GiAu Bar n Bites — Restaurant in Houston

First time trying this place and already decided we’re definitely coming back! First off, as far as drinks go, their watermelon soju was so impressive that even me, as someone that can’t stand most fruity mixed drinks, will admit that it is hands down the best fruity drink I’ve ever tried in my life. Also, it’s huge. And it looks awesome. The bartenders are really friendly and helpful and service was amazing. Food looked terrific as well although we haven’t tried it yet, we look forward to and plan on coming back to order food because the menu looked amazing. The environment is very chill and calm, it’s a nice sit-down restaurant and bar where you can come and truly relax with some friends or a date. The interior is very nice and pretty as well. The kitchen is open until pretty late, roughly 1:20am tonight I believe which is really genuinely impressive considering the area we’re from most bar’s kitchen close around 10pm. However, our area of west Texas is a relatively plain and unexciting dump, so needless to say arriving at this place was SUPER exciting for us. It was such a new experience and the staff and service really participated in making this experience phenomenal. We are looking forward to coming back and we highly recommend this place

Update: We came back a second time for food. The crawfish was quite good, I do wish there was some more flavor to the spicy option but no complaint either. We had a really hard time getting the sea snails out of the shell, so I think the holes weren’t cut big enough? Anyways, the staff took care of us immediately and made sure we were good. So no complaints there. Overall, I love this bar and restaurant still and will have to...

Still Worth the Visit, But Missing Some Magic This used to be one of my favorite late-night spots for unique Vietnamese small bites. They offer dishes you can’t find elsewhere, and I still go back once in a while to chase those bold, nostalgic flavors.

On my most recent visit, though, the experience was a bit disappointing.

The coconut snails, once a highlight, didn’t hit the mark this time. Many were difficult to suck out, and a few were completely empty — definitely not as satisfying as before.

The mini fried eggrolls, however, remain as amazing as ever. Crispy, flavorful, and perfect when wrapped in fresh lettuce and dipped in their signature fish sauce. Every bite is a crunchy delight.

We also ordered the mango salad with beef tender, but the meat was tough and hard to chew. We ended up finishing the salad and leaving the beef behind — not ideal.

The salt-toasted squid is always a must-have. It was flavorful and well-seasoned, though I wish it had a little more crispiness on the outside for that perfect texture.

The pork belly taco is absolutely a standout dish. It’s juicy, flavorful, and just the right kind of indulgent. You can wrap small portions or just take a massive bite — either way, it’s a winner.

Lastly, the Vietnamese pancake had a nice crispy texture (not chewy!), and the pork belly inside was juicy and well-seasoned. It’s a fun, DIY-style dish that’s satisfying in every bite.

Overall, this visit didn’t fully live up to my past experiences — a few dishes needed more attention to detail and quality control. That said, it’s still worth the visit, especially for some of their staple items. I hope to see a return to that top-tier consistency...

We came with a 1.5 year old for a quick bite, well for the kid and a quick brew for us 4 adults. The mom, the designated driver, was a camper - she took one for us and stayed for what might have been a little while longer than she anticipated. But the atmosphere was good for the vibe - a chill night for light drinking and unwinding. We did... dank, unwound our tensed muscles from a long day of... of... dealing with rowdy people at our gameroom. But the waitress, bless her heart. The baby managed to dutifully enjoy his being a kid and slid a nice glass full of ice onto the floor. She gracefully consoled the kid(s), that's us the drinking party for distracting our session and placate the crowd to continue with their own drinking sprees - cuz hell we did. Oh, and the kid who obviously was terrified but amused at the same time, she - I wished I was him - comforted him to soften the blow of crashing the glass. Aaaaaah! Poor... Lucky... Kid! But kidding aside, she was graceful and helpful and got us back to our quiet session. Only to end up breaking a second one to which you'd think she'd be standoffish. She wasn't. She was as graceful and I was as wishful she was consoling me as she was tending to our poor little compadre. I recommend the place to "unwinders" on the prowl for...