White Oak Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Houston

A co-worker and I visited White Oak Kitchen for lunch On Good Friday after seeing the flyer for the "White Oak Turns 3" event and were super excited as this is one of our favorite films AND we have been to White Oak twice and really enjoyed it (in spite of the not so great yelp reviews).

Upon our arrival the festivities were rolling and we really hoped to be able to partake in the fun listed below regarding the swag items and ice cream sandwiches and did our best to arrive as close to those time frames, while observing our lunch hour. Normally with events the staff is there to WORK, greet and encourage guests to take part in the event as well as inform them of what else is happening for the special occasion(i.e. Sig. cocktails etc..) . Instead we felt VERY ignored, not only when we approached the tables outside of the restaurant but even more when we went inside and attempted to be seated.

We walked in an NO ONE was at the front counter to greet and seat us. I literally picked up two menus and we sat ourselves. NO ONE noticed. Moments later a waiter appeared and rushed us to order, as if White Oak was about to close at 12:30p. We were so rushed and uncomfortable that we simply ordered the chicken tortilla soup in an effort to get in and get out! The servers were short with us as if this wasn't a good time to have come in for lunch because we're having a party, or as if the restaurant was full. With there being possibly 4 other full tables in the entire restaurant we couldn't figure out what was going on and were super disappointed and frustrated at that point.

When asking our server tell us more about what's was going on today (although we already knew) he couldn't tell us. But he did tell us that "we need to go out there [party area], if we had questions about that event".. We were DONE at that point but before I left I had to used the ladies room. As I walked out of the restaurant and down the hall to the ladies room I noticed the manager (role/title assumption - Asian female in horizontal stripped, pastel colored dress) was over the moon when the red bull girls arrived. which made me think, you should welcome your customers with that same enthusiasm because we are actually...

We were here for Mother's day brunch and frankly the staff could not cope with this busy occasion. Despite making a reservation and arriving on time, we were told that we would face a 20 minute delay being seated. As we waited in line outside the restaurant in the mall we overheard party of 4 who had already been waiting 45 minutes past their reservation. It took several discussions with the staff but we got seated "only" 30 minutes late. There were a lot of unhappy lunch parties waiting around us.

With that mess behind us, things improved. Despite being based in a hotel in a shopping mall the interior ambiance is upscale. The menu choice was good and our order was taken promptly. The food was delicious. Mother's Day seemed to have gotten back on track.

When it was time to leave, the waitstaff were posted missing. I eventually caught someone's eye and asked for the check. 5 minutes later I caught another eye an again asked for the check. When the check did not arrive after asking a third time, I had to go to the front desk and ask the maitre'd for the check. To my surprise and to her great credit she waived the entire bill.

On a 'regular' day I can imagine this would be a good place to eat. I would avoid it like the plague...

We had a HORRIBLE experience with this restaurant. I was in a group with four ladies and we were guests at the Westin. We arrived at the restaurant at 9:55am. We were seated and a gentleman took our drink orders. When he brought my water the glass had food build up in several spots. I told him could I please have another. He was kind and said yes but DID NOT bring it back. It took our server(Dixie) 20 plus min to come and greet us. She also was kind as she was taking our orders. It took ONE HOUR for our food to come. Not once were we addressed about the wait or if we needed anything else. The food came out and it was delicious ( although still no water and there was an orange juice ordered that never made it) after waiting almost an hour and a half from the time we arrived!!! Unbelievable service, it was HORRIBLE!!! It took them another 30 minutes for them to get the checks correct between only four people. We finally left the restaurant at 12:06.... We were very irritated and unsatisfied with the service that we received. There are to many good restaurants with GREAT food and SERVICE in Houston to ever go back here!! This was our disappointing...