PKL Social — Restaurant in Houston

I recently visited PKL Social to celebrate a birthday, and unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory. Here’s a detailed account of what happened:

A week before the event, I attempted to make an online reservation for a birthday party. The system accepted the reservation, but I never received a confirmation email. After a couple of days, I called the facility to confirm, only to discover that my reservation had not gone through. I then made the reservation over the phone for a specific day and time, with the reservation lasting 1.5 hours.

The morning of the event, I called again to confirm the details, and everything seemed fine. However, after playing for just one hour, someone walked up to our court, claiming it was their time to play, 30 minutes before our reservation was supposed to end. When I spoke to an employee, they informed me that our reservation was only for one hour. They claimed that our party did not qualify as a “large party” (under 10 people) and therefore could not book for longer than an hour.

When I asked for the manager, the employee rudely said he would agree with her. The manager reiterated the same information and stated that the person who made the reservation was likely a recently terminated employee. Despite mentioning that I confirmed all details that morning, the manager refused to acknowledge the mistake or apologize for the inconvenience and disruption of our birthday celebration.

After 30 minutes of attempting to resolve the situation, I finally received a refund. However, the disappointment didn’t end there. When I went to settle the bar tab, which only included items for two people, I was automatically charged a “large party” gratuity fee. When I questioned this, I was told that parties of 6 or more are considered “large” for dining but not for pickleball reservations. This inconsistency was never mentioned during the booking process or noted anywhere.

While the wait and bar staff provided excellent service, the overall experience was severely lacking in professionalism and customer service. The mismanagement of reservations and the poor handling of the situation by the management team were very disappointing. If you’re considering PKL Social for a special occasion, be aware of the potential for significant mishandling and frustration.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend PKL Social if you’re looking for a reliable and professional place to celebrate an...

I really wanted to like this place. I gave it two tries and will maybe try one more time? The food is great and the atmosphere is great but the service is terrible. Both times I have gone and they have forgotten part of my order which is fine, its a new place so I cut them slack. But the first time they forgot my food, I went to ask about it and they told me I was lying and the order did not exist. For some reason they could not find the order in their system and they did not believe me until I showed them the order on my phone. Maybe they have a lot of people trying to steal an order of fried pickles? But it felt weird since they gave me everything else on that same order. Those same pickles came out like 30 mins later when we were already done eating. I went again with friends recently. My friend ordered me a drink and then once again brought everyone's drinks except mine. When we asked about it they accused my friend of lying and that we were mistaken and must've ordered the drink elsewhere? Once again this drink was on the same order as everyone else, but maybe cokes are a precious commodity. I don't mind letting them know if a mistake happens but did not appreciate the rude encounter for my friend. Every time we go to the bar no one wants to look at us or talk to us. Once again we do not mind if its busy and clearly everyone is working, but it was not. So mixed reviews on this one. Foods great and the court fee is cheap comparably to other places, but their service always leaves me feeling...

Guess I wasn't the first person to experience the same thing as the last review(Faith) The place is pretty chill, but there is a particular lady there(I think indian or pakistani) that is always giving derogatory comments and acting up because her emotions gets triggered. We were on the court before Open Play ended and she comes up and goes "60 seconds left before yall have to get off" really? Do you really have to say that? She couldn't say it in a better/pleasing manner as a representative and employee of PKL? I responded with "hey guys, hurry up we have like 54 seconds left" she then turns around and starts calling me rude and that I don't have to play here, she's going to call the manager. She proceeded to state, "that i never order anything" no lady, I always order there, just not from you when you're working lol. I guess service in 2025 is like that nowadays, at the end of the day I am still a guest/customer and she's the employee. She should have ignored and or handled the situation much better. Highly unprofessional and should...