Laurier Cafe & Wine

Gary is one of the best cooks in the city. This is a classic chef driven bistro. No frills, just good food and wine in an atmosphere conducive to conversation. On a good weather night the deck makes it even better. Pros: Best Rabbit and Duck in the Houston more

the wine was fine,but the bartender enron lady was rude to us and then tried to cover it up.we appreciate the thought but to late..... Pros: good wine Cons: the owners more

The food was of the quality one would hope for at a classy French restaurant - wonderful. The other reviews on this site cover that. I want to write this review of their attitude - which was a breath of fresh air. I knew we were in for a treat when, as the waiter told us the daily specials, he also stated the price! There's nothing that makes me feel more like a poor schmuck trying to fake high-class than being forced to ask how much the special costs - but this staff understood that even at a high-end French cafe, sometimes people are on a budget. Couple that with a very knowledgable staff, especially about wine, and an extremely reasonably-priced wine list. A great spot for a date. Pros: Fantastic Cooking; Decent Prices; Beautiful Simple Decor more

Whether you want to impress, or just have a new place to dine, this is a great spot. Great atmosphere, wonderful ambiance, outstanding service, excellent culinary masterpieces - all the elements of a wonderful experience. The atmosphere is chic, the service is exceptional without being over-bearing and the food is always great with a beautiful presentation. Luxury at affordable prices! more

I went to lunch at Laurier Caf? one afternoon this month with my co-workers and it was absolutely delicious. I ordered the three cheese grilled cheese sandwich. This was not your mother?s grilled cheese sandwich! It was to die for. The combination of the cheese, along with a side of pommes frites made my afternoon. My colleagues both had entr?e size salads, which they said were great. One had some really great quality, seared tuna and the other had a warm chicken salad with endive, pears, walnuts and blue cheese. The crowd seemed to be a combination of River Oaks ladies who lunch and business people from the Greenway Plaza area, plus the three of us from Midtown. It was good food, in a comfortable and friendly setting, and I plan to go back. more

We all heard this was a good spot to take clients with supposedly great food. Our waiter, bless his heart, was rude. He was shaking and sweating and interupted our client as she was talking. He made it clear to the couple of people who talked while he went over the menu that he was having to repeat himself. It was just very odd and uncomfortable. Then it took a very long time to get our food. We had a sampling of many dishes. The carrot soup looked great but didn't taste like carrots. The Gumbo looked great but there was no feedback to that effect. I ordered the salad with chicken, pears, endive and goat cheese. The chicken tasted off, I couldn't place the taste, the endive was bitter which is too be expected but the pears, vinegrette, walnuts, it just didn't work. Those are all my very favorite tastes so it was odd. Long story short, no one at the table was impressed and unfortunately we will not be returning for another client lunch. The room is loud but looks very nice and we saw many people who seemed to be enjoying there meal. Maybe this was just a fluke or bad timing............or maybe not. Pros: The manager was great! Cons: The food was average, no sparkle and the waiter was rude. more

Obviously you have never worked in a fine dining restaurant before otherwise you would have been competent to know what was going on. more

After reviewing the online menu, I was very anxious to try out this restaurant...several dishes had my mouth watering and the fact that it's so tiny is always intriguing to see ""what's inside"". Upon entering, we were greeted by a very incompenent hostess who looked frazzeled and nervous to be helping us...not the best face to front your business. Shortly after being seated we looked around and noticed we were the only people in the 25-45 age group in the place - so it must typically attract an older crowd. We reviewed the menu - again loving what we saw. For starters, my friend ordered the onion soup and I had the goat cheese salad. The soup was not at all what we were expecting - it was like chicken broth with carmelized onions in it - not bad, but just strange. My salad was delicious - definitely recommend it. We both indulged in the Red Wine Braised Short Ribs (I'm a huge fan of braised short ribs - so make a habit of getting them anytime they are on a menu!) We waited an awful long time between our first and second course (our waiter was MIA for most of the time). But when the short-ribs arrived they were cooked to perfection and served with some sort of turnip/spinach concoction. The flavor of the meat was LACKING - albiet very moist and cooked wonderfully, I had to salt it to death to enjoy it. There was no starch served with the meal, which left us still hungry after the meal (which I really dislike). We shared the chocolate cake for dessert which was divine - really loved it. We waited again, an absurd amount of time for our check to come which is never a good way to end the night. We actually saw one couple get up to go ask for their waiter (who was also ours as well) so they could pay and leave (never good). For what we paid for this meal (about $50 a person with tip and tax and one glass of wine each) we were definitely overall disappointed. Bad service, leaving hungry, and underseasoned meat always leave a bad taste in my mouth... Pros: Food Preparation Cons: Service, Underseasoning more

A friend and I went for dinner and ordered the same thing - steak medium to medium rare. When the food came out hers was medium and mine was extra-well to shoe leather - black all the way to the center. I mentioned it to the very attentive waiter and he said he'd wondered about that when he was bringing it out. He took it back without further question. The replacement steak was medium well at best and the pommes frites were totally over cooked and cold - as if the chef had pulled them out of the bottom of the fryer from last night. I was not willing to be a repeat complainer, and no one asked how it was, so I ate the middle portion of the steak and the 4-5 fries that were closer to tan than brown. Pros: attentive wait-staff Cons: burned/over cooked food, rude management more

Wonderful food. Great service. A wine list to die for. more

don't let the small, modest exterior full you. inside is a quite spacious, dimly-lit room that is quaintly decorated and caters to any romantic occasion. although the food is pricey, the quality is quite good and our waiter was friendly and accomodating. go here if you want a romantic, trendy ambience for a dinner for 2.* more

Fabulous food, great location, perfect service!! The food has the taste of ""Mark's"" (a pricey houston restaurant) without the attitude. Small restaurant with great atmoshere. Unusual look on the outside but wonderful and modern on the inside. The best quality food and very well priced. I great find you must try!! Pros: Great food, service and atmosphere. Cons: Do not be put off by the outside look of the building. more

I have been to Laurier three times and the appetizers were very good. However I have found the entrees to be inconsistent. Nice atmosphere and priced very well. Pros: Great starters Cons: Inconsistent main courses more

Went for lunch with a good friend who hates goat cheese, and to our dismay, found a disproportionate number of items on the menu containing it. The croque monsieur was overcooked but still tasty; the salad was bland. The butternut squash soup was delicious, except we suspected goat cheese was in the sour cream or creme fraiche topping, and it was not mentioned on the menu. Lemon mousse very prettily presented, but not lemony enough. Parking and noise in restaurant unacceptable; pricey. Not a family place, not French, ambivalent service. Disappointing...hoped for more! Pros: good location, nice ambiance, nice menu Cons: terrible parking, noisy, pricey more

Myself and 3 friends ate at Laurier for lunch, and it was the best restaurant I have been to in quite a long time. Not only were we seated right away, btu the food came out quickly, and the wine was fantastic. The service was outstanding. For the freshness of the food and the selection, the prices are extremely moderate. The wine list is reasonably priced for the wide selection. For dessert, the chocolate cake is to die for! Sunday brunch is most popular at the restaurant, and the beautiful patio accomodates all the people who come. The atmosphere is very chic. I would not recommend taking your children to this restaurant, but I would highly recommend it to anyone else! Pros: Great Food, Great Wine, Great Dessert more

I recently had dinner at Laurier with 3 companions. We each had a different salad, entre and dessert. Each of us had the same impression--the food needed more seasoning or some sort of sauce. The atmosphere was suitably urban, the food presentation was beautiful and the service was perfect. The food, however, was plain, plain, and certainly not worth the price. The parking situation is ridiculous. Pros: atmosphere, service Cons: , parking, price more

The brunch was wonderful! The filet w/ the truffled egg was killer!! The staff was friendly and the price was very reasonable. Pros: Location more

After reading the review on CitySearch, which touts the wine list, I decided to give to give Laurier a try. The food is pretty good, but most of the meat is ""cheap"" cuts--dark meat chicken served on the bone, strip steak, duck, lamb, and quail. The wine list was long and not terribly impressive to me. Only one Merlot was available by the glass. We ordered a half bottle of a decent wine, but overall, I was underwhelmed. more

The food was wonderful, the noise level was crushing. The restaurant was not even filled but I ended up hoarse after having to talk loud enough to even being heard. It is a shame when a nice restaurant is designed to maximize the noise level. Come if you have loud noisy friends and skip if you want a quiet dinner for 2 or 4. Pros: food Cons: noise leve more

Laurier and its bright and contemporary setting are perfect for lunch or dinner. We've enjoyed terrific seasonal soups like spring pea, gazpacho and squash. The goat cheese salad with pecans and the arugula salad with fresh Parmesan and a special imported olive oil are great. The risotto is the best I've had anywhere, and the unique vegetable plate includes wonderfully seasoned spinach, leeks, fennel, mushrooms, carrots and a risotto cake with pesto versus the starch and sugar laden vegetables many restaurants serve. My husband prefers the Neiman Rach steak--always cooked to perfection. Desserts like the Rainier cherry and goat cheese beggar's packet are a real treat. The wine list is extensive yet moderately priced. In fact, the prices and portions served at Laurier allow us to always enjoy three courses and a bottle of wine without worrying about our diet or wallet. I can't wait to return. Pros: Great Food & Wine, great prices, great atmosphere more