7Spice — Restaurant in Missouri City

From a genuine NON-biased reviewer. If you're in the mood for some cajun cooking, this place seems to be THE one in the neighborhood to try.

Tonight, I was in the mood for some spice, so I stopped by Grace's cafe first for some jerk chicken, but Grace's closed at 8:30....so, stuck in limbo, I went by Church's but thought I didn't want to eat a high priced fried meal without much flavor, so I went and sat in the parking lot at Subways while I decided on what I really wanted to eat because I wasn't in the mood for Popeye's, Church's, Subways, Timmy Chan's, Burger King, nor Dairy Queen. I pulled into the parking lot of KFC thinking I might want to eat some chicken, but when I did, I noticed a lot of cars in the parking lot next door. So I went to see where everyone was. Mostly everyone was at Wing Stop, but I decided to walk into 7 Spice Cajun Kitchen. I noticed a few people sitting down and some were being walked through the menu by the staff.

To my surprise, they offered samples of three dishes: red beans & rice, gumbo, and the etouffee. Most people won't like their gumbo because it tastes like it was seasoned with regular table salt and pepper and has a light roux gravy base. The etouffee was creamy and seasoned with a good amount of cajun spice. The red beans were REALLY good...cajun seasoned and thick and hearty. I ordered the two meat combo plate which comes with one side and a slice of Texas toast. My catfish and shrimp were cooked 'cajun' style and were deliciously seasoned just right. The fish portion is large. The shrimp are cooked butterfly style and are a nice size. I haven't tried the original or lemon herb flavors, but I enjoyed the cajun. You could see a think red layer of spice around the catfish and shrimp right under the layer of crunchy batter. I also tried their fried okra, which is cut long ways like french fries, and this too was good, crunchy on the outside, but moist on the inside, and salted just right.

I don't know what the previous reviewer disliked about this place. Might be a competitor for all I know. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm over 6 feet tall and about 250 pounds and I got full from this portion....AND I shared my food with a 7 year old. He loved the shrimp, red beans and rice, and fries. The seasoning didn't even burn his tongue. Good food. No disrespect to Catfish Willy's, but they might be the best seafood joint within a 5 mile radius. I heard there was a cajun restaurant at 1092 and Cartwright, but I haven't tried that one yet. I just know where I'll be going from now on when I have a taste for fresh spicy food and don't want to spend over $10 for a large plate. Otherwise, if you don't want to drive far from here, you gotta try Grace's Cafe jerk chicken with...

I'm guessing that I was having unfortunate dining experiences last weekend, because every restaurant missed the mark. I came here last Saturday with my dad for lunch. I picked 7Spice because I really love their fried Catfish and Shrimp. I will skip some stuff because on this visit way too much went wrong. We ordered a family meal that comes with 4 fish 10 Shrimp and 3 large sides. I asked that 2 of the fish be Blackened and the other 2 fried. You are very limited on the sides that come with the order so I ordered a Cole Slaw and Dirty Rice which are part of the regular choices. I added a Red Beans for an extra $2, since that is not a side that comes with any order. l did ask the guy at the counter how was the Fried Rice. He said that he had not had it but lots of customers ordered it. I should have stuck with what I usually get but I also ordered a Fried rice with 4 proteins. We also ordered 2 drinks. 1 fountain drink and a bottle of Crush Strawberry for me. We sat down and waited for our order. As we were waiting there were people coming in to order and pick up their orders. I went up to the counter and told the cashier to make sure that the fried rice was put into a togo box. I went to the restroom, which they have the ladies door propped open. I came back and our food was on the table. We did not have any plasticware. We had to ask for plates and they gave us togo boxes. My rice was not in a togo box as I asked. Now the guy was overwhelmed with people, so I had to wait to ask for these things that were necessary in order for us to eat. I realized that I did not have my soda so I had to go back and wait and ask for that. The Blackened catfish was very tasty. The fried Catfish was fried to hard and I could only eat the middle part because the ends which are thinner were too hard. the Shrimp was fried perfectly but flavorless(please put some seasoning.) The rice was not good nor flavorful. It has no veggies in it. It didn't taste like the multiple fried rice's that I have had. I don't know what kind of sausage they use for the rice, but they use the same for the red beans and it is not a good quality sausage. When you bite the skin of the sausage it is not really edible, if that makes sense. I don't think that I will be coming...

The food here is hands down some of the best food you can get around here. The prices are pretty reasonable also. Dining room is usually clean too. But you may be wondering why the review of only 1 star. Although the food is good the service here is some of the worst I've seen in the nation. I have eaten here several times. The service is always been bad. Inattentive staff. Very slow service. The girl at the counter Will turn her back to the customers so that she can chit chat with the other staff. That might be understandable if it were about an order or something to do with working there. But it's always something about a boyfriend or car or what they're doing next weekend. They act as if you are the one that is being rude and imposing upon them if you wish to be served. On my last visit, I did not have a lid to the soft drink and when I asked the staff they simply yelled at me to look around the corner where there were no lids. After asking the counter girl for a lid to my soft drink three times and having her call another employee over to yell at me also that the lids were just around the corner "out of sight to them" which they were not. I left angry without a lid.

If this review only considered the quality of food I would give it 5 stars. But in order to get that food you must deal with that rude inattentive staff.

In closing I must say that the food here is good enough to keep me coming back yet again knowing how bad the almost...