Barnaby's Cafe — Restaurant in Houston

Wanting to go out to eat on a weekend night but nearly everywhere has a long wait or you're unsure of where to go fill your tummy? No need to look any further than Barnaby's.

I experienced the former first hand a few evenings ago. When a friend wanted to go out for a nice meal that finally didn't include Chili's or Applebee's, the sky was the limit on places I could introduce them to. Would it be Brassiere 19? Benjy's? Soma Sushi? Or any number of good places to eat in Houston for a nice dinner? It would have been either of those places if it weren't for us deciding to dine out on a Friday evening after 9 p.m. and places were packed.

With a growing appetite that couldn't stomach the long waits, I suggested Barnaby's. When pressed on what was Barnaby's and what type of food is served there, I told my friend it was a cafe and they weren't impressed. Of course that all changed once we arrived and saw numerous plates of mouth-watering foods as we maneuvered our way around several tables to seat ourselves at a booth.

There was no wait to be seated this particular Friday evening (usually there isn't a wait at all at this location), a major plus for my dining companion. Our server came within five minutes of us being seated to greet us and asked us what we would like to drink. Ordering for my friend, I asked for the Strawberry Lemonade for each of us. Once our beverages arrived, we sipped away the stress from finding somewhere to dine and enjoying the sweet and slightly tart freshly made in-house lemonade.

We ordered the sweet potatoes fries as a starter, giving us more time to peruse the menu. Once the fries arrived, piled as high as a mini mountain, we were ready to chow down. Sadly, the fries weren't as tasty as they appeared but that didn't stop us from dipping them into the barbecue sauce that accompanied them. In doing that, it was the fries only saving grace as it was ours as we finally were able to stave off our hunger enough to decide on what to order.

I ordered the salmon with green beans and rice pilaf, plus a Caesar salad and my friend ordered the lasagna. The portions were huge, especially the lasagna. The lasagna covered the entire plate. When asked how the lasagna fared, my dining companion replied that it was pretty good... then again, this is a friend who thinks Chili's food is actually good. I on the other hand was disappointed with my dish. The salmon was dense, overcooked, and had no flavor. While I prefer my veggies to be crisp tender (some would say to the point where it's still raw but I disagree), the green beans were nearly raw, making them inedible. The rice pilaf was decent especially with the addition of quinoa, adding a nutty flavor that complimented the rice and finely chopped vegetables.

All-in-all, the meal hit the spot for a late, last-minute dinner on a Friday evening. Would I go back again? Of course I would! I've been coming here for a while now and usually enjoy what I order.

The overcooked salmon and raw green beans aside, Barnaby's serves good comfort food. Although a little overpriced, Barnaby's does offers good specials. Monday evenings, chicken fried steaks are $10, Tuesdays, Texas beers and select wines by the glass are $2, and don't forget the Recession brownie with a scoop of ice cream for $1. Most importantly, my friend really enjoyed their meal, that Barnaby's has surpassed Chili's on their list... and believe me, that's a big...

Short story - great food, good service. Parking will be a bit crazy up residential roads and you may have to wait. Depending on your tastes, you may or may not find it worth the wait; so if you are not sure, I would hit this place when it's NOT weekend breakfast.

Recommendation: Get an egg dish (they all look and sound great) with SMOKED BACON.

We stopped here on our way out of town (heading home) on the recommendation of a friend. It was Sunday morning, so there was a wait. I think we waited 40 minutes, but they do provide coffee and we were lucky enough to have great weather.

Ambiance is very cozy. Cute, minimal design.

Service: This was interesting. The servers practically can't avoid walking past your table, because it is so crowded inside. And yet, there were times it was hard to get our server's attention. But we had great service when we did, so I qualify that as overall "good".

We had:

Chicken fried steak & eggs: very good; gravy was very peppery, which I liked Migas: the tortilla strips were not crunchy (we prefer crunchy), but everything else about them was good; they were more clean and subtle than most migas (as opposed to drenched in cheese and chock full of jalapenos) The home fry potatoes are ok, nothing exciting Smoked bacon: very tasty Chicken applewood-smoked(?) sausage was good; I would choose the bacon over it. Pumpkin pancakes: one of us found them to be OK, the other found them to be very good; the pumpkin flavor is very light and they were not sweetened as some are; unless you have a special craving, I don't think they are worth it Toast: Unremarkable Coffee: good.

The ingredients are high quality and fresh, which...

BEST BURGER EVER!!!!!! I do need to mention that not everything on their website is on the menu, so I took pictures instead. I ordered the blue cheese bacon burger with waffle fries with an iced tea, the burger was TOO GOOD! And perfectly cooked, the cheese was so creamy, the bacon was nice and crispy and just melted in your mouth, the buns were perfectly roasted and even looked handmade. The only downside was that they gave me regular fries instead of waffle fries, so I mentioned it and they immediately fixed it, letting me have the regular AND the waffle fries for FREE, also the fries were perfectly seasoned with something similar to cajun blackened seasoning and they were also fried perfectly, so crunchy yet fluffy on the inside. The waitress was super kind and when you asked for anything extra like sauces, ice, lemons, she gave you A LOT, I absolutely loved it, like she drowned me in ranch that was also tasting homemade and very tasty. When she brought me lemon, she brought the same amount of lemon slices in a WHOLE LEMON just for my tea! Everyone was very charismatic and looked like they were having fun, but I will also say that the place was packed, so I'd probably reserve first just in case you're bringing more than two people with you. I would rate it 4.9/5.0 just because of the mess up, but again, the food was absolutely MIND BLOWINGLY AMAZING, you get so much for your money. But I'm not done, when I got a box for my left overs my waitress gave me the BIGGEST TOGO TEA I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. I'm just a tourist visiting Houston, but I would 100% come back for...