The Courtyard On St James Place

I used to love coming here for lunch. Its literally a 2 minute walk from our building. The good is great. Unfortunately the last time we went there a co-​worker found a roach in her pasta. Needless to say we haven’t gone back since. Its unfortunate since we really did like it. The restaurant is closing in December for good, so maybe this won’t be useful.

An incredible thing starts to happen in life when you reach your mid– to late– twenties, and it’s what I lovingly refer to as «The Wedding Trail.» One by one, all of your friends start getting married, at a very frequent, and somewhat alarming rate.
And you know what? I dig it. I LOVE weddings. I love everything about them: The food, the dancing, the booze, the dressing up, the getting together with all of your friends — It doesn’t get much better.
This weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a wedding in Houston of a friend I grew up with, who had her ceremony and reception uptown at the Courtyard on St. James Place. And it was absolutely lovely.
Dinner, drinks, photo booth fun, and dancing were held inside (thankfully, as it had been *roughly* 142 degrees outside earlier) prior to the sendoff. And as far as weddings go, this food was top notch.
Which brings me to my main point: If the food and the atmosphere were this great for the wedding on Sunday night, I have a hunch they’re also fantastic during lunchtime. The Courtyard is open Monday — Friday from 11:00 am — 2:00 pm for lunch during the week.

I love a good line dance, and the dance floor at The Courtyard seems to be a pretty great spot to get my groove on!
My department hosted our Holiday Soirée here this past December, and I was completely satisfied with the location. Complimentary valet, a beautiful stairway entry and a nicely sized room with tables at different levels. The staff was super friendly and the table service was very efficient.
There were multiple large round tables and buffet lines set up alongside the dance floor and near the raised seating areas. The flow of the set up allowed for free movement in a large crowd, which is always a plus. The bar service was stocked with quality spirits, and a reasonable house wine. There was ample room for a six piece band on the stage, and the dance floor held up to The Wobble and Harlem Shuffle!
If I ever plan a wedding or anniversary party, I will definitely keep The Courtyard in mind. Convenient location, parking and great service… just wish I knew how much they charged???

I visited here for lunch with my co-​worker and fellow Unilocaler Renia L. We were given gift certificates for lunch at a MEPH event that we both attended together. Since we are avid lunchers we decided that we would use our gift certificates and enjoy a nice lunch off campus.
Once we arrived to the restaurant we were half-​way greeted by the lady at the door. I don’t know if she thought we were there to clean or if we were there to serve but she seem confused until we told her that we were there for lunch. Once we were seated I could look around and tell what type of crowd they are use to. Maybe it was my leopard print boots that threw them off. Lol.
Our waiter was one of the highlights of our lunch for me. He was very professional and he had a great sense of humor and style (he was wearing a very festive tie). We showed him our certificates at the very end of the meal and to make sure that we got the full bang for our buck he suggested that we both order another dessert so that we could leave with something extra that our certificate would cover. I honestly thought he would be snobby once he saw how we were paying but he wasn’t and he was definitely rewarded in the tip department for that.
I ordered the Linguine al Pesto without mushrooms and I added shrimp. I also had a house salad and for dessert the Crème Brulée with Berries. Hands down one of my favorite meals of the year. I will definitely be going back… on a date. lol. This meal was amazing and the dessert left my mouth wanting more so I ordered another one.
All in all great food but the service at the door could be a lot better.

I had visited the courtyard for a friends wedding a couple of years ago but had never «been».
My fellow Unilocaler Free L. and I were given gift certificates for lunch at a MEPH event and decided now was better than never and decided to take a spin for lunch (it’s been a hell of a day). Apparently they are in need of additional revenue and decided to open the bottom level for lunch.
So here is something funny for those that know me. I have horrible luck and it would have been just my luck that today for some unknown reason my coupon wouldn’t be redeemable. So my girlfriend and I just decided to take our coupons out and sit them on the table so that every time I waiter came, he knew what we were working with. We were prepared for anything today, washing dishes, making a fast break for the door (but obviously we were seated in the back) or fake a heart attack. But none of that had to happen because we were able to eat in peace and use our coupon!
PARKING
parking is interesting. Simply park yourself in a little lot by the front door, but make sure not to ENTER through the EXIT side, because that is dangerous.
ENTRY
upon entry the waitress/​hostess was sort of taken a back by two young, black, professional women entering the building and as we walked around the corner we realized why. We had to have been the youngest people there and possibly the only ones who have to «work» as I over heard the lady next to me say she is «here everyday».
DECOR
This place is a bit older and after visiting the omni last week and seeing how «old» it looked to me, it made me think that there must either be a ton of OLD PEOPLE in Houston or a ton of OLD MONEY in Houston to where it doesn’t matter what the place looks like. The room was filled with simple square tables of 4 with some old school holiday décor.
SERVICE
All the waiters are Hispanic, I don’t know why I am so taken a back by this but the cool part is that I felt comfortable you know how us «minorities» get down. LOL. Our waiter was pretty cool and even helped us to both walk out with two desserts to go! Rocks!
FOOD
The food was good. I ordered the Shrimp en brochette that came with a salad and the crème brûlée with berries. The salad was just that. a salad. although the tarragon vinaigrette was ok, I have made better myself. The Shrimp en brochette was great and I never thought I would say this but. my bacon was too crispy. It would flick and hit me in the face when I would cut it with my knife. The cream sauce was great and I used it to dip my potatoes.
I ordered the Crème Brulee because that Is MY DESSERT and I think I am a connoisseur. I would give this places a 5 out of 10. It was jam packed with the flavor that I liked and it was a bit too chilled but the top was fired just right. Not too much burnt flavor but just enough crisp on the top. When I read a menu and the item is labeled as «with berries» I expect to get more than 2 damn berries.
Because we had these vouchers for $ 25 dollars off of the lunch the deal was that you had to spend $ 50 to use them. Well our bill was $ 45 dollars and some change, so he encouraged us to get 2 desserts to go so that our meal could be free! What a server, he should have his own restaurant. We tipped him well.

I just had my ceremony and reception at the courtyard a few weeks ago. Everything turned out so great! Kyle was my planner and she was amazing the entire way through. They have the BEST food. The courtyard area is so beautiful! I would recommend them for sure.

We just had our wedding reception at Courtyard, and we are 100% satisfied with our choice! Our top 2 priorities for our reception were the food and the music. The food was excellent (can’t say the same about our DJ unfortunately). A lot of people commented to us that it was one of the best wedding meals that they had had. I particularly loved the crawfish cakes and yum, the prime rib. What was great was that they had a waiter assigned to us who brought us our food (we did buffet stations) so that we could actually eat.
The Courtyard has two different areas that you can choose from — upstairs is the ballroom which holds more people (on the order of 300 I believe), and the downstairs which is fewer. We chose the upstairs ballroom even though its minimum for food and beverage is higher, because the downstairs is split into two levels, and we thought it might be a little awkward. Our reception had about 170 – 180 guests. The facility itself is very nice and has lush greenery as other Unilocalers have mentioned; we took our bridal + bridal party photos there, still waiting to see them, but I expect they will look beautiful.
Our go-​to Courtyard person was Ashley. She was very helpful in making everything happen, keeping things on time, and calm and pleasant during the entire planning process. The staff were also excellent and very attentive. We chose Courtyard because they have a reputation of professionalism, caring, and many many years of experience with weddings. We actually planned the wedding from Atlanta, and only visited the facility 3 times — once, when we booked the reception. Second, to do the menu tasting. Third — for our wedding. We communicated with Ashley mostly through e-​mail. And it turned out wonderfully. I wish I could just eat some of that prime rib right now…

I’ve only used them for lunch and have been very happy with the food, the service but not happy with the excruciating wait times to get your lunch. The soups are great, the spinach enchiladas excellent and any entre I’ve had or my dining companions have had has been delicious. However, on several visits if they get the slightest bit busy it takes forever to get the main meal out. It isn’t the lack of waitstaff, as they seem to have several scurrying around serving what I don’t know considering the glacial speed of the kitchen. but if this doesn’t matter you can have a great lunch.

Open for lunch only during the week. They have weddings on the Weekend! I was so impressed with their venue and pricing that I booked them as our wedding venue today! My group stayed and also enjoyed lunch here today and it was amazing! We had their special of a pan seared flounder with lump crab meat in a lemon garlic sauce served with little potatoes and a green. It was fantastic. Pretty good service. I’m excited to taste the food samples for our wedding and hope that they are as good as what we tasted today. (If so our guests are in for a BIG treat!)

I work nearby so I go to Courtyard for a few business lunches per year. I usually get some type of cajun redfish dish. The fish, salads, ice tea, and service are always good and consistent and there are lots of big round tables ideal for parties of 6 – 8. The location and grounds are really nice and one could also have a nice meal outside when the weather cooperates. I think this is a four star place, on the culinary scale its not a can’t miss but everything is quality, consistent, yummy, and not too pricey, perfect for a business lunch. I was thinking the same thing as another reviewer, that this restaurant is a lot like a high-​end hotel restaurant in a downtown hotel that caters to conventions, safe but consistent in quality and just upscale enough, but the prices are better than they would be in such a hotel.

I’ve been to several weddings here and I think this place is just beautiful! The courtyard is the perfect place for an outdoor ceremony and it’s gorgeous when the flowers are in bloom. One of the reasons why I love this place is the lush greenery, yet it’s not surrounded by grass so it’s easy to walk on (a definite plus for ladies in heels). The accessible balcony is always a popular photo op.
The ballroom’s ceilings are a little low but the inside is kept pretty nice. It’s not a huge place but it’s perfect for a wedding of around 150 guests.
They won’t have two ceremonies outside at the same time, but they have had two receptions at the same time before in different rooms. As a guest you probably won’t be able to hear the other wedding, but if you are concerned about privacy this is something to consider.

I attended my friend’s wedding here a few months ago (which was absolutely wonderful) and decided to visit today for lunch. It was a very enjoyable experience, and I plan to return again. I ordered the broiled stuffed shrimp, which were among the best I ever tasted. Along with that I also had an order of the soup of the day, garlic soup. Never had garlic soup before and this one was perfect! Taste was not overpowering, it was just right. I saved room for dessert and ordered the crème brûlée… it was delicious! I love the location of this place, it’s calm, serene and out of the way… a great place to visit when you want to get away from the craziness of the office. Highly recommended both as a restaurant and wedding facility… and since I work only a few mins away, I will add this to my list of lunch destinations!

I am so happy that this place is so close to my office… I will be coming here A LOT.
A few girls I work with brought me here for lunch last week and since then I have already been back twice.
It is in kind of a random spot, surrounded by office buildings. But the restaurant/​venue itself is beautiful. They outside walls are covered in green vines, there is a pretty large patio and the inside is the size of a small/​medium ballroom. They actually turn the «Ballroom» into a restaurant at lunch.
So, the 3 times I have had lunch here in the past week the service has been great and the food has been delicious. Every time I have gone right around 11:15 and there are plenty of tables. By 12:00 it is pretty packed. Immediately after being seated you are served a giant tray of chips and really yummy salsa. The lunch menu is big. everything from custom pasta dishes, salads, many chicken and fish entrees and desserts. There is a little of everything! I have tried the Parmesan Chicken, Chicken Arturo, Pecan Chicken and all were DELICIOUS! The Chicken Parmesan is my fave though… it comes with some really good pasta in a red sauce and a piece of garlic bread… and a salad (love the house dressing!). All for $ 14. The first time I went my girlfriends and I shared the Tres Leches… it was SOOOOOOOOOOO good. One of the best I have had!
This is also a really popular wedding venue and venue for other events. My company had our Christmas Party here a couple years ago and it was really nice. The wedding pictures I have seen from here are beautiful too.
I had no idea this place was even a restaurant until just last week, now I am so happy to have found it. If you live/​work in the Galleria area definitely come here for lunch.

The Courtyard was wonderful! We loved getting married here and we fell in love with it the first time we looked at it! We knew it was the perfect place for our wedding and Christiana was so helpful and wonderful throughout the entire process from Day 1 until even after the wedding! They are so awesome and you will not be disappointed! It is a beautiful place and makes for wonderful memories for both ceremony and reception! — May 2009

It’s location is in a weird area; the surroundings are office buildings.
It looks quite small from the outside, but its decent sized. The food is not bad but not so great that I must come back for. The garden and décor is beautiful. Its quiet and peaceful. I would come back again!

Wow this place was fancy fancy fancy…
I know the manager and she invited me over for free lunch. I quickly noticed the setting/​athmosphere of the place. Very elegant, and fancy.
I heard that this place was a 5 star place.
I ate grilled salmon, and oh my goodness it was delicous, it had sautaed (probably spelled that wrong) mushroom and vegetables over it with some crème or sauce or something. Anyways the salmon came with salad/​or soup, rice and 2 slices of eggplant grilled. Everything was very delicous and tasty,.
I had the dessert trio after that, which was bread pudding, then i had crème brûlée, the crust COULD OF been harder it WAS soft, so… and it came with a piece of chocolate mousse cake.
I also got a cappuccino, i really already dont like them so i took a few sips, didnt mind, it was free anyways. In total it came out to like a $ 23 meal, but didnt pay.
The salmon was well worth it if i had to pay for it. much flavor, and moistness… mmmm yummy

Apparently, nobody in Houston realized that this events place is also a restaurant. I didn’t either, until I was invited here for lunch today.
The setting reminds you of the type of restaurant you would find at a restaurant in a hotel that caters to large conventions. It has that nice, safe upscale appearance. The food is good quality, although safe, American standards. I ate shrimp brochette, and the other people at my table had other, mainly seafood dishes. They were all good, but nothing really stood out in flavor. I also got a crème brûlée, but I’ve had better. The top could have been more crispy, although I imagine they made it as unthreatening as possible.
Overall it was a somewhat forgettable experience. I think that is what the owners of the place want. If you stand out too much when cooking food for events and corporate meals, you will likely put someone off or steal the thunder from the event. This food is good, but it’s exactly like what you would get at a hotel.

The best Spinach Enchiladas in Houston! A great place to host a party or event.