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

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

02/04/09

A diiner place for the woman you love. Keep Looking!

by bellehaven007 at Citysearch

I thought this would be a nice place to take my wife. Wrong! The food came after a long time and was luke warm. Our sever looked like a college. Yes Mark has a good reputation but the people he hire are real fruit loops. Take for instant the general manager-David a real card ! We had reservation for 7 yet we were shown the chairs to wait so David seated all his friends. Sorry as a paying customer I refuse to be treat like this. There are many excellent restaurants in this town!

01/24/09

TERRIBLE WAITER- RUDE AND ARROGANT!!!!

by wildangel042 at Citysearch

I took my boyfriend there for his birthday last year and we were extremely disappointed!! We had a reservation and were seated soon after arriving and it all went downhill from there. We had to wait quite awhile for the waiter to greet us and he was so RUDE it almost ruined our whole night. The waiter was very clear that he did not want to wait on us and made odd comments when we placed our orders and almost sneered at me when I declined to order alcohol (my boyfriend ordered a glass of wine but I wasn't in the mood for a drink). We waited a very long time for al of the food that we ordered and at one point another waiter came over and refilled our glasses because our waiter kept walking by and ignoring us. My boyfriend and I are "young" I guess you could say, we are in our early 20's and I think that he assumed because we were young he wouldn't receive the tip like he would at the tables filled with older clients. The food when we did finally receive it was wonderful but the waiter really put a damper on the night. My boyfriend and I are stubborn and weren't going to let a crappy waiter ruin our night- we enjoyed the time spent together and made the night fun in our own way despite the awful rude waiter.

• Pros: beautiful restaurant, good food, desserts were great
• Cons: TERRIBLE WAITERS!!!!! go to Sullivans for real customer service!!!

01/12/09

Resting on its laurels. Mockingbird and Cafe Annie eat its lunch at half the price

by winston9332 at Citysearch

Rude and disinterested staff; actually got ill from their seafood. Called the following day and they could care less that I was ill from their expensive food. I used to take clients here frequently, but would not take an enemy there any more! Overrated, overly expensive and overly likely you might end up in the ER from their dodgy seafood!!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Rude staff, exorbinate prices, and poor quality

03/08/08

Mark's - Overrated!

by steveg57 at Citysearch

First time at Mark's but have been to great restaurants in Houston and all over. We were seated 30 minutes after the time of our reservation, not too bad except that the hostess was not honest with us. The bar service was extremely poor, my wife ordered a champagne cocktail and the server was too lazy to wait for bubbles to subside and gave her a glass 1/3 full. The table service was far better but could not make up for the over cooked food. I choked down about a third of the meal and couldn't stand to eat any more. Mark's may have the reputation but doesn't deliver. You will have a much better experience elsewhere.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Food, service

06/15/05

not impressed

by ortega123 at Citysearch

It is not worth the hype. Snooty wait staff. Food is ok. Ambiance is the only good thing.

06/06/05

It is ok

by accordion at Citysearch

Everybody calm down. Who is writing these reviews. They have horrible service, they have a wait staff that thinks that is better than you. They have decent food, but good ambiance thats it.

03/15/05

Bad Attitudes

by karenandersgilmore at Citysearch

I've been here a few times and it's always been great - that is why I suggested it to 4 of my friends for our annual dinner reunion. We made reservations a couple of weeks ahead for 8:30 on a Saturday night. When we arrived at 8:30, we were told by the condescending girls at the front desk that it would be a few minutes. After asking several times and getting the manager involved, he said 'there's nothing I can do'. At 9:30 we left to go somewhere else. By that time, there was not one other person waiting for a table other than us. We have written letters to Mark, the owner, - we have never gotten a response. When the manager and the reservationists have horrible attitudes, it doesn't compensate. We will NEVER go back.

• Pros: Don't know !
• Cons: Reservationists, Manager

07/01/02

THE WORST

by conciergereview at Citysearch

I cannot belive the high marks that Mark's gets!!! The people who work here are completely incompetent!! The staff that works the phones should take some reading lessons- that way when they take a reservation and then confirm it, when the party walks in there would be no reason to say they have no idea where the table is and that they use several different books to take reservations! ABSOLUTE NONSENCE!!!