Wholly Crepe!! Russian Bistro — Restaurant in Tomball

Bill and Mila Hendrix, owners of Wholly Crepe Bistro, have brought a bit of Russia and a “whole” lot of hospitality to historic Tomball. Situated on Main Street, their specialty restaurant is at the heart of this little Texas town, which is crowded with antique shops, art galleries, one-of-a-kind boutiques, an old train depot, second-hand stores, eateries and a local museum.

If you appreciate home cooking, run, don’t walk, to the Wholly Crepe. On most days, Bill, a warm Texas host, will greet you with a smile and friendly conversation while Mila can be heard rustling in the kitchen where she performs her culinary magic.

Wholly Crepe opens for breakfast, lunch and early dinners. A master chef, Mila offers a plethora of delectable Russian dishes, but crepes are indeed her speciality. Although patrons can choose their own fillings, there are many menu items ranging from smoked salmon with whipped cream cheese and shaved cucumber garnish to tender chicken, beef, and vegetable entrees, rich with seasonings and sauce, and enveloped in paper-thin crepes. The morning fare is also various with hearty servings including Mila’s delicate pancakes stuffed with fresh scrambled eggs, spinach, cheese, and bacon. Mila and Bill also offer rotating weekly specials such as Siberian cabbage rolls and stuffed bel peppers. I also saw goulash and borscht on the menu. Obviously, the food served here has a history which hints of snowy Siberian nights when Mila’s family were drawn to the kitchen by mouth-watering aromas, hearty servings, and lively conversation. The petite Mila is quick to give credit to her teachers—her mother, her aunts and her grandmothers who taught her how to prepare their traditional Russian recipes.

For me, the pièce de résistance is the Wholly Crepe dessert. Fillings range from in-season berries to bananas cooked in a secret sauce intermingled with rich Nutella to crepes filled with plump stewed apples and cinnamon and sugar.

Leave your will power at home for this visit, but note that there are gluten-free choices available at this reasonably priced Tomball gem.

Also, be sure to take time to see Mila’s knit items for sale in the little adjacent shop as well as the many Russian porcelain and inlaid wood pieces, all for sale. Patrons may also purchase baklava, cookies and cupcakes.

And, if you want to learn Russian, classes are conducted on Thursday nights at the bistro for a small...

Nothing to write home about small portions of generic Russian style dishes. Crepes are thick and do not resemble authentic Russian "blins". The portions are generous but not proportionate. And while this is supposed to be home cooked experience what comes out of the kitchen lacks presentation or eat-appeal. There also needs to be a thought behind the concept of mixing hot and ice cream components so that when serves it works in total with timing to consume the dish. But if you have a plate that contains melting I cream that is not proportionate to quantity of other ingredients - you are effectively overwhelming a customer with time to eat vs. time to enjoy what you eating. The coffee we received was bland and came from Kurig machine same goes for hot chocolate that was barista ushered from Amazon lowest cost brand. The restaurant features a table crowded front dining room that appears to be an idea to make it appear as a dine at home setting. However that concept is overshadowed by glass store displays of things owners want you to buy while you waiting for your meal. Let's just say it tries to be everything but amounts to nothing.

UPDATE. After message from owners I cleaned up some typos and also received additional feedback from someone who was with me that day. So let's add their summary of Pelmeni (Russian version of ravioli). Both folks who tried them are willing to bet that they were not home made. Staring from uniformity to texture of the meat feeling. They were less watery on each bite (for ravioli lovers it's a tell tale sign) and they were just plane on taste buds. Why this matters ? Home and freshly made pelmeni are buttery, moist, and have a distinct texture that includes fresh onion bits that make themself present giving pelmeni a taste kick. When fresh not frozen pelmeni are boiled they allow just enough of moisture inside pelmeni to develop a broth like liquid. When you bite on one that broth is released and you get to taste the spices and au-jus of the filling. That did not happen here. Yes maybe this review is very critical but, when you are an authentic restaurant that represents traditions of a country you have to aspire to a higher standard. If you are simply a crepe place than different standards apply. Thanks...

Me and my fiancé went to this place first time today and enjoyed it a lot !!! Definitely will be back!!!

I’m Russian and know everything about Russian traditional kitchen and he is American and being with me started experiencing Russian items at home and out.

We’ve been in a lot of different Russian places in America and both agreed that it was the best!!!

We’ve had a lot of great items there , first was “pelmeni” , we immediately figured that food made with love, that ingredients is well chosen and a good quality. That’s when we ordered a little bit of everything, wanted to try out as much as we can. “Borche”was absolutely great and honestly the best one we’ve tried anywhere else. My fiancé ordered a “beef stroganoff” and ate it all it was a huge portion!!! Luckily for me this day they had a special which is “Vareniky” with a sweet and sour cherries, I loved it a lot in my childhood . Took it to go because was really full , at home we happily shared it and enjoyed it too. Also couldn’t leave without desserts , took “bird milk” and “medovic”. I’m not the fan of sweets and cakes but I will tell you guys I WILL BE BACK FOR THIS HONEY “MEDOVIC” CAKE AND WILL TAKE A HOLL ONE!!!! This peas of cake blowed my mind and for the first time in a while I really wanted more and was so sad that it’s quite bit far away 25 minutes from Katy. But since my husband works in Tambo aria pretty often he’s already has my order for this cake!!!

Wholly Crape is a little home style place which reminded me of my own country. When you walk in there is no stressed servers or mean hostess. It’s an absolutely culm, warm atmospheric and hospitable please. Owners is so attentive , caring and nice people, they do a great job by keeping it real Russian please with classic Russian traditions!!!

I write reviews really rarely and when I do it’s when super impressed!!! And today I’m!!! Thank you so much Wholly Crape for this exciting experience,we can’t wait to...