Nundini Chef's Table — Restaurant in Houston

This ranks as one of the worst restaurant experiences of my entire life. We commented prior to going to this restaurant that we have driven past this place for 18+ years.

Upon entering the parking lot, the valet stand was noticeable where it stated complimentary valet services. The restaurant is situated in a warehouse setting where it is very unclear where to park.

We get inside the restaurant and there is no person at the host stand. We stand there for about 10 minutes, but there was nobody in sight. We flagged down the bar staff who finally came to seat us.

Upon sitting, we go another 10 minutes before a waitress comes to get our water. We had to flag them down as well. I ordered a coke 3 different times and finally received it.

After 15 minutes we received a bread basket and it looked like someone had removed all the bread and gave us a basket of crusts, very chewy and without flavor.

We ordered the following items: House salad ⭐ ⭐ Caesar salad ⭐ ⭐ Cacio e pepe ⭐ Spaghetti amatriciana ⭐ Spaghetti carbonara ⭐

The salads were standard fare, nothing out of the ordinary.

Pizza: We ordered a pepperoni pizza from the kids menu, but we're informed that the restaurant had run out of all pizza dough. Mind you, the restaurant was about 50% full.

Cacio e pepe: We ordered this dish for our son with the waitress giving a recommendation for the dish. To preface, we have had cacio e pepe in a Michelin star restaurant in Rome and all over the world including well established restaurants in Houston. The dish had a rancid smell and upon all of us trying one bite, we instantly felt nauseous and completely lost our appetite. It was literally one of the worst forms of edible forms, ever ingested.

Spaghetti amatriciana: The dish had a light marinara sauce, that had the consistency of water. The flavor was nullified by the over watered down consistency.

Spaghetti carbonara: The sauce was egg based, which I have had before. The sauce was literally runny like water rather than creamy. The sauce was transparent rather than opaque. The guaniciale was burnt to a crisp.

Manager: We called the manager to return the cacio e pepe based on its rancid smell and taste. The manager/line cook argued vehemently stating it was supposed to taste sour. After a 3 minute argument, we stated we wanted to return the dish. In each of our dishes we were justified in wanting to return the food, the manager/cook did not take a course in customer hospitality and service, clearly intending to argue about the origins of food.

All in all, we returned all dishes and paid the bill for the salad.

Valet: I am normally a very generous tipper, however when a valet or any server asks for a tip....before I have a chance to pay, it is a complete sign of disrespect. By the way, complimentary valet leaves tipping at the discretion of the customer. Especially, when we have walked out of the restaurant, and the valet literally parked the car 20 min prior. I informed him that we will be leaving immediately and that I did not appreciate his aggressive behavior.

Experience and summary: Restaurant and cleanliness ⭐ Service ⭐ Food quality ⭐ Customer Relations ⭐

We...

Having driven past the somewhat bland stucco warehouse that is now home to Nundini’s Chef’s Table my entire life, I felt the need to finally see what could be inside. As a child my mother would answer our questions about the space with “I don’t really know what happens there, maybe it’s a front”. Which only served to generate more questions. I giggled as I walked past the outdoor diner booths seated comically near to S Shepherd Dr and lit enthusiastically by the LED lights advertising “PIZZA” and “FISH.” The smile was replaced with a look of utter shock at the mahogany lined walls of wine, soft lighting, and overall upscale interior hiding inside that building. Not to be completely fooled, the right side of the room is a somewhat more appropriate deli style setup with bright lighting, large slabs of ham, and an onslaught of gelato. As my eyes adjusted to the entirely unexpected interior, I was greeted by Daniel, who waited at all three tables seated during the hour and a half I patronized Nundini’s. Our Bruschetta arrived promptly, and when I asked for the cheapest house wine Daniel didn’t bat an eye and returned with two generous glasses of Nundini’s finest. My fusilli was the most beautiful display of little corkscrews and tomatoes - even more delicious than they were adorable. A generous enough portion to send me home satisfied, while maintaining the dignity of Italian delicacy rather than an Americanized Olive Garden style glutton fest. As I was finishing up my meal, the executive chef, Timothy, came over and chatted with my table for the better part of a half hour. After a brief history of the unique space, some information about the production of gelato and shared adages about flooding from Harvey, he sent us on our way with a portion of Bolognese sauce (which I'm afraid to admit I left at the restaurant by accident). We were sent merrily on our way with samples of gelato by Daniel, Isabelle, and Timothy; all while promising to return for a full scoop on Thursday. Frankly the experience was wonderful and entirely unexpected, though a bit surreal as we were the only folks present for at least an hour. They may have some confusing exterior signage, but don't be fooled dear reader, bring with you the right attitude and you will be blessed by Nundini’s delectable food and cheerful and talkative waitstaff. Just don’t expect many other diners to share your space - a great feature during the...

My friend has been recommending Nundini Chef Table to me for a while, and since I pass by it often while running errands, I was excited to finally give it a try.

We chose to sit at the bar to check out their drink menu, and I ordered a tiramisu martini, which turned out to be one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. It was smooth, flavorful, and really set high expectations for the rest of the experience.

I was told the soup of the day was tomato bisque, which I love, so I ordered that along with a carbonara entree. But when the soup arrived, it was actually a potato soup. I politely declined it, letting the waitress know that I don’t like potato soup. However, she insisted, several times, that I should try it, saying she would personally pay for it if I didn’t like it. Even after I explained that I was completely fine going without soup, she kept pushing, and it started to make me feel uncomfortable and even a bit guilty, as if I were being difficult for not accepting it.

Then a man sitting nearby, who said he was a chef there, jumped into the conversation to also encourage me to try the soup. This put me in the awkward position of having to explain to a stranger why I didn’t want it. It felt unprofessional and intrusive, especially after I had already clearly declined.

By the time my carbonara arrived, I’d lost my appetite a bit. I had a few bites, paid my bill, and tipped my bartender 20%. While the drink and menu looked promising, the pushiness from the staff left a bad taste in my mouth, figuratively speaking. Unfortunately, I won’t...