Portillo's Willowbrook — Restaurant in Houston

I had very high hopes for this location. I have been to Chicago and was very impressed and waited patiently for this location to open.

The prices are just too high for chili dogs and salad. I ordered 8 dogs to go with chili and cheese on the side so they would travel better. I was charged more per hot dog to have them deconstructed. I think that an error was made because the posted price on the board and my price was different. The lady ringing me up was new and couldn’t figure out how to ring up the dogs to-go this way and I got tired of waiting and holding up line. For 8 dogs, two salads and two dressing bottles to go my total was $83😔. This is not a good deal or bang for the buck.

The food was not counted correctly when packed, when I got home the chili was one short and the cheese was one too many. I get that accidents happen, but this order was all for people waiting to have these dogs and needed to be right. One person had to sacrifice and be short a chili. I could have spent more time making sure order was right but for $83, it just should have been.

The dogs were decent, I’d definitely suggest eating them at the restaurant, not getting to go unless you are right around corner. I was 40 mins away and the taste just wasn’t the same. Plus the ratio wasn’t right of chili and cheese when packed like I needed them packed. Overall they are good, but for the price, I’d still give James Coney a higher overall score. You need to know these dogs are in a casing and have a slight pop when you eat them. It’s just the way they are. I guess I’m just partial to JCI. I prefer the cheese at JCI.

Lastly, the time it took to get my order out was about 26 mins. This seems to be a long time to wait for food to go from a hot dog joint; the staff was not ready for the lunch rush and the tables were left dirty. It wasn’t jammed packed, just busy. The one in Chicago I was at, was much more efficient, we are used to chick fila times around here and this was just much to long to wait for a to go order. I drove 40 mins each way, waited in line for 10 mins and waited 26 mins to get food, this is just not what I expected overall. I think they will hopefully read these reviews and improve. I try and be as honest as I can while reviewing restaurants so they can learn, and people know what...

Probably wrong for having high expectations of a new restaurant that I’ve heard others rave about. I was pretty excited upon arrival and pretty disappointed when we left. Took three of my coworkers here for dinner on a Thursday night. We spent $80 on this fast food. The person that took our order was friendly and asked all the right questions. They have a monitor that tells you where your order is in line, but it doesn’t mean much as our order was “completed” and then not three different times. Quite obvious they are only trying to meet their required serving times in their POS system. They have a huge sign advertising adding cheese to your fries, and we were offered additional at the counter which we all took them up on. Order finally came after 25 minutes. Wrong sandwiches, wrong toppings, a sandwich we didn’t order, NOTHING like what is pictured and zero cheese. We were told the cheese wasn’t up to temperature and they weren’t selling it…but we had already paid for it. We were graciously offered 2 pieces of cake in lieu of our cheese. No thanks. That’s not the same.

No one seated in the restaurant looked very pleased but we witnessed lots of playful times behind the counter with multiple of the many employees that were “working” giggling and showing each other their phones. I expected much more from a new establishment making a name for themselves in the community.

I agree with previous comments of flavorlessness. The sandwich seemed like a feeble attempt at a French dip with the inability to dip. Maybe their burgers are better because I was already told not to get the hot dog. I don’t think I will ever try to find out.

The positive is that the facility itself is kind of cool, but that’s all corporate repetition. The bathrooms were questionable for such a new place and lack of concern among the staff was noticeable. I should say that the onion rings were good.

Give them a shot because they’re new…just don’t expect...

Portillos has always been a special place for my family. Growing up in Chicago and with the Portillo’s family, Dick, Sharon and Michael always played a role in the success of the business but also our community. So many holidays and special occasions celebrated there.

I have come to the conclusion it’s just not the same now that the family sold to investors. The service levels aren’t there. The food isn’t as good. In the end, not so great portillos is better than no portillos.

The amazing part is the restaurant was jammed in Houston just like it would be in Chicago. Most of us were all Chicagoans who now call Houston home. We all came to the same conclusion. The restaurant just isn’t right.

The hotdogs were cold, and the casing which normally has a snap was beyond a snap. It simply wasn’t cooked long enough.

The restaurant is their new design. It’s much smaller and now you get your own drinks at a dispenser. That would never have happened when Dick was running the restaurant.

I placed two orders. The first was our for here order and the second was for to go. Both were wrong. The staff was more focused on talking to each other than servicing guests. Back in the day, the employees were invested in the restaurant. Those days are clearly gone. Sure they still call your order out with a catchy rhyme but if it’s wrong or served without a smile, what’s the point.

I expect them to respond by asking me to contact them. Instead I’ll just give my old family friend a call to share our experience. After all, it’s still his family name.

We will go back as it’s a taste of home. Perhaps they’ll improve what once was the Chicago standard in Italian Beef, Hot Dogs...