01/15/09

One of my favorites

by hungriestinhouston

My husband and I are new to the area and were told Amerigo's is the original fine dining restaurant in The Woodlands, so we decided to try it. Such a great choice! I haven't seen a wine list this comprehensive in ages. We had reservations on a busy Friday night and were running a little late, but the hostess was very accommodating and gave us a great table along the window over looking a gorgeous patio. The place was busy, but not packed, and our waiter directed us to a nice, reasonably priced bottle of wine before recommending an avocado pancake. We were skeptical about the pancake, but we went for it, and it was delicious. My husband ordered the New York Strip medium rare, and much to our surprise, it was actually served medium rare. Definitely measured up to his high standards! I ordered a salmon fillet that came topped with sesame seads and berries and served over spinach. The fillet itself was huge, but so moist and flaky that I cleaned the whole plate. We then ordered a decadent slice of chocolate cake and a glass each of an Italian sparkling dessert wine- another recommendation from our impressively knowledgeable waiter. The whole ambience was great, and the live pianist playing in the bar area was the cherry on top. It's a pricier restaurant, but the staff allowed us to take our time with dinner, and we never felt like they were pushing us to turn and reseat the table. Amerigo's is definitely a special place for a special night out, so expect to make an evening of it and you won't regret it.

• Pros: steak, seafood, accommodating service
• Cons: not child-friendly

01/10/09

Disappointing for price

by LocalChowHound

My wife and I have decided to try some of the up-scale restaurants in the area for a little change of pace. We chose Amerigo's because we were in the mood for italian. As others have stated, no menu while they tried to get me to buy a bottle of wine. No interest, so I can't help anyone there. We asked for a menu and had no problems, I even asked for a sample of a sauce because it sounded bad, while the rest of the ingredients sounded tasty. It was fabulous, and I ended up ordering the dish. We both had appetizers, which were good, and while the bread wasn't particularly great, the dipping sauce was sweet, garlicky goodness. The portions were huge for us, which I happen to like, and assures my wife a snack or meal the next day.

On the minus side, for what is billed (and priced) as an up-scale restaurant, there is an enormous amount of frenetic activity at all times. This is NOT a place where you can have a quiet meal with your spouse or significant other. Water boys, bread carriers, floor managers and waiters are constantly racing around, and the tables are not placed at a sufficient distance for that much activity. I know exactly what my fellow diners at the next table ordered from starter to wine to entree and what they toasted their first drinks to. Not great for our ambience. And of course, the final straw. I would think that for those prices, and their reputation, they could cook a scallop. I had the scallop dish, and I stongly suspected they were using stingray instead. Tough, chewey, overcooked, there was nothing redeeming about the scallops, which was too bad because the pasta and sauce were delicious. Unfortunately, my wife was pregnant, I am still recovering from surgery, and we couldn't bear the thought of waiting another 45 minutes for it to be refired. We ate what we could, left and probably wouldn't go back. I hope this helps, as I hate to spend north or $150 bucks and not leave satisfied. If you are same, I'd skip this one.

• Pros: Good selection for different tastes
• Cons: Lousy atmosphere, can't cook scallops.

11/26/08

Odd initial experience in a highly recommended upscale restaurant

by heyitsbob

My wife and I just had not gotten around to trying this place...heard a lot about it...seen favorable reviews, just had not made it there.

We decided our anniversary was the time and made reservations.

When we arrived we were immediatly seated and our waiter brought us a wine list, and left. A few minutes later he returned and asked if we had decided on a wine yet. When I told him we had not yet seen a menu he told us once we pick a wine they will make recommendations as to what to eat with it. I almost had to argue with him to get a menu so we could get on with our meal.

An inauspicious start to say the least.

With that said, we had a veal dish and lobster fetaccini, and both ( particularly the veal) were excellent.

10/05/08

Bad Service

by Wildcat1

We received promotional material in the mail and this place was recommended by a friend. I cannot comment on the food as we didn't make it that far. The hostesses were a couple of 17 year old kids that were essentially clueless. However, most 17 year olds are clueless and this appears to be one of many poor decisions made by this "upscale restaurant". We had a reservation but asked to be seated on the patio for a drink. The waiter brought bread and olive oil and never returned. We proceeded inside after our drink and the hostess asked us how we liked dinner. After explaining that we were ready to be seated she took us to a long row of tables that is one step up from sitting at a damn picnic table with the rest of the restaurant. The waitress was pompous and we decided it wasn't worth our time to stay. We decided to cash out and not order dinner. The waitress happily obliged our request and we left. We went to Kirby's and had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant operated by adults. This is a pathetic restaurant. The prices are the same as Kirby's but the wait staff and management have no clue. I have heard good things about the food but the restaurant is essentially operated like a Chili's. We have small children and go to Chili's but I am not expecting a fine dining experience when I go there. Honestly the staff a Amerigo's could probably learn a few things about customer service from any local Chili's. Again, I cannot comment on the food but unless significant changes are made I would never return to this place again. Too many other good choices in town to deal with ignorant and argumentative wait staff. Don't waste your time or money.

02/11/08

There are much better places to spend your money!!!

by Courtshepp

I wanted to take my fiance out somewhere nice and I had heard that Amerigo's was romantic so I thought I would give it a try. When we arrived, we were promptly seated, but we were seated at a table that was only separated from the two loud drunk women next to us by a table-high divider wall. We had to ask to be moved to another table because they were practically sitting at our table.

We ordered the avocado crab pancake for our appetizer, and waited about 25 minutes for it to arrive. The waitress apologized and said she would try to make it up to us by comping our dessert (which she did not do)! Nonetheless, the appetizer was fantastic, but that was about the only thing! We also ordered soup, and before we were halfway done with our soup, our meals came! This is very irritating seeing as though the table was barely big enough to fit our soup and bread basket. My fiance ordered a "Chopped salad" and a and I ordered parmesan encrusted veil. The chopped salad was supposed to have avocado, chopped cucumber and blue cheese crumbles, but we noticed that it did not appear to have any of these things in it. We then asked the person who brought us our food (Not even our waitress), "What kind of salad is this?" he told us that it was a ceaser, we sent it back and then our waitress comes back with the same salad with a few chunks of avocado placed on top of the same salad we had just sent back and told us that it was the chopped salad. My veil was tough and overcooked and not worth $36. We wanted to see if the desserts were any better, but regrettably, they were not! We ordered the chocolate mousse and it was nothing to write home about. The mousse tasted like canned whipped cream.

I would not recommend wasting your time or your money at Amerigo's the food is over priced, the staff was argumentative the manager was non-existent and the seating is not comfortable! Other than our appetizer, they don't deserve a star at all!

• Pros: Ambience, wine
• Cons: Service, food quality, comfort of seating

01/22/08

Highly Recommended..........

by FrankiesOpinion

Prompt Seating, Great Service, Delicious Food , and an Elegant Atmosphere...I couldn't ask for a better experience!!!

01/05/08

Not worth the bother or the wait

by cmb1

Came on the recommendation of friends after our favorite Italian restaurant nearby (Gio's) closed, & we won't return here. Even tho we had reservations & were on time, we had to wait 20 min in the smoky bar before our table was ready. Our waiter claimed to be very knowledgeable on wines, but who was he trying to kid? When I asked for a moscato or vin santo for a dessert wine (even spelled it out for him), he brought a bottle of muscat. We sent the bottle back asking for his supervisor, and he said they never heard of moscato. An Italian restaurant that never heard of moscato? That's like saying New Yorkers never heard of Bloomberg. Unbelievable! Aside from that, the food was average, service was slightly lackadaisical at best, and everything we had was overpriced for its quality. Amerigo's seems to have an excellent client base, but as with our friends who recommended it, they've been going here since it opened and don't know there are far superior newer places in the neighborhood with much better fare and less expensive food & wine lists. This place is one of the few Woodlands locales where it's prestigious to "be seen", but I won't take lousy service with overpriced average food just because it's trendy to be seen here any day.

• Pros: Can't think of any
• Cons: Several - see the review

01/04/08

Excellent Service, great food

by grahamstone

Reasonably small high class restaurant with an attached piano bar. The food was very good and the service was excellent. I ate Lamb Loin with roast potatoes and asparagus. Nancy ate Snapper Amerigos with spinach, we both had a glass of Kenwood Chardonnay and coffee and the bill was $90.88 before tip. The food was hot nicely cooked and tasty. The Lamb Loin rested on a delicious wine sauce with mushrooms and the Snapper Amerigos came with bean sprouts in a delicate sauce.

• Pros: food, service, wine list

04/05/07

Overrated in EVERY facet.

by rjv_3

This place definitely isn't top notch whatsoever. I've been going here for years with family, friends, and significant others. Every year the food and the service get worse. The last three times I was there with my wife, the service was slower than molasses, the wait staff (espcially the ones that have been there the longest) are arrogant beyond belief, and they brought us the wrong wine AND food. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt (since we went back after first time they messed up our orders). Needless to say we won't be going back there EVER AGAIN!!!! Who wants to eat at a place like this and be treated like you're not important???? Skip this restaurant, there are better choices for less money with absolutely better food and DEFINITELY better service.

02/27/07

GOOOOd

by apetersinc

very very good! i really enjoyed their food and their service top notch in woodlands! will definetly return.

• Pros: everything
• Cons: waiting