Houston's — Restaurant in Pasadena

I decided to take my dad here for a nice lunch on the 4th of July. It's been a stressful time for us and I wanted to get us a nice, encouraging little escape for the holiday, and I trusted Hillstone Restaurant Group in particular in this regard because one of their restaurants in NorCal (Los Altos Grill) is one of the best and classiest restaurants I've ever been to, and that restaurant is locally known for their kind staff and positive atmosphere. I trusted that the same would be true of Houston's. We arrived at 11:30 AM and the restaurant was less than half full (perhaps because of the holiday), and the front desk folks and the wait staff were very friendly. The restaurant is also very spacious, nicely decorated, and with a good-sized parking lot out front. The food itself was ok; my dad's ribeye steak was very rare even though he asked for medium rare, and the barbecue ribs I ordered were a bit disappointing, as the ones at Los Altos Grill are much meatier. All that is forgivable, but overall I don't believe it was worth the money. The food also took about 40 minutes to arrive even though the restaurant was not busy, but hey, we can forgive that, too.

Unfortunately, the positive and encouraging experience I was seeking did not come to pass, and two days later I'm still saddened by it. As I mentioned, it's been a stressful time and my dad and I decided to give my sister a quick phone call, just to say happy 4th and to wish her well before her cancer surgery. Please note that we are not inconsiderate or obnoxious people; the call was less than one minute total (just quick well-wishes), we put the phone setting so silent I could barely even hear it amidst the buzz of the restaurant, there was no one seated at any table immediately around us, and we were not speaking any bit louder than we would be if we were just conversing with each other at the table. Not 30 seconds into the call, and in the middle of us wishing my sister well, a man (who appeared to be the head chef on this shift and who happened to walk by and saw the phone) came up to the table, kneeled down near the phone on the table, interrupted us mid-sentence, and so rudely and dismissively told us to take our call outside. The way he went about it was just so rude, disrespectful, and over the top, and his attitude was so unwarranted. My sister heard it too and it just added such a damper over what was already a sensitive time for us, when we literally came here to have a positive and encouraging escape from it all. It was all just so unnecessary. And for this to come from the head chef/guy in charge sends a message about how the whole establishment is willing to treat its customers.

If the restaurant responds to this, they'll probably say something like, "we're sorry but it is our policy not to have any phone calls in the restaurant in order to maintain an intimate environment and ensure the comfort of our guests," or something like that. To that I'd say: (1) you could at least be nice about it, and not act so rudely and without basic respect for your customers who thus far had been treating all the wait staff, etc with nothing but kindness and respect; (2) such a vitriolic response, if ever used, should at least be reserved for people who are obnoxiously blaring their speakerphone on high volume for all to hear, not to a dad and his son quietly wishing their family member well for a less than a minute on low volume; and (3) if this really is the policy, and if it's enforced to such an extreme degree (where it feels like you're in some authoritarian police state), then the policy should be posted or communicated with equal vigor beforehand. The chef's rudeness and unwarranted disrespect was just so out of line and uncalled for. We will not be coming back.

By the way, later on and I looked over, and - guess who was standing by the front counter talking on...

I am writing to express my deep disappointment and concern regarding an incident that occurred during my recent visit to Houston’s. As a long-time patron and loyal supporter of Hillstone restaurants, I have always chosen your establishments to celebrate milestones—both big and small—and regularly dine at your locations on a biweekly basis. However, the experience I had today was nothing short of humiliating and completely unacceptable. Upon arrival with a small group of friends, we were approached and attacked by one of your managers, Albert Luna. Without any courtesy or explanation, Mr. Luna informed us that our party of five could not remain at the table we had been seated at. Despite the fact that our appetizer had already been served, he insisted we relocate, but could not guarantee another table would be available and told us we might need to wait over an hour. Before we could even respond or ask for clarification, he instructed a server to remove our food from the table—mid-meal—which left us all completely baffled. What followed was even more distressing. Mr. Luna’s tone was sarcastic, intimidating and dismissive as he continued to pressure us away from the table. As we prepared to leave, his behavior escalated—he raised his voice at us in a highly disrespectful and aggressive manner, in front of other guests, including a professional client of mine who happened to be dining nearby. My client reached out later in the day asking if I was okay and how awful I was treated. As a woman, I was especially alarmed by how physically confrontational his demeanor became. He stood extremely close to me and began yelling and raising his voice that we needed to be escorted to the front, which felt unnecessarily intimidating and wholly inappropriate. Throughout the interaction, I remained calm and composed. I did not raise my voice or act disrespectful. When I politely asked for his business card to escalate the matter, he repeatedly shouted, “This conversation is over,” further disturbing nearby patrons. I walked to the front, approached him again by the kitchen area and calmly repeated my request, at which point he became visibly flustered and pushed his water bottle making it almost in his frustration. This incident has left me deeply unsettled. As someone who frequently chooses your restaurant for both personal and professional gatherings, I expect a standard of service that reflects the quality and reputation your brand represents. No guest—especially a regular, courteous patron—should ever be treated in the manner I was today. Mr. Luna is sexist, discriminatory and extremely out of line. His lack of temperament makes him unfit as a manager. Our group would happily comply with Mr. Luna's request and relocate; however, there was absolutely no need to be disciplined and attacked by Mr. Luna.

To my concern, this does not appear to be an isolated incident. A quick search of public reviews reveals similar complaints from others about Mr. Luna’s unprofessional and abrasive behavior. I am sincerely surprised that such conduct continues to be tolerated at an establishment of...

I took my wife here to celebrated our 1 year anniversary since being married. She loved this place and wanted to come here because the last time we came here was 4 years ago. So I made reservations a week ahead and had plans to already be near the area. We actually arrived to the restrauant earlier than our reservation but they were still able to seat us. The place was almost already full and they just open like 5 minutes ago. I was able to find parking easily but I'm pretty sure it can get pack quick. After we got seated, our waitress came to get our drinks menu. They don't have free bread here so we decided to go with the Ciabatta Cheese Toast. I went with a Sprite for my drink and my wife went with a Coke, keep in mind that it's the glass bottle soda so no free refill. For our entrée, I got the Hawaiian rib eye steak and my wife went with the Scottish Salmon. The food came out pretty quick especially with them being busy on a Sunday afternoon. I thought the steak was okay but it wasn't my favorite, I should've probably went with the burger. I also wasn't a fan of the French fries either, I added some black pepper and salt but it didn't help. My wife enjoyed her Salmon but she said it was much different 4 years ago so maybe they changed some ingredients. We both thought the chesse toast was okay but i would've prefer the Warm Bread Plate. The dining area is pretty nice and probably lit for a interactive dining experience. The bar is about the same as well and they have some small table over there but it will only sit 2 people. The service we received was alright, nothing for us to complain about. When we were leaving, they had a big line of people waiting to eat there so remember to always make reservation. They also have a fish pond that you can look at while waiting at the front.

My score: Food: 4 star, I thought the rib eye steak was okay and cooked perfectly to medium rare but I didn't like the flavor or fries. My wife enjoyed her Salmon which was the reason we came here.

Service: 4 star, the service we received was okay. Our waitress wasn't very talkative with us but it could be because they were busy.

Atmosphere: 4 star, the dining experience is okay and I can understand the way they set things up so your dine in experience is more interactive with no distractions

Parking: 4 star, they have a decent amount of parking spots here but when they get busy, be ready to drive around to look for parking. It's also will be difficult to get out of the parking structure because you're turning on a...