Ziggy’s Bar and Grill Downtown

Meh to the max.
The story is that it’s nearly impossible to find lunch outside of an hotel restaurant in Downtown Houston on a Sunday afternoon. After 40 years of wandering, my group finally stumbled into the oasis of AN OPEN RESTAURANT!
The turkey burger was pretty good, my angus burger had the unfortunate fate of being murdered by this piece of plastic disguised as American cheese, and a couple of my friends ordered the cheesesteak and couldn’t hate it more.
I only slightly prefer this place to starvation.

**FREE DESSERT if you check into Unilocal!**
First time to Ziggy’s Bar and Grill Downtown location today.
Our group of 4 went here on Thursday during the prime lunch time: noon. We expected there to be a long line similar to those of Café Express and Chipotle nearby. But when we walked in, no line! At first I was thinking maybe the food is not that great because there are not that many people, but the food everyone ordered was pretty good!
The average price per sandwich/​burger is around $ 6 – 7.
The average price per entrée (including two sides) is around $ 10 – 11.
Entrees can be a bit pricey for lunch, but if you are looking for a not-​so-​crowded-​during-​working-​hours place to eat at, Ziggy’s is a good choice!
I ordered the meatloaf, which was OKAY. The sweet potato fries are okay as well… But the soup, the delicious pork stew soup… SO good. My coworkers ordered the fish tacos, mac & cheese, quesadilla, spinach side, and chicken BLT. Everyone seemed to like their food. The portion is pretty good — Doesn’t get you bloated, but definitely keeps you full.
The best part and the reason why I’m giving Ziggy’s a 4 instead of a 3 (the food is a 3 for me)? You get free dessert if you check in on Unilocal!The owner was SO friendly that he gave us 4 freshly-​basked chocolate chip banana muffins to eat while we dine, AND another set of 4 muffins to take home! Talk about nice customer service. :)

Healthy, local foods– including very affordable breakfasts! I’m so thankful to have Ziggys in downtown, & I really like to support them. They always have Texas beers to offer, along with healthy meal options– even the burgers are grass-​fed, locally raised beef.
While maybe not big on ambience, they consistently deliver a fine meal– maybe nothing to write home about, but if you’re looking for something quick & tasty while in downtown, I recommend Ziggy’s very much.

Wow Ziggy’s. Thanks for ruining my Sunday. I am a faithful patron at the Montrose location and was so excited to find that the downtown location is a mere 3 blocks from my new home.
Let’s start with the fact that it took 40 minutes to get a salad, sandwich and my favorite snack hummus with pesto. No more pizza, which I was looking forward to since they use turkey meat. Macaroni and cheese is nothing like the Montrose location, I am certain it’s the frozen variety and is way over cooked. No sign of real cheese here.
My order was finally bagged and ready to go. Problem. No pesto in my hummus. For the extra 1.25 they charge for it, if not available they should probably let you know. I pointed it out and it took another 5 minutes and a few staff members to realize they were out. They were not really sure how to deal with the fact I had paid extra. Standing there, they sheepishly handed me back the hummus sans pesto and were trying to figure out how to give me back my 1.25. Finally over it, I said never mind and took my food and walked home.
Okay, I’m a bit irked about the hummus. Figure at least I have a sandwich. Problem. My sandwich which was not supposed to have peppers on it was smothered in them. Come On! Is this a joke? I bagged everything back up and walked back down there.
The one server who was obviously new, looked nervous. The gal that was helping him looked at me. I addressed both of them and said I just want my money back. There are peppers on the sandwich. She alerted a third person to assist in the transaction. While nervous newbie and other gentleman were fighting with the register, I heard the girl talking to the cook about yet another incorrect order for another patron. Finally, the gentleman turned to me and apologized and assured me I would not be charged.
Total: almost 18 dollars plus tip.
Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Now, where shall I go for lunch? I’m still hungry and sorely disappointed in Ziggy’s. I will not be returning… Ever.

This is a very underrated place, so I hope this review brings some light back in the dark void that has been creeping on this place steadily over time. This is a unique little seashell on the seashore that was sold by some mischievous little girl that really enjoyed tongue twisters — it is unlike all of the other downtown dining options, which means it has my attention, just the same as Bombay Pizza/​Niko-​Niko Market Square/​ERA Pizza/​and Hearsay (among others) gained when they flung open their doors to the world asking to be Unilocaled and judged by their Unilocaly overlords with a smartphone/​laptop and internet/​3G connection. Thus begins your Unilocaly review process, Ziggy:
Walk in, things are not that busy. First thought: I get to choose where I sit instead of being cattle herded between cattle herds, yay! The waiter is instantly friendly and acting like a person, not some overworked peon who hates his job, his boss, and his life since he is serving us food. This was an instant GOOD first impression and that matters a lot.
The menu is set down and the review of the menu options begins. There are a lot of good options here, in fact, it is kind of hard to settle on one thing. My tex-​mex side wants FISH TACOS! My stronger Italian side holds down the tex-​mex side, pummels it, and says that we are having spaghetti. And then there is the herd of buffalo that tramples through the room and asks why you are so judgmental that you won’t give a serious thought to eating the brotha’ of the hamburger, the buffalo burger? Why!!!
But it all comes down to the fish tacos, since that is kind of my thing at places like the Cheesecake Factory and my mainstay at my other unique downtowny meal-​a-​torium, Guadalajara del Centro, I figure let’s go with something standard and let this bad boy get judged accordingly. In addition to the fish tacos (three of those little piggies) you get two sides — mine, being me, of course included Mac and cheese. That was the easy, cheesy choice. The harder choice was what was to come second. Eventually I settled on the sweet potato fries since we were looking out on Café Express and I remember all of my tasty lunches of the turkey burger with sweet potato fries, and then I think, «Yum» and my mind is made up.
A review of their food in four acts:
Fish tacos — delicately folded, tortilla slightly damp but not dripping, colorful, and a big hunk of fish. A small cup of mango salsa on the side. Dump a little mango salsa on, fold it up, and wow, this is pretty tasty. Way better than Cheesecake Factory by miles. It is missing the drizzled ranchy/​guacamoley/​green spicy sauce that Guadalajara del Centro drizzles on and makes it rain on your fish tacos. But even without that amazingness on these, it is still a tasty entrée. I approve.
Mac and cheese — eek, this is so good I might just get a pound of it next time. The cheese is thick but wrestles away and molds itself into your fork and into your mouth without too much effort. The cheese is strong, the mac is big, it is creamy, this is a very great side to add to any meal.
Sweet potato fries — these are nothing like Café Express. They are bigger, meatier, more fried, and a different color (not in a bad way.) These are good — and I even offered some out since I think everyone should try these. These are a great supplement to any meal, in a rough patch it could be an entire meal. Very tasty.
White chocolate macadamia cookie — this thing is sugary like a waterfall, it is soft, chewy, and gives you enough sugar to lift a car over your heard if you feel like it — or more simply, enough energy to walk across the street and go grab a beer at the Flying Saucer.
Note to others: check in on the Unilocal app and get a free dessert if you purchased an entrée (such as the fish tacos!) Everyone loves a good cookie and these marvelous white chocolate macadamia cookies really round out an amazing meal.
This is a highly underrated place to eat downtown. Do yourself a favor and come give it a try — whether you want vegan/​veg, some mac and cheese, or a big honkin’ fish taco — you can find what you want here — and be treated to some great customer service from a nice waiter. How many downtownery eating places can say that? Few, if any. Nice atmosphere, very chic diner-​ish, not pretentious, not trying too hard — just a nice place to come eat and get away from the madness of it all.
I shall be back for more of your mac and cheese, probably other things too.

Great little place. They have two locations. Try the nachos or veggie meatloaf. I haven’t had anything bad here.

They didn’t know what the Unilocal coupon even was. And how does a $ 8 omelette and a $ 3.50 breakfast sandwich equal $ 16.99? I think they charged me for the dessert anyway but I couldn’t tell because my receipt only had my total. The place was practically empty. No excuse for over charge and slow, unfriendly service.

I recently ordered the black bean burgers with the sweet potato fries, which is prompting me to dock this place a star. Oh so sad, but true!
My take out order was all packed up and ready to go when I arrived — so that was super. The staff seemed a bit listless as this was a Sunday so nearly deserted, even around the peak lunch hours. I was extremely famished (good for me for unintentionally skipping dinner and breakfast!), so I scuttled away quickly to tear open the contents of the generic white plastic bag.
Major fail with the sweet potato fries! Still prepared on site with the nutritiously delicious skins intact — brownie points for that, but they were all very very soggy, limp, and tasteless. Oh how my heart cried, my soul died. I had really liked them last time — where did it all go wrong? The fries were all incredibly fortunate to meet their destiny in my belly only because I was so freaking hungry. But really, these could have benefited from some quality time in my toaster oven.
The black bean burger was a nice hefty portion and it’s supposedly hand/​homemade (is it hand or home if it’s a restaurant? I don’t know. .. help?). I’m not the most hardcore burger fan, but I can say it was passable, maybe borderline decent? It’s probably not fair for me to fuss over the fact that it was a tad too mushy (beans, mushy? No way!), but it was. On the plus side, it did taste extremely healthy and hearty — no grease drippage or immense guilt after complete consumption. I ordered it sans cheese and poured salsa and ketchup on it and devoured it within a matter of minutes. Again, not because it was extremely delicious, but because I was starving.
All in all an okay lunch. It got the job done and kept me afloat until the evening. But was it really all that memorable and enjoyable? Mehhh. However, I will probably come here again because the vegan options are plentiful and safe.

Yesterday my wife and I had lunch at Ziggy’s Bar & Grill in downtown Houston. I had been there once before but this was the first time for my wife.
She ordered the grilled chicken with avocado sandwich and sweet potato fries. The portions were more than she could eat but not obscenely large. She liked the sandwich but her biggest complaint was that it was dry. The sweet potato fries were good but she had to season them to her liking. My wife had Sangria and enjoyed it.
I ordered the daily special which was brisket served over beans. The texture of the brisket was excellent but it lacked any real flavor. The brisket must have been oven cooked which explains the tenderness and flavorlessness. The beans, which I think were pork and beans, had a unique flavor. It was not bad but I’m not convinced it was good. I believe they cooked the beans in beer for the unique flavor. I had a salad with my meal. There was no real wow factor but I like the fact that they had some unique dressings to choose from in addition to the old standbys.
Like my first visit, the service was subpar. We were not properly greeted and had to wait too long to settle our check despite the fact that it was late in the afternoon and there were not many patrons there at the time. Seating is adequate and you can see some interesting goings on on Main Street. While we were there, the restaurant was very smoky, so either the ventilation is poor or there was a mishap in the kitchen. The prices were a little on the high side for lunch but not enough to run you off.
If you work downtown as I do and get tired of the same lunches day after day, try Ziggy’s. They certainly offer a unique dining experience.

I’ve been to Ziggy’s a few times now, hoping each time that my experience will be better than the last. Unfortunately, I am disappointed each time I go. From the pancakes to the breakfast burrito their food is bland and undwhelming.
If you’re visiting downtown, you might just want to keep walking… right past Ziggy’s.

We were all looking for a healthy dinner delivery option and Ziggy’s seemed like the perfect solution. But in retrospect, eek! Methinks not.
Pros: They offer free delivery downtown
Cons:
— It took me 3 tries to phone in our order
— Delivery doesn’t start until 5:45PM
— They got ¹⁄₃ of our order wrong (wrong sides, forgot the hummus appetizer, gave a regular burger instead of a turkey burger)
— It took an hour and 15 minutes for the food to arrive and we had to chase the delivery girl down the block because she couldn’t find the office building. (We order delivery every night and no one has ever had a problem finding the building)
— The food is bland and down-​right no good! I ordered the tilapia (which tasted like a frozen filet thrown into a microwave for 5 minutes then topped with some lemon pepper seasoning), the acorn squash (it was much too fibrous, undercooked, and bland), and the spinach and mushrooms (soggy and tasted metallic-​y)
Thanks for being the first restaurant I’ve awarded a 1-​star rating to. No thanks for the horrible experience.

Everyone from work picks up dinner to-​go from Ziggy’s. It’s pretty healthy and super convenient.
The décor is colorful and bizarre. There’s a giant portrait of a cat in the dining area.
I got the spaghetti with spicy turkey meatballs ($ 10), which came with two sides. I chose the acorn squash and sweet potato fries. Bf got the soup and salad combo (chicken BLT and lentil soup– $ 8) with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. All of the food came out lukewarm– only the spaghetti came out close to hot.
I liked the turkey meatballs. They’re baked, not deep fried (or however people usually make it), and had a nice and juicy flavor. The spaghetti was fine– sauce tasted like Ragu. No surprises there though. The presentation of the dish was so bizarre. It came out as a bowl of spaghetti with five meatballs placed in a circle, and then torn pieces of whole wheat bread placed in between the meatballs. It looked like a fifth grader made the dish. And is it weird to add whole wheat bread to a whole wheat pasta dish, or is that just me?
The acorn squash is half an acorn squash with apples, pecans, and honey in the middle. It’s a healthy option, but I was expecting squash casserole (Treebeard’s style). The sweet potato fries are real sweet potato. I know this, because they looked exactly like mine when I make it. None of that Cheetos-​orange coloring and a light not-​oily/​salty flavor.
I tried the bf’s soup and mashed potatoes. The lentil soup was pretty bland, and it didn’t help that it wasn’t hot. The mashed potatoes were nice and garlic-​y, but the gravy was way too salty. I’d leave it off next time– the potatoes had enough flavor by itself. I didn’t try the chicken BLT, but he said it was really dry. The sandwich also doesn’t come with any dressings and condiments. I guess that’s the «healthy» part.
We had pretty decent, and healthy-​ish, food. The server was really helpful and stopped me from ordering what could have been a disaster– the veggie loaf. The service and waiting for the food part was a bit slow, but not too bad of an experience for something right next to work.

Good food, terrible service.
I was pretty disappointed in the service here. With only 3 other tables seated in the place, we still waited a long time to place a drink order, recieved cold coffee, had to request fresh coffee replacement twice (the waitress said she could not remember which table needed it, hence she did not bring it. There were 3 tables having coffee that morning). We had to flag down help every time and overall it was an irritating meal. It’s a shame the food is pretty decent but not worth the aggravation.

I’m going to miss downtown. So many good places to eat for lunch. Ziggy’s is one of them. Only came once but the burger was very good. And who can go wrong with sweet potato french fries?! My fav!
Very juicy turkey burger on whole wheat bun with the SP fries. And Heinz ketchup! Excellent!

I really want to like Ziggy’s. I love the healthy-​concept, I like the restaurant space, I like the menu selections. But the last couple visits, the items I’ve had just taste bland. Healthy should not equate to lack of flavor!
For veg*ns, the black bean burger and chickpea burger are both pretty great. The veggie loaf, however, falls more toward the «bland» category.
Perhaps I’m just ordering the wrong things! I’ll have to come back for breakfast or happy hour, because those are two parts of the menu even more intriguing than what I’ve been munching at lunch.

I am honest enough to say, if they say healthy I will be suspicious and probably walk the other direction. But I had breakfast on Sunday, trying the flourless muffin using Splenda ($ 1.75) and breakfast sandwiches ($ 3). The muffin is unusual, but I like oatmeal and it was sweet, though I am also used to Splenda. I never saw much difference using Splenda, though I will regularly get coffee w/​o any sweetener, so I am probably not desensitized to sugar like most people.
They have some good takes on healthier eating, and they definitely have a good crowd for a Sunday in downtown Houston. I recommend trying them out, their burgers are supposed to be good also and they have liquor license… They have Macallen 10, sweet! One of my favorite scotches.

Perhaps I’ve been spoiled, but I was very underwhelmed by Ziggy’s. This was my first trip here, and while I will probably be back, it was not that great.
Walk in, sit down, and they’ll bring you a menu and a water. Find what you want, order at the counter, fill your own soft drink, and then they’ll bring you your food. I ordered the buffalo burger, and it was a bit greasy. Well, for a buffalo burger, it was really greasy. The whole wheat bun was far from great, as well. The whole thing came together in a sort of greasy, mealymouthed mess that tasted like cafeteria food to me.
Overall, the place was clean, and had a good atmosphere, but the food was incredibly average. Maybe I caught them on a bad day, or maybe I have been spoiled by District 7, but I was not impressed.

3 stars all around. Nothing special to write home about.
Today was my first trip to Ziggy’s Downtown; a small restaurant across Main St. from the Flying Saucer. You seat yourself and order at the counter. I ordered a buffalo burger with fries and a soft drink from the fountain. This soft drink was $ 2 for about 20 cents worth of beverage. I’m tired of restaurants ridiculously overcharging for their soft drinks. They aren’t that expensive, people!
Anyway, the buffalo burger was a little greasier than I expected, but fairly good. The buffalo burger at District 7 is much better, however. The fries were nothing to write home about; standard fries with some sort of seasoning not applied well to them.
Don’t come to Ziggy’s expecting a gourmet meal and you’ll be alright.
(Wow, did I really use «nothing to write home about» twice not counting just now? That gives you the idea of how I feel about this place.)

Again, another great addition to downtown.
The service is great, the food is fresh and flavorful and they have loads of healthy alternatives.
I chose to not go the incredibly healthy route and I sprung for the Buffalo Burger. It was moist and cooked perfectly. I did get the spinach and mushrooms as my side instead of fries so I will give myself a respectable ⁴⁄₁₀ on the healthy scale.
Once issue I did have is the speed of everything. Now I am trying to slow down my eating, It is much better for you, but this was a bit too slow. It has the appearance of a quick eatery, but it really doesn’t live up to the façade.
Either way, the staff there is great, and I am looking forward to going back.

When you offer a special on your menu, you better make it pretty fraking delicious (especially for a new restaurant). New patrons will usually order the special deal of the day because they don’t know what is good on the menu. That meal is usually a good barometer of how I think the restaurant will be. Ziggy’s sounds like a nice healthy alternative to the fried foods and boring sandwiches of downtown.
My buddy and I both ordered the Monday special which is a grilled tequila lime chicken + sides + guacamole for $ 11. The inside of the chicken was a bit dry, but the lime coating was a complimentary subtle splash of sour. I am not a fan of beans and was disappointed when I could not substitute it for anything. I probably would’ve taken anything else, even a piece of bread. The rice was enjoyable but I wish I had a bit more. The baked pita chips tasted burnt and I thought I was eating ash on some of the bites. Dipping the chips in the salsa was a terrible idea. The salsa enhanced the bitterness of the chips. Holy Guacamole! masked the smokiness of the chips and cooled my taste buds.
It was confusing first walking into Ziggy’s because there was a hostess stand with menus but everyone was walking to the cash register to order. We spotted the «please seat yourself» sign tucked in the corner. There is also a Pepsi fountain machine in the back of the restaurant. At first I filled my own water, then half way through someone else started doing it for me. The workers were all pretty friendly. I also couldn’t tell who was working there because everyone was just wearing random t-​shirts and jeans. I am on the fence about coming back, but some of the burgers and fruit looked pretty palatable.