North Italia — Restaurant in Houston

Went on a date night to celebrate a special occasion. Arrived early and we were seated shortly after arriving. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable. I was torn between the salmon and chicken parm. Our waiter suggested the snapper but raved about the branzino and convinced me to give it a try so I decided on the branzino. Our white truffle garlic bread appetizer arrived and it did not disappoint. Very tasty. Next we had Caesar and arugula salads. Both delicious. After we finished our salad I thought the waiter was coming to let us know dinner would be out any minute as it had already been 40 minutes into our dinner. Instead he stops by to explain the kitchen made a mistake and ran out of branzino. This was a surprise because I would have expected to know this immediately after ordering it, not over 40 min later!!!! I was stuck with settling for the salmon. We waited almost an hour for the salmon to arrive and even then, the plate was hot, the salmon was hot but fragola was lukewarm. Flavor was good but mood and energy were ruined. With this type of kitchen error I would have expected the manager to stop by and apologize. Especially since I made a reservation noting that it was a special occasion. Night ruined. The waiter offered a free desert but it still didn’t remedy my experience. I asked for the manager and she seemed irritated that I had a complaint. She rushed off saying she would check on things to see what they could but never returned. The waiter retuned instead saying they removed the truffle garlic bread. I was happy to sign my check and don’t plan on returning. I’ve been dining at North since the Austin Domain location opened and have never had this lack of customer service. Bottom line, I will not choose this restaurant for future special celebrations...

There is a huge differences between post oak blvd Norh Italia and this place. The first one, the best Italian restaurant in Houston there is no doubt.

North Italia's calamari is very famous and delicious, especially the tomato sauce. However, this was my second time at this restaurant and the second time I brought my friends. Both the calamari and the tomato sauce were well below average. The tomato sauce was dry and lacked freshness and vibrancy. It may have happened once, but if it happens twice, it means there is a problem in this restaurant.

While we were eating, the waiter came and asked for our satisfaction. We thanked them for their efforts and told them that the calamari could be better if they paid more attention to the cooking of the calamari and the tomato sauce, we did not ask for any change, it was just a constructive criticism. Then a lady who I guessed was the manager came. She asked what the problem was and I said there was no problem, we just shared our comment. We explained the same situation and she told us that “if it was not good, but you almost finished the whole plate.”

And she took away the plate we were still eating. She didn't say anything like sorry, let's tell the chef or how can we make it up. We paid our bill including the calamari and left.

The manager's speech and behavior is unacceptable. It is very surprising to see that my constructive criticism has become very interesting as it is a restaurant I love very much.

Date and time of the case 07/03/2024...

I am so disappointed. I took my mother here as a part of her MOTHERS DAY celebration. I’ve ordered from here multiple times, and even came in with my brother before. I had really good food those times, and service. This time was awful. I have been a server, a host, and a bartender in my life. We ordered our drinks, and then gave our appetizer (arugula and avocado salad) and entree orders (short rib and ricotta cavatelli). The salad came in 10 minutes, great. The entree 30 minutes later still had not arrived… we looked for the bartender and he immediately gave us a look of understanding and went to the kitchen to check on our food, but he came back and didn’t even update us.. then another 10/15 minutes later our food arrived. We got there at 7:30… we didn’t eat until 8:40. Then when we started to eat we realized the food was lukewarm warm. We had a 9:30 show and were STARVING. We even told the bartender we had a 9pm movie. Even knowing how long our food took Daniel (server) didn’t even ask how it was. So I DISCREETLY grabbed his attention and told him that the food was cold but we are starving. He just nodded and didn’t do ANYTHING. I didn’t ask, but being as though I’ve been in the industry I would THINK spending $120 and over an hour of my time would warrant some type of apology or gesture. My mom came in from Maryland. I will not be bringing anyone else to this location EVER again. I felt extremely unappreciated...