Kirby Ice House - The Woodlands — Restaurant in The Woodlands

We've been here a few times now and it's a place we generally enjoy going. Here are some things we did and didn't like about Kirby's Icehouse. Please read through for final point.

First of, there tends to be a younger crowd, especially as the night goes on. (Parking can be a pain unless you get their early.) Earlier in the evening it's an older crowd and more chill. Later it's younger and a little rowdier. In our 50's, we're among the oldest there when we close it down. We don't mind because we're young-spirited, but some others our age might be surprised. I was not impressed by the bar staff as they weren't very attentive or friendly. But the management was top notch and I didn't hang at the bar long anyway. The layout of Kirby's is great. It's comfortable with large lounging areas and MANY 4-top tables, and the setup kind of invites mingling since it's not uncommon to share larger seating areas by agreement. It's a great place to hang out for a number of hours, which many people do. The food seems to be mostly if not exclusively provided by the food trucks that park along the edge of the yard. We haven't found a good truck that has good we really love yet... In our experience the food tends to be a little expensive for what you get. (I think we've been there three times and eaten at 4 different places and this is consistent across the board.) For example, this tray of brisket nachos was $20 and it was mostly chips. But if you know going in that it's better to eat before going, it's probably not an issue. The pizza looks good though, and it seems to be a popular item. (Next time!)

My final point is about the dog-friendliness: I have a service dog, and it's nice for her to go places with us but not have to be on duty. She doesn't interact with other dogs, sniff tables, lunge at other dogs or seek food. But occasionally there are dogs that aren't well controlled by their owners at Kirby's and they do NOT tolerate that. * If you are one of these owners who has a difficult dog, you may want to leave him/her at home. * The staff is really great about making sure disruptive dogs are kept at bay. As a dog owner of an extremely well behaved dog I appreciate this, but I can imagine that owners of dogs who tend to be sniffy or otherwise difficult to manage might not have a fun time, so it might be a better idea to leave those doggos at home. Most of the time it's not too much of an issue but last time management stepped in. You don't want that, lol! (Really.)

Kirby's is a great place to watch the game, meet with friends or take your well-behaved pooch for a beer. The place gets fuller and younger as the night goes on, so choose your timing based on what you're looking for, and eat before you...

I had really high expectations for this place. An “ice house” is exactly my kind of vibe. My husband and I were so excited to see it being built close to home, in the middle of town center, since we love to frequent nearby Sawyer Park and Deacon Baldy’s.

First issue for me (and several of our friends) is the no kids rule. I get it after 7 pm or something. But you built a place right in the middle of a suburb that prides itself on being family friendly. Kirby Ice House is practically the exact same concept as Sawyer Park (which has a kitchen and better food BTW) and they allow kids. George Mitchell would have never let a 24/7 adults only business open in town center in The “old” Woodlands prior to the Howard Hughes acquisition. I know there’s a lot of those “don’t bring your kid to a bar” people. But look, its 2022, breweries and other ice houses all over Houston allow kids and everyone enjoys themselves. Walking Stick Brewery in Garden Oaks, anyone? That’s their whole shtick and they’re killing it.

That brings me to my second issue with this place. The clientele. I think family friendly places keep a sort of civilness to them that this place lacks. We stopped by on a Saturday evening and there were several overserved and aggressive customers. One was so belligerent I asked for management (I know, how “Karen” of me!). Despite the same customer having issues with two other parties prior to us arriving, management sided with him. I was shocked. Let’s get ‘em all real drunk and then release them on the streets!

Third issue, the food trucks. I guess these are rotating? I don’t know. But when we were there it was Hearsay and Lupe Tortilla. Hardly anything worth getting excited over. There is an abundance of unique food trucks in the Houston area. Try harder.

Lastly, this place is just too big. It’s huge, like ridiculously giant. I think their permit caps them at 1,000 people at a time so we had to wait in a “one in, one out” line to even get in (don’t get me started). I’ve heard Kirby Ice House has applied to increase that capacity to 1,200 (eye roll). This place just doesn’t make sense in the heart of The Woodlands. Bummed such a prime real estate spot went this direction.

So we have an ice house, in the middle of an ultra-family friendly suburb, overserving customers and not allowing families. Cool! I’ll spend my money at Sawyer Park and Deacon Baldy’s and...

Went for an event last night and was extremely disappointed. Talk about rude and arrogant servers. The girls were very conceited as if they were doing the women a favor serving them but they were so much nicer to the men. Lol, um ok but some of us women pay the tabs for those guys and we can be better tippers too if you are nice to us. Anyway, I asked for a margarita but was given a different drink. I thought it was off because there wasn't any salt on the rim but assumed that maybe they didn't salt the rims unless specifically requested. After tasting the drink, it was obviously something different. It tasted like a mojito. I had two other people taste it and they agreed it was definitely not a margarita. When I finally got the attention of the annoyed server, she argued that it was a margarita and instead of taking it back to the bar and to get a new one made, she insisted that I drink something else. Funny how the other drink she just gave someone else had a salted rim. I said fine, I would like a Sprite with a lime please. 10 minutes later, I get the Sprite but no lime, and when I asked for the lime she gave me an incredulous look and said you really wanted a lime with that? Then she brings the bartender's glass of cut limes and has me use my hand to take one. That's pretty unsanitary for everyone else but ok. We then ordered pizza from the food truck and they burnt my pizza but insisted the black edges and sides were fine because it's wood fired. No other pizzas looked burnt in the slightest but mine was about a third burnt and they wouldn't exchange it for a non burnt one. The pizza was bland with very little flavor so I guess the charred half wasn't really going to make a difference. All in all, the girls need to be taught some manners if management wants them to represent the business in a positive light. Too many other places around there with better drinks, staff...