Bay View Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Cottonwood Shores

I had a horrific experience here and the icing on the cake was the General Managers attitude about my experience. His name was Andre and I shredded him in a 1 star review a few months ago. Fast forward to last week and I found myself at the food trucks in front of this restaurant and it happened to be a time during a shift change. I decided I was going to give Andre another shot at his most vulnerable time. I admit I was still mad from our talk and had bad intentions with my visit. I turned my stopwatch on and entered the building, fully expecting to shred them again. I ran high volume fine dining restaurants for many years in Downtown Houston. I know what I'm looking at. The Hostess stand greeted me immediately and sat me. In the restaurant industry there are what's "called steps of service" with specific time frames. My waitress Chole nailed it. She upsold brilliantly, I was again surprised at how well she knew the menu. I quizzed her.

I ordered French onion soup (the first part of my setup) with a pasta dish for an entree... fully expecting my sauce to be broken or my food to be coagulated from sitting under the hot lights. Also there is a potential for the food to hit the table long before I finish my soup. Again a deliberate move. I ordered bread for my soup after she delivered the soup (another trap). Chole sent out freshly made garlic bread "crostini" that was fabulous. My entree came out perfectly timed, fresh and piping hot. The experience was a 10 out of 10. I even bought a dessert "to go" just so I could give Chole a perfect ticket... Alcoholic beverage, appetizer, upsell, entree and dessert. She got a $100 tip on a $75 check because she knocked it out of the park.

I asked to speak to the manager and was not surprised to learn that Andre is not there any more and David has taken over. He originally opened the restaurant and was aware of the problems I discussed with him. The management has the team going in the right direction now and David used my story as an example in the pre-shift team meeting. David realizes that the local population will feed his core staff in the off season and cares about every customer, where Andre's attitude was "its a tourist destination and bad service wont affect me." I highly recommend this venue for an amazing view and carefully prepared food any time of day! Enjoy...

PS The picture is of my dessert to go, my meal is finished and look how perfectly manicured my table was when I left. Chole's attention to detail is top notch. A very pleasant experience.

Update, another amazing visit. Davids got...

UPDATED REVIEW

We decided that enough time had passed to give Bay View another chance. I would like for this restaurant to be good, but they just can't seem to make it happen. I honestly don't know why the ratings are so high. I think people are so impressed by the view and the relatively high price that they become convinced that the food is good. Which it isn't. Here is a quick summary based on recent visit.

Food - everything had a strong lemon flavor. Including - Fried shrimp appetizer, steak, Brussel sprouts, loaded mashed potatoes. Seemed like every dish got a dose of lemon juice. Ironically, they other seasoning was quite low so we were all using salt and pepper to enhance the flavor (and maybe mask the lemon).

Also, one person ordered a medium rare ribeye that was more like rare. They ate it, but was sick that night. May or may have not been the steak. Although they were convinced it was.

Service - a little less than average.

Atmosphere - great location and view, but that's really all this place has going for it.

I guess we will wait another year to try again.

PREVIOUS REVIEW BELOW:

Overrated (literally), unless reviews are graded on a curve. 4.5 stars - really? I'm thinking people are basing the reviews on how much they paid vs the quality of the food. It's not bad, it's not excellent, it's just OK.

Now, it is likely the highest quality food in the area, but that is a pretty low bar. Service was very good, staff was very attentive. View is very nice, of course. Food quality is excellent, but overly complex. I think they are just trying too hard with the food and drink. We had three different drinks from the bar. All were OK, but each had Bay-View's own take on the basics. Salads - fine. Entre-average.

We've probably sent back only a few things ever, but we sent back one of the sides because they it was just over-seasoned. Unfortunately, it still was on the bill. I didn't fight it, I'm sure they would have comp'ed it had I asked. But, I didn't send it back for the money. We sent it back because it was horrible. Also, both steaks were over done. Medium was actually well-done; and the medium-rare was medium. Even with that, the steaks were very good. Just over-done. Bay View hasn't been open that long, so maybe things will improve by simplifying dishes and drinks and focus on the basics. We will likely return, but will give it some time...

This restaurant is an experience. Being picked up in a golf cart in the parking lot was an extra unexpected and high appreciated plus. The hostesses are very sweet, quick to greet us and sat us immediately. The hostess team wore attractive blue dresses. When I complemented them, they all smiled and said “we got to help pick them out”. Way to go with allowing the team ownership. Our waitperson was very nice, but seemed to have a sense of urgency. She knew the restaurant was about to get very busy and wanted to insure that our meal was expedited. Just as soon as we ordered, items started coming out. We arrived at 7:30 and were out by 9, I felt a little rushed, but it was probably more like a well oiled machine. Cocktails: My husband had the signature margarita. It came out in a tall juice glass. I had the cottonwood cosmo, it was good and the orange garnish was a lovely touch. As in most restaurants the cocktails were overpriced and lacked adequate alcohol. Appetizers: came out without any waiting. We had the Trio, chips with guacamole, queso, and salsa. Can’t go wrong there, the portion size was perfect. We enjoyed our appetizer for about 5 minutes when our salads came out then 5 minutes later our entrées arrived. Entrée: My husband had the tomahawk schnitzel, it was gigantic, filling and very delicious. I had the red snapper, with green pea risotto. I was disappointed, the fish was tough and rubbery and the risotto was very salty, but the peas were cooked perfectly. Our table was cleared periodically, not only by our waitperson, but also others pitched in demonstrating great team work. The entire wait staff was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. We sat outside and loved the atmosphere although it can be a little distracting with all the people taking pictures. All in all Bayview Restaurant is a pleasant place to dine, but it’s not upscale. This restaurant is catered to the summer tourist population. A destination where families go every year creating memories while visiting Horseshoe Bay and the menu is geared toward that. Maybe the menu will change a little for the off season. The bill was a little high for the product received, but then again everything costs more these days. I do understand the trickle down effect of the economy especially with restaurants. The pandemic was devastating for business and now with the economy more and more people cannot...