Osso & Kristalla — Restaurant in Houston

We made a reservation here to kick off Houston Restaurant Weeks, which I wrote in the notes section of my reservation on OpenTable. It wasn’t until we were already seated and then I directly asked that we were told they weren’t running the HRW menu yet because there was an Astros game. The GM came to explain but gave no gesture to make up for the inconvenience/disappointment.

Service was not attentive despite the place being very empty (we were the only table on the restaurant side).

We ordered the calamari and pork belly for appetizers and the mushroom ravioli and shrimp linguine for entrees. Calamari was okay. Pork belly was softer/more jiggly than I expected but was a generous portion and pretty good flavor. Shrimp linguine was a smaller plate than expected, good but not great flavor. The mushroom ravioli only had three pieces and was so salty and sour that it was off-putting. The waiter kindly took the plate back and removed it from the check without question, which I very much appreciate. The watermelon basil martini ($12) had nice flavor and reasonable potency.

No hard feelings to the staff, but unfortunately, I would not come here again. Nor would I recommend anyone I know to come. It was overall a very strange and disappointing experience.

[Also: parking was not easy since the place is downtown and very close to Minute Maid Park. You can valet at one of the nearby hotels or try your luck at finding a metered...

I had no idea, but this place is a sister company of potente. And it's literally next door! I came here for a small brunch, had a wonderful server, place was clean and beautiful, and the food was okay. I got the polenta fries, fried shrimp, margherita pizza, and recommended by a server we got the pineapple and cranberry mimosas.

the polenta fries were a must! Didn't realize how delicious this stuff was, they did a great job with the flavors and they even give you a salt pepper and red chili flakes on the side if you want add more flavor. It came with this nice mild marinara sauce that I did even more flavor. This was great!

The fried shrimp were a bit disappointing. I did not like how shrimpy it tasted, I've had plenty of fried shrimp before and this tasted like it was not cleaned or was just very salty. The sauce needed more saltie, on the bright side the coleslaw that came on the side helped brought it down but still not my favorite dish. You do get a good size for it, shareable for two or three people as an appetizer.

The margherita pizza was okay. Nothing special. The Crust was a bit thick, there was not much sauce, and if you didn't eat it right away, the overall pizza was not soft. So I suggest if you do get this, don't talk, just eat.

Overall, if you're looking for some great Italian food, go to protente!! Here, was a more casual experience, the food was not up to par. Service on the other hand...

I visited this place on Sunday June 5, 2022 morning for brunch. It was a nice looking place, didn't care for the scattered Astros decorations cuz I felt like it took away from the setting of the restaurant. I was told the owner owns the Astros so that explains it, but it's tacky to me. Anyways me and 3 friends went so their meals are pictured too. The menu changes often so it's not the same each time you go which is cool. We got the pastry board which was alright for frozen pastries in bulk. Their honey butter and "berry" jam was good but didn't know what berry was in there. I got banana nut bread French toast. Idk what I was thinking when I read it on the menu but it wasn't good, not terrible; SUPER sweet and more of a dessert in my opinion. A big hunk of bread w/whipped cream and caramel sauce with a ripe banana on it cut lengthwise eh. It didn't come with anything so I was disappointed but the presentation was nice. A friend got the pork chop which tasted of oregano to me, but was juicy. One got the funghi pizzetta and added chicken, meat was bland but the cheese was pretty good. The 3rd got shrimp pesto with penne pasta and chicken and limoncello bread pudding. It was ok nothing special, the meat was lightly seasoned but dry...it was chicken breast though. The pudding was softer than what I'm used to and I'm not a lemon fan.. Overall it was alright, I'd MAYBE go again. It was like a fancy diner...