Le Bistro Houston — Restaurant in Houston

Sometimes a meal is more than a meal. It can make you smile, or have a fit, or sometimes it can take you by surprise and leave you speechless - as goes Kris Bistro. After going to the soft opening I just can't wait for this restaurant to really open so it get can the recognition it deserves. The food was INCREDIBLE and the word "best" was heard more than once at my table (all people at my table being very serious food lovers and cooks).

Kris Bistro is located inside of the Culinary Institute of Le Notre. The outside is a little grungy and parking is a pain, but they are still working on it so no worries. Don't be discouraged from the outside or you'll miss out on something great. The restaurant itself is dark (in a good way) and has good mood lighting with open spaces to sit and look out into the space, or corners that let you feel more private and away from groups. We sat in a darker corner that gave us a nice view of the kitchen working hard through big glass windows, and Chef Kris, himself, garnishing plates from the hydroponic herb garden. I brought my own wine and our servers jumped on getting us glasses right away. From this point on just assume that the service was spot on the whole night.

We started off with freshly baked bread and whipped butter, which was refilled promptly the whole night. Next came the appetizers - Escargots in Pomme Dauphine Kromesky (imagine the goodness of escargot in a potato beignet) and the Crispy Sweet Breads. They were both delicious. The sweetbreads were the BEST I've ever had, hands down, no contest. My salad came next and had greens, goat milk feta, and shrimp with an herb vinaigrette. The shrimp were so perfectly cooked and cleaned that they looked something out of a picture. The tomatoes garnishing the plate were so juicy and sweet that we had a whole conversation about just the tomatoes.

Here were the entrees I got to try: Smoked Beef with Fried Spatzel, Grilled Hanger Steak with Potato Puree, and Poached & Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Glazed Peaches & Slaw on top of a Polenta Corn Cake. My friends beef entrees were cooked perfectly and very flavorful. I found myself trying to trick them into giving me more samples. The fried spatzel blew my friend's mind as he'd never had them any other way besides boiled. My pork wasn't cooked to perfection but the glazed peach on top of the polenta corn cake??? Best polenta I've ever had for sure. I wasn't super satisfied with my pork so they brought me mussels in garlic, shallot, parsley, and white wine sauce. I massacred those mussels till there was no trace of mussels left. I am salivating at the thought of these mussels. You should be able to order these mussels by the pound, they're so good.

My experience was so good that I came back 2 days later to eat again. The next time I had Pan Roasted Salmon glazed in Lavender with a Tian of Summer Vegetables. Again, perfectly cooked salmon with lots of complex sauces going on around the plate. I left a happy camper once again.

Did I mention that every tiny thing is made in house from scratch? Down to the curry ketchup and red pepper coulis, everything is fresh. What else would you expect from a kitchen full of trained chefs? And the best part? The prices are SO reasonable... Kris Bistro is like a diamond in the rough - hidden inside of a dingy place is the best French...

The 4 of us had Easter Sunday brunch. It was a bit if a fiasco to start with. I called to make reservations for brunch at the school and was told they were closed on Sunday. I wasn't told it was the Bistro that was open just that the school was closed. After confirming with a friend that I had called the the wrong number I called the bistro. Nobody knew anything about booking a reservation for Sunday Easter brunch. I would have to wait until the manager got back and they would call me back. Huh? This was 4 days before Easter Sunday. No return call....got online and paid my 200 bucks. But then nowhere on the website did it say what time. I called a managers cell phone and requested 1 PM. Ok....next day I get an email to confirm my time for Saturday. ..not Sunday? By this time I was thinking this was a joke. Finally got a time confirmed after several phone calls and complaints to the management about the ongoing hassle. We were promptly seated when we arrived. We had to ask for everything because it was a buffett that they didn't replenish without us asking. Coffee pot was empty, no clean plates, no clean glasses, cream was gone,the desert bar looked like someone had tasted everything and put it back. The salads were nasty the fruit was all gone the bacon was undercooked and the eggs Benedict was overcooked. Their signature crepe dessert was gluey and gummy. Very unappetizing. The wait staff had to be asked for everything including water. It was a miserable experience frankly. We paid a 10 dollar service fee on top of 40 dollars for food and wished we had...

This was our first visit to Kris. Frankly it was not easy to find, but the GPS worked wonders. We arrive at our appointed reservation time, but a table was not ready. This is not uncommon in restaurants, of course. Here, we were guided to the bar to wait until a table was ready. Kris, himself, offered us wine or champagne while we waited -- on the house. Once at our table we enjoyed prompt service for wine while we viewed the menu. Note that the menu is not extensive but changes regularly. The restaurant is part of, and located in, the Culinary Institute of Houston and the chefs were graduates of the school and did a fantastic job with the culinary experience really, really enjoyed with the food well presented. One problem is that two of our company ordered mussels and while in one order the mussels were open and ready to eat, on the other order the mussels were closed. Without any question the one order was removed and was replaced. Due to the wait, three of us had virtually finished, so when the replacement order of mussels arrived (and I must say that they were in a most delicious sauce) Kris brought over a tray of cheese so that those of us would have something to eat and the person with the mussels would not have to eat alone. NOW, THAT IS CLASS!!! I must add that the dinner was enjoyed thoroughly and will be the first of many...