The Library — Restaurant in Houston

I wish I could say I had a good experience, and I had a great time the first time I visited, but it really was not pleasant during my recent visit.

I came in looking for a white wine to gift somebody. Although no one greeted me when I walked in or came up to me while I was looking, I found two bottles that I was interested in and wanted to inquire about.

I went up to the bar to ask about the prices and the person at the bar said “I don’t know, I’ll have to look it up.” I’m pretty sure it’s implied when there’s a large menu and I’m asking for price, I’m not expecting you to know the price off the top of your head.

The person looks up the prices and shows them to me, I ask about tasting notes for each wine to get more info and see which one I’d like to purchase. I ask further about one of the wines, and if they have any others of that type that are popular, as I wasn’t sure if I wanted that exact one. The person says “Oh, this isn’t a good place for popular.”

At this point, I’m upset and just ask, “Ok, which of them do you like?”

When I asked what was popular, I did not want to know if they had nationally popular wines…I meant which wines of that type are popular at this shop. The whole interaction was off-putting, and came with an air of pretentiousness that I really did not appreciate.

I come in on a Thursday night after a workout class to support a local business and learn more about wine, and I am not even given the time of day when I enter, nor am I given the basic respect one expects when asking questions about what they carry and what people like at the shop.

I left with a bottle but will likely not return - happy to take my business to other wine shops that are friendly and appreciative of questions. It’s a...

Crappy first experience. We live so close and heard great things. Arrived and were told there were no tables available so we could wait at the bar. First problem, where? There was already another couple standing in the only standing room available at the bar. We squeezed in at the midpoint where a single chair had been left open. I guess because I sat in the chair we then forfeited any possibility of getting a table. So second problem, my husband stood at the bar the entire time we were there. We were given menus and someone did help us with wine choices but it was all downhill from there. We weren’t given water even after we ordered food. The flatbread was good but by then it was clear we would not be seated, there were no other bar seats available, and we weren’t going to get anything, much less water, unless we flagged someone down for it. Multiple staff stood directly across from us wiping glasses for 20 min and didn’t say a single thing to us. The final straw was when we saw people who had just walked in get seated at the bar, offered glasses of water, and were engaged with immediately by bar staff. I was fuming. I can understand a busy bar but this is a nice place with prices to match. The experience was unacceptable. We were planning to stay longer and order more but once it was clear that our situation wasn’t going to change, forget it. Why pay more for bad service and a crappy atmosphere? Disappointing. Don’t bother if you’re looking for the “cozy” and “attentive” experience described by others. I’m trying to figure out if those people came at a special time or when there were different people working…. The whole thing left a bad taste...

Don't just look at the good reviews. Look at the lowest ones. First time and really bad experience. They were super packed which should be expected on a Saturday night. Clearly a case of bad management and understaffed. If you need to make it reservation only to to control the flow of guests and figuring out how to best serve them, then do that. They had way too few people working to service that amount of guests. You have to have a proper number of servers, food runners, and bussers. Whoever is managing or owning this place needs to figure it out because word is going to get around and it's going to tank. The service is abysmal. One of the people working there was extremely rude and very insulting in her attitude and her facial expressions at us. Yes the wine is nice, the charcuterie, the setting, etc. We're in Houston so there are literally dozens and dozens and dozens of choices around. The way to set yourself apart is through superb service. People go to wine bars to learn about wine and food. You won't get that experience here. Why am I spending $100 when I could spend it elsewhere and have a way better service and experience? Some better options with better service are Montrose Cheese and Wne...