Medium Rare — Local services in Houston

My daughter and I love to look up different places that we have never been to and try them out for the first time. So we decided to try this place out. We'll when we first arrived, the greeter was very pleasant. She had us a table, but we decided just to sit at the bar instead. So we did. The bar attendant was a seem to be a Hispanic male. He asked if I wanted to start off with a drink. So did that (water), and I told him it was our very first time their. I also told him I was waiting on 2 other people prior to order. He never came back to us. We waited for a while. He just kept passing us by. I then asked, after waiting for a while, can someone please take our order. I have never seen so many people behind a bar area. It was literally crowded behind the bar area. We didn't know who to ask and / or talk to for the order. So this Hispanic girl came, and I stopped her. I was asking her about the menu. It was literally only 4 items on the entire menu to order from. So normally, if you do not want to order from the brunch, places would have another menu you can order from. You would just have to pay a higher price. I did tell her it was my first time. We'll she started getting very rude as I was asking her questions about the menu to the point my daughter friend saw her attitude as well. So we let that go. When we were ready to order, she was gone. She just left. So we waited again for a while. We stopped another girl to see if she could take our order. She said no, she couldn't and walked about. Fast forward.... I stopped the man and asked if he could take our order, he says oh you ready to order... So after he broke down the menu to us and one person in our group wasn't hungry, but just wanted a drink, he said ok. So we placed our order with their specials, which includes mimosa, bloody marry, and something else for 35. Fast forward... She couldn't order a drink only, she had to place an order to order a drink. So she did. My daughter likes to eat a little and take the rest of her food home. So we all just talking among ourselves and enjoying the moment. Someone comes and refill our mimosas. They only refilled two of ours and not my daughter. We really wasn't paying attention because we were talking and laughing. A lady came and asked my daughter if she wanted more mimosas. She said yes. The man stopped her and said, No she cannot have any more mimosa unless she eat all her food. I said she likes to take it to go. He said no she cannot take it to go. She has to eat it here. So we said okay no problem. She she started eating her food and we kept talking. She then asked for a mimosa. He said No she didn't eat her food. Then we started wondering why is this man picking on her. She told the man she was eating her food. She ate all of her salad, fries, and picking off of her sandwich. He said, she had to eat all of her food. We asked for a manager. We explained everything to him. He said the same thing. He then supposedly called his boss. He then told us we can not have anymore drinkes ( I guess they were saying we had to many to drink) because we were trying to figure out why we were being FORCED to eat all of our food like we were kids. We had 2 mimosas. Clearly we were fine. These people just REFUSED to give her a drink UNLESS she ate ALL of her food 😒 🙄. Another waiter was not understanding why the man was acting like that towards us. We were wondering the same thing. He TARGETED my daughter for no reason. We have NEVER been treated like this before to be MADE to eat all the food on our plate. He kept saying he didn't want to loose his bartender license. My daughter is a licensed bartender so she understands, but he treated her differently. He said it was his last day working their. We'll still don't discriminate against us because it's your last day. WE WILL NEVER RETURN TO THAT RACIST PLACE...

Start by reading the one- and two-star reviews—they pretty much line up with our experience.

I took my wife here for Mother’s Day. We were seated promptly at our reservation time, but immediately noticed three things: it was surprisingly loud, the dining room was uncomfortably cold (I had on a long-sleeved shirt and was still chilly), and the tables were packed so tightly together that you couldn’t fit a basketball between them.

The menu is straightforward: you choose how you want your steak cooked. It comes with rustic bread, a mixed green salad, and culotte steak with fries.

The bread arrived quickly, served with a ramekin of butter. No bread plates, but they do change the butcher paper for each guest, so we rolled with it. The first round of bread was room temp and fresh—pretty good. The second helping came out toasted and hard, more like a giant crouton.

The salad was basic, with a light vinaigrette. Not good or bad—just plain. Honestly, Olive Garden's salad is better, for context.

The steak was average and cooked medium rare as requested. The sauce resembled a thin mushroom sauce. The meat wasn’t tough, but it wasn’t tender either. My wife's steak was a bit cold; mine was warm. The fries were thin, hot, and salted—probably the best part of the meal. Honestly, we could have easily made the steak and fries at home on a skillet and air fryer.

Service

The restaurant was about 80% full when we arrived. Drink orders were taken and delivered fairly quickly. We seemed to have two servers, so we thought they work in teams. Oddly, about five minutes after my wife got her drink, another server showed up with the same one and wasn’t sure if it was for us or the table next to us (which, again, is basically touching yours).

Given the fixed menu, we were surprised by how slow things moved. It took 10–15 minutes to get our salads, and close to 30 minutes after that to get our steaks.

Once our food was delivered by a runner, that was the last time anyone checked on us. We ate our fries without ketchup and weren’t offered any condiments (ketchup). Toward the end of the meal, the runner came back asking if we wanted seconds. It was so loud we couldn’t understand what exactly was being offered or if there was an extra charge. Thankfully, the woman with him clarified. We opted to take the second helping to go.

My wife had to signal the server for our check. When she arrived, she asked if the other server had already helped us. Aside from the initial contact with two servers when we sat down, we were pretty much on our own.

This place might appeal to a certain crowd, but if you prefer to dine comfortably and hold a conversation without shouting, this isn't it. It fits downtown Houston scene—crowded, and loud. Almost like a mirror of the environment around it.

We noticed most of their locations are in the New England area, with only two outside that region: Dallas and Houston. Just going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing Dallas and Houston are test markets beyond their typical geographic base.

Would we go back? Absolutely not. Would we recommend Medium Rare to friends? No way.

As a side note, their main website displays Google Ads banners. I'm seeing one for coupon codes, by...

Medium Rare is the cooking point I always order for my favorite meat. This is why, when I accidentally crossed paths with the restaurant, I decided to check it out, especially since I was urgently looking for a restroom.

As soon as I walked in, the team greeted me with the kindest and most courteous smiles. Without hesitation, they gently indicated where the restroom was, located at the back of the place.

While walking through and eyeing the dishes of other guests, my appetite couldn’t resist the temptation to order that tender meat that instantly made me drool with excitement. It looked so tasty and perfectly cooked that I couldn’t believe I was just walking by one of my favorite dishes, the classic French formula: steak-frites!

As soon as I exited the restroom, I couldn’t help but watch the chef gently slice each meat portion and fry the fries to a crispy, golden perfection. I couldn’t believe I was about to miss this French classic in a meat city like Houston. But unfortunately, I had a commitment to attend to.

Still, I couldn’t ignore the “Matilda”-sized portions of the intense Double Chocolate and Carrot cake (both six layers!). I took them to go and did my best to resist devouring them in one sitting (I’m a sweet addict, after all). I wanted to savor the flavor for five consecutive days, yes, the portions are that big! If you’re strong-willed, you can enjoy a sweet spoonful every day for nearly a week.

The chocolate cake is definitely my favorite, so pure and intense, pouring out deep dark chocolate notes. Any chocolate lover would agree it’s one of the best out there. But the carrot cake doesn’t fall short, so fresh, natural, and meticulously constructed, you can feel every carrot fiber and crunchy nut in every bite… ufff, I’m still thinking about them.

I was lucky enough to take them to go, thanks to Cecilia, Laura, and the superb manager Pablo, who took care of my request and carefully packed the cakes to preserve their consistency during the ride.

To the owners: your best asset is your team on-site. I can’t stress enough how warm and caring they all were during my brief visit; especially Pablo, Cecilia, and Laura, who truly made me feel like a valued customer, even during such a short stop.

I need Medium Rare to open in Miami ASAP! I still need to try their version of the “French steak formula” and, of course, indulge myself again in the sweet dessert escape that only Medium Rare can provide. And if that happens, I hope it’s hosted by Pablo and his two angels,...