Hobbit Cafe — Restaurant in Houston

The manager is the rudest manager I have ever encountered!

I would like to start by first stating I have been coming to this place monthly for over a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed their food (especially their pancakes). I was very much so a regular until today.

I ordered my usual order of the Nutella pancakes with extra Nutella and syrup on the side. I am use to having to ask for more syrup because their pancakes are made super dry, the syrup entirely absorbs on the top pancake of the 3 stack which leaves the rest of your food just feeling like dry bread. They do not have a syrup dispenser and instead put the syrup in small 1 oz containers and only bring you maybe 3 or 4 of them which isn’t enough for the size and thickness of their pancakes.

When I arrived to pick up my order, it was already roughly 15 minutes late than the time they told me it would be ready by (20 minute wait). Which I politely waited for, again I was a regular so it felt worth it. When I got my receipt, I saw that I was charged for extra syrup and thought hm that’s funny but again oh well because I enjoy their food. That was until I finally got my order and saw that the “extra syrup” that was given was 2 extra containers of syrup in a 1.5 oz container that wasn’t even filled to the top so instead it was equivalent to the same 1 oz containers though I was charged more for extra syrup. I’m thinking “ok not a big deal, I’ll just ask for more since I was charged more”. I then asked the hostess if she could give me extra syrup since it’s what I paid for to which she was kind and did so but as I was speaking with her, the manager overheard me and said that it is all he could give and if I wanted more, I’d have to pay extra again for more syrup. To which I stated that since I was charged for extra, it should be to where I am seeing that extra instead of it looking the same as the normal serving of syrup. I had no issues with paying more but I didn’t want to pay more to not receive the money’s worth. I asked him if I could just have what I paid extra for and he exclaimed that he can’t with how expensive things are these days and how much their syrup costs, that he has to charge more. Which made no sense since this place is always packed with wait times easily happening on the weekends. I then commented that it would be much easier if instead this place had dispensers for syrup that you could pour on your own, that way nothing has to be portioned and measured out to tiny 1 oz containers. Well little did I know that was going to set this Alpha male manager off. The rage consumed him almost immediately because he didn’t care to have to walk and grab me more syrup and felt that my suggestion compromised his authority. His next statement was Manager: “oh so you want to tell me how to do my job then?!” Me: “well sure why not, if you insist”. Manager: I’ve been the manager of this place for over insert some sad amount of years here since I don’t remember how dare you tell me how to do my job. We don’t want your business here anymore! Me: Because I just asked for extra syrup that I paid for? Manager then sees the hostess return to me with extra syrup and boy did that hurt his male ego entirely, his jaw practically fell through the floor since he really wanted to win this battle that I didn’t know we were having. His face was in pure shock and horror by the sight of her giving me that extra syrup. Manager: That’s it, give me their card information since they’re no longer welcome here anymore! Me, my fiancé, and the hostess all just stood there shocked. With the kind hostess commenting. Hostess: Well I guess I came back at a bad time. Me: Yea that was pretty crazy all for extra syrup. Hostess: I know, I’m so sorry. This sucks because you guys came here all the time.

I had never been so disrespected and for something so insignificant to the point that even the hostess thought her own manager was out of line and had to apologize to me for his childish behavior. Mind you all of this was done in front of other customers. Worst...

As a Tolkien fan I wanted to love this place. My friend and I stopped in during a trip to Houston. There is a small parking lot and we were able to find parking right away. The inside decorations at the front minimal but they had a board painted with Gandolph and a hobbit for photos. We were ushered to a table right away. We were led to a small room to the side and sat at a table made for hobbits. It was a wonky round table with mismatched rickety plastic chairs next to a door. The table was smaller than the menus and had unnecessary clutter like fake plastic flowers which I did not see on other tables. We were provided with three menus each. We ordered a taste of two different meads, black berry with orange blossom and the orange blossom which were delicious but opted not to order full size. We ordered beers instead and we both enjoyed our selections, Leffe Blonde and d'Achouffe La Chouffe. It was uncomfortably cramped at the table and I scanned the room for anything to makeup for the conditions. This room had water damage on the walls and not much for Hobbit décor to admire. There were two small woven maps on display. I saw a Hobbit crossing sign high on the far wall but there really was not much for decorations going on in this room. The food menu correlates characters and locations from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books and Tolkien's work in general. I ordered the Helms Deep mixed fajita combo and guest ordered Aragorn's avocado burger. The server asked how my guest wanted their burger cooked, "medium". Burger came out well done and guest said that it was hard to eat with the overcooked burger and the large hard chunks of avocado on the burger. She said it kept sliding apart. The Helms Deep combo fajitas were disappointing as well. The chicken fajitas were bland but much better than the beef. Neither had flavor and the beef was cut in to large chunks and not against the grain which made them hard to chew. The bell peppers were also cut in to large chunks which made eating from a taco difficult. The best part was the caramelized onions at the bottom of the griddle. There was a second plate filled with plain brown rice, bland boiled black beans, store bought tortillas, some decent pico, a dollop of sour cream and a teaspoon of shredded cheese. It was a struggle to have the plate to eat off of, the plate of sides and the skillet of fajitas on the table with all of the clutter and small size. We finished our beers and took the food to go. I scanned the rest of the inside on our way out and saw it was mostly cramped, mismatched tables and chairs and people looked cramped seated at them. If I were to return it would be to drink mead or beer, probably outside if weather permitted because the staff was nice and the beer was excellent! I would be open to trying something different on the menu but will avoid these two items. This visit was disappointing as a Tolkien fan and...

My first time in Houston and I was on my way south to explore for apartments. Leaving the airport I wanted to explore restaurants along my route and the Hobbit Cafe popped up and since I am a nerd and I was hungry I made a point to stop by.

My first impression upon seeing the restaurant was that it was almost exactly what I wanted in a place named as such! The outdoor patio has two large trees growing through it and there are plants surrounding the exterior. It felt whimsical and upon stepping on it, you are directed to the large wooden door to the host stand.

I entered and was greeted by friendly smiles and helpful service. The host directed me to a table outside where I requested and was greeted by polite staff and two very cute cats. I of course had to pet the cats and they stuck around throughout my time there. The waitress helped me through their expansive menus of drinks, meads, and meals. She helped me select a flight of meads and since I was driving I didn’t want to go crazy. After I ordered my food and drinks, I pet the adorable cats a bit more; who were now wrestling each other, and then I washed my hands.

I ordered Eowin’s Elk Burger with a side of sweet potato fries and a flight of 3 meads. The meads were all delicious, but my favorite was called dream weaver which was flavored with mint and blackberry. The elk burger was very nicely seasoned and had great flavors of sweet and savory with plenty of fixings. The portions are rather large and it was explained to me that they are to serve the clientele of hobbits which require six meals per day adding to the whimsy.

Overall my experience was pretty amazing! I was so happy with everything that I knew that I would be back, but I still wanted to get something to remember it. I got a few shirts for my niece and nephew.

I returned a few days later on my way out of Houston and it was just as fun returning. The cats were playing in the bushes and I was once again greeted with friendly smiles and the previous waitress remembered me and gave very courteous greetings.

I ordered a new flight of meads except I still got the dreamweaver. I also ordered Ori’s Mahi Mahi Burger with their seasoned fries. The meads were delightful, but the Viking’s blood was 19%abv 👀! While delicious, I could have easily overdrank if I didn’t watch it. The “burger” was actually a whole 8 oz. Fillet with plenty of fixings! Again, this meal was so delicious! The portions were still massive! The staff were still very friendly and the cats cute as ever!

I very much recommend that you visit the Hobbit Cafe! Even if you know nothing of Tolkien’s work, the food is great, the meads are wonderful, and the staff are incredible! The next time I come there, I definitely will buy a growler of dreamweaver and enjoy their...