Flying Saucer Draught Emporium — Restaurant in Houston

2024 update: By far the best place to get craft beer in Houston, now that all its closest competition has closed down. Food has gone downhill a bit and is generally mediocre (typical bar food) and has gotten rather overpriced, but it's still in the top 3 for German food in the Houston area. German potato salad and beer cheese soup (now brought back to the menu, in contrast to my earlier review) and bratwurst are authentic and quite good. Pretzels are not what they used to be and are no longer recommended. Beer specials are now $5 after inflation versus the $3 from my original review; this is still a very good value compared to the $7-10 that most beers normally are. For the last few years since COVID the upstairs loft is often no longer open presumably due to limited staffing, so you are frequently stuck in the louder main dining room.

Previous 2017 review: The number one place to get craft beer in Houston, with 70-80 on tap and over 100 in cans and bottles. Also they have a few wines and a full bar for those who don't like beer, though they are missing critical ingredients to make most cocktails. The draught list is constantly changing so you can find something new every day.

Cheapest days are Mondays (when 2/3 of the draught beers are $3) or Sundays (when the Texas draught beers are $3). Tuesdays have trivia, Wednesdays have special flights (basic flights are available every day), and Thursdays have rare beer releases.

Service is generally excellent, though occasionally the waitress is inattentive/disinterested or just plain absent. All staff are well trained on beer knowledge and can give good recommendations and offer tiny tasters to help you decide.

Food is decent by bar standards, though perhaps not as competitive as it used to be, with the best selection of German food inside the loop (don't miss the soft pretzels or the bratwurst, though unfortunately some of the best German items have been removed from the menu -- RIP the once-excellent German potato salad and beer cheese soup). Also there's typical American fare such as nachos, chips/salsa, and pizza. They even have some vegetarian options that I regularly order as a non-vegetarian, namely the excellent Hippie Hollow (pita with hummus and vegetables inside, along with jalapeño dressing). No burgers as they have a limited kitchen.

For repeat customers, they have a membership program that gives you a magnetic strip card and a T-shirt for $18, so you can track your beers. After 200 unique beers you get a plate ("saucer") on the wall with your name on it; along the way you'll occasionally get discounts as well. As someone who works across the street, this keeps me coming back time and time again.

The place can be unfortunately loud and is frequently packed in the evenings, though the loft above the bar and back hall are more tolerable. It's possible to rent out the loft for private parties, though that entails a fairly substantial minimum purchase. The only bar games are a couple dart boards.

Part of a small (16 store) chain across Texas and...

the bar service is honestly just terrible and rude. every time i come here, i have waited for at least 10+ minutes minimum for one drink. there have been multiple times i walked out, because im not even acknowledged after 10-15 minutes of waiting with cash in hand. honestly, im lucky to even get an eye roll from the bartenders.

the only time the service has been good (one time) was during a trivia night in a big group that ordered food. the servers do their best, but not everyone is going to want to sit down and eat - regardless, the service should match between the servers and the bartenders.

it’s unfortunate because it’s one of the more casual bars nearby, but im tired of being passed up on my order for people who came in after every single time.

EDIT: added pictures and lowered to 1 star. seeing the responses to other customers that likely had real issues solidifies my opinion this place is extremely unethical considering all of the other low reviews speaking of the poor service. the responses are unprofessional. i hope ownership takes a strong look into themselves and their business if this is how the choose to...

The food was average at best. I ordered 2 flights with my food, as the flights were on special on Wednesday nights. The bill was brought to my table and I was presented only with the total and not an itemized receipt, which seemed high. When I looked at my emailed copy of the receipt, I was charged full price for the flights and not give the discounted price. When I complained to my waitress that the price was not correct I was treated like I was the one who had been the problem. Then instead of voiding my transaction and presenting a corrected bill they came back and told me that they had reduced the price of my transaction for one of the flights, when I said that I had 2 flights they said they would have to get that corrected. Then they again came back and said they had corrected the price of the 2nd flight it still left me paying tax and tip on the full price of the flights that they had over charged me for. The attitudes and experience left me feeling like they felt like I was the one who messed up when they overcharged me for the...