07/28/09

Back in business!

by wk3

We were there the night in reopened in June. As expected the service was a work in progress. They also did not have some wines on the wine menu. However, this is among the foreseeable issues when you reopen after massive damage. We will be going back as it seemed very much the same as it was before Ike.

• Pros: good Italian food

09/29/08

Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

by jjverdl

We live in Houston and have a second home in Galveston. We've tried many restaurants over the years and Luigi's is still our favorite. Best bread, fish, steak, and pasta served on the island. Food is always hot and good! We've found nothing to match it on the island and eat there every time we are in Galveston. It's a great night when Luigi sings -- what a treat!

The restaurant received quite a bit of damage as a result of Hurricane Ike. We, along with Luigi's many loyal patrons, are counting the days until we can celebrate his re-opening. Galveston is not the same without him! It's a fantastic respite after a hectic week in Houston!!

• Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Luigi!! Upstairs is great for a large gathering.

05/21/08

Wish their service was as good as the chef's singing

by nhk38

There was a bit of a wait to eat, but the bar was not too busy. We waited about 10 minutes before the bartender made her way over to us. You could tell from her body language that she was less than thrilled to be there. When she finally came over to us her attitude proved our suspicion. We ordered and smiled with the hopes that some small act would keep her from going in the back and buying the farm. Bartender, here is the tip we did not leave you: FAKE IT, I don?t really care if you are having a bad day or how much you hate your job. I am looking to have an enjoyable evening with my wife. We are there to spend our hard-earned money at your restaurant, put a smile on for us, k? Eventually our table was ready. Since it was on the later side, we ordered light. When the waiter arrived, he was underjoyed with our selections. Our food came out and the runner just left the dishes on the tray. After a few minutes of servers walking by with our food just sitting there, I got up and served us - only to find that after asking if there was pork in one dish (there was), we discovered bacon in the soup (bacon = pork, fyi). In a desperate attempt to increase our bill, he got us each in to another glass of wine. Well, he asked if we'd like another glass to which we said yes and he walked off. 10 minutes later, he came back by to ask my wife, again, what kind of wine she was drinking. I am guessing that he just wanted her to be completely sure about her selection? I dunno? By this time we had just given it all up to God. The only redeeming factor was the absolutely incredible voice of the chef (Luigi?) who came out to sing Happy Birthday. The room erupted in applause. Bravisimo! We were definitely disappointed in the service and the food only seemed fair. Obviously we did not order a main dish, so don't take my word on that. From my waiting experience I know any so/so meal can be made 10 times better by the service from the wait staff. Luigi's could definitely use some improvement!

• Pros: Singing
• Cons: Service, waitstaff and barstaff attitude.

10/05/07

Luigi is one of Texas' finest Italian chefs!... and friendly too!

by alanbrann

Our second home is in Galveston. Over the years we have tried most all the restaurants. There are many great places, but Luigi's stands out as our favorite of favorites. Luigi is one of Texas' finest Italian chefs and his restaurant has a fine romantic atmosphere. The menu has a wonderful selection of appetizers, entrees and deserts. dishes. Slow down, pace yourself, share (if you must) as you will want to sample all that Luigi has to offer and still have room for desert. For an appetizer, order the portobello mushrooms that are covered with large chunks of crabmeat in a lemony white wine sauce or the mussels in a white or red sauce( I prefer the white) The gorganzolla salad is a real treat. The veal ravioli is a must order and goes fast on Saturday. Another favorite is the tagliatelle di Martha, fetucini alfredo with homemade suasage. Now for the desert, one must order his chocolate gelato and the other Luigi's own version of tres leches! Additionally for larger events, there is an upstairs dining room for private functions, it is like no other!

• Pros: Truly a great dining experience!
• Cons: Best to make reservations as it can fill up fast

10/03/07

FINEST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS

by plmpph

We live in the Houston Galleria and own a home in Galveston. We have been going to Luigi's for about 6 years and find it is maybe the finest restaurant in the entire southeast part of Texas! We find not one restaurant in Houston (remember we live in the Galleria) with better food, and NONE equal the hospitality, ambiance, and caring owner/operators (Martha & Luigi Ferre)!

The article about them overcharging the tip or rounding it up is hogwash (that's not the word I really wanted to use!)....we were there last Saturday (the food was magnificent as was the wine) and I did a sloppy job of writing in the tip--the awesome waiter (Tony) brought me the bill as I was leaving to clarify the tip.

Last Thanksgiving we had family and friends (12 total) from our area, from California, Florida, and North Carolina. They were every one totally blown away by the entire experience at Luigi's.

This place is totally off the scale (on the GOOD SIDE!) for food, wine, ambiance, decor....there is no place we'd rather eat!

Warren Sprung

• Pros: EXCELLENT FOOD, SERVICE, WINES, AMBIANCE!
• Cons: NONE.

07/04/07

Not a good experience as a group

by gwickes

Our party of 10 (4 adults and children ? ranging from 15 to 27 years old) visited Luigi's hoping for an enjoyable Italian dining experience. Right from the start, this was not a good experience and I certainly don't recommend this restaurant at all. The wait staff and management seem to be out to make money, not to serve with quality and earn business.

Overall, I would not characterize the food or menu to be representative of a higher quality Italian restaurant. The bread on the table was stale. The breaded veal offering had a strange variation of taste and was closer to what you?d find from a frozen dinner, not a higher end restaurant. There was no one at the table that exclaimed how wonderful their dish was. Conversely, no one remarked that the food was bad... the food was just okay.

While we didn't order a bottle of wine, some did want to order a glass and my 27 year old niece was offended by the waiter when he took away her glass saying "you're likely not old enough for wine". Not the thing to say at all!

The final straw came during the presentation of the bill. The menu stated parties more then 6 would be charged 18% (fair enough? that is consistent with most restaurants). However, instead of the computer provided the gratuity amount, the waiter presented the check arbitrarily hand writing and rounding up the gratuity to what amounted to 20.5%! When questioned, the waiter said he was just rounding things up to make it easy, he didn't have a calculator...

We asked to speak to the manager...amazingly; she seemed to accept this practice as reasonable. Instead of helping to resolve the situation (such as acknowledging this is not acceptable practice, adjusting the gratuity amount, or working something out), her approach and attitude inflamed the situation. In the end she walked away without offering any resolution and instead stated that the waiters were there to make money. Amazing!

• Pros: building and room are interesting
• Cons: attitude

04/06/07

What happened?

by violahenny

Like the previous reviewers, I used to think the food here was fantastic. I would definitely have driven the 45 miles from Houston just to dine here. My last visit, however (before this one) was in 2003, like all the other reviewers. After my experience tonight I can say that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong at Luigi's. The menu was wrong- too many dishes overcomplicated by weird combinations like ravioli with smoked duck AND alfredo sauce. Not enough classic Italian. The veal osso bucco, which used to be fabulous, was a big heaping mass of basically pot-roast with a giant bone with NO marrow inside it. If it even was veal, it was not the best cut of meat. Even the spaghetti marinara (ordered off the menu, because they didn't have a single pasta dish that wasn't cream or smoked duck based except for eggplant parmigiana) tasted worse than the Olive Garden. I don't even like the Olive Garden. Pasta was not cooked to order or else the line chef back there was sleeping on the job, because it was about 20 minutes past "al dente." And the wine list....don't get me started. It was small, boring, not particularly Italian, marked up at least 400% instead of the usual 200-300%, and there were hardly any vintages even listed alongside the bottles. All and all, very very sad to learn that one of the finest culinary jewels of Galveston is no more. What happened?

• Pros: nice building
• Cons: everything else

07/18/06

Reminiscent of a cozy trattoria, this posh restaurant serves up good Italian fare in a casual yet upscale setting.

by Contributor

The Scene
Inside the Sealy-Hutchings building, this posh restaurant is the first solo effort of Luigi Ferré. Sleek, black trim offsets the casual trattoria feeling that comes from the exposed brick walls and archways. Hundreds of bottles of wine peek out from the tall racks built between the brick columns along one wall.

The Food
Menu items like chicken Parmesan and lasagna are familiar Italian favorites. Selections like rotolo di mare (a pasta roll filled with asparagus, shrimp and crab meat) or capellini topped with crab-meat-stuffed Gulf shrimp take advantage of the island locale. A number of pasta, lamb, veal and beef dishes are also available. For a close-up look at the culinary action, consider arranging to sit at the chef's table in the kitchen. The specially prepared five-course meal is a treat.

04/27/03

A Good Stop

by carmen632

The Strand was quiet for a Friday night, but Luigi's was ready for us. The setting was casual yet classy. We were seated promptly and we had a very attentive waiter (Wes).

The bread with garlic olive oil was delicious. The mushroom/celery salad was delicious, but the artichoke hearts had some stiff leaves still on them. My husband's filet mignon and fettucine alfredo were perfect. I ordered pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and shrimp. Wes had mentioned a flavorful marinade, but the shrimp just tasted shrimpy to me. Overall, the food was very high quality and the wine list was reasonable. We were not tempted by any of the deserts on the menu. Maybe next time!

• Pros: Service, Prompt Seating, Good Value
• Cons: Artichoke hearts hard

02/08/03

dine with some fine wine

by eddie77586

I went to luigi's for the first time last night. It was the most pleasant experiance that I have ever had. Chef Luigi not only cooked up a delicious meal with great wine but came out and sang with a tremendous voice. This is by far the best restuarant that I have ever ate at. It is a must for everyone who loves italian food. It is a 10 in my book well done Luigi ciao.