Fernando's — Restaurant in Sugar Land

Fernando's is a Latin American steakhouse along Hwy. 59 that has some of the best steaks in Sugar Land. Since it's little known, I thought I'd answer a few concerns from diners.

ATMOSPHERE: Fernando's can be the perfect place for a romantic date night or just a get out of the house dinner. Very easy to get to and park. No traffic or parking headaches. The restaurant is darkened at night, service is relax but attentive, and diners are mostly refine and quiet. Lot's of wood throughout the restaurant. Very soft 60'-70's style music in the background. Owner Fernando, helps in the kitchen and can be seen serving diners as well. Very friendly personality and if he's not busy he'll have a conversation with each table. Dining room and restrooms are very clean.

CLIENTELE: Dress code has a wide range. We've seen men in coat/tie, shirt/slacks, and others wearing jeans and sneakers. Personally, I'd say business casual and leave the sneakers at home. Women dress varies as well. Nice jeans, skirts, dresses. Diners range in age. There are older couples who are regulars and younger couples who are celebrating a special day. We usually don't see many children, but we're usually dining on weeknights. Some ask if Fernando's is appropriate for children. That all depends. Keep in mind, the actions of your children are a reflection on you as a parent. If your child can sit still and keep his/her voice low then they'll fit in. Hell, of all the years of dining we've seen more adults who are more obnoxious than any child. There are family celebrations at Fernando's just like any other restaurant. Just keep the kids from running around the tables and disturbing other diners. If they can do this, then I'm sure they'll be ok at Fernando's. Either way, I'd call them just to make sure they have something for your child to eat.

FOOD: Steaks here are the best and we've been to Perrys and Churrascos. The beef filet is consistently tender and I can literally cut it with my fork. Lamb chops are good too. They also have seafood and pasta dishes, but we alway opt for the steak or lamb chops. No ala carte ordering is required at Fernando's. We always get the "special salad" before our entree. It's fresh and served on a chilled plate. This past trip we ordered key lime pie for dessert. The pie was very good, but the whip cream was to die for. This isn't your typical cool whip/reddi whip stuff. The whip cream was dense and had just enough sweetness to blend well with the key lime pie. Regardless what a few negative posts say, Fernando's prices are not more than Perrys. Our "El Hefe" beef tenderloin came with potatoes and veggie was $38. We always spend less than what we spend at Perrys.

One final thing that needs to be mentioned. The waitstaff at Fernando's allow you to eat at a slower pace. This is normal for them and should not be consider poor service. You sit down and the waiter brings you the drink menu. Your drink comes out along with some plantain chips. They allow you to enjoy your drink and chips before bringing you the dinner menu. This happens all the time to us and it actually makes your dining experience more relaxed. It's so much better than these restaurants who want to push you to order and eat quickly. If you order a salad they actually wait for you to finish eating your salad before bringing out your entree. Again, a slower pace. They also allow you to eat your entree before asking you about dessert. Finally, they'll ask if you want to have after diner drinks or coffee before bringing out your bill. Like I said, it's a slower pace dining compared to every other restaurant in Sugar Land. So, if you're in a rush you might want to stick with Longhorn or Saltgrass. Enjoy your...

We went for a celebratory dinner.

The main dining room has a beautiful elegance with its rich wood paneling, soft lighting and pre-set tables, ready to welcome you! Slow, romantic music played in the background - Etta James' "At Last," for one.

I peeked in one of the play rooms and saw a mic set up, so that's pretty nice. Another room was cozier - it had a big table set up for an intimate meal. The bar area was set off to the side, divided by the wine section for, I assume, a more lively crowd.

There were few diners as we had an early dinner. There were complimentary fried plantain strips with a creamy, garlicky sauce (or aioli?).We shared the trio sampler and they were so kind to serve it already split. It didn't look split, more like two orders of a nicely presented appetizer.

I had my heart set on paella, to bring back lovely memories of our visit to Valencia. The chef came out and listened to me discussing with our waiter. I said I didn't want a heavy meat and thought paella would be perfect. He said with a roll of his eyes toward heaven that the corvina was so, so, very good. I was torn.

The chef said with a wave of his hand to not worry, he would do something. He came out with a plate of a smaller serving of paella and a good-sized piece of lightly battered corvina glazed with a semi-translucent sauce. A little salsa and a piece of fried plantain added the perfect touch!

The fish was very tender and moist and the sauce just gave it that delicate, extra burst of flavor!

The paella had more seafood and meats in it than I had in Valencia - mussels, shrimp, little scallops, clams, fish, tiny crawfish (or langostino?), sausage and chicken! Together, the corvina and paella made for a great combination. I was very happy!

My husband's steak, the Al Hendershot, was not thick, but it was big. He likes a steak with flavor (like a ribeye). When he took a bite and went, "Mm-m-m," I knew he was happy. It came with a side of toasted garlic bread slices.

We shared a dessert that, again, was served separately in a lovely way. There was an added surprise!

They knew it was a special night for us. Fernando's was a late dining decision, so a certain name did not make it to the restaurant's signage by the feeder of the freeway, where they welcome special celebrants.

As the chef brought out dessert, something unexpected happened - it took us quite by surprise! It was a very delightful surprise. I don't want to ruin it for any of you future celebrants, but it involves colored lights and music! It was very quick. Other diners clapped and the evening was complete!

The chef is very sociable and mingled with diners. I motioned him over and asked if he was Fernando. He coyly responded with a smile that he could be.

We may have to bring others here when there's reason to celebrate, just to see their...

Fernando’s has a nice ambiance, but that was about it. For an expensive restaurant like this, you expect a certain level of service and experience. When we sat down, it took forever for waiters to come take our drink orders, and when we asked any questions, they wouldn’t know the answer at all. The drinks were atrocious, I ordered a whiskey sour and others ordered old fashions, all of which were poorly made. The food did taste good, however, for the price, the quality and quantity wasn’t there at all. Not even joking, I actually went to In-N-Out because I was still hungry after we left. Another thing to keep in mind, which we weren’t told, you get charged extra for the “free”plantain chips if you ask for more and they charged a liquor tax. Overall, my experience wasn’t great and I don’t recommend going there.

Response to the owner: Not once did I bring up the price being too expensive, and for you to lay out our bill on a public site is childish. It wasn’t specified ever that the plantain chips were extra. And thank you for “breaking the rules” by seating us early in your restaurant which was pretty empty. With regards to my 10 oz steak which I had, it was definitely much smaller than 10 oz, and please don’t hit me with the 10 oz before it’s cooked because I understand that. My mom got the 6 oz steak and it looked almost the exact same size as that one, yet we were charged double the price. And to let you know, we were having a good time because we spent time with family...