I stopped by the restaurant after finding out that my flight had been delayed for another four hours. Needless to say, I was not in an awesome mood. As soon as I sat down, the waitress addressed me and suggested that I get the catfish platter. I a swiftly ordered a drink and my food came out relatively quickly followed by the drink. Overall, the food was okay. Not awesome, but definitely not bad. I could tell that the food was pre-made, as it was all relatively under-seasoned and bland. The coleslaw is more on the sweet/dill side than the vinegar side, which I didn’t mind too much but I know that some people aren’t into that. Granted it was pricey, my drink was really strong which really helped calm the nerves after a stressful afternoon. Overall, this place has good service, and strong drinks, but the food that isn’t anything super special from a BBQ/Southern restaurant. I should have gone with the BBQ ½ Chicken instead of the catfish…
Amanda E.
Place rating: 5 San Diego, CA
The food was exactly what you’d expect from a airport. But the drinks and service were beyond compare. Jon the bartender produced phenomenal gin martinis, and had the presence of a seasoned sommelier. The fact a local brewery like Saint Arnold hasn’t snatched him up, means they aren’t paying attention. Jon is amazing.
Ness S.
Place rating: 3 Dublin, OH
He restaurant is in terminal C at IAH. This was the closest sit down place I could to my gate C-24 since a couple of nearby restaurants were closed. The service is friendly. The food is pretty fast. I had the brisket platter. It was adequate, plenty of brisket. The bbq sauce was not bad. The bread was a bit too soft for me. The service was quick, the food isn’t bad, but I was expecting some really yummy Houston brisket and this wasn’t it.
Matthew S.
Place rating: 3 Farmington, CT
Best value in the airport… Get the roasted half chicken for $ 10 and you will have more food than you need. My wife and I woke up and she couldn’t even finish hers. Very tasty, and actually they buy local if possible. Would highly recommend it, airport is challenging but this is a good value
Jenny S.
Place rating: 1 Killeen, TX
This place claims to be fresh local food, but my husband’s burger was clearly premade and so was the Mack and cheese. Do yourself a favor and save your money.
Bill A.
Place rating: 4 Yorba Linda, CA
Maybe I’m grading a bit easy because my expectations of airport food are so low but I had what I thought was an excellent smoked brisket sandwich at a cost that was not unreasonable. There was a sizable smoke ring present on the meat/good flavor. Sliced like I have had at most Texas BBQ(not too thin at all). The beer list is decent and I had a very nice local Alt style beer on tap. The service was mostly quite good… only the beer took a while to arrive. I was there on a Thursday about 6:30PM and it was not crowded at all. Noise level was low. Comparatively relaxing for an airport venue.
Megan T.
Place rating: 2 Washington, DC
Sauce was good but the beef brisket was sliced thin, like deli meat. I’m not from Texas, but I know that’s not the way to go. Service seemed a bit disgruntled.
Chris S.
Place rating: 4 Bradenton, FL
Used to be Bubba’s Bayou Bar & Grill — now called The Local @ IAH. I don’t like most of the eating/drinking establishments in IAH at all– and here frequently as of late. Far too many chains, same menus, which are already limited as is. The Local @ IAH has a very good, varied menu for airport food, with a hint of Texas /BBQ flavors — and not bad prices considering. Try the Dirty Mac n Cheese w brisket trimmings, scallions, & cheddar Panko — wow. Dirty Chips are twangy kettle cooked chips, topped with garlic aioli, scallions, & brisket trimmings. Awesome presentation with the Black Bean Soup. Brisket seems to be pretty popular, as well as the Pulled Pork sandwich topped with cole slaw. Pictured is the Smoked Chicken Baguette sandwich. Have yet to see anyone complain. Can’t vouch for the wait staff– as I’ve only ever sat at the bar. But barkeep«Caleb» is extremely friendly, helpful, and knowledgable about ALL of the beer offerings, with a deep Texas twang that sounds like Alan Jackson. Draft beer offerings plentiful, including a handful of both local and non-local draft crafts — served icy cold. Full wine and liquor menu as well. Nicely located, with a small front entrance– which helps block out all the airport noise & traffic. Still tryin to figure out why not a line out the door to get in — but maybe b/c still best kept secret at IAH airport. Search this one out, and don’t waste time(or $s) at any of other mediocre offerings at IAH. Look hard, or you’ll miss it — down hallway toward Gate C-14, left hand side. Eating, Writing… and Out.
Jonathan M.
Place rating: 4 Chicago, IL
This is located in the North part C-Concourse and I think it may have replaced«Bubba’s Bayou Grill.» I couldn’t find any info on this place on Unilocal,google or even the IAH airport homepage. Anyway it is an improvement for sure. They had a pretty decent menu of burgers, BBQ, Salads, Appetizers… and oh yes… Craft Beers. I had the Brisket Platter($ 14) and a Shocktop Beer($ 6.00). The brisket was pretty good, the slices were a little thin, but there was a lot of meat on the platter. The Fries, cole slaw and bread were a nice addition. The food came out pretty fast and it was nice and hot, and seemed fresh, not like it had been under a heat lamp for hours. Also they got me in and out within 30 minutes so that is not too bad if you don’t have a lot of time.