House Of Pies Restaurant

03/06/08

Cross Dresser

by subdave at Citysearch

This sighting has stuck in my head for over 25 years. I was eating a late night snack at this restaurant when a man, in full colorful outfit consisting of a dress, scarve, and high heels jumped up from his seat at the counter and forcefully declared after being taunted, "I'll start wearing pants when women start wearing dresses!" Everybody in the restaurant was momentarily stunned by this comment. After a few seconds, one could hear a few chuckles and the look of amusement on many diners' faces. It is not often that one gets to experience such a spectacle! The ironic thing was that I was told by a friend before going to the House of Pies that I could witness some unusual patrons adorned in flamboyant regalia.

• Pros: location, good voyeurisms
• Cons: institutional food

05/25/07

Plenty of Pies, Some Improvements Possible

by strategizer at Citysearch

First, let me say I've only been one time. I look forward to building on more experiences, which tells you I will be going back and would recommend it as a place to at least try once.

The best thing is their extensive list of pies. You'd be hard-pressed to think of a pie they don't have.

As for their decor, I'd say the jury is still out. It is much like an old I-HOP building that hasn't been updated since the early 70s. Some might say that is part of their quirkiness and is a purposeful atmosphere for which they are aiming. I guess I can buy it, but there are times when an update might be nice. The bench seating at the booth reminded me more of a Waffle House.

The pies seemed okay, but not as spectacular as I might have hoped. It would depend greatly upon whether you are a "whipped cream" or a "meringue" person. I lean toward meringue. I lean toward the flakier, more difficult crusts. I want the texture to be just perfect. They seem to impress more by quantity than quality. Having said that, the quality isn't bad, even good, just not spectacular. My disclaimer is that I have tasted only two of their pies, the Bayou Goo and the Turtle Cheesecake. Hopefully more opportunities will come. Go to their web site and check out their menu. Pretty impressive.

• Pros: Come-as-you-are atmosphere. Won't dent your wallet.
• Cons: Softer seating. Based on 1 pie, might need to upgrade pie shells (flakier) and go meringue (my opinion).

01/04/06

Late Night Munchies

by grthomas at Citysearch

House of Pies is really good when you need something to eat at 2:00 in the morning. The clinentale is pretty interesting around this time too. If you go for people watching, you'll certainly catch an eye-full as you enjoy a nice peice of pie.

• Pros: Cheap Eats, Late Night Fix

07/15/05

When it's three in the morning and you must have pie, turn to this egalitarian River Oaks hangout.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Part all-night diner and part pastry shop, with the vinyl-and-Formica decorative appeal of a bowling alley, people come here because people come here--and that bit of circular logic has remained pretty much unbroken since the place began serving up slices of chocolately Bayou Goo in the 1970s. Its very lack of pretension is appealing, particularly given its elite location between River Oaks and West University. Delivery truck drivers, society matrons, curfew-busting high schoolers and off-duty cops--all are welcome.

The Food
With sugar-free pastries, classic fruit favorites and sinfully rich offerings like the multi-layered Bayou Goo and chocolate cream--all freshly baked--there's a pie for every craving. The all-day short-order menu offers typical greasy-spoon fare, but the drink sizes are generous and the staff is the down-home friendly type you'd find in any Southern diner.

07/24/03

Bestchef

by bestchef at Citysearch

My first trip to House of Guys (Kirby) was in '78, after dime night at the O.P. It was perfect then and is still the same. Let's face it - Fat omelettes ( chile-cheese is the best thing after a night of cocktails) with those sliced-tater-tot cottage fries, battery acid coffee, a smart mouth waiter / -ess and a slab of pie to wrap it up. Nirvana!

Also, if you ignore the whiny-assed slackers you can still find a half way decent boyfriend - to - be

at 3:30 A.M. It doesn't get better than this for a middle aged former disco bunny!

• Pros: Atmousphere, Pies, Nostalgia
• Cons: Slackers

08/19/02

24 hour breakfast and dessert!

by firthr at Citysearch

My favorite thing about this restaurant is that they serve breakfast 24/7. The omelettes are fluffy; try their French toast too. Their soups are either great or mediocre. You can't go wrong with any of their pies or cakes. On the sandwich menu, I recommend the Turkey and Swiss Melt. Their grilled cheese is out of this world. Cottage fries are a perennial fave, but I prefer the O'Brien.

• Pros: Huge variety, Inexpensive, People watching
• Cons: Crowded/noisy, long wait Sat. nights

07/29/02

some things can not be improved

by jamesboltonhouston at Citysearch

The selection of pies is cruel and unusual punishment because you can pick several you WANT but order only one that you can EAT. These Pies are a treat and are consistently fabulous.

• Pros: great selection, open around clock, clean with no frills

07/26/02

Cheap and delicious

by boredatwork at Citysearch

The pies and breakfast food is all incredible and well priced. The retro theme is adorable.

• Pros: cheap, delicious
• Cons: bad service

07/24/02

Coffee,Pies,Breakfast

by dirtydogwoof at Citysearch

A very good cup of Coffee. Plain coffee not flavored just good coffee. The pies are also very good. I have found the breakfast to be suprisingly good. The best thing about this place is the people you see come in at any time 24 hours a day. A great place to meet freinds and chat.

• Pros: Coffee, Open 24 hours
• Cons: can get very busy, parking can be tight

07/03/02

Just what you'd expect from a diner

by RoguePixie at Citysearch

Don't you find it suspicious when restaurants have lots of very positive reviews from anonymous sources? Yeah, I wonder if that isn't rigged. Anyway, the House of Pies is one of the few restaurants in Houston open after hours... so that earns it a lot of business. Expect a wait if you go after 10 pm. The food is decent, they do have pie; but the service is usually pretty slow and, shall I say... eccentric. It's a diner and an IHOP alternative (offering some lunch/dinner things that IHOP doesn't). Not a bad place, and every one visit out of three something weird will happen.

• Pros: good menu variety, people-watching
• Cons: slow seating/service