State Fare Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in The Woodlands

Came here for the first time tonight. My biggest issue with this place is the management. Here's why: my margarita (which was great) took almost 30 minutes even though everyone else's drinks arrived within 10 minutes. We ordered a bottle of wine. Clearly the wine was bad because we usually drink this exact brand anywhere we go but this one smelled and tasted bad (not the restaurants fault). We talked to our server and got a new bottle which tasted normal. My aunt and husband ordered the Kuykendahl Burger which featured a bacon marmalade and jalapeño relish which was clearly forgotten on both burgers. They were so dry they had to dip the burgers in salad dressing. My dad ordered a different burger and wanted mayonnaise, but they didn't have any in the building. I understand supplies run out, but a place that sells burgers should NEVER run out of Mayo or ketchup yet here we were. To end our already not so pleasant visit, we decided to order a last round of wine just to find out the wine smelled and tasted just as bad as the first bottle! Yet again, we said something to our waitress who was trying her best. We were beyond embarrassed at this point because we hate complaining. The poor girl took the glasses back and had the manager take it off the bill. After 5 complaints, we were amazed that a manager had not stopped by. As a matter a fact, there was no manager in sight for the whole two hours we had been there! After paying our bill we finally asked for a manager. Not only did she take a while to come by, but she leaned against the wall with her hands in her pocket the entire time. Her response to everything was "I will get you gift cards (which we said we didn't want) and please ask for me next time so I can make sure everything is okay." Mind you she never even said her name. She had no manager etiquette at all whatsoever. My husband and I are both managers in the restaurant/sales industry and have been for 7+ years. We understand times are tough and things happen. We also deal with rude and entitled people on a daily basis so the last thing we want to do is "be those people." But todays experience was very disappointing. I do have to say my Ahi Tuna salad was amazing 10/10 and the kids menu is great! It includes 3 different sides plus a cookie! My moms burger was also great (Chili...

Before I start I would like to thank Payton for being an exceptional waitress and going above and beyond again and again.

I took my life long friend and her husband out to dinner here Wednesday night for her birthday. We got 4 cocktails a flight of margaritas, one draft beer, two appetizers, crab cakes and wagyu empanadas. Entrees were the smoked ribeye, chimichurri flank steak, and a seafood platter. I believe all of our dishes had some sort of substitutions for their sides. My total was 252.27 before tip.

The atmosphere was lovely, we sat outside and had a nice water view. We came late and so outside was fairly empty. Just us and one more two other tables.

Our Server Payton had a lovely attitude and wonderful personality. Payton was patient with us while we looked everything over. Explained our dishes and drinks well, and easily accepted our substitutions. She even left us some cute cat stickers which is so fun. I've never had anyone do that for us before so it was a nice surprise.

The Drinks. The cocktails were nice we went from a fig infused bourbon, cinnamon old fashioned. To a coffee and Irish cream martini. Both drinks fantastic and presented well. I did not partake of the margarita flight or the beer so I don't have anything to say on that.

Food. I will only comment on the appetizers and the chimichurri flank steak with sides.

The crab cakes came as two and had a nice sauce on them. I could eat a plate of these. The wagyu empanadas did not let me down. They came as three on top of some mashed potatoes. The flank steak came as request medium rare, and had a chimichurri butter served on top. However. I substituted the mash potatoes for hand cut fries and the asparagus for Brussels. The fries were very good for my personal taste I would like a bit more seasoning but that's just me. The Brussels were beyond expectations. I would return for two reasons and two reasons alone. For Payton's exceptional service and for these Brussels. I have a hard time finding good ones anywhere. This is the place.

Would I come here again? Yes. Would I order the same thing? No but I would get the Brussels again and maybe the Crab cakes. Sitting? Honestly if weather permits it I recommend sitting outside. Side note. The chairs are not fluffy people...

We didn't have a reservation, so we just walked in and sat at the bar. Debbie, the Maitre d' helped get us 2 chairs together. She asked someone if they could move, and they kindly did. We were at the end of the bar where the drinks were made so we had lots of conversation with the two bartenders, Ashley and Julia were a delight even though they were swamped. I had a Cinnamon Old Fashioned to drink and my friend had an El Jefe Old Fashioned. They were both excellent. My friend had a sweet green salad for an appetizer, it was excellent. Crunchy and sweet. For entrees I had the Southern Fried Chincken with mustard creme sauce, sweet potato mash w/ mexican corn, pickled red onions and cole slaw. My friend had the Rodeo Melt. The chicken was fried to perfection - crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, but the Mustard Creme' sauce sealed the deal. Never had anything like it before. With the sweet potato mash and the pickled red onions it was the perfect mix of sweet, salty and savory. I don't like cole slaw, but theirs was awesome. I tasted the Rodeo Melt and the mouth experience was a nice surprise - very smooth and perfectly cooked. Service was a little slow because it was very busy, but Kim, the manager, came around several times to give us updates, then at the end thanked us for being patient. It didn't feel like a burden because the staff was so friendly and we kept up an ongoing dialog. I rate this near the top of my list for dining experiences. We were having a good time, so the staff was having a good time with us. The atmosphere and the food reminded me of Stephen Pyles' Stampede 66 in Fort Worth. I would go back a hundred times over.

Oops, I forgot dessert. We had the flan and the ice cream taco. The flan was out of this world. Creme Brulee consistency with raspberries and blackberries on the side. The ice cream taco was a sight to behold and...