Tad's Louisiana Cooking — Restaurant in Katy

It's truly too much to type, but we are done patronizing Tad's Katy and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Management and staffing shortages continues to be an ongoing problem for the restaurant's ability to maintain repeat customers and quality of food. The service of our waitress was the worse we've ever experienced while visiting to the point where we questioned if she was ill due to her lack of engagement. $230 tab and 4 of the 7 of our entrees were boxed up to go home and feed our dog and it's possible he will not eat the ribeye steak. Food was either over salted or lacked flavor in the batter. Crawfish, potatoes and corn were good in size, but lacked flavor. Steak was not cooked to the requested temperature. Had to ask for ketchup for fries multiple times. Catfish entree was too salty to eat and didn't bother asking to remake it. We had to get our own silverware due to the lack of server attention. Requested ranch for salad and was given tartar sauce. Had to find another server to refill our drinks. Crawfish fondue was cold and chunky and sent it back to be warmed in microwave! Once returned, we didn't have a spoon to serve it out. My husband went to bring everything to the manager's attention in private, but as soon as he walked away, the manager spoke to our waitress and thereafter, her demeanor changed. But not for the better. She came across irritated, but we still weren't sure. However, never once did the manager visit our table to address the concerns that were shared which would have been expected as a way to resolve the problem and show support for the waitress in case she was having an off day. No clue. The ball was simply dropped on so many levels even for a family friendly establishment, friendly service is required. We never received any apologies but noticed a $57 mgr discount on the tab. When asking my husband what the discount was for, it was then that he told the rest of the table that he spoke to the manager in private and maybe he decided to take something off? But, again, no clue because the resolution was never communicated from the manager nor did anyone take responsibility for the negative experience that we encountered. 4 adults and 3 small children at the end of the day is not uncommon for a suburban restaurant in Katy on a Friday evening. We didn't think our waitress was overwhelmed based on the amount of staff that was walking around, so we couldn't pinpoint where the problem came from. However, it is an ongoing and will continue to be the reason why people leave our neighborhood for better options rather than continue with weekly visits. Such a beautiful place that used to be a staple in Katy, Texas. Immediately at the start of the evening, we all questioned each other on why do we continue to come here when we know the service and food is lacking. We thought to give just one last try, but never again. We never got a name for our server, but pretty sure the manager for the evening of April 11, 2025, can look into this review and hopefully work to improve customer service and...

I really hate complaining, especially with the current staffing issues, but our experience last night was pretty painful. I haven't eaten in the restaurant in a few years (mediocre service then from what I remember), but I do at times get food to go through the drive thru when I'm craving a po-boy. This food isn't the best cajun ever, but it's close by my house and it is decent enough when I need an oyster fix. Last night I decided to take my kids around 6pm thinking it would be a quick, easy dinner for a Sunday night. We arrived to a not so busy restaurant and were seated outside. My kids were playing in the green space so ordering wasn't urgent. However, after what was at least 20 minutes with no server (and other waiters and hostess's passing us by) , I went in to ask for someone to help us. A girl came out to take our drink order and I assumed all was well. When she returned with our drinks, she asked if we were ready to order food (yes, more than ready). I ordered raw oysters to start and the remainder of our food (a po-boy and two kids meals). After a short bit she returned to say they did not have oysters. I asked if she meant completely or just for the half shell? She said just raw, so I asked for gumbo to start instead. She then returns AGAIN to clarify the kids meals. ANNND back again to ask if I want my po-boy stuffed or not; when I ask her what the difference is, she says "I have no idea, I'm just a hostess". AWESOME. She puts our order in, and we continue to wait. I finally get a real server some 10 minutes later who asks if we have been helped yet eye roll. All in all we are there over an hour before we received any food—the table next to us was seated, ordered, and received food in under 30 minutes. When our (what I assume to be) real waitress brought the main food, I had yet to receive the gumbo, so I took that to mean the hostess I ordered with didn't place it which was fine by me because at this point I'm just ready to leave. The waitress let me know they were still waiting on the gumbo which didn't come out until we were halfway through our main meal. I didn't eat it because I was already full, but more so because it was a far cry from decent both looks and taste wise. This is the only instance I've ever been inclined to ask for my money back for part of the food or the only instance where I felt the need to NOT tip at all (I did, because I felt bad for the waitress). I do understand that places are short staffed, but this was more than that. There were enough people passing us by without helping us and an obvious lack of service at the tables surrounding us. The table next to us was told the restaurant ran out of ice for their iced tea and that someone was going to the gas station to get more. The table behind me had to ask for someone to come take their order. And the table to the other side sat dirty with empty crawfish shells the entire NINETY minutes we were there. I won't be returning, at...

Phew, after hearing from a friend what great crawfish Tad’s had, my family was super excited to try this place out for AYCE, especially since I’m from Louisiana and love Cajun food.

We were sadly disappointed.

Food wise, the kids shrimp was delicious, our daughter loved it. But the crawfish were inconsistent, sometimes dusted with seasonings, other times no dusting at all, one round was almost inedible due to the salt content. Temperature of crawfish was inconsistent as well, sometimes being really hot to other round being like warm. Knowing it was late in the season, we expected the shells to be tough, but some were almost impossible to peel and many claws uncrackable. Size of crawfish was the only saving grace.

Nonalcoholic drink menu was non-existent, so didn’t know what they offered and server didn’t know prices. The Coke was crisp and cold, though very ice heavy, with good carbonation annd syrup ratio and the water was high levels of calcium that even lemon could not hide.

Bathrooms were okay and kid friendly as it did have a changing table in the handicap stall, though the toilet paper was pulled out of its dispenser and set on the changing table.

The service we received though is the reason we will not return. It took almost 15 minutes and having to go ask the hostess who our server was for the server to appear. I could understand if it was busy, but it was late afternoon and most of the restaurant was empty.

I also saw the server just texting on their phone in the kitchen entry while we were waiting but didn’t know that they were our server yet.

We had to constantly and repeatedly ask for drink refills multiple times after they came to our table without our drinks and flag the server down as they rarely checked in. They would not fully bus the table, even though we would neatly put everything we were finished with at the end of the table. Behind our table though, I watched as the server gave great service to two other tables. It felt...