Vinoteca Poscol — Restaurant in Houston

I went to Vinoteca Poscol on a Friday evening with my girlfriend because we wanted to try something new in the Montrose area. We never knew this place existed even though it's in a pretty known area (very close to Uchi). It's definitely easy to miss as their signs are not very noticeable. They have a private parking lot, but it's valet parking only. There's a police officer guarding the restaurant at the valet, and he told me that police offers guard all 3 of the owner's restaurants just to make sure no funny business happens.

When we got inside, we noticed how dark and intimate the setting was. However, since the tables were quite close together, it was actually VERY noisy, which was unexpected for this candlelit, romantic atmosphere. We were instantly seated in the front dining area. Service was a bit slow, but it was understandable for a Friday night. Our waitress brought out bread wrapped up in paper. It didn't come with any olive oil and vinegar or even any butter, which I thought was pretty weird. We had to ask for some butter for the bread. The table did NOT have any salt or pepper either, but was also pretty bizarre. However, they had a little cup of crispy bread sticks sealed in plastic to munch on like snacks.

Overlooking the menu, we went with the sweet potato fries ($7.00), bruschette pomodoro ($5.00), caprese insalata ($11.00), and the tagliatelle bolognese ($12.00). The sweet potato fries were soft and very potato-y, which was good, but they were also kind of bland. I felt they needed some salt, but again, there was no salt or pepper on the table. The caprese salad was good, but my girlfriend did say she didn't like the presentation of it. She wishes the cheese was cut up more and it was easier to eat. The bruschette pomodoro was a big piece of bread with tomato paste smeared on it with a runny egg on top. This was pretty horrible to be honest. The tomato tasted like it came straight from a can. Avoid the bruschette here at all costs. The tagliatelle bolognese was fine, but nothing mindblasting.

Overall, the food was pretty average, although quite bland. This place is best suited as a place to drink wine and eat cheese/meats rather than for purely dining, and the food definitely proves that. Unfortunately, I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to...

I visited Vinoteca Poscol with a group of 10 friends for a birthday dinner. The restaurant itself exuded charm and had a pleasant ambiance, yet regrettably, my positive impressions ceased there.

To begin with, I anticipated a fee for bringing our own cake, but $3 per person seemed exorbitant. Whether we cut it ourselves or had the kitchen do so, the total came to $33. Typically, I've encountered fees ranging from $1 per person to a flat $10-$15 charge, making their $33 fee seem unreasonably steep.

Furthermore, the culinary experience left much to be desired, given the food's lackluster quality and inflated prices. My $20 pizza suffered from minimal toppings that slid off when I tried to pick it up, essentially resembling glorified cheese bread. Similarly, the $20 Cacio e Pepe dish struck me as overpriced for what essentially amounted to cheese and pepper tossed with pasta.

Adding to our disappointment, there were several undisclosed upcharges. Despite requesting 3 oz pours of wine, we received 6 oz pours without prior notice. Additionally, our order of a prosciutto and three-cheese board unexpectedly resulted in a doubled serving of prosciutto, costing an unexpected $28. The bill also included a $5 charge for a modest serving of bread slices.

Compounding these issues was the lack of clarity regarding payment arrangements. While we were aware that separate checks weren't an option, we confirmed with the hostess before seating that we could split the bill across different credit cards, only to find out later that each card had to be charged the exact same amount.

The apparent intent behind these additional charges, coupled with a mandatory 20% gratuity for our large party, left us feeling disregarded. The service itself was notably lackluster, with servers unable to accurately attribute dishes to their respective guests and meals arriving at our table at staggered intervals, preventing us from enjoying dinner together seamlessly.

In summary, while Vinoteca Poscol boasts an appealing atmosphere, the excessive fees, mediocre food quality, unexpected upcharges, and subpar service detracted significantly from what should have been a celebratory...

Giving two stars as the food was quite good, everything else was very disappointing. We made a reservation via Opentable for 7:30pm. I live around that area and I know there is valet on duty, so I chose to drive despite on a very tiny parking lot attached to the restaurant. First guest arrived to the restaurant at 7:35 and was denied to be parked by valet as "parking lot was full". After a short arguing, she was allowed in, and entered the restaurant 7:45. Hostess refused to give her our table saying the party has to be complete to be seated. The other two guests, including myself, arrived 7:40 and we were denied to enter the parking lot and be valet-ed by police officer on duty, for the same reason of parking being full. We have to spend almost 20 min to find parking on the streets around and walk to the venue. We got in about 7:55 - 8:00, and again were told that we can't get a table until the party is complete. When we questioned why there is such a rule, we were told that there is another party of 5, so if we are not 4, as reserved, we would get a smaller table. When we said we reserved a table and we normally would suppose to get what was reserved for us, we were told we would get a table in a minute. The next 15 min hostess just ignored us, until I asked if they actually have a table and why 45 min after the reservation we are still not seated. She said that they gave our table to someone else at 8:00pm because we were not there, which was a lie. At the end, we got a table at 8:30, one hour later. There was no any apology from the hostess, or management. First, if there is a valet on duty, you assume your parking will be taken care of, even if it has to be parked on the street. If there was no valet, I would UBER. I have to say, when we got in, there was empty parking spot right by entrance, I guess saved for someone special while other guests were turning away. Second, I do believe the restaurant gave our table away less than 10 minutes after the reservation time (and we were late because of real strange valet handling). Overall, every single part of our visit was handled very...