Duchess Uptown Park — Restaurant in Houston

A fairly new restaurant located in a prime area with lotsa parking spots. The exterior doesn’t look much but inside, the restaurant is decorated with beautiful and posh furniture. The ambient lighting sets the tone of the restaurant, I.e. romantic and cozy.

My partner and I were seated promptly, and my server was full of energy. He went through the menu with us and gave us some recommendations since it was our first dining experience at Duchess.

We started our meal with the lamb lollipops. They were well seasoned, cooked at the right temperature, and super tender. The cucumber yogurt that came with it was a perfect match with the lamb. After a great appetizer, I had the pan seared snapper while my partner had the chicken kebab for our entrees. We also had a side of crispy Brussels sprouts. The pan seared snapper had a great seasoning and the texture was perfect. The tomato broth tasted great and complemented the snapper. As for the chicken kebabs, they were rested on a bed of rice that had vermicelli on top of it. The chicken was cooked well. It wasn’t dry nor tough. The crispy Brussels sprouts were a little too oily. Though they were crispy, I wish there were more whole Brussels sprouts than broken off pieces of it.

Of course I had to have the Duchess Rose for dessert. The white chocolate mousse wasn’t sweet, and didn’t have much white chocolate taste. I didn’t get the elderflower foam on my dessert, as told by my server, the foam machine wasn’t working. What a bummer. The other components on the dessert plate were just ok. However this was a beautiful plate of dessert. My server recommended to try the Panna Cotta next visit, and I would. The way he described it, sounded so delicious.

Currently there is an empty outdoor area which may be used as outdoor dining. I highly recommend making reservations as diners would not leave their seats when they are in such a...

Duchess introduced its brunch menu this weekend. It was phenomenal. Food/Drink: Cocktail: I am a spicy person so I ordered the Scorpion Kiss. It was literally fire...trust me. I will definitely order again. My friend had the Kyoto Spring which they described as refreshing. The food: Appetizer - Red Snapper Crudo had a very bright flavor and was the perfect teaser for the greatness to come. Spicy Chicken and Waffles come with jalapeno bacon jam and maple syrup. It is listed as an appetizer, but if you are a light eater, it is the perfect size for breakfast. Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (1 of 5 benedicts they offer) was described by my friend as the best Benedict they've had in the city. In short, everything that hit the table was amazing. At the end of our meal Chef Marco came out to meet us and get our critique on the food...very nice touch. Service: Minh for the freaking win! Minh was our server and truly knocked it out of the park. He was able to offer great suggestions coupled with pictures to help us make up our mind. You can tell he knows his culinary stuff and his ENERGY was off the charts. He gave us the right amount of attention and was very conscientious about providing best in class service. If his section is available, I highly recommend! Atmosphere: Very upscale classy vibe. The music was not my vibe, I would've preferred jazz...but definitely not a deal breaker. my pic of chicken and waffles does not depict how it is served...I just prefer my syrup and bacon...

Beautifully elegant with an amazing menu. The Duchess did not disappoint! I was recommended this restaurant from a friend who knows cuisine and has a flare for tasty cocktails. Walking into The Duchess we were impressed by the welcoming arangement of seating and focus on lighting. It was a pleasant balance of calming beauty complimented with a high-end appearance. The restaurant was fairly busy, but we made reservations and were immediately seated in a quaint 2-top towards the rear of the restaurant. Comfortable seeating arrangements and quiet enough to hold good conversation. Our waitress Tayor was kind and extremely knowledgeable on the drink menu and list of appetizers to choose from. We were told that the mixology was very good so we ordered a couple drinks and an appetizer prior to dinner. The menu has many different options that happily met dietary and vegetarian restrictions. We choose our dinner plates and were happy we made reservations when we did because the restaurant was beginning to fill up. Our main dish arrived shortly into our second drink, but with perfect timing to finish our appetizer. The plating was very well-thought-out and elegantly detailed. Each plate was full of flavor with a quality that gives the impression of a well-travelled palette. We couldn't pass up the signature dessert and neither should you!! All-in-all we really enjoyed our first visit to The Duchess and are looking forward to going back and trying a couple different dishes...