Millie's Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Houston

I happened upon this eatery while Googleing "what's near me to eat.." while I was out running errands in the area. An appetizing lunch special appeared and i figured I would try it out. It was during the latter part of the lunch hour and the signage stated, self-seating. There were 2 other guests in the restaurant. I choose a nice marble-top table with table settings located next to their large picture-window. The location was cozy and there is a bar, in-door seating and a nice-sized outdoor seating area. The pre-sat table I choose had a few crumbs on it and a few pieces of food that I would have to use more than a swipe with the napkin to remove. Although I was not pleased, I was the one that selected the table..lol. I thought, maybe they were really busy prior to my entry, so I'll just stay and see what happens next. I realized that I might need to find a menu, so I ventured to the front stand and found them stacked on a ledge. I returned to my seat, and about 3 mins later, a team member greeted me. I was on my phone, so I put it down to provide attention. I asked which of the 3 menus I picked up were for the lunch special, she pointed and smiled, poured me some water and walked away. About 5 mins later, I politely signaled to please return, another team member came and apologized because she saw I was on the phone and did not want to interrupt me. I can understand that, so I let it slide. I ordered based on my request for a recommendation, the lobster hushpuppies & shrimp and oyster poboy. The hushpuppies came out within 5 minutes, gracefully warm, moist and darkened (it may be the oil that was used). The poboy entered the scene about 10-12 minutes later plated beautifully and to my surprise with fries. The fries were amazing, so yummy. I love a good home cut fry. The lobster hush puppies were okay, it was a nice feature to try out, the shrimp and fried oysters on the poboy were a nice-size, the batter was a little dark, but the combo went wonderfully with the toasted bread, lettuce, tomatoe and remoulade. I would order the poboy again. It's definitely enough to have leftovers! I ate half of the poboy, all of my fries (because you can't reheat those lol) and 1 hushpuppy! I sat and waited for a team member to ask how my food was and/or if I needed something else. That never occurred. I politely signaled again after waiting for some time, the first team member that poured my water returned. I asked for a to-go box and the ticket. She then grabbed my empty articles that were there previously, poured me some water, returned and I packaged my food, paid the ticket, left gratituity, because I always do. . I was not provided a verbal return greeting, or we hope to see you again. However, she did smile when I looked back to view her retrieving the ticket. Overall, service needs some refreshing, even when there is no rush, possibly invest a little more interest in the guest needs. Of course, no one wants to be pestered, but I'm sure most also do not want to continue to initiate every interaction, even if the guest is on a call. The food portions were awesome for a lunch special, the atmosphere was cozy, music was on a lunch level volume and overall my experience was okay. I would consider going back to give them a second try at a later date, maybe with another guest to garner...

Update: I've been back since my first time and 1st review below - 3 more times and I have been a bit let down . The large seafood tower was a complete disappointment. Had 12 oysters. 8 shrimp and dish full of crab claws for a whopping $65. We brought our friends and the large seafood twr sounded good but when we received it it looked very sad. It does saybon the menu what you're getting but regardless - still sad looking. Also I ordered the chowder and there was way too many potatoes. I attached a pic after I already had about five bites and you can still see the amount of potatoes. I don't think you need to replace the potatoes with more seafood necessarily but just not so many potatoes. It's unnecessary filler. The calamari is good and so are the pancakes.

Original review after my first trip. Absolutely loved this place. I've been once and had been putting it off because something about the bright pictures posted here made me think it wouldn't be a place to come and hang out for a couple hrs and enjoy an evening. I was wrong. The pics don't do it justice. It does have a nice, warm, inviting ambiance in the evenings. And it's not too bright - which can be such a turnoff. My wife and I had the BBQ shrimp, mussells, traffled mac n cheese, and fish n chips. All were great. I actually had wanted the lobster roll but after eating so many apps I just didn't have any place to put it. Tops on my list for my next visits are the cioppino, scallops n shrimp, and of course the lobster roll. Sorry I waited so long to get here...

if i could give this place a ZERO , i would! #1 - i asked the hispanic manager that was on duty this morning for plastic utensils and she basically insisted that i used the normal utensils that were pre wrapped on the table. #2 - i specifically asked was the sausage in the white gravy pork, our waiter went to check and came back and informed me that it was. so i then asked could i have just plain white gravy instead of the sausage gravy and he told me yes. our food came to the table pretty fast and my chicken fried steak had brown gravy on top and the breakfast potatoes were beyond cold on both meals along with the wrong eggs. they took both plates back and brung them back telling us the plates were extremely hot do not touch it. ok cool. tasted the potatoes and they were STILL cold and instead of remaking and scrambling the eggs properly they took the over easy cooked eggs n scrambled them hard! i asked to speak with the manager and it was as if she wasn’t even listening to what we were even trying to explain about our meals telling us about sourdough bread that was never even touched! i sent all of it back and enjoyed my single pancake, the only thing that was cooked right clearly! i will never...