The Annie Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Houston

A friend and I are taking advantage of Houston Restaurant Weeks! I must admit, due to some of the recent poor reviews, I almost suggested that we avoid The Annie. I am so very glad that we didn't!

Parking: There is a bit of valet parking up front. But, there is PLENTY of parking behind the building. Just be sure to avoid the "reserved" covered spots.

Entry: Once you go inside the double doors, the restaurant is actually upstairs.

The hostess seemed to be dead inside upon first interaction, but she was in a better mood by the time we left. I hope her evening improved. There is a large, beautiful bar when you first enter (with some tables). I will definitely be back to enjoy the bar. The restaurant is quite large. There is an outdoor patio, a few side rooms (I assume to accommodate private groups/parties) and a large main dining area. The entire place is really beautiful.

We were led to a table in one of the side rooms. (Make sure to request the HRW menu if that is why you are there). Our server (Christina) was wonderful. She was just attentive enough, and knowledgeable about the menu. I had a difficult time deciding on a wine. Christina asked my preference and suggested the Francois Carillon Chardonnay (Bourgogne Blanc Burgundy, France 2018). She described it as a light, buttery wine and she was SPOT ON. (She gave me a helpful tip to remember: French Burgundy) There was someone making rounds refilling water glasses. I do wish he had made it around more often. I shouldn't have to ask for refills. This is relevant anywhere...The Annie, or IHOP. But, everything else was so wonderful, that this didn't bother me too much. Besides, I had wine!

From the HRW menu I chose: The Annie Steak Tartare (w/ Mustard Sauce & Toast), Coffee Crusted Filet Mignon (w/ Mushroom Duxelle & Aligot Potatoes) and Lemon Cake (Lemon Curd & Blueberry Compote).

I had never had steak tartare before. I was hesitant. But: 1. I wanted to try something new. 2. I enjoy a really good steak rare, so why not? Two of us at the table decided to go for it! IT. WAS. PHENOMENAL. We both agreed. Every subsequent bite seemed to taste better and better. The mustard sauce is a perfect accompaniment. I originally thought that more mustard sauce would be amazing. In hindsight, I know why there is not more sauce. It lets the tartare stand on it's own, as it should.

Everyone at the table chose the coffee crusted filet mignon as their entrée. Duh. Also, amazing. Cooked to perfection, melts in your mouth. I thought the sauce and potatoes were 'okay.' Not much flavor to either one. I honestly could have done without them. While the filet was definitely the star of this dish, the mushroom duxelle was a fabulous co-star.

Dessert was a varied bunch at our table. I was slightly disappointed in my lemon cake. The cake had a perfect lemon flavor and blueberry compote was good. However, my cake was pretty dry. Once again, everything else was so good that this wasn't a big deal for me. All 3 of us at the table tried each others/ dessert. The other two dessert were the flourless chocolate cake (chocolate coffee mousse w/ candied orange) and the vanilla bean cheesecake (candied pecans, chocolate fudge & dulce de leche). I also thought the chocolate cake was a bit dry. We all agreed that the vanilla bean cheesecake was the standout of the three desserts.

I am so very happy that I was able to give The Annie a try. That steak tartare will remain in my dreams for quite some time. I will...

I've been here many times as I live nearby. But service was extremely lacking on my visit. Brought my mother here for her birthday and I didn't feel acknowledged or welcomed. I sat at the bar while I waited on my mother to arrive and I was not acknowledged by the bartender (Kailyn) for several minutes, despite the fact that there were only a couple of other people seated at the bar aside from myself. As a matter of fact, I had to call out to her to get acknowledged. When she finally came over there was no hello nor apology for the wait. She just said what can I get for you, which took me aback. When my mother arrived we were just shown the door to the patio, no one seated us and most tables were dirty. We had to flag someone down and ask for a table to be cleared off, We sat down and we were once again not acknowledged nor greeted for over 10 minutes. I had to flag a server down who was visibly annoyed because she was tending to a large party and giving there dog rubs and a bowl of water, meanwhile we had none. This is the same server that I overheard arguing with the server that finally took care of us because before my mother arrived apparently she don't want to take the reservation. The entire time we sat there waiting on a server we saw several managers touching the other tables and being attentive to them, while we didn't have a menu nor glass of water on the table and we still had yet to be greeted! Not exactly the impression I wanted to make with my Mother for her 68th Birthday. Along came Jacob and he saved the show, he was personable, attentive, friendly and he truly saved the experience. The food was mediocre, my Mother enjoyed her dish, my salad green were rather browned as well as the avocado. But because Jacob was such a joy all was well! I hate to play the race card, but it's obvious that because we were women of color the assumption was that we wouldn't tip, but I'm in the industry and I work in fine dining so I tip above 20percent. I also refuse to spend my money where I'm not treated fairly. So for that reason I'll not patronize again! I'll also post my review to Yelp as well as social media. I Had also asked to speak to a manager but they never came over to the table. Kudos to Jacob, you're...

We enjoyed all the food we had at The Annie. The service was quite adequate. We were a large party, so they moved quickly to help us all. They were all very courteous and friendly.

Appetizers we had were the crab tostada, mushroom quesadilla, sliders, shrimp cocktail, and tuna ceviche. All great options to start a meal. The smallest portion was the crab tostadas. The largest portion was the tuna ceviche.

We also tried the ceasar salad, which was a typical ceasar salad.

A MUST TRY, if you like mushrooms, is the mushroom soup. It was the best mushroom soup EVER!

The chicken tortilla soup was a nice comforting bowl of yum. But the Alstar soup is definitely the mushroom soup. Its flavor was so complex, and the mushroom flavor was intense in the most magnificent way.

For our main course, we tried the salmon, chicken, and filet mignon. The salmon was good, accompanied by zucchini. The chicken was a bit dry, but the sauce it came with was delicious. It also came with some delicious roasted onions and potatoes. The favorite of the night seemed to be the filet mignon. It was so tender it melted in your mouth and tasted like it was grilled over a wood fire. Cooked beautifully.

Shareable sides at the table included French fries with an in-house made ketchup, and some perfectly cooked asparagus.

For dessert, we tried the bread pudding and the berry grunt with ice cream. The berry grunt was warm, and the ice cream melted onto. It was a perfect juxtaposition for a sweet, tart, hot, and cold dessert. The bread pudding was good, but needed more sauce or some ice cream. The Pecan tart I was told by a fellow diner was too much Pecan and tart, but not much of the filling that many enjoy in their Pecan pie. I personally was too full to try one-piece.

If I were to come back, the perfect evening meal would start with the crab tostada, followed by the mushroom soup, then the steak with asparagus, finishing up with the...