Houston Restaurant Recommendations

[claire797]

We're heading up to Houston this weekend to help my grandmother move. As a reward, we've decided to treat ourselves to a nice restaurant Saturday night. I am completely overwhelmed with options! There are so many places to choose from. Does anyone have any great suggestions to help me narrow things down?

We'll be headquartered in the Memorial/Piney Point area. Traffic is pretty bad around there, so I'm hoping for suggestions in that area. We're more concerned about atmostphere than price.

Our almost-4-year-old will be dining with us, but she's well behaved and an adventurous eater.

I'm open to all cuisines at this point. At this point, I'm just overwhelmed by how many choices there are in the area.

[jscarbor]

How about Indika on Memorial fo kind of a new take on Indian cousine?

Churrascos on Westheimer and Gessner for terrific s american cousine. One of the best steaks you can get in town along with other very good dishes.

[claire797]

How about Indika on Memorial fo kind of a new take on Indian cousine?

Churrascos on Westheimer and Gessner for terrific s american cousine. One of the best steaks you can get in town along with other very good dishes.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I saw Churrascos last night on Citysearch, and based on what I read, put it at the top of my list. We love steak.

We're also big Indian fans, and I consider myself spoiled having easy access to The Clay Pit restaurant here in Austin -- excellent Indian food. If we're not in the mood for steak, than Indika might be the perfect alternative. I'll go read up on it. I didn't happen to see it on Citysearch, so thanks for the name.

[SuperLuckyCat]

I second Indika, it is excellent food with innovative and fresh thinking all over the menu. I think the atmosphere is very relaxing. If they have the chaat appetizer, definately get that.

There are rumors that this restaurant is moving to Montrose sometime in the future which would be good for me. But seriously, Indika is one of the few I venture outside of the Loop for.

[claire797]

Just found the Indika web site. Personally, I'd rather go here. I know DH will choose Churrascos. Looks like there's gonna be a showdown on Saturday ;). Or maybe I just won't tell him about Churrascos, eh? ;).

Or maybe we'll flip a coin....

SuperLuckyCat, thanks for the tip on the Chaat. We like Chaat. The best we have ever had was at Thali in New Canaan, CT. It's something we love eating, but don't often make at home.

[RebeccaT]

Hey there!

Churrasco's is so very good. You must get the tres leches, it's incredible. I highly recommend it for that part of town.

If you're willing to come in a little bit, Masraff's on South Post Oak is really good, too. Churrasco's would probably be more fun for Emma, though, since it tends to be busier and have more going on inside.

I have other recommendations for you, but they might be farther than you'd want to drive (although I can give you alternate directions so that you can avoid I-10 traffic!)

Have a great weekend!

[claire797]

Thanks Rebecca!

Churrascos sounds perfect, really. Then again, so does Indika. It's a toss up, but at least I have it narrowed down to two really good places.

Wish we were going to be there for more than two nights, but this is a short trip and our first evening's dinner will be at my grandmother's new digs.

[tetsujustin]

If another opinion between the two matters at all (since you've gotten so many), I'd choose Indika over Churrascos. I've been to both within the last two weeks and thoghroughly enjoyed Indika more... the food was more interesting and the service was better in my opinion.

Also Ouisie's Table is another option though I will say that they do have their off nights.

[claire797]

If another opinion between the two matters at all (since you've gotten so many), I'd choose Indika over Churrascos.

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Thanks for the opinion :). Believe me, it is appreciated. I think what it's going to boil down to is whether I decide to tell my husband about Churrascos at all. I know that's the one he'd pick, but personally, I prefer Indian. Guess it's going to depend on what cuisine I feel like Saturday.

[claire797]

We're back from Houston and I just wanted to thank you all for the restaurant recommendations. Our first night's meal was in the dining room of my grandmother's new retirement community, but our second night's meal was at the River Oaks Churrascos. We absolutely loved in. In fact, I might even load up a few pictures later. The food was excellent, the atmosphere was fun -- elegant yet kid friendly. I had no idea we were going to get a basket of fried plantains upon arrival. What a treat. I also found a cheap Chilean Cabernet on the menu that was really good -- it started with an "A" and I need to go Google it.

Anyway, thanks!!! Wish we'd had more time to spend, as we really love Houston. I was surprised to find the Churrascos was right down the street from a little park (the one with the giant pumpkin carriage) where I use to play as a girl. After dinner, we took our daughter over to the park to get pictures of her playing there.

Next trip we'll try Indika. We are also fascinated by "Crappitos" Italian. Gotta try it for the name alone ;).

[JetLag]

Be aware Indika's has a new owner chef and it is just not the same.