Raffa's — Restaurant in Houston

This is my second time going to Raffa's for lunch, and I will write about my first experience briefly, than about the second.

First Visit: Group of 5

The first time I went with some friends visiting from NYC, we figured food and nice view, win win. Our waiter was horrible, brought us our waters and drink after asking multiple times, never brought us silverware, never attentive, though we saw him by the bar chatting up the female staff. We were really offended by his treatment, but the food, and the friendly nature of the rest of the staff help even things out. We figured, maybe just a new waiter, or random bad luck. But like I said the food was good and the rest of the staff were super friendly. So I decided to go back for my birthday with a larger group.

Second Visit: Group of about 22 people.

The good: I did not have a chance to do a reservation, but figured I would show up and if we had to wait a bit that would not be an issue. We arrived, and they accommodated us quickly and were super nice about it. We were served quickly, and things were beginning to look a lot better than the last visit. Even the mimosas were strong (They tasted like pure OJ the first visit we went.) And the food was great as was the view.

The Bad: Bottomless mimosas refills were super slow, we wait 10 minutes at time, and some people had refilled twice, while others in our group were still waiting on their first refill. I could understand if there super busy, but the place was pretty empty, and mimosas shouldn't be hard to make if you offer then as bottomless for brunch every Sunday. I doesn't help that the drink were super small so they would be drank fast. Maybe next time just drop a pitcher off for big groups, I'd rather refill my own drink, than wait and have to ask over and over again for a refill. The second bad things, and this was the most embarrassing part. was that we were barely into our food, and a waitress asked us how we wanted our check (Nobody had asked for the check). The questions in everyone mind, are they rushing to have us go. Then came the checks. People weren't even on dessert yet, and some of my party were a bit offended by that. Than i asked if we could get another refill for the group, we had gone about 15 minutes with empty glasses from our mimosas (Due to them being busy from printing out the checks). She returned with the refill, and then said, thank you for coming have a nice day. Once again, everyone was like "Wow, they are trying to rush us out." We were barely finishing up eating, and wouldn't be able to enjoy a few more drinks chatting up after the meal. Some of us were not paying until we finished eating, and this may have been the only reason the waitress came back to collect the bill, and we asked again for another refill. But man, did it feel like we were being pushed to leave, and like I said earlier it wasn't busy at all, mostly empty tables.

Overall 3/5, the good allowed me to not be as bad as I could be with the stars. But customer services is lacking in certain parts. We came to enjoy brunch buffet and bottomless drinks, not be rushed to pay and leave. I might go back, not sure how I feel yet, but I definitely wont have another group...

My husband and I stopped by Raffa's Waterfront Grill during a quiet afternoon, drawn in by the scenic lakeside setting. We must've visited during downtime, as the place was nearly empty so we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves--giving us our pick of seats with a great view.

We started with the Salt & Pepper Calamari, Crab Cakes, a Lemon Drop Martini, and a pour of bourbon. Unfortunately, the cocktail experience was underwhelming. While the bartender/server was friendly, she didn't seem very familiar with the drink menu, and when we asked if they could make a bourbon-based cocktail, the response was hesitant. We settled on the Lemon Drop, which wasn't terrible, but lacked balance and didn't stand out. She also wasn't very detail-oriented as she accidentally spilled some of my drink on me and either didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

As for the food, the calamari was disappointing. It arrived without lemon (which we had to request), and the flavor was lacking. I ended up relying heavily on the jalapeño ranch just to enjoy it, which isn't something I usually need to do at a seafood restaurant. On the brighter side, the crab cakes were a pleasant surprise--crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful inside. Easily the best item we tried.

Because the appetizer experience didn't leave us confident in the kitchen, we chose to skip entrées altogether. When something as simple as calamari misses the mark at a waterfront seafood restaurant--especially at this price point--it's hard to justify going further.

The location is lovely and would make a great setting for drinks with friends, but overall, the experience didn't meet expectations for a seafood-forward restaurant. If you do stop by, I'd say skip the calamari and go for...

We were visiting from out of town and this place was recommended to us. The location is on the water so the ambiance is great. Unfortunately that is where the greatness ended. The front desk hostess (glasses) was unfriendly and asked in deadpan way, “ Do you have a reservation?” We did have one. But she remained cold. We sat outside which has a nice view of the water. My husband ordered a steak and I ordered chicken breast. The food took 40 minutes to come out. At one point the chef came out and was greeting people around us and asking how their food was. He did say hello to us and we told him we were still waiting. He gave no explanation and continued on to another table where he conversed and laughed for too long considering we were still sitting without our food. A waitstaff came by to ask if we were ok and said they were backed up in the kitchen. When the food finally came , my chicken breast had a strange off taste. Like rotten milk. Like the butter sauce was rancid. I did not want to make a scene so I ate small bites , slowly hoping the taste would improve. My husband tasted the food and became upset. Waitstaff came by to ask how things were and I said “ OK…” but my facial expression told the truth. Her expression told me she understood. She left and then another staff member came by to offer a complimentary desserts. Which we accepted but boxed up to take away. It was crème brûlée. We left silent and disappointed. We are not the type to make a scene. Back at the hotel , the dessert had the exact same rotten milk taste and smell. Ironically , the free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express had the same rotten taste. Go figure. We have eaten in many fine dining restaurants , mostly in NYC so we know good food. This...