Griot Gardens — Restaurant in Houston

As I wish I can write a positive review on Haitian Flag Day, I was thoroughly disappointed. This must’ve been the worst service I’ve ever experienced in my life. My boyfriend and I found this restaurant on IG and wanted to try it here in Houston as we moved here over a year ago and wanted to try some really good Caribbean food. Specifically Haitian as he is Haitian and I’m Jamaican and we’re both from Miami (it gets no better than Caribbean food in Miami 😬). We arrived here and finished ordering our food at 1:46pm. We ordered the Conch concoction fritters, two seafood legumes, a Caribbean punch and a limonade. The pricing for the conch concoction was VERY confusing as they had two prices ($15 and $22). Typically when you have two prices, it represents a quantity difference but one price represented conch fritters and the other was fried conch. How would you know? No clue. We paid $104 which quite honestly, was a little absurd but we charged it to the game considering we thought it would be worth it. We asked the lady at the front (who I believe was the owner) how long it’ll take and she said it’s made to order so 20 minutes. We went to sit down and were served our drinks immediately by the waitress who was really sweet. They only had 1 waitress for this entire establishment which I thought was crazy for the amount of people that were there at the time and her having to serve, cater to and clean up tables by herself. They are extremely short staffed.

Time is going and now we’ve been sitting and it was 2:46pm, an hour since we ordered. No one checked on us, I was never asked if I wanted another drink or even updated on our meal. The lady from earlier who took our order now comes out to retake the order of the group that came after us for whatever reason. I told her it’s been an hour and we haven’t even gotten our conch fritters yet. She said she would go in and check but at this time she doesn’t go in and check, she continues taking the order of the group of 15+ that came AFTER us and never checks. Another 30 minutes goes by and nothing. I go up to the front and tell the waitress we’ve been waiting over an hour now and her face is now stunned. She brings out our conch fritters after 15 minutes which has NO conch, a complete waste of money. I recommend not to order. After another 30 minutes, my boyfriend and I get up to go the front and request a refund because it was now 3:12pm! They immediately bring out our food. I was so annoyed and was not able to make it to a pre engagement at 4pm thinking that if I go get food at 1:45pm, there’s no way I’m eating at almost 3:30pm. The seafood legume was ok but had no shrimp or conch as marketed. We will never be back to this establishment again for the poor service they had not only to us but also the people that were there before us that had been waiting a minimum of 40 minutes after we asked how long they’d been there. This is no way to treat customers especially when you’re charging high price for food with a lack of service. They’re also in no way prepared for whatever grand opening they’re having 5/24 because it was a hot mess today. Make sure you have time to waste if you ever try...

Ten Thumbs Up and Five Stars!

In my 30+ years living in the U.S., I’ve had Haitian food everywhere you’d expect, New Jersey, New York, and Florida. The Meccas of Haitian cuisine in America. But here in Houston, Griot Gardens has done something extraordinary: they took me home. Back to Haiti.

The moment I took my first bite, I knew, this wasn’t just Haitian food. This was real Haitian food. Food made the right way. The Haitian way. No shortcuts, no Maggi cubes, just fresh, authentic epis, hand prepared ingredients, and seasonings that brought the depth and soul of our ancestors’ recipes straight to my plate.

The Diri Djon Djon brought tears to my eyes, it tasted just like my grandmother’s. The whole snapper? It was like I was back on the beach in Haiti, eating freshly caught, cleaned, and perfectly fried fish. The Griot, tells you what you need to know about Griot Gardens. Because the perfect texture and flavor can’t even be explained in words. You just have to go order some! Pork fried so delicately, seasoned so meticulously, it can only be described as art. And The stew chicken, plantains, and sous pois were all perfectly done, each bite was a memory, a story, a trip back to the homeland with my family.

And the Pates’, fresh made, no puff pastry cheat code here. These pate’s are made with love and pride. And how has no one else ever thought of a griot pate?! How, was this my first experience in my life tasting this incredible combination of Haitian delicacy staples! It’s a MUST TRY BY ANYONE AND EVERYONE who walks through the doors of Griot Garden!

Griot Gardens isn’t just serving food, they’re preserving heritage, honoring tradition, and bringing the best of Haiti to Texas. This is the essence of Haitian cuisine. If you want to taste Haiti, this is where you go.

The best Haitian food I’ve had in the U.S. FULL STOP!

Bring your appetite and bring your patience, because everything you order is prepared fresh, and the wait just adds to the experience. Enjoy the music, enjoy the conversation and prepare yourself to experience the best of the Caribbean! Haitian food has no equal! I will be...

I visited Griot Gardens yesterday and it was a hit!!! First, the staff is fantastic. No was my server and she was so friendly and positive. She was super engaging and had me laughing! Thank you No!! They have a vegan menu y'all! I enjoyed the Vish Vibe so much! Hearts of palm "fish sticks" have never, ever, ever tasted so good. The seasonings!!! I also ordered the vegan Fritay Freak which came with fried chunks of jackfruit in place of the usual pork Griot. Damn! So good!!! The akra, savory fried dough, and empanadas were standouts. The portions are large and worth the price as I had so much food left over it filled up a large to-go plate. I ordered the Jerk Chicken plate to bring home and my sweetheart loved! He said the chicken was tender and the Jerk seasoning was medium spicy and tasty! I ordered the chicken with diri djon djon and he ate every last grain of rice. I had to fight him for a bite of it 😂 He also finished the rest of the Vish Vibe and akra and wanted more. We will absolutely be back to dine in! Griot Gardens is in a great location and it took me 15 min to drive there from Midtown. Thank you for the yummy vegan dishes with traditional Haitian flair...