Etoile Cuisine Et Bar — Local services in Houston

This is one of our favorite restaurants and I was sooo disappointed - we got there right when they opened and were sat next to another table, inches from them, when the ENTIRE restaurant was empty. Just our 2 tables SMACK DAB next to eachother. I asked to scoot over ONE table, knowing as a former hostess for 5 years that they can easily swap names and shift the table over even if its "reserved" as they told me. They tell me no.

Now im sat 3 inches from another couple, in an otherwise EMPTY restaurant. It ruined the romantic vibe when we wait for a date night like this all year.

I wouldn't have minded if the whole place was busy, buzzing, and full, but this was not the case. All i can hear now is the other couples conversation and we were fighting to focus on our conversation in dead silence.

The next couple that came in, they sat way on the other end to have their space and privacy. Unbelievable. I cant believe they denied me moving over 1 table when I directly asked.

The food was amazing, the server was fantastic. Id give them 5 stars.

I give the hostess 1 star for ruining my experience and it almost makes me never want to come back which is so disheartening when this is one of our favorite restaurants. I have to meet in the middle at 3 stars.

Hostesses, listen to your guests when they ask for the decency of a little space to hear their date when its no trouble to you to swap a couple of names on empty tables. I'm a mama going on no sleep and no date nights for the last YEAR. I was looking forward to this for a month. It was a little heartbreaking for you not to accommodate a very minor and reasonable request.

Arriving first at 5pm, we should've been accommodated. If someone requests to move over one table, please allow them to do so. Don't cram your guests together and then stagger others right in front of them. Blatantly rude and took away a moment I was looking forward to for...

I really wanted to like this place, especially since I usually love mussels. Unfortunately, my recent visit was far from enjoyable.

To start, even though it was only 5 PM on a Monday and the restaurant was mostly empty, we were seated in a spot with harsh direct sunlight—despite many other open tables available. It was an uncomfortable beginning.

We started off fine—the appetizers were good, and the staff was quick to change plates and cutlery. But things went downhill with the main course. We ordered the large portion of green mussels, and they were extremely fishy. Even as someone who tolerates fishiness well, I couldn't eat them. My friend, who is pregnant, was especially sensitive to the strong smell and couldn’t touch it at all.

When we told the staff, they seemed annoyed and insisted that “green mussels are supposed to be like that.” We disagreed, and they immediately took the dish away, including our plates, folks, and my friend’s knife.

To make matters worse, the service became incredibly inattentive. Our servers were often chatting among themselves or with other guests, ignoring our table for long periods. At one point, after our mussels were taken away, we were left with no plates or cutlery, staring at our cooling duck dish without being able to eat it.

When we finally got our next dish, we had to repeatedly ask for plates and forks. It took multiple requests and long waits just to get basic dining tools.

The duck—which was really delicious when hot—became unpleasantly fishy and unappetizing once it cooled down. My friend couldn’t eat it, so I finished it, but it really wasn’t enjoyable.

It’s a shame because most of the dishes (like the duck and onion soup) were really good, but the inconsistent service, poorly executed seafood, and lack of attention to basic comfort really let us down.

We won’t...

This is my favorite French restaurant in town. Dishes are traditional to French cooking. I started with the moules a la creme. The mussels were clean and didn’t carry that dirty beach smell unlike some restaurants do. I was impressed that they maintained clean fresh mussels. The flesh was plump and moist and the cream sauce delicious. Next time I would ask for bread to dip and finish the sauce. My wife had the duck breast which was done perfectly. I tasted the seared food gras which is always good. Smokey and buttery is how I would describe the taste. I had the $82 sole dovres which is flown in from Dover, England. It was cooked as a some meunière which is a lemon butter sauce. The sauce was on point but I didn’t think there was anything special about the sole. If I tasted it blind I wouldn’t know the difference between the sole or another decent white fish. $82 is too much and I wouldn’t order this again. The panna cotta was tasty with the crunchy bits and berries. I jut wished there was more of the cream. Overall it was a good experience and I’d return here to try...