Cutten Kitchen — Restaurant in Jersey Village

Came across a Nextdoor post praising this restaurant so I added it to my list. We stopped by on a Wednesday around 2 PM and the place was pretty empty, perhaps we beat the lunch crowds. This is a counter service restaurant which means you order and pay for your food before you sit down. If you're a first timer, check out their menu to get an idea of the dishes they have available so that you're not overwhelmed while at the counter. We placed our order and headed over to get our drinks. They have an ice tea machine that offers sweet tea, black tea, green tea and some other tea. There's one fountain drink station with your basic drinks. I could see having just one drink station becoming a nuisance during the busy hours. We grabbed our drinks and headed to our table. The place is spacious and very clean. There was good music playing at the perfect level, not too low, not too loud. Within a matter of minutes, the same gentleman who took our order was bringing out a dish, but it wasn't a dish we ordered. He told us it was a complimentary bite, similar to when restaurants offer you chips and salsa. When he set the tray down, we knew it was cornbread. This cornbread was different, it was GOOD! It was moist and had a honey buttery crispy layer to it. I mean, it was delicious. Just as we inhaled the last piece, our appetizer, spinach artichoke dip, was on its way. It was served nice and hot with colored chips. I will admit I feel like it lacked a little salt, but my husband didn't think so. Everyone's taste buds are different, so I just added salt to the pieces I ate so I wouldn't ruin it for my husband. While we enjoyed our appetizer, our main meals were being served. I opted for the SW Salad and added avocado. He had the chicken fried steak with corn and mashed potatoes. While my salad was good, I would have preferred for my blackened chicken to be hot instead of being served cold. The warmth of the chicken would have balanced the salad well since there was too much cold going on from the lettuce and other veggies. I know, I know, I said my salad was good, and it truly was, but I would have also enjoyed a spring mix or spinach base instead of the greens it was served with. My husband's food was delicious. Seasoned well and the temperature of the food was spot on. The thickness of the breading on the chicken fried steak was the perfect ratio. The mashed potatoes were good, again, I felt they needed a little salt, while my husband thought otherwise. The corn is lightly charred, giving it that Mexican street corn taste. While we ate, a waiter checked on us periodically, refilling our drinks as needed. The same guy who took our order and brought out the very addictive corn bread approached us to see how our dining experience was going and what we thought about the food. We then found out they've only been open for 3 weeks and he was the owner, Tulio. He was very kind and super excited about his restaurant. Not going to lie, we were excited for them too! We will become regulars and wish Tulio and his...

I want to start by acknowledging that the first time I went to Cutten Kitchen, it was a good experience. Also, the staff was very friendly (both times). I liked Cutten Kitchen the first time I went so I chose to go back for my birthday lunch on Sunday, September 21st. We had a party of 15. The first issue was that our table wasn't ready. However, this was somewhat understandable. They had a party of 25 before us who, apparently, had been there for over three hours. We did get seated about 20 minutes past our time and they offered us a complimentary round of mimosas (which were good). There was a little drama around the complimentary mimosas. One person told us we'd get them, then our server was like, "Eh I don't know, I have to ask the owner." Understandable, but there are just some conversations that should happen without guests knowing (in my opinion). No silverware. We were given plasticware because our server (I believe her name was Ty) informed us that they didn't have any that was clean. No water. We asked at least 3 times for water. Ty was taking our orders and we still had no water at the table. No plates. They give cornbread (which is good!). We did not get plates! Eventually she brought out one plate and two bowls. There was a time when I looked over and saw my guests eating off of napkins. This is when I left the table and asked to speak with the manager. I ended up talking with the owner. I explained everything to him. He was apologetic and acknowledged our server needed help. He did come by the table and brought silverware. We also got water after this point. Two of my guests ordered greens and Ty said she would bring out a sample so they can see if they liked it. I thought this was nice. They liked the greens and said they wanted them. Still Ty brought out their meals without greens but green beans instead. They use the portable points of service. With every guest who was paying, she explained what percent of gratuity they could add. When asked if gratuity was included (which I knew it was because of the size of our party), she said yes but that was "house gratuity" and she wouldn't get any of that money. This was extremely unprofessional. And to make it worse, she hovered over people to look at what they were paying as they were using the portable point of service. Again, unprofessional. At other restaurants who use the same system, they will literally turn their backs while you complete your payment or they will briefly walk away.

I really do want Cutten Kitchen to succeed. And I will be going back because, again, the food is good and the people are nice. I am not sure if it is the place for large parties though. The last time I came we did have a large party, but there were two separate servers helping. It was an unfortunate experience, but I do appreciate the owner and other members of the staff stopping by to check on us and work to...

Words can’t fully express how disappointed I am with our visit to Cutting Kitchen. My fiancé and I had been eyeing this place for a while and were genuinely excited to finally try it. But nothing could have prepared us for the experience we had.

We arrived at 2:42 PM and were seated promptly, but we sat there completely ignored. It wasn’t until 3:01 PM, nearly 20 minutes later, that my fiancé had to flag someone down just to get noticed. The first staff member he tried to stop actually walked right past us without a word. Thankfully, another lady eventually came over and took our order.

We ordered two mimosa flights—one tropical and one traditional—as well as the shrimp and catfish with grits. My fiancé ordered the seafood combo, which came with shrimp, catfish, and chicken tenders, plus mac and cheese and mashed potatoes on the side.

At first glance, the food looked promising. But that illusion quickly shattered once we started eating. • The fried catfish had little to no seasoning. • The blackened shrimp were completely bland—no flavor at all. • The grits were actually really good, one of the only bright spots on my plate. • The mac and cheese on the seafood platter? Absolutely awful. Probably the worst I’ve ever tasted in my life. • The mashed potatoes were surprisingly decent, easily the best thing on my fiancé’s plate. • The catfish on his platter was just okay. • The fried shrimp lacked any flavor and—you get only two of them. • The chicken tenders were the biggest disappointment: no batter whatsoever. What was supposed to be crispy seemed to have fallen off into the fryer, because it did not make it to the plate. • The mimosa flights looked great but tasted like flat, sugary Kool-Aid—definitely not what you expect from a mimosa. Totally underwhelming.

Let’s not forget the complimentary cornbread we were given upon arrival. Supposedly one of their signature items? It was cold, flavorless, and dry. Honestly, boxed Jiffy cornbread would have been better. That alone should’ve been our red flag.

The waitress who finally served us was kind, and the atmosphere of the location itself is nice, but that’s where the positives end. Our entire visit was a complete disaster, from the lack of service to the disappointing food.

We will not...