07/01/09

Wonderful Dining Experience

by eileenwilson5211

Whether you want to impress, or just have a new place to dine, this is a great spot. Great atmosphere, wonderful ambiance, outstanding service, excellent culinary masterpieces - all the elements of a wonderful experience. The atmosphere is chic, the service is exceptional without being over-bearing and the food is always great with a beautiful presentation. Luxury at affordable prices!

06/30/09

A lunch that made my day!

by vkisluk

I went to lunch at Laurier Café one afternoon this month with my co-workers and it was absolutely delicious. I ordered the three cheese grilled cheese sandwich. This was not your mother’s grilled cheese sandwich! It was to die for. The combination of the cheese, along with a side of pommes frites made my afternoon. My colleagues both had entrée size salads, which they said were great. One had some really great quality, seared tuna and the other had a warm chicken salad with endive, pears, walnuts and blue cheese. The crowd seemed to be a combination of River Oaks ladies who lunch and business people from the Greenway Plaza area, plus the three of us from Midtown. It was good food, in a comfortable and friendly setting, and I plan to go back.

02/06/09

Kinda Odd and Uncomfortable

by banker987

We all heard this was a good spot to take clients with supposedly great food. Our waiter, bless his heart, was rude. He was shaking and sweating and interupted our client as she was talking. He made it clear to the couple of people who talked while he went over the menu that he was having to repeat himself. It was just very odd and uncomfortable. Then it took a very long time to get our food. We had a sampling of many dishes. The carrot soup looked great but didn't taste like carrots. The Gumbo looked great but there was no feedback to that effect. I ordered the salad with chicken, pears, endive and goat cheese. The chicken tasted off, I couldn't place the taste, the endive was bitter which is too be expected but the pears, vinegrette, walnuts, it just didn't work. Those are all my very favorite tastes so it was odd. Long story short, no one at the table was impressed and unfortunately we will not be returning for another client lunch. The room is loud but looks very nice and we saw many people who seemed to be enjoying there meal. Maybe this was just a fluke or bad timing............or maybe not.

• Pros: The manager was great!
• Cons: The food was average, no sparkle and the waiter was rude.

02/13/08

Great Customer Service

by iriechloe

Obviously you have never worked in a fine dining restaurant before otherwise you would have been competent to know what was going on.

01/13/08

High expectations were not met

by chiceater55

After reviewing the online menu, I was very anxious to try out this restaurant...several dishes had my mouth watering and the fact that it's so tiny is always intriguing to see "what's inside". Upon entering, we were greeted by a very incompenent hostess who looked frazzeled and nervous to be helping us...not the best face to front your business. Shortly after being seated we looked around and noticed we were the only people in the 25-45 age group in the place - so it must typically attract an older crowd. We reviewed the menu - again loving what we saw. For starters, my friend ordered the onion soup and I had the goat cheese salad. The soup was not at all what we were expecting - it was like chicken broth with carmelized onions in it - not bad, but just strange. My salad was delicious - definitely recommend it. We both indulged in the Red Wine Braised Short Ribs (I'm a huge fan of braised short ribs - so make a habit of getting them anytime they are on a menu!) We waited an awful long time between our first and second course (our waiter was MIA for most of the time). But when the short-ribs arrived they were cooked to perfection and served with some sort of turnip/spinach concoction. The flavor of the meat was LACKING - albiet very moist and cooked wonderfully, I had to salt it to death to enjoy it. There was no starch served with the meal, which left us still hungry after the meal (which I really dislike). We shared the chocolate cake for dessert which was divine - really loved it. We waited again, an absurd amount of time for our check to come which is never a good way to end the night. We actually saw one couple get up to go ask for their waiter (who was also ours as well) so they could pay and leave (never good). For what we paid for this meal (about $50 a person with tip and tax and one glass of wine each) we were definitely overall disappointed. Bad service, leaving hungry, and underseasoned meat always leave a bad taste in my mouth...

• Pros: Food Preparation
• Cons: Service, Underseasoning

11/24/07

Inconsistant Food, Rude Management

by soprano341

A friend and I went for dinner and ordered the same thing - steak medium to medium rare. When the food came out hers was medium and mine was extra-well to shoe leather - black all the way to the center. I mentioned it to the very attentive waiter and he said he'd wondered about that when he was bringing it out. He took it back without further question. The replacement steak was medium well at best and the pommes frites were totally over cooked and cold - as if the chef had pulled them out of the bottom of the fryer from last night. I was not willing to be a repeat complainer, and no one asked how it was, so I ate the middle portion of the steak and the 4-5 fries that were closer to tan than brown.

After we'd paid our bill I thought I should say something, so I told the waiter how dissapointed I had been and that truely the food was sub-par. He walked away and I could see that he was discussing, if not arguing, with the bartender. We waited about 5 minutes and then gave up. On the way out I saw a man in chefs clothes behind the bar. I asked if there were a manager I could talk to and he said I should just talk to him. As I described my evening he just said "yeah, yeah, yeah." At the end he said, "so the problem is that your waiter did not bother to tell us you were unhappy with your food?" I tried to re-explain that the service was actually good (perhaps the highlight of the evening) it was the food that was the problem and furthermore, sending back the first plate should have been warning enough. His next statement was "so what do you want from me?" I simply replied that I thought he would want to know that the food being served was frankly unacceptable and that we would not be returning. At no point was anyone at all apologetic.

Pass on this one - there are better places to eat in Houston.

• Pros: attentive wait-staff
• Cons: burned/over cooked food, rude management

10/08/07

Love This Place

by steinway0320

Wonderful food. Great service. A wine list to die for.

This is one of those restaurants conducive to intimate conversation. Whether it be with your grown daughter, your BFF, or your love. The ambience and attitude is positive without being intrusive. The menu choices are imaginative and for the most part, they work!

11/21/06

quaint romantic spot on richmond

by missorenishii

don't let the small, modest exterior full you. inside is a quite spacious, dimly-lit room that is quaintly decorated and caters to any romantic occasion. although the food is pricey, the quality is quite good and our waiter was friendly and accomodating. go here if you want a romantic, trendy ambience for a dinner for 2.*

11/10/06

Fabulous Food without the Attitude!!

by foodiehouston

Fabulous food, great location, perfect service!! The food has the taste of "Mark's" (a pricey houston restaurant) without the attitude. Small restaurant with great atmoshere. Unusual look on the outside but wonderful and modern on the inside. The best quality food and very well priced. I great find you must try!!

• Pros: Great food, service and atmosphere.
• Cons: Do not be put off by the outside look of the building.

09/21/06

Sunny bistro and wine bar with a French twist.

by Contributor

The Scene
Sophisticated wine buffs from nearby River Oaks rub shoulders with Gen Xers at this loosely stylish spot. Airy, artsy-industrial interiors are brightened with sunflower yellow, sky blue and crimson colored walls. Gerbera daisies perk up each table, as does the eager waitstaff. French doors reveal the deck, crawling with fragrant jasmine, perfect for alfresco dining.

The Food
Fresh and lean creations by chef-owner Gary Fuller fill the menu. Peppery, just-picked arugula salad comes gingerly drizzled with fine olive oil. Chilled asparagus soup is enriched with a dab of cream. Sushi-grade tuna arrives on a buttery melange of shaved fennel and leeks with vibrant green, toothy sugar snap peas. A big slab of dry-aged New York steak gets a spicy chipotle rub and a mountain of toothpick-thin, crispy fries. Desserts complement a well-crafted wine list.