XALISKO — Restaurant in The Woodlands

I was super excited to try an upscale restaurant bracing Mexican culture and heritage through food. Service was slow.

We had the fresh oysters and they were fresh and large. The green sauce blew my pallet but the other sauce had a great balance of flavors, which I tried first.

I ordered a squash blossom taco that had octopus (extremely tough and chewy like bubble gum) and shrimp. If it has cream cheese in it, the flavor is extremely muted. The tortilla itself has a squash blossom spread out and pressed into the tortilla. Brilliant idea despite the tortilla being ice cold and tough.

I did not enjoy the inedible garnish of corn husks as the first thing my grandson tried to eat. The black garlic aoli was indeed an aoli, though I question if there was any black garlic let alone garlic flavoring it in. It reminded me of a squid ink aoli. After the tip and a great mimosa, the final bill was not worth the quality of the food.

Update:

Popped in for lunch because we had business next door. Our wait to be seated took some time because who we thought was the hostess was actually a waitress assisting in a to-go order with the actual hostess nowhere in sight.

My daughter ordered my grandson the chicken flautas off of the kids menus because she was not hungry (Grandkid was). She specifically said the kids chicken flautas and when asked what she wanted she said I am not hungry and will nibble off their plates.

We received the adult chicken flautas and paid $9 for apple juice.

I decided to get the Ceviche Xalisquillo. First off the cacahuazintle I was looking forward to especially when the texture of ceviche is very soft. I had american yellow corn that was hit with a blow torch. This does not carry the same texture as cacahuazintle.

Secondly, there were plenty of jalapenos and cumbers but only one grape tomato cut in half. The avocado also had been hit too hard with the blow torch, leaving a bitter burned after taste that was unexpected. A light char does taste great, but this was straight up burnt. The spice from the clemento sauce and the non visual confirmation of the salsa negra blew my palate and there was no balance to the dish. The red snapper and sometimes shrimp has a delicate flavor which could not be tasted because of the overwhelming spices.

It really telling when you step back to next door and the person you are working with goes: "I do not go there anymore because their food is no longer authentic and the quality does not match the price point".

Lastly, for my dish, the corn tostadas were very stale and the dish could not be enjoyed as designed for that perfect bite.

Our service was terrible this time. Our waiter was never seen out on the floor assisting others. Our glasses were kept full by a nice lady which seemed to be her only job.

I may sound petty for being overcharged, but when the cost of feeding your grandson is more than the cost of your cheviche (which is listed for $18 on the menu, but was charged $14). That is not right at all. It is more that you need to be super clear about what you are ordering and politely ask the waiter to read back your order. Though, they should be doing that automatically so situations like this...

reserved a table to celebrate my mom's birthday. Great ambiance with live music. However, definitely did not live up to my expectations.

Food: Brunch menu had limited non-pork items. if you prefer chicken, I personally would not recommend coming here. Thankfully there were seafood options. We got the aguachile de verde which was nice and fresh. Enough to share for 2 people. I wanted a coffee but the waiter said they only had cafe de olla and no regular brewed black coffee. However, the table next to us a few mins later got a fresh pot of coffee. I couldnt do anything at that point bc the cafe de olla was already delivered. We placed our entire food order all in one go but the mains took forever to be brought out. I made it clear we do not eat pork but they did bring out my dish which had bacon on it. The salmon was very dry so if you are considering it, I personally would not recommend it. Lastly, I did bring a cake in for my mom's birthday so they were nice enough to bring it out and light the candles. As a heads up, if you are bringing a cake / dessert in, you will have to sign a waiver at the front.

Service: Staff was not very welcoming when we walked in. Understandable that there was a large party waiting in the lobby but I expect a kind greeting when I walk into a restaurant, a smile at the bare minimum. We were escorted to our table and given only drink menus, no food menus. We waited a good 10 mins and couldn't find a waiter to bring us food menus. Had to look it up online instead. Our waiter was not the friendliest. No introduction, no welcome, nothing about the menu, no alternatives when we shared our dietary restrictions. Just very short and we could barely find him throughout our visit.

Ambiance: Overall, it was nice. The live harpist was a nice touch. Unfortunately, our table was sat under the AC vent which was leaking on our table and my brother sitting next to me. We requested to move and the team accommodated us to a new table. We left our drinks and silverware at the old table expecting that we would get new ones. They brought over the old drinks (half empty) to us and no napkins. Again, our server was no where to be found so had to ask the hostess for napkins.

Overall, I would not say I would come back nor recommend it. We paid $122 (for 4 people and only 1 appetizer). It was definitely not worth the money for the portions, food, or service. I've been to many types of places - Michelin star restaurants to hole-in-the-wall places and have spent less money and received 10x better service, food and overall experience. Definitely not a place I would recommend if you are celebrating something special or hoping to make it a special experience for someone...

My husband and I just enjoyed our first meal at Xalisko, and, boy, am I excited they're here. This is an outstanding restaurant, truly. It's been said, but for clarity- this is not Tex-Mex. This is authentic cultural Mexican food, elevated but genuine and beautifully presented. We'd made a reservation and were seated immediately upon arrival. We began with a ceviche, shared a trompito with nopalitos and brussels, and finished with a shared coffee and churro. We also had three cocktails between us. Everything was very well done. Absolutely delicious. I was really thrilled with the meal. Try the cafe to close, please. It's magical. If you, like me, have a deep love for the real deal, homemade tortillas de maiz then this, too, is the spot. They don't even start with a bag of Maseca here. They nixtamalize the dried corn in-house. These tortillas are from scratch-scratch, fragrant and delicious. What's more, I always say that the thing that truly sets fine dining apart is the service. One can get a pretty tasty meal at a dive. It's front of house that makes the fine dining experience. Xalisko is a relaxed but polished mood with very good service. Salvador, our server, was great. He did everything right in the execution of the meal service and in a friendly and personable manner. Really nice guy. Additionally, the front of house team all worked together. We were greeted and checked on by three different non-server members of the team, our drinks were refreshed by another server as he passed our table. Bussers cleared efficiently, politely, and without excess intrusion. I know they've only been open for six weeks so far, so I can only expect that teamwork to continue to refine as they work together, which is a very promising idea. They already stand out. Lastly, the restaurant design and atmosphere is very nice. The music is audible but not overbearing, the design is clean and contemporary with punches of traditional Mexican elements. The hallway leading to the restrooms has a great crocheted piece suspended from the ceiling overhead. Check it out. Xalisko is everything we've been hoping to see closer to home up here, and if you're from elsewhere in the greater Houston area, I'd say it's well worth the trip to visit. I'm already looking forward to returning asap. Thanks for a...