Sawyer Ice House — Restaurant in Houston

TL;DR: Never tried this place before. The food was good, but they were very unprepared for an ALCS, potentially pennant-clinching Astros game and we closed out before the game started because of it. Could have been a one-off, but we were disappointed because the other ice houses in the area (West Alabama, Memorial Trail, Kirby) always have great turnouts, especially during playoff games, so we were excited to try this one.

Long Version: The service was fine, just like any other bar, but we had never been here and decided to try it out for Game 6 of the ALCS. We got there like an hour and a half to two hours early because it was a potential pennant game and we knew everywhere with a decent patio was going to be crowded and hard to park at.

They had normal 5pm Sunday music playing inside and out and the TVs inside were playing NFL games. We were excited because the patio vibes were great and there were 4 TVs behind protective weather covers. None of them were on yet, so about an hour before the game, we asked if they could open them.

At first, the bartenders said they weren’t able to, which was strange considering what day it was, so we called our friends on the way telling them to find another patio bar. A couple minutes later, they came out and said they could only open one TV, but said they weren’t even sure if they got the channel (it was on Fox Sports). They ended up getting it, but couldn’t get the sound on, so we closed out and met up with our friends at another place.

Other people were starting to show up before we left, but we could see them do the same sequence of motions of walking to the bar, asking a question and pointing in the general upward direction of a TV, and then calling someone.

One girl who was leaving did say they’ve come here for Astros games before and it’s usually been fine, but it was just very weird and disappointing that a sports bar with a great patio and 4 TVs outside was not prepared to host a potential...

UPDATE: Still no response

I wrote the following rewiew on March 30, 2024. I received a response 4 days ago stating that I must have them confused for a business in Spring.

My reponse to your comment: You must have me confused with someone who does not know the difference between Spring and Houston. I know EXACTLY what location I am reviewing, and where I was when I experienced your inferior service - SAWYER ICE HOUSE at 1420 Sawyer Street, Houston, Texas 77007. So, I kindly ask that you do not underestimate my intelligence. Please feel free to contact me for additional clarification, until then I will keep posting my reviews highlighting your horrible service and lack of professional follow up.

Mar 30, 2024Previous review Alexia, female with purple/lavender hair was rude and dismissive from the moment I walked in. I ordered the fried pickles and didn't like them, I returned them and she refused to take them off of my bill. She also refused to provide me with the contact information for the manager on duty and I had to ask her to stop speaking to me. This was my first and last time here, sadly. She left a horrible impression. With so many options in the immediate area, please go elsewhere. However, Tarlene was very sweet, fire Alexia.

UPDATE: the manager removed the fried pickles but stated that he was informed that we are most of the food, which is not true (photo added)

UPDATE 2: My total was $36.81 now I have two charges on my card for $14.07 and $48.72. When I called the manager answered and said the additional charges would fall off but did not give an explanation or a timeline. When asked for his name he said that he was the manager that helped us earlier and refused to provide his name, when we said that we did not get his name he said "good" and hung up. With no name, I can only describe him as an Asian man...

Reposting because apparently the original post been taken down.

I have zero respect for this place now. One of the male bartenders, Shane, decided to use profanity towards me when he got into a bad mood. He decided to be super aggressive towards me, using the “B” word towards me in front of other patrons, even coming around the bar and getting near me. This made me very uncomfortable and there was not a single manager in sight to help with the situation. The manager, Jason, was eventually aware that this situation happened, but nothing was done to reprimand this person. I never had any issues with staff previously (I even had a previous 5 star review but took it down because it no longer reflects how I feel about the place), but it seems like all the staff that worked there previously are no longer there, making this a very unfriendly and unwelcoming environment. The drinks tend to be overpriced and come out okay depending on who makes it. The food can be a hit or miss. I don’t think it’s a place worth coming to anymore and I think a lot of the people who used to frequent this place will stop showing up...