love lobster bisque
  • fresh everything
  • bad food
  • very professional host
  • attentive waitstaff
  • average caprese salad
  • average roma tomatomozzarella
  • recommend spot
  • romantic dinner
  • great option
  • wonderful taste
  • great ravioli
  • beautiful restaraunt
  • beautiful italian restaurant

Message from Sorrento Ristorante Italiano

  • Zagat Rated "Excellent"
  • Fine Italian Dining
  • Extensive Wine List

Sorrento Ristorante is a complete Italian experience located on the lower Westheimer strip. At Sorrento, receive attentive service from their experienced, knowledgeable, and professional staff. They serve a sophisticated, creative and contemporary Italian menu along with an extensive wine list that ranges from the rolling vineyards of Tuscany to California. Some of our menu items include-the double lamb chop stuffed wth goat cheese. The atmosphere is completed by their live piano bar. Zagat Survey rated Sorrento "Excellent" for fine, Italian dining 2006-2007.

Sorrento Ristorante Italiano