Post Oak Ice House — Restaurant in Houston

I took my girlfriend here for a date on their poker night and what should have been a chill weekday kickback turned into a nightmare. Before I explain exactly what happened, I’ll start off by recommending places you should go instead.

For Icehouse-type Bars: Kirby Ice House, Axelrad, Heights Bier Garten, Bayou Heights Bier Garten. All of these places have a nicer space, cheaper drinks (better selection too), and excellent service. I assure you, you will not regret a trip to the places I mentioned above.

For Poker: My preference is Empire Poker Club for friendly clientele/staff and free/cheap tournaments (literally down the street from this place). Or Texas Card House for slightly pricier tournaments and a more active vibe.

Now to explain why to never come to this place…strap in.

The night starts with me meeting my girlfriend here around 9pm. She had gotten there first so had already got a beer, when I arrived I also got a beer and then we started playing poker. My girlfriend eventually got another drink…business as usual, right? As she was starting on her new drink, she made the grave mistake of gasp dropping her mascara on the ground. This triggered the bartender for whatever reason, and my girlfriend was told that she was cut off. Yes…on her SECOND drink. I wish I were making this up.

But look, I get it. That’s a bartenders job and they have the right to cut people off. If we’re being real, it was totally uncalled for, being that she was not drunk or acting belligerently, but they still have the right to deny service. Fine, it’s not the end of the world. My sweet girlfriend didn’t talk back either, she accepted being cut off and intended to finish the beer she had already bought.

At this point she was watching me play poker and sharing her drink with me since I had finished mine. It didn’t take long for me to lose, so we went outside afterwards to play the golf-like bar game they had out there. We were chatting, playing the game, and finishing what was left of the beer. We didn’t intend to stay long but we were still taking our time sipping the drink and enjoying the moderate weather. To our surprise, this is when things take a turn for the worse.

The bouncer walks up to us while we’re talking amongst ourselves and interrupts, telling my girlfriend “You were cutoff but you are drinking someone else’s drink. You need to leave.” We calmly explained to him that it was HER same drink from earlier and she was just sharing it with me. “It doesn’t matter. You need to leave.” At this point, I chose to be the bigger man and said, “Okay, we understand.” I finished HER drink, walked it back to the bar and closed my tab ($9 for one beer, gratuity already included…LOL).

We go to my car, absolutely baffled that we were kicked out for nothing. I start looking on my phone for places to eat when I notice one of the bouncers had followed us and was standing across from my car and watching us, waiting for us to leave. Seriously??? I have never been treated this unfairly at ANY establishment the whole time I’ve lived in Houston. My poor girlfriend felt horrible too, being that she doesn’t like causing issues and didn’t understand why they targeted her. It truly felt like we were discriminated against…for what reason, I could not tell you (I could make a couple guesses, and you might already have the same guesses in mind).

Suffice to say, you should not risk ruining your night here. Instead, go to one of the recommendations I mentioned earlier. I feel bad for the business owner too because I’m the kind if patron that would have brought my friends here, would have brought my girlfriend again, literally would have spent hundreds of dollars at this place if it weren’t for this horrible experience. But because of how we were treated, I will warn everyone I know NOT to come to this place. It will be #1 on my list of worst bars in Houston.

Save yourself the potential misery and go somewhere else, we live in a city with some of the best bars in the country. You deserve...

Disappointed and Dismissed: Our Experience at Post Oak Icehouse

As a group of professional minority businesswomen, we were excited to host our monthly mixer at Post Oak Icehouse. However, what began with excitement quickly turned into a disappointing and disheartening experience that left us feeling dismissed, excluded, and unwelcome.

On the day of our event, we arrived only to be informed that the venue was closed to the general public for a private event. The notification? A last-minute social media post on Instagram. For a business of this scale, relying solely on Instagram to inform patrons of closures is not just unprofessional—it’s shortsighted. Not everyone uses Instagram to check business updates, and the absence of this critical information on their website only compounded the issue.

Our group of 20 women was turned away at the door without any accommodation or alternatives offered. Despite explaining our situation and asking for even the smallest consideration in the vast space they had, we were told unequivocally that we could not stay. While I understand the importance of protecting the integrity of a privately booked event (as a former restaurant owner myself), the way this situation was handled fell short of basic professionalism. The lack of communication beforehand left us blindsided, and the refusal to work with us in any capacity came across as dismissive and uncaring.

What made this even more frustrating was the realization that larger private events are only possible because of the support of smaller groups and individual patrons like ours. Post Oak Icehouse failed to recognize the value of treating all customers with respect, regardless of the size of their group.

This mishandling of the situation not only soured our experience but ensured that Post Oak Icehouse will not have the opportunity to earn our business in the future. As our organization of professional minority women continues to grow, we will take our events and resources to venues that understand the importance of communication, hospitality, and inclusivity.

We hope Post Oak Icehouse reflects on how this situation was managed and considers how to better protect its patrons from being left in the lurch. Unfortunately for us, the damage has already been done, and we’ll be taking our...

I decided to try this bar out since my favorite bar owner goes there often. I was with my girl and initially I ordered 2 drinks which was $17. In my wallet I had one $100 bill, one $20 bill, two $5 bills and four $1 bills. I then gave the bartender $21 for the tab and tip. On the second round I also ordered 2 drinks which was also about $13. I then decided to hand her my $100 to break it. She then gave me my change but honestly I didn't pay attention to what all did she give me back I just gave her $2 tip and shoved it in my pockets. Once me and my girl were done with the second round I realized I didn't have my change from the $100 bill. So automatically I assumed I had dropped it somewhere. I looked around and it was nowhere to be found. I was at the same spot so it had to be somewhere around me if I did drop it. Since I didn't remember her giving me my money back I decided to go back up to the bar and I asked the young lady if by any chance she remembered giving me my change back and she said yes, she then printed the receipt but on the receipt it said I gave her a $20 bill. So I instantly became upset because I gave her a $100 and the change she had given me was as if I handed her a $20 bill. I am never going back to this place and imma make sure to tell everyone I know because that thief stole my change and I still gave her a tip without knowing. I felt robbed, honestly at this point is he said she said so I'm taking my L on this, this was my fault for not checking but this bar tender took advantage. This was on May 31st at around midnight. I hope someone above her pulls the cameras to reveal the truth. My check number was 147 at 12:01 AM 6/1/22. The math on the receipts doesn't even add up because in the first one where I gave her $21, the receipt said she gave me $2.68 back which is not true because I left her the entire $21. That just tells you that stuff is being input incorrectly. This is bad business and the...