Bistro 555 — Restaurant in Houston

My family and I just moved to Houston and were looking for a new French Restaurant that we could start to visit for our fix. My wife and I were engaged on the Eiffel Tower and have been to Paris on a number of occasions so it’s safe to say that we enjoy authentic French cuisine. Plus we heard that this place was owned by 5 French restauranteurs so we had high expectations

When we arrived, the experienced waitress (we will call her E), was a little blasé for my taste. I have served in a restaurant for many years prior to my success and feel that a server should be excited to see a patron. But I understand, it was 1:20pm and the place closes at 2:00pm and I know that can be frustrating so I didn’t hold it against her.

When it came time to order the new waitress who was on her very first day (we will call her N), was very shy but pleasant. I was impressed with her and thought she did a fine job.

For appetizers I ordered the escargot and the wife got the French onion soup. The escargot was fine and the French onion soup was actually really nice. The sauce was unique and my wife enjoyed it.

Then the main courses. I had the duck leg with the Foie Gras side (it was a very small piece for an extra 10$ but it always adds to the meal) and My wife who was looking for something light ordered the Fermiere pizza.

Things were fine until the second slice of Pizza when she noticed a long black hair baked into the dough. It was really noticeable and instantly turned my wife and I off to our food. We told E and she was apologetic and offered us the dessert menu. We tried but had both lost our appetite as anyone reading this would have. To be clear, this was a very long, very black hair. It was not good and we were obviously turned right off to the food. Now, I understand that things like this can happen, and we were not upset at all, but when the bill came the only thing that was removed was the pizza, which of course it should be as it was inedible.

I would think that at a minimum, they would comp my wife’s whole meal as a sorry and honesty, if it were me, I would have made the whole meal free. I’m definitely not saying that it should have been that way, nor am I saying that we deserved to have free food, but I would have done that in order to assure that these new customers would try us again. We had ordered almost 100$ in food at that point and would have happily paid if there was no issues. I would have recognized that and done what I had to do in order to ensure they would be back. But in the end, we paid for our food, minus the pizza, and determined that we will not be returning to Bistro 555. With so many choices in Houston, we will have to strike this one off of the list. So in the end, the 75$ bill was paid...and unfortunately it was the last time they will see us there. And...

This tiny restaurant does not disappoint. I’ve been wanting to try it for years and I finally did for an early birthday dinner. My aunt and I were very impressed with our experience. Make reservations! There are only 18 tables (some were 4 tops, so there are more tables if broken down to 2 seaters), and it gets very busy. We lucked out with a table in the corner by the kitchen. We were able to talk and I felt we were out of the way from the other tables. They also have a handful of tables outside. Parking is limited, but we were able to find a spot with a shirt walk to the entrance. We started with a glass of wine and looked over the menu. We settled on a couple appetizers to split. Of course, you can’t go to a French restaurant and not get the escargot. In addition to that, we ordered a bowl of French onion soup. Both were phenomenal. The escargot was bubbling and buttery. The French onion soup was piping hot with a rich base and beautifully appointed with melted cheese. It was the best French onion soup I’ve ever had! They also serve bread and dipping oil. That was delicious as well. For our meal, I had the BŒUF À LA BOURGUIGNONNE. It’s a beef stew dish they are known for, and I can see why. The meat is tender, the sauce is rich with carrots and mushrooms. It is served along side of egg noodles. Delicious! My aunt had the L'ENTRECÔTE-FRITES. It’s a nicely prepared ribeye with garlic green beans and hand cut fries. I tasted hers and it was all very good. We both had enough to take home for another meal. Our server was attentive, helpful with menu suggestions, and prompt with the service. It was a perfect dining experience. Our bills was $186.00 before tip. This includes 4 glasses of wine, bread and oil, 2 appetizers, and 2 main dishes. I think that’s very reasonable for a high quality dining experience. Before trying the restaurant, I read their reviews. One woman mentioned that someone who writes long reviews is typically not really a customer, but instead, an owner or a paid reviewer. This is not the case. If you follow me, you will see that I always write long reviews. I like to give a full written experience to anyone reading my reviews. That way you can see, start to finish, what I experienced. Well done, indeed. It’s like I stepped into a cozy restaurant in Southern France....

About 6-7 years ago, I made amazing memories at this restaurant because the food was delicious and the service was impeccable. This time, the food was average, lacking flavor, and overpriced. Service was terrible and lacking in personality.

When we arrived at 8pm, we promptly received our waters filled by a pre-chilled bottle and our wine orders were fulfilled swiftly. Followed by the drink orders, we received bread knots with herbaceous oil which was good, but average. We devoured that and next we ordered the duck pâté with olives and small pickles for our appetizer, beef bourguignon, and a steak dish engulfed by a beurre blanc type sauce with green beans, and fries. By the time the clock hit, 9:05pm, we received our appetizer which is the first picture after the menu. The duck pâté resembled a chicken salad with no seasoning and I thought it odd that the bread or some sort of cracker didn’t go with it. It seemed like a very incomplete dish and there was no cohesiveness to how the ingredients worked with each other. While my wife and I contemplated our life’s decisions, the volume of the restaurant went through the roof and service got slower.

Finally the mains, the bœuf was totally over cooked and the sauce was okay at best. My wife leaned over to me and stated that she could beat it and to that I agreed. Next, my dish was decent. The flavor of the sauce carried the dish while the steak was without flavor (consider a salt rub or something here), the fries had no flavor either with lacking in salt, but the green beans were excellent but I’d argue it’s hard to mess those up.

The redeeming factor was their wine menu seemed to carry great selections. We were happy with their one and only cab sav on the menu.

In conclusion, 1.5-2hr dinner with slow service, food lacking flavor, loud environment, and a...