Congregate @Willowbrook — Restaurant in Houston

Updated review with some disappointment.

A year ago we came here when it was newly opened and left a raving review which was slightly inflated due to giving the courtesy of understanding that every business has growing pains, in attempts to help them succeed. Unfortunately after a year we were left disappointed and likely won’t return.

The good things first, the service was great, the waitress Lei was attentive and kind, I couldn’t have asked for better service.

As far as the negatives go I have quite a few and they’re all good related.

The grade of food is not worth the money in the slightest. I ordered the Steak Out omelet (steak, peppers, onions, cheese [I chose provolone]) and for $18 it was a miserable eating experience. The steak was incredibly overcooked and flavorless. It was either stored too long or incredibly overcooked or a combination of the two. The cheese turned to a rubbery consistency which typically is due to storing it open so it can never truly melt just becomes waxy or leathery.

I ordered a side of avocado and for $3 or $4 I would expect at a minimum a half an avocado, not smashed pre packaged avocado like the stuff at subway. Fresh avocados on average can cost up to $1.40 from a supplier, smashed avocado is usually about $2 for ~15 servings. There’s no excuse except for corporate greed for things like that.

We ordered a side of bacon and it is for sure what’s called No.2 bacon which is the cheap scraps that are made for chopping or serving in sandwiches, not as a side piece of protein. It turns to dust when you eat it and is incredibly off putting and dry.

Overall, it’s hard to blame the wait staff or the kitchen staff for this disheartening experience, I believe it lies on the ownership or the executive chef and their complete lack of commitment to owning and operating a restaurant. The word restaurant comes from the Latin word “restaurare” which means “to restore or refresh.” A restaurant was a place to aid the community in health and wellbeing, and unfortunately I cannot say this for Congregate.

I don’t think we will return unless there are big changes to the way they purchase ingredients to meet the expected results for the price...

I’ve been here three times. My first experience was brunch which was not bad at all. The food was good but with a party of six we should have been able to move to a bigger table with more room and the owner/manger would not lets us so it was tight. My second experience was not bad at all. My third experience was not so good first the restroom was nasty and stinky no soap to wash your hands. Service was slow it took forever for my drink to come out and they were not busy. The wings were good. Beware! As a party of two we were charged a 10.00 gratuity. We were told that they charge gratuity all day on Saturday no matter how many people. I guess happy hour isn’t really happy hour because there were only certain drinks that had happy hour specials. The atmosphere is great, good music and the drinks are good. As a returning customer I wish some of these black business wouldn’t try to knock you in the head with cost when trying to support them.

Update: Forcing 18% gratuity on a 2 person table with bad service is never the answer! How is it that you not only force me to tip regardless of service, but don’t even have a good happy hour special? $2 off a $15 drink isn’t a special 😒 and I also paid full price so they didn’t even apply the special! Didn’t forget that gratuity though. It’s not my job to make sure your employees make a reasonable wage! I got 3 alcoholic beverages (during happy hour) and a 6 count of wings w fries … I paid $70 for slow service, overpriced drinks, and dirty restrooms! The point is if you are gonna FORCE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO TIP be honest about it and make...

First time going and was excited about the website stating an affordable experience. Food prices weren't bad, but horrible quality. Burnt nachos, really?! I thought it may have been their recipe with something dark in the chip ingredients, but no, they tasted like they looked...Burnt! One of the easiest and most profitable items for a restaurant. The cook is responsible for the food, but for some reason, I'm always appalled at the server because they should be flat out arguing with the person who prepared it BEFORE they just bring it out to the person they'regoing to force a tip on (unfortunate if the cook gets a cut). You would rather waste it than loose a customer. Karaoke was fun and entertaining. The atmosphere is nice. Crowd was weak, but it was a Tuesday, so maybe it will pick up, but descent stop if you live near.

By the way, I'm getting use to the enforced tips Lol but your servers need to still act like their tips actually rely on GOOD service to survive. If I knew my tip would suffer, there's no way I would serve MY guests subpar food. You would take ownership and personally be accountable for...