Perbacco — Restaurant in Houston

This Italian restaurant is probably my favorite one downtown, only been here twice but I was delightfully surprised by the quality of the food on both occasions.

My first time visiting was back in 2019 during the workday. It was so busy when I came in, the dining room was packed with so many office workers. I really liked the hustle and bustle though and it gave me a feeling like I was in Little Italy in NYC.

The ambiance is very quaint and we got a table by a window. It's hard to hear the person seated across from you as the restaurant is super small and the tables are so close together.

I ordered the Linguini Alle Vongole, clams tossed in white wine sauce with Linguini and it was delicious. This pasta dish was ideal for a work lunch as the clam juice and white wine makes eating linguini refreshing and not heavy. I also had the tiramisu here for dessert, again very light and not overly sweet.

I made a second trip here on August 31, 2023, also during the workday. It was a real nice treat since my colleagues and I came in post lunch-rush and no other patrons were dining in at the time.

The owner himself took our order and all 3 of us opted for pasta paired with the house salad. The house salad is light and refreshing as it's only drizzled with lemon juice and vinegar. I ordered the Ravioli di Mare with Scallops and Shrimp this time. I'm a huge fan of tomato based dishes in general and this was just right in acidity and creaminess. The portions are generous, the ravioli was tender and pairs nicely with the big scallops and jumbo shrimp. It was so tasty I finished it all and cleaned my plate with the free bread that came with our entrees. My only complaint here is that I wish the ravioli had more basil in it or an addition of spinach would be nice. I love eating vegetables and the dish is missing this element.

FYI, all entrees are priced at $15 and higher. The menu is very short and simple. I would gladly return to...

1st Visit: Came here to celebrate our engagement. We absolutely loved the food!! We got the lasagna and fettuccine. So much flavor. The cheese onto of the Lasagna was baked perfect. And you can't beat those prices. Place is small so may be a wait.

2nd Visit: We wanted to go this spot again because we first came after getting engaged. It was like a complete 180 from first eating here 1 yr ago so I'm assuming they have a new cook. First the waiter was awful he hardly spoke to us and once he dropped our food he never came back he didn't even give us the check or anything. Second the food was disgusting!! I was so disappointed!! My lasagna had no flavor to it the pasta in it was under cooked and it was literally layers of pasta with no filling in some of the layers and the layers that did have some meat or cheese were super thin and no sauce. The bread is even different and the salad they have us has changed and is small just some iceberg lettuce and carrots and soaking in dressing. The fettuccine was edible but not as flavorful and much smaller. Had this been my first experience I'd never of come back to this restaurant. I'm highly disappointed at such a drastic change in food quality and will not...

From the moment we called to make reservations to the moment we walked out the door of the restaurant, it was a wonderful experience. Floor to ceiling windows, perfectly spaced tables (for social distancing and privacy) and the subtle blue color on the walls only enhanced our dining pleasure. We started with wine, homemade bread accompanied by garlic-infused dipping oil then a beautifully appointed dinner salad with house-made Italian vinegarette. For my entree, I chose the butternut squash ravioli topped with a lemon cream sauce and enough jumbo lump crabmeat to feed a family. It was inspired! Hubs chose the lasagna which was also scrumptious with homemade pasta, delicious meat sauce and plenty of melty cheesy goodness. We followed dinner with a cappuccino, tiramisu and a toweringly tall slice of chocolate cake topped with raspberry-chocolate ganache. We thank Russell at the Lancaster Hotel for suggesting this gem for our 5th Anniversary dinner. We will be talking about this place for a long time to come. Husband even suggested making it an annual tradition. However, I think I'll need to...