Bluestone Lane Houston Heights Café — Restaurant in Houston

I was so disappointed with Bluestone Lane. We saw it driving down Yale, looked it up, and knew we had to go. Spoiler….you shouldn’t.

We had high hopes and expectations and the only thing that held up after visiting was that it looks good. The food did look good, BUT that’s it.

We ordered from a QR code (selected items to put in a cart and paid with our phones like you are ordering to go) which isn’t horrible in itself, but it definitely changes the experience and took away from the overall experience we expected (especially for the prices you pay).

Things slowly came out randomly with my girlfriends meal coming first, followed by our coffees 15 minutes later, followed by the other meal to the point that she could have just eaten alone before my food arrived. (We ordered at the same time.)

I could look past or wouldn’t have much of an issue with some of the prior things above if the food was great. It wasn’t.

The avocado on my BL Big Brekkie was clearly rancid and ruined the entire dish. It’s avocado toast with all sorts of extras…..the avocado is pretty important here. Not to mention serving something that has not past its expiration. I scraped all the avocado off and pushed it to the side hoping the other parts of the meal were tasty. The rest of the meal was beyond bland. I’m not sure the kitchen has salt in it or even knows what salt is as there was not an ounce of flavor in anything I ate. The mushrooms and tomatoes were boring, the toast was dry and unsatisfying, and the greens ended up being this soggy mush to top it all off.

My girlfriends meal (chimichurri eggs) and the coffee was equally underwhelming and very forgettable. I will say, the side of potato wedges was decent and the bacon was good! Its hard to mess up bacon I guess, but some kudos for not messing it up seems appropriate here.

Overall, I would say don’t waste your time coming here. We definitely won’t be coming back. (Not even for the free coffee you get when you sign up after ordering.) You are better off cooking at home, or going almost anywhere else. (There are so many great restaurants in the Heights area.) I would stop here if you want to post some pictures of nice looking meals, then leave and eat somewhere else. If you do decide to stay and eat, bring a few salt packets and a book to pass the time while you wait...

I want so badly to love this place, guys.

I've taken my family here five times now, hoping that this is the time the service improves - but it hasn't. I'm an optimist by nature, so this review is really hard for me to leave (it's actually my first ever negative review).

Every time we have come, the service has been painfully slow. One time we came we got our food 40 minutes late, and we only got it because we checked on it. The person at the desk said our server forgot to put our order in because they were so busy. Then later our waiter blamed the kitchen staff, saying they mixed up the orders. We saw two tables that came after us come and go before we even all had our meals. But I'm an Aussie, so any place that is inspired my my homeland is gonna get several chances. So we came back again today.

After we ordered through the app (therefore paying in advance), a staff member came out and told us they were out of Milo drinks (we had ordered two for the kids), and asked if we wanted a replacement. So we said we would take one hot chocolate instead, and just refund us for the 2nd Milo. And then our food came, and we ate it, and we never saw that hot chocolate replacement - I guess they forgot. So we flagged down another staff member and let them know that we had ordered a replacement hot chocolate, but since we had all finished eating, we wanted to leave. We asked that they just refund us for the two Milo drinks.

Normally, Bad Service alone wouldn't be something I would give a 1-star review for, but it's been consistently bad. We come expecting bad service, hoping to be pleasantly surprised, hahaha! I know it's weird - but I like giving multiple chances.

I am hoping we see that refund, but I am not sure what we will, based on our past experiences of inattentiveness and bad service with this place. The optimist in me says we might see it tomorrow, since today is a holiday. So maybe we will see it then. It's only $9.50, but I think it's going to finally put the nail in the Bluestone Lane coffin...

Ahhmazing! This new restaurant has it's grand opening tomorrow (hours are 7am-5pm), I came for the soft opening and met with the owners. Everyone is incredibly kind. Now, about the place:

Restaurant style- Australian Coffee, Cafe, Healthy options with fresh ingredients.

Coffee- Incredible flavor, texture, and quality. The baristas were super kind when I was indecisive about what I wanted. The staff in general were good about this. I had a classic latte and espresso just for baseline understanding of their coffee. Top notch latte art for the esthetic as well. They make their vanilla with Madagascar vanilla in-house. The espresso had a nice fruited undertone. I drank it cold because I take too long to take photos but it didn't make it any less flavorful. I'll definitely drink it hot next time, I swear. Ha.

The staff- Everyone is so sweet! There are a lot of people working here so there is always someone available to help out. It was pretty busy when I came too just for reference. The general manager was so helpful with the menu and knowledgeable about each item. The wait staff was always willing and ready to help as well.

The backstory- The owners were ther3 and were an absolute joy to be around. The original location opened up in New York and they now have over 50 locations in the US. This is the first location in Houston and they have more on the way within the next year.

The food- Mmm so fresh! They carry some of the best pastries in town as well. The pancakes were not just gorgeous but so flavorful. They have a delightful lemon curd on top with fresh fruit and edible flowers. I also got the Athletes wrap which I had later on. Just perfect, nice and balanced. Just what I needed after a long workout. Everything was so beautifully plated and crafted.

This restaurant is an instant favorite and I look forward to their presence in Houston. I will definitely be back to test out more or their menu and...