Tree Garden — Restaurant in Houston

I never want to post a bad review about a place with a great ambience and large portions but the food tonight was extremely lacking. I’ve eaten at several Korean restaurants in Houston and Philadelphia and went to Korea years ago and was completely blighted by this experience at Tree Garden. We decided to go to this resturant because they were opened late and wanted Korean food. It’s a nice place and feels very relaxed when you walk it. It smelt amazing in there and the menu was VERY LARGE. We ordered the jajangmyeon and jjampong and the portions were HUGE. Enough for 4 people. But it was disappointing and tasteless. In the jjampong the octopus was sour and not kimchi sour like no longer good sour. The broth was more watery. The jajangmyeon didn’t have that black bean flavor that I was so used to, it was saucy but no flavor in the sauce. The meat was minced but there was no flavor in the meat as well. It was just disappointing. After eating 2-3 bites trying to get the flavor, We told the waiter that we didn’t like the food and we were given the receipt with the dishes still on there. We refused to pay because we really ate 2-3 bites trying to find the flavor.

After this the owner said that it was okay and that we didn’t have to pay but he demanded we pay the waiter a tip and basically made us feel like were just Americans who never experienced Korean food therefore didn’t know what we were talking about.

This was too much and I didn’t want to defend myself when it comes to flavor so I just remained silent. While I still paid the tip. I will NOT be coming back due to this.

The menu felt like a diverse set of cuisine but it’s a lot and in some areas some dishes aren’t held up to the same standards as others.

However, I understand that Tree Garden is known more for their BBQ and soups rather than their noodles. So in no way do I discourage people to NOT go even though I had a bad experience. However, these two dishes are very bad and would recommend going to a resturant that specializes in noodles. Like Paik Noodles or even the Hmart food court (sorry) because I know it...

Reviewed on Feb 10, 2025

Being consistent is one of the essential elements to produce good cuisine. Unfortunately, Tree Garden has failed to meet this basic rule while preparing food.

We have been this restaurant fairly frequently since we posted an earlier review (below). My wife and I went for lunch today.

Foremost, one of the small dishes, glass noodle, was spoiled. I was shocked that the chef did not notice it. I had to ask the server to take it away.

We ordered seafood tofu soup. Only one clam and one mussel (previously frozen) could be found in the soup and the soup was plain without flavor whatsoever. How could this common dish be prepared without slim passions? We were buffed why the “chef” missed adding shrimp, kimchi, sesame oil, Korean chill powder, onion etc. into the soup!

We also ordered fried flounder. It was greasy and it tasted plain. Apparently, the “chef” did not spend time preparing for it.

Overall, quality of food is awful, although the service remains strong.

Reviewed in 2024 We have been S. Korea as well as many Korean Resturants in NY, Atlanta, and LA. It is by far one of the best resturants in terms of food, service, and atmosphere. Each dining party has its own private spot (not be interfered by other diners). The servers are extremely friendly. The way they handle bills showed Korean tradition. Of course, the food is excellent. My wife and I had octopus hot pot and Korean-style pork knuckles. We knew they were more for two. We will come again with our...

I have been looking for a really good Korean restaurant near our house for months now. I'm a vegetarian so it's been really hard for me to find a delicious kimchi tofu soup. We found this restaurant that has vegetarian options and I had to try. When we first walk in, every table has it's own little private area. We were guided to our table where there's also a small call button whenever we need service. The restaurant is clean and there are nice live plants all around the area that are being well taken cared of. That's good feng shui you know. =) The placed the spoon and chopsticks inside a plastic bag which shows how clean they are. The ajummas would come take our order and serve our dishes. They are so nice and thoughtful. One ajumma gave our baby boy some seaweed pieces just for him to munch on. So sweet of her! It didn't take long for the food to all come out at once. My husband ordered the chives pancake and he said it is pretty good. He also ordered the instant noodle bowl which he liked. We both think the spicy level is perfect. You can taste the spiciness but not too much to where you can't eat more. I ordered the kimchi tofu soup and it's so flavorful!! Mmm....I loved it! At the end, they helped us pack our food nicely to go and gave each of us, even our baby, a cup of drink that's cleansing. I highly recommend this place if you're looking for a nice Korean food! We're definitely coming back often and will...