Theodore Rex - Houston

Celebration dinner at Theodore Rex. Finally able to take a night to ourselves to be thankful for our new house. As we moved in we both were really sick for weeks. We've had T.Rex on our radar before we even moved. It really was good.Life is pretty great. And I'm thankful for all the great things in my life. Living near downtown is something we've always wanted to do and we've made it happen. Theodore Rex is not the type of place that we'd throw down that much for a dinner very often. It's expensive. Very. But for a celebration, it's worth it.The place is very small. About 20 some seats and a counter. We got reservations for a Sunday night, but it was early 5:30 and there were only just a few people there. It quickly filled by the time we were finished with dinner.Great atmosphere inside Houston's warehouse district. Only a mile from our home. We ordered:Spring peas with kombo and grapefruit with flounder sashimi. *delicious. The peas were el dented and had a satisfying crunch to them. The flounder was very tasty.The tomato toast is a MUST HAVE. Incredible.Tagliolini warmed in cultured butter, seasoned with Gulf oyster liquor, mignonette. Very tasty.Soured pork sausage with chorizo spices, garden cucumbers, lime leaf. They said rotate bites between both to bring out the flavors and it did. A little spice that was just right.We got the grouper for our main dish. 2 servings of scamp grouper this one is zucchini with a sauce seasoned with pernod. And the next dish was the grouper grilled over coals. Cooked perfectly.Desert Warm strawberry buttercake, cold cardamon creamIt was a super meal that I'll never forget. Great little place that I'm so glad we were able to visit.

Lovely warm atmosphere to enjoy some inventive yet unfussy food. the tomato toast was an absolute stand out with perfect summer tomatoes cooked until jammy. other highlights included the snapper so tender and flaky. service was excellent the waiters know what they are talking about and attentive without being overbearing. next time would love to sit at the bar and get to see the action in the kitchen. only soft critiques are that the prices on the wine menu can be a little eye watering and some dishes lean sweet (the hearty greens, the onions in the mung bean crepe, the slightly over the top richness of the butter cake) but that’s probably just my palate. was a fantastic first visit and would love to come back and try more, especially as the menu rotates.Parking: plenty of street parking nearby. there were meters but didn’t seem to be enforcedDietary restrictions: no dairy was easily accommodated by the waiter at the next table over

Great sharing plates. Our waitress was a bit pushy telling us how many plates we should have. The servers are very attentive; neat thing is the cutlery station in each individual table. Food was awesome.Food: 4/5

Really liked the intimate decor. Service was pleasant. Food was disappointing: we found the taste of the onions was overpowered by the cheese, we did not like the hearty greens, the frozen chocolate mouse was not compelling.Food: 2/5

Delicious food? Yes! Amazing!Exceptional service, not so much.The food was amazing!! Absolutely delicious.Unfortunately, the service was nothing exceptional. Our waiter was actually a bit rude at times. He acted as if we were a bother. When asked if we could order a few small plates at a time he simply said, “actually no, you can’t.” I thought he was joking!!! (I’m happy to accommodate to the chef’s preferences, but he could have been a bit gentler responding).Also, there is a 22% service charge added, but then the waiter told us that this is NOT gratuity (assuming that the waiters don’t receive it). We ended up tipping another 20% on top because we wanted to make sure they actually were paid for the night. If the restaurant needs to charge an extra 22% for expenses, then please just build it in to the price and pay your waiters a living wage!!! That added 42% to our bill!!!Food was a 5 star experience. But the service was not!! I don’t think we will be back, but maybe we’d consider it and hope for a kinder waiter.