Hunan Bistro 湘知湘味 — Restaurant in Houston

--- NK Score = 8.2/10 ---

8/10 = Tables/Atmosphere 9/10 = Food Quality 7/10 = Variety/Styles 6/10 = Price/Quantity (Other Ratings Hidden)

--- Price Range ($7.00 - $18.00 Plates) --- --- This place serves mostly Spicy Food --- --- Solo/Group are both Applicable ---

Hello, I'm NK and I'm going to describe my personal experience with this Hunan Bistro. I hope to provide an honest and helpful review for those who want to know more about this place.

To start, the place is medium-small with around 8 small tables and 4 round tables for groups. The inside looks pretty nice, very beautiful designs on the walls as well as tables and chairs that look pretty classy. The place is usually calm and not too noisy, but it can be both loud and busy during Lunch or Dinner.

So what does the food here taste like? Spice! In a good way of course. I really like their Long Lee Fish ($12) (with Green Onions, Green Beans, Peppers) and Stir Fried Tofu ($14) (with Squid, Mushroom, and Shrimp), these 2 dishes taste great and are very filling! They also have Eggplant ($8) with little meat pieces, which in my opinion is pretty good and not too spicy. Their Tofu In Sizzling Pot ($14) is also very delicious and can be good for big groups cause of the large quantity.

The variety here is based mostly around spice, but they do have dishes that are not too spicy so everyone can enjoy it. They make mostly meat, tofu, and fish dishes here, and most of them are really good and worth a try to everyone. They don't have many noodle dishes, so you might have to stick with rice if you eat here.

Finally, the service here is pretty average in my opinion, sometimes more attentive and other times just minding their own business. The problem I have is that the prices here can be pretty expensive after the Lunch Special is over. The food prices for the good dishes are usually $10 or above, so eating alone could really put a crater in your wallet, but you'll be fine if you eat with a group. Hopefully my review helped you!

Recommendations: Long Lee Fish (with pieces of Green Bean, Green Onion, and Spicy Peppers) and the Stir Fried Tofu (with Mushrooms, Squid, and Shrimp), these 2 are delicious and filling!

Signed NK...

What a terrific experience! Firstly, the food was amazing, especially the duo jiao (hot pepper) fish. The eggplant dishes are also next level, and the spicy clams were delicious. We ordered a whole lot of food and we’re beyond impressed with all of it. Compliments to the chef, this was all very satisfactory and a terrific huge meal for us. Secondly, the service was phenomenal. The server was truly a blessing to have. She was sweet and kind and genuine and really helped create this amazing experience for me. She helped recommend some amazing dishes as well as gave us information on the surrounding area since we are not from this area. She was very attentive the entire time. The thing that meant the most to me, was that she saw that I was trying to work on my Chinese and I was struggling. She took time to help me learn and memorize the words I was struggling with, and gave me encouragement as well. That was truly above and beyond. It really made us feel special. This was one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve ever had, surpassing even the service of almost all of the fine dining restaurants I’ve been to. To the server, if you are reading this, thank you so much you are truly amazing! To the rest of the staff members, keep up the great work! You have gained some loyal customers and your work is amazing!

Update: I returned for my 2nd time here a few days ago because I had pre ordered a 水鱼. I asked for extra spicy and got EXTRA SPICY! It was delicious. I loved every bit of it. I love the food here so much. My compliments to the chef and to the employees, I’ve had amazing experiences here. Will definitely...

We were there a couple days ago and we had a BAD and NASTY EXPERIENCE! I called to let the manager/owner about our concerns, and the three times that I called and talked to three different people, they all hung up on me when I asked for the manager. When we were there, there were only a few occupied tables. There was about four waitresses and they were all laughing and speaking in their language (which I have no problem with). They are all starring at us eat, which made it very uncomfortable the whole time. Then two of these women, one more than the other, kept rubbing her head and scratching at something, and then looked at her nails to see what she got from whatever she was scratching. WHO WANTS TO SEE THIS FROM THE WAITRESS THAT ARE SERVING YOUR FOOD? I try not to say anything, and she sees me glance at her. Then as we are eating, she sticks her finger in her ear and picks picks picks!!!!!!!!!! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT, especially in front of costumers who you are ABOUT TO SERVE. We never got offered drink refills, or if we wanted anything else, before they brought us the bill. Not ONCE did they come to see if we needed something. But when it was time to leave the tip, I had 3 of them at my table yelling amongst each other and grabbing the tip. NOT ONE "THANK YOU" from anyone at that restaurant! Regarding the food, the meat was too ruberry, but the flavor was ok! WE ARE DEF. NOT GOING BACK! EVER! EVEN IF THE FOOD IS GOOD, WITH THAT SERVICE AND DISGUSTING MANNERS, I would...