Scholars & Scoundrels Bar and Grill Elyson — Restaurant in Texas

Boy oh boy did I have so many bad experiences and complaints about this place in the past but always kept it to myself until tonight. The accumulation of frustration finally met its end. I can remember when they were anticipated to be opened outside my neighborhood and eagerly awaited after months of delays of opening and kept on counting down on the days until it opened checking in frequently with neighbors and their online presence. Then, once it opened, it went all downhill from there.

1st Visit: I first went here with my wife once they finally opened for steak night. The steak was just weird and did not even have the texture of steak. If I had to describe it, it was more like grinded meat and similar to salisbury steak, the kind you buy from the frozen aisle at your local grocery store for a quick night microwave snack. The rest of the appetizers and food also wasn't good, but we told ourselves that the establishment was new and to give them another try at one point.

2nd Visit: Last year, our daughter graduated from high school, and we decided to host family and friends to here before attending the graduation ceremony. Although we spent well over $1000 without tax and tips at that time, the food was still not up to par. Even our guests told us that the food there just wasn't good. As such, we decided we wouldn't come back for a long time, if at all.

3rd Visit: On 4/17/24, I decided to finally give it another go as it was one of my friend's birthday and he wanted to give the crawfish special a try. The crawfish was ok but the service was terribly slow as the establishment got really busy and showed signs of wear from them being understaffed. As the crowd and lines built for the Wednesday crawfish special, it got really stuffy fast. Since we were sitting by the "window" which was like a garage door made of glass that could roll up, we asked our server if they can raise that door to make it cooler and less stuffy. Our server told us that she did not think so and left it at that. At one point I asked for the manager and made the same request, and for whatever reason, he also said that it couldn't be done. Ok. Whatever, maybe it doesn't work or they had their own reason. Once again, we spent well over $1000 that night before tax and tips, and although the service was lacking, we still had a good time being surrounded with great company.

4th Visit: Today, I wanted my wife to try out the crawfish. So after picking her up from work, we arrived at S&S around 9 pm. We were at first promptly seated by the host near where I had sat the previous week with my buddies. And what do you know? Whoa and behold, that same garage door that they could not open even with the will of God was wide open, rolled all the to the top letting the breeze in. As my wife and I sat there for over 20 minutes, we watched a waitress go back and forth between tables, outside, and to the bar area while passing us up like we were completely invisible. After awhile, my wife got chilly from the draft of the miraculous garage door that God finally allowed to open so we moved to another seat nearby where the draft of wind couldn't get to us. Once again, we waited. This time, after 15 minute or so, I finally lost my patience and asked one of the worker that was sweeping nearby to see if we can get a waitress server and told him our wait and situation this whole time. He was nice and accommodating and went to get our server. Turns out, our server was the same waitress that kept passing us up like we were the invisible couple the whole time while we were at the other table! Once I complained to her and told her about the wait and situation, she asked if we sat ourselves. No! We were taken in by the host. To add salt to the wound, by that time, she told us that it was too late and that crawfish is no longer available due to the crawfish cook leaving. Effin seriously??!!! Needless to say, I told my wife to lets just leave at this point. We ended up going to Subways a few doors down to order some sandwiches and went home...

First time at this location in Katy. I’ve been to the one off 99 @ hwy 90 and had a great experience, so I had high hopes for this location because it’s close to home. We went in for sit down on a Tuesday afternoon at 5pm. No crowd and seated right away. Server came over just a minute or two after we were seated and took our drink order and then food order.

Food: I’ll give the Buffalo Chicken wrap with fried chicken an 8.5/10. Portion was huge, flavor was good (maybe a touch more Buffalo sauce), but chicken was crispy & delicious. Also came out pretty quick. He had the Mac & Cheese burger and said it lacked flavor (needed salt) and m&c was a little cold. So he rated it a 4.8/10. Fries: 12/10 these fries are the best! Enough said! I could do without the fries sauce though, but that’s because I like ranch over anything, so I won’t rate the sauce. Drinks: 1/10 I tried the house margarita, and as a former bar tender, I would recommend that whomever is behind the bar should make sure they are tasting their drinks before they are sent out. It looked so good when it arrived, but it had no flavor and tasted like water with a little bit of tequila. I did not ask for it to be returned and did not inform the bar tender because it’s the house margarita and only $5.50. I will always say something if I pay more than $8 for a drink and it is not made well. I will be back to try it again with a different bar tender because I know people can have an “off” night, and/or some times the house drinks are pre mixed, and I’m hoping that’s all it was. I really want this spot to be good since it’s so close and we really don’t have any great restaurants that we don’t have to drive 20 min to get to, so I am hoping next round will be better and I can update my rating! Cleanliness: The whole place was super clean and the decor is trendy for a “sports bar” style eatery. Staff: very friendly! Service: started off great, but be sure your servers know to check on their tables after the food comes out. We were not checked on until we were half way through our meal.

Overall I’d give our experience a 7.8/10. We’ll definitely be back. I really want to give this...

I wish I could leave 5 stars because the food was amazing. But the issue was our service. When we arrived (first time there) we parked closer to the back and saw the patio open. Not seeing any host or being greeted by any staff upon arrival and standing for minutes, my family and I thought you can sit anywhere. The waitress with green hair rudely came up to us without menus (after seeing us confused waiting for help) and said “who sat you? OH NO ONE? Next time you need to see a host so you can have a menu” then came back and threw the menus on the table. We ignored how rude she came off, although there was a better way to greet and knowledge us for next time. I asked if she can ask the kitchen if the French fries had wheat on them, because my son is SEVERELY allergic. She walked away for a minute and came back said no. As soon as I saw the fries I knew they were coated in something. We asked the man who brought our food to the table if it had wheat and he informed us that they did. I’m not sure if he was a manager, but if I could give 5 stars, it would be for him. He went out his way to make sure my son could eat safely there and see if there was any alternatives for him. However the waitress again never came to apologize for her lying to us about checking if it had wheat. She then NEVER came to our table for refills but we saw her checking on her other tables over and over. At the end, we almost got charged for the kids meal we never got and she had an attitude when we asked her to remove it.

Can’t believe how terrible we were treated all over not knowing we had to see a host first. Would definitely love to come back soon, as long as she isn’t...