Davis Street at Hermann Park — Restaurant in Houston

This is my second time patronizing Davis Street. My first, was earlier this year when my brother & I took our mom out for Mother’s Day 2023. We enjoyed our experience so much and I would’ve rated that time a 4 star.

This review is for my visit during Houston Restaurant Weeks for brunch. 4 girlfriends and I decided to try the brunch HRW selection.

I had a great tasting mimosa which had a hibiscus flower in it. My girlfriends all commented about how they should’ve ordered that mimosa instead. 3 of my girlfriends ordered more typical flavored mimosas (grapefruit and orange) and 1 of my girlfriends had a wine flight that came with 4 two ounce pours. Had I ordered another drink, it would’ve been a wine flight.

For appetizers, 2 of us got the oyster dish and the other 3 got a spicy Korean beef dish. The presentation of the oysters was far better than the presentation of the beef dishes; however, the oysters were an additional $8 up charge. Well worth it for the number of oysters. I felt the size of the oysters were small, but $8 for oysters? You can’t expect much. I enjoyed the taste of the oysters and the ladies commented on how they liked the taste of their beef dish.

We also ordered two orders of the biscuits with bacon jam. Since there were five of us, one order wouldn’t have been enough. I enjoyed the biscuits. They were a little more “cooked,” don’t want to say burnt than the last time, but were still tasty.

For entrees, 4 of us got the chicken and waffles dish and 1 of us had the shrimp and grits. Here’s where things get shaky. While the fried chicken breast was moist and the skin crispy, all 4 of us were disappointed in the actual flavor of the chicken overall. The chicken was bland and the batter for the chicken didn’t have much flavor infused into it. The creamed collard greens were a hit! I’d never had them before and I’d definitely order them again! The waffles were described as sweet potato waffles and they were exactly that! The waffles were also very good. Only complaint about the waffles was the very runny almost watery syrup.

My girlfriend who got the shrimp and grits was very underwhelmed. While she ate her dish, she commented that she’d had “much better” shrimp and grits at less expensive places. The grits were a bit more runny than she preferred and the shrimp were relatively small.

As our last course, we ordered coconut cake, the chocolate parfait, and key lime pie. I love key lime, so I was very happy with my dish. The coconut cake that 3 of my girlfriends got looked so good. It appeared to be drizzled in caramel and had glazed pecans on it too. I’m not a coconut fan, but I was asked to order two pieces of the cake to bring to my mom and brother. Lol 😂 when they found out I was at Davis Street, they both requested I bring them a piece on the way home.

Lastly, the restaurant staff were all very friendly and professional; however, the waitstaff seemed to be short staffed. Our party did have to wait some inordinate amount of time to receive condiments we requested, water refills, and the check. Although we weren’t in a rush, you could just tell things were not running as smoothly as they could be. Also, when a girlfriend of mine turned to look at a piece of art hanging on the wall behind our table, she noticed, and I subsequently noticed, tiny bugs that had died and needed to be cleaned. It reminded me of seeing a spider web in your home that needed to be dusted away.

Parking is easy. There are plenty of free street parking spaces, there’s a free lot across the street, and a lot adjacent to the restaurant.

IMO, try Davis Street when it is not HRW. You’ll...

I flew in from Chicago to surprise my mother for her 64th birthday. I was warmly greeted as I entered the establishment. Immediately as I sat down, the most wonderful dining experience began. Staff: They were extremely attentive, courteous, and deeply knowledgable of the menu. FOOD: We began with the in house baked rolls. I believe they were some type of sesame seed roll, lightly sweet and served with pickled olives and onions, pimento cheese, and possibly a hummus. The pimento cheese option was my favorite! It wasn’t your everyday pimento cheese, but a house made version which you want be able to put down. The others I wasn’t a fan of. ENTREES: We ordered Pork Belly Stew, Aged Wagyu steak, New Orleans Charbroiled Oysters, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Salmon, and some other fish option I can’t recall, and bacon Brussels-sprouts. If you’re a fan of the Wagyu, get the Wagyu. You almost can’t go wrong with an establishment which offers Wagyu beef. It was aged to perfection, appropriately seasoned, and cook medium. My 11yr nephew couldn’t stop raving about it - and he’s a really hard sale. The New Orleans Charbroiled oysters were the BEST I’d every had! Yes, the bar is set extremely high here. As a lover of these in New Orleans, I’d never been able to duplicate the charbroiled experience anywhere outside of NO. Davis Street met the challenge, and SLAYED THE GAME! I believe they comes in an order of six. They’re perfectly broiled, lightly salted, garlic, parmesan cheese, and just a beautiful explosion of flavors in your mouth. Salmon was cook medium and exceed my expectation. The mashed potatoes were good - nothing really to see here, but good. The Truffle Mac was really decadent and super cheesy - definitely an MUST HAVE! The pork belly stew was AMAZING! I thought it was going to be a stew in a blow type of experience, but when it arrived it was a bit more innovative. The pork belly, prawns, veggies, and other items were displayed almost as a medley in a plate. Then, the juices for the stew component were poured atop, just to add the perfectly delicious accompaniment. Again, the flavors were all here to SLAY, it was extremely tasty and another favorite. Lastly, my absolute favorite item: The BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Grilled with bacon, smoky, and PERFECT! These were award winning. We were also surprised with Chef Halley’s Award Winning Coconut Cake, and Apple Bread Pudding. The bread pudding has a surprise hiding inside (it’s made croissants). I can remember the wine paring, but Kevin Jackson the Sommelier can advised you. He paired a Hungarian wine with the bread pudding that was out of this world. Trust me, speak to Kevin - He’s the absolute best and a joy to be around. Overall, it was a magical experience! It’s a complete...

Disappointing experience, souring a joyous occasion-

Celebrated Mother’s Day as a late afternoon brunch reservation for a party of six. The restaurant was understaffed, the air was not on and was being cooled by noncommercial tower fan, and the wait service was stretched and displeasing. We were seated 15 minutes after our reservation time with an undressed table and then waited another 25 minutes for our waitress to greet us at the table. (The table next to us was in dispute over their check and she waited to clear up their issue and payment before she came over to us with water walling in her eyes with frustration.) When the manager sat us, he proceeded to ask who was a mother and who wasn’t. As a table of older women, I found this question to be distasteful, if you are doing something nice just do it and assume all women are mothers as you do not know people’s situations or emotional temperament.

Food overall was flavorful. My redfish was too salty to taste but the server did not come back to the table to check in until everyone was finished and ready for our second course to be boxed.

I ordered a spritz and it was brought out as a champagne cocktail not a spritzer. The waitress took it back to the bar and upon return, the bartender came out and demanded I try to drink to taste in front of her to ensure it was correct. I have never experienced anything remotely close to this level of unprofessionalism at that point in my lifetime of dining until then and the following interaction with the presumed manager, owner and executive chef.

We finished our pre-fix meals with most of the party being satisfied yet ready to leave. We waited again for our check and to get our card back.

Upon leaving, I stopped at the bar to share feedback with the owner and chef to be cut off while talking with excuses and comments trying to bring religion, the holiday and everything else into why the restaurant was not prepared to accommodate our party. Had the manager not stood over me as I expressed dissatisfaction and snickered, walked away and came back sucking his teeth in my three minute interlude with ownership, I might not had written this but to be disrespected after spending over $600 to celebrate family, it is only right that others know of the tone and atmosphere at the establishment.

I hope for other’s sake, they staff to the occasion...