Brenner's on the Bayou

My new favorite place. I went here to celebrate my Anniversary and my overall experience was fantastic.

We had a beautiful evening. Service was tops.

The ambiance was amazing! Service was great. Food was ok.

Amazing service and the food was delicious.

Brenner's on the Bayou was the first restaurant I ever went to in Houston back in 2015. I was blown away. My husband and I later moved walking distance to there and enjoyed visiting for date night. We have since moved further away but still like to reserve for special occasions. We had a reservation for 2 on a Friday night and were seated at a table that was basically in a hallway. View was decent as the table was against the window but guests and staff were constantly walking by so much so that our own waiter couldn’t even pour our wine without having to shuffle out of the way of staff and then return back to finish. Definitely not the most pleasant ambiance. We ordered oysters to start. The worst oysters I have ever had. They were so small and paper thin you could only eat them by using a fork to scrape them off. Had zero taste because there wasn’t enough to even feel it go down your throat. They were smaller than a mussel. I provided feedback to the waiter who then proceeded to bring a manger over who basically said “too bad so sad” and looked at me like I was crazy. Honestly I almost had the sever box up our mains to go because the interaction was so unpleasant. Luckily a different manager Christian turned the night around for us when I overheard the table next to us also complaining about the quality of the oysters and he was extremely apologetic and sympathetic. I called him over and he spoke to us for a bit and was extremely professional and understanding and even had us laughing by the end of our conversation. The mains we ordered were good and we wrapped up our night. This review is mainly to acknowledge Christian and his service! Thank you Christian! But to also warn others that for the price point don’t expect exceptional ambiance and service. I would say those were subpar and not sure if we’ll be back again given how many wonderful restaurants we have in Houston.

Menu is limited and everything is very pricey. I read the menu again and again, thinking I must be missing something that I would want to eat. None of us (4 people) found the quality or the portions to be worth the cost. Waiters kept letting the bread go empty and we would have to ask for more. Then, they kept trying to take it when it was still half full. Make up your mind, or get consistent training/direction!! My wife had a large bone from the bone marrow order and she asked them to box it (for our dog). We got home and found they didn't box it. My wife drinks old-fashioneds everywhere she goes, and said the one she got here was terrible. Restrooms are not well marked and very hard to find on your own. When I gave my car to the valet, he said I should leave my hat because it is not allowed. Then we went to the patio and half the people out there had hats on. Even the hostess had a hat on!! NONE of this made me happy, at all, and I certainly would have been justified in leaving 1 star across the board. 2 stars is generous for this place.