Inside My Table #55 | Restaurant listings
Tops in Service
In the end, it’s service that matters most. Diners can forgive a stale roll, limp salad, an overcooked steak in a heartbeat. But if they don’t feel appreciated and treated with courtesy, well, that is often impossible to get past. Good service begins with the reservation process and concludes when the diner drives off the parking lot. It’s a million tiny details. Taken altogether, it’s what is known as hospitality. Here are some Houston-area restaurants that do it right.
BRENNAN’S, 3300 Smith St. at Stuart, 713-522-9711. From the moment you step out of your car at the valet stand until you tuck a praline in your pocket when exiting two hours later, you will find the service here as cordial and polished as it comes. There’s a devotion to good manners drenched in old-style Southern graciousness that is forged with a brisk Houston downtown edge. It’s exactly right. $$$
CAFE ANNIE, 1728 Post Oak Blvd. near San Felipe, 713-840-1111. We’re not the first to observe that Cafe Annie could rest on its laurels from time to time, but almost never does. Food and service are always presented at full tilt. Alas, Houston’s most celebrated restaurant has recently lost the inimitable wine guru Paul Roberts to California. Somehow, we think this will make the service staff try even harder. $$$
CHEZ NOUS, 217 S. Avenue G, Humble, 281-446-6717. Here’s everything you love about French restaurants, but without the hauteur. The best way to enjoy this suburban favorite? Put yourself into chef/owner Barbara Farrar’s hands and let her build your meal and wine selections. The service staff will carry out her design to perfection. $$-$$$
DAMIAN’S, 3011 Smith St. at Rosalie, 713-522-0439. Raise a glass to waiter Armando Rivera — the 2002 winner of a Houston Culinary Award for Best Service—who’s been cosseting diners here since Damian’s inception some 20 years ago. He’s the frontman for a staff that knows comfortable dining. $$-$$$
FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE & WINE BAR, 2405 W. Alabama near Kirby, 713-520-5959. Maeve O’Gorman Pesquera ran the service side of Anthony’s for many years, catering to Houston’s most demanding clientele. So her move to the new Fleming’s as operating partner boded very well for diners looking for a fine steakhouse experience. Service here is nothing short of excellent. $$$
LYNN’S STEAKHOUSE, 955 Dairy-Ashford south of I-10, 281-870-0807. Owner Loic Carbonnier has done a fine job maintaining the service level at this Westside steakhouse since buying it from namesake Lynn Foreman a couple years ago. Long famed for great wine service, too—see Houston’s Top 10 Wine Lists 2003 on page 40—this is, as at Damian’s, a completely comfortable dining experience. $$-$$$
MARK’S AMERICAN CUISINE, 1658 Westheimer bet. Dunlavy & Ralph, 713-523-3800. We love to eat at Mark’s. Chef/owner Mark Cox’s menu always has at least a few surprises and curiosities, and somehow the snappy service makes everything taste even better. It’s not formal, but it is indulgent. Every service manager should dine here at least once to see how it’s done. $$$
MOCKINGBIRD BISTRO/WINE BAR, 1985 Welch at McDuffie, 713-533-0200. We wonder if the staff here, under the direction of Jill Rubenstein, ever forgets a face? Even if it’s been a few months since your last visit, you will receive a greeting to warm you right up and put you in the mood for a wonderful evening. The service is young but surprisingly polished. Everyone seems to know the menu and the wine list very well. $$-$$$
REMINGTON GRILL, 1919 Briar Oaks Lane in the St. Regis, 713-840-7600. It’s just something about grand hotels that inspires fabulous restaurant service (see La Réserve and Quattro, above). This is no exception We’ve had more special meals—graduation dinners, birthday dinners, etc.—at the St. Regis than anywhere in Houston, and it’s the food and the solicitous service that keeps us coming back. $$$
TONY’S, 3755 Richmond Avenue in Greenway Plaza,, 713-622-6778. Tony’s is famous for the lengths to which the staff will go to please guests, from running out for off-the-menu groceries to whipping up a family recipe for a private party to accommodating guests who land outside in a helicopter. Yes, Tony Vallone and his service staff know a thing or two about coddling Houston’s finicky tastemakers. $$$
