Birraporetti's

11/27/06

This Italian-Irish old favorite manages to keep pace with the times.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Best known as a great pizza place and "a heck of an Irish bar" since the '70s, the operation has shifted gears in the past decade or so, moving upscale with a sleek redesign, a menu upgrade and an attitude adjustment. The downtown site, smack dab in the middle of the Theater District, provides a reliable before-the-curtain dining spot, while the River Oaks location caters to the nearby art-house cinema.

The Food
A piquant chicken picatta and a fettuccine guismondo, enlivened with tarragon and spinach, are standouts on this expansive menu. Green-onion-laced crab cakes, crisp and light, satisfy either as an appetizer or, paired with a lemony green pasta, an entree. Stone-oven pizzas come in many variations, from an arresting Hawaiian, with pineapple and Canadian bacon, to a Cajun version, with andouille sausage providing an unexpected kick.

11/20/09

Amazing Place

by bbwashington at Citysearch

Been going here for years and recently had a chance to go to Downtown Location. its just like the old days , but the food was much better than remembered. Service was excellent. Anything you choose you cant loose. Cant wait to go back.

• Pros: Wonderful Staff and Great Food
• Cons: parking

07/23/09

good food, good service

by foodlover989 at Citysearch

This place was really good. I really liked their chicken parmesan. The service is a little long, but it is worth it for their food, and their location is amazingly appropriate.

05/18/09

Mothers day brunch

by CSMobileUser2 at Citysearch

Mothers day brunch

02/08/09

Worst Pre Theatre Experience Ever

by znewman at Citysearch

Can say nothing nice about our Friday pre theatre venture to this so called restaurant. Service was very slow, manager very rude. Food was gross. McDonald's has better looking lettuce in their salads. Filet mignon was tough and overcooked. Crab cakes were dry. Drinks were marginal. Restaurant was loud. Will never go back again.

• Pros: Close to theatre district
• Cons: Can say nothing good about it

10/29/08

Worst Brunch!

by luckyblond at Citysearch

I love going out for brunch and have had some fabulous experiences in Houston, BUT this place made me wish I slept in. After I was seated, I starred at the bar where four or five waiters were standing. No one took my drink order! Finally, after some hand waving, I got someone to come over. I tried the frozen Bellini and quickly sent it back. It was weak and tasted artificial like a "fruit" slushee from a convenient store. The mimosas were not much better. Very little champagne and not fresh juice. Was the buffet better? No. The food was cold and looked and tasted like the Italian lunches served in my high school cafeteria. There is very little selection for breakfast or Italian dishes. Also, the omelet chefs never seemed to be around. The set it poor and confusing so no more than a couple of tables can serve themselves at one time. I also felt awkward as my plate was not cleared for a good 15 minutes after I place it to the side of the table. The worse thing is that I paid about $40 for this brunch!

• Pros: none
• Cons: poor food and poor service

07/17/08

Theater Night Institution

by opinion2008 at Citysearch

There are certainly other restaurants worthy of our business downtown but Birraporetti's makes dining on a theater night so easy, that this is where we usually end up. Whether you are trying to catch a quick meal before the show and settling down for a relaxing dinner after a show, Birras is consistent. The pizza has always been very good. All the other food is never memorable but it's always good. The staff knows how to take care of customers that are in a hurry. The out dated dining area manages to feel cozy whether there's a full house or just a few late night stragglers. You may even catch the occassional celebrity having dinner after a performance.

• Pros: good food, fast service, reasonable prices
• Cons: ou probably don't want to try to park for this if you're not going to a show

07/14/08

awesome food! but get there early.

by LJ16 at Citysearch

The food here is excellent - I have always liked everything I ordered there, especially the Creme Brulee. Just be aware that they are extremely busy on Friday and Saturday nights before theater/opera/other events. The trick is to get there early enough to beat the rush and then the service is great. The service is bad and way too slow if you are there when it's extremely busy.

07/09/08

good pizza, terrible service

by humidhockey at Citysearch

I mean, that's it. Good pizza. It's wonderful. Terrible terrible terrible service, especially of the slow variety. It's within walking distance of our office, and it'll remain on the rotation. But don't let your yokel friends from Tomball talk you into making the trip if you're not already in the immediate vicinity with a lot of time on your hands... Lastly, I believe they do have Guinness on tap, I suppose that's another redeeming quality that's woefully lacking in H-town.

05/19/08

Sad food dupes theater-goers

by stvnmc at Citysearch

This is a cliche eatery that serves sagging dishes to unaware theater crowds. The suburbians shell out some major cash to come downtown for a good time and see Birraporetti's as a safe bet. Joke's on them! Try paying $15 for some dried out, tastless Salmon on a menu that's as tired and uninspired as your retired grandpa. Avoid this place and do some research on a decent downtown experience.

05/07/08

So-so food. Service so bad that it is worse than a Denny's.

by Garden2Man at Citysearch

We had ten in our party (with reservations) and was seated promptly. Unfortunately this was the last of the good service. We arrived at 6:00 pm and then waited 15 minutes to place our drink orders (very weak and high priced), waited another 15 minutes to order our meals. At this time we asked for separate checks and was told by the waitress and then the manager that it was not allowed because separate checks made people late for the theater and that they had a system that would allow us to pay individually in a prompt and easy manner, ( boy did we fall for that BS).

Our dinners started arriving about 7:00, (one hour after seating). We all thought that the food was just so-so. A couple of the dinners were not what was ordered.

Now for the fun part; when it was time to pay our checks the prompt and easy manner that the manager mentioned was for the waitress to tell each of us our individual amounts (i.e. one drink for $6.00, dinner for $16.95, salad for $3.95, tip will be 20% and we would have to figure the tax ourselves) and we figured it out ourselves.

I think this was only a gimmick for the waitress to collect an 20% tip.

Oh yes,6 bucks is a rip off for bar vodka and water and a very weak one at that.

All of our party agreed that we would never visit this place again.

• Pros: close to theater
• Cons: BAD service and over priced