La Fisheria — Restaurant in Houston

Ok, I’m from New York and am visiting Houston for the next five weeks. I have traveled all over the world and have had a lot of cuisine. Good and not so good. Houston’s food scene is amazing! Honestly, I’ve been here two weeks already and every single time I’ve ordered food from a restaurant. The experience has been fantastic! It’s kind of mind blowing how amazing the food has been every single time except my second time getting something as simple as black bean soup at this restaurant.

The first time I came, I just wanted some thing light for dinner, and I wanted to take it out to go. I wound up ordering the black bean soup and it was the best black bean soup I’ve ever had. They took so much care in preparing it for me for me to take it to go, they wrapped it in saran, wrapped, they put I believe it was cilantro in the middle of the soups for a nice garnish. I had a huge bag of tortilla chips and two green sauces. I don’t know what the sauce is, but it was amazing and it came also with a piece of bread. I honestly could not believe how good that soup was and how good the bread was and how good the chips were and how good that green sauce was! I could not wait to write a review about this place because I was so pleased!!!

Cut To: About a week or so later…

I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by and get the soup again to go with my dinner. When I got home and opened the bag, I could not believe how different the presentation was and the amount of soup and chips I had… along with, how different the green sauce was. It’s almost like I went to a completely different restaurant and that is, in my opinion, very bad service. The soup is pretty much half the amount I was given the last time. It was barely warm, there was no garnish of cilantro or parsley (I’m not sure what it was the last time), the amount of chips is almost 1/3 of what I received the last time, and the sauce is thicker and spicier and not as tasty. This is ridiculous and extremely disappointing. I was so excited to rave about this place, but inconsistency is disappointing and honestly it makes me not really want to ever go back because I’m not sure of what I’m gonna get, I tasted the soup, it seems fine. I’ll have to warm it up. The chips… they’re OK. The sauce… I can do without. And the bread… meh.

Consistency is key, in my book. I...

We had the fresh oysters with lime, the Ribeye Aguachile (a house special not on the menu but available by request), and the chicken breast. The oysters were the worst I’ve ever had. The flavor was strong and reminded me of canned oysters, definitely not the smooth, light flavor I’m used to with fresh oysters. My husband and I each ate one oyster and left the other 4 unconsumed, which we’ve never done before. The Ribeye Aguachile was served cold, which I wasn’t expecting but it was still quite delicious. The green aquachile sauce it came in was yummy and citrus-y. However, I didn’t feel it was worth the price of $29 since it came with very little ribeye meat (definitely not a full steak) and just a few small pieces of avocado. My husband ordered the chicken breast. He was surprised and disappointed that it came fried, as it didn’t say that anywhere on the menu. I ordered a guava mango margarita that came in a very small glass with a lot of ice. It honestly just tasted like fruit juice, which I liked, but I could not taste any alcohol and I drank the entire thing in just a few sips. Again, I don’t feel like the drink I received was worth the price we paid (around $15 I think?). The waitstaff was very attentive though, so that was a positive. Our drinks and chips were refilled promptly without asking. The ambiance was lively with semi-loud music playing (not so loud that you couldn’t hear each other talk though) and I could see this being a decent date spot. Overall, I feel like this restaurant has potential but we’re unlikely to return since there are many better options on our way from Texas to Florida. We were also frustrated with trying to find affordable parking in downtown Houston. The lots nearby ranged from $20-30 for weekends rates, which was annoying since we were just passing through for a quick bite to eat. We eventually found street parking for a few bucks but only after driving around the block about 10 times over the course of 45 minutes due to all the one way streets. Next time we probably won’t...

Title: Disappointing Dining Experience at LA Fisheria Restaurant

Review: My recent visit to LA Fisheria Restaurant in the Theater District of Downtown Houston left much to be desired. The ambience was lackluster, with plain decor and uncomfortable wooden seats that made for an uninviting atmosphere. Additionally, the air conditioning seemed poorly regulated, leaving the dining area feeling stuffy and uncomfortable.

Upon the waitress's recommendation, I opted for the Red Snapper, only to be met with disappointment. The fish was disappointingly tough and rubbery, resembling frozen fish more than a fresh catch. When I voiced my concerns to the chef/owner, instead of addressing the issue professionally, he seemed defensive and finally admitted that they had received a subpar shipment of Red Snapper. This raised serious concerns about the quality and safety of the food being served.

While the sauce accompanying the fish helped mask its rubbery taste, it was concerning that the restaurant chose to serve fish they knew was of inferior quality rather than taking responsibility and returning it to the distributor. It's clear that the owner's priorities did not lie with the satisfaction and well-being of their customers.

I initially discovered LA Fisheria Restaurant through a recommendation on a site listing the "10 Best Restaurants" from the ST Regis Hotel in Houston. However, this experience has made me question the reliability of such recommendations in the future. While the owner did remove the cost of the fish from my bill, it's disappointing that it took a complaint for any action to be taken. Overall, I left feeling dissatisfied and disillusioned with the restaurant's lack of quality control and...