Christie's Seafood & Steaks — Restaurant in Houston

Christies rates a "casual nice" restaurant which is fine. If you expect quality and satisfaction for the price, this is not that. I had such high hopes for a historical place like Christie's... This was my first visit. I was hoping to impress my sister with Houston's quality seafood restaurants as compaired to her ideal "Red Lobster" on her visit from Kansas, but I fell short of that here. Imagine not being able to impress someone who's ideal is Red Lobster for nearly double the price...

[Edit] Some reviwers complain about the decor. I think the decor was just fine for a historical seafood restaurant. I would complain if it looked sleek and modern and there was no evidence of the historical decor.0

Our party was delayed by bands of rain from hurricane Hannah, our first member arrived 20 minutes ahead of the rest of us, and was not aknowledged after being sat, not offered a drink nor app order until we were in the parking lot. 20 minutes of feeling invisible did not impress. He was so angry he actually left as we were seated. But we all had driven 45-60 minutes to get there, and we tried to make the best of it.

The au gratin potatoes were better than Betty Crocker's. But it goes slowly downhill from here. Their prices for lobster and lump crab are way too high, if the quality of their shrimp, sirloin, and fish are any predictor. They ran out of lump crab by 7:15 on a Saturday, so we did not have the opportunity to try that. My rainbow trout was apparently the best thing we were served, and it was slightly over cooked, their grilled shrimp moreso, the steaks were bland and not as tender as they should be for their designated rareness. In other words, over priced for food I could have cooked better myself, given the inclination to feed 6 people 6 different entrees. I really wanted to give Christie's the benefit of the doubt, but even their bread rolls were oddly tough. And their crab balls appeared to be all breading and celery flavor, but no crab. Their crab fingers were overcooked and tiny. They are practicing social distancing, sort of... so there is no chance their cook was swamped with a full restaurant to justify this lackluster evening's food samplings. Keep in mind, I am a good person who used to pay the bills with server's tips, so I did not give the server a bad tip, but their cook did not help earn it. I would have loved to pay $250 plus 20% for a dinner for 6, and left rave reviews if the quality was there to warrant it. I paid 300$ and here is the review. (But I could have gotten a better meal at a Landry's chain, if I did not abhor their dependence on MSG for "flavor".)

I really had much higher hopes for a historical place like Christie's... when I went back to the parkinglot to fetch someone who had gone out for a smoke, I tripped dramatically on the carpet they had just inside the doors because their carpet is raised (thick) and not taped nor tacked down, it has a silicone or rubber edge which caught the toe of my shoe and sent me sailing into their doors. The most obvious clue that this restaurant is 100 years old is the hallway and bathrooms, which are poorly lit, obfuscating the irregularly set floor tiles which my 76 year old mother could have easily turned her ankle over. Their bathroom seems to have been subdivided to a tiny 2 seater at some point, with an outer anteroom with a sink, leaving the entire woman's room feeling awkward and cramped. Heaven forbid my wheelchair bound sister had needed the facilities, because the "ADA bathroom" was further down the hallway with a short but steep drop in elevation just barely past a narrowed doorway and it is doubtful she would have been able to navigate the space in her wheelchair to make her way inside in a timely manner, if at all.

Let me state one more time how much I truly wanted to love this place and our experience here. I am not a person who leaves scathing reviews unless they are...

First visit to Houston's oldest restaurant, if you can believe that. Who knew? (Not us.)

First, the food. Outstanding. Large menu, lots of selections. But not a huge menu. Some surprising omissions, such as scallops. The impression I get is that they know what they do well and stick to it. Eating it was the proof. We will definitely return to sample more dishes to be sure, but all we selected this visit were as good as any we have ever had: shrimp, flounder, rainbow trout, oysters (none fried). Typical Texas-sized servings. The coleslaw was particularly delicious, but mostly because it's just how I like it; YMMV. The scalloped potatoes were delicious, but too much cheese; again, YMMV. We have every expectation that many other dishes we did not have room to enjoy, but could see as they were being served to patrons at other tables, will be just as delicious.

The Key Lime pie was delicious; they do not make it, but "purchase the best" from a bakery they readily admit. That's just another illustration of how they stick to what they do best: preparing seafood. The wine list is short, but adequate (only six reds, plus some whites, all available by the glass, reasonably-priced).

They have steaks, also ... but why? (Some just don't like fish, I assume).

The pictures of their dishes that are available on various web sites are exactly what you will get. Attractive preparation and presentations.

I'm not sure how this restaurant escaped my attention for more than 21 years. Despite its consistently high ratings and very positive reviews on various websites, I was prepared to be underwhelmed, since it never popped up on any of my searches before. And, at first view, I was immediately leery; the building looked old, as one would expect had it been having its maintenance deferred. While it may be old, it is indeed in great shape, and inside it's clear that order and cleanliness are very important. The tables are spread out, obviously actually limiting the number of patrons who can be seated. The tables are covered with paper tablecloths, presumably for easy changing, and paper, but not cloth, napkins are provided in abundance. All servers and staff are masked. By the time we were leaving, all tables were occupied, three parties were awaiting being seated, and there was a short line outside. We finally understood why their parking lot has so many spaces! Clearly, a very popular establishment, intent on reassuring patrons of their concern and adherence to safety practices.

This is not a fancy restaurant. The forte here is the seafood. You will not be...

We needed a place for dinner for a large group of people in town for my mother-in-law's celebration of life/memorial service, and Christie's was the first place on our list able to accommodate us. We weren't initially sure how many people we would have, but Christie's was okay with that, setting up a room ready for between 35 and 50 people and just having us choose which extra table to not use once we arrived. The set-up, the food, and the service were all amazing; several attendees commented about this. For example, as the nearly 40 of us stood around chatting in the reserved room, several waitstaff took individual orders and managed to quickly deliver drinks to the correct people even as we wandered around talking to each other, and each guest was asked to choose from three main courses by placing a pre-labelled card at their own place. As we began taking our seats, the first (of five or six different truly delicious) appetizers immediately arrived at each table, and everyone's water and drinks were perpetually refilled without anyone having to ask. Salads, main courses, and desserts arrived at exactly the right times (no waiting for food, but no feeling rushed either). The food was surprisingly good, especially considering they were bringing out 10 - 15 main courses of each type simultaneously! Staff had thoughtfully set up a table at the entrance to hold a guest book and some mementoes, and they also quickly produced an easel to hold a large portrait we showed up with at the last minute. I just cannot say enough about the service: the waitstaff were completely unobtrusive but also warm, ever-present and highly attentive. We stayed until the very last minute (the restaurant was closing but they didn't say anything to us about it AT ALL), and the staff who stayed with us to the end had me pull my car to the door so they could help me load up the 8 big vases of flowers to take home. I had never been to Christie's before this (very poignant) occasion, but I definitely...