VOICE Restaurant & Lounge

12/23/09

Heavy on the salt, lacking on the service

by texasyaya at Citysearch

The topper on the food service was when we asked for decaff capucinos and we were told we are out of decaff would you mind regular? What? Out of decaff. They said they had decaff coffe but we were served the regular, as evidenced by being awake at 5AM. They must make the capucinos by using a mix of some sort. The waitress walked off from our table before she took the rest of the desser order when we started laughing about the decaff statement.

My soup was the scallops and was very very salty. And the portion was so tiny in this huge bowl that I had to tilt the bowl on the first bite. Salad was good but the good stuff was hidden under the lettuce with no garnish showing on the plate as presented. Mushroom capucino soup was good but gimicky.

Entree came out hot and timely. Port tender was a tiny serving of three little medallions. Menu had said it was served with sweet potatoes but it was just a swipe of color on the plate. Duck was good. Bone in Ribeye was good. Fish serving: we asked for Halibut served and garnished as the grouper and we got grouper prepared as the grouper. Server argued with us and we sent it back.

Dessert was weird. Chocolate cake was stale tasting and dry and the weird salty ice cream was a loser. I cannot even remember the other dessert. It was not memorable. And we only had two since she walked off from the table.

This was a Christmas gift night from a friend and I did not complain. We had a wonderful time visiting in the gorgeous room. But the host was taken advantage of with the prices and the quality of the food.

• Pros: Beautiful Room, quiet, elegant, comfortable chairs
• Cons: Service was awful. Real downer. Food salty

11/13/09

Enjoyable enough, but a little lacking in value

by cmk1126 at Citysearch

Voice is pretty good, and I might go back because it's close to work. But a person can get better food for the money, even in Houston. I wouldn't say it's a rip off, but they charge at the very top of the range for the quality of food they serve. The execution of everything was fine; the dishes were fairly safe--not particularly creative. Nothing was wonderful, but everything was OK. The service was friendly enough. I like the space, and the music was usually pleasant too. As for decor, I can't endorse the cow-print chairs (and tapestries?), but everything else looked nice.

• Pros: completely acceptable

09/23/09

Favorite Restaurant in Houston

by opinion2008 at Citysearch

I discovered Voice recently during restaurant week and like it so much we went back with others a 2nd time when restaurant week was extended. This is definately my new favorite restaurant in Houston. (ok, it might be tied with one other). Really wonderful food both times and all our dinner companions were equally happy. The dining room is absolutely beautiful. The staff was perfect the 1st time. Slightly less perfect the 2nd time but still much better than much of the service in Houston. This will be my go to place for all special occassions or for dinners when we want to do wine pairings. $25 corkage fee per bottle allows us to bring along some of our wine collection.

• Pros: Food, decor

07/03/09

Amazing Anniversary Experience

by adambrown123 at Citysearch

My wife and I just had our 3rd anniversary and I scoured the entire city to find the perfect restaurant. I wanted to go somewhere downtown, and we hadn't been to VOICE before, so I thought we'd give it a try...ended up being an amazing experience that I just have to share! I called about a week in advance to make the reservations, and told the employee that we would be there for our anniversary. When we walked in the restaurant, Ludwig was very gracious and remembered speaking to me on the phone, and told us "happy anniversary." Really good service.

Next, on to the service and food. Our server, Chris, was very knowledgeable, but not pretentious in the least (in fact, when we ordered normal ice water, he made a joke about people who order distilled water). Me being a law student, we had to be slightly economical--I ordered one of the cheapest bottles of wine on the menu, which was an Argentina Malbec priced at $35. I was surprised at how good it was for that price...but honestly none of the wine seemed to be overpriced for the type of restaurant it is (there were several bottles in the $50-60 range).

We started off with the mushroom truffle cappuccino (soup). Let me just say this might be the best cup of soup I've ever had. It was extremely rich and delicious, with the natural flavors of the mushroom and truffle to season itself without adding a ton of salt. You must try this if you decide to go. Then we shared a salad recommended by Chris that was a special for the week...I'm not normally much of a salad guy but this was really good and my wife loved it.

Onto the entrees, I had the lamb, and my wife had the duck. We were both just amazed at how tender and perfectly seasoned our food was. The lamb was served on a bed of mushrooms, onions and potato wedges--the perfect additions. The duck was served over a bed of sweet corn and black-eyed-peas (kind of a summery dish) with a corn-puree sauce drizzled around the edge. It was to die for.

Chris recommended a white-chocolate creme brule for dessert...which was amazing. Also, when they brought it out, the chef had drizzled "happy anniversary" around the edge of the plate with chocolate...what great service!! (and obviously got me some points with the wife, haha.)

Anyway, all in all, this restaurant has it all: perfect ambience, food, service. And at $120 (before tip) it wasn't just out of this world expensive for the amount of food and wine we got. Great place for a special occasion, just ask for Chris to be your waiter, he will treat you like royalty!

• Pros: Great food, wine; exceptional service
• Cons: none

08/15/08

GREAT FOOD. If you're a foodie, you GOTTA GO

by thebestcritic at Citysearch

This was our first visit and it was on ?Houston Restaurant?s End Hunger Week?; our initial impression wasn't very good. We sat at the bar waiting our friends, it took 25 minutes to get a glass of campaign and vodka rocks (very simple drinks). There were only 5 other people at the bar.

When we were seated we order another round from our waiter, and it took 30 minutes to get the second round, bring them out one or two at a time. We order a bottle of moderately priced Italian red, the waiter brought out Chardonnay glasses after about 10 minutes, and then the wine followed 10 minutes later. My wife asked the waiter about the glasses, and he obliged by replacing them with Cabernet glasses. Fortunately, the remainder of the evening went very well. The food was ?on time,? proper temperature, and absolutely wonderful; making up for all the blunders leading up to the meal.

As this was a first visit, we order different times and shared. For starters we had: Mushroom Soup "Cappuccino"? The best every, and great presentation; Corn Risotto ? Excellent; Blue Cheese Salad ? Very tasty. Main Course: Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs ? Fantastic flavor and texture over pureed potatoes; Gulf Red Snapper ? Perfectly done, very fresh, and uniquely garnished; Pork Tenderloin ? Very nice, certainly above average, but nothing unique. Desert: Vanilla Creme Brulee with berries ? EXCELLENT, Warm ?Gooey? Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream ? not sure, my wife wouldn?t share.

The ambience is EXCELLENT; parking was complementary valet at the door; service has a long way to go to meet the standard necessary; food is fantastic and unique; limited menu, but varied. When the manager came around we explained our initial problems and he comp?d the drinks as a gesture of good will and apologized with making excuses. Hope the service problem will be remedied soon and Voice will make the big times.

STAY OUT of the BAR, it might tarnish your evening bu starting you out wrong.

• Pros: Food, Creativity, Ambience
• Cons: Service, Bar

08/13/08

The ideal location for a special occassion

by karimarie1 at Citysearch

Looking to celebrate? Voice is one of the best restaurants in Houston. As a self-proclaimed service and food "snob," I took a chance on Voice as the place to celebrate after graduating from Law School. I didn't want to try the traditional, over-priced, and boring steakhouses. I wanted a cutting-edge restaurant with a modern ambiance and quiet atmosphere. Voice was the happy medium.

Actually, Voice is more than a happy medium. The service was impeccable. The crab cakes were full of taste. The fish was cooked perfectly ... it's almost as if the chef timed it to the second. I had a coffee-rubbed filet which was delicious. I read the below review which described the food as "tasteless." That is unfortunate because I had an opposite experience. The food certainly isn't greasy and loaded with cheese and butter, but rather, it tastes fresh. I personally consider that as a sign of a talented chef and higher-quality food.

I couldn't imagine a better restaurant for such a special occassion. I am really grateful to Voice for making my graduation one to remember. My family and friends are still raving about it today!

• Pros: Service, Ambiance, Food
• Cons: It doesn't feel so much like a restaurant because it's in the middle of a hotel lobby

08/01/08

Wonderful Experience at Voice

by txgrl99 at Citysearch

My group of four had a marvelous dinner at Voice on Saturday, July 24. Our waiter Matt, despite being new, was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and was professional, attentive and friendly. We had the five-course tasting menu with wine, plus a round of four desserts. All of the wine chosen by the sommelier was excellent and perfectly complemented the food. We had: Mushroom Soup "Cappucino" served with a Prosecco. This course was divine. I dream of the creamy, drinkable mushroom soup ever day at lunch, because I want it again. Course 2 included local tomatoes with figs and goat cheese. The figs and goat cheese were excellent; the tomatoes just good. Course 3 was ricotta ravioli with tarragon sauce ? a little bite of heaven. The sauce was lightly creamy and flavorful, but did not overpower the delicate handmade raviolis. Course 4 was a filet of John Dory. I thought this course was a little bland and not a highlight of the meal, but not bad. The Israeli couscous with corn side was excellent, though. Course 5 was the most tender venison I?ve ever eaten in my life, and I?m not usually a huge fan of game, served with a Chateauneuf Du Pape, some of my all-time favorite wines. Desserts were lovely, and accompanied by an excellent Greek dessert wine. The peanut butter custard was my favorite, and I generally hate peanut butter desserts. There was a dessert sampler and a molten chocolate cake that were excellent, and a panna cotta that was also good. The entire experience was first-rate. The ambience is upscale but not snobbish. The manager and our server made sure that we ate and got the bill in plenty of time to make our show. We were so impressed we asked for a list of the wines, and the wine director and the waiter gave us a printed copy of the menu and the wines! Cocktails before dinner were also exceptional. We live in Austin, and Voice is so good I would travel to Houston just to eat there. Next time we will try the 7-course meal.

• Pros: Service, ambience, food!

06/08/08

Tastless Food, Bad service

by LickyandScram at Citysearch

not the best food, not the best service

06/05/08

Great lunch!

by moonpennies at Citysearch

I had lunch recently at VOICE and fell in love with the mushroom soup! The presentation is like a cappucino. I also had the southwest salad which had a wonderfully delicate spicy dressing. The dessert list looked scrumptious. I'm just going to have to go back and next time, I'll eat dessert first!

05/21/08

What the heck are they trying to be???

by eatseverywhere2008 at Citysearch

I ate at Voice for lunch last week and dinner Saturday. I went back hoping dinner would be SOMETHING. What image are they? Club or Restaurant. The food has no value....recipes anyone can make at home with a recipe. The mushroom soup in a cup.....trying to be a cappacino....copy from Vegas. Does this restaurant have any VOICE of it's own? It seems the menu and the style is just a copy. Go to VEGAS! It will be LESS expensive and not as disgusting