Relish Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Houston

The Parker House rolls as an appetizer, I don’t recommend them. A slightly sour herb basting of the top (garlic? oregano?). And they came out warm but hardened up quickly. Probably they just microwaved them for a few seconds, my guess. Sour taste lingered. Skip them.

My dining partners went for oysters, tuna tartare, carpaccio, and artichoke first courses. All good thumbs up from the group. Except the artichoke that was overcooked and meh.

Our waitress, Jenny. And the general manager also. The level of attention. And the professionalism. Impressive. Put smiles on our faces.

I will have to save the fried chicken or pasta entrees for another time. I went low key with just their cheeseburger. I wanted to sample the bread. And the fries. My dining partners went bigger, with steak frites, quail, clam linguine.

The burger was fine. A big burger. Priced very fairly at $19 plus tax and tip. The fries were unremarkable. Very McDonald’s like. When they cooled to room temp, well, I left them uneaten. I think that the Lamb Weston colossal crispy fry would be a good option for them to consider.

Carrot cake was not memorable. I think they might enjoy trying this recipe to see if they like it more. Pecans seemed to be pulverized instead of being in larger pieces. Carrots seemed to be pureed instead of in shreds.

Carrot Cake Recipe 2 medium carrots (8 ounces total, 230 g) peeled 2 large eggs 1 cup sugar (7 1/2 ounces, 210g) ¾ cup neutral vegetable oil (not canola)(180ml) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup AP flour (5 ounces, 140g) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup pecans (2 ounces, 55g)

Grease and flour an 8 ½ by 4 ½ by 2 ½ inch loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Shred the carrots with the fine or medium shredding disc of a food processor. Set aside. Process the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla with the metal blade until just blended, a few seconds. Evenly sprinkle the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon over the mixture and process until smooth, about 5 seconds. Sprinkle with the pecan halves, add the carrots and process until the pecans and carrots are distributed evenly, about 4 seconds. Turn into the prepared pan and bake...

Read the Alison Cook Burger Friday review from a few weeks back and because we had planned a venture into the Inner Loop (Central Market) area we decided to dine at Relish. Parking is somewhat limited so I strongly suggest that you valet. We were a little bummed out when we went in to see a sea of empty tables at 6ish and were told that without a reservation we couldn't be seated until after 8ish. We asked if we could eat at the bar and were told sure, go ahead. Great bloody decision! The bartender / server, Michael, was incredible. He greeted us warmly, had glasses of water in front of us immediately and produced menus and warm bread (and the warm bread is to die for) while we waited for the food to appear. My dining companion opted for the crab cake (and she generally never finishes her dinner = I almost always "have" to devour what she doesn't eat, but this time I didn't even get crumbs, she totally finished her dinner). I opted for the cheeseburger + fries (and thank you Alison Cook for your review) and was delighted with the choice. The burger was cooked as requested (a standing joke with me because I like beef "burned" = way beyond well done) and surprisingly was served cut into 2 parts which I appreciated because the burger would have been more than a handful (and I have big hands) had it been served "whole". I'd grade the burger as A+ and the fries as B++ (only because they weren't piping hot probably because it took awhile to properly and completely eat the burger) but I assue you that I ate every single fry (and wanted more). Based on Michael's suggestion, we opted for the cinnamon bread pudding (with vanilla ice cream) with 2 spoons and both spoons were used to clean the plate. Can't speak highly enough of Michael, great guy and if he represents the overall service at Relish you will really enjoy the place. Highly recommend Relish Restaurant & Bar, it's fine if you're dressed to the "nines" or show up in shorts + Polo shirt (me), you can not go wrong with either the food or the...

I met some friends here on a weekend as it’s one of their favorite places to go to in Houston. I came there a few minutes early ahead of our reservation, and noticed Valet outside. There were a few parking spots also blocked off for Valet Parking. The parking lot was shared with Chuy’s and other stores. After going inside, I was greeted and asked if I had a reservation. I waited for a little bit before requesting to sit at a table. A few minutes later, my friends joined me, and upon which time a waiter had greeted us and asked if we wanted any drinks. My friends ordered an Old Fashioned and wine whereas I ordered a You Can’t Buy A Backbone. We also ordered Deviled Eggs and Raw Gulf Coast Oysters for appetizers. I also ordered a Pappardelle & Mushrooms for dinner.

The service from our waiter was great. My friends really enjoyed their drink. Mine was alright. The deviled eggs were interesting. They were topped with fried chicken and a maple syrup glaze. I was a big fan of the fried chicken and maple syrup portion. I haven’t had oysters in over 5 years so I was educated on the best way to eat these by friends. The oysters were served with cocktail sauce, hot sauce, crackers, and a pepper sauce on the side. We had four oysters each. Two of the oysters had cocktail sauce and hot sauce on top, which made it quite good. The oyster without any sauces on top was pretty salty for me. The oyster with the pepper sauce was interesting; it wasn’t spicy by any means. The pappardelle & mushrooms was quite small in terms of quantity. It was very flavorful and the 3 different kinds of mushrooms (choice mushrooms picked by the chef) present in the dish were quite tasty. They definitely gave a hint of an umami profile.

I recommend you stop by and give this...