Le Colonial Houston — Restaurant in Houston

If I could leave zero stars for service, I would. My family and I have been coming to Le Colonial (in Chicago since I was little) and now in Houston since they opened. While my husband doesn't like their food, I have continued to come to this Houston location for lunches with my mother and order the few dishes we enjoy. She even goes there by herself for lunch at times when I cannot join. My extended family are regular (as in weekly dinners at a regular table) patrons of the Chicago location. I know this is a chain and so the ownership isn't the same and what a shame.

Today, I met my mom there for lunch (2 pm, not even prime lunch or dinner time and the seating area was not full). She was dressed in a linen outfit, and I came after Equinox and tennis, wearing a Lululemon tennis outfit with a designer CD tote, Chanel sunglasses and with my jewelry (I say all this to give an idea that I wasn't wearing gym clothes with UA, Adidas etc brands on them). The hostess sat us right in front of the kitchen door, so my mother requested another table as there were many empty options in the restaurant. When we were reseated, I got a call I needed to answer and got up from the table. At that time, the hostess went up to my mother (not even to me) and without showing any discretion (ie -no lowered voice, or whisper in the ear, attempts to pull her aside -- or most importantly without even talking to me), she said in a normal level volume, "I didn't see what your daughter was wearing. We can't seat her." Guests sitting directly next to us turned and were watching. My mother asked for a jacket for me -- which they didn't even offer or seem like they have on hand for situations like this). Never did the hostess suggest we order for take out or even eat outside. She just waited for us to leave the table, standing in front of the table and looking me up and down until we left.

I called later and spoke to Ezra, the manager, explaining our experience and suggesting that his hostess be educated about customer service. He tone was defiant and not apologetic. He said there is a dress code "and people are usually upset when they get turned away." He added that addressing it in front of the other restaurant patrons is "the best way we have found." I was appalled to hear this and the lack of true genuine caring for our experience; he said a lot of "hmphs" on his end. Has it even occurred to them or their manager (the one person who should demonstrate more exceptional patron care) that patrons become upset because of how they are approached? I cannot believe this has to be pointed out.

I strongly feel that if an establishment is trying to be elevated, then their management and hostess and team should similarly demonstrate "elevated" behavior and a certain level of respect toward patrons. A discreet and kind pulling aside, whispering in the ear and/or addressing the concern to me directly would have gone greatly appreciated and would have guaranteed that we'd return as we have in so many years past, since really do understand there's a dress code. However, the manner in which it was implemented was so disrespectful and classless, and additionally, the lack of true customer care demonstrated by Ezra -- the one person who should demonstrate great customer care in the context of problems like this -- is shocking and appalling.

I just want to leave this review so hopefully someone higher than Ezra can address this concern with Le Colonial Houston restaurant's team and reconsider your choice of management -- you've lost us as patrons but maybe you can save others who truly know high end service from leaving; your current team's attitude and patron care is not the elevated level that you are trying to achieve with your restaurant's facade and patron dress. Anyone considering this restaurant -- if you're dressed to code, it's a fine experience with debatably ok food. But the minute you're not to code, the restaurant shows its true level of class. And I finally have to agree with my husband, "this place...

The Empire Strikes Back (With Awful Service): I made arrangements to celebrate my husband’s birthday Le Colonial Houston after doing a search for Vietnamese cuisine and discovering that another local restaurant that was favorably reviewed had recently closed. I was familiar with Le Colonial, as I’d eaten at the Los Angeles location shortly after it had opened back in the 90s, and I had a reasonably pleasant memory of the food and atmosphere. Still, a lot can change in 22+ years, and the tradeoff for multiple locations tends to be blander food, so I was wary. As it turned out, I was justified in my wariness, as the restaurant delivered subpar service in what seemed to be a calculated effort to make us feel unwelcome. Shortly after we arrived, our group of 7 was kept waiting for 25 minutes while they swapped out chairs at our table, a sequence that should have taken 10 minutes at the most. Once we were seated, it was another 10 minutes before we received menus and water, and 10 minutes after that, a table of women was seated behind us who received menus immediately, along with a wine list, which was neglected at our table. The table of women placed their orders and had received food twice over the course of the next 15 minutes, while not one single member of the wait staff came over to see to our needs, and the gentleman wearing the red bow tie who made a point of saying hello as we walked in just as pointedly ignored me when I attempted to catch his eye in the dining room. Finally, I got up and snagged a waiter –who had been bringing dishes to the table behind us—and asked him if we could please receive service at our table. If you’re counting, we’ve been at the restaurant about an hour and have yet to be served in any capacity other than water. The only visible difference between the table behind us receiving plenty of service and our table receiving none was that our table was, with the notable exception of my husband, all people of color, and the people at the table receiving all the service were white. The neglect continued throughout the meal—we received no birthday wish or acknowledgement from the restaurant, even though I had requested it from the restaurant staffer in charge of events. I should not have been completely surprised, as I was also treated rudely on the phone by a member of the staff when I called to speak to the events manager – up until this time we had been having pleasant exchanges, but she was not available when I phoned, and I received a short “Who is this? She’ll call you back!” before the line clicked dead.

A little kindness goes a long way, as does a little rudeness, and our unpleasant experience at Le Colonial caused me to stop and consider exactly what it is this place is selling. It can’t be the food – as it is just . . . OK. Just as jarring as the service is the photograph that graces the front of the menu – of a dark-skinned woman in a headscarf, eyes downcast. The restaurant’s business card featured another exotically dressed woman with a neutral expression in the foreground and a group of blurry native individuals in the background, including a man who appears to be of African descent. Subliminal visual coding aside, based on the quality of service and a number of reviews I discovered following our experience, this seems to be a restaurant for those who don’t understand that colonialism died for a reason. Perhaps it is fitting for a restaurant located in an upscale shopping mall, where spending money makes certain people feel like nothing has changed. I’m still waiting for a response from management regarding the deposit I was required to give for lousy service. The irony: we actually had a good time, but no thanks to the restaurant. We had fun because this particular group of family members enjoys each other’s company, and no amount of poor service will change that. People of color in general (and black people in particular) are resilient that way; terrible service says more about the folks giving it than it...

I recently dined at this restaurant, and I have to say it was the worst dining experience of my life. Despite making a reservation for 7:30, my party and I had to endure a mind-numbing wait of over an hour and 15 minutes just to receive our appetizers. Can you believe it? And that was just the beginning of our ordeal.

As the clock ticked past 10:00, we still hadn't received our main dishes. It's worth noting that I ordered a simple dish like Pho, which should not take an eternity to prepare. Throughout this wait, I repeatedly requested to speak with the manager. However, it took well over an hour for her to grace our table with her presence. When she finally arrived, it was evident that she couldn't care less about our dissatisfaction and didn't hear us out. Her lackadaisical attitude only fueled our frustration.

The manager's handling of the situation was utterly abysmal. Instead of taking responsibility and providing a valid explanation for the delay, she seemed more interested in rushing us out of the restaurant. We were told there was a "misfiring of the runners to get us our food" Her complete disregard for our time and the lack of transparency about what was happening were truly appalling. The mismanagement was so severe that even nearby tables decided to abandon ship and seek dinner elsewhere.

To make matters worse, we were presented with the full bill without any attempt at adjustment. It was only when we insisted on speaking with the manager that they begrudgingly made some amendments, removing a mere $15 or less per person. Frankly, it was an insult considering the magnitude of our dissatisfaction and my time wasn't valued. They promised to reach out to us for a better experience, but this was a special celebration for a big table. The damage had already been done, and no compensatory gesture could rectify the embarrassment and disappointment we experienced.

As someone who runs my own businesses, I can't help but be astounded by how out of touch the manager was and the overall poor management of the establishment. There is a significant opportunity for improvement here, but it appears that they have no interest in seizing it.

The entire situation was mishandled from start to finish, and the lack of urgency to remedy the situation was disheartening. It should not take an exorbitant amount of time to remake simple dishes, especially when we witnessed other tables receiving their food promptly.

Needless to say, I will never set foot in this restaurant again, even if they comped the entire bill. The way the management handled the entire ordeal was the epitome of incompetence, my friends that are in the restaurant business were appalled. I have never encountered such a gross mismanagement of a restaurant in my...