Mark's American Cuisine

12/26/09

I actually wanted steak sauce

by food snob at Citysearch

Too many tables too close together. the veal and steak were bland with very little seasoning or flavor. they tried too hard on entrees and there was too much rosemary on the potatoes.

• Pros: pours a stiff cosmopolitan
• Cons: bland overpriced food

12/10/09

Highly Overrated, much better restaurants out there

by drewno at Citysearch

I took my girlfriend here for her birthday, had read the reviews and heard from friends that it was a good spot. Had a 7 o'clock appointment and had no trouble getting a table. The restaurant is beautiful, the wine cellar that is viewable from the restaurant is very impressive. But that is where my positive experience ended. I browsed the wine list, almost impossible finding something that is under $100. The wine we did have, Caduceus, was actually quite nice at $105, but I'm sure it can be found for less elsewhere. We started with the quail and foie gras appetizer, far from impressed. To many strange flavors that didn't compliment the dish at all. She had the Carribean Lobster special, I had the Shrimp dish. Both were topped with a heavy amount of sauce that completely took away any flavor you would get from the Lobster or Shrimp. Very sour and pungent taste that lingered far too long. She had the Creme Brulee which was the highlight of the meal, I had the Chocolate sampler which was far from memorable. Server seemed to be slammed, and his visits to the table were few and far between. Our table was terrible, against a wall and felt very cramped the whole time.

All in all, I do not understand how this place has gotten such wonderful reviews. Our bill was close to $400 and there are so many restaurants I would have rather gone to. I've eaten at some great restaurants in this city, and Mark's is close to if not THE bottom. Stay away from the Lobster if you do go, it was $94.95 and covered in cream.

• Pros: Wine, beautiful restaurant.
• Cons: Food, service, cramped atmosphere.

11/19/09

maybe 3.5 stars on its best night (which was not tonight)

by cmk1126 at Citysearch

Well, I just purchased a $200 lesson for two. I'll dispatch with the good first. Dessert excepting, the food ranged from fine to very good (almost great in small parts). The flavors came more from spice and salt than the simpler flavors from the ingredients, which I thought was unusual for a place that seems somewhat chef driven. The foie gras was a little burnt, not seared, and everything I ordered had something sausagey involved. Cuisine, it was not, but it was generally enjoyable and there was a lot of it. Three and a half stars for the food.

With so few choices in Houston, I probably would have gone back were the service not so terrible. The waiter, an old fellow with a southern accent, was inattentive and showed no concern for the quality of the food. It took about 30 minutes to get the check after dessert was over and I'd run out of coffee (no refills offered). And the dessert itself was a BIG miss--four kinds of boring chocolate mousse and creme brulee on the lower side of middling. He had described a souffle, but I got mousse in a souffle cup instead. And three other kinds of strikingly similar mousse. I had about four bites, trying a little of everything. The busser cleared it without any concern that I had eaten almost none of it, and without asking if I was done (which is odd because it looked like it was just delivered). We mentioned to the waiter it was not enjoyed. He shrugged, walked off, and dessert remained on the bill.

Maybe you think the service was just off and you should go anyway. To you, I say that even if the service were 5-stars, the food, though usually good, was on the very low end of what one can get away with at the price charged. So best case scenario, you almost get ripped off but not quite.

• Pros: there was usually something tasty on the plate
• Cons: service was MISERABLE; misses--some big--with each dish