Leeland House — Restaurant in Houston

Absolute worst. Nancy was horrible and don’t even get me started on the bartender (short guy with the white cap). Our only saving grace was Geneva, the other bartender; she was getting those coffee drinks out quickly and hustling; she was doing circles around the other guy. So my boyfriend and I arrived before the rest of our party (we were a party of 4), we went ahead and got seated. Nancy greeted us promptly with water, and aware of our party size. We ordered our drinks; my boyfriend went to their sister restaurant Around the Corner and waited 10 mins to get service at the bar. I’m sitting at the table waiting on my mimosa and it seemed Nancy was unaware I haven’t received my mimosa so I had to remind her. The bartender hadn’t clearly been back there cause my ticket was still sitting on the printer. He proceeds to make my drink and sets it on the pickup counter. Like sir, you’re not doing anything and I’m sitting right there, you could have brought it to me immediately. Instead, he comes over to me and asks if I’ve ordered and I told him about my mimosa only then to proceed to give me my mimosa himself. My boyfriend comes back with his beer finally, and at this point we’re both already over it and the rest of our party didn’t even arrive yet. In that time Nancy asked us twice if we were ready to order, like girl the rest of our party hasn’t even arrived. Once our party arrived everything else continued to go downhill: service for cocktails was taking forever, food took a minute. Be aware that there is an 18% automatic gratuity on all checks, and it clearly reflects in the service we were given; we never saw Nancy present at our table. I understand times are tough and you’re trying to boost employee morale by guaranteeing your staff their money but then the servers have that “idgaf” attitude because they’re getting their money either way. She did not deserve the $30 automatic tip from us. I’m spending my hard earned money, the least you can do is provide attentive service. We were hesitant about ordering more drinks because service took so long. I was absolutely floored when they brought my boyfriend’s Dewar’s in a shot glass. Idc that he asked for a shot, any good bartender knows scotch never goes in a shot glass like he’s taking shots of tequila (I used to be a bartender so I know); if this were a fine dining restaurant and someone served me scotch in a shot glass I would have flipped the table. We managed to get Geneva’s attention and she had it fixed for us (once again waited FOREVER). Nancy seemed clueless throughout the whole experience. She didn’t even split our bill correctly; another person had to Zelle us some money cause Nancy had put his mimosa on ours even though the other person in our party told her how to split it smh. The food was decent but nothing to write home about. Needless to say we will not be returning and will not recommend this place. Get it together and...

The eggs Benedict was good, the accompanying salad was sad (premade, wilted). My biggest issue is the tipping system. They automatically add 18% to your tab if you’re a party of 5 or more- but we have to go up to the bar and order our own food? When my bartender handed me the machine, it doesn’t show you the bill, just the tip screen (even though you don’t know the itemized details and how much tip you’re already paying). If you don’t pay attention, you end up paying two tips- and they don’t even come to your table to take your order. Make it make sense.

We’re still sitting at our table as I write this, and they got more than half of our orders wrong. 30 min later, three of us are still waiting for our food. They’re blaming it on the printer being broken. Not coming back.

EDIT (responding to owner's remarks): "... sorry you felt the effects of the system issue"- This is where I take issue, your system as it relates to tipping:

1. Restaurants generally obligate a tip with a larger party to guarantee a fair tip for the server. You have no servers. Each diner had to go up and order their own food. And because of that,
2. There was no server to guarantee that we received our food. If we ourselves didn't bring up the issue, no food would have come out at all.

Some of the friends I asked about this said that their bartender skipped the tipping screen and said "don't worry about that", since the 18% was already added. Other friends who transacted with other bartenders didn't know about the 18% and added more tip. The sign regarding the tip policy is on the wall, nowhere near the transaction is taking place AND some bartenders hand you the screen with no bill explanation. The same feeling as when you get pulled over by the police for making a RIGHT turn on red because you didn't see a sign on the LEFT side of the highway. (This wouldn't happen in real life because TxDOT has rules about sign placement... something to think about...)

“The pre populated tip of 18% on parties of 5 or more is standard.” …yes, for establishments that provides table service. -We have to go to the bar to put in our order. -We have to get up to get our own water. -We have to speak up when food doesn’t come out. I’m not sure what we’re tipping for…

"We’d rather be transparent than lie" Please apply this to your...

I want to start by saying that the food and atmosphere were absolutely amazing. This was my first visit, and I will definitely be returning. However, my experience was almost completely ruined by the bartender, Cynthia. If it was not for Kevin, a bartender who truly went above and beyond to make up for it.

From the moment we arrived, Cynthia was noticeably inattentive. While she spent ample time engaging with male customers, she completely ignored us. We weren’t offered water, napkins, or even the opportunity to place our order. Initially, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, assuming she was busy and that someone else might step in. However, after waiting an entire hour with no acknowledgment, I finally tried to initiate conversation, asking how she was doing. Her response? A blank stare followed by, “What happened?”

When I explained that we had been waiting for service the entire time, she simply stood there, stared again, and then walked away without addressing our concerns or attempting to assist us. She never returned. It was only thanks to Marisol, who was incredibly apologetic and kind, that we got any level of service. Marisol explained that they were understaffed, which would have been understandable if we hadn’t witnessed Cynthia giving her full attention to male guests who arrived nearly 45 minutes after us.

Thankfully, Kevin and Marisol (Once) stepped in and turned things around, ensuring we had a great experience despite the earlier frustrations. Kevin’s attentiveness and professionalism made all the difference even though he was busy himself. That’s a person who cares about customers and deserves the recognition.

Overall, while I highly recommend this spot for its food and ambiance, I would advise management to address service inconsistencies especially when one staff member’s favoritism is so...