The Lymbar — Restaurant in Houston

They changed from peanut oil to canola oil recently! Thankfully! Several dishes still have nuts, though. Any kale is around a lot of nuts so I was recommended not to have it.

We made a reservation for three for Houston Restaurant Week and were easily seated. The seats vary in comfort - one of us sat on a couch and it wasn't that comfortable.

The overall mood of the restaurant is a date night vibe for sure. Warm lighting, intimate environment.

Order-to-Drinks: 15 Minutes Order-to-Appetizers: 16 Minutes Order-to-Entree: 42 Minutes Order-to-Dessert: 58 Minutes

Empanadas: The Monte Cristo (4/5) was a great surprise. Tart, a touch of sweet, with the meatiness after. The Spinach Feta (3.5/5) was okay, but the cilantro dip was surprisingly good with the hummus.

Fried Chicken Chicharrones (3/5): A little overrated. Basically popcorn chicken, but worse. The golden barbecue sauce definitely carried it. Very sharable though.

Hummus (5/5): We ordered this off the Houston Restaurant Week menu from the good reviews, and would wholeheartedly recommend. Portions excellent, delicious, packed with toppings. One criticism is that it would've been more excellent with a touch of citrus, like lemon.

Tempura Fish Tacos (3.5/5): Carried by the hoisin sauce. Also could've used a touch of citrus, like lime.

Plantain chicken with sweet potato puree (3/5): A little too rich (heavy cream?) on the puree. Chicken portion is small.

Arroz Paella (3.5/5): We felt it could've used more seasoning. It was pretty good, but could've used more protein.

Desserts - It's insane that they have four options for HRW and they ran out of two. We only had the options of Tres Leches (3.5/5) and Alfajores (3/5). The Tres Leches had a very nice Italian meringue but we found it a bit dry. The Alfajores are like tiny shortbread macaroons.

Overall, it was a nice meal with inKind credits but I don't think I'd return at menu price. I'm shocked they ran out of desserts so early...

i found about this place in the weekly houston newsletter you get in your mailbox. i am not used to latin american food, but the reviews and delicious menu made me want to give it a try. and this was the only restaurant that was opened at 10pm on a saturday night - they close at midnight and their kitchen closes at 10:30pm btw.

Anyways good thing we made a reservation. Complimentary valet for the restaurant. It's located inside Ion but you can access the restaurant from the outside as well (leads to the bar area).

We were seated promptly, a table between the bar and the "main" - usually i wouldn't like to sit in a spot like that but the layout/cozy vibe made it okay. loved the burnt orange velvet chairs 🧡

We got the pan seared snapper, the chicken ballotine and the spinach feta empanada. As for drinks, a bottle of prosecco rose. Literally all plates were delicious. The snapper and rice paired so well together with the sauce, the chicken and the sweet potato puree combo was amazing, and the empanada was a must! at the end we got mini macaron dessert which was so delicious.

It can be a bit loud but not to the point where you have to yell at each other - i like the cozy vibe overall. and the service was outstanding, our server, didn't catch his name but, was friendly welcoming and professional.

Def will come back!!! Want to try new plates and their...

OMG so loud! Do not come here, as we did, hoping for a romantic environment to savor the flavors of David Cordua's foray into the Houston restaurant scene.

It is a bar that serves creative dishes. And when it's packed, you have to yell to be heard, especially when they layer live jazz on top of the ever-increasing volume of the bar patrons. My wife and I had to text each other across the table as verbal communication would have required an uncivilized bellowing.

The menu choices are basically Churrascos meets Dimassi's, with middle eastern staples peppering the Latin-influenced entrees (such as chicken shawarma tacos).

But, sadly, the magic just wasn't there. We're a couple that has been spoiled by Amėricas and took a gamble that The Lymbar would build on that foundation. To us, it didn't pay off.

The lamb chops lacked flavor, except when the chimichurri stepped in. The bed of tabbouleh was interesting; tasty, but very heavily salted.

The service wasn’t noteworthy. It was neither exceptional nor neglectful. Of course, deprived of the distraction of talking with my wife, the wait for service seemed much longer.

If someone was having a happy hour, I'd have no qualms about going back. But if I want a nice dinner, I'm going to go somewhere I can actually converse...