Houston’s Restaurant

Soooooo sad!
Just spoke to my wife who told me about their closure. Before we moved to Ann Arbor this summer, we used to go there on a monthly basis. Nothing could beat their fish sandwich. Dip au jus was also great. Great service, great food, fun atmosphere, just loved that place.

dammit.
why did i wait so long to eat here?
came here a week before it closed and ate a wonderful meal.
caesar salad appetizer with a prime rib entrée and a loaded baked potato on the side.
nothing about the meal was UNfabulous.
butttttttttt… it’s a little. um.
ghetto.
i know. stab me in the face. whatever. but when i see a dude sitting next to me wearing sunglasses in a darkly lit restaurant 9:30pm yelling across the restaurant at his friends 3 tables down. doesn’t exactly create the AMBIANCE for a steakhouse.
anyways. i am sad this place closed.
btw i gained 3 lbs from this meal.

My wife and I have been coming to Houston’s for years. Despite being part of a chain, or perhaps because it is, Houston’s is consistently excellent. They really have their act together, and one can see that management is part of the formula for success. The place is always crowded at lunch and dinner, which is a good sign. They don’t take reservations, which is bad. If dining on a Saturday night (1 hour + wait time), I would go and give our reservation, return home for awhile, then return with my wife in time to be seated.
The service is simply outstanding. They have a unique system where one waiter takes the order, and the other waiters fill in as needed to serve the customer. A second waiter might bring our drinks, a third waiter our appetizers, a fourth our entrees. If we need anything, we just grab any waiter walking by and suddenly our request is fulfilled by yet another waiter. I don’t know how they do it, it is a magnificent case of teamwork and communication.
The food is excellent. We are non-​meat eaters, and have several outstanding choices: the fish is consistently outstanding, the salads are great too, and the veggie burgers also excellent. One of our favorites is the sushi salad, with just-​seared tuna served rare on a salad with Asian-​inspired dressing and ginger. Really tasty and original.
I have dined with business colleagues who order ribs, steaks and burgers, and they always comment on how good the food is. The fries in particular are outstanding.
Great bar area, really nice place to come for a drink and light meal/​appetizers, and they always have good sports on the television. Good beer selection.
Very comfortable atmosphere, a bit noisy but not too much. Among the best places in Rockville (there is one in Bethesda too, but I like this location better. Bethesda is very noisy).
Great desserts, particularly the brownie sundae.

I came here based on the recommendation of a friend (Heather from Trim Salon, see Trim review). I ordered the hickory burger which interestingly was a «bacon» cheeseburger made with Canadian bacon. As Heather mentioned the burger is really just a vehicle for the delicious Hickory sauce. Side note — she’s vegetarian and she said the veggie burger is the best she ever had.
I was in Rockeville for an appointment, and as I had been late for my appointment I didn’t have time to eat breakfast that morning. By noon I was starving and ate that huge burger and fries in literally less than five minutes. The waitress came back to «see if everything was okay» and she looked at me like I was a freak, completely disgusted I ate that much food in that period of time. I politely asked for her to run my card asap because I was worried I might fall asleep and have to be wheeled out of the restaurant.

Perhaps all the rave about this place really hyped up our expectations but we weren’t very impressed by our meal last night. Don’t get me wrong, the meal was good but it didn’t WOW us. We ordered the prime rib and the filet mignon. while the filet was good it wasn’t amazing. The prime rib was just ok. Considering the money spent there last night and it was my birthday. I was expecting an amazing wow omg awesomeness meal. but the experience didn’t blow me away.
We had reservation so we only had to wait about 5 mins. The serivce was quick and good. Our server was very attentive and the ambiance was nice. The food however, just didn’t live up to our expections. and by that, I mean we expected more for the price we are paying. It wasn’t a cheap meal! Will we come back again? Probably not at this point.

Among the chain restaurants, Houston is one of the best. The food is great, the service is very good and the ambiance simple, yet elegant. I went there recently with my wife, after we received a US$ 50 coupon on a raffle at our building (I am just a poor scientist). We did not order dessert, we shared and appetizer and did not drink wine and the bill was still US$ 40 on top of the coupon. Therefore, be prepared to spent «big bucks» if you want to have a full course dinner there (maybe this is the reason why people like Maddoff were habitués at Houston’s in Manhattan).
Ahhh…the grilled artichokes were delicious!

Been here twice for dinner– once for a friend’s bday and once on Father’s Day. I gotta say, this place is top-​notch in terms of service. The substitutions of sides, asking for stuff on the side, and requesting for condiments/​napkins/​etc while they are running from table to table does not trip them up.
Their starter salads are HUGE. I thought they had brought out an entrée salad by mistake. It had lots of toppings inside– more than the usual tomatoes and onions. My grandmother got their cheeseburger and fries. It was good… not sure if it was $ 13 – 14 good but she got ½ of it to go. My rib-​eye was cooked well and I had no complaints.
With non-​alcoholic drinks, 4 starter salads, and 4 entrees, it came out to be about $ 140 including tip. Not bad for a special occasion.

I was happily surprised by everything at Houston’s: food, service, décor.
After a friend told me about a fabulous meal she had here, we decided to stop in for lunch on a Sunday. I had *the most amazing* tomato and shrimp salad and grilled artichokes (both specials) and my husband loved the maple-​glazed carrots (even more than his burger, which was «ground fresh» that morning). The inside was cozy, dimly lit, and had the feel of a historic DC tavern – much more well-​decorated than the stripmall exterior would lead you to believe – and the service was top notch.
I left feeling like this was right up there with some of the best meals I’ve had in Rockville (Il Pizzico, Cava, Mykonos, Sushi Damo…) My only regret was that I didn’t order a martini.

I remember the good ol’ days when those amazing burgers were only $ 8 bucks. Those stick thin fries are VERY tastey. The burgers are VERY VERY VERY good. However, this restaurant is somewhat on the pricey end (burgers are now 11 – 13 I think?) and they don’t accept reservations (which sucks). But I’m willing to drive 30 – 40 more minutes to get Ray’s Hellburger.
Restaurant feel is definatly romantic. Dim lighting sets the mood.

Gonna have to give Houston’s a «Pretty Damn Good» on the eater meter.
A group from work and I popped in on Inauguration night and the place was a buzz with post inaugural bliss. I don’t typically Unilocal chain restaurants, but this was good enough to warrant the review.
We started with the smoked salmon appetizer and Spinach dip. The smoked salmon was a show stopper. A generous slab of house smoked salmon which was moist and flaky and simply delicious when smathered with the accompanying sauce.
I had a house salad, which I shared. One other diner had the Caesar. Entrees for the group…
1. Crab Cakes… twin cakes, panko crusted and fried. Served over a rich mustard sauce. They were really good.
2. Petite Filet — properly seasoned but a little overdone. It was ordered medium but I would say it came out medium well. (I would have ordered it medium rare)
3. Grilled Halibut in butter crab sauce — Very good. Perfectly cooked.
4. BBQ Ribs — Tasty, but not a great value for my money. The ribs were not as meaty as I would have liked.
Sides are very good here. I love the shoestring fried potatoes and their housemade coleslaw with fresh chopped parsley (really fresh and delicious)
For dessert we shared the lemon zest cheesecake. It was cheesecake perfection.
Service was a real standout. Our server could not have been better. Causual and unaffected while remaining totally on top of her game. What more could you ask for.

I went to Houston’s for the cheeseburger. Call it a waste of time and money, but I’ve heard rave reviews about this dish. Want to know how it went? Read on, fellow Unilocaler, read on.
What I like about the burger is that it’s not overdone. And I mean in terms of bells and whistles (the burger itself was slightly overcooked). It’s not some patty hiding beneath some fancy sauce or exotic vegetable. It’s a simple, greasy, American burger. Topped with cheddar cheese, diced raw onion, lettuce and tomato. The «house-​made» bun was very good. Overall not extraordinary, but a very solid burger.
Fries are the standard Houston’s shoestring variety. At first I didn’t like such dainty spuds meandering with my manly burger. Honestly I had trouble grasping the little suckers after handling such a hefty sandwich. But the fries were salted perfectly. And they had the right balance of crispiness to softness.
The misses ordered the Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich. Delicious. I think I liked it more than the cheeseburger. Jack cheese, arugula, red onion, and tomato compliment the herb-​y rotisserie chicken well. It’s comfort food on a bun. (And yes, I waited until she said she was full before I devoured her sandwich.)
Service was excellent. The waitress didn’t mind that we ordered 2 of the cheapest entrees on the menu. She was attentive, friendly, and proactive. Just what I have come to expect at Houston’s.
Just a note: I haven’t been to Houston’s in a while and last time the Hawaiian Ribeye was off the menu. I was happy to see the Hawaiian Rib-​eye is back on the menu.
A solid three stars for the cheeseburger. Bump up to 4 for the service and previous dining experiences. Happy eating and happy new year.

Nothing says upward social mobility like your visit to Houston’s…that or «OMG! I signed a credit card form just to get a free t-​shirt and later they actually gave me free money! Huh?! What’s an APR?» Growing up, eating out meant going to McD’s/Roy Rogers/​Burger King or for special occasions going to TGIFriday’s. A lot of older folks I knew kept talking about this place Houston’s and how awesome the food was, so much so that Houston’s became almost mythical in my mind. I still remember when a close friend of mine started working, and by working, I probably mean hustling, either that or he made a lot of money playing Tonk or Spades… it was PG county after all… and for my birthday, he wanted to take me out to Houston’s, which may as well have been called Jefferson’s b/​c I felt like singing
Movin’ on Up! To the east side!
Movin’ on Up! We’ve finally got a piece of the pie!
The experience was glorious and the food is still etched on my tongue. Spinach dip, filet ordered medium (I was still in high school and didn’t fully appreciate rare meats), which came w/​my first ever salad with real bacon rather than those bacon pebbles, Couscous, which I ordered b/​c it sounded expensive, which were like bacon pebbles made of rice, and a brownie a la mode. A fat angel in foodie heaven got his or her wings that day.
About 10 years later and numerous trips to Houston’s for birthday’s, attempting to impress girls on a first date only to let them down when date #2 was at McD’s, special occasions, and random trips to Rockville, Houston’s has remained an enjoyable dining destination. The food, service, not to mention wait times, have remained consistent over the years.
Food — if you go to Houston’s, you absolutely must start with the Chicago-​Style Spinach Dip ($ 11). Cheese + chopped spinach + heavy whipping cream, served with sour cream/​salsa and hips. Grab a chip, layer on 2 parts dip, 1 parts sour cream and salsa, put into mouth, enjoy, and repeat. The chips can be rather oily at times, but the dip is so amazing! For entrees, the Hawaiian Ribeye ($ 29) is like a giant piece of tender, tender galbi, the Center-​Cut Filet ($ 30) used to be a favorite until I discovered the goodness that is fatty meats, the prime rib ($ 27) isn’t too shabby, and the barbecue ribs ($ 27) are fall-​off-​the-​bone tender with excellent flavor. All of these entrees are good, but I think Ray’s or Ruth’s easily trump the steaks, the Hawaiian used to be massive but it must’ve spent too much time in the pool b/​c there’s some major shrinkage, and any BBQ joint will provide 2 racks of ribs for the price of barely one here. The entrees are served with a recommended side, but I always opt out of the couscous. They used to provide a traditional or Caesar salad with the entrée a long time ago, but they now charge $ 5. I don’t usually enjoy salads but the traditional salad – mixed greens, crunchy croutons, chopped egg and smokehouse bacon – is really good. A dining companion once ordered the crabcakes and we weren’t impressed as there was quite a bit of filler.
The brownie a la mode is an excellent end to a decadent meal.
Location — in it’s heydey, you could expect a Cheesecake Factory-​esque hour long wait on any night, except that the wait here made sense since the food was actually good. I mean really, is the cajun jambalaya so good that you’d wait more than an hour for it? Anywho, today, Houston’s still gets steady traffic but most weeknights, you should be seated promptly. If you have to wait, the waiting area is very large and has plenty of seats so it’s not too bad. They can accommodate groups, but I believe they can seat a maximum of 7 at each table. The interior is dimly lit with plenty of comfortable booths. If you’re coming from the Beltway on Rockville Pike, you have to make a U-​turn at the light for Federal Plaza.
Service — most of the times I’ve been here, the service has been great. On a few occasions, a hostess or server were snooty, but by and large, the service was on point. For parties of 5 or more, they’ll automatically add 18% gratuity.
The food at Houston’s is still very good and it still remains a fantastic restaurant in my mind, but it has certainly lost its mythical status.
Finally, an amusing personal anecdote. On one special occasion where I wanted to celebrate my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, for something or other, I wanted to surprise her and said, «We’re going to go to one of your favorite places tonight.» When we showed up at Houston’s, she said, «Honey. Houston’s is YOUR favorite restaurant.» ^_^

Lets face it, steak in DC is inconsistent. Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Sam & Harry’s, PrimeRib, your back yard, where ever it might be, these places, while they make amazing steak, are often a box of chocolates.
You are assured a great steak when you come to Houston’s and great everything else. The service is almost always good, unless you get someone horrible, which can happen. The atmosphere is also cool and the tables large and roomy.
«Get to the food!» you say. Fine, here it is. The steak is wonderful. Everytime. It will not be the best steak you ever have, but it will be up there, and it wont cost you $ 50. The spinach dip is the best appetizer and its so delicious. I’ve been here at least 6 times and it has never disappointed. The salads are always amazing, and full of wonderfulness. If you want to go to a nice place to eat, but not spend $ 100, this should be in your top 3. In fact, if you go, gimme a call.

I lost a bet a few months ago and finally had to pay up tonight by taking a couple of my friends out to Houston’s for dinner. Of course since I was paying I wanted to go to Sizzler but my boys weren’t buying that. You can imagine I was quite distraught when they chose Houston’s because, like most good steak houses, it is a little on the pricey side.
The restaurant is in a weird location and is quite easy to miss as you go by it on Rockville Pike. It’s much bigger on the inside then it appears on the outside and sports plenty of tables in a dimly lit atmosphere.
The three of us all left from work and arrived at slightly different times. I was kind of pissed that they wouldn’t seat me and my other guest while we waited for our third. I thought that it was quite rude that they made us sit in the lobby when there were plenty of empty tables. When we were finally sat we were put at a large six top and had to request to be placed at a smaller, more conversation friendly table which I thought was rather odd.
It was smooth sailing after that.
I ordered a caramelized onion soup along with the ribeye, medium rare, and a cold pint of Sierra Nevada. The soup was served with bread and melted cheese and was pretty good. The steak came about ten minutes after the appetizer and was cooked to perfection. It was incredibly tender for a ribeye and was marinated in an incredibly delicious marinade. It also had a slight charcoal taste that was rather delightful.
My buds both ordered the prime rib with the bone in and were very very pleased with what they got. They also ordered side salads as appetizers (which were $ 11!) and a beer and diet coke.
Overall this was a fantastic meal at a fantastic steak house. This was my second great experience at this Houston’s. It was pricey ($ 120 for three of us) but it’s always worth it when your with good friends. I’m still bitter Memphis lost that game and it was me buying as opposed to being treated. But hey, at least I still have both of my thumbs… For now.

THE WAIT… was long, but expected, it was a weekend night and I was a party of 4.
THE WAITER… our particular waiter was rude… and sort of an ass. Whatever. maybe it was just OUR waiter. I was on a double date and he never looked at our dates in the face… he only spoke directly to me and my best friend (a female aka. the other dater)…it was weird. When it came to taking our guys’ orders, he looked at his notepad the whole time… I didn’t get it at all, it’s not like they were ugly! LOL!
THE RULES… don’t get the cell phone rule. We saw the sign (regarding cell phone use) so we all decided to turn our cellphones to vibrate — we did this all at the same time just as our waiter was coming over to take our drink order. He looked shocked and advised us to turn our cellphones off… umm yeah right. I guess he thought we were texting each other or something. I left mines ON… vibrate.
THE FOOD… I am absolutely in LOVE with their chicken tenders! It’s like CRACK wrapped around meat! LOL!
THE PRICES… high, but the food is good.
—-
CONCLUSION…If the food weren’t good — I wouldn’t return, b/​c I didn’t like the service.

Excellent food, nice atmosphere. I don’t particularly like the «attitude» everyone seems to have there, at various visits we’ve been treated rudely by hostesses and waiters, and they have a few «rules» listed on the menu (no cell phone in the dining room, 18% tip is ‘customary’) which is off-​putting, even if I would never carry on a loud cell phone conversation or tip less than 20%! They seem to always be out of Shiraz, our favorite wine, but the rest of the options are good. However we keep going back because the food is fantastic.
Definitely make reservations if your group is more than two. If it’s just two, you can usually get a booth at the bar within 15 minutes. Otherwise, you’ll have a good hour of a wait (and get a «look» for not making a reservation!).
Some of our favorite items on the menu are the spinach-​artichoke dip, the grilled chicken salad (probably my favorite salad anywhere — delicious asian lime dressing), the french dip/​beef au jous sandwich, the new england clam chowder, and the various steaks. They will cook the steak any way you want it, and usually get it right. Probably the best steak in Rockville. Also a very nice lunch if you don’t mind paying the $$.

I was mildly horrified when a high schooler I came here with asked for A1 sauce for his steak. I have vowed not to bring high schoolers to $$+ restaurants forevereverevermore.
I really like Houston’s in general because it’s great in many ways but the price is still reasonable. Believe the hype about Houston’s — There’s a 60-​minute wait for a reason.
FOOD. The food is amazing. I go for the ribs which are phenomenal. They’re seasoned just right and cooked so that the meet is falling off the bone. The sashimi tuna salad is also probably one of the best salads I’ve ever had. It’s got a generous portion of avocado, a deliciously sweet sauce and tuna that’s actually rare when you order it rare (which is the ONLY way to prepare this tuna). The spinach and artichoke dip knocks the socks off of any other restaurant who attempts this appetizer. The chips are juuust crispy enough and the dip is just so creamy and cheesy and really perfect. Get a baked potato with everything with your entrée — It’s the only way to go. I’ve also heard that the traditional side salad is one of the best salads ever.
I choose this Houston’s over the Bethesda location because it seems to be bigger, parking is more convenient and I feel like it’s more down-​to-​earth — I don’t know why :)

Not impressed, especially considering there’s a Clyde’s nearby — the prices are comparable, the quality of the food is not. My advice? Stick with the basics — burgers, sandwiches, salads etc. If it sounds at all complicated (seared ahi tuna, anyone?), you will be disappointed.
The service was speedy and attentive — no complaints there.
Tip: try the Chicago-​style spinach dip appetizer — pretty tasty.

This place is one of the best in Rockville… they are so great at customer service it’s almost unreal. They don’t upcharge for additional vegetables — who does that anymore??? :-O (look of surprise) They actually come to the table and ask you important questions like «how is everything?» Who knew there were still places like this in existence… expecially in suburbia?
Everything is good here! Food & Service… now I am not sure about the crowd that shows up there… but you didn’t hear it from me.

Although other people often rave about this restaurant, I think it’s pretty average, especially when compared to other steakhouses in the DC area. I’ve had all sorts of dishes here — NY strip, filet mignon, grilled fish, etc., so I’m not just talking about the steak. There isn’t much variety in the steak preparations — they always seem to be hickory-​smoked! — and the appetizers are not very original or exciting — I mean how many dressing-​drenched chicken Caesar salads can a person stand before wanting to tear their hair out!!!
Also, the food is often overcooked: I’ve had this experience enough times at this restaurant to make me believe it’s not just an unusual occurrence. On my last visit, I got a very well-​done steak when I’d asked for medium-​rare (or as close to medium-​rare as they were allowed to make it by USDA regulations). Needless to say, I was disappointed with my steak, despite my efforts to ensure otherwise.
Now it’s usual conventional wisdom to stick to what a specialty restaurant does best. It’s not usually advisable to eat chicken at steak restaurant or steak at a fish restaurant. This is generally the wisest course of action. However, on a previous visit, I took a chance and veered from conventional wisdom and tried the salmon, after being repeatedly assured by the waiter that the grilled salmon was superb and cooked to perfection. Needless to say, it was — sigh — overcooked! Looking back on the experience, I think the waiter’s advocacy of the salmon was more of a sales ploy to «move» more fish out of the kitchen — or perhaps it was due to his severely off-​center and possibly wilting tastebuds (!) — than a genuine attempt to give an honest opinion.
If unexciting, conventional American fare is what you’re looking for, well then, look no further. I personally expect a little more pizazz and excitement from DC area restaurants. Why have the ordinary, when you can be pleasantly surprised by something new and unexpected? I believe in not settling for «just average,» and also in the importance of expanding your food horizons by taking some risks in your culinary adventures. After all, life is too short to consume bad food and wine. Why play it safe and eat less-​than-​thrilling food? If you try something you’ve never tried before, what’s the worst that can happen? You don’t like it?! Well, now you know. So what. Take it home and feed it to your dog; maybe he’ll like it! ;) I’d still rather keep an open mind and discover what’s out there.
My general philosophy is that there’s no reason or excuse for going someplace truly awful (like Hamburger Hamlet and its ilk) or even average (like Houston’s), when you can pay the same amount of money or less and get good quality food elsewhere. Or better yet, spend the evening at home with your loved ones and cook up a feast! Cooking (and not just eating!) is truly one of the great pleasures of life — It’s one of the few rare activities in life that uses all 5 of your senses. Yes, cooking is a beautiful thing — lively, often communal, frequently memorable, sometimes awe-​inspiring — even earth-​shaking at times, but rarely dull. You can’t go through the experience unchanged or unmoved. I’d go as far as saying that if the experience of cooking doesn’t make you feel more alive, then there’s got to be something wrong with you!
But alas, I digress. Back to eating and some final thoughts on Houston’s: To be fair, it’s not that the food is always horrible; it’s just that it’s average. For all of its hype, it fails to meet my expectations of what a good steakhouse of its purported caliber should really be. For what Houston’s offers, I frankly think the food is overpriced and over-​touted. For a fraction of what it costs to eat a steak at Houston’s, you could eat a much better steak at Red Rock Canyon Grill. So save your money and head over to Red Rock.