brenner's on the bayou

iorderedthe cornflake crusted french toast and the southwest omelette. not what i expected for the price but they were both edible. buffalo bayou runs behind the restaurant and the patio area is absolutely beautiful. i have heard that it's even nicer at night because everything is lit in blue so we will be returning.

owned by landry chain restaurant and it shows. i'm not sure what the hype is about this place. the only positive thing i can say is that the ambience is wonderful, but honestly it's not worth the price for the quality of food and service that you get. we went with some neighbors after they raved how this was the best steak restaurant in houston. my husband and i are huge fans of steaks.... we even bought a green egg just so we can cook a proper steak at home. in any case, you can imagine our excitement hearing we were about to order some delicious prime cuts. sadly, that wasn't the case at all. when we arrived, i noticed the landscaping was beautiful and the decor inside was soft and romantic. we were immediatley seated since the dining was open, however, it took about 15 minutes for the waiting to take and deliver or drink orders. i noticed that the menu was rather limited as well. steaks are priced around $45,ordereda-la-carte,and sides are offered for a hefty price that each serves about 2-3 people. my husband and i bothorderedrib-eyes with a side of crab macaroni and cheese. once again service time lagged again and our steaks came out to our table in about 35 minutes. when we received our steaks, no one stayed to see whether our steaks were cooked as we requested. iorderedmedium rare and my steak was cooked almost medium well. the cut appeared to be about 3/4 inch and sitting in a plate full of watery au jus. nothing like what i would have expected for a $50 steak. about ten minutes pass and by this time everyone starts eating since we had no patience staring at our food any longer. our waitress finally comes by to finally check on our steaks. i showed her my steak and let her know it was over cooked, but at this point i've already eaten about a quarter of my steak. she politely asks if i would like the kitchen to refire another steak, but i told her it was alright and that i would be fine with the steak that i have (mostly because i didn't want to wait another 30 minutes). oh well... on to the macaroni and cheese. the mac and cheese was okay... it only had three pieces of lump crab meat though and we were floored when we got the check... we were charged $20 for the mac and cheese! another thing that i noticed, not once did we ever have a manager come by to re-check or apologize for the over cooked steaks. i am by no means a foodie snob, but i would expect more from a fine dining establishment especially when there was only 4-5 diners in the whole restaurant. with appetizer, food, sides, and cocktails... our check came out to over $400. seriously.... nearly half a grand for watery overcooked steaks. i don't plan on coming back to brenner's again. outback has better steaks than this.

another disappointing experience. i have hosted a number of dinner parties at this brenner's, and they seem determined to disappoint. i hosted a group of six this past saturday. we arrived early to have drinks and appetizers in the blue bar. weorderedone appetizer, the homemade pretzels, at about 7:05. i asked about them around 7:40 and was told the kitchen was busy. we were taken to our table at 7:45 and i had to ask about the bar appetizer again and we finally received them at 8:05! weordereddinner and the soup/salads took over 20 minutes and we had to ask about them, but at least they came correctly. when dinner was served, there were a number of mistakes. weorderedcreamed spinach but were given sautéed spinach. weorderedgran marnier soufflé for dessert but were served a chocolate one instead. for the sake of time, we took what they served, but we were all amazed at the poor level of service and kitchen timing for this price point. this is now the second time a dinner party at brenner's on the bayou was very off because of service and kitchen sloppiness. not sure if we will host there again, but the var is nice and the food we received, even though incorrect, was very good.

romantic. it was a sunday evening when we celebrated our anniversary here. the views of property were spectacular. i know it's just a bayou, but it looks so serene that it just makes it a beautiful environment for a romantic meal together. the place is dimly lit; which was nice and romantic for us, but we noticed several older couples using their phones or small flashlights to light their menus.

we started by ordering the cheese plate. we thought it would go nice with our bottle of wine, but it was just way too much cheese for two people! looking back, we should’veorderedtheir trio or some other small appetizer.

for our meal, my wifeorderedthe lamb and enjoyed every bite. iorderedthe ribeye. i have always been of the opinion that a good steak needs no add-ons. i went against my better judgment andorderedmine with the “au poivre” pepper crust. when my steak came out i found a large bed of pepper corn. as i dug into the pepper i found a ribeye steak under there. not that it’s a bad thing....i’m just not that big a fan of so much pepper on my steak. i ended up scraping most of it off. i’m not complaining. i read the description of the addition before iorderedit; so i knew what i was getting myself into. i, personally, would not order that addition again.

overall we thoroughly enjoyed the place and will be returning.

this was our second visit and took visitors from the uk. we had fantastic service from the start and all the way through the evening. we allorderedfilet mignon and had it cooked to perfection three different ways, had some very good waiter recommended wine. overall a fabulous evening and meal, will definitely go back and highly recommend a visit.

awful first time experience. to start, valet took forever before and after dinner. way understaffed. waitstaff was sloppy and provided very poor service. food was not good.orderedthe filet, medium-rare, came back very well done. asked them to fix it, and they brought one back that was extremely cold in the middle, freezing cold. decided to pass on the main course after two attempts in the kitchen. mgmt was polite and offered to comp deserts. location is good and abiance is the only reason to go. apparently the food and service were much better before landry's bought it. if you are looking for a good steak, do not come here. papa's bros, perry's, smith and wollensky, and vic and anthony's (although owned by landry's too) were all far better. not even close

dinner at brenner's on the bayou. had dinner at brenner's on the bayou for the first time last week. the atmosphere is very soothing. for appetizers, i had the fried calamari and the crab-cakes. the crab-cakes are excellent and i highly recommend it to anyone who dines here. the staff was very friendly; they took the time to explain what are the highlights on the menu and the chef's special of the night. i had the soup of the day, which was a potato soup with leeks. the soup was average, and i believe it was a little too salty; i could not taste the potato at all. for the main entree, iorderedthe night's special, which was sea bass in a cream sauce over risotto and asparagus. the sea bass tasted above average; the meat not cooked too hard and the sauce tasted good. however, the risotto tasted nothing like risotto; it was more like broccoli rice casserole. the cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, and ice cream sandwich for desserts finished the night. i believe any desserts you eat will be fulfilling. in summary, i recommend this place because of the atmosphere and above average food. there are better restaurants than brenner's, but this place is a good start.

delish!. i had an amazing meal here.

i'm not a huge calamari fan in general, but the calamari appetizer here is fabulous!! it had fried bell peppers and sweet potatoes as well as the calamari, and i loved the polynesian dipping sauce. i will definitely order this again.

my boyfriend and i bothorderedsteaks and they were cooked to perfection. mine was perfectly medium rare and i loved the peppercorn crust.

for dessert iorderedthe creme brule and it was awesome. it is cooked on a large shallow plate, so the ratio of the crunchy caramelized top to the creme below was perfection!

i highly recommend going to this place later in the evening when it is dark, the place is so much more beautiful and romantic when it is dark. great night and great food!