Federal American Grill — Restaurant in Hedwig Village

I’m so disappointed. I live in the neighborhood and my parents came in from Austin so we could all go out to dinner for my moms 77th birthday. My husband and I stop in FG bar for a drink a decent bit and eaten there a few times. We don’t love the food (for us it’s a bit dated and just nothing special) but like having it as a neighborhood place and expect to at least have good food there, and I thought my parents would like it. I told my mom I’d seen their Parmesan crusted asparagus and thought she would love it. But wow when it came it looked like something out of a freezer bag thrown into a fryer served sitting in a pool of oil that was supposedly butter, and tasted the same. Did they change the recipe? Not at all what I recalled seeing before. The hamburger egg rolls looked equally unappetizing but tasted alright. Again they were not presented as I remembered before. I think most of us were losing our appetites so almost all ordered salads as entrees. Who wanted to spend $30+ on a mediocre entree at this point? Well again the disappointments. The pecan crusted chicken was brown like it was way over cooked with this strange blueberry compote poured over it and then tortilla strips on salad that looked circa 1990. But maybe that was the point. The dressing on the spinach salad thankfully ordered on side because it was inedible. Thankfully my mom ordered the chicken federale which seemed as good as I remembered it so that was one redeeming factor. Only comment there is the obscene portion size. Wish they would half that and charge a little less but I’m sure there’s a reason why they do it that way. And then they did bring my mom a birthday dessert with cute sparkler but would have been nice to see dessert menu and select something she liked instead of being brought the obligatory bread pudding which pretty sure we were charged for, so this was not just some complimentary dessert. I know restaurant business has been tough and I always want to be understanding. Just super disappointed that this was our experience on a special night. And that I had built this restaurant up to be a little more than what it was. I’m not sure I’ll be going back and that makes me sad because I want to support neighborhood restaurants. I guess my question is did something change? Are they cutting corners on what they’re serving to save money? Because this really felt like a revamp and not in a good way. I know we are in an inflation period but there are other restaurants serving much better food at this price point. Again so disappointed this was our dinner choice tonight when Houston has so many...

So um, why am I just now finding out about this place? Federal American Grill is your new favorite restaurant.

I took my wife here for a Sunday birthday brunch. They were doing live music which was a super nice touch. The outside of the building is deceiving (not that anything is wrong with the outside), but the decor is gorgeous! The host greeted us (she is very nice) and opened the door as we approached the building which made us feel fancy! We were seated for our reservation right away.

Our server was attentive, friendly and thorough. They presented us with a hand written birthday card for my wife. The entire staff for the day signed it. This is an example of a small effort going a long way. My wife was really impressed. The tables were set neatly, everything was clean, and we didn't wait more than 5 minutes to be served. Listen to this next part very carefully: Do NOT forget to try the free biscuits with the red jalepeno jam. Jesus. Such deliciousness should be a crime. I had to stop myself from eating them all. Insanely good.

Their menu has a ton of good options. It's not skimpy at all. We ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp and Kung Pao Calamari. They seem to like spice and tangy for a lot of their recipes and I'm here for it. Both appetizers were killer. 10/10. And I don't even normally eat Calamari! I ordered the Meat Loaf and my wife ordered the Shrimp and Grits as the main entrees. Oh man, it's just not fair. Both fantastic as well. I make really good Meat Loaf at home but this was the first restaurant where I can admit I am defeated. You cannot go wrong with the food here. We've ordered from Doordash from here a few times since then but there is nothing like the dine-in experience. This place is a must try.

In closing, the staff is very friendly, attentive, and just flat out amazing. The manager came over to greet us during our meal on our 2nd visit and he was super nice. Made us feel welcomed. I absolutely love this place. Great job!

Tip 1: Valet is complimentary but make sure to bring cash to tip.

Tip 2: I suggest booking a reservation though both times we went there was plenty of available seating. You can book reservations on open table.

Tip 3: This place is also very kid-friendly. They have high chairs, a kids menu and crayons/coloring sheets.

Tip 4: There is also a sit down bar with a huge selection of beverages. My wife's cocktails...

Came in yesterday for lunch. I sat at the bar and for about 3-4 minutes I watched the bartender chit chat with other patrons. Literally having a grandiose time not paying attention to the other end of the bar. The bar back was kind enough to give me a menu and water. I asked if i could order a martini and since he’s not the bartender, he had to walk to the other end of the bar to let the bartender know that I wanted to drink. The bar back walked to the other end of the bar to let the bartender know that I wanted to drink. I’m watching the whole interaction and the bar back basically had to wait another couple of seconds for the bartender to stop having his conversation to even acknowledge him.

When he eventually came over to take my order he was actually very pleasant. He made some menu suggestions and with his advice, I took his suggestions. I ordered the meat loaf. He made my martini which tasted great but lacked a real punch of a martini. I ordered three martinis and basically felt as if i was drinking fruit punch. My drink maximum is usually two martinis so this let me know they kind of skimped on the alcohol. I also had to ask for each drink I ordered. The bartender never came to even ask if I wanted another drink even after my glass was empty twice!!

The food came and after waiting a little longer than I expected, sadly was cold. The meat loaf was warm but the crispy brussels and mashed potatoes and onion straws were all cold. I had to flag the guy down. I sent the sides back and they came in about 5 minutes. They came out luke warm again. I had almost finished the meatloaf. The bartender seemed to interact heavily with only one side of the bar. It was definitely obvious.

At the end of my meal, he did offer to box up my food. Since he took my leftovers to the back I threw the boxed food away. Yea, considering the service that I received I definitely did not trust him boxing up my food.

It sucks that I had this type of interaction because I tip really great when I go out to eat. Just take care of me. I don’t wanna have to ask you for anything out of the ordinary. Do your job and I promise I’m the easiest customer. I honestly don’t know if I’ll be back. The food was OK, but definitely not something I...