Bistro Lancaster @the Lancaster Hotel

Doesn't Recommend

kjtowner

Joined 2 years ago

Horrible service. The food was pretty good, but really expensive. I don't think I would have never gone to this restaurant at all if my friend hadn't bought a restaurant(dot)com gift certificate.

But the service was absolutely terrible. Maybe because my friend and I are young and couldn't order drinks they assumed we would tip them bad. So they rarely checked on us and multiple times I had to ask for drink refills from different employees because our waiter was ignoring us.

We spent over $70s total and with the restaurant(dot)com gift certificate they would automatically get 18% anyway (about $15)... but I guess that wasn't enough because when they brought the change back to us, they kept some of my cash! I guess they thought they deserved a 30% tip??? I had to ask for the rest of my money back and they were very rude about it.

I will NEVER go there again. There are much better restaurants in Houston than this place.

Doesn't Recommend

Kada93

Joined 5 years ago

NOT AS GOOD AS IT LOOK. My family and I decided to go to this restaurant before attending an event at the Jonas Hall because of its convenience proximity to it. The menu offered was three course meal. The food look very nice but the taste was not as expected. I asked for a braised cornish hen with rissotto, the cornish hen was very greasy with normal flavor, nothing special, the rissoto was awful! tons of fat all over the plate , I am not picky about food but I could not keep eating the rissotto!. Event he desserts we ordered, the were awesome looking but they have not a good taste at all. I had the bread pussing , i though it was going to be awesome in a place like that , but i was wrong it was a normal bread pudding with mashed fig on the bottom. It seems the chef has some idea on how to cook but not enough to be doing these kind of plates. We will not reccommend this restaurant at all.

Doesn't Recommend

southsideslim03

Joined 5 years ago

Absolutely Horrible. My wife and I go for an after symphony date night and as soon as we walk in the place smells like dirty mop water. We chalked it up to the smells of downtown and continued to proceed into the restaurant. We were greeted to a hostess who was very sloppy and was not attentive to who was walking through the door. She didn't even have the audacity to say "Follow me.." or "Right this way". She just walked off. The seat she first sat us in was so dirty there was still food left over from the last person. We switched seats and before we could even sit down the waiter asked us with a very abrupt "would you like any libations?" and seemed irritated by us since we didn't know what we wanted yet. When we told the hostess that we wanted to cancel our reservations she didn't even hesitate to ask why. She continued to look at her phone and gave us a side look with a reply of "OK...bye".

Bistro Lancaster was horrible and if you're looking for an intimate nice upscale restaurant this is not it.

Recommends

burns1942

Joined 6 years ago

Its my favorite place to stay in Houston-The food is wonderful and the staff couldn't be more welcoming!. The hotel needs some rennovations, however they still maintain that on-point customer service that is so hard to find. This hotel for years has been a warm and friendly place to stay. And it is nice to see "They Still Have It." The staff helps you feel at home and goes to great lengths for you. We had an exceptional breakfast during our stay, the service could have been faster, however we were lucky to have gotten a seat.

Recommends

xii_gage

Joined 6 years ago

A Wonderful Dining Experience for a Date!!. On a recomendation from a friend, I made reservations for my wife and I. The food was excellent; we started with the Ceasar salad ( very tasty, it had a slight citrus taste to it and included huge grilled/sauteed prawns) I then had the Blue Cheese Crusted Filet (med) that melted in my mouth while my wife had a Salmon filet that was topped with a Mango salsa? The flavors mingled well together. Very nice, warm service and drinks from the bar were excellent! Overall a great experience, a little pricey, but for the ambiance, prompt service, hot food, and cold drinks, it is well worth it. We will definately be back for more.

Small Bistro so reservations are recommended, definately not for kids. Excellent place for a drink before a show!

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Take in breakfast or a pre-theater meal at this smart bistro in the Lancaster Hotel.. In Short
Count on brisk service, serious coffee and fresh-squeezed OJ at this handsome, sunny-by-day refurbished landmark. Breakfast champions include the Lancaster with poached eggs on toasted English muffin with grilled Canadian bacon, topped with hollandaise sauce or the Heart Vitale breakfast of two cornmeal pancakes with fruit puree syrup and fresh fruit.

Doesn't Recommend

RAJohnson

Joined 11 years ago

Disappointed - Romantic dinner ruined. Made an 8:30 reservation so we could listen to piano music. Were promptly seated because all other patrons left for concert, including piano player who never came back. We had to slow down the service to stretch out our special evening. Fillet was overcooked. Ribeye was luke warm. Got tired of waiting for redo on steak and "live" music, so, got up and left.

Doesn't Recommend

hicksjmma

Joined 9 years ago

disrespectful service, poor food. Visited 10/04. Chicken served room temperature. Filet mignon overcooked but served slightly chilled, as if pre-prepared and refrigerated. Crabcakes acceptable but not exceptional. Service was abysmal, with water glasses and bread plates left empty. Management was insulting, making the entire experience horribly disappointing.

Recommends

bullegoyri

Joined 11 years ago

WOW!. What a treasure. We found the quaint and intimate Bistro Lancaster to be an extraordinarily authentic European style eatery. The food is simply excellent and the service seems to be a perfect balance of southern hospitality and formality. We loved the evening "uptown and urban" intimate feeling on weekends with their live pianist Steve hitting the right notes with Jazz and contemporary music. What a neat touch. It truly was exciting to be there. We recommedn the Crabcakes, though a little pricey, they were the best we've ever had. The filet mignon with cabernet and truffle sauce was outstanding. The wine list (the true measure of a quality restaurant)was not very extensive but the selections were well chosen. Kudos! Only drawback was that sometimes it is hard to get a table without reservations, especially prior to the shows. Keep up the great work guys - don't change anything!