High Tower Cafe — Restaurant in Houston

Not a Starbucks but better 5☆ service hidden gets a 4. The only access is so hidden I could only locate it after calling the listed phone number, which turns out to be for the property management office rather than cafe. Yet the person who answered came outside to make sure I had found the hidden ramp. Wow; is that a rarity.

This is the only eatery with any wheelchair access within several blocks of the Omni Houston Hotel and conference center that has cold brew coffee. Although the Omni cafe and bar still lists cold brew coffee on a painted board menu over the bar, its barista confirmed that the online menu is correct; Birdie's Cafe & Bar no longer has cold brew, latte or any other iced coffee drinks. Unfortunately, the extreme neglect of public sidewalks in Houston makes this entire area dangerous to traverse (Does Houston not have even one chamber of commerce to advocate for public safety?); so even the short distance from Omni to High Tower has to be wheeled or footed mostly in the sloping streets.

What a gem is the High Tower Cafe barista! She could carry on an intelligent conversation with anyone, and has a stream of regular customers dropping in. I told her that I don't use sugar at home and find most Starbucks products to be sickeningly sweet. She created an unsweetened Starbucks cold brew with heavily spiced cream--the best Starbucks coffee I have ever had. I guess the non-Starbucks locations have liberty to blend the Starbucks to better taste. This corner (of the glass building) eatery carries Starbucks coffee and food products but is not a Starbucks. It is better than Starbucks!

Non-Starbucks items are prepared by the deli in the business tower. There was one Greek salad with capers, sliced onions, salad tomatoes, pepperocini, ripe olives, cucumber slices, Feta--but the greens had turned to mush. The barista called the deli and asked them to put together another one. It was the tastiest Greek salad I have ever eaten--also no doubt boosted by integrating darker greens than the usual iceberg lettuce. I like capers, and that was a major taste boost for me but the dressing overcame any salty flavor with a vinegar finish. The deli also provides other salads and fruit cups to thisCafe, as well as a few breakfast wraps served 7 - 10 a.m. only. The turkey sausage, egg white and cheese biscuit was smaller than comparable fast food offerings, more tasty and without the greasiness.

This cafe has access that is hidden, but I am very grateful someone knew where the ramp is hidden. Like most places in Houston, it has doors that exceed the maximum closing force allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. But again the barista shone, holding the door open so I woukd not get yet another of the "butt-bumps" that doors in Houston land on those of us who live with mobility limitations...

Will update as I keep trying different items.

Update 1: I tried their Falafels, and it was great. Consistency was all there, along with seasoning. Customer service was wonderful. Lets see if they can keep that up with different staff. 4/5

Update 2: I gave them a shot at one of my favorite things to order from the deli. Chicken Salad on a Croissant, w provolone. So customizing an order off the menu might be a little tough to work with, so I'll cut them some slack, but it had too many conditions for improvement. 2.5/5

Update 3: I had the gyro sandwich. I'm not expecting them to have the best gyro in town, but I can tell they fried up the frozen stuff and put it together with some pita Bread and called...

This place has huge scrumptious wraps lol, everything I got here so far has been delicious, I got a BLT today and man, when they say healthy portion of bacon, they were not lying! I would highly recommend this place if you work in any of the riverway buildings, another thing I like is that the staff will actually come out to you to the table to bring your to go meal, or beforehand, to ask you if you would like something a...