Arturo’s Uptown Italiano

Having an Italian mother can be a downfall when I want to eat Italian.. (especially here in Houston)… anyways, I have been here twice. The first time I wasnt impressed with my pasta at all. I ordered something very basic and it was jusy regular pasta and sauce. But I also ordered italian sausage and peppers and the laid it on some polenta… that dish was the business. The polenta was so damn creamy and cheesy it went perfect with the sausage and peppers…
My husband wanted the sausage and peppers dish again so we went back. This time the dish was not the same at all. The polenta was thicker and not cheesy at all. And the sausage and peppers didnt have the same flavor.
Our service was good though. :)

Arturo’s Uptown is one of my favorite places. Very friendly and professional staff. The food is amazing and always fresh. One of my favorites is the Black Truffle Risotto w/​shrimp and sea scallops… INCREDIBLE!!!
The owners are awesome and always friendly.
Love this place!

The only reason why I am giving this place even 2 stars is because the food wasn’t all that bad but the quality of the service was terrible. I usually procrastinate on my reviews but I was so irritated with the service that I wanted to write about it immediately.
Are waiters generally supposed to sass and talk down to their customers? Well apparently at Arturo’s they do. When my sister, who suffers from gluten sensitivity, asked our waiter if their flour-​less chocolate dessert had other gluten ingredients, he said to her in an exasperated tone, «uh obviously no» wth.
And this was not just isolated to 1 bad waiter. I think the poor service is endemic of all the waiters at Arturo’s because our other waiter was also snotty and kept getting our orders incorrect. I specificity asked for NO mushrooms in my dish and my dish was filled with it. My sister got a completely different dish from what she ordered. And my husband asked for cream for his coffee but ended up finishing his coffee before it even got there.
It was a shame that gratuity was already included.
There are other Italian restaurants in town with the same quality if not better food and better service.
Disappointed!

It was my first time and i didn’t regret it! I ordered baked eggplant parmigiana it was yummy! Caesar salad and granchio were delicious salad! I loved the Grilled shrimp fettuccine plate! Perfect pesto sauce. But the plate is a little bit small :)

In a word… Meh. the yellow pepper soup was very tasty. Aside from that… everything our table had seamed hastily put together. The food was ok, not great, service ok, not great.
Maybe try it again.

My first visit to Arturo’s was yesterday, 10÷30÷14 for lunch. When I arrived the first sign of trouble was that the hostess was enjoying laughs with another employee rather than escort me to my guests who were already seated. The restaurant was basically empty at 11:30. The next issue was with the bus lady who refilled the water and bread. When we asked her to bring more bread, she had the unmitigated gall to say ‘there’s bread still in yo’ basket.’ We were all so shocked. Never have I had this happen in a so-​called upscale restaurant. The food was served barely room temperature. I ordered risotto with shrimp and scallops. The shrimp were. But while the food was tasty, the cool temperature ruined it. I also ordered the tuna tartare, which was great. But when we asked the waiter to ask the chef if he could serve some type of toast, wontons, pitas, etc., rather than ask the chef the waiter said they couldn’t do that.
All in all, what make customers return to a restaurant is the experience. This experience was so bad, I would not recommend Arturo’s.

We hadn’t eaten here in quite a while, but dined here last night in a quest to find a good restaurant where it’s still possible to carry on a conversation without yelling, and Arturo’s definitely fits the bill.
While the menu could use some more contemporary dishes, what they do, they do very well. My wife and I split the Ravioli di Arturo’s, a delicious mixture of six chicken and mushrooms ravioli prepared al dente in a light cream sauce. One of our dinner companions chose the Casa (house) Salad, which looked delicious, and was quite large.
My wife had the lamb chops in pistachio sauce, and they were among the best I’ve ever eaten. I had a pan-​seared redfish special, which was also excellent. The other couple had the black truffle scallops and shrimp, which she said was delicious, and the lobster tail and papardelle, which not only was beautifully plated, but was apparently the best dish of the night.
Desserts included the Key Lime Pie (excellent) and the best pistachio gelato we’ve found outside Italy. Prices are reasonable, wine by the glass is reasonable (although not a great selection), and service was attentive.
So why doesn’t the restaurant deserve 5 stars? We pulled into a virtually empty parking lot, and literally every spot is reserved for the $ 5 valet parking. The restaurant needs to give customers the option to self-​park.

Went to Arturo’s again this week. It is always consistently good. Love their house salad. Sometimes I have them add grilled chicken to it for a main course.
If not, I tend to go for the bow tie pasta marguerite — very fresh and light for a pasta dish!

HONEST AND CONCISE
My wife and I visited Arturo’s yesterday evening to celebrate our anniversary.
First, the ambiance and service is impeccable. We were seated within 2 minutes, our waiter and support staff frequently refilled our water and wine glasses. This may have been the best service I’ve experienced at a Houston restaurant.
Now to the important stuff: the cuisine. We ordered the veal raviolis and sausage w/​peppers as appetizers. The raviolis were AMAZING. I definitely recommend this dish. The sausage w/​peppers was nearly as good. You can’t miss with these two.
My wife ordered the trout and I ordered he pork chop dish. Her dish was a bit on the salty side and I think they should pair it with something besides scrambled eggs. But I’m no chef, so what do I know. Would not order this dish again.
The pork chop was a lot bigger than I expected it to be. I was succulent and had a good taste. The side pairing of vegetables were flavorful and accompanied the dish well. The dish was satisfying overall, but nothing special.
I hope this review was helpful =)

I had the appetizer-​sized veal stuffed ravioli with truffle butter sauce and walnuts. It was pretty good, and there was a good balance due to some acid added to the sauce. Dad had the frutti di mare risotto and it is a tomato-​based sauce for a myriad of seafood and served with risotto that was, in my opinion, a bit bland. I also had the seafood pescatore and pappardelle which was good, but the seafood was a bit overcooked and the calamari was bland. Mom had the black truffle scallop and shrimp. It was pretty good but the truffle was underwhelming and the risotto a bit bland. Scallops were a bit underseasoned but cooked well. Pretty good experience and free bread baskets, but cant compare to sorrento.
Happy eating!

We have driven by a number of times and always wanted to try it. So when I saw it on restaurant week and what they had on the menu, it went to first on the list.
The waiter was great! He had fun with us cracking jokes and making us feel welcome. We start off with a cocktail. They have a great wine and martini menu. My wife got the crème brûlée martini. I’m a huge fan of crème brûlée so I had to see how close it tasted. It was really good. I was really impressed it tasted so close.
The first course I picked the yellow pepper soup. I wasn’t in the mood for salad and the soup was my only option. It was very tasty! It had a lite pepper taste with a creamy base. I would order it again.
The second course was amazing! I ordered the veal ravioli and all I can say is wow! They added walnuts to the sauce and it really brought the flavors together nicely!
Third course I went with the double bone pork chop. Nice large portion and was cooked perfectly. I was amazed the size of the portion and it definitely filled me up.
To finish off the meal I went with the crème brûlée. They served it on four soup spoons. They did a great job on making it but they could of added a couple more spoons. Overall it was a great dessert.
All and all I would recommend to anyone looking for great Italian food to try Arturo’s. After looking at the plates others had ordered not off restaurant week, I will be going back!

Tried this place out for 2014 restaurant week. Atmosphere was nice. Lots of tables. We went early in the evening so not a lot of people there. Service was very good. Our waiter was a little slow at times, but overall he provided good service. Very prompt with food and drinks. Started with one of the salads and it was good. Food tasted good and fresh. All 4 courses were very good. Overall a good experience.

Terrible experience! My wife and I were hoping to have a great time trying this place out for restaurant week but we wound up leaving extremely disappointed and red in the face.
First our server took my mojito before I was finished with it and threw it away, when I told him I wasn’t done with the drink he just took he got defensive and rude instead of just trying to correct the error.
Then when it came time to pay the bill they tried charged me for the drink they threw away. Finally we paid the bill with a VISA gift card and they swiped it over 10 times repeatedly with it coming back denied each time, when they came back and told me what happen I called the card customer service and they told it was approved the first time and denied every time after because the money was used up. Well I had already paid the bill again with my debit card
before calling because I thought something was wrong with the card. So, I spoke with the co-​owner Shanon Scott to try and straighten the mess out and he was extremely rude and condescending to us, he could careless if we got our money back or not when the problem was on his end. We will definitely never go back and now I will likely need to go through a lot of trouble to get the money back from being charged twice.

Have driven by it multiple times and always said I needed to check it out. It was on 2014 Restaurant Week so we decided to check it out.
The atmosphere is very nice, although I was taken aback that you could see the televisions from the bar very easily from the dining area where I was sitting (I was completely okay with it, but someone might get mad at their date for staring at the TV).
The service was excellent. They serve you slowly as they do in fine dining, so if you are in a rush you might want to tell them. They give you the menus after you have had a chance to get drinks.
I started out with this one salad that was on the 1^st course for restaurant week. It was very fresh and a nice portion, but the dressing reminded me of a medicine I took as a child. The 2^nd course was a caprese salad. It was awesome. The main course was the pork chop, it was very delicious. Finally for dessert I had the crème brûlée. They server it in four individual spoonfuls, so you get not only the custard but also the caramelized sugar in each bite.
Definitely will be back when I need a nice Italian meal.

The wine, the appetizers dessert and the service was FANTASTIC. I highly recommend the Tiramisu But the main part of the meal was very disappointing. It would have been fine if I had only spent $ 50 on all of that but with tip it came out to be near $ 200.
My date’s ravioli dish came with literally 3 ravioli. She is a petite woman, I have never seen her finish any meal completely and even she left the place feeling not quite full. My beef risotto was pretty boring and didn’t fill me up either. I would have went for the steak given another opportunity.
I understand that most nice restaurants will give you small portions, both dishes were also bland and forgettable.
Sorry Arturo, I would definitely visit you guys again for dessert and wine AFTER dinner at another restaurant.

Went here last week with some friends. I must say, I’m a foodie diva. Dorky as it sounds, I just know when something’s done right or terribly wrong. The veal chops here are divine. Perfectly cooked and the mushroom sauce was superb. However, save the room in your tummy for something other than the tiramisu… It had a strange orangey flave, that my taste buds just weren’t diggin’! Service wasn’t the best either. The wait staff attempted to grab my plate SEVEN TIMES before I was even considering being done. And… it was while I was in mid-​bite, I might add! How can anyone serve veal this ‘yum’ and expect you not to devour every last morsel?!? …Just please, don’t make me feel guilty about it! Maybe they wanted to steal a bite for themselves!!!

First, based in my expectations, I would say I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a very old school, dated Italian restaurant experience. To my delight, the décor was updated, and the menu was fairly modern.
Noticeably absent were staples like chicken (or veal) piccata… A dish by which I usually judge the quality of an Italian spot, although there were some interesting options. I had the truffled shrimp, scallops, and risotto. Everything was slightly overcooked, but was still flavorful.
The desserts were all pretty good the key like pie left a little to be desired, but the tiramisu was good. The coolest thing was how the «split» the cremé brûlée into individual spoons for all to share. The cremé brûlée was also pretty good, but not stellar.
The prices were generally on the high side, especially for a lunch spot. All in all, not disappointing, but also not some place I would frequent.

Great date night place! The ambiance is nice and hasn’t been terribly crowed the times I have been there. My boyfriend and I go here for special occasions. We always get the ravioli di Arturo’s! It is delicious every time! You can tell their ravioli is home made, they are huge and overstuffed. It’s nice to get a home made pasta and not the cookie cutter store bought stuff.
When we went there for my birthday they gave us a free chocolate sack dessert which was a nice touch.

I’ve been back to Arturo’s several times since my last review as the place is quite popular with the folks I work with.
For me Arturo’s is just about one dish: Branzino. This amazing white fish is cooked to perfection and makes for a delicious and light meal.
Whenever I’ve ordered anything else, I’ve regretted it.
Stick to the Branzino and you will love Arturo’s.

Great Italian food in an unpretentious setting. We went for «Houston Restaurant Week» and everything was great!
We tried both the House Specialty Ravioli and the Italian Sausage with Polenta. What great ways to start off meal!
The sausage was firm with crisp edges and a lite punch of fennel tiptoeing in a bed of the house red sauce which itself was great. I could have just eaten a bowl of that with straight pasta and I would have been more than satisfied. The house Ravioli was cooked perfectly al-​dente with mushrooms and large lumps of crabmeat. Yum-​mos.
The salads were fine, a bit overdressed.
Mains came out. The Veal Saltimbucca was salty and tasty but the real star was my table-​mates Frutti Di Mare. A giant bowl of shrimp, clams, mussels and more in a bowl of the above red sauce.
Dessert was a really nice canolli flown in from New York and a flourless chocolate cake which was so rich and decadent topped with hazelnut ice cream.
The house wines by the glass were good selections and cappuccinos as a digestif left us with big Italian smiles on four faces, and in our bellies.
Bellissima Arturo’s, Bellissa!